Chapter 333: Preparation for War

Prime Minister Canovas, who had just participated in the funeral of German Kaiser Frederick III, soon responded to the invitation of the French government and went to France to participate in the talks.

This talk about the right to navigate the canal attracted the participation of many countries, and the countries participating in the meeting were basically countries with demand for the canal.

Countries like Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands had large colonies in the east or south of the canal, and the communication between the colonies and the mainland relied heavily on the Suyishiyunhe.

Russia could also be counted among them; after all, the Trans-Siberian Railway connecting Russia's European territory and Asian territory had not yet been completed at this time. If Russia's Far East wanted to transport materials and trade with the European mainland or other European countries, it must pass through the Suyishiyunhe and take the route from Asia to Europe.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no overseas colonies, they, like Italy, were purely Mediterranean coastal countries, and their navy and transport ships could be blocked in the Mediterranean at any time.

Wanting to avoid the navy being blocked, one must control the Suyishiyunhe. At the very least, one must obtain the fair right to navigate the Suyishiyunhe, so as to ensure that import and export trade and other material transportation would not be affected.

The momentum of all countries participating in this talk was incomparable, which could actually explain the worry of these countries about the Mediterranean situation after the UK controlled the Suyishiyunhe.

No way, the Suyishiyunhe was very important to Mediterranean coastal countries and even all European countries. Especially under the premise that the British still controlled the Strait of Gibraltar, the threat posed by the UK to the Mediterranean and European countries was something all countries were worried about.

It could be said bluntly that even the UK's ally Portugal was not willing to let the Suyishiyunhe be completely controlled by the UK.

This was like a Damocles sword hanging over the heads of all European countries, and this sword was still held in the hands of the British, which could fall from high altitude at any time, bringing a fatal blow to all European countries.

Even if the controller of the canal was the most powerful country in the world, the British Empire, all countries would not yield because of this. Unless the UK promised to let all countries navigate the Suyishiyunhe fairly, the worry of all countries about the UK would not disappear.

In fact, like Spain, all European countries, after receiving the invitation from the French government, almost did not hesitate at all and soon agreed to the invitation of the French government.

Even France's old rival Germany, after hearing the purpose of the French government's request and this talk, German Chancellor Bismarck still nodded and agreed to the French government's request.

For Germany, this talk did not have too big a disadvantage. If it could publicly pressure the UK through the talk and force the UK to give up the ownership of the canal, then it would be a sufficient good thing for Germany.

Of course, one of the reasons why Chancellor

If Britain could relinquish control of the canal, that would certainly be good news. But if control of the canal were taken by the French, who organized this conference, then for Germany, that would be even worse than letting control remain in the hands of the British.

Another purpose for Germany attending this conference was to prevent France from gaining control of the canal.

With its military allies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, also participating in this conference, Germany actually had a hope of replacing France and becoming the country that ultimately gained control of the canal.

Of course, even if they could not gain control of the canal, as long as the canal could be freely navigated by all countries in a fair and just manner, it would still be beneficial to Germany.

Both logically and reasonably, Germany should attend this talk, which is also the reason why Prime Minister Bismarck almost did not hesitate.

Not many days after Prime Minister Canovas went to France, he sent a report to Gao Da regarding the resolution plan for Suyishiyunhe navigation rights mentioned by France at the conference.

This resolution plan for canal navigation rights was divided into several major articles, and the first article clearly stipulated the division of navigation rights that all countries were most concerned about.

Because many European countries were highly dependent on the Suyishiyunhe, this also meant that it was very difficult for the Suyishiyunhe to be exclusively owned by one country.

It was precisely by relying on this point that the French, in the first article of the proposal they formulated, clearly stipulated that during wartime, the Suyishiyunhe should be open to all merchant ships or warships flying the flag of any country, just as it was in peacetime, and that no country should interfere with the free use of the canal during wartime, just as in peacetime.

No country has the right to blockade the Suyishiyunhe, no right to refuse the free use of the Suyishiyunhe to all other countries, and must not cause any impact or blockade on the Suyishiyunhe usage rights of any country.

To put it bluntly, the French proposal was to make the Suyishiyunhe completely shared; regardless of whether they were large or small countries, they could freely pass through the Suyishiyunhe, completely eliminating the concerns of various countries about the Suyishiyunhe being controlled and blockaded by other countries.

Just looking at the first article of the French proposal, Gao Da could imagine how supportive the various countries at the conference site were of the French proposal.

Not to mention that there were Articles 2 and 3 following it, which added several layers of protection for various countries under the premise of free use of the Suyishiyunhe.

Article 2 stipulated that as an important traffic artery for free use by all countries, the freshwater canal portion of the Suyishiyunhe should also be subject to joint supervision and protection by all countries.

This article was mainly to prevent Egypt, where the canal is located, or its controller, Britain, from causing an impact on the canal's tributaries. If Egypt or the British behind it forcibly destroyed the tributaries of the canal, it would certainly cause a major impact on the navigation of the Suyishiyunhe.

At worst, the British could also use the method of "killing a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred," sinking several large transport ships within the Suyishiyunhe to forcibly close it.

This point was to put an end to this phenomenon and ensure that the normal operation of the canal would not be interfered with by the local government and other forces.

As for Article 3, it further guaranteed the interests of various countries in the Suyishiyunhe on the basis of the first two articles.

The specific content of Article 3 was mainly to protect the factories, facilities, buildings, and various projects of all countries on the maritime canal and the river canal, further protecting the interests of all countries in the Suyishiyunhe.

These three regulations directly clarified the rights of various countries in the Suyishiyunhe and ensured that the rights of various countries would not be infringed upon by the local government and the controller, the British government.

For Spain and all participating countries, these three regulations proposed by France were beneficial to them.

