Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1024 - 38, Unsolicited Deal - Don’t Do It

Chapter 1024: Chapter 38, Unsolicited Deal – Don’t Do It

Once the war had broken out, it wasn’t something that could just be stopped at will. Especially for the precarious Cuba Island, if reinforcement troops weren’t dispatched promptly, it might well change hands.

The Spanish Government’s resources had already been nearly depleted in previous wars. The funds raised domestically were extremely limited and could not sustain them for long.

There wasn’t time to wait for the results of the investigation, Ruenior approached the Vienna Government first. Clearly, Ruenior was very wary of the bankers who operated on the fringe.

There was no other reason than the lesson learned from experience. Signing a loan agreement didn’t necessarily mean that the loan would be obtained.

Seventy million Divine Shields was not a small number; there were only three, perhaps four, countries in the whole world whose annual fiscal revenue exceeded seventy million Divine Shields.

However, the fourth country was too corrupt; its actual revenue had already exceeded seventy million Divine Shields, but the amount that finally reached the Central Government was far less.

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Such a massive loan; there were definitely no more than ten banks globally with the capability to handle it, and it was even possible that fewer than five could.

Typically, these high-risk, large international loans would involve multiple banks coming together to form a syndicate for lending.

If mainstream commercial banks already found it challenging, could a few moneylenders relegated to the fringe really come up with so much money?

If a contract were signed and time wasted, only to realize a scam when disbursement time came, that would be a serious problem.

Such schemes had been played out more than once on the European Continent, and Spain had experienced it firsthand.

Of course, both being scammed and scamming were mutual. The Spanish Government had indeed been duped by financiers, but they had also duped others in return.

Bankruptcy, defaulting, and anti-semitism—these series of maneuvers were all too familiar. It was exactly because everyone knew these tactics well that Ruenior became even more suspicious.

…

“Sorry, we are not interested in the Moroccan Area. The Empire already has enough colonies, and we have no plans to expand further.”

While saying this, Wessenberg picked up his coffee, gently blew on it, and slowly savored it.

Business that comes too willingly is never good business. Due to its unique geographical location and fertile land, the Moroccan Area had always been highly coveted by European powers.

Although Spain was the first to initiate colonization in Morocco, before they could completely take over the Moroccan Area, other European powers converged there.

Twenty years ago, a battle for the Moroccan Area amongst The Four Kingdoms of England, Austria, France, and Spain had taken place.

After a series of struggles, Austria was the first to give up and instead turned to expand in the East African Area; subsequently, the British were pushed out, leaving behind the geologically advantaged French and Spanish.

Under normal circumstances, Spain definitely could not compete with France. However, at that time, Napoleon III had placed the strategic focus of expansion on the Italian Area, and eventually, France and Spain divided Morocco between them.

Although the Kingdom of Morocco was in decline, it still possessed some strength. Combined with the mutual restraint between France and Spain, this small African country miraculously survived.

Right after the end of the European wars, the Moroccan Area was finally assigned to the Kingdom of Spain. Yet, the Spaniards were too busy and never had the time to swallow this piece of meat by their mouth.

This delay caused problems. The expansion of France and Spain in the Moroccan Area involved not just the economic market but also the influx of a large number of immigrants.

Until the outbreak of war on the European Continent, French-Spanish colonists had already seized millions of hectares of land in Morocco and established thousands of farms and plantations.

The Moroccan Government, unable to confront France and Spain, could only endure in silence. However, with France’s defeat, the situation changed.

Moroccan intellectuals, unwilling to remain as a colonized land, began attempting to expel the French colonists. Without the backing of a nation, these French colonists soon faced severe social backlash.

The victory of the anti-French movement directly fueled the awakening of nationalism in the Moroccan Area. Though it was just budding and the Sultan Government remained weak, the Spaniards still encountered difficulties.

Since 1860, when Spain began its invasion of Morocco, the two countries had been locked in a vendetta. Between 1884 and 1885, after Spain’s occupation of Rio de Oro Port, they stirred up even more resistance from various Moroccan tribes.

With conflicts accumulating, Spain waged wars again with the northern Moroccan tribes in 1891 and 1893.

Victory did not mean the end of troubles, but rather an accumulation of hatred. With the news of the Cuban rebel army spreading, the Moroccan Area became unstable once again.

