Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 334 Turmoil in Germany

The 19s was definitely a lucky decade for European countries. Although the situation in Europe was not so peaceful, there was no super war involving the great powers.

For Spain, this was a very precious time for development. Spain could develop its own industry and economy safely and quietly catch up with the major powers in a corner where no one paid attention.

For Carlo, the calm situation means more leisure time. Carlo is more willing to spend his leisure time with his family and pay attention to the growth of his children.

In such a calm situation, time quickly came to 1888.

Logically speaking, 1888 was also a peaceful year, but the death of a monarch caused some disturbances in the originally peaceful situation in Europe.

Kaiser Wilhelm I was born in 1797 and is the oldest monarch in Europe. During his reign, the Kingdom of Prussia won the Danish-Prussian War, the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, directly establishing the current German Empire, the hegemon of Europe.

But no matter whether he was a king or an emperor, William I was just an ordinary person. Since he was an ordinary person, he naturally had to experience the birth, aging, illness and death that everyone has to experience.

By 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm I was nearly 91 years old. In an era when the average life expectancy in Europe was only 90 or years old, years old was already considered old among the elderly.

But it is clear that the life span of human beings has almost reached this level. Since the beginning of 1888, news came from Germany that William I's health was gradually weakening and he was even unable to handle government affairs.

Everyone knows that the founder of the empire will eventually die. What everyone is most concerned about now is the changes in the political situation in Germany after the death of William I, and whether these changes will have an impact on the situation in Europe.

Even Spain was waiting for news from Germany and keeping a close eye on Germany's allies, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

Carlo did not have to wait long. On March 1888, 3, the chief of the guard, Brad Herrera, came hurriedly and brought Carlo the news that everyone had been waiting for: "Your Majesty, according to a call from the German government, His Majesty Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany passed away a few hours ago."

In fact, Carlo only knew that after William I came his son, the Hundred Days Emperor Frederick III. After Frederick III came the well-known German Emperor Wilhelm II.

As for the time of William I's death, Carlo only knew that it was this year, but he didn't know what day it was.

After hearing the report from the captain of the guards, Carlo nodded without much expression on his face.

Carlo had already experienced the death of his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, and his mentor and friend, Prime Minister Primo, and was not greatly affected by the news of such death.

What's more, William I died of old age, and his death was good news for both Germany and himself.

Even though Germany was at its peak at that time, it did not need an emperor who would reign for too long. His son Frederick III was called the Hundred Days Emperor because he suffered from throat cancer, which was incurable under the medical conditions of the time.

But then again, if William I had lived a few years shorter, would his son have been able to enjoy a few more years as emperor?

The longevity of William I and the short life of Frederick III had a great impact on Germany and indirectly led to Germany's defeat in World War I.

Why do I say that? Just three months after William I died, his son Frederick III also followed his father to heaven.

This also led to the throne of the German Empire soon falling to William II, the grandson of William I and the monarch of the fallen country.

At this time, William II was only 29 years old, and his physical defects made him very arrogant and sensitive.

It is difficult for a young monarch and an old prime minister who holds real power and great influence to achieve any close cooperation.

This is indeed the case. After William II succeeded to the throne as emperor, the political career of the Iron Chancellor Bismarck basically came to an end.

The biggest difference between the German Empire under William I and the German Empire under William II is the diplomatic situation Germany faced.

During the German Empire of William I, Germany's main enemy was France, but its allies included Austria-Hungary, Italy and Russia.

During the German Empire of William II, as the German government changed its strategy and exposed more ambitions for colonies and maritime power, the diplomatic relations between Germany and Britain gradually drifted apart, and the nominal alliance with Russia could no longer be maintained.

This resulted in Germany's enemies changing from France to the three great powers of Britain, France and Russia, while its allies remained only Austria-Hungary and Italy.

The outcome of the Final World War was already very clear. William II's German Empire was not only unable to defeat external enemies, but also unable to resolve the empire's internal enemies.

In the later stages of the war, William II had been basically sidelined, which was why he became the scapegoat after the war and had to abdicate.

There was no time to express so much emotion, as Carlo’s main focus was still on the reactions of European countries to the death of the German Emperor.

Although Carlo is aware of the reaction of the European situation after the death of William I, can he ensure that the European situation in this world will continue to develop as it did in history?

Any change may lead to greater changes in the situation. For himself and Spain, Carlo must pay attention to the developments of all countries.

"All European countries should have received the news by this point, but so far, no country has taken any major response." Kadir of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency answered Carlo's question.

"Pay close attention to the movements of France and Russia. Once there is any movement in these two countries, you must report to me immediately." Carlo ordered.

For Germany at this time, the death of William I can be said to be the beginning of a turbulent situation.

Frederick III's throat cancer was not discovered after he became emperor, but was discovered last year. However, due to a misdiagnosis by a British doctor, the surgery was cancelled.

One month before William I's death, Crown Prince Frederick had just received life-saving treatment. In order to prevent him from suffocating and life-threatening due to the swelling of the tumor, the Crown Prince's personal doctor had to cut open his trachea and insert a silver ventilation tube.

Although this did save Crown Prince Frederick's life, it also left the soon-to-be emperor unable to speak until now, and he can only express his thoughts in writing.

The old emperor had just died, and the new emperor was also in danger of death. At this juncture, Carlo did not believe that France had no ideas. You know, since the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the French have been looking for opportunities to take revenge on Germany. It's just that Bismarck has been managing his foreign policy very well, and the situation in Germany has not been turbulent, so the French have not been able to find an opportunity to start a war.

