Throughout the Spanish succession crisis, if you look at it from an outsider's perspective, what Prussia did was indeed a bit of a rogue.
In the two consecutive years of diplomatic conflicts, Prussia took a tough stance and stated righteously that it must obtain the Spanish throne, and made the situation full of gunpowder.
Then other European countries will come out to adjust. When the French are so angry that they want to go to war, they will change their tone and say that everything can be discussed at the negotiation table. Prussia is not willing to intensify conflicts or anything like that.
It was this erratic diplomatic posture that made the whole of Europe unable to take the pulse of Prussia. What on earth did this emerging military power want to do? Where is their limit?
At this moment, Prussia can only be regarded as a military power in Europe, not an economic power, let alone an industrial power, nor a colonial power. It is really difficult for such a newly emerging country to grasp their national strategy.
Countless analysts believe that Prussia will use its troops against France as firmly as it did against Denmark and Austria, and that the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck will definitely use cannons and bayonets to conquer France.
However, at the same time, countless analysts believe that this argument is too absurd, because the national strength of France and Prussia is not at the same level at all.
Regardless of the quantity and quality of colonies, annual overseas trade volume, population, national wealth and private wealth, France is superior to Prussia in various comprehensive indicators.
Even opening the history books, there are many examples of France defeating Prussia. In this case, unless the King of Prussia was a madman, he would never go to war.
It was the fierce collision of the two arguments that made politicians across Europe think deeply. France is not Denmark or Austria. Does Prussia really have the guts to break up?
Most people believe that this is just a means of bargaining by Prussia. The final result is actually to give up the Spanish throne in exchange for France's concession in southern Germany. Prussia's ultimate goal is to peacefully annex southern Germany.
French Emperor Napoleon III also thought so, which is the main reason why France has not actively prepared for war until now.
But this kind of negotiation technique becomes boring if used too much. Although diplomats are said to be very patient people, their patience is limited. If you play this childish game once or twice, you still think, what the hell? Playing for a year or two, who can bear this?
The Ames telegraph incident took place against this background.
When the Spanish media began to advocate that Prince Leopold of Bavaria was the most legitimate heir to the Spanish throne, Napoleon III and all French diplomats were angry. At that time, the French Foreign Minister Duke Grammont even directly gave Leopold of Bavaria a The Prince of Germany sent a telegram in which he directly threatened the Prince not to covet the throne of Spain.
France's diplomatic envoy was quickly dispatched. He was the French ambassador to Prussia, Benedetti. The angry diplomat took a train directly to the Ems Palace, the spa resort where the King of Prussia was vacationing, where the tourists were blocked. William I.
The King of Prussia never expected that the French ambassador would rush forward and grab the King's sleeve, regardless of diplomatic etiquette, and forcefully demand that he immediately declare to the whole of Europe that he would not interfere with the Spanish throne.
Benedetti even implicitly accused the king of being a capricious person. Can what he said not count?
Did William I say anything about giving up the Spanish throne? There are different records in the history books, but the French records definitely said it, otherwise the diplomats would not have been so rude to ask the king to promise again.
However, Prussia has different records. They believe that the king never said it either in public or privately. The king's attitude is just that he has something to discuss and everyone can negotiate together, that's all.
The angry coded telegram from Napoleon III brought by Benedetti also expressed the anger of the French government in practical actions. After the rude envoy was sent away from the palace, William I fell into deep thought.
In the end, he felt that he still needed to consult Prime Minister Bismarck, so he sent a telegram from the Ems Palace. In addition to telling everything that happened today in detail, the king also left a line of negotiations at the end of the secret telegram. room.
"We can still make long-term plans in Berlin!" This was the last sentence of Ames's secret message.
When Bismarck received the secret message from the king, instead of being angry, he was overjoyed. He directly invited Moltke, Chief of Staff, to come over for a secret meeting and directly asked Prussia's chances of victory after the war.
Moltke did not disappoint Bismarck. Prussia, with its strong army and strong troops, had long been prepared for war. Moltke firmly believed that Prussia would win this battle.
The situation in Europe finally set off a huge wave. Bismarck sneered and used ink to cross out the last convoluted words in the king's secret message and directly filled in a murderous threat.
"His Majesty the King refuses to receive the French Ambassador in the future and orders the adjutant on duty to tell the French Ambassador that His Majesty has nothing to discuss anymore."
This was the clarion call for the Franco-Prussian War, the very famous Ames Telegram incident in history.
No one can describe Napoleon III's anger. France, the second most powerful country in the world, was actually so insulted. He began to order the country to prepare for war. He finally made up his mind to use the army to teach Prussia, a group of northern barbarians, a good lesson.
The cloud of war once again enveloped Europe.
All of Europe was dumbfounded. Prussia had far more than one million troops at its disposal, and France had a standing army of 600,000. Once this war started, it would be an endless national war.
These are two extremely proud nations, and neither of them will give up until blood is shed. By then, more than two million troops will fight on the land of Europe, and the number of people trapped will be nearly ten million.
Diplomats from all over Europe were mobilized. Regardless of whether they were sincere or not, everyone had to express their position anyway. Some expressed concerns, some personally adjusted, some supported Prussia, and some cheered for France.
For a time, the first-class cabin of the European train was filled with envoys, important ministers, and nobles from various countries. They began to join forces, hoping to gain their own interests in this war.
However, Ai Liguo had no idea about all this. Xiao Letian's story made the British minister pale.
Note: The Eames Telegram incident is real history, but it has been modified appropriately in the novel. In real history, after the Eames Telegram was sent back to France, the French Emperor declared war within ten days, and the Franco-Prussian War broke out.
But our novel is not official history after all. We all hope that Xiao Letian will go to Europe to stir up trouble, so we can only change the time and let the Franco-Prussian War wait before starting, so that they can prepare for the war first.
