War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"Dear Elizabeth, when will you return Gibraltar to me?"

Spanish Queen Regent Christiana's seemingly mindless gossip is actually chilling.

First of all, no one here is named Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the name of the former Queen of England. She defeated the Spanish Armada militarily and made Britain the maritime hegemon. She should be regarded as one of the British people the Spanish hate most.

Then the most important information point in this sentence is the Strait of Gibraltar. At this time, the Suez Canal has not yet been opened. It is the only outlet of the Mediterranean Sea.

As long as Britain can block the Strait of Gibraltar, then the navies of all Mediterranean countries will be toys in the bathtub.

In fact, after the opening of the Suez Canal, the strategic status of the Strait of Gibraltar, far from declining, actually increased exponentially until the decline of Europe and the rise of the United States.

Gibraltar originally belonged to Spain, but the War of Spanish Succession broke out in 1701, and Britain took the opportunity to capture Gibraltar and establish a military base.

In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, and Britain recognized Philip's Spanish throne, but in exchange he had to cede Gibraltar.

In fact, Spain never gave up its fight for Gibraltar. Later, when the North American War of Independence broke out, it also wanted to imitate the British and take advantage of the situation.

But it ultimately failed because Gibraltar was far more important to Britain than the Spanish imagined.

The Strait of Gibraltar is located between the Iberian Peninsula in Europe and the northwest of Morocco in North Africa. It is 58 kilometers long and is the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Gibraltar Peninsula is the throat of this gateway, and its location cannot be opened by one man.

This is like the Black Sea Strait in the hands of the Ottomans. Whoever controls it controls the Black Sea and can take the absolute initiative in both offense and defense.

In fact, not only Spain and Britain want Gibraltar, France also wants it, because it is this strait that cuts its navy into two parts.

If Gibraltar can be controlled, the development of the French navy will no longer be hindered. Coupled with the powerful colonial empire at this time and a larger population than the United Kingdom, it is only a matter of time before it replaces the United Kingdom.

In fact, all Mediterranean countries, including Austria and Russia, have a thorn in their throats about Britain's control of Gibraltar.

However, even today, the United Kingdom has not given up on Gibraltar, and even the threat from the United States has not made it retreat.

Secondly, there are some small details. The relationship between Queen Regent Christiana and Victoria is not close, and they have never even met before. The former should call the latter respected, not dear.

Again, Gibraltar belongs to Spain, not to the Queen Regent, and she is only a regent, not the real king, so the statement that it was returned to me is wrong.

But at this time, the Gibraltar issue had knocked Victoria and Louis-Philippe unconscious like a shot from a cannon, and officials and reporters from surrounding countries were also confused.

Because this was too exciting, it was impossible for the British side to cede Gibraltar, but Prime Minister Robert Peel's order was to promote the Anglo-French alliance at all costs.

France has different attitudes towards the Anglo-French alliance, but overall it is still very eager. However, the temptation of the Strait of Gibraltar is indeed great at this time. After all, France's Grand Eastern Fleet and Great Western Fleet can be combined into one. .

And as long as Spain takes back Gibraltar, it means that France also has the same rights. At that time, it will be able to replace Britain's hegemony in controlling the Mediterranean. Even the British Mediterranean fleet will have to look at the French's face or withdraw directly from the Mediterranean.

Louis-Philippe was somewhat annoyed because the Queen Regent Christiane had ruined the harmonious atmosphere of the Anglo-French negotiations. At this moment one of his advisers whispered something to Louis Philippe.

Louis-Philippe, who understood the stakes involved, was immediately moved. The saying "do great things without cherishing one's life, see small gains and forget one's duty" was vividly reflected in him.

Louis Philippe also wanted to promote this at this time, because there are so many benefits to returning to Gibraltar, which will be extremely important for the future of France.

For example, it is used to contain its old rival Austria. As long as it controls the Strait of Gibraltar, Austria will lose its colonial connections and its navy will become a display.

As for land warfare, France has never been afraid of any country in the world so far.

And that was originally Spanish land, the territory of the Bourbon dynasty, but now it is just returning it to its original owner. The most important thing is that the Queen Regent at this time has long been ignored, and even the Spanish royal family is no longer popular.

Those Spaniards placed their hopes not so much on the Spanish royal family as on France.

That's just a small piece of land, a drop in the bucket compared to the 33,000,000 square kilometers of Britain.

At this moment Louis-Philippe suddenly broke the deadlock with a flash of inspiration.

"Victoria, maybe the Queen Regent Christiana's words were a bit abrupt. But Gibraltar is really important to Spain, a country that is just recovering from a civil war and needs some comfort."

Louis-Philippe said awkwardly.

"Well, let's each take a step back. Spain gives up its claim to the Viceroyalty of La Plata, and Britain returns Gibraltar to Spain.

This is both fair and reasonable. "

The so-called Viceroyalty of La Plata, later known as Argentina, was once a Spanish colony. Louis Philippe hoped to exchange the concessions in the Viceroyalty of La Plata for British control of Gibraltar.

This operation can be said to be a sure profit for France. After all, these two pieces of land do not belong to France in name. Stopping the confrontation with the British in the Viceroyalty of La Plata would be of great benefit to France at this time.

However, this was unacceptable to Victoria, so she said coldly without being reminded by the accompanying officials.

"This is not something I can decide. It must be discussed by Congress before making a decision. If I remember correctly, France should also be a constitutional monarchy."

Victoria's words made Louis-Philippe laugh. He didn't like sharing power with others. He chose the constitutional monarchy just for the sake of superiority, just like his current personality and forbearance.

In fact, the Orleans family (the Bourbon family in charge of France at this time) was far more obsessed with the throne than ordinary people imagined. The former Duke of Orleans even changed his name to Philippe Equality in order to ascend to the throne, although he was eventually given away by the common people. He was guillotined, but his desire for the throne is evident.

Why not Louis Philippe at this time? He has lived a seemingly poor life for decades, isn't it just to consolidate his country forever?

But this does not mean that Louis Philippe is content with the status quo and has no ambition. Human nature is greedy for pleasure. It is extremely difficult for a person without ambition to persevere for decades.