[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-49":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364977,4632,"Chapter 49: 5 Billion Indemnity Freshly Released","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>Under the influence of the Paris citizens' uprising, the French National Defense Government soon signed a new compensation clause with the Germans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This compensation clause was even more exaggerated than the previous draft; the scale of the indemnity alone reached a terrifying 5 billion francs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In mid-April 1870, both sides signed this new compensation clause in Frankfurt, which was also known as the Treaty of Frankfurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The treaty stipulated that France would cede Alsace and Lorraine, along with the fortress of Metz, to Prussia, and voluntarily renounce sovereignty over Alsace and Lorraine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the next three years, the French government was required to pay Germany an indemnity of 5 billion francs. This indemnity would be calculated at a rate of 3 francs and 50 centimes per Prussian silver thaler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for converting it into Prussian silver coins was to prevent the French from paying less by devaluing the franc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no need to doubt it; the French were absolutely capable of doing such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>5 billion francs was not a small sum; when converted into pounds sterling, it still amounted to as much as 200 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current main warships are ironclads, with construction costs generally ranging from over one hundred thousand to several hundred thousand pounds sterling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If all these funds were used to build ironclads, it would be enough for Prussia to possess hundreds of powerful ironclad warships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although building a navy is not that simple, training naval soldiers, having soldiers become familiar with the operation of warships, and cultivating qualified combat effectiveness all require a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this already proves the magnitude of these funds; for Prussia, which had just defeated France, these funds were like charcoal in snowy weather, helping Prussia quickly carry out industrial construction and thereby rank among the world's top powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, one can see from this aspect that the French contributed greatly to Prussia's growth into the German Empire and its becoming the world's second-ranked power, second only to Britain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prussia's industrial foundation was not strong, yet the French sent over the industrially powerful Alsace and Lorraine regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the Lorraine region, which possessed vast iron ore resources. The Germans relied on the iron ore of Lorraine and the coal mines of the Ruhr area to allow the German Empire's industry to surpass France in a short period of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Developing industry requires a large amount of capital, and the French also thoughtfully prepared 5 billion francs for the Germans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were not for the French's thoughtful help, Germany might still have been able to rise, but the speed would definitely have been much slower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this also demonstrated in some respects the foundation of old colonial powers like Britain and France.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The French needed to pay a full 5 billion francs in indemnity within three years, which also meant that the Prussians believed France had the ability to scrape together 5 billion francs within three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On this point alone, France had already surpassed most countries in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, the current Spain would not have the ability to scrape together 5 billion francs. Never mind three years; even if they used ten years to scrape it together, they might not necessarily succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he had long known that the indemnity the French needed to pay was as high as 5 billion francs, upon truly learning the terms of the treaty signed by the Prussian and French sides, Gao Da still could not help but feel a bit surprised, as well as envious of Prussia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a full 200 million pounds sterling in funds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, what Spain lacks most is capital, and this is the only factor plaguing the reforms of Ma Deli.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After defeating the Carlists, the voices in Spain opposing reform had gradually weakened. But it was precisely because of the lack of funds that the progress of the reform had been very slow, making it impossible to realize the expectations for reform in Ma Deli's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Ma Deli still possessed sufficient rationality. Coupled with the frequent rebellions in Spain during this period, the reform plan formulated by the government was not too radical, and the overall trend of Spanish reform remained steady with progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Prussia obtained the indemnity of up to 5 billion, Gao Da's idea of clinging to Prussia's thigh became even stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Prussia, or rather Germany, already possessed all the conditions to become a top power and would remain a top power in Europe for the next 40 years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could cling to Prussia's thigh and obtain support from Prussia in terms of industry and capital, Spain's reforms would also be smoother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for support from Britain and France, Gao Da had never even considered it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The British did not want to see Spain rise at all, because once Spain rose, it would inevitably generate the idea of taking back Gibraltar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gibraltar is related to the British control of the Mediterranean, and it is impossible for them to give up their occupation of Gibraltar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also meant that Britain and Spain had irreconcilable contradictions; unless one of the countries was no longer among the great powers, it would be impossible for Britain and Spain to maintain peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, there is no need to say much about France. As a neighbor of France, it is of course better for Spain to be as weak as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No country is willing to see its neighbor become very powerful, and the French naturally could not support Spain's reforms and industrial expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the whole of Europe, the only ones left who could support Spain's reforms and industrial construction were Germany, Russia, and Italy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Germany and France have intense contradictions; even if it were just to cause some trouble for the French, the Germans would support Spain's reforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Russia and the British have contradictions, so they would naturally be willing to see Spain's rise. But at this time, Russia was not much better off than Spain; its own reforms were not thorough, let alone having funds to support Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Italy, because Gao Da came from the Italian royal family, and because Italy and Spain had a common enemy in North Africa—France—they could come together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Italian royal family was originally the main family, and the only great power they could marry into was Germany.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gao Da would not force things like marriage. Although there were considerations of political interests, Gao Da did not wish to marry a wife he did not like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could meet a marriage partner he liked who was also helpful to the royal family and Spain, that would naturally be the best of both worlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days passed quickly, and Gao Da still had some gains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First was the situation of the Royal United Bank, a financial enterprise that Gao Da valued very much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the week since it opened, the total number of depositors had already exceeded five thousand, with total savings reaching 29.13 million pesetas, an average saving of 5,787.31 pesetas per person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the average savings had dropped from the 40,000 of the first day to less than 6,000 now, it was a good thing for the Royal United Bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this meant that there were more and more civilian depositors, and the Royal United Bank was gradually gaining credibility in the hearts of the citizens of Ma Deli.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the population of Ma Deli was not large, and being able to have over five thousand depositors in a short time already proved the trust of the public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the contribution of the nobles was greater, the trust of the public was even more of an encouragement to Gao Da; at the very least, it proved that the support of the Spanish people for the House of Savoy and Gao Da was gradually increasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second update, asking for support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1326,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","a0eed6fd21026d8307ca8f4e71feab9c5238c22549b7ea761a50548de7f6c496","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-50","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-48",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]