As the sun set, a large fleet slowly sailed to the New Frankfurt port, quickly causing a sensation among the dock workers.
As one of the most important military ports of the Holy Roman Empire in Southeast Asia, it was normal for a fleet to come and go. But this time it was different. The fleet that entered the port was flying the wrong flag.
A young man pointed to the front with trembling hands and exclaimed, "What's going on? Which bastard is so careless and made a mistake with the military flag?! "
The New Frankfurt port was one of the stations of the Austrian Nanyang Fleet and was considered a military important place. Even if foreign warships occasionally passed by and needed supplies, they would send small boats to deliver them. There was never any talk of docking.
This was also a tacit understanding between colonial empires. For the safety of the port, unless they accepted an invitation or the warship was damaged during the trip and needed to be repaired, under normal circumstances, foreign warships were not allowed to enter.
Especially after Japan's successful sneak attack on the Philippines, the major colonial empires were even more vigilant. Such a large fleet had to stay a few miles away even if they wanted to get supplies, not to mention docking.
The middle-aged foreman next to him ridiculed, "Don't talk nonsense. Who would hang the wrong flag? Just look at the shape of the warship and it's obvious that it's not ours.
That's the flag of the Spanish. They are at war with the Japanese and I heard that they suffered a big loss a few days ago. It seems that this fleet should be their reinforcements.
I just don't know what's going on and why they came to us. "
After a pause, the middle-aged man seemed to think of something and immediately reprimanded them, "Hurry up and work. Don't even think about being lazy. It's not your turn to worry about the affairs of the big shots!
Do you still want your wages or not? Let me tell you, if you don't finish today's work, no one can go home. "
Suddenly, a short man held his stomach with both hands and showed a painful expression, quickly attracting the attention of the middle-aged foreman.
"Little Monkey, what are you doing again?"
It could be seen that the middle-aged foreman was still very worried. It was just that no one knew whether he was worried about the little monkey's health or today's work.
"Boss, I have a stomachache. Can you give me some money first and let me go to the hospital? "
As he spoke, the young man with the little monkey squatted down as if he was in unbearable pain.
The middle-aged foreman frowned. Sickness came like a landslide, especially for those who did heavy physical work on the dock. As long as they fell sick, few could get up.
It wasn't that they couldn't treat it, but they didn't have the money to treat it. Although dockworkers were relatively well-paid, after deducting the expenses of their families, there was not much left.
If they didn't seek medical treatment, one of them would die. If they really went to the hospital, they didn't know if they could be saved. Anyway, their family would definitely be gone.
"Alright! But don't go to the hospital, kid. That's not a place for people like us. Just go to Old Liu and get him a prescription. "
The poor had their own ways of living. Other than expensive hospitals, there were also barefoot doctors who wandered around.
Putting aside the medical skills, the price was cheap.
Generally speaking, these barefooted doctors would go out and gather their own medicinal herbs. They would only buy the herbs that couldn't be found on the island. The cost was much lower than that of the hospital.
However, you get what you pay for. There weren't many barefoot doctors in Nanyang with good medical skills. If he really had the ability, he would have been recruited by the hospital long ago.
They were all private hospitals, and everything depended on money. As long as they could make money, capitalists wouldn't care about traditional Chinese medicine or western medicine.
Under the drive of interests, the earliest integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospital appeared quietly.
The young man with the little monkey kept nodding, indicating that he already knew. After taking the money from the middle-aged foreman, he trembled and left.
In this precarious era, no one would poke their nose into other people's business unless they were relatives or friends.
The little monkey joined later, so he was neither related nor old friends to them. He couldn't even be considered as a fellow villager. Apart from a few sighs, the rest of the people continued to work.
After getting rid of everyone's sight, the little monkey, who was originally on the verge of death, instantly recovered and ran to the telegraph company as fast as he could.
…
In the early hours of the morning, the Emperor Palace was still brightly lit. Emperor Meiji, who was supposed to be resting, was also awakened by a sudden telegram. He hurriedly held an imperial conference.
"The enemy's speed is much faster than we expected. They have already arrived at Sulawesi and are now parked in the port of New Frankfurt, only one step away from the Philippines.
The enemy is about to launch an attack, but the warship promised by the British hasn't been obtained. We must come up with a plan on how to deal with it next. "
Emperor Meiji said in an unquestionable tone.
The situation was so bad that it was completely beyond his expectations. According to international practice, the Holy Roman Empire, as a neutral country, could not provide help to Spain during the war.
