Empire Rising: Spain

As Russian Foreign Secretary Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov completely surrendered, the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary officially initiated the process of revising the Saint Stephen Treaty.

During the week of treaty revisions, apart from holding firm on certain baselines, Russian Foreign Secretary Alexander remained largely silent on most aspects.

This made the progress of revising the treaty quite smooth. In just one week, a brand new New Saint Stephen Treaty was freshly released.

According to the new treaty terms, Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania will gain full independence from the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary will acquire Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria is granted autonomy.

Constantinople and the strait still belong to the Ottoman Empire, and Black Sea countries hold no transit privileges in the Constantinople Strait.

This new treaty completely halted Russia’s expansion into the Balkan Peninsula, with Russia gaining only a few small pieces of land in the Caucasus Region, yielding negligible returns.

Conversely, Austria-Hungary emerged as the biggest beneficiary in this peace negotiation. Austria-Hungary acquired Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the intrinsic value of the Bosnia and Herzegovina region being significant enough to warrant attention. Moreover, it can continue to be used as a bridgehead, allowing Austria-Hungary to extend further into the Balkan Peninsula.

When the news of the new Saint Stephen Treaty signing spread throughout Europe, a rumor surfaced stating that upon learning the specific contents of the revised treaty, the Russian Tsar Alexander II, in a fit of rage, smashed all the decorations in his office to pieces.

The treaty’s signing Foreign Secretary Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov also faced a fierce scolding from Tsar Alexander II and was almost stripped of his position.

But anger aside, Alexander II naturally understood that this was an inevitable outcome. As soon as the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary announced their intervention, Russia was already at a disadvantage in the negotiations.

It’s worth noting that as news of the Saint Stephen Treaty revision spread across Europe, the reputation of the British Empire once again resounded.

In the eyes of most Europeans, Russia was already a formidable country in Europe, and could even be said to be the dominant power in Eastern Europe.

But even such a powerful country had to succumb under British pressure. This further highlighted the might of the British Empire and made every Briton immensely proud of the Empire’s strength.

Compared to the benefits gained by the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary after this peace negotiation, Carlo was more concerned about the direction of the Triple Alliance.

In this peace negotiation, Germany maintained a neutral stance, which indeed avoided the deterioration of relations between Germany and its two allies.

But undeniably, Germany did not support Russia when Russia needed support the most, and Russia’s disappointment is certain.

Although it’s not as severe as Austria’s backstabbing of Russia during the Crimean War, the development of future German-Russian relations, especially for already wounded Russia, will certainly be a focal point worth watching.

Any changes in German-Russian relations will also impact Austria-Hungary’s relations with Russia. Previously, with Germany’s support, Austria-Hungary generally adopted a conceding attitude in Balkan Peninsula decision-making.

Without Germany’s backing, Austria-Hungary would naturally no longer fear Russia. In the future, on the Balkan Peninsula, the rivalry between the two major powers, Austria-Hungary and Russia, will be a spectacular showdown, potentially involving the entire European situation.

Initially, the various ethnic groups within the Balkan Peninsula had no overly intense conflicts, but under the competition of Austria-Hungary and Russia, these influenced Balkan countries will embark on different paths.

Of course, this development direction is beneficial for Spain. At least for now, the European situation hasn’t deviated from history, and Carlo can still rely on historical experience to help Spain choose a more suitable path.

As the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkan Peninsula intensifies, Germany will eventually have to choose between Austria-Hungary and Russia, its two allies.

Once Russia is abandoned, France will fully engage with Russia, bringing about a Europe facing the Germany and Austria — France and Russia confrontation.

Germany’s comprehensive strength is slightly stronger than France, and Russia’s comprehensive strength is slightly stronger than Austria-Hungary. If such a political layout didn’t involve the British Empire’s covert planning, Carlo wouldn’t believe it at all.

Isn’t this situation precisely the regional balance policy that the British Empire advocates? It’s just that the British underestimated it, Germany erupted with unimaginable strength, and almost shook all of Europe with its extremely formidable military prowess.

Since the historical trajectory ahead is clear, the most important thing is to determine Spain’s future stance and the benefits it can reap post-alliance.

But first, Spain needs to enhance its comprehensive strength, ensuring it doesn’t become fodder in future confrontations between the two major military groups.

Now that diplomatic visits have strengthened ties with France, Carlo doesn’t intend to miss this opportunity.

Although France’s comprehensive strength ranks behind Germany, it remains the world’s third-largest power, just after the UK and Germany.