Rebirth of the Spanish Empire

Portugal became officially independent in 1582, but it was not until 1807 that Napoleon captured the Kingdom of Portugal and occupied Lisbon. It is precisely because of the British help that it was able to get rid of French rule, so the Portuguese royal family's gratitude to the British is naturally unspeakable.

However, most of the royal family and nobles had already fled to colonial Brazil at that time. Rio de Janeiro even temporarily became the capital of Portugal, becoming the first European country whose capital was not in Europe. But it happened before they could return. The liberal revolutionary movement, and then the new revolutionary parliament, demanded the cancellation of various privileges of the Portuguese royal family. As a result, the Portuguese royal family had differences on the issue of whether to return. Then Brazil had long been accustomed to being a kingdom under the direct rule of the Portuguese royal family. Rather than becoming a colony of other countries, the Chinese say they are second-class citizens. The Brazilians wanted to have a king, so they still opposed the Portuguese royal family's return to Lisbon. The king's son Pedro at the time decided to stay and opposed Portugal's decision to cancel the Portuguese royal family's management of Brazil. Joao VI acquiesced to his son's approach. , it was the father who went back and left his son with a way out.

The final result was that Portugal, which had been divided into two factions, finally lost its colonial dominance in Brazil, and Pedro became the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I, and was crowned on December 1, 1822. At this time, Portugal only had colonies in Africa. Unlike Spain, whose constitutional monarchy was formulated by King Alfonso, the Kingdom of Portugal was forced to accept it, so the two parties became a place of mutual checks and balances. Sometimes they even got into quarrels over a small political matter, but they also had a The common point is that there are several countries that cannot be punished, and that is the United Kingdom and Spain.

During the pro-British Pedro I's rule in Brazil, Portugal began to change its pro-Spanish policy. However, the Portuguese royal family also understood that it could not hang on a tree. In its African colonies, especially the colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea When Bissau is surrounded by Germany, Britain and the United States, it needs a buffer, which is to allow Spain to enter the two places for business. This can unlimitedly dispel the ambitions of Germany and Britain, especially now that Spain is beginning to become stronger. Other countries may not feel it deeply, but as neighbors, as the country closest to Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, they feel the changes in the Spanish Empire every day and every second. Without hesitation, they now begin to envy Spain.

Spain's rapid economic development has also benefited its country. After all, the railways between the two countries are connected from north to south, and the round trip time is shorter than that from France from south to north. It can be said that the two countries are an economic community. Too much. Therefore, Portugal also benefited a lot from Spain's development, especially in terms of providing raw materials to Spain. Of course, the tax revenue was not less, and even in order to meet the Spanish Empire's raw material needs, in order to win over them In the market, the Portuguese Empire and Italy actually faced direct competition, and the final result was that Portugal allowed the Spanish Empire to directly purchase raw materials from the Portuguese colonies. As compensation, the Spanish Empire allowed the Portuguese mainland to directly enter the Spanish market for business, and The same is true for Spain. In fact, it is like a free trade zone in later generations, and it is also the kind with zero tariffs.

When they were secretly rejoicing in Portugal, what they didn't know was that Alfonso and others were also secretly rejoicing. A good raw material supplier was very hard to come by, especially when this supplier was right next to the younger brother, because Alfonso knew that in the near future, as long as the Spanish Empire continued to develop, the Portuguese Empire would soon fall and become an economic and political dependency of the United States like Mexico and Canada in Central and North America. This country would be dominated by the United States. Generally speaking, this is indeed the case. After several years of hard work and development, it has finally come to fruition. ….

"After unremitting efforts by the Empire, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs working overtime day and night, we finally got through the work of the Portuguese royal family and the Constituent Assembly. They unanimously agreed to lease the Madeira Islands to the Empire for 100 years. The Empire is allowed to station troops in Guinea-Bissau, and the Empire is allowed to station troops in Huambo, Benguela, Namibe and other places in Angola in addition to Luanda (the capital in later generations). In Mozambique, after our careful reminder, Portugal also allowed The empire has stationed troops in Nampula and the port cities of Mozambique, Kalimane, Beira and Inhambane for the same period of 100 years. Of course, there are three stipulations that the empire cannot interfere with its rule in all colonies. Your Majesty, this This is the surprise our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given you this time, how about?"

"Yes, it deserves praise, but one thing is that I should designate the garrison area as our base instead of being too general. In this way, 10,000 square kilometers is the lowest bottom line. As for getting more, then The best, the most important thing is that there is a black and white letter for the Portuguese side and the local people to sign," Alfonso said meaningfully as he looked at Trini.

