About 90 kilometres from the city of Madrid, the Palace of Sant'Ildefens, about 90 kilometres from Madrid, retains its quiet atmosphere and is alive with grass sprouts and new foliage, with marches, strikes and even terrible riots cut off from the mountains and woodlands surrounding the royal palace. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 On a bench by the pool, Alfonso XIII, dressed in plain robes, was boredly throwing small stones into the water, and an attendant in a military uniform with a sword at his waist stood silently like a sculpture.

Time is like a breeze in the air, and as soon as it gives people a little feeling, it disappears invisibly without a trace.

After a long time, an old man in a tuxedo slowly approached the King of Spain, bent down, and respectfully presented a letter to him.

Looking at the rustic envelope, the young king looked up with some hesitation: "What is this?" ”

The old man replied calmly, "The Ambassador of Ireland forwarded it yesterday, saying that it was a letter from His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland. ”

Alfonso XIII opened the envelope with his slender pale fingers, the white letter shining harshly in the sun, and the powerful handwriting on it was written in fluent English, which the King of Spain, who had received a formal court education since childhood, could certainly read it, not to mention that he had married an English lord as queen.

Alfonso XIII was 32 years old, having been King of Spain for 32 years, and he was thin and thin, as if he had been malnourished for a long time, but no matter how poor the country was, the conditions of court life could not have been much worse. The young king quickly finished reading the letter, folded it and stuffed it into the envelope, and laid it on the bench as if nothing had happened, as if he had no intention of communicating anything to the old man.

"What did His Majesty say in the letter?" The old man took the initiative to ask.

Alfonso XIII replied nonchalantly: "Sympathy, mercy, mercy...... The old routine of the new king! He is the savior of Ireland, the god of the Irish people, and that is because of the full support of Germany, otherwise Ireland would still want independence from the British? Now that the Irish have achieved the coveted independence, they are all grateful and driven, and it is not surprising that the country is gaining momentum. ”

Apparently only half of the story was said, and the hidden part was about Spain. The country's independence was not long, but it immediately entered a period of fantastic development and ascent after independence, until it became the premier maritime power, intimidating Europe with an invincible armada, and the ruling class and even ordinary people lived a prosperous life, resulting in the whole country becoming extravagant and complacent, and entering a long period of recession after being defeated by the British, and various national economic fields such as industry, agriculture, and textiles were in a backward state, and they were not competitive in the international trade market. As a result, they fell into a vicious circle of getting poorer and poorer, which in turn gave rise to many irreconcilable social contradictions.

The old man was Count Romanones, the head of government of the Kingdom of Spain, and his position was Chairman of the Council of Ministers, whose functions and roles were equivalent to those of the Prime Ministers of Britain and Germany. "That Majesty has been hailed as a Hohenzollern genius for many years, and has performed amazingly in various fields such as naval design, commercial operations, military strategy, and internal politics," he said in a declarative tone. ”

Unable to change the dire social status quo, Alfonso XIII and his Spain were like docile sheep, but their attitude of incommunicado did not bring peace. Externally, Spain was challenged by the United States and lost its rich overseas colonies such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Internally, the Spanish government's reform efforts have been repeatedly aborted by conservative obstructions, and the prestige of the royal family and the government has been weakened by persistently high unemployment and poor working and living conditions...... In his heart, Alfonso XIII did not want to become a great, respected monarch who led his country out of the trough and back to the top of Europe and even the world, for which he also made a lot of efforts, but the country's many ills are the stubborn diseases accumulated over the centuries, and his strength alone seems to be far from enough.

The young king of Spain turned his head a little sluggishly to look at the letter placed on the bench, and murmured, "But why should he help us?" What kind of intentions does he have? ”

The old earl, who had been in vicissitudes but was not depressed, pondered for a long time, and speculated: "Maybe it's because he lacks friends, so he is looking for friends." Your Majesty, you see, Ireland does not have a good relationship with the countries around it, Britain is already an old enemy with them, the French and Belgians must be very hostile to Germany and their allies, the Netherlands is strictly neutral and has no good opinion of them, and Ireland cannot rely on Germany for everything, and if they want to have an independent political role and diplomatic position, they must strive for a better living environment for themselves. Spain is certainly at a low point in its history, but our land area is six times that of Ireland, our population is five times that of them, and if we can get out of this predicament, we will still be a relatively large European power with international influence, and the Iberians have a special blood connection with the Celts, and based on these circumstances, the rulers of Ireland will be happy to establish good national relations with us, and even seek opportunities for strategic alliances. ”

Alfonso XIII was like a poor man stumbling in the dark, as long as he saw a little light, even if he was still pretending to be calm on the surface, his heart was already surging in his chest. As the Prime Minister said, in about 1200 BC, Celts from Central Northern Europe entered the Iberian Peninsula from the north, blonde Celts intermarried with dark-skinned Iberians, and it spread throughout the peninsula, and this is the blood link that Ireland has to say with Spain.

