Politics is sometimes so comedy. Originally, the British government was suspicious of supporting the Japanese, fearing that the mud would not be able to support the wall and would not be able to recover the cost of investment.

But with the Holy Roman Empire supporting the Spaniards, the British government had no choice. If they don't make any more moves, there will be no place for them in the Nanyang region immediately.

Britain did not have much interest in the South Seas, and even if it was squeezed out, it seemed that there was not much to lose. However, things can't just be taken at face.

If you open the map, you can see that the South Seas region is stuck between the Far East and India. Once squeezed out, Britain's hegemony in the Far East will also be shaken.

Of course, they have another option - Australia. The problem is that this is going to go around in a big circle again!

Britain can't stand the toss. The Royal Navy could not navigate from the Suez Canal, and the pressure itself was too great to make another detour.

In this context, Britain can only introduce external forces to balance the forces of all parties in the South Seas region and relieve its own pressure.

……

At the same time that the Spaniards arrived in the port of New Frankfurt, Ito Hirobumi signed the Anglo-Japanese Secret Treaty of the South Seas in London with British Foreign Secretary George on behalf of the Japanese government.

The treaty states:

1. The two Contracting Parties recognize each other's right to protect their own interests in the South Seas, and the two countries have the right to intervene if Japan's "special interests" in the South Seas are threatened by other countries.

2. When one of the High Contracting Parties fights against a third State in order to protect the above-mentioned interests, the other Party shall exercise strict neutrality and provide assistance within its means.

3. In the event that one of the High Contracting Parties is attacked by two or more States, the other Party shall provide military assistance.

4. In peacetime, the navies of the two countries should cooperate in order to maintain their superiority in the South China Sea and the Far East.

……

Supplementary Agreement: In view of the needs of the Spanish-Japanese War, Britain sold three battleships, five cruisers, seven destroyers, and a number of auxiliary warships to the Japanese government.

The treaty is valid for a period of 5 years. After the expiration date, the two countries will decide whether to continue to renew the treaty on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the different targets, this Anglo-Japanese secret treaty is basically a copy of the original space-time "Anglo-Japanese Alliance". The only difference is probably that the situation in the South Seas is a bit more complicated, and both Britain and Japan are reluctant to make the news of an alliance public.

Don't look at the Royal Navy as the world's first, if you really talk about the speed of fleet launching, they are not as good as the Holy Roman Empire in the South Seas.

The fleets of the two countries departed from the mainland at the same time, and the fleet of the Holy Roman Empire arrived at least half a month earlier, and this is the strategic significance of the Suez Canal.

The only way to avoid this disadvantage is to garrison heavy troops. Theoretically, as long as the Royal Navy is twice as large as the HRE Navy, it will be able to maintain its superiority.

As long as the Royal Navy divided into two routes, blocking the Strait of Gibraltar and the Red Sea, it would be possible to keep the HRE fleet in a bathtub in the Mediterranean.

After all, the Royal Navy is more combat-ready, and with the size of the fleet comparable, the HRE Navy is not yet their opponent.

Of course, this is only theoretical. If you really do it, you will find that it has no effect at all.

The naval blockade is only effective against small countries, and in the face of the giant of the HRE, the blockade of the Royal Navy will bring some economic losses at most.

Except for being able to provoke the Viennese government and make the HRE Empire invest more forces in building warships, it will not have a deterrent effect at all.

Although it can't win, Britain can't lose either. With the strength of the Royal Navy, it is inherently invincible.

The end result was nothing more than the loss of Britain's colonies in Africa, and most likely the loss of colonies in the South Seas and the Americas.

Maybe the two countries still have air forces fighting each other, and you bomb back and forth. Perhaps several states along the coast of the HRE will also encounter baptism of war.

But in general, both sides are big losers, and the winners will only be the melon-eating masses who are not involved.

In the context of not turning his face, the secret agreement between Britain and Japan was exposed, that is, forcing the Netherlands and Spain to join forces with HRE.

The two-on-three British felt that they were at a loss, and the Japanese simply did not dare to join in the fun. Although they are all great powers, the Great Power Goalkeeper like Spain and the HRE Empire are not at all the same species.

If the game really collapses, who dares to guarantee that the British will be reliable? In the unlikely event that no one cares about 3721 and a fleet goes directly to Tokyo, the Japanese government cannot afford it.

Even if the British government is willing to help, when the Royal Navy arrives, it will only be able to help collect the body.

Revenge, what's the use of that?