Ten thousand square kilometers around? even more? Trini's forehead is covered with black lines, damn, this is really difficult to do. He had to rush up and down to get permission from the Portuguese Empire for the garrison, but now the king wants to increase the pressure again, no Do you know if Portugal agrees? Forget it, as His Majesty the King said before, diplomacy, diplomacy is like a cheating person having a romantic relationship with the opposite sex. If it is too serious, it is better to stay warm at home with your wife. , having an affair itself requires a thick-skinned person, so that he can gain the approval of his wife internally and the ambiguous success of the lover externally. The same is true for diplomacy. We must pursue foreign affairs while maintaining patriotic enthusiasm at home. The best diplomats should maintain the two necessary sentiments of street hawking and gentlemanly manners both internally and externally. This is one of the most important qualifications for diplomats.

As for those who are fighting to the death from beginning to end, they are just negotiators. A person who has always behaved like a gentleman is just the kind of layman who stands outside the door and looks inside, acting as a generous person who stands by to watch people eat meat and can only drink soup.

As Trini, who considered himself one of the best diplomats in the 20th century, how could he give in to the difficulties of the diplomacy industry? So he firmly answered that he could do it. As for whether it can really be done, that will be known later.

What Trini did could really be said to have brought a surprise to Alfonso. Although this idea had long existed in his mind, he knew that sooner or later Portugal would agree if the Spanish Empire went to talk to Portugal. But what I didn't expect was that it would happen so quickly. This way, I could be more indulgent and prepare for the catastrophic man-made disaster a few years later at my own pace. It can maximize the interests of the Spanish Empire. Perhaps, this time the British should be able to leave Spanish territory. Alfonso has to be said to have completely integrated into this role. He has truly become the King of Spain, and his perspective on the world has also changed from his own. The current position is the same.

Whenever he saw the ironic southern spot on the map of the country under his rule, he felt very heartbroken. Yes, which country would like to see its territory painted on it by other countries? This circle is said to be an area they control, and even this area can still contain the existence of this country. The Strait of Gibraltar is Spain's lifeline. It would have been very gratifying to control Sebte and Melilla in southern Morocco, but Gibraltar at one end of the country is occupied by the hateful British. This was a hard slap in the face for the Spaniards. As for him, the king, his face gets hot every time he sees it. ….

Gibraltar must be taken back, but Britain is famous for its strength. If you want it to hand over this very important strategic location, it will not be an ordinary hardship. It can only be done in extraordinary times, and Alfonso Alfonso finally discovered that apart from the First World War that threatened the British mainland, there was really nothing that could be done. This result made Alfonso a little helpless, but there was nothing he could do. Just like his own country's colonies, under the strong influence In front of an enemy, he can only shrink down and protect himself. The most important thing at the moment is revenge. As for revenge, it won't matter until his ability is achieved.

Conversations with government officials gave Alfonso a clear idea. If the world were ranked according to comprehensive strength, based on Alfonso's current understanding and knowledge of articles in later generations, he got a simple ranking: Britain is first, Germany is second, France is third, and the United States is fourth and fifth. However, the Russian Empire and Spain, which have more than one million troops, are temporarily tied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which has a very powerful army because of its navy. Fifth, Italy, Japan, Ottoman Turkey, and China are in order.

If there had been no Spanish Empire, the ranking after World War I would have been the United States first, the United Kingdom second, France third, Japan jumping to fourth, and Germany, which was crippled. Britain and France were still afraid that the Tsarist Empire would threaten them if it became stronger, so they wanted Germany as a shield to continue to block Tsarist Russia's westward route. As a result, Germany became the fifth existence without being significantly weakened. Tsarist Russia lost its position in the top five due to the intrusion of Japan, followed by Italy in seventh place. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had already been disintegrated in World War I. After the eighth and ninth, there is China, which has a large number of people, and the Ottoman Turkey, which has been suppressed by Britain and Tsarist Russia. Finally, there is Belgium, which has a small population but strong military force and is supported by Britain.

The emergence of the Spanish Empire has attracted attention. I wonder how far it can reach after the war. Alfonso didn't know the bottom line either, but he believed that he would lead it to the right track and not get hurt again, for sure, he firmly believed.

As of 20 o'clock, today's collections are all Grand Slams, already 310 and 4 short. Friends, do you still have tickets? Don’t forget to recommend it either. There is another chapter that will be published when the 24-point money is almost alive. The weather is too cold, so you can wait or wait. Just remember to support tomorrow. Anyway, there will be three updates before 12 o'clock tomorrow night, and it is already ranked 15th.

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