December 20, 9:12 am.
It was early in the morning, not long before government work started.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Toni reported to Emperor Pedro III that Spain's new Prime Minister and the new leader of the Liberal Party, Alvaro Figueroa Torres Romanones, sought peace negotiations.
"Your Majesty, Ambassador Williams in Madrid has forwarded a request from Spain's new Prime Minister Alvaro. They hope to restart peace negotiations with us."
When Tangning heard the news, she said calmly without any expression.
"Oh, Spain finally has a new prime minister who can take charge. I thought Spain was ready to fight to the end?"
"Your Majesty, Spain does not have this intention. Before, they were just criticizing each other and shirking responsibility. Even the leader of the Liberal Party does not want to be the prime minister of the cabinet."
Since Portugal captured Talavera on December 13, the Spanish government has been in turmoil. Politicians in the parliamentary cabinet are full of various attacks on each other and blame each other to protect themselves.
The first unlucky ones were, of course, Defense Minister Antonio and Prime Minister Jose Canalejas Méndez. As the top leaders of the government presiding over the war, he must bear the responsibility for the failure of the decisive battle.
Although Antonio was severely attacked, he was luckier than Jose, the Prime Minister and the highest leader of the government.
Although Jose, as Prime Minister, did everything he could in response to the war, who failed the war, so there is nothing wrong with being a sinner.
When news of the war came, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Conservative Party Eduardo Dato Inradier, fiercely attacked the Liberal Party in parliament.
At his instigation, the angry Spaniards regarded Jose as Spain's number one criminal, and Jose was forced to resign under pressure.
After resigning, Jose was protected by the Spanish army because there were many angry Spaniards who wanted him dead.
The Prime Minister resigned and the Spanish government was thrown into chaos.
As the leader of the Conservative Party, Eduardo Dato Inradier, of course, did not jump out to compete for prime minister at this time, because he knew that there was a huge pit waiting for his successor.
Spain, as the defeated party, would definitely sign a treaty with Portugal that would humiliate the country and cede territory and pay indemnities. Therefore, although the conservative party made a fuss, they did not come out to form a cabinet.
If Prime Minister Jose resigns and the Conservative Party refuses to form a cabinet, then the Liberal Party cabinet will still exist, but at this time, the elders will certainly not take over.
But the Spanish government is in civil strife, and Portugal will not wait for them.
In the Battle of Talavera, although Portugal was backed by black servants, the imperial army still suffered heavy losses. Coupled with the losses in a series of previous wars, the imperial army suffered more than 50,000 casualties.
Portugal was exhausted after the Battle of Talavera, and the Ministry of Defense ordered three days of in-situ repairs.
Within three days of the Portuguese army's rest, Spain's Liberal Party cabinet has not yet elected a leader.
After three days of repairs, the Portuguese army set off in full force on December 16. Two days later, on the 18th, after an easy battle, the Spanish resistance was defeated and the important city of Toledo was captured.
The fall of Toledo shook the capital greatly, and the Spanish government fell into further impatience.
Alfonso XIII, who couldn't bear it anymore, arranged his escape plan and appointed Alvaro Figueroa Torres Romanones, whom he considered the most reliable among the quarreling Liberal Party bosses, as prime minister.
The unfortunate Alvaro Figueroa Torres Romanones gritted his teeth and assumed this important responsibility out of patriotism.
Alvaro knows that he can't delay it now. If he delays it any longer, Madrid will be gone. The conditions for Portugal's negotiations will then be even more stringent. The most important task at the moment is peace talks.
One day after accepting the cabinet, Alvaro initiated peace talks with Portugal and gave his own terms for peace talks.
"Tony, what terms did Alvaro offer for peace talks?"
Tangning smiled and said: "Our troops will advance to Alcorcon quickly. I believe Prime Minister Alvaro knows what to do?"
“Your Majesty, the Spanish government is willing to recognize the sovereignty of Galicia, Asturias, Leon and other places proposed by Portugal.
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Regarding the ethnic conflicts and local power issues in Aragon, Navarre, Lusitania and other places, Spain believes that they can be turned into autonomous regions and allow them to govern themselves. If the three places want to be independent, they must be recognized by European countries and pass local referendums before Spain can recognize them.
The Spanish government does not recognize or discuss the rights relationship between Aragon and Murcia, and Navana and Cantabria.
Murcia, in the history of Cantabria, was recaptured by Castile, and the Spanish government has indisputable sovereignty. "
Tony single-handedly pulled Spain's bottom line out.
“Your Majesty, there is a very important message here.
Prime Minister Alvaro emphasized that if Portugal was willing to recognize Spanish sovereignty over Murcia and Cantabria, they were willing to give up all colonies and pay reasonable war reparations. "
Before the attack on the Talavera Fortress, the Portuguese and Spanish governments had actually been negotiating back and forth.
After conquering Seclavun, the troops were directed towards the hinterland of Castile. Out of self-confidence and tired of this fearless and time-consuming behavior, Tangning directly issued the final conditions to the Spanish government.
Among these conditions, if the conditions for the alliance between Portugal and Imbilia are not agreed to before the war breaks out in Talavera, then the territorial claims to Spain will be included in Aragon versus Murcia, Navarre versus Cantab Leah's sovereignty.
The reason why Tang Ning proposed this harsh condition was naturally that he wanted to intimidate Spain into surrendering as soon as possible and end the war as soon as possible.
Since the outbreak of the war, Portugal's economy has been greatly affected. Portugal's population is not large, and coupled with the battle losses on the front line, this is a big loss for Portugal.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out as expected.
Portugal's policy of intimidation did not succeed.
There were already many people in Spain who opposed the peace negotiation, and the opposition Conservative Party in the parliament was also acting like a monster. The ruling Liberal Party did not want to be what people said was a traitor, so Spain refused and pinned the fate of the country on Fortress Talavera. , so Portugal’s plan failed.
But now, the Talavera Fortress has fallen, and Spain is in a huge diplomatic dilemma.
The new Prime Minister Alvaro is certainly aware of Spain's predicament. He previously rejected Portugal's final peace talks conditions, but now it is even more difficult to break through and protect Spain's greater interests.
However, the country's territory must be fought over, and it should be kept as much as possible. Therefore, Alvaro placed his hope in the legal principles of Castile and the possible intervention of European countries, and gave Portugal a peace negotiation that preserved national interests as much as possible. condition.
Spain will give what Portugal wants; Aragon, Navarre, and Lusitaria. Spain is willing to respect their rights and may not interfere in these areas, but on the issue of independence, it needs recognition by European countries. As for Murcia, Cantabria seized on the legal principles of the Operation of Liberation, but Spain refused to let go.
Spain attaches great importance to Murcia and Cantabria in the terms of peace talks.
It is not surprising that Spain attaches great importance to these two places, because if these two places are lost, Spain will be a landlocked country and will no longer be able to communicate between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Nowadays, sea power is prevalent and the coastline is very important. If Spain loses its coastline, its economy will be locked up by Portugal and there will be no development potential.
