Chapter 494

In the end, all conflicts and disputes were caused by interests. The Government of the United Kingdom jumping out to make trouble did cause trouble for the negotiations.

However, this did not change the nature of the British. They always said they supported the Spanish government, but when it came to actual actions, they used all kinds of excuses to delay.

This was the inevitable result. There was no problem with moral encouragement. But to take out real money to support Spain, it would cost people their lives.

Since the Russians set a precedent of default, in recent years, Britannia has encountered many debt defaults.

Although the later debtors did not directly default like the Russians, they really did not have the money, and London's financial institutions were also helpless.

Either accept the debt extension or accept the debt restructuring, in any case, normal payment was impossible. For these problem loans, it was God's blessing to be able to recover the cost, but it was impossible to make money.

With the previous example, the British capital also learned to be smart. When it came to international lending, it was prudent to be cautious.

With Spain's current financial situation, it was obvious that it did not meet the conditions for debt release. Unless the Government of the United Kingdom was willing to back it up, no one would get involved in this muddy water.

Even the bold capitalists were worried about the risk, not to mention the Government of London. The opposition was not blind. If they dared to give away Britannia's money for nothing, it would be giving their competitors something to use against them.

After more than half a year of negotiations, the Spanish government, which was in financial trouble, finally recognized the reality.

On June 6, 1898, the Foreign Minister of Shinra, Wesenberg, and the Spanish representative signed the "Morocco Sovereignty Transaction Agreement" in Vienna.

With the signing of the treaty, another world record was set. In order to buy the Morocco area, the Government of Vienna offered a sky-high price of 180 million BD, directly breaking the historical record for land transactions.

You get what you pay for. There was naturally a reason why the Government of Vienna was willing to offer such a high price. In addition to the fact that the Morocco area was indeed important, more importantly, it was deliberately done for the European countries.

In any case, the Spanish government owed a lot of debt to Shinra and was about to default on the debt. Now was the time to offset the debt.

After deducting the messy loans and the sky-high price of 180 million, the Government of Vienna actually needed to come up with a little more than 10 million in cash.

The Spanish did not have the strength to refuse. If it was not for loans, the Government of Vienna would not have offered such a sky-high price.

As for the issue of profit distribution, it would be decided after the Morocco area was taken.

It was worth mentioning that Frederick The Great refused private donations. If they had money but could not spend it, they could only blame their bad luck for not being able to spend it in a good time to buy a title.

Ever since Franz succeeded to the throne, the aristocratic management system had been gradually perfected, and Austria had officially entered the era of nobility.

In addition to military achievements, if one wanted to become a noble, they either had to rely on reincarnation and inherit the title passed down from their ancestors, or they had to make great contributions to the country and be conferred a title by the emperor.

As the system became more and more complete, the effects of buying money also greatly decreased. Now, the nobles of Shenluo were either luck-type players or ability-type players.

The conferment of titles was decided by the emperor. Hundreds of thousands or millions could not enter Franz's eyes. Similarly, it could not tempt Frederick The Great.

The rules had been set long ago. Now they just had to abide by them. Even if there were people who were dissatisfied, they could only hold it in. If they wanted to get a share of the benefits, they had to hurry up. Maybe they could catch up.

The possibility of that was very small. On the day the treaty was signed, a number of civilian armed forces launched an attack on the Morocco area. The efficiency surprised Franz.

Perhaps everyone knew that the opportunity to get a fief in the future would become more and more difficult, and they did not want to miss this wave of opportunities. While the negotiations were still in progress, there were civilian armed forces gathering in the Algeria area.

According to the report of the Algerian provincial government, up to the outbreak of the war, there were 200,000 civilian armed forces from all over the country gathered there.

It was worth mentioning that the main force this time was not the emerging aristocrats in Africa. Instead, most of them were the old aristocrats in the country. There were even the figures of some state monarchs.

Thinking about it, to eat this wave of meat, they had to bring troops in advance to wait for the end of the negotiations.

This was a high-risk transaction. It was obviously not possible without a family background. If the negotiations collapsed or dragged on for two or three years, the average person's family background would not be able to support it.

The emerging aristocrats could not even manage their own fief. Even if they wanted to send troops to join in the fun, they did not have the money!

The aristocrats in North Germany were the ones with family background, power, and an urgent need for fief.

Although they also participated in the colonization movement, the time of participation and the intensity of investment were obviously slower than the aristocrats of South Germany.

One step slower, every step slower.

