Chapter 332: The German Emperor Passes Away Again, The Struggle for the Canal

Much as Gao Da had anticipated, while the funeral for Wilhelm I was being held within Germany, France was also conducting discussions regarding whether to launch a war against Germany.

That Gao Da was able to learn of this news was not because the intelligence work of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency was particularly outstanding, but because the French arguments over whether to launch a war against Germany had already been brought out into the open.

The French pro-war and pro-peace factions had a massive row over this, and the two sides even nearly came to blows in the parliament. The pro-war faction accused the pro-peace faction of being a group of cowards who feared the enemy and were willing to forget the nation's shame for the sake of their own interests.

The pro-peace faction, meanwhile, accused the pro-war faction of being reckless fools who disregarded the situation and were willing to ignore France's diplomatic standing just to take revenge on Germany.

The argument between the two sides was quite intense, and news of the related debates was even reported by the French media, becoming one of the hot topics discussed by the public across European countries.

When Gao Da learned that the pro-war and pro-peace factions within the French parliament were engaged in a fierce dispute, he realized that it was basically impossible for France to launch a war against Germany.

If France truly had a relevant war plan, they could not possibly have leaked their intentions in such a comical manner. Success depends on secrecy; before launching a war, France would certainly have made secret preparations, and by the time other countries discovered them, the war would have already begun.

The current situation of endless bickering looked more like a play performed by the two factions to vie for the support of the French public. The more radical people would naturally support the ideas of the pro-war faction, while the more rational ones would consider the views of the pro-peace faction more.

For both parties, they did not need to pay any price to win over public support for themselves, which was absolutely a win-win situation.

It could also be seen from the fact that the French Prime Minister personally traveled to Germany to attend the funeral of Wilhelm I that the French government itself did not want to see a war break out with Germany. For France, perhaps what they wanted was also long-term stability and peace.

On the German side, Chancellor Bismarck was also well-prepared for any potential provocation from the French government.

Because the new Emperor, Friedrich III, was unable to meet with guests, Chancellor Bismarck became his plenipotentiary representative, responsible for receiving all the guests who came to Germany to attend the funeral.

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

Inside a private meeting room prepared by the German government, Chancellor Bismarck, Franz Joseph I, and Umberto I held secret talks and reaffirmed the terms of the League of the Three Emperors treaty, stating that the diplomatic alliance between the three countries would not change due to any accidents.

After the representatives of the three countries promised each other that the treaty would not change, it was clear that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Currently, the Triple Alliance of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy was clearly in a state of mutual reliance and mutual need.

This also resulted in a very close relationship between the three countries that signed the treaty, which would not lead to the termination of the treaty due to the passing of Wilhelm I.

This League of the Three Emperors treaty was Chancellor Bismarck's true trump card for dealing with potential French provocations. Currently, the content of the League of the Three Emperors treaty remained quite secret, and no other country was aware that these three nations had concluded a military alliance treaty.

It was precisely because of this that Russia had not completely leaned toward France, but instead chose to hedge its bets, both accepting help from French capital and being unwilling to completely sever ties with Germany.

Bismarck was confident that in such a turbulent moment, he could rely on the Triple Alliance treaty to deal a fatal blow to France. If the French dared to initiate a war, Chancellor Bismarck would, just like in the previous Franco-Prussian War, once again bring troops to the gates of Balicheng and force the French government to sign an indemnity of up to 5 billion francs.

Fortunately, the French government had no intention of launching a war for the time being, and for a while, it was unclear whether the fact that a war would not break out was a good thing for Germany and France.

The funeral of Wilhelm I was held quickly, and the scale of the funeral was quite large. As the first Emperor of the German Empire, the Germans were quite appreciative of Wilhelm I's contributions.

On the day of the burial, hundreds of thousands of Germans flooded the streets of Berlin. Everyone watched the stone coffin carrying Wilhelm I with reluctance, and they did not stop until they had escorted Wilhelm I to his burial site.

After the funeral ended, the representatives from various countries who attended the funeral also left Germany very quickly.

However, many diplomatic representatives from various countries were still paying attention to the situation in Germany, most importantly the health condition of the new Emperor, Friedrich III.

Not letting Gao Da down, Friedrich III quickly replicated his historical moniker, passing away rapidly less than 100 days after becoming Emperor, and the German throne soon fell to the Crown Prince, Wilhelm.

Less than 100 days after the funeral of Wilhelm I had ended, Germany held another funeral for an emperor. Such frequent changes to the German throne attracted the attention of European countries, and this extremely unfortunate emperor who reigned for less than 100 days, Friedrich III, was also jokingly referred to by European media and the public as the "Hundred-Day Emperor."

Clearly, the frequent changes in the throne were a heavy blow to Germany's international status and influence. Chancellor Bismarck had handled two imperial funerals in succession, and it was evident that the elderly Chancellor's body was now hunched, and his spirit was not as good as it had been in previous years.

For the funeral of the German Emperor Friedrich III, Spain still sent Prime Minister Cánovas to attend; Prime Minister Cánovas could be considered quite familiar with German funerals.

It is worth mentioning that the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I and the Italian King Umberto I did not choose to attend this funeral, but instead sent their respective Crown Prince Rudolf and Prince Vittorio Emanuele.

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

It was currently the middle of 1888, and this Crown Prince had not yet reached such an extreme state.

