Chapter 619 - 293: Allied Expansion (Part 2)

There is no other way, the plan to delay France’s advance by selling weapons can only be temporarily shelved. Since the involved parties have all chosen a pro-peace stance, what can Spain do?

The perspective returns to Spain. After occupying more than a third of Oman’s territory, Carlo officially announced the establishment of the Oman Colony, and constructed a larger naval base in the colonial capital, Muscat, for the resupply of the Spanish Navy and civilian vessels along their route.

News of the addition of a new colony indeed caught the attention of Spaniards that day, but it quickly lost its heat.

After all, most of Oman is desert, and although the total land area is about half the size of Spain, the only developable lands are the northern mountains and coastal areas, with rather pitiful economic value.

Several events in 1883 are also worth mentioning.

First is the earthquake on July 28 in Ischia, Italy, which resulted in over 2,000 deaths and nearly 10,000 injuries.

This was a rare disaster. Upon learning of the Italian earthquake, Carlo and the Spanish Government immediately sent condolence telegrams to the Italian side, and donated some supplies.

Carlo, after all, was born into the Italian Royal Family and, in terms of bloodline, is certainly Italian. When Italy was struck by disaster, Carlo could not stand idly by; donating 1 million Pesseta also served to strengthen ties between Carlo and Italians.

The Spanish Government also amiably donated supplies to help the Italian Government better restore post-disaster order and rebuild affected areas.

In late September 1883, Emperor William I of Germany survived an unsuccessful assassination attempt.

It is worth mentioning that at the time, William I was riding in a custom car produced by the Royal Mercedes-Benz Company, which had steel plates added to the car windows.

This led to the assassination attempt failing, and aside from being startled, William I was not injured.

This success in preventing the assassination also drew the attention of European royals to the special custom cars introduced by Royal Mercedes-Benz.

These so-called special custom cars were essentially modified by sacrificing some speed. Steel plates were added to the car doors, windows, and windshields to maximize the safety of the occupants.

Of course, these steel plates significantly increased the car’s weight, resulting in a maximum speed of only 25 kilometers per hour, usually maintaining around 18 to 20 kilometers per hour.

Though these speeds aren’t fast, considering their safety, royals across Europe still purchased these custom cars in large numbers.

Moreover, compared with the speed of horses and carriages, even 20 kilometers per hour was faster than a carriage.

With various royal families leading the way, European nobles purchased these cars in large numbers, resulting in a significant increase in car sales in the second half of 1883, and each country’s factories made significant profits.

By the end of October, another piece of news brought Carlo’s attention back to the European situation.

Since the last formation of the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the European situation had remained unchanged. The French focused on overseas immigration and expansion, while the British were busy both expanding colonies and suppressing colonial revolts. Europe thus remained calm for a period.

But on October 30, 1883, the recently renamed Kingdom of Romania secretly joined the military alliance formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, leading Carlo to foresee the potential breaking of the Triple Alliance.

The reason Romania was willing to join the Triple Alliance was simple: Romania’s geographical location.

As the northernmost country among the Balkan Countries, Romania was effectively the first line of defense against Russia for the Balkan Countries.

However, due to Romania’s lack of strength, it needed external factors to ensure its security.

With common enemies, Austria-Hungary and Romania found mutual agreement and signed a mutual defense alliance treaty.

The treaty stipulated that if Romania’s borders were attacked, Austria-Hungary should immediately join Romania to assist in defense.

Similarly, if Austria-Hungary’s eastern borders were attacked, Romania should dispatch at least 100,000 troops to help defend Austria-Hungary.

Although not explicitly stated, the common enemy they were defending against was quite obvious. Only Russia would warrant such concern from Austria-Hungary and Romania, as the Balkan countries were not a match.

The Russians at this time were unaware that their allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, were secretly guarded against them, almost to the point of taking offensive action to resolve the threat.

Under the leadership of the new Tsar Alexander III, Russia during this period maintained a relatively low profile both internationally and regarding the Balkan situation.

However, the large landmass and population of Russia meant that European countries never relaxed their vigilance against it.

Even the most powerful British Empire believed that currently, the most threatening country in Europe was Russia.

As historically aligned, the formation of the Allies was faster than the Entente.