Chapter 933: French Dominance

As the main participant in this conflict, the United States will definitely not agree to France's mediation, so there was a process where the French and Spanish ambassadors came to the First Town to negotiate with East Africa.

After a while, Ernst came to the reception room with a smile on his face. Although he had a rough guess in his mind, he still asked Glade and William: "I wonder what the two ambassadors came to see me for?"

"Your Highness Ernst! I believe you have also heard about what happened the day before yesterday. The American cruiser Maine was sunk for unknown reasons. Now the US government has pointed the finger at Spain, so our government hopes that East Africa will play a role in this incident with us to maintain the peace and stability of the international order." This is Glade's words.

The Maine incident, which was the fuse of the Spanish-American War in the previous life, happened exactly as it was in the original historical time. Of course, on the same day, the intelligence department of East Africa had already sent the news back to East Africa, so Ernst not only understood the Maine incident, but also faster than other foreign countries.

"It's the American warship! I also heard that it blew up in Cuba, but I don't know the details. It was originally called the Maine." Ernst pretended to be confused.

"It's the Maine. The Americans insisted that the Spanish government was responsible for this. Now the relationship between the two countries is very tense, so our country is very worried about the regional peace situation." Glade said.

At present, the only people in the international community who can speak for Spain are the French, because France is Spain's main creditor. At the same time, due to the history and economic relations between the two countries, the interests are deeply bound. For example, many French-made warships are in service in the Spanish Navy today.

In fact, after the decline of Spain, the era of steel battleships arrived in the 19th century, and the first ironclad ship introduced by Spain was built by France.

After the Franco-Prussian War, Spain was also an important investment area for France's large amount of surplus capital, and the same was true for East Africa. Especially after East Africa and France "made concessions" to each other on territory, the economies of the two countries were actually closer, which was all part of the original transaction, so the relationship between East Africa and France was also good, which was also the reason why the French government sent Glade to test East Africa's attitude.

As for the relationship between the Hechingen royal family and the Prussian royal family, it is not worth mentioning at all. After all, East Africa has allied with Austria, but not with Prussia, which is closer to it. This is very telling. In the eyes of the French government, this is part of East Africa's policy to maintain national independence.

Especially after the last territorial negotiation between the two countries, the French government has become more certain of its own ideas, so the communication of the international community is still very important and can break some misunderstandings.

At least France has proved that East Africa has its own national interests and is not a German yes-man like the Romanian royal family. This is worth winning over by France. After all, if Germany, Austria and East Africa form an alliance, the world pattern will probably change.

And this is exactly what East Africa is worried about. If it gets too close to Germany and Austria, it is easy to be targeted by the whole world, and two major camps may be formed in an instant.

So after the South African War, East Africa became a "scumbag" who only talked about money and not feelings, and East Africa was not afraid of offending Germany. After all, Germany needed East Africa, not East Africa needed Germany.

This is also the reason why France can become the third largest creditor in East Africa. Now French capital is also part of the economy of East African coastal cities.

Of course, East Africa welcomes everyone, not to mention France, a country with delicate relations with East Africa, even Britain and Portugal, which fought to the death last time, are welcome to invest in East Africa.

So in response to what Glade said, Ernst said: "East Africa and France are important economic partners. The two countries have common interests, but we are afraid that it is difficult for us to intervene in the Maine incident. We can only express some support to Spain. After all, as a peace-loving country, we in East Africa do not want regional peace and stability to be destroyed."

Glade: "This is probably not enough. After all, the Maine incident is full of conspiracy..."

William also interrupted: "We in Spain are completely innocent. This matter is completely planned by the US government for a long time..."

William, an ambassador of the great powers, actually sold misery to East Africa, which made Ernst feel a little sad about what he said about the long-planned US government.

If it was in the previous life, the reason for the explosion of the USS Maine might be questionable. Now Ernst dares to say with certainty that this is a script "directed and acted" by the United States. After all, Ernst has completely deviated from history, and the time of the Maine can accurately coincide with the previous life. This obviously cannot be explained by "accident". Even the time of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 has changed significantly due to the influence of East Africa, and the time has been advanced. This was already set in the Japanese invasion plan "Tanaka Memorial".

So according to Japan's national policy, the order of Korea first and the Far East later, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 is bound to break out, but the low-probability event of the explosion of the USS Maine is completely different.

Coupled with Ernst's experience in his previous life, he is more certain of his inference. After all, the United States was experienced in this regard in the previous life, and the most famous one was the "Iraq" laundry detergent incident.

"Whether it is an accident or a conspiracy, the attitude of the US government may not be easy to change. After all, the development of the US Navy in recent years can show the ambition of the US government. If there is a war between your two countries, you will face the most severe test. Not only Cuba, but even other Spanish colonies and even the Philippines in Asia may be the target of the Americans."

Ernst reminded the Spanish government here. As for whether Spain can prevent the US sneak attack on the Philippines in the end, that is not Ernst's consideration.

However, Ernst's attitude still touched William. At least East Africa's attitude on this matter is biased towards Spain.

This is certain. Not to mention the royal relationship between the two countries, just relying on the fact that Spain just sold Mindanao to East Africa, East Africa's attitude towards Spain is not bad.

Ernst continued: "For the contradiction between the United States and the West, our attitude in East Africa is consistent with that of France. Ambassador Glade, I wonder if you have a specific plan in France."

East Africa must not do the work of offending people. As the second most powerful country in the world and the second most powerful country in Europe, it is best for the French to take the lead. East Africa should be responsible for standing on the side of France. Even if France wants to help Spain attack the United States, East Africa dares to help.

Of course, France is definitely impossible to do this. After all, France's primary defense is Germany. It is impossible for Spain to completely offend the United States.

Therefore, France must resort to "muddling things up" as the last resort, which is also the only choice for Spain. Now, except for France and East Africa, which is "idle" and focused on developing its economy, no other country supports Spain.

Britain and Russia have adopted a policy of wooing the United States because of the dispute over interests in the Far East. Germany, as a latecomer, hopes that the United States will disrupt the original world colonial system and get a share of it. Not to mention the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If it is the Mediterranean region, it may be able to speak, but it is too difficult to do so in the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean regions.

So in this case, France is the only choice for Spain, and East Africa is just a soy sauce. However, the more France can convince East Africa to support its claims, the greater the room for France's activities.

Britain and France are unique among the great powers, especially in terms of international influence. If France takes a tough attitude, perhaps, it should... It is impossible to stop the actions of the United States, but it can still help Spain reduce some losses.