With the help of modern tools of public opinion, the news of the possibility of Prince Leopold I of Mexico of the Hohenzollern family and King Leopold I of Mexico was quickly spread around the world.

Among them, the most interested countries are, of course, European countries, especially Britain, France, and Germany, where public opinion is the most enthusiastic, even more concerned than Spain's own public opinion.

First of all, Germany, arguably at the center of this public opinion, feels like a huge pie has fallen from the sky. The German economic community has tasted the sweetness of colonial expansion, due to the existence of Mexico, the German cotton textile industry is booming, and the export of various industrial products to Mexico, such as steel, rails, railway locomotives, etc., have benefited the German industry a lot, just one Mexico, so that Germany's light and heavy industries have benefited greatly, so what about other Spanish colonies, let German capital to develop, and not let German capital eat to death.

Although Spain had lost a large number of colonies, it still held Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic in eastern Haiti.

These are tropical lands with the natural climate of Germany, which the Spaniards have operated for hundreds of years, although they are unable to develop them, but the basic conditions for development are in place, the Spaniards are scattered all over the country, and many of the indigenous people have been assimilated by the Spanish culture, believing in Catholicism, and not as aggressive as the African natives. The land resources of the two places are vast in plain area, and the conditions for development are very good.

Spain also had a number of colonies in Africa, the most valuable being Spanish Morocco in North Africa.

The economic value of these Spanish colonies was discussed as if Germany had already acquired them.

Some retired officers and military strategists are discussing Spain itself, they believe that Russia has been divided, and Germany has become the first power on the European continent, but the French have been brewing revenge, if the German prince becomes the king of Spain, Spain will become an ally of Germany, which is equivalent to aiming at his heart behind France, once the war with France starts, Germany will be able to attack France on both sides.

These surprises, which made the Germans cheer, were also the unwarranted disasters that Britain and France feared.

Needless to say, the Germans became the king of Spain, which meant a disaster for France, which was already struggling with Germany, and Germany got the human resources of Spain and the Spanish colonies, so compared with France, it was not twice as much as it is today, but tripled, triple the population resources, plus Germany's increasingly powerful industrial strength, France felt that the end had fallen.

The British were afraid of the same thing, and as for the Germans' joy in getting Spanish overseas colonies, Britain could accept it, but it was difficult for Britain to make Germany the de facto hegemon of Europe. The Prince of Germany became the king of Spain, France was attacked on both sides, and France could not be Germany's opponent, the Habsburg Empire in Charles's era reappeared in the world, when France directly ruled the Habsburg Empire in Central Europe, Southern Europe Italy and Western Europe, as a Catholic country, actively supported the Protestant countries to fight religious wars with the Catholic Habsburgs, and now France will inevitably resist, and Britain will absolutely support France, Because England could not afford to bear the consequences of France's submission to German power.

The Germans were ecstatic, but Bismarck felt that Germany was jumping into the abyss, and he was worried about it.

Bismarck had already seen that once Leopold succeeded to the Spanish throne, Germany would become the object of the joint restrictions of Britain and France, and Germany would lose the environment in which he had worked hard all his life, and would begin to be involved in the quagmire of great power rivalry. Bismarck was not afraid of France, but Britain's potential was too strong, Britain crushed Germany in almost any field, even if it was Germany's dominant industry, coal and iron, Britain still had an advantage. Once Britain and France are completely united, even if Germany can compete, it will lose the opportunity for peaceful development. Bismarck knew very well that in the past few hundred years, all countries that have confronted Britain, whether it was the Spanish Empire or later the Netherlands and France, have all gone into decline without exception. The geographical location of Britain allows him to always occupy an advantageous position in the process of consumption with mainland countries.

Britain is already economically better than Germany, and if there is a long-term confrontation with Germany, the British can obtain a steady stream of resources from overseas, but Germany will be blocked on the European continent. Germany today is indeed strong, so strong that it has no rivals on the European continent, but is it compared to the Napoleonic Empire of the past? Bismarck knew very well that the relative strength of Germany today could not be compared with that of the Napoleonic Empire, which had not consumed Britain, so why should Germany.

