Chapter 332: Kaiser Dies Again, Canal Struggle

Similar to what Gao Da expected, while Germany was holding a funeral for Wilhelm I, France was also discussing whether to launch a war against Germany.

Gao Da could know the news not because the Royal Security Intelligence Agency's intelligence work was so excellent, but because the quarrel between France's war faction and peace faction about whether to launch a war against Germany had been placed on the table.

France's war faction and peace faction had a big quarrel over this, and the two sides almost fought in the parliament. The war faction accused the peace faction of being a group of cowards who feared the enemy and forgot the country's shame for their own interests.

The peace faction accused the war faction of being reckless people who did not care about the situation and did not even care about France's diplomatic situation for the sake of revenge on Germany.

The quarrel between the two sides was quite intense, and the news of the relevant debate was even reported by French media, becoming one of the hot topics for the people of European countries.

When Gao Da learned that the war faction and peace faction within the French parliament were having an intense quarrel, Gao Da knew that France basically could not launch a war against Germany.

If France really had a relevant war plan, they could not leak their plan in such a funny way. Things are done in secret; France would definitely carry out secret preparations before launching a war, and by the time other countries discovered it, the war would have already started.

The situation of arguing endlessly now looked more like a play performed by the two factions to win the support of the French people. Relatively radical people would naturally support the ideas of the war faction, and relatively rational people would consider the views of the peace faction more.

For the parties of both sides, they did not need to pay any price to win the support of the people for themselves, which was absolutely a business that would not lose money.

From the fact that the French Prime Minister went to Germany in person to participate in Wilhelm I's funeral, it could also be seen that the French government itself did not want to break out a war with Germany. For France, perhaps what they wanted was also long-term stability and peace.

On the German side, for the possible trouble from the French government, Chancellor Bismarck also had sufficient preparations.

Because the new emperor Frederick III could not meet guests, Chancellor Bismarck became his representative with full authority, responsible for meeting all guests who came to Germany to participate in the funeral.

Naturally, Chancellor Bismarck's meeting list also included Franz Joseph I and Umberto I.

In a private meeting room prepared by the German government, Chancellor Bismarck, Franz Joseph I, and Umberto I held a secret meeting and reaffirmed the content of the Three Emperors' Alliance treaty, indicating that the diplomatic alliance relationship between the three countries would not change because of any accidents.

After the representatives of the three countries promised that the treaty would not change, it was clear that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Currently, the Three Emperors' Alliance of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy was clearly in a state of relying on each other and needing each other.

This also led to the very close relationship between the three countries that signed the treaty, which would not lead to the termination of the treaty because of Wilhelm I's death.

This Three Emperors' Alliance treaty was the real trump card of Chancellor Bismarck to deal with the possible trouble from France. The content of the current Three Emperors' Alliance treaty was still quite secret, and no other country knew that these three countries had already concluded a military alliance treaty.

It was precisely because of this that Russia did not completely lean toward France, but chose to stand on two boats, both accepting the help of French capital and not willing to completely break with Germany.

Bismarck had the confidence to give France a fatal blow relying on the Three Emperors' Alliance treaty at such a moment of turmoil. If the French dared to actively launch a war, Chancellor Bismarck would be like the last Franco-Prussian War, once again arriving under the city of Paris, and letting the French government sign a compensation as high as 5 billion francs.

Fortunately, the French government did not have the plan to launch a war for the time being, and for a while, it was unclear whether the war not breaking out was a good thing or a bad thing for Germany and France.

Wilhelm I's funeral was held very quickly, and the scale of the funeral was still relatively large. As the first emperor of the German Empire, the Germans' recognition of Wilhelm I's contribution was still quite high.

On the day of the burial, tens of thousands of Germans appeared on the streets of Berlin. Everyone looked at the stone coffin carrying Wilhelm I reluctantly, and did not stop until Wilhelm I was sent to the burial place.

After the funeral ended, the representatives of various countries participating in the funeral also left Germany very quickly.

It was just that many countries' diplomatic representatives were still paying attention to the situation in Germany, the most important of which was the physical condition of the new emperor Frederick III.

Not disappointing Gao Da, Frederick III quickly repeated the name in history, and passed away quickly within less than 100 days of becoming emperor, and the German imperial throne quickly fell to the head of Crown Wang Chu Wilhelm.

Less than 100 days after Wilhelm I's funeral ended, Germany held a funeral for the emperor again. The frequent changes in the German imperial throne attracted the attention of European countries, and this extremely unfortunate emperor Frederick III, who was in power for less than 100 days, was also jokingly called the Hundred Days Emperor by European media and the public.

It was clear that the frequent changes of the imperial throne were a heavy blow to Germany's international status and influence. Chancellor Bismarck handled two funerals of emperors in succession, and it could be clearly seen that this already old chancellor's body was already hunched at this time, and his spirit was not as good as it was a few years ago.

Spain still sent Prime Minister Canovas to participate in the funeral of Kaiser Frederick III of Germany, and Prime Minister Canovas could also be considered familiar with Germany's funeral.

It is worth mentioning that Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and King Umberto I of Italy did not choose to participate in this funeral, but sent their crown prince Rudolf and Crown Wang Chu Victor Emmanuel respectively.

Emperor Franz Joseph I's only son, Rudolf, had not yet had an accident. According to historical records, Crown Wang Chu Rudolf would commit suicide with his mistress next year.

It was still the middle of 1888, and this crown prince had not yet reached such an extreme situation.

As for the Crown Wang Chu Victor Emmanuel sent by King Umberto I of Italy, he also had a certain reputation in history.

The reason why Italy repeatedly jumped back and forth in the First World War and finally betrayed the Triple Alliance to join the Entente was partly because of the decision of the then King Victor Emmanuel III, who was the then Crown Wang Chu Victor Emmanuel.

