Chapter 632 - 298: The Advanced Berlin Conference

On the day after Prime Minister Gladstone met with the Portuguese ambassador, the British ambassador to Spain urgently sought an audience with King Carlo of Spain to communicate about the Portuguese colonial incident.

Rather than communication, it was more like an accountability session from the British regarding Spain’s attitude.

Yes, accountability.

Although the British ambassador’s attitude wasn’t as arrogant as it was toward Portugal, it also conveyed a tough stance.

The British ambassador spoke at length, the gist being that the Cairo to Cape Town line was Britain’s most important colonial plan in Africa, and no interference or disruption by any country would be tolerated.

The implication was that if Spain decided to stand with Portugal to disrupt Britain’s colonial plans, there could very likely be a war between Spain and Britain.

Carlo certainly did not accept the British threat. Although the British were indeed powerful, Spain had nothing to fear.

Present-day Spain was already confident enough to shake the table with other powers, and no great power wanted to completely fall out with Spain.

After all, many great powers existed on the European Continent, and a war with Spain would only cause injuries, giving other great powers an opportunity to take advantage.

Upon learning that Carlo wouldn’t back down because of this issue, the British ambassador’s face also showed a hint of dissatisfaction and anger.

In his view, as the world’s most powerful nation, the British Empire deserved some respect from Spain, even if it was a great power.

However, Carlo was, after all, the King of Spain. Even though he stood opposed to the British Government, the British ambassador dared not provocate Carlo with any behavior or words.

The Royal Family and the government represented different meanings in Europe. Provoking the government was merely competition at the national level, but provoking the King meant standing against the Monarchy itself.

Among European Royal Families, ties are deep, and everyone was part of one big family. Except in special circumstances, everyone preferred to maintain a facade of cordial relations.

The British ambassador left the Spanish Royal Palace with a face full of discontent, and the British Government received the relevant information later.

Meanwhile, in Spain, Carlo was preparing to counter the diplomatic pressure from the British Government.

Carlo did not intend for Spain to bear this pressure alone but planned to involve Italy and Austria-Hungary.

Carlo had a simple thought: to see if the British had the guts to push Spain towards Germany.

At worst, Carlo would directly announce joining the Triple Alliance, forming a super military group of four great powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain.

Even facing the Franco-Russian Alliance, this formidable lineup would have a chance to overpower the opposition directly.

After all, Russia currently had too many issues; rashly participating in a super war between multiple great powers would only hasten the outbreak of domestic problems.

Without Russia, a single France could not withstand the siege of the four great powers.

Germany, Italy, and Spain could attack France from three directions, and Austria-Hungary’s army could support Spain and Italy, while also engaging a large part of the French army on the southern border.

As long as Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain could occupy half of the French forces, Germany facing the remaining half of the French army would be like moving through an unguarded territory, rapidly capturing Paris.

This was also the reason why Carlo wasn’t afraid of the British regarding Portugal. At this time, the British weren’t planning to directly intervene in European affairs, and since Britain’s regional balance policy meant they couldn’t accept Spain joining Germany’s side, it also meant Britain couldn’t completely fall out with Spain.

Even though the complete fallout wouldn’t happen, there was room for negotiations. Spain, with the support of Austria-Hungary and Italy, was not afraid of Britain in diplomatic negotiations.

Moreover, before diplomatic negotiations, the goals Carlo wanted to achieve were mostly already accomplished. As long as the relationship between the British and Portuguese Governments, as well as the Portuguese people’s trust in the government and the Royal Family, could be alienated, the likelihood of Spain annexing Portugal in the future would increase significantly.

After Carlo, in the name of the Royal Family, contacted the Royal Families of Austria-Hungary and Italy, both Franz Joseph I and Umberto I expressed their support for Carlo.

The reason why the two countries agreed to support Spain was not only to draw Spain into the Triple Alliance but also due to their governments’ respective plans.

Austria-Hungary had no plans to colonize Africa but needed to counter Russia later. For Austria-Hungary, having one more ally would increase their odds against Russia.

As for Italy, they indeed had plans to colonize Africa. The Tunisian colony provided a good start for Italy and showed the Italian Government the benefits of African colonization.

Developing agriculture could bring Italy a significant income, and the wealthier the government, the smoother Umberto I’s planned military expansion would proceed.

After Tunisia, the Italian Government set their sights on two other regions: Libya in Northern Africa and the Abyssinian Empire in Eastern Africa.

These two colonies had one thing in common: they were located around British colonies.

Italy wanted to occupy these two colonies, which inevitably meant facing pressure from the British Government. This was also why Umberto I readily chose to support Carlo—because he also needed support from the Spanish Government under similar circumstances.