The Cuban rebellion was started by the British. Even the inattentive Government of Vienna could find out about it, so it was impossible for the Spanish not to know.
However, at this point, the Spanish government could do nothing but scold the British for being inconsiderate.
This was the rule of the game. Even if they wanted to "protest," they had to show evidence first.
The British were experienced in this kind of thing. How could they leave obvious evidence and give others a handle?
Not having evidence was not a big problem. As long as the British were determined to be the culprit, the Spanish could retaliate in secret.
Since there was no evidence and no strength, they could only suffer in silence.
Obviously, this was not something the Spanish government was willing to accept. In order to seek help from the international community and put diplomatic pressure on the British, the Spanish diplomats were busy again.
…
"The Spanish are asking for help again!"
Franz furrowed his brows.
In a sense, the communication between countries was similar to interpersonal communication. Only friends who could bring benefits to each other could have a good relationship in the long run.
If it was purely one-sided help, many people would be willing to help the first time. The second time, they would be annoyed. By the third time, it was almost over.
Favors could be used up, let alone between countries.
In the previous Philippine War, the Government of Vienna contributed greatly, far exceeding the previous promise to the Spanish government.
The reward did not come, but the Spanish government came to help again. One could imagine how Franz felt.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Foreign Minister Wesenberg said, "The Spanish government is facing a very bad situation. Because of the war, the Spanish government is on the verge of bankruptcy.
It was not easy to recover the Philippine Islands, but they encountered the Cuban rebellion. What's worse is that the British appeared behind the Cuban independence movement.
Spain does not have the confidence to compete with the British. They have no better choice but to seek help from the international community. "
In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, being weak was the original sin.
Although Spain was also a member of the big powers, they were still a big power. After the Philippine War, many countries no longer recognized their status as a big power.
Perhaps the Cuban independence movement was just a casual move by the Government of the United Kingdom, but the Spanish did not dare to ignore it.
If he couldn't handle it himself and wanted to offset the pressure from the British, the best choice was naturally to ask his boss for help.
The Spanish government had enough reasons to believe that as long as the European Union intervened, the Government of the United Kingdom would abandon its support for the Cuban independence organization, just like how Japan gave up the Philippine Islands.
"How is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs going to respond?"
Franz asked.
It wasn't easy to be the boss. Regardless of whether he was impatient or not, he couldn't shirk the responsibility now that it had come.
However, dealing with these troublesome matters also required skill. On one hand, he had to protect the interests of his underlings and not let them be bitterly disappointed; on the other hand, he could not blindly accommodate them and put himself in a passive position.
Obviously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had more experience in this area. He dealt with all kinds of troubles every day, so he already knew how to deal with them.
Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that we can provide limited support to Spain. That is to guarantee that the United Kingdom will not directly intervene in the Cuban independence movement.
If Spain wanted more, they would have to show direct evidence of the British plotting the Cuban independence movement, or convince the countries in the Union.
As long as the European countries agree, we can have another international intervention. "
Unlike the Philippine War, during the war against France, the Government of Vienna made a promise. This time, the Cuban independence movement was not within the scope of the agreement.
Since there was no agreement, they could only do "business as usual." To be able to provide limited support and resist the British pressure, the Government of Vienna had already fulfilled its role as the boss.
Sending troops to help suppress the rebellion would be a joke. They couldn't even handle their own domestic affairs, and they had the nerve to bring it out to embarrass themselves.
The colony was not the homeland. According to the current rules of the game, if they couldn't defend it, they deserved to give up. They wouldn't even get any sympathy points.
As for the international intervention, it was more like a "visible, but unattainable" picture.
The British were not a pushover like Japan.
The European countries didn't have any pressure against Japan, an indigenous country that had no sense of existence. Seeing that several major countries in the Union supported the intervention, everyone was happy to give Spain face.
The British were different. Although Britannia's voice in Europe was lost, the Royal Navy still dominated the world.
Every country could personally feel the strength of the British. It was not a problem for them to support spiritually and condemn verbally. No one was afraid of verbally.
If they really wanted to directly confront the British, or even carry out armed intervention, it would be: "Cough, cough, cough." We're not feeling well, so we'll leave first.
Not to mention the European countries, even the Government of Vienna was somewhat afraid of the British.
Unless Spain had evidence and had to stand up as the boss, the Government of Vienna was also unwilling to confront the British because of such a small matter.
Even if the Spanish government tried its best, there was only hope at most, or the only person that could be persuaded was the Russians.
Nicholas II, who had just succeeded the throne, wanted to do a "big thing," and shouldn't mind confronting the British.
There was bound to be a war between Britain and Russia. From the day of the construction of the Central Asia Railway, it was already destined.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." If Spain had the courage to ally with Russia against the British, the Tsarist government would definitely vote for it within the Union.
Then, there was no then. The strength of the Russian Navy was limited, and they didn't have the ability to intervene. The Tsarist government was also extremely poor, and the actual help was infinitely close to zero.
After thinking for a while, Franz slowly said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can arrange for people to receive me normally. By the way, tell the Spanish Prime Minister that I'm on vacation and don't have time to see him now. "
Obviously, Franz acquiesced to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' actions. Cuba and the Shinra Empire had nothing to do with each other. If Cuba was really destroyed, the international sugar price would rise, and he might even be able to collect more tariffs.
In recent years, the noble lords did not waste their time. Plantations were born one after another, and all kinds of cash crops were basically ready.
Looking at the international trade situation, a large part of the reason why Shinra could maintain a trade surplus for a long time was that it could export industrial and commercial products while being self-sufficient in industrial raw materials.
Franz didn't have enough interest to motivate him, so he naturally didn't care about the Cuban issue.
From the perspective of the Government of Vienna, as long as the British didn't personally take over Cuba, the Government of Vienna could just watch the drama unfold.
