Chapter 360

Facts proved that although the United Kingdom of this era was very powerful, it indeed had too many enemies on a global scale.

When Spain, in conjunction with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, issued advice advocating neutrality regarding the Portuguese civil war, the position of the British became very awkward.

France and Russia, which had poor relations with the United Kingdom, also quickly kicked them while they were down; although they did not say it explicitly, they were all condemning the United Kingdom's interference in the Portuguese civil war to a greater or lesser extent.

The only one that did not express its position was Germany. Unlike the World War I period, the relationship between Germany and the United Kingdom at this time was still relatively good.

Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, came from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a family that originated from the German region, which also made the relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany relatively good.

Before Germany was unified, the United Kingdom had always stood on the side of Prussia. After Germany was unified, the relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany did not deteriorate either.

After all, France on the surface was still very powerful, and the threat brought by Germany to the United Kingdom in terms of colonial expansion was far less than that of France, which was also the reason why the Anglo-German relationship did not deteriorate.

Although Germany currently attached importance to the development of its navy, according to the current construction speed of the German navy, it would take several years for them to reach the level of Italy and Spain, let alone catch up with naval powers like France and the United Kingdom.

Seeing that their international reputation had become very bad due to interfering in the Portuguese civil war, the British government finally decided to give up interfering in the Portuguese civil war and withdraw its troops in Portugal.

At the same time, in order to save their reputation, the British government decided to compensate those Portuguese civilians who were accidentally injured by the British military.

Although they could not save the hearts of the Portuguese people that were broken by the British, at least they could save their international reputation.

The Portuguese government, which had lost British support, faced the fierce offensive of the Republican Party and quickly fell into a disadvantage.

What was even more fatal was that before the Portuguese government had time to mobilize colonial troops, the Republican Party had already planned several large-scale resistance uprisings in the colonies.

Large tracts of land in Portugal's West African colonies were controlled by the Republican Party; if the Portuguese government wanted to mobilize troops from the colonies again, it could only find a way from the more distant East African colonies.

In July 1892, the Portuguese Republic, having regrouped, engaged in fierce fighting with the Portuguese Kingdom's army in Coimbra.

The Republic, which had already gained the support of the ordinary public, mobilized a large number of troops; they seized the armories in Porto and surrounding areas, and by gathering various weapons, they managed to mobilize an army of over 20,000 people.

Added to the troops that originally participated in the uprising, the number of troops under the control of the Portuguese Republic had already exceeded 30,000.

And on the side of the Portuguese Kingdom, the army on the surface reached over 40,000 people, which was more than the army of the Portuguese Republic.

But the problem was that these troops of the Portuguese Kingdom needed to guard the border areas with Spain, and the troops that could actually be mobilized were less than 30,000.

The war between the two sides in Coimbra attracted the attention of many European countries, and this war also ended with the Portuguese Republic achieving victory.

Although the Portuguese Kingdom side possessed more elite troops, in terms of fighting will, the army of the Portuguese Kingdom could not compare to the army of the Republic no matter what.

The Republican Party already had a clear platform; they wanted to establish a country truly decided by the Portuguese themselves and wanted to get rid of the ignorant rule of the King.

Under the blessing of this ideology, the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese Republic's army far exceeded that of the Portuguese Kingdom's army, which ultimately led to the balance of victory tilting towards the Portuguese Republic.

After the Coimbra war ended, the Portuguese Kingdom was actually already in a weak position.

Gao Da's sister, Princess Maria Pia, contacted Gao Da again, seeking asylum from the Spanish side.

Gao Da also sent a telegram to the Spanish Ambassador to Portugal, requesting the Spanish Embassy to provide asylum to the Portuguese royal family at a necessary moment and safely transfer them to Spain.

The embassy had a certain number of garrison troops. Although the number was not large, it was enough to ensure the safety of the Portuguese royal family.

After all, the Republican Party also understood whose support allowed them to achieve victory, and they would not take the initiative to fall out with Spain.

