Empire Rising: Spain

As for the French Government, the situation is indeed not as wonderful as imagined.

The reason President Thiers has been hesitant to take the initiative to speak up is precisely because doing so would mean losing the power of discourse.

Although France is more keen on fostering cooperation with Spain, President Thiers actually wants Prime Minister Prim to take the initiative. Even if the French Government provides more assistance in loans and industrial technology, it’s still better than being at a disadvantage by speaking up first.

However, the current situation seems that Prime Minister Prim is definitely a seasoned old fox in the political arena. If the two remain silent, this cooperation is not only unlikely to succeed but may also push Spain further away to a certain extent.

"The Spaniards must have seen through our intentions, damn those Germans, otherwise the great France wouldn’t be facing such a predicament!" After spending just a few days in Madrid, French President Thiers became somewhat discomposed because the visit to Spain was not as smooth as imagined.

"I’m afraid so, Mr. President." French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacques-Victor Albert nodded with some helplessness, sighed and said: "I’m afraid we must offer some sincerity to win over the Spaniards, otherwise when Germany and Spain reach cooperation, France’s situation will become even more difficult."

Even the French must admit, Prime Minister Bismarck poses a great threat to France.

From the times of the Holy Roman Empire, the German region was a patchwork of states fighting among themselves, yet Prime Minister Bismarck managed to integrate them and form a unified German Empire.

One must know, during this process, Germany faced not only domestic enemies within the German states but also formidable foes like Denmark, Austria-Hungary, and France.

And after defeating France, Prime Minister Bismarck did not exhibit any conceitedness but proposed a policy of isolating France, causing considerable headache for the French.

"As long as the Germans have not made contact with Spain proactively, we still have a chance." President Thiers rubbed his furrowed brow and said: "At all costs, we must ensure Spain doesn’t join the alliance with Germany, or else France will fall into an abyss from which there is no return.

If Spain is determined to get closer to Germany, then for the future safety of France, we can only resort to war to defend our nation."

On the last day of September, President Thiers uncharacteristically did not maintain his previous good mood wandering the hills, but instead sought out Prime Minister Prim early in the morning, and bluntly stated the purpose of his diplomatic visit to Spain.

"Prime Minister Prim, Spain was once a great country, I believe Spain’s decline is only temporary. Spain will surely return to the throne of the great powers in the future." President Thiers said with a smile: "

France is very willing to assist our neighbors in regaining their strength, there are no conflicting interests between us, are there?

If your country is willing, we can provide a portion of funds in loans to your country and sign trade agreements to deepen economic cooperation between us."

When speaking of France, the most impressive period might be the splendor of the Napoleon Empire. Napoleon once conquered most of Europe, nearly completing the legend of unifying Europe.

At that time, France was the strongest country on the European continent, only through the Anti-France Alliance formed by many countries did they finally succeed in defeating the then-thriving France.

But in reality, before the Napoleon Empire, France was already a renowned power on the European continent.

Due to the food production brought by vast plains and a relatively dense population compared to other countries, France became a quite famous country in Europe since the Middle Ages.

France’s glory persisted until the end of World War I, ultimately they were defeated because of too many casualties during World War I.

During World War II, France was indeed not as strong as during World War I, but still ranked among the top five powers worldwide.

It’s just that the French grew weary of war after experiencing the brutal World War I, and even more frustrated by France being at the frontline against Germany while other nations reaped benefits from behind.

Other countries did indeed pay a price, but compared to what France paid, it was hardly worth mentioning.

However, there’s nothing to be done about it. The Germany and France conflict was originally one of the main issues in World War I, and due to their proximity, wars between them were certainly the fiercest in the war.

Though the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia was also a significant issue in World War I, the military might of these two countries was evidently a level below Germany and France.

Precisely because France bore such heavy casualties in World War I, they eventually chose to give up in World War II, completing a task most nations couldn’t — "It’s forever impossible to occupy Paris before France surrenders."

Facts also proved, the choice made by France during World War II might have been the wisest for them. Other countries in World War II all suffered massive casualties, yet due to France surrendering early, their losses weren’t as severe.

"If we could receive assistance from your government, it would accelerate the progress of Spain’s industrial construction. On behalf of the Spanish people, I thank the French Government for their help, may the friendship between France and Spain last forever." Prime Minister Prim nodded with a smile and said: "