"In that case, we might as well use the wisdom of His Majesty to make Spain try to get out of its present predicament?"

The old count, who had suffered the largest strikes during his second term as president of the Spanish Council of Ministers, and who had witnessed the rivalry of European powers in the Moroccan crisis and the Balkan conflict, had a better understanding of the dark side of international politics, and reminded him: "If that majesty can always be blessed by the goddess of victory, we should have more advantages than disadvantages in forming an alliance with him, but the problem is that no one can guarantee that he will always be invincible." Judging from the current international situation, the Allied bloc has the absolute upper hand, but the industrial strength of Germany, Austria, Turkey, Italy, and other countries combined is not as good as that of the United States, and the losing side of the war is reaccumulating strength with the help of the United States, and it is difficult to say what the future pattern will be. If we become too dependent on Ireland's support, we will inevitably be driven into disputes with an uncertain future, and even into an abyss of catastrophe a hundred times worse than the current situation. ”

Alfonso XIII raised his head to look at the sky, and when he spoke again, he had already put aside his languid and decadent posture: "That's a long-term consideration, and as far as our current situation is concerned, we really need strong external assistance to change the status quo. Think about it, in less than a year, Ireland has gone from a country with no industry to a miracle land of zero unemployment and high welfare, and the whole world is looking at it, isn't it because of Germany's gratuitous aid and interest-free loans? After all, this is also a huge benefit from the adventure of war! Before the war, Germany's industrial economy was strong, and it was much more than supporting its allies with hundreds of millions of marks, as it is now. ”

The old earl chimed in: "Yes, the French war reparations alone are enough to make the German economy achieve a second leap, not to mention that the Germans also took over a large number of British and French colonies in Africa and Asia, and controlled the oil resources of Mesopotamia, and almost all European countries are vying to show favor to Berlin, compared with the pre-war indifference and wartime resistance, it is really a great irony of political diplomacy!" ”

Alfonso XIII picked up the letter again, as if weighing it and pondering the words of the letter, but he never took out the letter and read it again, but said to the Prime Minister: "I have written a letter inviting His Majesty Joachim to visit Spain, and you have the letter sent to Ireland and sent to the palace by our ambassador to Ireland to show our sincerity." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, but......," said the old Earl, "after the departure of Baron Canales due to illness, the post of our ambassador to Ireland has been vacant, and the proposal for the selection of the Council of Ministers should now be on your desk. Do you see that we have chosen one of the candidates to take office with your reply to the King of Ireland? ”

Alfonso XIII had a large pile of documents on his desk, and he apparently didn't even read the proposal that Count Romanones had said. The bureaucratic system of Spain, headed by the king, with the exception of a few honest and diligent officials, was largely running with snail-like efficiency, and these shortcomings could not be eliminated with external assistance.

As usual, Alfonso XIII asked rhetorically: "Which of them do you think is more qualified for this job?" ”

The old count replied tactfully: "Personally, I think Baron Petro-Obian can be considered, although his qualifications and prestige are not as good as those of other candidates, but he has served as a diplomatic non-commissioned officer in many countries, has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and has a dignified appearance, which is very suitable for ......."

Alfonso XIII did not have the patience to listen to the whole story, and he said directly: "Then appoint this Baron Obian as ambassador to Ireland!" Where are they now, and how long will it take for them to take up their duties? ”

The old Earl was not at all surprised by this, and replied quickly: "As far as I know, he is at present in Madrid, and is ready to go to Ireland at any time." Has His Majesty summoned him before his formal appointment to understand the new diplomatic strategy we have in mind for Ireland, so that he may be able to take advantage of it when he takes office? ”

The young king of Spain thought for a moment: "Then let him come to me tomorrow, just take the letter with him." ”

"That's very good." The old earl replied, "If all goes well, he will be able to deliver the letter to His Majesty the King of Ireland in three days." ”

Alfonso XIII asked, "Does this make him feel that Spain is in a very difficult situation, and now he is waiting for help from Ireland?" ”

"If it were someone else, we could consider delaying it for a while, but for that Majesty, we probably don't need to cover it up too much, he should have an in-depth understanding of our situation."

As the words were spoken, the old earl realized that he was speechless, and hurriedly observed the king's reaction. Alfonso XIII may not have been unaware that he had read the letter, but after a conversation, his gloomy mood had changed considerably, so he did not express any dissatisfaction with it.

(End of chapter)