Now, only a spark was needed for detonation. The exhausted Spanish Government no longer had the capacity to open a third front.

Indeed, the Spanish now suspected that the Vienna Government was one of the hidden instigators behind the scenes.

One overt British enemy was enough for them, and with Shinra stabbing them in the back, life truly became unbearable.

Against this backdrop, the desperate Spanish Government directly used the Moroccan Area as a bargaining chip, preparing to negotiate with the Vienna Government.

Such an obvious maneuver could not escape Wessenberg’s attention. Suffering the blame for others was frustrating enough, becoming the scapegoat again seemed invincible.

The Holy Roman Empire was long past the era of desperate measures. Now, accepting Spain’s Morocco would indeed mean taking advantage of their misfortune.

If it were Morocco occupied by Spain, that might be another matter, but the Spanish Government held only a nominal control. Even if a deal was struck, it would eventually be up to Shinra to take action.

Rather than paying to suffer, it was better not to pick up this mess from the start and wait for Spain to lose Morocco before taking action.

Receiving this response, Ruenior was not surprised. If they had agreed readily, there would have been a problem. The negotiation had just begun, showing an intent to win at all costs, how could they bargain like that?

As for the Vienna Government’s disinterest in Morocco, no one on the streets would believe that.

“Shinra’s Africa” is not unfounded. Plans for Shinra’s sole domination of the African Continent are widely rumored in countless versions.

Even if the Vienna Government was uninterested, the aristocratic lords of Africa would find ways to drive the implementation.

The reason for no action now was merely everyone being busy developing their own territories, temporarily unable to consider expanding their domains.

Wait another ten or eight years, once territorial development is initially complete, someone would take action.

Whether other countries could hold onto their colonies, Ruenior didn’t know, but Spain definitely could not hold Morocco.

The Vienna Government didn’t need to send troops; the surrounding aristocratic lords coming together could muster tens of thousands of men.

Similar incidents had occurred all too often. After all, the territory of the Holy Roman Empire in Africa was fought for bit by bit like this.

Except for the initial colonization which involved the Vienna Government sending troops, most of the fighting thereafter was spontaneously organized by the people below.

“Fight,” it sounds simple, but if actually carried out, lives would be lost. The anti-France wars, the Philippine wars, and now the Cuban pacification wars—hasn’t each war caused Spain to cough up blood?

Since the future is destined to be irretrievable, why not make the best of it and sell at a good price, preserving the wealthiest colonies first?

At least the Spanish Government could be certain that the Holy Roman Empire wouldn’t covet Cuba Island, much less target the Philippine Islands.

Based on past experience, as long as core interests weren’t involved, the Vienna Government always cared about face and wouldn’t reach into a junior’s sphere of influence.

“Your Grace, your country isn’t lacking colonies, we are well aware. To be frank, this sale of Morocco is also a coerced decision.

Continuous wars have drained the Kingdom of Spain’s vitality. We are now forced to agonizingly cut our losses by selling Morocco to gather funds to alleviate our financial crisis.

Considering the traditional friendship between our countries, we thought of your country first. If this transaction could be realized, I believe it would be a win-win for both our nations.”

Wessenberg nodded his head, yet remained unmoved. He understood the underlying message.

Simply put, if the Holy Roman Empire didn’t want it, Morocco would be sold to the British, given Spain’s current inability to engage in African conflicts or join any other fray.

Between nations, interests always came first. Ignore how tense things currently are between England and Spain over the Cuban issue—once Spain makes a compromise, relations immediately could become amicable again.

“I understand your intention, your grace. The primary purpose of selling the Moroccan Area is to raise funds.

If there could be other means to gather sufficient funds, then selling the Moroccan Area wouldn’t be necessary.

In fact, we still can assist with your country’s financial troubles. The Holy Roman Empire possesses the most advanced financial system, capable of resolving your country’s funding shortfall, provided it’s not too vast.”

While not supporting a strategy of monopolizing Africa, Wessenberg was not opposed to expanding the Empire’s territory. If Morocco remained peaceful, he certainly would be happy to pay a considerable price to acquire it.

Ultimately, it’s just another colony, and so long as the bid was high enough, it couldn’t be considered as taking advantage by fire. After all, territorial trades in the European world weren’t anything new.

