Chapter 722 - 334: Preparations for War (2)

Article 2 stipulates that the Suez Canal, as an important thoroughfare freely utilized by all nations, including its freshwater canal sections, should be jointly supervised and protected by all countries.

This article primarily aims to prevent the region where the canal is located, Egypt, or its controller, the United Kingdom, from affecting the canal’s tributaries. If Egypt or the British behind it forcibly sabotage the canal’s tributaries, it would certainly have a significant impact on the navigation through the Suez Canal.

If worse comes to worst, the British could also sink several large transport ships within the Suez Canal, effectively closing it off.

This point is to eliminate such phenomena and ensure that the normal operations of the canal are not interfered with by local governments or other forces.

As for Article 3, it further protects the interests of all countries concerning the Suez Canal, building upon the first two articles.

The specific content of Article 3 mainly protects the factories, facilities, buildings, and various projects of all countries on the maritime canal and river canal, further safeguarding their interests in the Suez Canal.

These three stipulations explicitly clarify the rights of all countries over the Suez Canal and ensure that these rights are not violated by the local government or the British government.

For Spain and all participating countries, the three provisions proposed by France are advantageous.

From this, we can also deduce that all nations will surely support the proposal made by the French. France will be able to gain the goodwill of other countries through these three propositions, thereby changing its diplomatic situation.

The only party that might suffer losses is the United Kingdom. By inviting multiple European countries to participate in this conference on the division of Suez Canal ownership, and even not inviting the actual controller, the British, France is undoubtedly directly challenging British authority.

But the problem is, the British really have no good countermeasures. The reason this conference is being held is precisely because all countries are wary of British control over the Suez Canal.

This also means that as long as the British are unwilling to relinquish control over the Suez Canal, even if this conference ultimately fails, other conferences will continue to be held in the future.

The United Kingdom has already stood in opposition to these participant countries, even without France’s lead, other countries will clearly demarcate the conflict between the two parties.

So the question arises, when faced with France’s straightforward provocation, will the United Kingdom take a step back or resist to the end?

For Carlo, this might be the most interesting matter in 1888. Just as France’s actions at the funeral of two German emperors could potentially spark a war, the British reaction now could likely trigger a war over the control of the canal.

And like the French at the time, the British are also isolated. Although the war target seems to be only France, no one can guarantee whether other countries might join the war against the British for the canal’s ownership.

In fact, Spain and many countries participating in this conference think alike, everyone is participating with the thought of having nothing to lose.

If France can forcibly seize control of the canal from the British, it would be ideal for all countries attending the conference.

Even if France fails to take control of the canal from the British, the countries attending the conference would not incur any losses, after all, it is France that is standing against the British.

The British cannot possibly hold all the conference-participating countries accountable, can they? Not to mention whether the British can hold so many participating countries accountable, the excuse itself is somewhat untenable, and the British government cannot be foolish enough to truly push itself into opposition against all countries in Europe.

No matter what the British think about this conference, the site’s atmosphere organized by the French is quite intense.

Countries explored various ways to use the Suez Canal, and a set of regulations concerning the Suez Canal’s ownership and operation is freshly brewing.

Because the talks require a long period, after participating in the initial days of discussions and roughly exploring a direction, Prime Minister Canovas chose to leave France, letting the Foreign Secretary continue to represent Spain in the negotiation.

The first thing Prime Minister Canovas did upon returning to Spain was brief Carlo about the specifics of the talks and discuss the potential shifts in the European situation triggered by this conference.

"Your Majesty, if there’s a possibility of a war breaking out between France and Britain, should we prepare to invade Morocco?" Prime Minister Canovas asked Carlo enthusiastically.

If a war were to break out between the United Kingdom and France, it would undoubtedly be the best opportunity that Spain had waited decades for.

The two countries hindering Spain from annexing Morocco are precisely England and France; if they are preoccupied, it implies that no European country would be able to stop Spain from annexing Morocco.

The reason why Prime Minister Canovas is so excited is simple: during his term, he might create achievements that even Prime Minister Prim had not accomplished.

If Spain can annex Morocco, it will officially grow into a superpower comparable to the UK, France, and Germany. Annexing Morocco also represents an opportunity for Spain to annex Portugal.

If both Morocco and Portugal were successively annexed, and Spain monopolized the Iberian Peninsula, could we call it a powerful empire?

Of course, the greatest beneficiary would undoubtedly be Carlo as King. Even if he cannot be elevated to Emperor, he will have the chance to be proudly hailed by the Spaniards as the greatest monarch, or the so-called Great Emperor.

This will significantly enhance Carlo’s influence, authority, and the royal family’s status, ensuring the Savoy royal family’s firm position in Spain without any external factors interfering with the royal inheritance.

Although Carlo will gain the most, as the head of the government, Prime Minister Canovas will also reap significant benefits.

Currently, Prime Minister Canovas holds the title of Earl; ordinarily, he hopes to be promoted to Duke after three terms as Prime Minister.

However, if he can facilitate Spain’s successive annexations of Morocco and Portugal, not only will Prime Minister Canovas rapidly be promoted to Duke, he might even hope to be bestowed the title of Grand Duke.

As a Duke, he is inevitably incomparable to Prime Minister Prim in contributions, but if he can be promoted to Grand Duke based on his own merits, it would be hard to tell whose contribution to Spain is greater. The two could be regarded as the two great prime ministers of the Carlo reign, known as the dual heroes of Spain’s renaissance.

Clearly, achieving this would greatly enhance his power, status, and influence. This also makes it understandable why Prime Minister Canovas is excited, because he hopes to accomplish everything a Prime Minister could, to be eternally remembered in Spanish history, and become a source of inspiration sung by future Spaniards.

Upon hearing Prime Minister Canovas’ inquiry, Carlo nodded first and said, "The government must closely monitor the movements of Britain and France, while preparing for the possibility of war against Morocco.

Regardless of whether a war breaks out between Britain and France, the Ministry of Defense must be prepared for war. If a war does break out between England and France, we should conquer all of Morocco as swiftly as possible.

If no war breaks out between England and France, then hold off for now and wait for changes in the European situation.

During this time, I do not want any leakage of our battle plans. The government must strictly maintain confidentiality regarding our war plans."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Prime Minister Canovas nodded, clearly understanding the importance of confidentiality.

If a war were indeed to break out between England and France, but due to the leak of Spain’s war plans against Morocco, causing the two nations to abandon war, it would not be worth at all.

Both Britain and France highly value Morocco, and indeed, they might abandon their conflict because of Morocco being annexed by Spain.