Rebirth of the Spanish Empire.

Chapter 39 The Beginning of Multi-Party Talks

Now in the Near East of Europe, the situation between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire is still tense, and both sides have begun mobilization for war.

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May 1876, 5, Istanbul (Constantinople), the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

“To ease the growing tensions in the Near East, we invite European leaders to Istanbul (Constantinople).

Let’s discuss the conflict between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire on the Balkan Peninsula and come up with a reasonable solution.

Now the conflict in the Balkans has become a major international event. This conflict requires the joint mediation of all European powers.

We uphold the principle of peaceful coexistence, so we in the British Empire hope that issues related to the Balkan Peninsula can be resolved in relevant meetings.

The British Empire will be represented by the Marquess of Salisbury, the Foreign Secretary.

To this end we have also invited the Russian Empire, the German Empire, the French Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

These six countries will send representatives to Istanbul (Constantinople), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to attend the conference.

The meeting will officially start on May 5, and we hope that European countries can come and participate on time. "

The Disraeli government directly issued diplomatic invitations to all European countries, which was considered the last step to peacefully resolve the Near East crisis.

"Dear Ambassador, your country has not notified us of convening this meeting. Isn't it possible that our country cannot participate in this meeting?"

Michat Pasha, the vizier of the Ottoman Empire, went directly to the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Regarding the news of this meeting, the British did not inform them at all, and Prime Minister Midhat Pasha was a little sad and angry.

“This is a meeting for your country, so you, the Ottoman Empire, can also send officials to attend the meeting.

I hope that the convening of this meeting will have a good result for you, the Ottoman Empire. "

The British ambassador did not explain to Midhat Pasha why the Ottoman government was not informed of the convening of this meeting.

Because this was a battle between the European powers, and the decadent and lonely Ottoman Empire was not worthy of Disraeli's notification, and it was also not qualified to participate in this meeting.

"Then our country refuses to participate in this meeting. This is your country's unwarranted interference in our country's internal affairs.

In this regard, it is impossible for our Ottoman Empire to recognize the legitimacy of this conference. "

Midhat Pasha directly rejected the British ambassador's claims, which was a complete disregard for Ottoman sovereignty.

"Master Prime Minister, I think you'd better accept this request, because this is completely a good thing for your Ottoman Empire."

If you, the Ottoman Emperor, refuse to participate in this meeting, then our British Empire will have to withdraw all support and assistance to your country in the subsequent negotiations. "

At this time the British ambassador made an almost naked threat to Midhat Pasha.

Because not long ago, the British Empire helped the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Spain complete military purchase orders.

Therefore, the current Ottoman Empire is completely looking up to the British Empire so that it can continue to survive.

“I think Prime Minister, now you can make the right choice for your Ottoman Empire.

Midhat Pasha's angry eyes stared closely at the sneering British ambassador in front of him, and the fists in his sleeves clenched unconsciously.

The Ottoman Empire, which has been intimidating Europe for hundreds of years since the fifteenth century, now looks so helpless under the threat of a mere British ambassador.

After a while, Midhat Pasha's expression softened, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
  "Dear Ambassador, of course our Ottoman Empire will participate in the meeting hosted by the British Empire, and we will need your help at that time."

But at this time, Midhat Pasha's nails under his sleeves had dug into his flesh, and blood continued to flow out of his flesh.

His fists were shaking slightly due to excessive force. It could be seen that the smiling prime minister was not really as happy as he appeared.

"That is natural. Our Foreign Secretary, Lord Salisbury, was the former Secretary of State for India. He will naturally fight for the benefits that the Ottoman Empire deserves."

The British ambassador smiled slightly and seemed satisfied with Midhat Pasha's attitude.

In response, Midhat Pasha smiled slightly, then turned around and walked out of the British Embassy, ​​a sadness and anger gradually emanating from his body.

This meeting hosted by the British is very likely to make the Ottoman Empire become meat on the chopping board and be slaughtered by the European powers.

In fact, at this time, the strength of the Ottoman Empire was not as weak as imagined. Its strength was equivalent to that of the Kingdom of Italy, and it was the goalkeeper of the world's second-rate powers.

But now the Ottoman Empire is facing the Russian Empire, known as the "European steamroller".

The Russian Empire ranks among the top five in the world in terms of comprehensive national strength, and it is simply unable to compete with the current Ultraman Empire.

The idea that the Russian Empire wanted to occupy Istanbul was something that no Ottoman Turk could accept. Istanbul was their capital. The relationship between Russia and Austria is now almost endless, and the only country that has the ability to help the Ottoman Empire fight against the Russian Empire is undoubtedly the British Empire.