Unfortunately, the situation in Morocco was already tightly wound, potentially primed for war at any moment. Spending money now would seem unwarranted.

As for whether the Spanish Government would sell Morocco to someone else, Wessenberg had never considered it a serious matter.

Are the British foolish enough to spend a huge sum to purchase nominal sovereignty, just to increase its borders with the Holy Roman Empire?

You’d know it’s unlikely just by thinking about it. Taking over the Moroccan Area now would represent not merely wealth for the British Government, but also a heavy burden.

The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and British-Ethiopia in East Africa, served as solid examples. To maintain local stability, the British Government had to station significant military forces.

Though both governments exercised restraint and tried to suppress conflicts as much as possible, unavoidable heated disagreements occasionally emerged.

Especially after the Holy Roman Empire became the new hegemonic power, the surrounding Aristocratic Lords grew restless. Although there hadn’t been outright combat, planning native rebellions did occur from time to time.

You see, during the period of Austria, there had been a local native Colonial Army, now invisible like a shadow.

It’s said that due to the low military stipend paid by the colonial government, these people deserted, fleeing to the Ethiopia area.

As for the specifics, they were lost because a great fire had destroyed the archives. The eventual outcome was that hundreds of thousands of colonial troops, with families in tow, established their rule in British-Ethiopia.

There was no choice—the British only nominally ruled over Ethiopia at the time. Mere thousands of Lobster Soldiers had to manage millions of square kilometers of land, and no matter how hard they tried, it was too much to handle.

Moreover, it was the indigenous people who were moved, and their initial lack of attention can be understood as a little sluggish when they finally realized the situation.

Once they realized, they fought back! The great powers always liked to impose their will through force.

Unfortunately, although the Lobster Soldiers were able to defeat these uninvited guests, they couldn’t eradicate them completely.

To resolve these issues, the British Government had to repeatedly send reinforcements, but the more they fought, the more the enemy seemed to multiply. The African natives looked alike, and inadvertently the conflict escalated.

After weighing the pros and cons, the British realized that conquering the jungle was useless—they had too few people and too much land to manage effectively.

What worried the British even more was that during a series of pacification wars, their territory had actually shrunk. Unknowingly, the original boundary markers had been moved.

In the end, the London Government had to intervene and communicate with the Vienna Government to resolve the issue. Although the Vienna Government promised not to expand into British territories anymore, the lands they had already occupied couldn’t be returned.

Having suffered a loss, the British Government had no choice but to reluctantly send more troops. To ensure the boundary markers wouldn’t shift again on their own, they had to station troops permanently.

Due to this increase in troops, the colonial military expenses soared, making British-Africa a continual financial loss.

The British Government gritted their teeth for strategic needs. If they were to spend a fortune to acquire the Moroccan Area, that would indeed be foolhardy.

With no competitors, the Moroccan Area wasn’t going anywhere, and Wessenberg was in no hurry. The Vienna Government was still busy, so there was no rush to make moves.

After all, the Spanish Government was poor enough to default on its debts sooner or later, and they would ultimately need to offer something in exchange.

Compared to resources like Cuba and the Philippines, which could generate substantial wealth, the nominally owned Moroccan Area was obviously easier to sacrifice.

“Your Grace, I am truly grateful. To raise funds, we’ve tried every possible method.

The Japanese unwillingly supported the rebels in the Philippine Islands, prolonging the Philippine campaign; the British planned the Cuban independence movement, requiring funds everywhere.

Spain has limited resources and could only cover part of the finances, while we still have a shortfall of seventy million Divine Shields in our budget.…”

Despite not knowing what Wessenberg was plotting, getting the loan meant Ruenior had achieved his goal.

Now, the most important thing was to appear pitiful and garner sympathy. Aside from its colonial holdings, Spain didn’t have much else that would attract prying eyes.

Based on past experience, the Vienna Government was quite principled in this regard. Although they imposed political conditions, they didn’t charge exorbitant interest rates.

“Seventy million Divine Shields,” Wessenberg frowned slightly upon hearing this number.

Although the Vienna Government had issued loans amounting to several billion Divine Shields, these were done in stages. Apart from the Russians, no one had ever borrowed so much money at once.

Especially when lending to Spain, which clearly had repayment issues, weighing the pros and cons was even more necessary.