Rebirth of the Spanish Empire.

Chapter 49 Conflict between Russia and Britain

"We, the British Empire, hope that your country can give up its aggressive plan against the Ottoman Empire and reduce its interference in the Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula."

The British demands were simple and crude. They relied on the powerful deterrent power of the British Royal Navy battleships and cannons to make most countries in the world surrender to them.

It can be said that gunboat diplomacy has been thoroughly practiced by the British. This is different from Britain’s ridiculous gunboat diplomacy in the 21st century.

During the British Empire during the reign of Queen Victoria, the deterrent power of their gunboat diplomacy was able to make countless small countries willingly open their doors.

The Russian Empire is not one of those weak countries. The British gunboat diplomacy has no effect at all on the Russian Empire.

The Russian Empire became a world power mainly because of its huge gray mouth. When it comes to the navy, the Russian Empire can only be said to be better than nothing.

After all, successive tsars of the Russian Empire regarded continental hegemony as the centerpiece of their expansion strategies. As for maritime interests, the Russian Empire has very little involvement.

Therefore, the British Empire's gunboat diplomacy had an extremely limited effect on the Russian Empire.

"Our Russian Empire has never planned an invasion plan against the Ottoman Empire. I don't know, how did your country learn about this news?
  You British threaten our Russian Empire just because of this flimsy excuse. Aren't you afraid that European countries will unite to boycott the British Empire? "

In this regard, Gorchakov said angrily.

Salto, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain, who was between the two, glanced at Gorchakov and paused.

He looked at Dufferin along with Gorchakov. Salto's meaning is obvious, and the Kingdom of Spain is also afraid of this happening.

The Kingdom of Spain was surrounded by sea on three sides and was more threatened by the British than the Russians. Not to mention that the Strait of Gibraltar in the Kingdom of Spain is still in the hands of the British.

After all, the British have countless criminal records in this regard.

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The establishment of the current Kingdom of Belgium has a huge relationship with the British gunboat diplomacy.

At the beginning, the British relied on the Royal Navy's gunboat diplomacy to force the Kingdom of the Netherlands to allow Belgium to become independent.

At the Congress of Vienna, in order to obtain the Belgian region, the Kingdom of the Netherlands handed over most of the best areas of the Dutch East Indies to the British.

In exchange for this, the British provided diplomatic support for the Dutch Kingdom's annexation of Belgium.

But only a dozen years later, the British went back on their word and forced the then King of the Netherlands, William III, to allow the Belgian region to become independent.

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Dufferin's expression changed slightly. The Kingdom of Spain was now almost on a united front with them.

At this time, everyone showed a hesitant attitude, which shows that the British gunboat diplomacy is indeed hated by many countries.

“We in the British Empire have never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries without reason, but the situation in the Balkans is extremely unstable now.

We have the obligation and ability to prevent these things from happening, and I believe that all European countries will understand our intention to do so. "

If European countries unite against Britain, then no matter how powerful the Royal Navy of the British Empire is, it will be completely unable to resist attacks from European countries.

But in history, when Europe was most united, it was when it opposed Napoleon's unification of Europe.

In the nineteenth century, whether it was the feud between Germany and France, the territorial disputes between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the conflicts between Belgium and the Netherlands...

Therefore, in the current European continent, European countries simply cannot concentrate their forces to oppose the British Empire.

“But what you British people said before is completely nonsense and a slander against our Russian Empire.

Our Russian Empire has never planned an invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

In this regard, we in the Russian Empire cannot be humiliated for no reason without receiving any compensation. "

Previously, the British's gunboat diplomacy against the Russian Empire had been published in major European newspapers.

Although the British Empire is now the well-deserved world hegemon.

However, if the Russian Empire compromises on this matter, the reputation of the Russian Empire will inevitably be severely damaged.

Whether it was Tsar Alexander II or Gorchakov who wanted to help the Russian Empire return to the ranks of the top powers.

For both of them, it was impossible to accept.

"We will not accept your conditions easily. This is related to the majesty of our Russian Empire."

Pretending to agree to the British request will have no impact on the Russian Empire, and may even stimulate domestic warlike sentiments.

However, Gorchakov had to find a good time to agree. Otherwise, this will only create a diplomatic image of the Russian Empire as weak and easily bullied.

