War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"So how much are we worth?" John Freemont was actually quite curious about how much money the other party would use to induce him to surrender.

"I don't know. Our country prohibits the slave trade. It's not like your country where you can sell free people into slavery." Ashton looked innocent.

"Oh! Damn it! I'm not trying to be a slave. I'm asking how much money you have to pay for us to surrender!" John Fremont said angrily.

"Dear Mr. Fremont, I'm here to discuss business. I just want this fleet, and I'll pay five million dollars."

"Get out!" John Fremont was furious.

Ashton was eventually driven back to the ship, but the U.S. military camp was filled with an uneasy atmosphere. Not only because of the mysterious letter, but also because of the words Ashton said before leaving.

"The person who can put this fleet into my hands has five million dollars!"

John Fremont really wanted to shoot the damn Jew in front of him, but he chose to remain a gentleman.

After all, if the two countries remain at war, this will not only affect his personal honor, but will also have an adverse international impact on the United States.

Looking at the worried looks of his officers, he knew it was the letter that caused it, but he couldn't make the contents of the letter public, as that would cause even greater commotion.

At this time, John Freemont could only send someone to leave the team first, and then pretend to be a messenger and read the battle report he wrote to his subordinates.

Only in this way can the impact of the letter be offset. In order to prevent anyone from continuing to think wildly, John Fremont directly asked for a brazier and burned the letter in public.

"Mr. Fremont, why did you burn it?" asked an insolent officer.

"Because it's an Austrian trick," John Fremont said bluntly.

"Then what's written on it?" Someone finally couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing! My child, I hope you can believe that the mighty United States is invincible. Her destiny is to rule North America. No enemy can stop her!"

John Fremont's words received a strong response.

"Long live America!"

However, the captains of the fleet were talking privately about the mysterious letter and the issue of five million dollars.

Since the visit of the Austrian envoy, John Fremont ordered the camp to be in place and not to attack without authorization, and claimed that news from home would soon arrive.

Although John Fremont's approach of not having three hundred taels of silver here could deceive ordinary soldiers, it was a more uneasy move for senior officers.

In fact, John Freemont was equally uneasy because he had not received news from the country for a long time.

But theoretically speaking, the United States has been fully prepared for this war, but the Mexicans are completely scattered from top to bottom, fighting on their own and even fighting each other. The United States seems to have no reason to lose.

But Robert Stockton's defeat at Escondido Village cast a shadow over his confidence.

In fact, the communication interruption was certainly caused by Franz, because the infrastructure construction in South America in this era was very poor, and there were even fewer ports.

If the U.S. military's communications want to bypass South America, they can't bypass the unattended zone of Punta Arenas.

Of course, in addition to Punta Arenas, several other important ports also had people ambushed, but these people were just looking for fish that slipped through the net.

As for whether anyone would choose to bypass Punta Arenas, the answer is no. Because that would require an extra journey of more than 1,300 nautical miles, which would take about four to five days for most ships of this era.

Coupled with the technical limitations at the time, opening up new routes was extremely risky. And Americans don't know that a neutral zone will become their grave.

Punta Arenas was originally a penal colony for criminals, so the folk customs have always been strong. But the local population is not large, only a few hundred people, so the Austrians can easily become the dominant people here.

Vienna, Schonbrunn Palace

Franz and Friedrich reunited after a long absence, but the latter's brows were almost twisted into knots.

"What did you eat? You grow so fast! You're taller than me!"

Franz was speechless for a while, thinking that he was taller than you last year, but because there were outsiders, he still saved face for the other party.

"Uncle Friedrich welcomes you back in triumph, who is this?" Franz looked at the beautiful woman clinging to Friedrich.

It didn't matter what he saw. Franz was startled. He knew that the other party should be Princess Sineka, but her appearance was a bit...

She was too European, with long soft blond hair, light green eyes, and white skin. Apart from her facial features and face shape, she looked Germanic. It was completely inconsistent with Franz's imagination of the dark beauty.

But to be honest, Friedrich's vision was really good. This princess was much better than the princesses Franz usually saw.

At this time, Princess Sneka was staring closely at Adjani behind Franz. The latter seemed to have noticed it and raised her chin high to reveal an arrogant smile while stroking her hair.

The eyes of the two almost collided with sparks, while Kagura on the side was completely ignored.

Franz didn't call Thalia over, after all, he didn't want to see anything like a Shura field happen.

Friedrich felt quite proud to see Franz.

"This is Princess Sneka, a member of the royal family of the Oman Empire."

Then Friedrich introduced Princess Sneka.

"This is Franz Joseph, future emperor of Austria."

Sneka was also surprised because he had just met Ferdinand I with Friedrich before. His Majesty the Emperor's head was as big as a bucket, his speech was slurred, his eyes were dull, and he was drooling, which impressed Sneka deeply.

The young man in front of him was handsome, tall and straight, with full muscles and gorgeous clothes. He had a natural temperament that made people dare not look directly at him.

"Nice to meet you, Archduke Franz."

"It is an honor to meet you, Princess Sneka."

After a brief exchange of greetings, Franz and Friedrich sent everyone else away.

"Is the situation in Mexico really that bad?" Friedrich asked.

"It's really bad. Tasang Anna had a chance to come back and win. But the reversal happened so quickly that we didn't have time to react.

What's worse is that the French may make a move, and that would be the worst possible outcome, because all our previous plans would be invalid. "

What Franz was most worried about at this time was Louis Philippe, the spoiler. The latter did not proceed from the overall interests like the British. He only cared about immediate interests.

After the defeat in Veracruz, the Mexicans obviously became the easy-to-get fat. Once France sends troops, Mexico will have no choice but to cede territory and seek peace.

This is mainly because the population in New Mexico is too small, and it is easy for invaders to gain a foothold. Even if Tasan Anna desperately wants to fight guerrilla warfare, there is no mass base.

Defeat is only a matter of time.