Sometimes, it was a blessing in disguise. Politics was such a comedy. Originally, the Government of the United Kingdom had doubts about supporting the Japanese, worried that they would not be able to recover the investment cost.
However, with the Holy Roman Empire supporting the Spanish, the Government of the United Kingdom had no choice. If they did not act, they would soon have no foothold in the Nanyang region.
Britannia did not have much interest in the Nanyang region. Even if it was squeezed out, it did not seem to have much loss. However, things could not be looked at on the surface.
Opening the map, one could see that the Nanyang region was stuck between the Far East and India. Once squeezed out, Britannia's hegemonic position in the Far East would also be shaken.
Of course, they had another option- Australia. The problem was that they had to go around in a big circle!
Britannia could not afford to be tossed around. The Royal Navy could not sail through the Suez Canal. The pressure on itself was great enough. If they had to make a detour, they would not be able to live.
In this context, Britannia could only bring in external forces to balance the various forces in the Nanyang region and relieve their own pressure.
…
At the same time as the Spanish arrived at the port of New Frankfurt, Ito Hirobumi represented the Government of Japan and British Foreign Secretary George signed the Anglo-Japanese Nanyang Secret Treaty in London.
The treaty stipulated:
1. Both contracting parties mutually recognize the right to protect their interests in the Nanyang region. If Japan's "special interests" in the Nanyang region are threatened by other countries, both countries have the right to intervene.
2. When one contracting party fights with a third country to protect the above interests, the other party shall strictly maintain neutrality and provide assistance within the scope of its ability.
3. If one contracting party is attacked by two or more countries, the other party shall provide military assistance.
4. In times of peace, the navies of the two countries shall cooperate to maintain the advantage in the Nanyang and Far East seas.
…
Supplementary agreement: In view of the needs of the Japan-Spain War, Britannia will sell three battleships, five cruisers, seven destroyers, and a number of auxiliary warships to the Government of Japan.
The treaty is valid for five years. After the expiration, the two countries will decide whether to continue the contract based on the specific situation.
In addition to the different targets, this Anglo-Japanese secret treaty was basically a copy of the original "Anglo-Japanese Alliance." The only difference was that the situation in Southeast Asia was more complicated, and neither Britain nor Japan were willing to publicize the alliance.
The Royal Navy might be number one in the world, but in terms of fleet deployment speed, they couldn't even compare to the Holy Roman Empire in Southeast Asia.
The Holy Roman Empire's fleet would arrive at least half a month earlier if the two countries' fleets set off at the same time. This was the strategic significance of the Suez Canal.
The only way to avoid such a disadvantage was to station a large number of troops. In theory, as long as the Royal Navy was twice the size of the Shinra Navy, they would be able to maintain their advantage.
As long as the Royal Navy split into two groups and blocked the Strait of Gibraltar and the Red Sea, the Shinra fleet would be trapped in the Mediterranean Sea.
After all, the Royal Navy's combat power was stronger. If their fleets were of the same size, the Shinra Navy was no match for them.
Of course, this was only in theory. If he were to actually try it out, he would find that it was completely useless.
A naval blockade was only effective against small countries. In the face of a giant like Shinra, the Royal Navy's blockade would at most bring some economic losses.
Other than angering the Government of Vienna and making the Shinra Empire invest more in warships, it wouldn't be a deterrent at all.
Although they couldn't win, Britannia couldn't lose either. With the strength of the Royal Navy, they were invincible.
The final result would be Britannia losing its colonies in Africa, and Shinra would most likely lose its colonies in Southeast Asia and America.
Maybe the two countries would fight each other's air force and bomb each other. Maybe the countries along the coast of Shinra would also be baptized by the flames of war.
But in general, both sides would be big losers, and the winners would only be the people who didn't get involved.
Under the background of not turning hostile, exposing the secret agreement between Britain and Japan would force the Netherlands and Spain to join forces with Shinra.
Two against three, the British felt they were at a disadvantage, and the Japanese simply didn't dare to join in the fun. Although they were all superpowers, the goalkeeper of a superpower like Spain was a completely different species from the Shinra Empire.
If they really failed, who could guarantee that the British would be reliable? If they didn't care about the consequences and directly sent a fleet to Tokyo, the Government of Japan wouldn't be able to afford it.
Even if the Government of the United Kingdom was willing to help, when the Royal Navy arrived, they could only help collect the corpses.
