Chapter 333: Preparations for War

Prime Minister Cánovas, having just attended the funeral of German Emperor Frederick III, soon accepted an invitation from the French government to travel to France for talks.

These talks regarding the right of passage through the canal attracted the participation of many countries, and the countries participating in the meeting were basically those with a need for the canal.

Countries like Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands all have vast colonies to the east or south of the canal, and communication between these colonies and their homelands relies heavily on the Suez Canal.

Russia can also be counted among them, as the Trans-Siberian Railway, which connects Russia's European and Asian territories, has not yet been completed. If Russia's Far East wants to transport supplies or trade with its European homeland or other European countries, it must pass through the Suez Canal, taking the route from Asia to Europe.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire has no overseas colonies, they, like Italy, are purely Mediterranean coastal countries, and their navies and transport ships could be blockaded within the Mediterranean at any time.

To avoid having their navy blockaded, they must control the Suez Canal. At the very least, they must obtain fair rights of passage through the Suez Canal to ensure that import and export trade and other material transport are not affected.

The combined momentum of all the countries participating in these talks is immense, which in itself illustrates the concern these countries have regarding the situation in the Mediterranean after Britain took control of the Suez Canal.

There is no helping it; the Suez Canal is very important to the Mediterranean coast and even to all European countries. Especially with the British still controlling the Strait of Gibraltar, the threat posed by Britain to the Mediterranean and European countries is something every nation worries about.

To put it bluntly, even Britain's ally, Portugal, is unwilling to see the Suez Canal completely controlled by Britain.

It is as if a Sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of all European countries, and this sword is held in the hands of the British, ready to fall from the sky at any moment and deal a fatal blow to the nations of Europe.

Even if the controller of the canal is the most powerful country in the world, the British Empire, other nations will not back down because of it. Unless Britain promises to allow all countries fair passage through the Suez Canal, the concerns of these nations regarding Britain will not be dispelled.

In fact, like Spain, after receiving the invitation from the French government, almost all European countries agreed to the French government's invitation without the slightest hesitation.

Even the French people's old rival, Germany, nodded and agreed to the French government's request upon hearing the demands of the French government and the purpose of these talks, as stated by German Chancellor Bismarck.

For Germany, these talks hold no great disadvantages. If they could publicly pressure Britain through the talks and force Britain to relinquish ownership of the canal, that would be an absolutely good thing for Germany.

Of course, one of the reasons why Chancellor Bismarck agreed to the French request so quickly was to prevent France from controlling the Suez Canal after these talks just as Britain does.

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 meeting, that would be even worse for Germany than leaving control of the canal in the hands of the British.

Another purpose for Germany's participation in this meeting was to prevent France from gaining control of the canal.

Even with its military allies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, participating in this meeting, Germany truly has hope of replacing France and becoming the country that ultimately gains control of the canal.

Of course, even if they cannot gain control of the canal, as long as the canal can be navigated freely, fairly, and justly by all countries, it is also beneficial for Germany.

Reasonably and logically, Germany should participate in these talks, which is why Chancellor Bismarck had almost no hesitation.

Not many days after Prime Minister Cánovas went to France, he sent Gao Da a proposal mentioned by France during the meeting regarding the execution of Suez Canal passage rights.

This proposal for the execution of canal passage rights is divided into several major articles, and the first article clearly stipulates the division of canal passage rights that all countries are most concerned about.

Because many European countries are highly dependent on the Suez Canal, this also means that it is difficult for the Suez Canal to be exclusively owned by a single country.

It is precisely by relying on this point that the French, in the first article of the proposal they drafted, clearly stipulated that during wartime, the Suez Canal should be as it is in peacetime, freely open to all merchant ships or warships flying the flag of any country, and 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 Suez Canal, no right to refuse the free use of the Suez Canal by all other countries, and no country shall cause any impact or blockade on the rights of all countries to use the Suez Canal.

To put it plainly, the French proposal is to make the Suez Canal completely shared; regardless of whether they are large or small, countries can freely pass through the Suez Canal, completely eliminating the concerns of various countries about the Suez Canal being controlled and blockaded by other nations.

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

What's more, there were Articles 2 and 3, which added several more layers of protection for all countries on the premise of free use of the Suez Canal.

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

This article is mainly to prevent the region where the canal is located, Egypt, or Egypt's controller, Britain, from causing an impact on the canal's tributaries. If Egypt or the British behind them were to forcibly destroy the tributaries of the canal, it would certainly have a significant impact on the navigation of the Suez Canal.

At the very least, the British could use a "scorched earth" method, scuttling several large transport ships within the Suez Canal to forcibly close it.