Having obtained Gao Da's safety guarantee again, Princess Maria Pia finally set her heart at ease.

The Portuguese Kingdom government at this time had already fallen into chaos; the Prime Minister João Franco, who was deeply trusted by Carlos I, was dismissed by Carlos I not long ago and replaced by an unknown new Prime Minister.

This new Prime Minister obviously did not have much ability either; he could only gather the troops around Lisbon, trying to protect the capital of Portugal and prevent the Republican Party's forces from continuing to infiltrate southward.

I don't know if the Republican Party was anxious at this time, but the Portuguese public in Lisbon was quite anxious.

After this series of events, almost all Portuguese people felt disappointed in the current Kingdom government and the King.

Regarding the Portuguese Republic born in Porto not long ago, many Portuguese people expressed that they saw a new hope for the country's rise.

They had long been impatient to welcome the rule of the Portuguese Republic and sweep the corrupt, dictatorial, brutal, and ignorant Portuguese Kingdom into the dust of history.

On July 12, 1892, large-scale riots erupted in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

Thousands of Lisbon citizens spontaneously organized themselves; they attacked the building where the Portuguese cabinet government was located and even almost broke into the Wang Gong.

This riot made Carlos I terrified; he finally listened to his mother's suggestion and chose to temporarily go to Spain for refuge while the situation could still be controlled.

While the Portuguese Kingdom's army was still heroically resisting, the Portuguese King Carlos I was already packing his luggage and preparing to run away.

Although the troops on the front line did not know the King's cowardice, the cabinet government personally appointed by Carlos I was clear.

Since the King himself wanted to run away, they naturally had no need to resist resolutely.

Anyway, the Republican Party opposed the monarchical government; for those cabinet members who were not nobles, there was no major harm in the republican system for them.

They could even join the Republican Party and change their identity to continue serving as high-ranking officials in the Portuguese government.

The ones who really couldn't run away were the King and the nobles; as long as the Kingdom ceased to exist, the throne and titles would be abolished.

Compared to the King, the Portuguese nobles had even more determination to resist the Republican Party's offensive.

But the problem was that the Portuguese nobles had not experienced large-scale wars for decades, and their ability in military aspects was simply a mess.

Don't look at these nobles' military ranks being higher than one another; their ability in military aspects was not even as good as ordinary graduates of the Spanish Royal Military Academy.

For these nobles, farming and collecting rent were their strengths. Marching and fighting were very unfamiliar topics to them; discussing this was not as interesting as discussing which noble's mistress was more flavorful. On July 19, 1892, the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, was officially breached.

And on the day before Lisbon was breached, the Portuguese King Carlos I and all his family members were arranged by the Spanish Embassy on a ship heading to Barcelona, and they were able to head to Spain safe and sound.

When the Republican Party broke into the Wang Gong, they were surprised to find that the Wang Gong was already empty.

However, this might also be good news for the Republican Party; after all, how to deal with these royal family members was a quite troublesome problem.

The revolutionary faction in France once radically sent King Louis XVI to the guillotine, which also caused an uproar throughout Europe and eventually led to the establishment of the Anti-French Alliance.

Most of the current great powers were monarchies; if they slaughtered European royal families too openly, it would only attract the fear or even counterattack of all European countries.

Whether the Portuguese royal family survived was no longer important to the Portuguese Republic. As long as they controlled Lisbon, they were the only legitimate government of Portugal.

As long as they were supported by the Portuguese public, no one could overthrow their rule.

With the Portuguese royal family fleeing to Spain, Portugal also officially declared its entry into the Republican era.

As the Portuguese Republic controlled the situation in Portugal, the biggest change brought to Portugal was shifting from the pro-British faction to the original neutral faction.

Although it was said to be the neutral faction, in reality, the Portuguese Republic was more inclined towards Spain.

It was just that considering that being close to Spain just after the Republic was established would make other countries suspect whether Spain was really the supporter behind the Republican Party, so they disguised themselves as the neutral faction in the early stage.

Of course, being close to Spain was one thing, but wanting the Portuguese Republic to lean towards Spain completely was basically impossible.

