Wild North America 1846

Chapter 533 The Void Spanish Throne

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 533 The Void Spanish Throne

Richard walked down Longevity Hill with unfinished joy. From a distance, he saw the new Prime Minister, Earl Dong Jie and Director Zheng Yuan, who had won the election for Prime Minister of the Cabinet. They were standing by him with respectful expressions. They must have something important to do.

report?

come near

All the ministers saluted one after another, and Emperor Richard raised his hand and said, "My beloved sir, please excuse yourself and please wait a moment."

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness."

"Well, don't be formal."

Richard took the hot towel offered by the palace maid, cleaned his face, applied the secret Jiuzhen Facial Milk, and changed into a light robe. Then he moved to the palace pavilion at the foot of Wanshou Mountain, and took the lead in sitting on the Nine Dragon Jade

On the couch, he waved everyone to sit down and report back.

The exquisitely carved Kowloon Jade Couch is carved from a single piece of beautiful jade and weighs 13.6 tons. It took more than 30 skilled jade carving masters two and a half years to complete. It is a unique treasure.

Only the filigree enamel craftsmanship around the base of the Kowloon royal couch, all inlaid barefoot gold wire, used 64 kilograms of gold, and the inlaid diamonds and other gemstones weighed 21.5 kilograms.

Yes, diamonds and other precious stones are all measured in kilograms. They are so luxurious and lavish, and such a huge investment.

Three huge snow-white lion skins were laid on the Kowloon Royal (Note; same as "Jade") couch, without any color, extremely precious.

Richard was sitting safely on the royal couch, holding a dragon and phoenix jade cup in his hand and drinking tea.

The furnishings in this place called the "Wanshou Hall" are all rare treasures. The huge rosewood wooden shelf behind the throne is heavy and thick, with a height of 3.6 meters and a circle of about 24 meters long. It is filled with dazzling items.

Various treasures.

After taking two sips of water, Richard put down the dragon and phoenix jade cup and said, "Tell me, why did Dong Aiqing enter the palace urgently?"

"Your Majesty, the latest news from Europe shows that Queen Isabella II of Spain, who is in exile in France, has officially announced her abdication. This shocking news has caused a strong response in the European society. Countries such as Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia are paying close attention to this matter.

.In particular, Prince Leopold may inherit the Spanish throne, which has caused great anger in the French Empire..." Prime Minister Dong Jie reported with a respectful look.

Queen Isabella II of Spain, that whore?

Richard frowned slightly;

Over the years, the Spanish monarchy has been in chaos and turmoil. From 1843 to 1868, which was the period when Isabella II was in charge, the French Revolution was coming one after another, and the Kingdom of Spain was greatly affected.

The liberal opposition in Spain is growing day by day. This period of internal affairs is characterized by endless palace intrigues and coup revolutions. The rapid changes in the royal government have caused frequent social unrest in Spain and accumulated a lot of problems.

Queen Isabella II relied on frequent changes of government to cope with the crisis. In 25 years, Spain changed 34 governments, promulgated 7 constitutions, launched 15 riots, and various sycophant groups came to power one after another.

Virtue did not match her, and Isabella II lived a life of dissolute decadence, and sometimes interfered in domestic politics in willful and irrational ways, which caused greater chaos.

The queen particularly favored the reactionaries in the army and the church, which made her even more detestable in the hearts of the Spaniards. She was on the verge of madness and death, and finally lost her throne.

She narrowly escaped assassination attempts twice, but narrowly escaped them both times.

Until 1868, Queen Isabella II of Spain was overthrown due to her debauched private life and political chaos, and fled to France to take refuge in embarrassment, leaving the throne vacant.

Isabella II was a close relative of the French Bourbon dynasty and was related to Napoleon III, so the French had a great say in the succession to the Spanish throne.

from 1868 to 1870

For more than two years, the vacant Spanish throne has attracted great attention from various European countries. It has become a source of fat that royal families of all countries are eager to compete for. It is also the biggest unstable factor affecting the situation in Europe. European powers such as Britain, France and Prussia are all involved, and no one is involved.

One exception.

in the selection of possible candidates for the Spanish throne;

Prince Leopold of the Hohenzollern family of King Wilhelm I of Prussia seemed to be a candidate. Unfortunately, the news leaked in early February 1870, which greatly angered French Emperor Napoleon III and Foreign Minister Duke Grammont, triggering a sharp conflict between France and Prussia.

contradiction.

The Duke of Grammont of the French dynasty threatened William I and asked him to promise that he would never touch the Spanish throne.

After explaining the current international situation in general terms, Prime Minister Dong Jie finally said;

"...

As a powerful empire with great influence in the world today, all the powerful countries in Europe have consulted us about Datang's opinions and tendencies. The French Foreign Minister Duke de Delamont personally wrote a letter in the hope of coordinating the positions between the two countries.

The empire's opinion is undoubtedly a heavyweight statement, which will affect the situation on the European continent to a considerable extent and is valued by European countries.

Cavour, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, wrote a special handwritten letter for this purpose, hoping that the Empire could support the Italian Prince Amadeo de Savoy as the monarch of Spain.

