Because Australasia and the major European powers already had diplomatic relations, it was only necessary to summon their foreign ministers to inform the powers.

Among these European powers, Australasia mainly invited, of course, Britain and Germany, which have great influence in the international community, and Russia, which has very good relations with Australasia.

The response of the Great Powers was also swift, and on 30 September, Russia had already issued a response expressing its willingness to participate in this mediation as a neutral country, with a view to bringing peace to the two countries of Australasia and Portugal.

Germany and Britain also agreed to participate in the mediation. The Germans had nothing to do with the war, and the area of the war was very far from Germany.

The willingness to participate in this mediation was actually agreed by Wilhelm II for the sake of Arthur's face.

Finally, there is the United Kingdom, which actually has a little connection with the war, and the main battlefield of Portugal and Australasia is Portuguese India, which is also considered to be an important area of the British Empire.

The British Empire, with its strong influence in India and Southeast Asia, was the most suitable and well-placed country to participate in this mediation.

After Britain, Germany, and Russia agreed to participate in mediation, the participation of other powers did not have much effect.

These three countries are enough to crush Portugal in any region, and it is no longer up to them to decide whether Portugal participates in mediation or not.

On October 1, 1907, Australasia officially issued a proclamation in the name of the national government, openly inviting Britain, Germany and Russia to participate in the mediation of the war.

The current dominant side in the war was Australasia, and Australasia's offer to mediate was also surprising to the Europeans.

In this regard, the Australasian government has given a plausible explanation, that is, all the citizens and governments of Australasia yearn for peace and do not want to bring disaster to the world.

In fact, Australasia has already obtained the benefits it wants, and there is no need to fight any more.

Soon, the three countries also publicly responded to Australasia's request, announcing that they would participate in mediation as neutral countries in an effort to bring peace to the warring parties.

On October 2, the three countries invited the governments of Australasia and Portugal to hold peace talks, and the venue for the peace talks was London, which is not only one of the most developed cities in the world, but also the capital of the British Empire, the most powerful country at present.

The invitation from three countries has made the Portuguese government doubly embarrassed.

The development of the war so far was completely unexpected, and even the current trend made it much less likely that Portugal would win.

But this war was a prestige war for Portugal, and winning the war would give the government and the royal family a lot of popular prestige, which would allow them to completely consolidate their rule and stabilize the situation.

If it is a real defeat, it can be said that it can be used as an excuse that the enemy country is too strong to protect the interests of the people.

If you had been directly involved in the peace talks, and had abandoned the fishermen you had to protect before the war had even reached a decisive conclusion, I am afraid that the Portuguese government and Carlos I would have lost much of the prestige they had gained before the war.

Combined with the situation in Portugal, this could even overturn the rule of the kingdom.

In the midst of melancholy, at the behest of Carlos I, the Portuguese government chose to remain silent.

At this time, Britain, Germany and Russia were angry, but the three countries were all recognized powers, and Britain and Germany were still the two hegemons in the world.

vowed to the outside world to mediate this war, but Portugal directly refused to give face, isn't this a slap in the face of the three rogue countries?

The day after Portugal chose to remain silent, a British government official appeared in public and said that the British government would reconsider its relationship with the Portuguese government because of the poor impression that Portugal had left on Europeans during the war.

Although it is not explicitly said what will happen, the threat implied in the words is well known.

And that's not all, Germany also expressed its attitude on the same day.

The attitude of the Germans was not so tactful, and a German official said in a high-profile manner that he supported Australasia's efforts for peace, and at the same time urged the Portuguese government to participate in the peace talks as soon as possible to create a peaceful and beautiful environment for the people on both sides.

Needless to say, the Russians even openly stated that the Russian Navy was considering forming a round-the-world voyage, and its round-the-world voyage perfectly covered the war zones of Portugal and Australasia.

The successive statements of the three countries made the Portuguese government a little unbearable.

At the same time, the domestic people were increasingly dissatisfied with the defeat in the war, and Portugal's internal and external troubles had become more serious.

On 3 October, after a day and a night of negotiations, Carlos I bowed his noble head and announced that Portugal had agreed to negotiate peace with Australasia.

On October 11, 1907, David David, the royal family's chief of European affairs, and Australasian ambassador to the British Empire, Henry Kania, formed an Australasian delegation to represent Australasia in the peace talks.