After all, the Portuguese Republican Party was not stupid; they could not let Portugal become Spain's puppet just after establishing the Republic.

The idea of the Portuguese Republican Party was to establish a republic decided by the Portuguese themselves, and they also had extremely huge ambitions.

For their own development, they could lean towards Spain, but they would absolutely not become Spain's puppet.

In any case, Portugal becoming a republic was a good thing for Gao Da. Those nobles who most wanted to maintain Portugal's independent status had already been eliminated, and the remaining ordinary civilians could all be assimilated by Spain.

Time came to August 1892, the border railway between Spain and Portugal reopened, and on that day, a large amount of goods were transported to Portugal by train.

The Portuguese people also happily discovered that they could buy materials from Spain from various sales venues.

Whether it was grain, vegetables, fruits, or various industrial finished products, because Portugal and Spain were tightly connected, the transport cost was actually relatively low.

Added to the low tariffs in the cooperation between Portugal and Spain, this resulted in Portuguese people purchasing Spanish goods being cheaper than British goods.

The time required for British goods to be transported to Portugal was longer, and the tariffs were higher; capitalists naturally could not sell British goods at the same price.

Now that they could finally enjoy cheap Spanish goods again, it was absolutely a good thing for the Portuguese people.

While the Portuguese people were joyful because of the return of Spanish goods, on the Spanish side, Gao Da was already meeting his relatives.

After many years, Gao Da finally saw his sister, Princess Maria Pia, again.

One had to admit the speed of time passing; when they met back then, Gao Da and Princess Maria Pia were both very young, and at this time, Princess Maria Pia was visibly aged.

Gao Da's nephew, Carlos I, was about the same age as Gao Da; from this aspect, one could also see how old Gao Da's sister, Maria Pia, was.

After the whole Portuguese royal family came to Spain, their attitude towards Gao Da was still quite close.

There was no other way but to be close; at this time, the Portuguese throne had been lost, and if it weren't for Gao Da protecting them during the chaos in Portugal, they would not even be able to guarantee their own life safety.

Although Carlos I also suspected that his uncle planned the uprising of the Portuguese Republican Party, he dared not say this kind of thing without evidence even if he died.

After all, they were his relatives; Gao Da arranged a luxurious manor for the Portuguese royal family, and also arranged Portuguese chefs and some personal servants for them.

Compared to Carlos I, who had just lost his throne, his mother, Princess Maria Pia's mood was obviously better.

Although she lost the Portuguese throne, the House of Savoy, where Princess Maria Pia belonged, was not affected.

Reuniting with her brother, for Princess Maria Pia who lost her husband, could be considered one of the few warm moments in her life.

Ever since she married into the Portuguese royal family, the opportunities for Princess Maria Pia to see her family had become much fewer.

Thinking carefully, the last time she met Gao Da was at the funeral of her father, Victor Emmanuel II.

For the siblings who had a relatively good relationship, this could be considered a joyful reunion.

On the day the Portuguese royal family arrived in Spain, Gao Da held a small-scale welcome banquet for them.

The reason why the scale was not large was that the Portuguese royal family's refuge was not glorious. To put it bluntly, the Portuguese royal family abandoned their country and came to Spain for refuge; this point was shameful for European nobles.

Gao Da's close attitude towards the Portuguese royal family also put these people at ease; at least their life in Spain could also be colorful.

For these relatives of his, Gao Da was also very generous.

Not only did he gift each person the latest car from the Mercedes-Benz car company, but he also gave them a large sum of funds for them to dispose of freely.

To put it bluntly, this matter was indeed Gao Da pitting them; although they didn't know, making up for it from some places could be considered making Gao Da's behavior not so bad.

On the second day after the Portuguese royal family arrived in Spain, Gao Da invited them to watch a Spanish bullfighting performance, and it received the admiration of the Portuguese royal family.

Although there were similar bullfighting performances within Portugal, whether in scale or the degree of public love, they were far from being able to compare to those within Spain.

(End of chapter)