Generally speaking, for the sake of national reputation, even if it provided support to a belligerent country, it would be done secretly. Blatant support like the Holy Roman Empire rarely happened in the European world.
However, the convention suddenly failed. The Holy Roman Empire didn't seem to care about its international reputation this time. Not only did it allow Spanish warships to pass through the Suez Canal, but it also provided ports for the Spanish Navy to dock.
If everything went according to plan, it wouldn't be a surprise to provide maintenance for the Spanish warships.
These support may seem inconspicuous, but in fact, these are factors that directly affect the combat effectiveness of the Navy.
In the original timeline, because the Russian Pacific Fleet did not have these logistical support, they could not even display half of their combat power, which was why they were easily defeated by the Japanese. Otherwise, it would be unknown who would win and who would lose.
Admiral Ito Yuki asked, "What is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing? Didn't the Austrians say they were neutral? Why did they suddenly support Spain?
Why didn't we receive any news before? This is dereliction of duty. Do you know how much damage this accident will bring to the Empire? "
"Ito Yuki, calm down first. No one wants to see such a thing happen. And our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not idle.
The Government of Vienna has long declared its neutrality, which is a well-known fact. What happened now is mainly because we ignored a secret agreement from 40 years ago.
Before the Austrians went to the sea, they signed port sharing agreements with many colonial empires, including Spain.
It was thanks to this treaty that the Austrians were able to overcome the difficulties of supply in the early days of colonization and created the world's second colonial empire.
According to the treaty, the contracting party is obliged to provide logistical support and port docking to the other party within its ability as long as it does not endanger its own interests. "
Saionji Kongwang explained helplessly.
This was really not their responsibility. Forty years ago, they were still children during the shogunate era. Who would care about a treaty that had nothing to do with them?
In particular, this treaty existed in the form of a secret agreement. If he hadn't gone to negotiate with the envoy of the Holy Roman Empire, he wouldn't have known about the existence of this treaty.
Ito Yuki asked angrily, "So what if there is a secret agreement? Didn't the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ask the Austrians for an explanation for this kind of violation of international practice? "
Saionji Kongwang replied bitterly, "Of course, an explanation is necessary. After receiving the news that the Spanish Navy had entered the port of New Frankfurt, I met with the envoy of the Holy Roman Empire as soon as possible.
The other party also gave a reasonable explanation, but I don't think you will like this explanation. "
Seeing that everyone was determined to know, Saionji Kongwang said slowly, "Minister Antonio expressed his regret for this incident and made a commitment on behalf of the Government of Vienna that he was willing to bear all the consequences.
He also said that if we have to pursue this matter, we can declare war on them. The Holy Roman Empire will take the initiative to bear the moral responsibility for this war. "
It would have been better if he hadn't explained, but this explanation made everyone unable to bear it. Even Emperor Meiji, who had always attached great importance to the majesty of a monarch, was furious at this moment.
A simple sentence of being willing to bear the responsibility seemed to be responsible for this matter, but in fact, it was a show of helplessness.
"Declaration of war"?
If Japan had this kind of strength, Emperor Meiji wouldn't mind fighting a good war with the Holy Roman Empire to let them know that the Empire of Japan was not to be trifled with!
Unfortunately, the reality was cruel. The Holy Roman Empire, which had been established for less than two months, was now half the world's hegemon. A country like Japan could be slapped to death with one slap.
A weak country had no diplomacy, which was vividly reflected here. Even if they had admitted to violating international practice, the Government of Japan didn't have the courage to go and pursue the matter.
Even the Government of Vienna had once again proved its credibility to the outside world because of this matter. For a secret agreement from 40 years ago, they could violate international practice and offend people to death …
Well, the weight of the Japanese was still a little light these days, and it wasn't very convincing if it was spread out. If it were the British, the effect would probably be better.
After all, Emperor Meiji, who was used to seeing the situation of the meeting getting out of control, immediately reprimanded, "All of you shut up! If you want to scold me, go home and slowly scold me. Don't act wildly here.
I also know that the Holy Roman Empire didn't do what they did this time, but what can they do? They are the most powerful country in the world, and they have the capital to be domineering.
If you have the ability, remember this debt first, and wait for the opportunity to get it back from them in the future to wash away this shame. "
In the end, Emperor Meiji also lost his confidence. There was no other way, the gap between the strength of the two sides was too big.
Just the power of the Holy Roman Empire in Southeast Asia had the ability to destroy the Empire of Japan. In terms of the comprehensive national strength of the two countries, the gap was at least more than double digits.
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