Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 335: The Kaiser dies again, the battle for the canal

Almost as Carlo expected, while the funeral of William I was being held in Germany, France was also discussing whether to go to war against Germany.

Carlo was able to get the news not because of the excellent intelligence work of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, but because the French people's dispute over whether to go to war with Germany had been exposed.

The French war faction and the peace faction had a big quarrel over this, and the two sides almost fought in parliament. The war faction accused the peace faction of being a group of cowards who were afraid of the enemy and would forget the country's shame for their own interests.

The peace faction accused the war faction of being reckless and ignoring the situation, even disregarding France's diplomatic situation in order to take revenge on Germany.

The quarrel between the two sides was quite intense, and news of the dispute was even reported by the French media, becoming one of the hot topics among people in European countries.

When Carlo learned that the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the French Parliament were arguing fiercely, he realized that it was basically impossible for France to start a war against Germany.

If France really had a war plan, they would not have leaked it in such a funny way. Secrecy is the key to success. France would have made secret preparations before launching a war, and by the time other countries found out, the war had already started.

The current quarrel seems more like a play between the two factions to win the support of the French people. The more radical people will naturally support the ideas of the war faction, while the more rational people will consider the views of the peace faction more.

For both parties, they can win the support of the people without paying any price, which is definitely a sure win.

The fact that the French Prime Minister personally went to Germany to attend the funeral of William I also shows that the French government itself does not want a war with Germany. For France, perhaps what they want is long-term stability and peace.

On the German side, Prime Minister Bismarck was fully prepared for a possible attack from the French government.

Because the new Emperor Frederick III was unable to meet with guests, Prime Minister Bismarck became his plenipotentiary representative, responsible for receiving all guests coming to Germany to attend the funeral.

Naturally, Franz Joseph I and Umberto I were also on Prime Minister Bismarck's meeting list.

In a private meeting room prepared by the German government, Prime Minister Bismarck, Franz Joseph I and Umberto I held secret talks and reiterated the terms of the treaty of the Triple Alliance, stating that the diplomatic alliance between the three countries would not change due to any accidents.

After the representatives of the three countries promised each other that the treaty would not change, it was obvious that everyone was relieved. At present, the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was obviously dependent on each other and needed each other.

This also led to very close relations between the three countries that signed the treaty, and the death of William I would not lead to the end of the treaty.

The Treaty of the Three Emperors was the real trump card that Prime Minister Bismarck had in his hand in response to a possible attack from France. The content of the Treaty of the Three Emperors was still quite secretive, and no other country was aware that the three countries had concluded a military alliance treaty.

It is precisely because of this that Russia did not completely move closer to France, but chose to play it two ways, accepting the help of French capital while being unwilling to completely sever ties with Germany.

Bismarck was confident that he could deal a fatal blow to France by relying on the Triple Alliance Treaty at such a turbulent time. If the French dared to initiate a war, Prime Minister Bismarck would once again march to the gates of Paris, just like he did in the last Franco-Prussian War, and force the French government to sign a compensation of up to 50 billion francs.

Fortunately, the French government has no plans to start a war for the time being, and it is not clear whether it is a good thing for Germany and France that the war will not break out.

The funeral of William I was held very quickly and on a large scale. As the first emperor of the German Empire, the Germans recognized William I's contributions.

On the day of the burial, hundreds of thousands of Germans flooded the streets of Berlin, looking at the sarcophagus containing William I with reluctance, and did not stop until William I was sent to the burial place.

After the funeral, representatives from various countries who attended the funeral quickly left Germany.

However, diplomatic representatives of many countries are still paying attention to the situation in Germany, most importantly the health of the new Emperor Frederick III.

Carlo was not disappointed. Frederick III quickly regained his historical title. He died less than 100 days after becoming emperor, and the German throne soon fell to Crown Prince William.

Less than 100 days after the funeral of William I, Germany held another funeral for the emperor. Such frequent changes in the German throne attracted the attention of European countries. This extremely unfortunate emperor, Frederick III, who reigned for less than 100 days, was also nicknamed the Hundred Days Emperor by the European media and the public.

Obviously, the frequent changes of the throne were a heavy blow to Germany's international status and influence. Chancellor Bismarck organized two funerals of the emperor in succession, and it was obvious that the old prime minister was now hunched over and not as energetic as in previous years.

Spain still sent Prime Minister Canovas to attend the funeral of German Emperor Frederick III. Prime Minister Canovas was familiar with German funerals.

It is worth mentioning that Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and King Umberto I of Italy did not choose to attend the funeral, but instead sent their Crown Prince Rudolf and Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele respectively.

Franz Joseph I's only son Rudolf has not had any accidents so far. According to historical records, Crown Prince Rudolf will commit suicide with his mistress next year.

It was still mid-1888, and the crown prince had not yet gone to such extremes.

As for Prince Vittorio Emanuele, the crown prince sent by King Umberto I of Italy, he also has a certain fame in history.

The reason why Italy jumped back and forth in World War I and finally betrayed the Triple Alliance to join the Allied Powers was largely due to the decision of the then King Vittorio Emanuele III, now the Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele.

The Italian royal family still has a certain amount of power, and before being seized by Mussolini, the Italian kings had a certain degree of pro-regime influence.