As for the Prince Vittorio Emanuele sent by the Italian King Umberto I, he also had a certain degree of fame in history.

A significant part of the reason why Italy repeatedly switched sides during World War I and eventually betrayed the Triple Alliance to join the Allied Powers was the decision of the then-King Vittorio Emanuele III, who was the current Prince Vittorio Emanuele.

The Italian royal family still held a certain amount of power; before Mussolini seized power, the Kings of Italy all possessed a certain degree of direct rule.

After Vittorio Emanuele II unified Italy, the Italian public was still very welcoming toward the House of Savoy.

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

Naturally, the next heir to the throne, Vittorio Emanuele III, also obtained a portion of that power.

However, unlike Umberto I, who stood firmly with Germany and Austria, Vittorio Emanuele III was a fellow who repeatedly switched sides.

On one hand, he maintained a Triple Alliance relationship with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and had engaged in exchanges with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire many times, confirming the lineup of the Central Powers, one of the two major military blocs in Europe.

On the other hand, for the sake of his own colonies, Vittorio Emanuele III strengthened his ties with Britain, France, and Russia.

Even after the outbreak of World War I, because of the constant wooing by Britain and France, he ultimately chose to let Italy join the side of Britain, France, and Russia, decisively abandoning the alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Judging from the results, Vittorio Emanuele III's choice was correct. He successfully allowed Italy to stand on the winning side, avoiding the tragic end that befell 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 even more severe.

Originally, Russia, this powerful nation, had withdrawn from the war shortly after it broke out; if Italy had continued to stand on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who would have won World War I was truly uncertain.

If the decision to choose the correct side in World War I could be considered reasonable, then Vittorio Emanuele III's decision-making in World War II was somewhat incomprehensible.

After Mussolini's fascist armed forces launched the March on Rome, Vittorio Emanuele III first supported the military actions and martial law proposed by the then-Italian government against the fascist movement, but subsequently refused to sign the martial law decree and accepted the suggestion from the leaders of the National Fascist Party and the right wing of the Liberal Party to let Mussolini form a cabinet.

The final result of doing so was that Mussolini successfully achieved a military dictatorship, the Italian royal family was completely sidelined, and was eventually abolished due to the failure of World War II.

Although the Italian monarchy perished under his son Umberto II, in reality, during the reign of Vittorio Emanuele III, the Italian monarchy was already in jeopardy.

Gao Da did not have much of an impression of this nephew of his.

Before Vittorio Emanuele III was born, Gao Da had already arrived in Spain and become the King of Spain.

This also resulted in Gao Da and his nephew not having met many times; although the two were closely related by blood, their actual relationship was quite distant.

While European countries were once again sending representatives to attend the funeral of the German Emperor Friedrich III, the French government was already in the process of changing its diplomatic situation.

Currently, France's diplomatic situation was still quite difficult, and it did not have any true allies.

Although the situation within Germany was relatively chaotic, Germany nominally still maintained the League of the Three Emperors with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia.

At a time when Germany was experiencing such major changes, France was determined to do something to change its diplomatic predicament.

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

The importance of the Suez Canal goes without saying; it is an important passage connecting Europe to the Indian Ocean, and its current importance is far higher than that of the Strait of Malacca.

The connection between Britain and its Indian colonies, the connection between France and Spain and their Asian colonies, and the connection between European countries and the east coast of Africa all relied on this important maritime passage.

This also kept the Suez Canal under constant attention, and Egypt, where the canal is located, became the top priority in the colonial competition among various countries.

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

But soon, the situation underwent a change.

Following France's failure to compete for Egypt, Britain successfully gained the right to speak in Egypt. The final result was that Britain purchased a large amount of the canal's shares from Egypt, achieving control over the Suez Canal.

This suddenly changed the situation of the canal, shifting from the original joint management of the Suez Canal by Britain and France to Britain being the sole dominant power, occupying the majority of the right to speak in the canal's operation and management.

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

The canal being dominated by one party meant that Britain could close or open the canal as it pleased; if Britain blockaded the canal and did not allow other countries to navigate, wouldn't that mean the important maritime passages of other countries would be directly cut off?

It can be said that ever since Britain gained control of the Suez Canal, how to fairly ensure that all countries have the right to navigate the canal had become a hot topic of discussion in Europe.

In order to change their diplomatic predicament, the French decided to go all out. They planned to unite many European countries to jointly initiate discussions on the management rights of the canal and to negotiate a fair plan that all countries could accept.

If France could truly manage to let all countries fairly enjoy the right of passage through the canal, this would have an extremely favorable impact on France's diplomatic situation.

By then, it would be basically impossible for Germany to isolate France through diplomatic blockades; after all, even if only for the sake of the right of passage through the Suez Canal, other countries would try their best to maintain good relations with France.

However, having said that, wanting to ensure the right of passage through the canal also meant that one had to 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 requirements for passage through the Suez Canal.

Secondly, Germany's navy was not powerful, and even if they possessed the right of passage through the Suez Canal, they could not pose a threat to the French navy.

Furthermore, bringing Germany along could also bolster their momentum, forcing Britain to give up or cede most of the control over the canal; this was also the reason why the French ultimately brought Germany along.

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 Britain would have to choose to concede under the heavy pressure of these nations.

(End of chapter)