The two sides of the peace negotiations were the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Government, Herb Simon, and the Governor Davy, while Ambassador Henry, the British Empire, the German Empire, and the Tsarist Russian Empire supervised the fairness of the peace talks as neutral countries and ensured the smooth progress of the agreement.

The first day of the peace talks was not destined to go well, and the Portuguese side did not seem to have any intention of holding peace talks, and the conditions offered were even more shocking.

Having lost the war, the Portuguese demanded war reparations from Australasia and apologized to the Portuguese government and people for starting the war.

In addition, Australasia must also release all captured Portuguese prisoners free of charge, and pay high compensation to all Portuguese soldiers who died in battle.

This does not take into account the property damage of the occupied Portuguese colonies, and if these are counted, the compensation demanded by the Portuguese in Australasia is at least forty million Australian dollars.

Such conditions were exchanged for several sneers from Governor David, and the representatives of Britain, Germany, and Russia were speechless.

I don't know how confident the Portuguese are to be able to offer such a sky-high price on such an occasion.

In this regard, Governor David also gave Australasia's opinion, first of all, the Portuguese government should compensate for the war, including Australasia's losses in the war, as well as the casualties of the Australasian army, the loss of people's property, etc., the Portuguese government needs to compensate the Australasian government a total of 100 million pounds, to be paid off in five years.

If the compensation is not repaid each year, the interest shall be calculated at the rate of 15 per cent.

Since the Portuguese are asking for a sky-high price, Manager David is naturally not polite.

In addition to these exorbitant indemnities, the Portuguese were required to cede Portuguese Timor and Portuguese India to Australasia, and Australasia to gain condominium with Portuguese colonies in East Asia.

In the end, there were more than 1,000 Portuguese captives who were captured, and each of them only had to pay 5,000 pounds, and they could return to Portugal safely and smoothly.

Such conditions are not ruthless, and the Portuguese government may fall into bankruptcy with the compensation of funds alone, not to mention the loss of two colonies, and the remaining East Asian colonies will most likely not be saved.

If he had agreed to such a condition, Ambassador Herb Simón felt that even if he could escape the punishment of Carlos I, he would surely be torn apart by the angry Portuguese people.

However, Australasia's attitude also made Herb Simon understand that Australasia is not a target for Portugal to manipulate.

What's more, there are three countries next to it, Britain, Germany and Russia, and if Portugal continues to mess around like this, I am afraid it will offend these three powers.

After the first day of peace talks, Ambassador Hebber Simon hurriedly sent a telegram to the country, seeking the advice of Carlos I.

Whether it's Australasia or Britain, Germany and Russia, they are not stupid.

If you want to use nonsense to delay the progress of peace talks, such a method is too tender.

The next day, Ambassador Herb Simeon changed his attitude and gave up his demand for war reparations in Australasia, and only demanded that Australasia compensate the Portuguese who died in the war.

At the same time, Australasia was supposed to withdraw from the three Portuguese colonies, and the spheres of influence of both sides should be restored to before the war.

Naturally, Australasia could not accept such conditions, and Governor David couldn't help it, and directly conveyed Arthur's words to Ambassador Herb Simon: "If the Portuguese do not accept the peace talks in a short time, then Australasia will lease warships from Russia, destroy the Portuguese army at all costs, and sign a contract on Portuguese soil at that time." ”

Judging from the current military strength of Portugal and Australasia, Australasia is lagging behind only the navy.

But if Australasia succeeds in leasing warships from Russia, or even directly leasing a battleship, the naval superiority and disadvantage between Australasia and Portugal will be directly erased, or even directly reversed.

At that time, Australasia will not only be able to complete the defensive war more calmly, but will even be able to log in to the Portuguese African colonies.

However, Portugal has no good way to deal with this, and the current war is generally supported by the European public in Australasia, which also means that there are basically no European countries willing to lease ships to Portugal.

Ambassador Herb Simon, the threat of Governor David, could not be refuted, and could only inform Carlos I of everything that had happened during the peace talks.

On October 13, 1907, on such a seemingly inauspicious day, a big event took place in the Kingdom of Portugal.

King Carlos I brought his crown prince, Luis, to the government to discuss the current status of peace talks with Australasia.

But the car was halfway down, and two men in black took out the pistols in their arms and shot them twice at Carlos I's convoy.

Crown Prince Luis was shot directly in the chest by an Assassin bullet because he was closer to the Assassins, while Carlos I sat farther away, only to be grazed in the shoulder by a stray bullet.