The current stage of the death of William I can be said to be a good opportunity. Even if Germany cannot be completely defeated, the domestic situation in Germany can become more chaotic.

Although the Iron Chancellor Bismarck was still in control of the German government at this time, he was only 91 years younger than 18-year-old William I and was 73 years old this year.

The current situation in Germany can be described as a situation where one small change may affect the entire body, and it is very likely that Germany will collapse due to some minor changes.

Will the French miss such an opportunity? Carlo was not sure. Even Carlo was not sure whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing for Spain if a war between Germany and France broke out at this time.

But this did not prevent Carlo from ordering the Royal Security Intelligence Agency to pay close attention to the movements of France and Russia. Once it was discovered that France had a tendency to start a war, Spain would definitely have to prepare in advance.

Carlo and Spain certainly did not want to see France win the war with Germany. Once France became the hegemon of Europe again, the colonial balance in North Africa and West Africa would be broken.

Spain can negotiate with France, the second largest country in Europe, but it cannot negotiate with the largest country in Europe.

Once France becomes the overlord of continental Europe again, Spain will have to consider joining forces with Germany to avoid being invaded or colonized by France.

But if Germany could defeat France, or if the war never happened, Spain wouldn't have to worry about the threat from France.

After all, what the French are most worried about is Germany. As long as Spain does not touch France's bottom line, France will not fall out with Spain.

The death of William I cannot be said to have nothing to do with Spain. Spain must participate in William I's funeral, and it must send a high-ranking official at the prime minister level to participate, so as to reflect Spain's importance to this funeral.

If only officials at the level of foreign minister were sent, it would be hard to avoid paying too much attention to Germany. After all, Germany is one of the most powerful countries in the world, and William I is the founder of this powerful empire.

Of course, Carlo would not take the initiative to go to Germany to attend the funeral. In fact, there is not much difference between the kings and emperors of Europe, and Spain and Germany do not have a very close relationship, so Carlo naturally does not need to go there in person.

Only the monarchs of Germany's allies, such as Austria-Hungary and Italy, might need to travel to Germany in person to attend the funeral.

After all, allies still need to express their importance to each other, and the alliance relationship needs to be maintained.

As expected, over the next day, European countries expressed their grief over the news of William I's death and announced that they would attend his funeral.

The lineup of people attending the funeral was also quite luxurious, including emperors, kings and prime ministers of various countries.

Among all the guests attending the funeral, the one with the highest status was Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Franz Joseph I and William I were both emperors of powerful countries. In addition, due to his advanced age, the fact that he was able to personally attend William I's funeral was already a great honor for Germany.

Generally speaking, in this situation, the royal family can send its adult crown prince to participate. On the one hand, this can train its heir, and on the other hand, the crown prince can truly represent the royal family to the outside world.

Russia, another ally of Germany, did the same thing. Tsar Alexander III did not attend the funeral of William I in person, but sent his own crown prince Nicholas.

In fact, this is also related to the deterioration of the relationship between Germany and Russia. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the relationship between Germany and Russia has long been not so close.

This also led to the two formerly close allies taking various precautions against each other, and they were short of directly strengthening their border defenses and transferring all their troops to the border for defense.

Of course, the Crown Prince is definitely high enough to attend this funeral. The Crown Prince is the future Russian Tsar, except that his current status is not as high as that of the Tsar, everything else is similar.

Alexander III was able to send his crown prince to attend the funeral of William I, which also shows Russia's attitude. At least Russia did not intend to completely abandon its relationship with Germany. They still wanted to maintain their alliance with Germany, but they were somewhat dissatisfied with Germany's alienation from them, so they sent the crown prince to attend the funeral in such a central position.

If Russia wanted to break its alliance with Germany, it could do so by sending a foreign minister to attend the funeral.

Only countries with extremely distant relations, or even countries with competition and conflict, will send officials at the level of foreign minister. Otherwise, they will send the prime minister or the crown prince. At least the superficial work has to be done.

Even France, which had a poor or even hostile relationship with Germany, sent a luxurious lineup led by the Prime Minister to attend the funeral of William I.

This also shows that European countries attach great importance to surface work. After all, this is also a kind of etiquette among the aristocratic gentlemen.

Spain sent Prime Minister Canovas, while Italy sent King Umberto I himself.

Like Austria-Hungary, Italy also needed Germany's diplomatic influence to help expand its international status. Italy still attached great importance to the alliance with Germany. After learning of William I's death order, Umberto I immediately confirmed his itinerary.

The British side did not send Queen Victoria, after all, the queen was famous for not intervening in government affairs. However, the British government also sent Prime Minister Gladstone, and did a good job on the surface.

In addition to these powerful countries, European countries also sent their own luxurious lineups to attend the funeral.

This also made William I's funeral set a record, becoming the funeral with the largest number of attendees for monarchs or prime ministers from various countries.

Of course, such a record was not a great honor for Germany itself. The successor of the empire, Frederick III, could not even greet the guests in person at this time, and could only ask German Prime Minister Bismarck and Foreign Minister to help him welcome the guests.

After the death of William I, Crown Prince Frederick had already confirmed the title of Frederick III. Under normal circumstances, Crown Prince William would have been the new emperor of the German Empire.

But the new emperor was still lying on the sickbed. Because the tumor in his throat had not been eliminated, the emperor's life was even in danger at any time.

This also created the embarrassing situation that the new emperor could not attend the funeral of William I. Fortunately, the monarchs and prime ministers who participated in the funeral were all strictly trained. Even if they had various thoughts about the embarrassing situation in Germany at this time, they would not show it. They would only express their grief and attend this funeral step by step.

(End of this chapter)