Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 336 Preparation for War

Prime Minister Canovas, who had just attended the funeral of German Emperor Frederick III, soon went to France to attend talks at the invitation of the French government.

The talks on canal access rights attracted the participation of many countries, and the countries participating in the meeting were basically countries that have needs for the canal.

Countries like Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands all had large colonies east or south of the canal, and communication between the colonies and the mainland was highly dependent on the Suez Canal.

Russia can also be counted among them, after all, the Trans-Siberian Railway connecting Russia's European and Asian territories had not yet been completed. If Russia's Far East wanted to transport and trade materials with Europe or other European countries, it had to go through the Suez Canal and take the route from Asia to Europe.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no overseas colonies, it, like Italy, was a purely Mediterranean coastal country, and its navy and transport ships could be blocked in the Mediterranean at any time.

In order to avoid a naval blockade, the Suez Canal must be controlled. At the very least, fair navigation rights must be obtained through the Suez Canal to ensure that import and export trade and other material transportation will not be affected.

The combined momentum of all the countries participating in this meeting is extremely huge, which actually also illustrates the concerns of these countries about the situation in the Mediterranean after Britain took control of the Suez Canal.

There is no way, the Suez Canal is very important to the Mediterranean coast and even all European countries. Especially under the premise that the British still control the Strait of Gibraltar, the threat posed by Britain to the Mediterranean and European countries is a concern for all countries.

To put it bluntly, even Britain's ally Portugal did not want the Suez Canal to be completely controlled by Britain.

It is like there is a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of European countries. This sword is in the hands of the British and may fall from the sky at any time, bringing a fatal blow to the European countries.

Even if the canal is controlled by the most powerful country in the world, the British Empire, countries will not give in. Unless Britain promises to allow all countries to sail fairly on the Suez Canal, the concerns of other countries about Britain will not be dispelled.

In fact, like Spain, European countries did not hesitate at all after receiving the invitation from the French government and quickly accepted the invitation from the French government.

Even Germany, the old rival of the French, nodded and agreed to the French government's request after hearing the French government's request and the purpose of the talks.

For Germany, this meeting did not have much disadvantage. If it could publicly pressure Britain through the talks and force Britain to give up ownership of the canal, it would be a very good thing for Germany.

Of course, one of the reasons why Prime Minister Bismarck agreed to France's request so quickly was to prevent France from controlling the Suez Canal like Britain after this meeting.

It would certainly be good news if Britain could give up control of the canal, but if the control of the canal was taken away by the French who organized this conference, it would be better for Germany to let the control of the canal remain in the hands of the British.

Another purpose of Germany's participation in this conference was to prevent France from gaining control of the canal.

Even with the participation of its military allies Austria-Hungary and Italy in the conference, Germany still had a real hope of replacing France and becoming the country that would ultimately gain control of the canal.

Of course, even if Germany cannot gain control of the canal, it will be beneficial to Germany as long as the canal can be freely navigated by all countries in a fair and just manner.

It was reasonable for Germany to participate in the talks, which was why Prime Minister Bismarck had almost no hesitation.

Just a few days after Prime Minister Canovas arrived in France, he sent Carlo a plan of action regarding the navigation rights of the Suez Canal that France had mentioned at the meeting.

This canal navigation rights execution plan is divided into several major articles, and Article 1 clearly stipulates the division of canal navigation rights, which is of most concern to all countries.

Because many European countries are highly dependent on the Suez Canal, it also means that it is difficult for the Suez Canal to be exclusively owned by one country.

It was precisely based on this point that the French clearly stipulated in Article 1 of their proposal that the Suez Canal should be freely open to all merchant ships or warships flying the flag of any country in wartime, as it is stipulated in peacetime, and that no country should interfere with the free use of the canal in wartime, as it is in peacetime.

No country has the right to block the Suez Canal, nor the right to deny all other countries the free use of the Suez Canal, and no country may have any impact or blockade on the right of any country to use the Suez Canal.

To put it bluntly, the French proposal is to make the Suez Canal completely shared, so that big and small countries can travel freely through the Suez Canal, completely eliminating the concerns of various countries about the Suez Canal being controlled and blocked by other countries.

Just by looking at the first point in the French proposal, Carlo could imagine how much support the countries at the conference showed for the French proposal.

What's more, there are Articles 2 and 3, which impose several layers of protection on all countries on the premise that they can freely use the Suez Canal.

Article 2 stipulates that as an important transportation route that is freely used by all countries, the freshwater canal section of the Suez Canal should also be subject to joint supervision and protection by all countries.

This is mainly to prevent Egypt, the region where the canal is located, or Britain, the controller of Egypt, from affecting the tributaries of the canal. If Egypt or the British behind it forcibly destroy the tributaries of the canal, it will definitely have a greater impact on the navigation of the Suez Canal.

If all else fails, the British can also use the method of killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of their own people by sinking several large transport ships in the Suez Canal and forcibly closing the canal.

The point is to eliminate this phenomenon and ensure that the normal operation of the canal will not be interfered with by local governments and other forces.

As for Article 3, it further safeguards the interests of various countries in the Suez Canal on the basis of the first two articles.

The specific content of Article 3 is mainly to protect the factories, facilities, buildings and various projects of various countries in the sea canal and river canal, and further protect the interests of various countries in the Suez Canal.

These three provisions directly clarify the rights of various countries in the Suez Canal and ensure that the rights of various countries will not be violated by local governments and the British government, which controls the Canal.

The three provisions proposed by France are beneficial to Spain and all the participating countries.