What was the use of revenge?
With the Japanese Empire's resources, they wouldn't be able to make a comeback after losing once. There was no future. They couldn't expect the Holy Roman Empire to give up and let them rebuild their navy, could they?
…
The Spaniards who had just arrived at the port of New Frankfurt were having a celebratory banquet. After drifting on the sea for so many days, it was finally time to relax.
"Sir Werther, didn't Governor Chandler come?"
Halfway through the banquet, the fleet commander, Admiral Valkenhein, realized that an important guest hadn't arrived.
As the foreign affairs officer, Sir Werther smiled and replied, "I'm very sorry. His Excellency Governor can't come because of something and asked me to convey his apologies. "
From his sincere smile, it could be seen that he was very apologetic. However, this wasn't what Admiral Valkenhein needed.
If Spain wanted to defeat the Japanese and recover the Philippines, they couldn't do without the support of the Austrian Governor. Governor Chandler avoided meeting them because he didn't want to get involved in the Japan-Spain war.
Although the two countries were allies, the relationship between countries still had to be based on interests. The Government of Vienna was already a good friend if they were willing to honor the previous treaty with Spain.
If they wanted to get further support, it would depend on what the Spanish government was willing to pay. Unfortunately, Spain's resources were too thin and couldn't afford this price.
Otherwise, Spain would have bought over the European countries and let the European Union pass a resolution ordering the Japanese to withdraw from the Philippines.
Not to mention the Government of Japan, even the Government of the United Kingdom would think twice before facing the European Union's resolution.
In fact, Spain didn't have no chance. If they joined the anti-French alliance before the Russians joined the war, they could definitely get the full support of the anti-French alliance.
Unfortunately, the Spanish government was too hesitant and was a step too slow. It was too late for Russia to join the war, causing their value to plummet.
The status of the victorious country was obtained, and the spoils of war were obtained, but it was obviously not enough to get the Holy Roman Empire to help them take back the Philippines.
After a brief moment of awkwardness, Admiral Valkenhein immediately reacted and replied politely: "It doesn't matter, His Excellency is very busy, I understand. It's just that I don't know when the maintenance of the warship will start?
Sir Witte, you know. Our fleet came from the mainland and sailed tens of thousands of kilometers. There will be another war soon, and the warship is in urgent need of maintenance. "
After sailing tens of thousands of kilometers, the warship was only "maintained", not "repaired". This was enough to prove the quality of the French warship and the professional quality of the Spanish Navy.
Compared to the miserable Russian fleet in the original time and space, the Spanish were much luckier.
"The maintenance factory is ready and can start at any time. It's just that the size of your fleet is huge, I'm afraid one maintenance factory can't complete the maintenance in a short period of time.
If you are in a hurry, I personally suggest that the fleet be dispersed to multiple maintenance factories for maintenance. With our technical strength, if we are separated, we can complete the maintenance in a week at the earliest. "
It would be a waste not to take the money that was delivered to their doorstep. Whether it was providing logistical supplies or the maintenance of the warship, they all had to be paid.
Sir Witte always gave his customers the warmth of the sun. As long as the customers had money in their pockets, he would do everything possible to meet their needs.
As for the result of this war, it actually wasn't that important. As long as the Government of Vienna was willing, even if the Spanish Navy was completely destroyed, they could immediately build a stronger fleet for them.
The same was true for the enemy. As long as the British were willing, no matter how much the Japanese lost, they could immediately replenish it.
In a sense, the key to the outcome of this war was not on the battlefield, but the game between the major powers.
Admiral Valkenhein said happily: "Of course, the sooner the better, the Filipino people are still waiting for us to rescue them!"
Although he didn't know that Britain and Japan had already colluded, Admiral Valkenhein still understood the principle of long delays and dreams.
The Philippines was a treasure land, and it wasn't only the Japanese who coveted this place. Almost every colonial empire had fantasized about this place.
In the short term, everyone tacitly agreed that the Philippines was a colony of Spain. Due to political factors, it was inconvenient for countries to attack the Philippines.
But as time dragged on, the situation would be different. Once the international community thought that Spain was unable to recover the Philippines, then their ownership of the Philippines would be gone.
The original political factors of the Philippines would no longer exist after the change of ownership, and there would be no burden for people to act.
Especially Britain and Austria, who both had enough power to seize the Philippines from the Japanese, were the targets of Valkenhein's vigilance.
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