Nowadays, the European political arena is turbulent, especially the conflicts between France and Prussia are becoming increasingly acute.

Our Prussian allies have recently increased their efforts to import supplies from the Reich, especially large orders for high explosives, artillery shells and fully loaded rifle cartridges, as well as large amounts of war preparation supplies. This situation is very similar to that on the eve of the Austro-Prussian War.

For field ration beef jerky alone, the Kingdom of Prussia sent an order for 2,600 tons, and the request was urgent.

In a secret letter, Prime Minister Bismarck frankly admitted that the Kingdom of Prussia was basically ready for war with France.

At this changing moment

I sincerely request Your Majesty to formulate the policy towards Europe, so that all ministers of the imperial government and cabinet will not hesitate before and after, unify their stance, and use a unified voice to deal with the outside world."

Emperor Richard did not express his opinion immediately after hearing this. He held a delicate jade toy in his hand and gently rubbed it. After thinking about it for a moment, he asked: "Dong Aiqing, what's your opinion?"

"Your Majesty, the ministers are inclined to agree with the opinion of Italian Prime Minister Cavour and support His Royal Highness Prince Amadeo de Savoy of the Kingdom of Italy as the new king of Spain. This should be a safer solution at the moment."

"What's the reason?"

"Your Majesty, the background of Prince Leopold, who is supported by the Germans, is too complicated. He is a cousin of Queen Victoria of England. If he ascends to the Spanish throne, his influence will be too great, and he will not be able to lose it. This is not in the interest of the French Empire, nor is it

It is not in the interest of our Datang."

“There are so many troubles in Europe!” Emperor Richard sighed, then waved his hands and said, “Then stand with Britain and Prussia and unequivocally support Prince Leopold’s succession to the Spanish throne.

"

Prime Minister Count Dong Jie was obviously stunned when he heard this. He hesitated and saluted, "Please forgive me for being ignorant. Your Majesty, this is..."

"Compared with the gratitude of the Kingdom of Italy, the weight of the gratitude of Britain and Prussia is heavier." Emperor Richard smiled wisely and said softly: "Don't worry... Dong Aiqing, under the strong opposition of the French Empire, Leopold

It is impossible for the prince to inherit the throne of Spain, otherwise Europe will have to fight a war. It's just a favor. If you want to give a favor, naturally choose the heavy one. I believe Bismarck will thank the empire for its help and send more orders for military supplies."

"Your Majesty is wise, I understand." Prime Minister Dong Jie suddenly realized this and bowed his head to the ground with an expression of admiration.

His Majesty the Emperor is experienced in accidents and looks at the continental disputes from a higher vantage point in international affairs. He is able not to be fooled by the brilliance of the surface and can go straight to the essence of the problem at a glance.

No matter how European issues evolve, they will always remain in a non-mainstream position in the interests of the Tang Empire.

I didn’t choose the Kingdom of Italy just because it doesn’t have enough weight!

Earl Dongjie led the "National Power Party" to victory in the general election held at the end of November last year, and was officially sworn in as Prime Minister of the Cabinet in January 1870 for a term of five years. This was a political change that had been planned long ago.

Since then, the Tang Empire has formed a situation where two major parties take turns taking power. One is the stubborn conservative "Royal Party" rooted in Chinese voters, also known as the "Yellow Party", which is the "National Power Party".

The other advocates a "blue party" that represents the interests of all voters of all ethnic groups, namely the "Justice and Democratic Freedom Party" led by former cabinet Prime Minister Duke Ryu Hyun-gun, referred to as the "Gong Lai Party".

before lunar new year

The handover between the two parties was successfully completed, and the "National Power Party" once again entered the core of the political stage of the Tang Empire and will influence the political landscape in the next five years.

Count Dong Jie can be said to have been a wife for many years and finally reached the pinnacle of her political career and began to write her own legend. This is a gratifying event.

In domestic affairs, Count Dong Jie can be said to be a man of action who has stepped forward step by step, with extremely rich resume and experience.

However, he still has insufficient experience in international affairs.

Chaos has emerged in Europe today. The French Empire, which finally broke free from the shackles of the Alliance of Three Emperors, suddenly found out after more than ten years of joyful growth;

A powerful rival appeared on the European continent, namely the rapidly rising Kingdom of Prussia.

Britain openly stood on the side of the Kingdom of Prussia and tried to forcefully check and balance the European hegemony of the French dynasty. This simply made Napoleon III jump out of anger and cursed "the British are so stupid."

Over the years, France has followed the British with no credit and hard work. In the Crimean War alone, the French army paid the price of hundreds of thousands of casualties and was the main force in the frontal battlefield against the Russian army.

If you say you're going to fall out, you're going to fall out, and you won't show any affection at all.

Although the French were aggressive on the surface, they made excessive demands to William I of the Kingdom of Prussia to merge parts of Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt on the west bank of the Rhine with France, until they were very panicked in their hearts.

The British had quietly weaved a large anti-French network, even including the Tang Dynasty and the North and South of the United States on the other side of the Atlantic. This made Napoleon III unable to sit still and smelled danger.

(End of chapter)