From this point, it could also be judged that all countries would definitely support the proposal put forward by the French. France could gain the favor of all countries through these three points of the proposal, thereby changing its diplomatic situation.

The only one that might suffer a loss was Britain. France's act of inviting multiple European countries to participate in a conference on the division of ownership of the Suyishiyunhe, and not even inviting the actual controller of the Suyishiyunhe, the British, was undoubtedly a direct provocation to British authority.

But the problem was that the British really had no good countermeasures. The reason why this conference was convened was precisely because all countries were wary of Britain's control over the Suyishiyunhe.

This also meant that as long as the British were unwilling to give up control of the Suyishiyunhe, even if this conference ultimately failed, there would be other conferences convened in the future.

Britain had already stood on the opposite side of these countries participating in the conference; even without France taking the lead, other countries would have clarified the contradictions between the two sides.

So the question arises: regarding such a direct provocative act by France, will Britain take a step back or resist to the end?

For Gao Da, this was perhaps the thing he was most curious about in 1888. Just as France's actions during the funerals of the two German emperors could have ignited a war, the British reaction at this time was also very likely to trigger a war over the canal.

And like the French at that time, Britain was also isolated and helpless. Although it seemed that the target of the war was only France, no one could guarantee whether other countries would also participate in this war against the British for the sake of ownership of the canal.

In fact, Spain and many countries participating in this conference were the same; everyone participated with the idea that there was no loss in participating.

If France could forcibly take back control of the canal from the hands of the British, that would of course be the best thing for all countries participating in the conference.

Even if France failed to take back control of the canal from the hands of the British, the countries participating in the conference would not suffer any losses; after all, it was France that was confronting Britain.

Britain couldn't possibly hold all the countries accountable just because they attended the conference, right? Not to mention whether Britain could hold so many participating countries accountable, the excuse itself was somewhat untenable, and the British government could not be stupid enough to truly push itself to the opposite side of all European countries.

Regardless of what the British thought about this conference, the scene of the conference convened by the French was quite grand.

Various countries conducted various discussions on the use of the Suyishiyunhe, and a set of relevant regulations regarding the ownership and operation of the Suyishiyunhe was freshly coming out.

Because this talk required a long time, Prime Minister Canovas, after participating in the talks of the first few days and roughly discussing a direction, chose to leave France, with the Foreign Minister continuing to represent Spain in this negotiation.

And the first thing Prime Minister Canovas did upon returning to Spain was to report the specific situation of the talks to Gao Da and discuss the changes in the European situation that this talk might trigger.

"Your Majesty, if there is a possibility of a war breaking out between France and Britain, should we prepare for an invasion of Morocco?" Prime Minister Canovas said to Gao Da with an excited face.

If a war broke out between Britain and France, this would definitely be the best opportunity that Spain had been waiting for for more than a decade.

The two countries that influenced Spain's inability to annex Morocco were precisely Britain and France; if they were too busy to attend to other things, it also meant that no country in Europe could stop Spain from annexing Morocco.

The reason why Prime Minister Canovas was excited was also very simple: it was that during his tenure, he was very likely to create great achievements that even Prime Minister Primo had not created.

If Spain could annex Morocco, Spain would officially grow into a super power on the level of Britain, France, and Germany. Spain being able to annex Morocco also meant that Spain had the opportunity to annex Portugal.

If they really annexed Morocco and Portugal one after another, could Spain, which exclusively occupied the Iberian Peninsula, be called a powerful empire?

Of course, the one who would harvest the most at that time would definitely be Gao Da, as the King. Even if he could not take the opportunity to be promoted to Emperor, he would have the opportunity to be proudly called the greatest monarch by the Spanish, which is the so-called Great Emperor.

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

Although the one who would harvest the most was Gao Da, as the leader of the government, Prime Minister Canovas could also harvest a lot.

The current Canovas only held the title of Count; according to normal progress, he had hope of being promoted to Duke after the end of his three terms as Prime Minister.

But if he could facilitate Spain's annexation of Morocco and Portugal one after another, Prime Minister Canovas would not only be able to be quickly promoted to Duke, but even have the hope of being enfeoffed as a Grand Duke.

Prime Minister Canovas, who could only become a Duke, was destined to be unable to compare with Prime Minister Primo in terms of contribution, but if he could be promoted to Grand Duke by virtue of his own merits, it would really be unclear whose contribution to Spain was stronger or weaker, and the two would also have the opportunity to be mentioned together as the most outstanding Prime Ministers of Spain during Gao Da's reign, becoming the two heroes of Spain's revival.

Obviously, as long as he could achieve this step, it would be a great strengthening of his own power, status, and influence. This also could not help but make Prime Minister Canovas excited, because he had the hope of achieving everything a Prime Minister could achieve, being remembered forever in the history of Spain, and becoming a great merit praised by later generations of Spanish people.

Hearing Prime Minister Canovas's inquiry, Gao Da first nodded, then said: "The government needs to closely monitor the movements of Britain and France, and at the same time be prepared to launch a war against Morocco.

Regardless of whether a war breaks out between Britain and France, the Ministry of National Defense must do a good job in war preparations. Once a war breaks out between Britain and France, we should conquer the entire Morocco at the fastest speed.

If no war breaks out between Britain and France, then temporarily remain still and wait for changes in the European situation.

During this period, I do not want any war plans to be leaked; the government must keep the war plans strictly confidential."

"Yes, I understand, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Canovas nodded, obviously he also understood the importance of confidentiality.

If a war was originally going to break out between Britain and France, but because Spain's war plan against Morocco was leaked, leading the two countries to abandon the war, that would be somewhat counterproductive.

Britain and France both valued Morocco highly, and it was really possible that the two countries would abandon the conflict between them because Morocco was annexed by Spain.

(End of this chapter)