As for the Spanish colony, which made the Germans red-eyed, in Bismarck's view, it was of course good to have it, and it didn't matter if it didn't, it was just a useful supplement, and by no means a necessity for a strong country. But in the face of the temptation of the colonies, the Germans, whose national sentiment had swelled, could not bear it. The Spanish colonies, perhaps the last land that Germany had a chance to touch, had been carved up in the world, and with the exception of these Spanish colonies, the whole world was either an independent country or a territory that had been annexed by the Great Powers. It is too risky to destroy an independent country like Brazil, and where can Germany get land if the rest of the world, even Africa, is divided. Therefore, when the pie of the Spanish throne was smashed, the Germans were really stunned.

Bismarck discussed with the German emperor, who he hoped would dissuade Leopold, who was of the same family, from rejecting the Spanish throne, which he considered to be a bomb, and how powerful Louis XIV was at that time, he was also exhausted by the War of the Spanish Succession. Bismarck was alarmist, telling the emperor that it was likely that Leopold's promise to inherit the Spanish throne would be a declaration of a world war.

The Emperor was worried, but he could not give up the vast Spanish colonies and the absolute geographical advantage that Germany had in competition with France because the German prince inherited the Spanish throne.

Emperor Wilhelm I asked Bismarck which countries would go to war with Germany if Leopold succeeded to the Spanish throne.

Bismarck replied truthfully that France would certainly not agree, Britain would certainly oppose it, and Germany would at least go to war with Britain and France.

It's just that Britain and France are still tricky, and France is not worried, but Britain has the ability to blockade the German coast, and if Germany is blocked, it will be a devastating blow to German industry, which is dependent on imports and exports. Napoleon was like this back then, France suppressed all the forces on the continent that dared to resist France, even Russia succumbed, but Britain still blockaded the French coast, and France's imports and exports were completely smuggled.

The Emperor asked if Germany could reach a peace agreement with Britain if the war broke out, if Germany could defeat France.

Bismarck admits that it is impossible.

The German emperor hesitated, but before he could make up his mind to persuade his cousin, his cousin sent a message claiming to have the support of China.

This made the German emperor inexplicably happy, and what Germany was afraid of was not the French army power, but the British naval power, Germany was not afraid of ground war, Germany was afraid of a long-term blockade. But the German navy cannot fight Britain, the sea power of the whole of Europe cannot fight Britain, but China can fight Britain, China's fleet size is unprecedented, nearly twice that of Britain, once the Chinese support Germany, then Britain will definitely not dare to blockade Germany, because the British Navy cannot have the ability to block Germany while resisting the invasion of the Chinese navy, and at the same time protect the security of the homeland.

Therefore, as long as it had the support of China, Britain could only grit its teeth and accept Leopold as the king of Spain, and could only accept the substantial expansion of German power.

The German Emperor immediately inquired about Leopold's details.

It turned out that the Spanish Constituent Assembly did send someone to talk to Leopold, and the Constituent Assembly wanted to find a monarch who was willing to carry out reforms in Spain, supported a constitutional monarchy, and could accept the restraint of royal power, and at the same time had sufficient political talent.

There are not many such candidates in Europe, and Leopold is a rare candidate. In his communication with the Spaniards, Leopold was in favor of reform, and the examples of reforms that had already been carried out in Mexico were quite satisfactory to the Spaniards. Leopold also promised to reintegrate Mexico into the Spanish Empire once he became King of Spain.

As a result, the Spaniards had begun to favor Leopold as king of Spain.

Later, Leopold communicated with his neighbors in the Americas, and from where the Inca kingdom came, he got a condition, and the Inca kingdom promised that the Inca kingdom would be willing to recognize Leopold's right to inherit the Spanish throne if Leopold was willing to redraw the border between the Inca kingdom and the Spanish colonies.

Leopold believed that China stood behind the Inca Kingdom, and if he could get China's support, he would not only be able to successfully control the Spanish American colonies, but also return to Europe to inherit the Spanish throne.

Leopold told his cousin, the King of Germany, that he would only reply to the Spanish Parliament and decide whether to accept their invitation to return to Europe to accept the Spanish throne if he was assured of China's support.

Leopold hoped that if he had the support of China, he hoped that his cousin would support him in the same way.

Leopold could not bear the loneliness, and the company of a group of Indians was too boring for him, a prince of aristocratic origin, who was far away from the hustle and bustle of European court life, but completely uncomfortable, and he had long looked forward to returning to Europe, to the aristocratic life of drunken money, and not to be in America, where there was nothing to squander.

The question is whether China will support him, and to what extent?