Iron Germany

Madrid, Spain. It is a beautiful city with a rich history. There are palatial buildings adorned everywhere. It's just that the passage of hundreds of years has made these buildings look a little mottled.

The Age of Discovery was undoubtedly the most powerful period for Spain. Spain controlled the most extensive colony in the world. A large amount of gold and silver shipped back from the Americas made Spain the richest country at that time.

But unfortunately, the Spaniards took those gold and silver and lived a rich life. But they didn't use the gold and silver to develop military power and industry, so that they were caught up by the rising Britain.

After the Armada attacked England, but suffered a disastrous defeat, Spain's national power suddenly plummeted. Although later, they also tried hard, such as jointly challenging Britain's maritime hegemony with France. However, all failed in the end. More than ten years ago, during the Spanish-American War, it was beaten all over the place by the emerging United States, and lost the last Cuban and Philippine colonies.

This made Spain completely lose its last ambitions and become a country immersed in its former glory.

King Alfonso XIII of Spain has also lost his ambitions. Because he knew that a powerful country dominating Europe had already appeared. If Spain can no longer figure out the situation, the consequences may be very serious.

However, Alfonso XIII did not want to get involved in disputes, but it did not mean that others would let him go.

On January 23, the British ambassador to Spain met with Spanish Foreign Minister Prieto, and the two had a two-hour meeting. After that, the British ambassador left the embassy with a smile on his face. After sending off the British ambassador, Prieto went directly to the palace to see Alfonso XIII.

"Your Majesty, the British are very sincere this time. They asked us to guarantee the safety of their garrison in Gibraltar, and they immediately returned Gibraltar to us! Your Majesty, this is a great thing! We must not miss it. How much Years later, all the kings of Spain hoped to take back Gibraltar, but because the British were too powerful, they failed to succeed, and now, the opportunity is in front of us!" Prieto persuaded.

Alfonso XIII hesitated, he knew that this was a rare opportunity for the Kingdom of Spain. If you miss it, there will be no such opportunity in the future. However, he was well aware of the Germans' plans for Gibraltar. If Spain regains Gibraltar at this time, it will definitely make the Germans angry. The weak Kingdom of Spain was simply unable to withstand the wrath of the German Empire. At that time, the Kingdom of Spain will be completely destroyed.

"Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of course we can take this opportunity to recover Gibraltar. But how will the Germans explain?" Alfonso XIII asked.

"This... Your Majesty, we have always claimed that Gibraltar is our inherent territory, and the Germans are aware of this. Therefore, if we want to regain Gibraltar, the Germans have nothing to say. What's more, the Germans are still There was no action against Gibraltar, maybe they have no intention of occupying Gibraltar?" Prieto continued to persuade.

Prieto is not a fool, otherwise he would not be the foreign minister. He naturally knew how risky it would be for Spain to regain Gibraltar. Once the anger of Germany is aroused, they will all be finished.

However, the reason why Prieto did this was entirely because the British gave him a lot of money. This made Prieto unable to refuse. Anyway, even if the Germans are offended, it has nothing to do with him as the foreign minister. He needn't have worried at all.

Alfonso XIII was very hesitant, he didn't want to take risks.

"Come on, find the prime minister." Alfonso XIII decided to listen to the prime minister's opinion.

Soon, Prime Minister Count Romanones rushed to the palace.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the British propose to return Gibraltar to us, as long as we ensure the safety of their troops stationed there." Alfonso XIII said. In a few words, the matter was made clear.

Count Romanones frowned suddenly.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is not very good! Then, how will we explain to the Germans?" Count Romanones said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, Gibraltar is our own territory. What do we need to explain to the Germans? This is an excellent opportunity for us! If we miss this opportunity, we will never have such an opportunity again ’” Prieto said.

Alfonso XIII was a little bit stuck. He was afraid of Germany, but at the same time, he didn't want to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If Gibraltar can be recovered, he will become the most outstanding king among the kings in the past few hundred years.

"But what should we do if the Germans are furious and even start war against us?" Earl Romanones asked.

"If the Germans are dissatisfied at that time, we can think of a way. After all, the Germans have not responded yet. If a fait accompli is created, the Germans should hold their noses and admit it! Although the Germans are the hegemony of the world. But the same , They can't grab the territory of other countries without any reason. In that case, how will other countries treat them?" Prieto said confidently. It's as if they regained Gibraltar first, and the Germans would voluntarily give up.

Count Romanones said no more, he looked at Alfonso XIII, waiting for his answer. After all, at this time, whether or not to agree to the British should be decided by Alfonso XIII. so as not to avoid liability in the future.

"Everyone, I want to try it! After all, the recovery of Gibraltar has always been the wish of the kings of all dynasties. Now, I finally have such an opportunity, and I don't want to just give up." Alfonso XIII said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Count Romanones and Prieto both replied.

On Prieto's face, there was even a trace of uncontrollable joy. After all, Alfonso XIII decided to accept the British terms, which meant that his task was accomplished. The remuneration given by the British was as high as millions of marks. That's a lot of money.

On January 24, 1916, the Spanish government announced that Gibraltar would be recovered from now on. Gibraltar was originally an inherent territory of Spain, and now it is once again under Spanish rule.