It wasn't until seconds after the shooting that Carlos I's guards reacted, shouting to defend His Majesty, and then quickly chased after the Assassins.

The wounded Carlos I and Crown Prince Luis were escorted by the remaining guards to the nearest hospital.

Carlos I's injuries were fine, and after the bullet was removed, Carlos I was no longer in danger of life.

However, the location of Crown Prince Louis's injuries was very close to the heart, and the cause of the hemorrhage made it very difficult to treat.

In the aftermath of the assassination, the Portuguese government reacted swiftly. After successfully apprehending the Assassins, the Portuguese government released the news that the Assassins might have come from Australasia, in an attempt to confuse the Portuguese people and make them hate Australasia again.

At this time, Ambassador Herb Simon, who was attending the peace talks in London, also received news from China, and after receiving the order, Ambassador Herb Simon suddenly called off the peace talks and expressed his suspicions to Governor David.

Coincidentally, when peace talks between Portugal and Australasia reached a stalemate, King Carlos I of Portugal was assassinated.

In this way, it seems that Australasia is indeed suspicious, and many Portuguese people have indeed been deceived and have publicly marched to express their dissatisfaction with Australasia, and rejoin the ranks of supporting the government in the war.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Carlos I was in a much better mood and focused on his son Luis.

Faced with the Portuguese throwing the pot, David was stunned, but he still learned that King Carlos I of Portugal had been assassinated.

It has to be said that after the assassination of Carlos I, it was indeed beneficial for Australasia, and a relatively chaotic Portuguese government naturally could not firmly continue the war.

But no matter what, Manager David will not carry this black pot for others in vain.

Director David dismissively retorted to Herb Simon's question, and said that tiny Portugal did not need Australasia to make a small move.

After returning to his room, Governor David ordered his men to find out the details of Carlos I's assassination, and asked his men to spread the news, disclosing all the conditions of the Kingdom of Portugal in this peace negotiation, and belittling the Kingdom of Portugal for starting a brutal war, which had fallen into disadvantage but did not care about the life and death of the Portuguese people, and did not have any real will to stop the war.

Public opinion is something that Australasia must master, and public opinion has brought a lot of benefits to Australasia, and has successfully made Portugal the target of public criticism in this war.

In view of the good impression that Australasia has brought to the European people before, most Europeans are still willing to believe Australasia's rhetoric and stand on the side of Australasia.

However, what really allowed Australasia to maintain its advantage in public opinion was not the European newspapers controlled by Australasia, but a newspaper from a small Portuguese newspaper.

Although it was only a small tabloid newspaper, it was picked up by many newspapers in Portugal and attracted a lot of attention from the European press shortly after its publication.

This allowed the newspaper's news to spread throughout most of Europe within a few days, and the contents of the newspaper were known to most Europeans.

The content of the newspaper is actually quite simple, probably some statements from a political party in Portugal.

But this party is currently the biggest opposition party in Portugal, and it is not only against the Portuguese government, but even against the Portuguese monarchy and King Carlos I.

If the Portuguese Republican Party was only famous in Portugal before, now the name of the Portuguese Republican Party has even spread throughout Europe.

A certain radical member of the Portuguese Republican Party openly stated that the assassination of Carlos I that occurred not long ago was planned by the Republican Party, and the purpose was also to eliminate the biggest scourge in Portugal at present, so that Portugal would face war, and the culprit of the defeat, Carlos I.

At the same time, the member of the Portuguese Republican Party also listed many crimes of Carlos I, such as implementing a high-handed policy in the political arena, turning democratic republican Portugal into an absolute monarchy, not caring about the interests of the majority of the common people, and desperately insisting on fighting war with Australasia in order to maintain the stability of his dominance.

In order to reflect the arbitrariness and arrogance of Carlos I, the Republican Party member also deliberately listed Australasia's reaction in the war, and specifically explained that Australasia's initial demand was only an apology and compensation from the fishermen, but the arrogant Carlos I was desperate to create the impression that he so-called loved the people, and launched a war that should not have happened.

So far, the war has cost Portugal tens of thousands of soldiers, but the Portuguese government still has no intention of peace talks, and even secretly plots a counterattack, making more Portuguese soldiers pay unnecessary casualties.

The arbitrary and brutal manner of Carlos I, as well as the authoritarian and repressive policies practiced in Portugal, were the real reasons why the Republicans planned this assassination.

That's all for today, 4,700 words, brothers, it's too late to come back. Tomorrow at home, try again Riwan!

(End of chapter)