With the advancement of the process of localization in Africa, the power of the feudal lords in Africa in the politics of Shinra increased day by day.

In this context, the aristocrats of South Germany, who already had the advantage, had a higher voice in the Empire.

No one wanted to be marginalized. Whether it was for the right to speak in politics or for the development of the family, the aristocrats of the northern region urgently needed to get more fiefs.

Driven by the sense of crisis, it was not surprising that a few small state monarchs appeared.

In name, the status of the states in Shinra was equal, but in reality, it was a different matter. In addition to the name of a state, many of the small states were actually autonomous cities.

For the ordinary people, there was not much difference between a state and an autonomous city. In any case, they were all highly autonomous. But it was different for the monarchs of the states.

Right now, they still had a vote in the Imperial Parliament, but without enough influence in the Empire, could they still keep that vote in the future?

In the history of Shinra, even the seats of the Kurfürst could be changed, so naturally, the seats in the Imperial Parliament could also be changed.

If they did not want to decline, they had to increase their own strength. If they wanted to expand the territory of the European region, they would have to copy the pattern of Half Fortress and coincidentally meet the in-laws through marriage.

The probability of that was too low, no more than the probability of winning the lottery, unless they were extremely lucky.

Instead of gambling on such a low probability event, it was easier to expand. No matter how perfect the system was, it could not avoid the ways of the world.

The same military merit fell into the hands of different people, and the final income would be different.

With the vote in the Imperial Parliament, these monarchs only needed to earn some military merit as an entrance ticket, and the rest could be settled by insider trading.

Politics was about interests, but it was also about the ways of the world. The Holy Roman Empire was not only built by swords and guns, but also by the connections of the House of Habsburg.

On this issue, Franz saw it very clearly. It was never easy to be an emperor. The principles that should be adhered to had to be adhered to, and the places that could be tactful also had to be tactful.

As a qualified monarch, it was fine to not have a high IQ, but the EQ must not be low. Otherwise, the coordination of relationships alone could cause a person to break down.

Frankly speaking, Franz was lacking in this aspect. It was just that he was lucky enough to catch the last train of the feudal monarchy.

With the development of the times, it was almost impossible for a monarch to keep his word. More often than not, he needed to coordinate the relationships of various parties.

With so many people going to Morocco, it was obviously impossible for all of them to gain something. Besides, the money to buy Morocco was paid by the central government, and the land that was taken out to be enfeoffed would also be reduced.

Judging from the current situation, if there were no accidents, the Government of Vienna probably had no chance to send troops.

How to divide the interests of all parties became a challenge. Without a doubt, this challenging task became another big test for Frederick The Great.

This was not the most difficult thing. The more troublesome thing was that the Government of Vienna was about to change. The original members of the government were all in their seventies or eighties, and their work energy could no longer meet the needs.

They were kept until now not only because of Franz's nostalgia, but more importantly, it was for the transfer of power.

"A new emperor brings his own ministers." Perhaps it was a little too absolute, but one had to admit that the words of the ancients were very reasonable.

Although the situation in Europe was not obvious, it still had an impact.

The battle for world hegemony was about to enter the final stage. Judging from the current strength of the two sides, Shinra's chances of winning were as high as 90%.

It could be said that no matter who went up, they could get a lot of reputation. With this political reputation, as long as the person involved did not seek death, it was almost inevitable that he would be re-elected.

When Franz was on the throne, it was naturally not a problem for the ministers under him to have a high reputation. Anyway, no matter how high their reputation was, they could not surpass the old emperor.

It was not possible for Frederick The Great. Looking at the current government, it was clear that the ministers under him had outstanding achievements. As the Regent and Crown Prince, Frederick The Great still had to maintain enough respect when he met them.

On the one hand, these people were old and did not want to continue to cause trouble; on the other hand, Franz was still alive, so it was not their turn to be presumptuous.

The average life expectancy these days was less than 50 years old. If there was a change of government, it would definitely be a batch of young people. It was obviously unrealistic to find people in their seventies or eighties to be placed on top.

To put it bluntly, if he met a group of old guys, the emperor did not dare to speak too harshly. If he accidentally provoked them and sent one or a few of them away, it would be a political disaster.

The political system of Shinra determined that the frequency of changing government could not be too high. As long as the cabinet officials in their forties or fifties made achievements, they were almost 100% re-elected.

Although Franz's health was still good, there was no guarantee that he could survive the new generation of senior government officials.

