Empire Rising: Spain

The alliance treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy has been concluded, and even countries like Romania have joined the Allies.

However, on the Allies’ side, there is no sign of the Franco-Russian Alliance, and the British are even less likely to join France and Russia given the current European situation.

In fact, from the current direction of European affairs, it can be seen that Germany’s ambition is great. They have drawn in Austria-Hungary and Italy, which also means that Germany regards both France and Russia as enemies simultaneously.

Once Germany can defeat France again, Germany will become the undisputed hegemon of Europe, even challenging the British Empire would be no problem.

After all, although the British are strong, they remain outside the European Continent. The English Channel separates the British Isles from the European Continent, making it difficult for the British to intervene in continental affairs unless in extremely chaotic situations like a world war.

After Romania joined the Triple Alliance, Italy and Austria-Hungary successively invited Italy to join the alliance.

However, the two countries did not disclose the situation of the Triple Alliance but instead tentatively invited Spain to join a defensive alliance against France.

In fact, for the current European situation, it might not be a bad choice for Spain to join the Triple Alliance.

Firstly, with Spain, the Triple Alliance would become even stronger. The German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain are all great powers, and the union of four great powers is something no country can underestimate.

Secondly, the union of the four great powers can also attract more small and medium European countries to join.

Countries like Romania also need to take sides, as not all countries can remain neutral and free from the covetous eyes of great powers.

Having an alliance of four great powers is the best choice for taking sides, considering that there are only eight great powers in the world, and the United States, one of them, is across the Atlantic Ocean, making it impossible for them to participate in European affairs.

But this does not mean that there are no downsides for Spain if it joins the Allies.

The union of four great powers will surely arouse the apprehension of France, Russia, and even the British, and this will lead to the rapid formation of the Anglo-French-Russian Entente.

At this point, it is clear that Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain are not yet a match for the three great powers of England, France, and Russia, except that Germany can match the national strength of England, France, and Russia, the remaining three great powers are not in the same league as England, France, and Russia.

Moreover, Carlo does not want to stand completely against France. Even with a competitive relationship with France, Spain can still obtain some funds from France for its development.

If they completely stand against France, French capital is out of the question. Germany and Austria-Hungary cannot provide Spain with enough funds for development, which means that after joining the Allies, Spain’s development would be solely dependent on itself.

For these reasons, Carlo refused the invitation of Italy and Austria-Hungary, stating that Spain does not intend to join the defensive alliance against France.

Of course, Carlo also instructed the Spanish Government to reiterate its stance on jointly developing North Africa with Italy.

At least in the North African region, Spain and Italy will advance and retreat together, jointly guarding against France, their greatest foe.

After receiving the promise from the Spanish Government, the Italian Government no longer insisted on inviting Spain to join the defensive alliance, as Spain’s attitude had already shown that it would not join France and would, as much as possible, align with Italy in a neutral position.