The Sun Never Sets In Spain

The Pope has invited many times, and Alfonso will be a little confused if he drags on.

Only in mid-August, together with Henry, Andrew and others, embarked on a journey to Rome.

Originally, he planned to go after France began to reduce the garrison, feeling the crisis of life and death, the Holy See can put down the shelf.

But judging from the urgency of the pope, it may be possible to achieve satisfactory results this time.

Early in the morning, they took a steam train to Toulon on the southeastern coast of France, the capital of the Var department in the Provence region.

In addition to being a commercial port, the Port of Toulon is also one of the most important military ports in France and the home port of the French Mediterranean fleet.

The reason why Alfonso chose to embark from here instead of choosing other more prosperous ports was to meet the second most powerful navy of this era.

The result did not disappoint him. The distance between the military port and the commercial port was so close that they just stood on the deck of a merchant ship, and they could see the battleships lined up neatly one after another.

"Are those all steam ironclad ships?" Alfonso asked the merchant port manager beside him.

The manager smiled and said: "Yes, the one closest to us is Corolla. Next to her are Glory, Solferino, Normandy...These are all ironclad ships."

Alfonso was a little bit emotional. Just the battleships under his gaze were almost comparable to all of Spain's naval power.

It is true that many of these French warships are wooden hulled ships with a layer of iron armor riveted on the outside, but they were already excellent warships that can be used in 1869, at least for wooden ships, it is a dimensionality reduction attack.

Spain has also built some iron armored ships, and there are even real iron armored ships inside, but the number is relatively rare, far from being comparable to France.

On the one hand, Spain's shipbuilding industry itself lags behind France, on the other hand, the recent domestic turmoil, serious deficits, and no money for shipbuilding.

The cost of the Corolla alone is as high as 6 million francs. Therefore, the navy is a real game of great power, and only the great powers are worthy of participation.

Since the emergence of steam iron armored ships has only been 10 years old, the current European naval power should not only look at the original stock, but also focus more on the reaction of various countries and the speed of building new ships.

The current rankings are Britain, France, Italy, Austro-Hungary, Spain, Russia, and the rest of Europe, including the mighty Prussia, have not kept pace for the time being.

Except for the British navy, which has tonnage equivalent to more than 60% of the total tonnage of the next five countries, France is the strongest except for the world.

It is a pity that France and Prussia border, these powerful navies will not have much effect in the next war.

The manager’s words were full of pride. As many as Jiazhen’s introduced all the battleships, he finally proposed: "Your Royal Highness, you can go to the military port to take a closer look. The Navy should not refuse."

Alfonso shook his head. The French Navy is not the Royal Navy, but the National Navy. People from other countries must apply for entry in advance. He doesn't want to be honest.

Departing Toulon by boat, after a day of sailing on the calm Mediterranean Sea, they arrived at Rome, the famous eternal city.

To be honest, although the name is loud, the development of Rome is not as good as Paris. After all, one is the capital of the top powers, which can absorb labor from all over the world, and the other is the capital of a small papal state, everything can only rely on itself.

However, the strength of Rome is that it has been built for more than 2000 years and has a long history, far better than Paris. Naturally, there are many places of interest and historical sites, and there are also various religious buildings.

No matter in the past and present, including the memory of the original owner, he has never been to Rome, and Alfonso really wants to stroll around.

But when you come to Rome, you must visit the Pope as soon as possible, otherwise you will not be able to set up a pious personality.

Due to the inconvenience of communication, the Pope only knows that they will come in the next few days, but does not know when they will come.

Therefore, they can only wait in St. Peter's Basilica. Rome is very hot these days. It is estimated that the Pope has found a castle to escape the heat. Of course, he must still be in Rome.

The Pope did not leave him alone, and it didn't take long for Alfonso to see Pius IX, who was over 70 years old, in an inner room.

Pius IX was surprised when he saw Alfonso at the beginning. Although he had seen his portrait, the real person was much better than the painting.

It is said that religious personnel do not believe in God, but it is not entirely correct. Priests, especially high-ranking priests like the pope, even though they feel that the possibility of the existence of God is not high, or that they disdain mortals at all.

But after all, it is a career for which I have been fighting for a lifetime. Normal people will have expectations, and Pius IX will always look forward to any signs that can prove the existence of God.

But the miracle never came. In this case, it is said that people were created by gods, and he believed that the more perfect the appearance, the closer to the gods, and the more able to prove the existence of gods in the vagueness.

In this case, the Pope’s enthusiasm made Alfonso a little flattered. Not only was the meeting a prayer and blessing, but he also praised his glorious deeds for the church’s face.

Alfonso didn't know what glorious thing he had done deserves the pope's boast. Is it the Red Cross? But he is a patron, so you are right to tell Henry.

In any case, since the pope is so enthusiastic, Alfonso can't hold the air. For a while, the room is full of lively and friendly atmosphere.