Chapter 442

The first day of the peace talks ended with the Spanish and British diplomatic representatives parting on bad terms. The British diplomatic representatives clearly could not accept the too harsh compensation requirements proposed by Spain, and the Spanish side was also unwilling to concede on the issue of compensation.

Although the neutral mediating countries Germany and France were surprised by the huge compensation Spain asked for, they would not easily enter the game at such an early moment, and they still have to wait and see the progress of the subsequent peace talks between Spain and the UK.

After the first day of peace talks ended, representatives of various countries reported the progress of the peace talks to their countries. The British government was shocked by Spain's huge appetite, and the German and French governments were also shocked that Spain actually proposed such a huge amount of compensation.

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans did not think that the French government could agree to the compensation of 5 billion francs. At that time, France was in the stage of just overthrowing Napoleon III, and the country was still relatively chaotic, which is also the reason why the French government agreed to the 5 billion francs compensation.

Even with various reasons, the 5 billion francs compensation agreed by the French government still shocked European countries for a long time.

At this time, Spain actually demanded more compensation than 5 billion francs, and the one that needs to pay compensation is the British Empire, which ranks as the world's number one power. This is simply unbelievable.

Although the UK's performance in this war was very poor, and both the land and sea armies were crushed by the Spanish army. But the current UK has at least not reached the level of France during the Franco-Prussian War; the British King has not been captured, and the domestic political situation is not that chaotic.

Under these circumstances, it is obviously impossible for Spain to achieve its goal by demanding such a huge amount of compensation.

Would the Spanish government not understand such a simple truth? In fact, whether it is Gao Da or Prime Minister Olcajo, they all understand that the British cannot accept such huge compensation.

However, the one who holds the initiative at this time is Spain, and Spain holds more than 100,000 British captives. The longer this peace talk drags on, the greater the public opinion pressure the British government will face.

The longer the peace talks last, the more benefits Spain can obtain. Gao Da doesn't mind spending a few months with the British; anyway, Spain's Dreadnought-class battleships are still being built in large quantities, and Spain can still maintain its advantage in naval battles, which also means that it is impossible for the UK to make a comeback.

Because he knew that this peace talk was destined to be a tug-of-war, Gao Da did not pay too much attention to this peace talk, but turned his attention to the reward and punishment link that Spain was about to hold next.

Although the negotiations are still in progress, the UK and Spain still have a tacit understanding on the issue of ceasefire. Unless the negotiations collapse directly, this war will basically end formally after the peace talks.

Spain and the UK will not break out any war subsequently, and the Iberian Peninsula is about to usher in peace.

On Christmas Day, the Spanish government formally passed the meeting and decided to rebuild the port in the Gibraltar region. In the future, the Spanish Pacific Fleet will be directly stationed in the port of Gibraltar, completely controlling the Strait of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar and Ceuta across the strait will become the two pillars for Spain to control the Strait of Gibraltar. With these two ports guarding, Spain can ensure that the control of the strait is in its own hands.

In order to commemorate Spain's regaining of Gibraltar after nearly two hundred years, Gao Da decided to build a monument in the central area of the port of Gibraltar, one is to commemorate Spain's regaining of Gibraltar, and the other is to commemorate those soldiers who sacrificed for the recovery of Gibraltar, letting future generations remember their contributions to Spain.

In addition to building a monument in Gibraltar, Gao Da will also build a large mausoleum park on the outskirts of Madrid, specifically used to bury those soldiers who died for the country.

In addition to these tasks, Gao Da also plans to hold a large military parade celebration in Cádiz, a port city in Andalusia, to celebrate Spain's victory in this war and also to celebrate Spain's regaining of Gibraltar.

This war with the UK has already proven the strength of Spain's land and sea armies, and holding a military parade can better demonstrate this strength to the public.

A large military parade ceremony can not only improve the Spanish public's support and recognition of the country, but also let European countries understand Spain's strength and improve their attention to Spain.

The reason why the location of the military parade was placed in Cádiz is that this port is relatively special, indirectly detonating this war with the UK.

In addition to dispatching the land army, Gao Da also plans to dispatch the navy and air force for this military parade.

The navy naturally goes without saying. The Spanish Navy defeated the British Navy in this war, making the remaining main force of the British Navy afraid to go to sea for a decisive battle.

Such achievements no longer need to be mentioned. European countries all understand that the Spanish Navy's strength has ranked among the forefront of the world, and there are only a few countries that can compare with the Spanish Navy. Currently, the only one at the same level is the UK.

As for the so-called air force, it is actually a special force composed of a small number of airships. Spain also has good results in the research and development of airplanes, but military products related to airplanes will not be directly displayed to European countries.

On the contrary, these airships, Gao Da even wishes that European countries would refer to Spain's airship design.

The current airships, after certain modifications, can also possess a certain attack capability. Either install a machine gun on the airship, and long-range strafing of the ground can form firepower suppression, although the hit rate is a mess.

But if there is an enemy flight at close range, this machine gun still has a certain effect.

The main means of airships attacking the ground is by throwing bombs. In sunny and windless weather, the hit rate can still be guaranteed to some extent.

If the weather is not sunny or there is a strong wind, this way of throwing artillery shells by hand has no hit rate to speak of. However, Spain does not require airships to possess actual combat effectiveness; after all, the airships dispatched for this grand military parade are just to attract the attention of European countries.

The reason why airships were not dispatched in this war is actually because the role of airships is too limited at present. Flying too high, besides limited reconnaissance, cannot guarantee an effective hit rate on ground troops.

Flying too low will be hit by the bullets of ground troops. If you are unlucky, the airship may explode or burn.

Under these circumstances, once airships are used on the battlefield, all the shortcomings of airships will be exposed. Gao Da does not want this product used to replace airplanes to attract the attention of European countries to explode so early, at least wait until European countries have invested a large amount of funds in the research and development of airships and wasted a few years.