Rise of Australia

Chapter 239 Assassination
Because Australasia and the major European powers have established diplomatic relations, notifying the great powers only needs to summon their foreign ministers.

Among these European powers, Australasia's key invitations are naturally Britain and Germany, which have huge influence in the international community, and Russia, which has a very good relationship with Australasia.

The response of the powers was also very fast. On September 9, Russia had already issued a response, expressing its willingness to participate in this mediation as a neutral country, and strive to bring peace to the two countries of Australasia and Portugal.

It was followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, which also agreed to participate in the mediation.The Germans have nothing to do with this war, and the war area is very far away from Germany.

Willing to participate in this mediation was actually agreed by William II for Arthur's sake.

Finally, there is the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom actually has a little connection with this war. The main battlefield of Portugal and Australasia is Portuguese India, which can be regarded as an important area of ​​the British Empire.

The British Empire has a strong influence in India and Southeast Asia, and it is the most suitable and most qualified country to participate in this mediation.

After Britain, Germany and Russia agreed to participate in the mediation, the participation of other powers would have little effect.

These three countries are enough to crush Portugal in any region, and it is no longer up to them whether Portugal participates in mediation.

On October 1907, 10, Australasia officially issued an announcement in the name of the national government, openly inviting Britain, Germany and Russia to participate in the mediation of this war.

The current advantage in this war is Australasia, and Australasia's initiative to mediate also surprised Europeans.

In this regard, the Australasian government gave a seemingly reasonable explanation, that is, all citizens and governments of Australasia yearn for peace and are unwilling to bring disaster to the world.

In fact, Australasia has already obtained the benefits it wants, and it is unnecessary to continue fighting.

Soon, the three countries also publicly responded to Australasia's request, announcing that they would participate in the mediation as a neutral country and strive to bring peace to the warring parties.

On October 10, the three countries invited the governments of Australasia and Portugal to hold peace talks. The venue for the talks was London. After all, this is not only one of the most developed cities in the world, but also the capital of the most powerful country, the British Empire.

The invitation of the three countries made the Portuguese government feel embarrassed.

The development of the war so far has completely exceeded the expectations of the Portuguese government. Even judging from the current trend, the possibility of Portugal's victory has been greatly reduced.

But this war is a prestige war for Portugal. Winning the government and the royal family will gain a lot of civil prestige, and the opportunity can be used to completely consolidate the rule and stabilize the situation.

If it is a real defeat, it is okay to say, and it can be used as an excuse that it has tried its best to protect the interests of the people, but the enemy country is too strong.

If they directly participated in the peace talks and abandoned the fishermen who were to be protected before the war had a real outcome, I am afraid that the Portuguese government and Carlos I had gained a lot of prestige before the war.

Judging from the domestic situation in Portugal, this may even subvert the rule of the kingdom.

In the midst of sorrow, under the instruction of Carlos I, the Portuguese government chose to be silent.

Now the three countries of Britain, Germany and Russia are angry instead. Anyway, the three countries are all recognized powers, and Britain and Germany are still the current two hegemons in the world.

Promisingly declared to the outside world that it would mediate the war, but Portugal didn't give face directly. Isn't this slapping the face of the three rogue countries?

The day after Portugal chose to remain silent, a British government official publicly stated that the British government would reconsider its relationship with the Portuguese government due to the very bad impression Portugal left on Europeans in this war.

Although it did not say what would happen, the threat implied in the words is well known.

This is not over yet, Germany also expressed its attitude that day.

The attitude of the Germans is not so tactful. A German official made a high-profile statement that he supports Australasia's efforts for peace, and at the same time urges the Portuguese government to participate in the peace talks as soon as possible to create a peaceful and beautiful environment for the people of both sides.

The Russians naturally needless to say, Russia even publicly stated that the Russian Navy is considering forming a circumnavigation voyage, and its circumnavigation voyage perfectly covers the warring areas of Portugal and Australasia.

The successive statements of the three countries made the Portuguese government a little bit overwhelmed.

At the same time, the domestic people are increasingly dissatisfied with the defeat of the war, and Portugal's internal and external troubles have become more serious.

On October 10, after a day and night of negotiations, Carlos I reluctantly lowered his noble head and announced that Portugal agreed to start peace talks with Australasia.

On October 1907, 10, David, the Royal European Affairs Director who received the order from Arthur, and Henry Carnia, the Australasian ambassador to the British Empire, formed the Australasian delegation to represent Australasia in this event During the peace talks.