After Vittorio Emanuele II unified Italy, the Italian people were still very welcoming to the Savoy royal family.

This also gave his successor, Umberto I, considerable power and even promoted the expansion of Italy's army and navy.

Naturally, the next in line to the throne, Vittorio Emanuele III, also gained some power.

But unlike Umberto I, who stood firmly with Germany and Austria, Vittorio Emanuele III was a guy who jumped back and forth.

On the one hand, he maintained the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and communicated with Germany and Austria-Hungary many times to determine the lineup of the Allies, one of the two major military groups in Europe. On the other hand, for the sake of his colonies, Victor Emmanuel III strengthened his ties with Britain, France and Russia.

Even after the outbreak of World War I, because of the constant wooing by Britain and France, he finally chose to let Italy join the side of Britain, France and Russia, and decisively abandoned the alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Judging from the results, Victor Emmanuel III's choice was correct. He successfully put Italy on the winning side and avoided the tragic end of the Italian royal family like the German and Austro-Hungarian royal families.

But on the other hand, it was precisely because of Italy's rapid betrayal that the war pressure faced by Germany and Austria-Hungary became more serious.

Originally, the powerful country of Russia withdrew from the war shortly after it broke out. If Italy continued to stand on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary, it would be hard to say who would win or lose in the war.

If the decision to choose the right side in World War I was reasonable, then Vittorio Emanuele III's decision in World War II was somewhat confusing.

After Mussolini's fascist armed forces launched the march on Rome, Vittorio Emanuele III first supported the military action and martial law proposed by the Italian government at the time against the fascist actions, but then refused to sign the martial law order and accepted the suggestion of the right-wing leaders of the Nationalist Party and the Liberal Party to let Mussolini form a cabinet.

The end result of this was that Mussolini successfully achieved military dictatorship, the Italian royal family was completely sidelined, and was eventually abolished due to the failure of World War II.

Although the Italian monarchy died under his son Umberto II, in fact, it was already in danger during the reign of Vittorio Emanuele III.

Carlo didn't have much impression of his nephew.

Before Vittorio Emanuele III was born, Carlo had already arrived in Spain and became King of Spain.

This also resulted in Carlo and his nephew not meeting each other many times. Although the two were still closely related, their relationship was actually quite distant.

While European countries once again sent representatives to attend the funeral of German Emperor Frederick III, the French government was already making changes to its diplomatic situation.

France’s current diplomatic situation is still relatively difficult, and it does not have any real allies.

Although the domestic situation in Germany was relatively chaotic, Germany still nominally maintained the Triple Alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia.

At a time when Germany was undergoing such major changes, France was determined to do something to change its diplomatic situation.

What to do? The French took a look around and finally set their sights on the Suez Canal.

There is no need to explain the importance of the Suez Canal. It is an important channel connecting Europe to the Indian Ocean, and its current importance is much higher than that of the Strait of Malacca.

Britain's connection with its Indian colonies, France and Spain's connection with their Asian colonies, and European countries' connection with the east coast of Africa all relied on this important sea route.

This has also made the Suez Canal a focus of attention, and Egypt, where the canal is located, has become a top priority in colonial competition among countries.

The Suez Canal was officially opened to navigation in 1869 and has been controlled by Britain and France since then. At that time, Britain and France were the two most powerful countries in the world. With their joint control of the Suez Canal, other countries had no say.

But soon, the situation changed.

As France failed to compete with Egypt, Britain successfully gained the right to speak in Egypt. The final result was that Britain bought a large number of shares in the canal from Egypt and achieved control of the Suez Canal.

This suddenly changed the situation of the canal. The Suez Canal was originally jointly managed by Britain and France, but now Britain is the only dominant country and has most of the say in the operation and management of the canal.

This is unacceptable to France and even most European countries.

The monopoly of the canal means that Britain can close or open the canal at will. If Britain blocks the canal and prevents other countries from sailing, doesn't it mean that important sea routes for other countries will be directly cut off?

It can be said that since the United Kingdom took control of the Suez Canal, how to fairly ensure that all countries have the right to navigate the canal has become a hot topic in Europe.

In order to change their diplomatic situation, the French decided to take risks. They planned to join forces with many European countries to start discussions on the management rights of the canal and discuss a fair plan that all countries could accept.

If France can really make all countries enjoy the right of passage through the canal fairly, it will have an extremely beneficial impact on France's diplomatic situation.

By then, it would be basically impossible for Germany to isolate France through diplomatic blockade. After all, other countries would try their best to maintain good relations with France even for the right of passage through the Suez Canal.

But then again, if you want to ensure the right of passage to the canal, it means you have to confront the British head-on.

In order to compete with the British, France contacted several countries at once, including their old rival Germany.

Why are the French willing to contact Germany?
The reason is very simple. First, Germany also has colonies on the east coast of Africa, and they also have requirements for passage through the Suez Canal.

Secondly, the German navy was not strong. Even if they had the right to pass through the Suez Canal, they could not pose a threat to the French navy.

In addition, bringing Germany on board would also increase momentum, forcing Britain to give up or cede control of most of the canal. This is also the reason why the French finally brought Germany on board.

In addition to the two superpowers, France and Germany, the French government also contacted Austria-Hungary, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. As long as these countries could unite, even Britain would have to choose to give in under the pressure of these countries.

(End of this chapter)