Chapter 360: The End of the Civil War

Facts have proven that although Britain in this era is very powerful, it has indeed made too many enemies on a global scale.

When Spain, in alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, issued advice advocating neutrality regarding the Portuguese Civil War, the British position became quite awkward.

France and Russia, who do not have good relations with Britain, soon kicked them while they were down; although they did not say it explicitly, they were all condemning Britain's interference in the Portuguese Civil War to varying degrees.

The only one that did not express a stance was Germany. Unlike during the First World War, the relationship between Germany and Britain at this time was still relatively good.

Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, came from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a family originating from the German region, which also kept the relationship between Britain and Germany relatively good.

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

After all, the France on the surface was still very powerful, and the threat Germany posed to Britain in terms of colonial expansion was far less than that of France; this is also the reason why the Anglo-German relationship did not deteriorate.

Although the current Germany has already attached importance to the development of its navy, judging by the current construction speed of the German navy, it will take them several years to reach the level of Italy and Spain, let alone catch up with naval powers like France and Britain.

Seeing their international reputation become extremely poor due to interfering in the Portuguese Civil War, the British government finally decided to abandon interference in the Portuguese Civil War and withdraw its troops in Portugal.

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

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

Without British support, the Portuguese government faced the fierce offensive of the Republican Party and soon fell into a disadvantageous position.

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

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

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

Having gained the support of the common people, the Republic 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, 00 people.

Added to the troops that had originally participated in the uprising, the number of troops under the control of the Portuguese Republic currently exceeded 30, 00.

As for the Portuguese Kingdom, the army on the surface reached over 40, 00, 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, 00.

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

Although the Portuguese Kingdom possessed more elite troops, in terms of fighting will, the Portuguese Kingdom's army could not compare to the Republic's army in any way.

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

Under the support of this ideology, the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese Republic's army far exceeded that of the Portuguese Kingdom's army, which ultimately caused the scales of victory to tip toward the Portuguese Republic.

After the Coimbra War ended, the Portuguese Kingdom was effectively in a weak position.

Princess Maria Pia, the sister of Carlos, contacted Carlos again to seek asylum from Spain.

Carlos also sent a telegram to the Spanish ambassador to Portugal, requesting the Spanish embassy to provide asylum to the Portuguese royal family at the necessary moment and transfer them safely to Spain.

The embassy had a certain number of garrison troops. Although the number was small, 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 received Carlos's safety guarantee again, Princess Maria Pia finally felt relieved.

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

This new Prime Minister clearly did not have much ability either; he could only gather the troops around Lisbon, attempting 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 people in Lisbon were certainly anxious.

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

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

They had long been unable to wait to welcome the rule of the Portuguese Republic and sweep the corrupt, despotic, cruel, and ignorant Portuguese Kingdom into the dust of history.

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

Thousands of Lisbon citizens organized spontaneously; 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, and he finally listened to his mother's advice, choosing to temporarily flee to Spain for refuge while the situation could still be controlled.

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

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

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

Anyway, the Republican Party opposed the monarchical government, and for those cabinet members who were not nobles, the republican system did not have any major disadvantages 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 could not 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 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 military capabilities were simply a mess.

Don't look at these nobles' military ranks being higher than one another; their military capabilities were not even as good as ordinary graduates from the Spanish Royal Military Academy.

To 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, King Carlos I of Portugal and all his family members were arranged by the Spanish embassy to board 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 rather 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 the European royal family too openly, it would only invite the wariness or even counterattacks 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 people, no one could overthrow their rule.

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

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

Although it was called a neutral faction, the Portuguese Republic was actually more inclined toward Spain.

It was just that considering that if the Republic were close to Spain just after its establishment, it would make other countries suspect whether Spain was truly the supporter behind the Republican Party, so they disguised themselves as a neutral faction in the early stages.

Of course, being close to Spain is one thing, but wanting the Portuguese Republic to lean entirely toward Spain is basically impossible.

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

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

For their own development, they could lean toward Spain, but they would absolutely not become a puppet of Spain.

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

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

The Portuguese also happily discovered that they could buy supplies from Spain at various sales locations.

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

Added to the fact that tariffs in the cooperation between Portugal and Spain were very low, this resulted in Portuguese people buying Spanish goods being cheaper than British goods.

It took longer for British goods to be transported to Portugal, and the tariffs were higher, so capitalists naturally could not sell British goods at the same price.

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

While the Portuguese were happy because of the return of Spanish goods, on the Spanish side, Carlos was already meeting his relatives.

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

One has to admit the speed of time passing; when they met initially, both Carlos and Princess Maria Pia were very young, but at this time, Princess Maria Pia was visibly aged.

Carlos's nephew, Carlos I, was about the same age as Carlos, from which one could also see how old Carlos's sister, Maria Pia, was.

After the whole Portuguese royal family came to Spain, their attitude toward Carlos 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 Carlos protecting them during the turmoil in Portugal, they would not even be able to guarantee their own safety.

Although Carlos I also suspected that his uncle had orchestrated the uprising of the Portuguese Republican Party, he dared not say it even if he died, as there was no evidence for such a thing.

After all, they were his relatives; Carlos 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, the mood of his mother, Princess Maria Pia, was clearly better.

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

Being reunited with her younger brother, for Princess Maria Pia who had lost her husband, this counted as a rare warmth in her life.

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

Thinking carefully, the last time she met Carlos was at the funeral of her father, Vittorio Emanuele II.

For the two siblings who had a fairly good relationship, this counted as a joyful reunion.

On the day the Portuguese royal family arrived in Spain, Carlos held a small welcome banquet for them.

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

Carlos's close attitude toward 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, Carlos was also very generous.

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

To put it bluntly, this matter was indeed Carlos pitting them; although they did not know it, making up for it from some places could also be considered making Carlos's behavior not so despicable.

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

Although there were similar bullfighting performances in Portugal, whether it was the scale or the degree of popularity among the people, they were far inferior to those in Spain.

(End of chapter)