Empire Rising: Spain

After all, there is not much difference in language and culture between the two sides, and Spain is in the process of rapid development, offering numerous job opportunities that many Portuguese cannot resist.

Once the railway is connected, it becomes much more convenient for Portuguese to travel to Spain. The direct distance from Lisbon to Madrid is just over 500 kilometers, and even factoring in the time required for border formalities, it definitely won’t take 24 hours if taking the currently faster trains.

This will become quite challenging for the Portuguese Government. If they do not control this population outflow, Portugal’s population will continue to decrease.

But if they impose controls, what reason should they use to prevent this population outflow? If public dissatisfaction arises, it may lead to Portuguese people becoming more resentful towards the government, which could bring about even bigger problems.

Carlo certainly knows that doing so will cause many problems for the Portuguese Government, but who really cares?

Spain has only so many neighboring countries on its road, they certainly won’t turn their eyes to England and France.

Apart from England and France, Portugal is the only neighboring country that Spain can contemplate. In matters concerning national interests, these are not things that familial relations can obstruct.

Moreover, at present, Carlo has no plans to annex Portugal, but merely intends to introduce a portion of Portuguese people through railway connections, while leveraging Portugal to promote Spain’s development.

As time entered May 1877, another important piece of information also changed the situation on the Balkan Peninsula, which is the statement from another participant of the Triple Alliance, Germany.

For Germany, the choice in this Balkan War is very difficult. Germany’s ally Russia is one of the participants in the war, while another ally is the opponent of Russia.

If Germany chooses lightly, it would clearly offend another ally.

Both allies, Russia and Austria-Hungary, are major powers and are both important executors of Prime Minister Bismarck’s isolation strategy against France.

For Germany, choosing any one ally would disrupt Germany’s own diplomatic plans. Therefore, the best choice is to remain neutral, not express any stance, and avoid losing either ally.

However, as the Balkan Peninsula situation developed, Germany ultimately had to choose between the two allies.

The relationship between allies is not just talk; it’s about providing assistance at crucial moments. If allies cannot offer help, then why enter into such an alliance?

Before declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, Tsar Alexander II personally sent a telegram to German Emperor William I to seek the support of Germans.

For Russia, Germany’s support is extremely important. Firstly, German support could ensure Austria-Hungary remains inactive, as Austria-Hungary’s way to defeat Russians depends on German support.

Secondly, with German support, Russia can ensure that throughout the entire war, there would be no worries.

The vast Russian territory would continuously transport supplies to the front lines, with Russia having sufficient confidence to win this war against the Ottoman Empire.

In the end, Germans chose Russia among Russia and Austria-Hungary.

Regarding the relationship within the Triple Alliance, Germany and Russia share a purely ally relationship, while Austria-Hungary acts more like an admirer.

Austria-Hungary actively approached Germany, and before Austria-Hungary showed weakness, the relationship between Germany and Austria was adversarial.

Compared to Austria, who fought a war with Germany just a few years ago, Germans obviously trust Russia more, which poses no threatening interest.

At least in Prime Minister Bismarck’s isolation strategy against France, Russia’s role is more critical than Austria-Hungary.

Currently, Germans are most concerned about the hatred between Germany and France, while there is not much conflict of interest with Russia, which is why Germany ultimately chose Russia.

With the support of Germans, the upcoming matters became easier.

Without Russian support, Austria-Hungary simply does not have the courage to wage war against Russia, which implies that Russia has hope of ensuring Austria-Hungary remains completely neutral in this war through diplomacy alone.

Russia indeed achieved this. Austria-Hungary indeed lacked the courage to initiate a war solely against Russia, even though there’s a probability of British supporting Austria-Hungary.

In the case where Russia promised Austria-Hungary the annexation of Bosnia and Serbia, Austria-Hungary ultimately chose to maintain neutrality in this war, abandoning the idea of interfering in this war.

Austria-Hungary’s proactive abandonment also exposed a greater crisis to the British.

Without Austria-Hungary’s interference, Russia only needs to focus on dealing with the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire has long ceased to be Russia’s opponent; if Russia is allowed to attack the Ottoman Empire without restraint, Constantinople may become Russia’s by next year.

To assist the Ottoman Empire in resisting Russia’s attack, the British, who claim to have converted to Islam, led by Hobart, commanded Turkey’s fleet to blockade the Black Sea, preventing Russians from transporting supplies to the front lines by sea.

Speaking of Hobart, he once served in the British Royal Navy and retired as a naval captain more than ten years ago.

After retiring, Hobart went to the Ottoman Empire and converted to Islam, awarded the title of Pasha by the Ottoman Empire.