The two parties to the peace talks were Herbert Simon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese government, David, Ambassador Henry, the British Empire, the German Empire, and the Tsarist Russian Empire as neutral countries to supervise the fairness of the peace talks and ensure the smooth progress of the contract.

The first day of the peace talks was destined to not go well. The Portuguese side seemed to have no plans for peace talks, and the conditions offered were even more shocking.

Under the circumstances that they were the loser of the war, the Portuguese actually demanded war reparations from Australasia, and apologized to the Portuguese government and people for starting this war.

Moreover, Australasia must also release all captured Portuguese prisoners without compensation, and pay high compensation to all Portuguese soldiers who died in battle.

This has not yet calculated the property losses of the occupied Portuguese colonies. If these are included, the compensation requested by the Portuguese in Australasia is at least as high as 4000 million Australian dollars.

Such a condition resulted in several sneers from Director David, and the representatives of Britain, Germany and Russia were also speechless.

I don't know how confident the Portuguese are to offer such a sky-high price on such an occasion.

In this regard, Director David also gave Australasia's opinion. First of all, the Portuguese government made compensation for the war, including Australasia's losses in the war, as well as the casualties of the Australasian army, and the people's satisfaction. For property damage, etc., the Portuguese government has to pay the Australasian government a total of [-] million pounds in compensation, which will be paid off in five years.

The compensation that is not paid off every year is calculated at an interest rate of 15.00%.

Since the Portuguese are asking for a lot of money, Manager David is naturally not polite.

In addition to these sky-high reparations, the Portuguese needed to cede Portuguese Timor and Portuguese India to Australasia, and Australasia obtained the co-management of Portuguese East Asian colonies.

In the end, there were more than 1000 Portuguese captives who were captured. Each of them only needed to pay [-] pounds, and they could return to Portugal safely and smoothly.

Such conditions are not insignificant. The Portuguese government may fall into a crisis of bankruptcy just for financial compensation, not to mention the loss of two colonies, and the remaining East Asian colonies are likely to be lost.

If he really agreed to such a condition, Ambassador Herbert Simon felt that even if he could escape the punishment of Carlos I, he would definitely be torn apart by the angry Portuguese people.

However, the attitude of Australasia also made Herbert Simon understand that Australasia is not something that Portugal can handle.

What's more, there are three countries, Britain, Germany and Russia, sitting next to them. If Portugal continues to mess around like this, I'm afraid it will offend these three powers.

After the first day of peace talks, Ambassador Herbert Simon hastily sent a telegram to the country, seeking Carlos I's opinion.

Whether it is Australasia or the three countries of Britain, Germany and Russia, they are not stupid.

It is too tender to use nonsense to delay the progress of the peace talks.

On the second day, Ambassador Herbert Simon's attitude ushered in a big change. He gave up the request for Australasia's war reparations, and only asked Australasia to compensate the Portuguese who died in the war.

At the same time, Australasia should withdraw from the three Portuguese colonies, and the spheres of influence of the two sides should be restored to those before the war.

It is naturally impossible for Australasia to accept such conditions, and Director David couldn't help it, and directly conveyed Arthur's words to Ambassador Herbert Simon: "If the Portuguese do not accept the peace talks in a short time, then Australasia West Asia will lease warships from Russia, destroy the Portuguese army at all costs, and then sign a contract on Portuguese soil."

Judging from the current military strength of Portugal and Australasia, only the navy is behind in Australasia.

But if Australasia succeeds in leasing warships from Russia, or even directly leasing a battleship, the naval advantages and disadvantages between Australasia and Portugal will be directly erased, or even reversed directly.

At that time, Australasia will not only be able to complete the defensive war more calmly, but will even be able to log in to Portugal's African colonies.

But Portugal has no good way to do this. The European people generally support Australasia in this war, which means that basically no European country is willing to lease ships to Portugal.

Ambassador Herbert Simon couldn't refute David's threat, so he could only tell Carlos I everything that happened in the peace talks with a heavy face.

On October 1907, 10, on such an inauspicious day, something big happened in the Kingdom of Portugal.

Carlos I, who was then king, took his Crown Prince Louis to the government to attend a meeting to discuss the current peace talks with Australasia.

But the car was halfway, and two men in black came up to take out the pistols in their arms and shot two shots at Carlos I's convoy.

Crown Prince Louis was hit directly in the chest by the assassin's bullet because he was closer to the assassin, while Carlos I sat farther away, only to be hit by a stray bullet on the shoulder.