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

As for Article 3, it further guarantees the interests of all countries in the Suez Canal on the basis of the first two articles.

The specific content of Article 3 is mainly to protect the factories, facilities, buildings, and various projects of all countries in the sea canal and the river canal, further protecting the interests of all countries in the Suez Canal.

These three articles directly clarify the rights of all countries in the Suez Canal and ensure that the rights of all countries will not be infringed upon by the local government and the controlling British government.

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

From this, it can also be judged that all countries will certainly support the proposal put forward by the French. France can gain the favor of all countries through these three proposals, thereby changing its own diplomatic situation.

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

But the problem is, the British really don't have any good countermeasures. The reason this meeting was convened is precisely because all countries are wary of Britain's control over the Suez Canal.

This also means that as long as the British are unwilling to give up control of the Suez Canal, even if this meeting ultimately fails, there will be other meetings convened in the future.

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

So the question arises, will Britain take a step back or resist to the end in the face of such a direct provocation by France?

For Gao Da, this is perhaps the thing he is most curious about in 1888. Just as the French move during the funerals of the two German emperors could have ignited a war, the British reaction at this time is also very likely to trigger a war over the struggle for the canal.

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

In fact, Spain is the same as many countries participating in this meeting; everyone is participating with the idea that there is no loss in doing so.

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

Even if France fails to take back control of the canal from the hands of the British, the participating countries will not suffer any losses, after all, it is France that is confronting Britain.

Britain couldn't possibly hold all countries accountable just because they attended the meeting, right? Not to mention whether Britain could even hold so many participating countries accountable, the excuse itself is 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 think about this meeting, the scene of the meeting convened by the French is quite grand.

Various countries have conducted various discussions on the use of the Suez Canal, and a set of relevant regulations regarding the ownership and operation of the Suez Canal is freshly coming out.

Because these talks require a long time, Prime Minister Cánovas, after participating in the first few days of talks and roughly discussing a direction, chose to leave France, with the Foreign Minister continuing to represent Spain in these negotiations.

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

"Your Majesty, if a war is likely to break out between France and Britain, should we prepare for an invasion of Morocco?" Prime Minister Cánovas said to Gao Da with an excited look on his face.

If a war breaks out between Britain and France, this is definitely the best opportunity that Spain has been waiting for for more than a decade.

The two countries that prevent Spain from annexing Morocco are precisely Britain and France; if they are unable to attend to other matters, it also means that no country in Europe can stop Spain from annexing Morocco.

The reason why Prime Minister Cánovas is excited is also very simple, and that is that during his term, he is very likely to create great achievements that even Prime Minister Primo did not create.

If Spain can annex Morocco, Spain will officially grow into a super power on the level of Britain, France, and Germany. Spain being able to annex Morocco also means that Spain has the opportunity to annex Portugal.

If Spain were to annex Morocco and Portugal one after another, could Spain, which occupies the Iberian Peninsula alone, be called a powerful empire?

Of course, the one who gains the most at that time will certainly be Gao Da as the King. Even if he cannot take the opportunity to be promoted to Emperor, he will have the opportunity to be proudly called the greatest monarch by the Spanish, that is, the so-called Great Emperor.

This is a huge strengthening of Gao Da's own influence and authority, as well as the status of the royal family, and the House of Savoy will also completely sit firmly on the throne in Spain, with no external factors able to interfere with the succession of the House of Savoy.

Although Gao Da gains the most, as the leader of the government, Prime Minister Cánovas can also gain a lot.

The current Cánovas only holds the title of Count, and according to the normal progress, he has hope of being promoted to Duke after the end of his three terms as Prime Minister.

But if he can facilitate Spain's annexation of Morocco and Portugal one after another, Prime Minister Cánovas will not only be able to be quickly promoted to Duke, but even has the hope of being titled Grand Duke.

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

Obviously, as long as this step can be achieved, it is a huge strengthening of his own power, status, and influence. This also makes it impossible for Prime Minister Cánovas not to be excited, because he has the hope of doing everything a Prime Minister can do, being remembered forever in the history of Spain, and becoming a great merit praised by future generations of Spanish people.

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

Regardless of whether a war will break out between Britain and France, the Ministry of Defense must make preparations for war. Once a war breaks out between Britain and France, we should conquer the whole of Morocco at the fastest speed.

If no war breaks out between Britain and France, then stay put for the time being and wait for the changes in the European situation.

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

"Yes, I understand, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Cánovas 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 value Morocco highly, and it is really possible that the two countries would abandon the conflict between them because Morocco was annexed by Spain.

(End of chapter)