With the background of the Japanese Empire, don't think about turning over if you lose once, where will it come from. You can't expect the Holy Roman Empire to throw in the towel and let them rebuild their navy, right?

……

The Spaniards, who had just arrived in the port of New Frankfurt, were holding a celebratory banquet at the moment. After so many days of drifting at sea, it was time to relax.

"Sir Werther, didn't Governor Chandler come?"

Halfway through the banquet, Admiral Valkenhein, the commander of the fleet, realized that an important guest had not arrived.

Sir Werther, as the Foreign Officer, smiled and replied, "I'm very sorry. Your Excellency the Governor, let me convey my apologies on my behalf. ”

It can be seen from his sincere smile that he is full of apologies. Well, this is not what Admiral Valkenhein needs.

Spain wanted to defeat the Japanese and recover the Philippine Islands, which was indispensable for the support of the Austrian governor of the South Seas. Governor Chandler avoided it, apparently not wanting to get further involved in the Spanish-Japanese War.

Although the two countries are allies, they still have to speak with interests. The Vienna government was able to honour its previous treaty with Spain, and it was already a very good friend.

Further support will depend on what the Spanish government is willing to give. Unfortunately, Spain's family is too thin to afford this price.

Otherwise, Spain would have bribed the European countries and let the European Continental Union pass a resolution ordering the Japanese to withdraw from the Philippine Islands.

Don't say that it is the Japanese government, even if it is replaced by the British government, it will have to think twice before acting in the face of the collective resolution of the European Continental Union.

In fact, Spain is not without opportunities. If the Russians had joined the anti-French alliance before the Russians entered the war, it was decided that they could exchange the full support of the anti-French alliance.

It's a pity that the Spanish government's hesitation was so slow that the Russians entered the war one step later, causing its own value to plummet.

The status of the victorious country is mixed, and the spoils of war have also been obtained, and if you want the Holy Roman Empire to help you take back the Philippine Islands, it is obviously not enough.

After a brief period of embarrassment, Admiral Valkenhain immediately reacted and replied politely: "It doesn't matter, Your Excellency the Governor can understand every opportunity. It's just a matter of warship maintenance, I don't know when it will start?

Sir Werther, you know. Our fleet has sailed tens of thousands of kilometers from the mainland, and there is about to be a big war again, and the warships are in urgent need of maintenance. ”

After sailing tens of thousands of kilometers, the warships were only "maintained", not "repaired", which is enough to prove the excellent quality of the warships of the French, and also to the professional quality of the Spanish Navy.

Compared with the miserable and miserable Russian fleet in the original plane, the Spaniards are now too lucky.

"The repair shop is ready and could start at any time. It's just that the scale of your country's fleet is huge, and I am afraid that a repair shop will not be able to complete maintenance in a short time.

If you are in a hurry, I personally recommend dispersing the fleet to several repair plants for maintenance. With our technical strength, if we were to separate, we could do it in as little as a week. ”

The money sent to the door is not earned in vain. Whether it's providing logistical supplies or carrying out maintenance of warships, there is a fee.

Sir Witte has always been a sun-like warmth to his clients. As long as the customer has money in his pocket, he will do everything possible to meet the customer's needs.

As for the outcome of this war, it is actually not so important. If the Viennese government wished, even if the Spanish navy was completely destroyed, it could immediately form a more powerful fleet for them.

The same goes for the enemy. As long as the British were willing, no matter how great the losses of the Japanese, they could also replenish them immediately.

In a sense, the key to the outcome of the war was no longer on the battlefield, but in the game between the great powers.

Admiral Valkenhain said happily: "Of course, the sooner the better, the Filipino people are still waiting for us to rescue them!" ”

Although I don't know that Britain and Japan have hooked up together, Admiral Valkenhein still understands the truth of long nights and dreams.

The Philippine archipelago is a treasure trove, and it is not only the Japanese who have peeped into the country, but almost every colonial empire has had illusions about it.

In the short term, everyone also tacitly assumed that the Philippine Islands were colonies of Spain, and due to political factors, it was inconvenient for various countries to take action against the Philippine Islands.

However, the situation will be different after a long time, and once the international community believes that Spain cannot afford to recover the Philippine Islands, then their ownership of the Philippine Islands will also be lost.

With the change of owner, the original political factors of the Philippine Islands no longer exist, and there is no burden for everyone to move their hands.

Britain and Austria, in particular, had enough strength to seize the Philippine Islands from the Japanese, and they were the object of vigilance in Valkenhein.