From this point, we can also judge that all countries will definitely support the proposal put forward by the French. France can gain the favor of all countries through these three proposals, thereby changing its diplomatic situation. The only one who may suffer losses is Britain. France invited many European countries to participate in the meeting on the division of ownership of the Suez Canal, and even did not invite the British who actually control the Suez Canal. This is undoubtedly a direct challenge to the authority of Britain.

But the problem is that the British really don't have any good countermeasures. The reason why this meeting was held is precisely because all countries are afraid of Britain's control over the Suez Canal.

This also means that as long as the British are unwilling to give up control of the Suez Canal, even if this meeting ultimately fails, other meetings will be held in the future.

Britain has already stood on the opposite side of the countries participating in the meeting. Even without France's lead, other countries will clarify the contradictions between the two sides.

So the question is, in the face of such direct provocation from France, will Britain give in or resist to the end?

For Carlo, this was perhaps what he was most curious about in 1888. Just as France's actions at the funerals of the two German emperors could have triggered a war, the British response at this time could also have caused a war over the canal.

And like the French at the time, Britain was isolated and helpless. Although it seemed that the only target of the war was France, no one could guarantee whether other countries would also participate in the war with Britain for the ownership of the canal.

In fact, Spain is like many other countries participating in this conference. Everyone is participating with the idea that there is nothing to lose.

If France could forcibly regain control of the canal from Britain, that would certainly be the best thing for the countries attending the conference.

Even if France failed to regain control of the canal from Britain, the countries participating in the conference would not suffer any losses, after all, it was France that was confronting Britain.

It is impossible for the UK to hold all the countries accountable just because they attended the meeting, right? Let’s not talk about whether the UK can hold all the countries accountable for attending the meeting. This excuse itself is somewhat untenable, and the British government is not stupid enough to really put itself on the opposite side of all European countries.

Regardless of what the British thought about this meeting, the meeting held by the French was quite grand.

Countries have conducted various discussions on the use of the Suez Canal, and a set of relevant regulations regarding the ownership and operation of the Suez Canal is being released.

Because the talks would take a long time, Prime Minister Canovas chose to leave France after attending the talks a few days ago and discussing a general direction. The Foreign Minister will continue to represent Spain in the negotiations.

The first thing Prime Minister Canovas did when he returned to Spain was to report to Carlo on the details of the talks and discuss the possible changes in the European situation that the talks might cause.

"Your Majesty, if there is a possibility of a war breaking out between France and Britain, should we prepare for an invasion of Morocco?" Prime Minister Canovas said to Carlo with excitement.

If a war breaks out between Britain and France, it will definitely be the best opportunity that Spain has been waiting for for more than ten years.

The two countries that influenced Spain's annexation of Morocco were Britain and France. If they were too busy to take care of other things, it would mean that no country in Europe could stop Spain from annexing Morocco.

The reason why Prime Minister Canovas is excited is very simple, that is, during his term of office, he is likely to create great achievements that even Prime Minister Primo has not achieved.

If Spain can annex Morocco, Spain will officially grow into a superpower on the level of Britain, France and Germany. Spain's annexation of Morocco also means that Spain has the opportunity to annex Portugal.

If Spain had really annexed Morocco and Portugal one after another and monopolized the Iberian Peninsula, could it be called a powerful empire?
Of course, the one who would gain the most at that time would definitely be Carlo as the king. Even if he could not take the opportunity to be promoted to emperor, he would have the opportunity to be proudly called the greatest monarch by the Spanish, that is, the so-called emperor.

This will greatly enhance Carlo's own influence and authority, as well as the status of the royal family. The Savoy royal family will also completely secure the throne in Spain, and no external factors can interfere with the succession to the throne of the Savoy royal family.

Although Carlo was the one who gained the most, as the leader of the government, Prime Minister Canovas also gained a lot.

Currently, Canovas only holds the title of Earl. According to normal progress, he has the hope of being promoted to Duke after completing three terms as Prime Minister.

But if he could help Spain annex Morocco and Portugal successively, Prime Minister Canovas would not only be quickly promoted to Duke, but would even have the hope of being named Grand Duke.

Prime Minister Canovas, who could only become a duke, was destined to be inferior to Prime Minister Primo in terms of contribution. But if he could be promoted to grand duke based on his own merits, it would be hard to say whose contribution to Spain was greater. The two also had the opportunity to be called the best prime ministers of Spain during Carlo's reign and become the two heroes of the Spanish revival.

Obviously, as long as this step can be achieved, his power, status and influence will be greatly enhanced. Prime Minister Canovas can't help but be excited, because he hopes to achieve everything a prime minister can do, be remembered forever in Spanish history, and become a great achievement praised by future Spaniards.

Hearing Prime Minister Canovas's question, Carlo nodded first, and then said: "The government needs to pay close attention to the movements of Britain and France, and at the same time be prepared to launch a war against Morocco.

Regardless of whether a war breaks out between Britain and France, the Ministry of Defense must be prepared for war. Once a war breaks out between Britain and France, we should conquer the entire Morocco as quickly as possible.

If there is no war between Britain and France, then we should keep our troops in place for the time being and wait for the situation in Europe to change.

During this period, I do not want any information about the battle plan to be leaked, and the government must keep the war plan strictly confidential. "

"Yes, I understand, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Canovas nodded, obviously he also understood the importance of confidentiality.

If a war would have broken out between Britain and France, but the two countries gave up the war because Spain's war plan against Morocco was leaked, it would be a loss.

Both Britain and France attach great importance to Morocco, and it is really possible that the two countries will give up the conflict between them because Morocco is annexed by Spain.

(End of this chapter)