It wasn't until a few seconds after the shooting that Carlos I's guards reacted, shouted to defend His Majesty the King, and then quickly chased after the assassin.

The injured Carlos I and Crown Prince Louis went to the nearest hospital for treatment under the escort of the remaining guards.

Carlos I's injury was fine, and after the bullet was taken out, Carlos I's life was no longer in danger.

However, Crown Prince Louis' injury was very close to the heart, coupled with the cause of hemorrhage, it was very difficult to treat.

After the assassination, the Portuguese government responded very quickly.After successfully capturing the assassin, the Portuguese government released news that the assassin might have come from Australasia in an attempt to confuse the Portuguese people and make them hate Australasia again.

At this time, Ambassador Herbert Simon, who was participating in the peace talks in London, also received news from China. After receiving the order, Ambassador Herbert Simon suddenly stopped the peace talks and expressed his doubts to Director David.

What happened was very coincidental. When the peace talks between Portugal and Australasia reached a stalemate, King Carlos I of Portugal was assassinated.

It seems that Australasia is indeed suspected, and many Portuguese people are indeed deceived. They have publicly marched to express their dissatisfaction with Australasia, and rejoined the ranks of supporting the government in the war.

Seeing that the goal was achieved, Carlos I was in a much better mood, and focused on his son Louis.

Faced with the Portuguese throwing the pot away, Manager David was stunned, but he still learned the news that King Carlos I of Portugal had been assassinated.

It has to be said that the assassination of Carlos I was indeed beneficial to Australasia. A relatively chaotic Portuguese government naturally could not continue the war firmly.

But in any case, Manager David will not take the blame for others in vain.

Manager David disdainfully refuted Herbert Simon's questioning, and said that little Portugal does not need Australasia to make small moves.

This day's peace talks ended in such a situation. After returning to his room, Director David ordered his subordinates to find out the details of Carlos I's assassination, and asked his subordinates to start spreading news, and to disclose the fact that the Kingdom of Portugal was involved in the peace talks. All conditions, and demeaning the Kingdom of Portugal arbitrarily started a brutal war, has fallen into a disadvantage but regardless of the life and death of the Portuguese people, there is no real peaceful will to stop the war.

Public opinion is something that Australasia must master. Public opinion has brought a lot of benefits to Australasia, and it has also successfully made Portugal a target of public criticism in this war.

In view of the good impression that Australasia brought to the European people before, most Europeans are still willing to believe Australasia's rhetoric and stand on Australasia's position.

However, what really allowed Australasia to continue to maintain its advantage in public opinion was not the European newspapers controlled by Australasia, but a newspaper from a small Portuguese newspaper.

Although this was just a newspaper published by a small newspaper, it was reprinted by many newspapers in Portugal shortly after it was published, and it also attracted the attention of many European media.

This allowed the news of this newspaper to spread across most of Europe within a few days, and the contents of the newspaper were also known to most Europeans.

The content printed in the newspaper is actually very simple, probably some statements of a political party in Portugal.

But this political party is currently the largest opposition party in Portugal. What he opposes is not only the Portuguese government, but also the Portuguese monarchy and King Carlos I.

If the Portuguese Republican Party was only famous in Portugal before, then the name of the Portuguese Republican Party has even spread throughout Europe.

A radical member of the Portuguese Republican Party publicly stated that the assassination of Carlos I that happened not long ago was planned by the Republican Party. Ross I.

At the same time, the member of the Portuguese Republican Party also listed Carlos I's many crimes, such as implementing a high-pressure policy in the political arena, turning Portugal, a democratic republic, into an autocratic monarchy, not caring about the interests of the majority of civilians, in order to maintain his ruling status. Steady, desperate to wage war with Australasia.

In order to reflect the arbitrariness and arbitrariness of Carlos I, this member of the Republican Party also specifically listed the response of Australasia in the war, specifically explaining that Australasia's initial request was only for the fishermen to apologize and compensate, but the proud In desperation, Carlos I launched a war that should not have happened in order to create his so-called impression of loving the people.

So far, the war has caused Portugal to lose tens of thousands of soldiers, but the Portuguese government still does not have any willingness to negotiate peace, and is even secretly planning a counterattack, causing more Portuguese soldiers to pay unnecessary casualties.

Carlos I's arbitrary and outrageous behavior, as well as the autocratic and high-pressure policy implemented in Portugal, are the real reasons for the Republican Party to plan this assassination.

　Let’s just use these [-] words for today, brothers, I’m late.At home tomorrow, try again every day!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)