Chapter 15

The fact that Spain had a revolution and established a Provisional Government has received the attention of many countries in Europe.

After the Spanish parliament announced that it would not abolish the monarchy and would look for a new king, many countries maintained a mentality of watching the fun, and were also curious about which lucky person would serve as the new King of Spain.

But soon, the French government could not laugh.

Because according to news from Spain, among the many candidates for the King of Spain, Prince Leopold of the House of Hohenzollern was at the forefront and was very likely to become the next King of Spain.

(There are many Prince Leopolds in Germany, that is, Leopold. The candidate for the throne here is Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, not the one in Bavaria. Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern is the father of King Ferdinand I of Romania.)

This is fatal to the French. Prussia alone has already posed a huge threat to France. Especially after defeating Austria, the threat Prussia brought to France was unprecedented.

If someone from the House of Hohenzollern obtained the Spanish crown, France would face a situation of being caught in a pincer attack by Prussia and Spain.

Although Spain is not a powerful country, it can only barely be a second-rate country in Europe. But Spain is located in the south of France and has the Pyrenees as a natural defensive line.

Prussia only needs to hoard less than 100,000 troops in Spain to cause great trouble to the French and threaten many cities in southern France.

On June 21, 1869, the angry French government expressed strong opposition to the Spanish government and the German government, and stated that when Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern was crowned King of Spain, it would be the time for France to declare war on Prussia and Spain.

The threat of the European hegemon was still very useful. Under such a threat, King Wilhelm I of Prussia also flinched, and even publicly stated that he did not approve of his cousin Prince Leopold inheriting the Spanish throne.

The Spanish government was also a little panicked. If a war broke out with France because of their choice of king, it would undoubtedly be more than worth the loss.

Wilhelm I's retreat made the French government very satisfied, and they also relaxed their vigilance against Prussia, which had just defeated Austria.

The French ambassador to Prussia even asked to see Wilhelm I in early July and conveyed the attitude of French Emperor Napoleon III that he hoped Wilhelm I could guarantee that he would not demand the candidate qualification that had already been abandoned in the future.

Such a request was absolutely rude, which made Wilhelm I, who originally intended to retreat, feel dissatisfied.

The French would never have thought that even with Wilhelm I taking the lead in retreating, there were even more stubborn guys in Germany who had already prepared for the war with France in advance.

Wilhelm I, who was treated rudely by the French ambassador, was a little annoyed. On the same day, he sent an urgent telegram to his Prime Minister Bismarck, hoping that Bismarck could come up with a reasonable way to solve the crisis Prussia was facing.

But Wilhelm I did not expect that Bismarck's so-called way to solve the crisis was to defeat France by war, that is, to solve the problem itself.

After receiving Wilhelm I's telegram, Bismarck did not have any panic, and even a smile appeared on his face.

After asking Chief of General Staff Moltke whether he was sure of winning the war against France and getting an affirmative answer, Bismarck decided not to wait.

He significantly modified the content of Wilhelm I's telegram, deleting all the words about long-term planning and euphemistic retreat, and added some words to stimulate the French government and officials at the end of the telegram: "Due to your country's unreasonable demands and attitude, King Wilhelm I decided to refuse to approach the French ambassador from now on, and only through this telegram to inform your country that there is nothing left to talk about between our two countries."

Although this telegram used to stimulate the French government was not sent directly to the French government's radio station, it was published in major Prussian newspapers in the form of news and spread to the whole of Europe through all Prussian diplomatic missions abroad.

Prussia's firm attitude caused an uproar in the French government, which also made the originally proud French government completely angry.

Perhaps Gao Da did not expect that his slight action directly affected the world and made the Franco-Prussian War break out a year earlier.

On July 11, 1869, the angry French government expelled the Prussian ambassador to France after a few days of preparation and announced the war between the two countries to the Prussian ambassador to France with a blank face.

But the French did not see the expected panic and tension on the face of the Prussian ambassador. They could only watch the Prussian ambassador walk out of the embassy with a relaxed face and board the train back to Prussia.

More confused than the French was King Wilhelm I of Prussia. Although Wilhelm I was angry because of the rudeness of the French, he really did not think about going to war with the French at such a moment.

But things had reached such a point that Wilhelm I could not stop the war. On July 12, Wilhelm I announced a general mobilization in the North German Confederation and called on all states in the confederation to fight for Germany.

Prussia called this war the German-French War, trying to require all states to send troops and contribute by uniting Germany.

And the French also called this war the French-German War, and the grievances between the French and the German region were not a matter of one or two days.

This war, which was larger in scale than the Austro-Prussian War, broke out with lightning speed, which made the Spanish government, which was theoretically the direct cause of the Franco-Prussian War, a little unexpected.

However, in such a situation, no matter who wins the Franco-Prussian War, Prince Leopold of Prussia is no longer suitable to become the King of Spain.

Coupled with the fact that Prince Leopold himself publicly stated that he refused to inherit the Spanish throne, although it was more because Wilhelm I stood up to oppose it, it was after all Prince Leopold himself who gave it up.

After these various events, the five candidates for the Spanish throne were left with only two princes of the Italian House of Savoy.

Whether Amadeo or Gao Da becomes the King of Spain, Savoy will be the final winner.

Leaving aside the advantage that both have in the House of Savoy, Amadeo's advantage is that he is six years older and more mature and stable. Gao Da's advantage is that he has a friendly reputation that may be more recognized by the Spanish, and is more likely to support reform.

If starting from the aspect of reform, Primo undoubtedly supports Gao Da more to become the King of Spain. After all, although Primo supports the monarchy, he is a thorough reformist.

And Serrano is more like a neutral faction between reformists and conservatives, and can also be classified as a royalist faction of the noble line.

Both of them could not make up their minds between Amadeo and Gao Da. For the stability of the Kingdom of Spain, Primo decided to go to Italy to inspect the two princes in person and determine the final candidate for the King of Spain in this inspection.

Serrano agreed to Primo's proposal and stated that he would support either Amadeo or Gao Da to become the King of Spain and was willing to be loyal to the new king.

Second update, seeking support!

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(End of this chapter)