Cuba's independence wasn't a problem either. After all, the colonies under Shinra didn't have the basis for a national independence movement.
If there was a wave of colonial independence, the British would be the ones having a headache. They were already doing Spain a favor by not adding fuel to the fire.
If Spain could suppress the rebellion, then it wouldn't matter. The conflict between the British and the Spanish would increase, and it would help the international anti-British forces grow.
At the same time, it could also help to digest the ammunition inventory. The free ammunition during the Philippine War was already history. Now, it had to be charged.
Don't worry if you don't have money.
Shinra had the most professional bank finance team, which specialized in providing emergency loan services for international friends in need of funds.
As long as there was enough collateral, it wasn't a problem to borrow as much as they wanted. Based on the friendship between the two countries, they could even fight for the most favorable loan rate.
The prerequisite was that they had to specifically purchase some of the inventory.
…
London, Downing Street.
"What's going on? Didn't we already stop the operation?"
Robert Cecil asked unhappily.
It was true that the Government of London supported the Cuban independence movement, but it was based on the fact that the Philippine War was still ongoing. They did so to reduce the pressure on the Japanese.
With the compromise between the Japanese and the Spanish, the Philippine War ended early. The Cuban independence movement that was delayed had lost its original value.
As the world's largest colonial empire, it wasn't in Britannia's interest to instigate a national independence movement in the long run.
Although John Bull liked to do things that harmed others without benefiting himself, he rarely did things that might harm his own interests in the future.
Therefore, after the Philippine negotiations reached an agreement, Robert Cecil decisively stopped the operation.
The Foreign Minister, Cameron McCatton, explained, "Prime Minister, we don't have full control over the Cuban independence movement.
In fact, as early as the Japanese-Spanish negotiations started, we reduced our support for the independence movement, and we completely stopped our assistance after the negotiations.
However, they had already returned to Cuba to carry out the independence movement, and we had essentially lost control of them.
According to the reports from the informants, there were other international forces behind the Cuban independence movement.
The Allies and the United States are all suspects, but they were too secretive. Even the Cuban independence movement itself didn't know who was supporting them. "
Cameron McCatton was also helpless. It wasn't his negligence as the Foreign Minister.
The independence movement wasn't a child's play. Once it started, it couldn't be stopped easily.
The Spanish weren't fools. No matter how secretive the independence movement was, it would still be exposed after a long time.
The British didn't care. Even if they were exposed, the Spanish couldn't do anything to them. However, the Cuban independence movement couldn't. Even if the higher-ups could escape, what about the middle and lower ranks?
Once they were caught by the Spaniards, the entire independent organization would be destroyed.
They were already at the edge of the cliff. They had no choice but to take action.
At this time, a new international enthusiast appeared and replaced the role of the British, providing material assistance to the independence movement.
The higher-ups of the Cuban independence movement made up their minds and simply went straight to the point. The vigorous Cuban Independence Movement kicked off.
"Damn American idiots. Don't they know they're playing with fire? How dare they make the Empire a scapegoat, that's … "
Obviously, Prime Minister Robert Cecil was furious. Not only was he being made a scapegoat, but he also didn't know who he was making a scapegoat for.
Even if they found evidence, Robert Cecil wouldn't believe it. With the relationship between the United States and the United Nations, it was common for them to plot against each other.
Since the Civil War, there wasn't a day when they didn't stab each other in the back. Watching the drama and eating the Americans' melon had become a part of the British's daily life.
If they didn't know who did it, then the Government of the United Kingdom would definitely be the scapegoat. Even if Robert Cecil publicly announced that it had nothing to do with them, no one would believe him.
After venting his anger, Prime Minister Robert Cecil, who had calmed down, fell into deep thought.
Politics didn't care about black and white, only the pros and cons.
Even though they knew they were being made the scapegoat, the Government of the United Kingdom couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Especially when they just received a note from the Government of Vienna.
Otherwise, if word got out, it would become: Britannia was afraid of the Holy Roman Empire and made them give up the Cuban independence organization with a note.
Sometimes, rumors can also kill people. Although the relationship between Britain and Austria seemed to be good on the surface, in fact, the two countries had fought countless times for hegemony.
At such a critical moment, if Britannia showed the slightest weakness, it would cause a chain reaction in the international community.
The European "fence-sitters" who were originally forced to stand with Shinra because of geographical factors were likely to make up their minds and join the winner's side.
If that really happened, then there was no need to say anything. The Shinra Empire, which integrated the European continent, was absolutely invincible. No matter how Britannia struggled, it would be useless.
At that time, the British government would only have two choices. They could either take advantage of the fact that the European countries were still doubtful and take the initiative to fight a vigorous battle with Shinro, or they could obediently give up their world hegemony.
Obviously, this was not what Robert Cecil wanted. If they could really fight, Britannia would have been involved during the anti-French war and would not have waited until now.
It was even more impossible to give up the world hegemony. If he really retreated on this, he would be beaten to death by the angry "people" before he could even walk out of Downing Street.
"Restore support for the Cuban independence organization. We need to find the mastermind through them. I want to know who is so daring to plot against Britannia.
Send someone to secretly contact the Spanish government. As long as they are willing to leave the European Union, we will stop supporting the independence organization and support them in suppressing the Cuban rebellion.
At the same time, we can also give the Netherlands and Portugal a warning. Recently, they have been too close to Vienna and have almost forgotten who is the master of this world. "
They could not bear the blame for nothing. It was necessary to maximize the benefits. Supporting the Cuban independence movement was indeed easy to attract hatred, but it could also intimidate people.
After all, ever since France was defeated, London had become the headquarters of the international exile organization.
Britannia could support the Cuban independence organization today, the Indonesian independence organization tomorrow, and the day after that …
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