The current Ottoman Empire has almost reached the point where it cannot lose the support of the British Empire. Once it loses their support, the current Ottoman Empire will completely become the mouthpiece of the Russian Empire.

Just two days before the meeting was announced, three warships from Barcelona, ​​Kingdom of Spain, also officially arrived at Mudaniya Bay, about ten kilometers away from Istanbul.

The British naval fleet deployed in the Black Sea is stationed here. Three warships from the Kingdom of Spain just drove into a group of British warships.

British Rear Admiral Walesland, the temporary commander of this fleet, was inexplicably amazed when he saw these large warships.

Walesland's adjutant looked at the three behemoths in front of him and expressed his amazement. In fact, there are many ships in Britain with a capacity of 10,000 tons.

Therefore, although the British Navy expressed surprise at this, it was not shocked. The confidence of the world's largest naval power naturally emerged.

The commanders of the three warships have also disembarked, and under the leadership of the British Navy, they came to the headquarters in Walesland to rest.

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The holding of the Constantinople Conference in Istanbul temporarily made the people of the Ottoman Empire feel a little baffled.

The first to arrive was Gorchakov, representing the Russian Empire. As a party to the game, they needed to arrive first to win over forces from all sides in Europe.

Next was Palacides from the Kingdom of Spain, the finance minister who was waiting for an opportunity to sell a large amount of arms in the Balkans. After getting the news of the meeting, he came over.

This military conference held in Istanbul can be said to have gathered all the European powers, except for the traditional five major powers. (British Empire, Russian Empire, French Republic, German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire)
  The Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Italy are considered the second strongest by the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire is considered a country, and the other small European countries are just a group of mascots who come to watch.

In fact, the current strength of the Ottoman Empire is not very weak, and is equivalent to the strength of the Kingdom of Italy. But sadly, he couldn't defeat any of his opponents.

Perhaps the sick man of East Asia at the same time, the Qing Dynasty, was not as good as the Ottoman Empire, the sick man of West Asia.

If the Daiqing Empire and the Ottoman Empire at the same time were allowed to fight, I believe that the Daiqing Empire would be pinned to the ground and beaten by the Ottoman Empire.

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In the next two days, representatives from France, Britain, and Germany also arrived one after another, which also meant that the Constantinople Conference was about to be officially convened.

On May 5, with the late arrival of the Italian representative, representatives from various European countries also gathered together.

Nowadays, the division of camps in European countries is also very clear. The three major powers, Russia, Germany, and Austria, support the autonomy of the Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula. Britain, Spain, and Turkey support the maintenance of Ottoman Empire's rule in the Balkan Peninsula.

France and Italy are taking a wait-and-see attitude, which is bound to be the focus of the two sides' efforts to win over each other, while the rest of the small European countries are acting as mascots on the sidelines.

Salisbury's diplomatic views were different from those of Disraeli. He did not have much idea about maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire. In previous cabinet discussions, he had already proposed the idea of ​​carving up the Ottoman Empire.

Although Disraeli ultimately did not agree with Salisbury, he allowed Salisbury to act on his own.

As for Elliott, the British Ambassador to Turkey, Disraeli turned out to be the hands, feet, eyes and ears of the Ottoman Empire's operations.

It can be said that when Salisbury came to represent Britain at this conference. This also means that in this negotiation, the Ottoman Empire lost from the beginning.

Because it was Salisbury, not Disraeli, who presided over the negotiations, the two had completely different foreign policies for the Ottoman Empire.

Salisbury's performance in the original history was also very different from the results Disraeli expected.

Before this meeting, Disraeli had already delivered a war speech in the capital London.

Roughly means:

Our British Empire has always pursued a peaceful foreign policy, but at the same time we are not afraid of war.

Once someone attempts to destroy world peace, the British Empire will be ready to launch a war, and the British Empire will fight for world peace.

Once a war is launched, the British Empire will not retreat and will fight to the end for justice.

In St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, Tsar Alexander II also delivered a war speech in response to Disraeli's speech.

They roughly mean:

To occupy the Ottoman Empire's lands in the Balkans is wrong...

It was to liberate the Slavic brothers who were enslaved by the Ottoman Empire and help them build a country that belonged to them.

At this time, the tense atmosphere between the two sides has attracted the attention of all Europe.

As a tool for the great powers to compete with each other, the Ottoman Empire could only pin its hopes on the British Empire.

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(End of this chapter)