"If your country does not agree, then our Royal Navy of the British Empire will take necessary military actions to make your Russian Empire agree."

In this regard, Dufferin was not to be outdone.

He retaliates directly against Gorchakov. After all, the British Royal Navy not only has the Mediterranean Fleet, but also the Far East Fleet stationed in Singapore, East Asia. Therefore, if the British wanted to blockade the Russian Empire, the ports on the Black Sea and the Far East could be easily done.

Even in the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, the North Sea Fleet of the British Royal Navy can block the Russians in the port of St. Petersburg and dare not show their faces.

“It seems that the two sides have not reached an agreement on this negotiation yet, so why don’t we continue the discussion tomorrow.

You two are both very important countries in the world. You should not go to war easily, otherwise it will easily cause adverse effects. "

Salto, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain, immediately stood up to be the peacemaker.

Although the Kingdom of Spain is now in the British camp. But in today's negotiations, for the British and the Russians, the role of the Kingdom of Spain is to act as a middleman for both parties.

Because now, the British are afraid of really pushing the Russians into trouble, and the Russians are afraid of really going to war with the British.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Spain naturally acted as the middleman for negotiations between the two parties.

“In that case, please, Your Majesty the Prime Minister, report to your Tsar on the status of today’s negotiations.

I think His Majesty Alexander will make a wise choice. "

The British Ambassador Dufferin glanced at Sarto with some gratitude, adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and said to Gorchakov.

"Then I won't send you off."

Gorchakov also replied in a cold tone. At this time, it was impossible for him to give the British a good look.

Dufferin and Sarto walked out of the Prime Minister's Office one after another, leaving only Gorchakov whose expression gradually calmed down.

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“Your Majesty, what the British did today is the same as what the Kingdom of Spain said before.

Their demand was that we withdraw our plans to launch war against the Ottoman Empire. "

After the meeting, Gorchakov immediately came to the Winter Palace and began to report the situation to Alexander II.

"It seems that the intelligence provided by the Kingdom of Spain is correct. So regarding this matter, we now have some room for maneuver."

Looking at Alexander II, whose face gradually relaxed, Gorchakov also showed a smile on his face.

"In this case, then agree to their request, and we will wait quietly for the war crisis to break out between Germany and France.

See if there is any way to get some benefits from the British. "

After Alexander II finished speaking.

In his mind, he was still imagining the scene where the British came to seek support with a shy face, which made the Czar, who had been tricked by the British countless times, a little happy.

Compared with the British, who are called "Europe's troublemakers," the Russians' diplomatic methods can be said to be upright, which is not an exaggeration.

In the last Crimean War, the British forced the Russian Empire's army to spit out all the fruits of victory without even firing a single shot.

Therefore, in terms of diplomatic methods, the Russians are in no way inferior to the British.

In the future, whether it is the Sino-Indian border, the India-Pakistan issue, the conflict between Egypt and Sudan, the territorial dispute between Israel and Palestine...

These international conflicts will be familiar to later generations. They are all pits dug by the British after World War II.

For the Kingdom of Spain, these seemingly casual things can greatly reduce the Russian Empire's ill will towards the Kingdom of Spain.

The simplest example is that the Russian media vigorously condemned the British. As for the Kingdom of Spain, which was also involved, it was only mentioned briefly.

In future expansion, using the Russians to contain the British can greatly reduce the British's attention to the Kingdom of Spain.

Since the last Crimean War, the British had cut off almost all lines of Russian expansion into Europe.

After that, the focus of the Russian Empire's expansion has always been in Central Asia and the Far East.

In the future 1885, the Russian Empire's ambitions for India became even stronger. So after this, Russia and Britain were almost on the verge of war.

What would happen if the Kingdom of Spain, which had secretly prepared in advance, handed over some intelligence collected in advance to the Russians.

Especially in the Kingdom of Spain, after establishing trust with the Russians, the Russians will be able to guess the British actions more accurately.

Even if a war between the two countries can be triggered, there will be no resistance to the Spanish Kingdom's overseas colonial expansion.

Now the French are restrained by the Germans, and the navies of the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the two navies combined, can barely compete with the navy of the Kingdom of Spain.

In the future, it still takes time to prove whether it can cause a war between the Russians and the British.

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(End of this chapter)