In order to avoid a situation where the master was weak and the ministers were strong, Franz retained the group of old ministers and created the current opportunity for Frederick The Great.

The Crown Prince had full regent power, which naturally included the appointment of cabinet officials. The personnel appointments were all handed over to Frederick The Great. If he could not even control the people he appointed, it would really be unreasonable.

Just as Frederick The Great was worried about the new leadership, the media all over Europe were on the front page of this shocking land deal.

The economic newspapers interpreted from the economic point of view and talked about the economic value of taking over the Morocco region for the Holy Roman Empire. For example, the ring railway had to be replanned, which was good for the infrastructure industry chain.

The military newspapers reported the strategic position of Morocco, such as locking the western gate of the Mediterranean Sea, and promoting the overall strategic layout …

The political newspapers focused on the political value, such as: the strategy of a great power needed mutual benefit. This land deal opened a new direction to solve international conflicts through political cooperation …

The most eye-catching was the entertainment newspapers. The phrase "recreating the Roman Empire" overshadowed all the hot topics and attracted the attention of the European people.

There was no question of whether or not Shinro would be killed. At this point, even if Shinro wanted to hide, there was no big tree that could hide him.

Since they couldn't keep a low profile, they might as well keep a high profile. Anyway, the Government of Vienna had bought the Morocco region at a high price. It was not forcefully taken from Spain, so there was no problem of hatred.

Just look at the origin of the crown of the House of Habsburg. It was inherited from the Roman Empire. In the European world, the Holy Roman Empire actually had another name — the "Second Roman Empire."

It was just that the previous "Second Roman Empire" was a bit weak. Its strength was seriously inconsistent with the title. Even the people of Shinra were embarrassed to say it.

With the development of the Holy Roman Empire, the title of the Second Roman Empire was also accepted by more and more European people.

The Morocco land deal was just an opportunity. It happened to ignite a frenzy of public opinion, making the "Second Roman Empire" well-deserved.

Franz had returned to Vienna. As the emperor, he didn't want to cause trouble. Naturally, the Government of Vienna couldn't arbitrarily decide to hold a "celebration."

However, the emperor couldn't control the government from holding a celebration, but he couldn't control the ordinary people to spontaneously hold a celebration. With the media adding fuel to the fire, the entire Holy Roman Empire was immersed in a sea of joy.

Business opportunities were delivered to the door, and the capitalists naturally wouldn't waste it. Various kinds of celebration activities were constantly staged in the Holy Roman Empire. The atmosphere was more enthusiastic than Christmas.

…

Rows of tall and straight trees were neatly arranged on both sides, forming a unique shady landscape that led directly to the embassy of the Russian Empire in Vienna.

The cheers and laughter outside and the desolation inside formed a stark contrast, as if they were two different worlds.

"Your Excellency, Vienna is so lively. Do you want to go out with us?"

Hearing this annoying voice, Minister Morose became more and more annoyed. After all, there was more than one heir to the Roman Empire. The Russian Empire also had the Roman crown.

However, the means by which the Tsarist government obtained the crown was somewhat despicable, so it was not widely recognized by the European world.

Regardless of whether others recognized it or not, the Russians had already recognized it. Now that the Holy Roman Empire had become the second Rome, where did this place the Russian Empire?

Dissatisfaction aside, reason told Morose that the best thing to do now was to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

As for the controversy of the second Rome, it wasn't just a day or two. The heir recognized by the mainstream European society had always been the Holy Roman Empire.

Of course, this "recognized" was also in quotation marks. In the past years, almost every European country had claimed to be the heir to the Roman Empire.

However, the House of Habsburg had inherited the crown of the Roman Empire. Compared to these heirs who had nothing, it seemed more orthodox.

Resisting the discomfort in his heart, Morose asked coldly, "Sir Leondero, as the Britannia's minister in Vienna, don't you need to work?"

It was obvious that he was in a very bad mood. If it weren't for his professionalism as a diplomat, Morose would have already flown into a rage.

As an enemy, Morose knew very well what the British minister in front of him had in mind.

Encountering a guy who wanted to plot against him, Morose naturally wouldn't have a good attitude. It was already very polite of him not to directly chase the man away.

Leondero smiled slightly, as if he didn't care about the mockery just now, and replied without changing his expression, "Of course I do.

However, don't you think that observing the customs and practices of Vienna is also part of a diplomat's job?

Now that it's so lively outside, let's go out and have a deeper understanding. It will also be helpful for our future work. "