The Italian royal family still had a certain amount of power; before Mussolini seized power, the Italian king had a certain right to govern in person.

After Victor Emmanuel II unified Italy, the Italian people were very welcoming to the House of Savoy.

This also allowed his successor Umberto I to obtain considerable power, and even promoted the expansion of Italy's army and navy.

Naturally, the next heir to the throne, Victor Emmanuel III, also obtained a part of the power.

It was just that unlike Umberto I, who firmly stood with Germany and Austria, Victor Emmanuel III was a guy who repeatedly jumped back and forth.

On one hand, he maintained a Triple Alliance relationship with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and had multiple exchanges with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, determining the lineup of the Allied Powers, one of the two major military groups in Europe.

On the other hand, for the sake of his own colonies, Victor Emmanuel III strengthened the connection with Britain, France, and Russia.

Even after the outbreak of the First World War, because of the continuous wooing of Britain and France, he finally chose to let Italy join the side of Britain, France, and Russia, and decisively abandoned the alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

From the results, Victor Emmanuel III's choice was correct. He successfully let Italy stand on the winning side, avoiding the tragic ending of the Italian royal family like the German and Austro-Hungarian royal families.

But on the other hand, it was precisely because of Italy's rapid betrayal that the war pressure faced by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire became more serious.

Originally, Russia, this powerful country, withdrew from the war not long after the outbreak of the war; if Italy continued to stand on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who would win and who would lose in the First World War was really not certain.

If the decision to choose the correct side in the First World War was considered reasonable, then the decision of Victor Emmanuel III in the Second World War was a bit incomprehensible.

After Mussolini's fascist armed forces launched the action of marching toward Rome, Victor Emmanuel III first supported the military action and martial law taken by the then Italian government against fascist actions, and then refused to sign the martial law order, and accepted the suggestion of letting Mussolini form a cabinet proposed by the leaders of the National Party and the right wing of the Liberal Party.

The final result of doing so was that Mussolini successfully realized military dictatorship, and the Italian royal family was also completely hollowed out, and finally abolished because of the failure of the Second World War.

Although the Italian monarchy died with his son Umberto II, in fact, during the reign of Victor Emmanuel III, the Italian monarchy was already in jeopardy.

For his nephew, Gao Da did not have much impression.

Before Victor Emmanuel III was born, Gao Da had already arrived in Spain and became the King of Spain.

This also led to Gao Da and his nephew not meeting many times; although the kinship was still very close, the actual relationship was already quite estranged.

When European countries sent representatives to participate in the funeral of German Emperor Frederick III again, on the French government side, they were already carrying out changes to their diplomatic situation.

Currently, France's diplomatic situation was still relatively difficult, and there was no real ally.

Although the situation in Germany was relatively chaotic, Germany still nominally maintained the Three Emperors' Alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia.

When Germany experienced such a major change, France was determined to do something to change its diplomatic situation.

What to do? The French looked around and finally set their sights on the Suyishiyunhe.

The importance of the Suyishiyunhe did not need to be said; this was an important channel for Europe to connect to the Indian Ocean, and its current importance was much higher than the Strait of Malacca.

The connection between the UK and the Indian colony, the connection between France and Spain and the Asian colonies, and the connection between European countries and the east coast of Africa all relied on this important maritime channel.

This also made the Suyishiyunhe always receive attention, and Egypt, where the canal was located, became the top priority of colonial competition among various countries.

The Suyishiyunhe was officially opened to navigation in 1869 and has been controlled by Britain and France ever since. At that time, Britain and France were the two most powerful countries in the world; with them jointly controlling the Suyishiyunhe, other countries had nothing to say.

But soon, the situation ushered in changes.

With France's failure to compete for Egypt, the UK successfully obtained the right to speak in Egypt. The final result was that the UK purchased a large amount of equity in the canal from Egypt, realizing control over the Suyishiyunhe.

This suddenly changed the situation of the canal, from the UK and France jointly managing the Suyishiyunhe to the UK alone, occupying most of the right to speak in the operation and management of the canal.

For France and even most European countries, this was unacceptable.

The monopoly of the canal also meant that the UK could close or open the canal as it pleased; if the UK blocked the canal and did not let other countries navigate, would this not mean that the important maritime channels of other countries would be directly cut off?

It could be said that since the UK controlled the Suyishiyunhe, how to ensure that all countries had the right to navigate the canal fairly had become a topic that Europe had been discussing hotly.

In order to change its diplomatic situation, the French also decided to go all out. They decided to unite many European countries to jointly open discussions on the management rights of the canal and discuss a fair plan that all countries could accept.

If France could really do it so that all countries could fairly enjoy the right to navigate the canal, this would have an extremely favorable impact on France's diplomatic situation.

At that time, it would be basically impossible for Germany to isolate France through diplomatic blockade again; after all, even for the right to navigate the Suyishiyunhe, all countries would try their best to maintain a good relationship with France.

But then again, wanting to ensure the right to navigate the canal also meant that one must confront the British head-on.

In order not to be weaker than the British in the competition, France contacted several countries at once, including their old rival Germany.

Why were the French willing to contact Germany?

The reason was also very simple. First, Germany also had colonies on the east coast of Africa, and they also had navigation requirements for the Suyishiyunhe.

Secondly, Germany's navy was not powerful; even if they possessed the right to navigate the Suyishiyunhe, they could not pose a threat to the French navy.

Plus pulling Germany could also strengthen the momentum, letting the UK have to give up or yield most of the control of the canal, which was also the reason why the French pulled Germany.

In addition to the two superpowers of France and Germany, the French government also contacted the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the Ottoman Empire; as long as these countries could unite, even the UK would have to choose to yield under the heavy pressure of these countries.

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 333 =====