Chapter 129

On August 28, 1862, the First Fleet Squadron was blocked off the coast of Porto, the central city in northern Portugal. After that, there was a burst of artillery bombardment. Although it did not land on land, the coastal residents fled, causing the citizens of northern Portugal to flee. The moment is more than half rare.

Some of the fleeing directions ran in the direction of Lisbon in the south, some ran westward into Spain, and some crossed the northern border and took refuge in the French Empire.

However, the Portuguese fleet in Porto chose to avoid it and traveled to the southern port of Aveiro, without confronting the British fleet.

Because Lisbon in the south is the capital, it faces the Mediterranean Fleet directly. However, you can shoot me and you can shoot from the side. It is as gorgeous as fireworks, but no one wants to continue to appreciate it.

Although it looked fun, the Portuguese native fleet was blocked at the door of the house and could not escape.

To say that the Portuguese naval strength is actually not bad. Among the global naval strength, it is even above the newly established Italy, which has entered the top ten in the world.

However, because part of the warships were sent to Angola and Mozambique, another part was in Porto.

Almost only 50,000 tons of warships remained.

Even so, its size is actually not weaker than the First Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet of the five British fleets.

Obviously not weaker than the opponent, even because of the local advantage, it is not impossible to win the opponent, but many people are not optimistic about Portugal.

Can Portugal remain stable under such a north-south attack?

In fact, it has only been less than a year since Louis I inherited the Portuguese throne from his brother Perode V, who died at the age of 24, on November 1 last year. Thinking of William IV, he was just later than him. He became the king of the Netherlands in a month, but his performance made the whole of Europe amazing.

Therefore, he always has the mentality of comparison, especially when the Netherlands reported the European royal marriage meeting last time, he also wanted to participate when he was single, and even showed up at the end to show his status. He could end it before it started.

made him dissatisfied for a long time.

This time, in PK with other countries in Africa, especially in the Shikoku, the other Prussian kings William I and William IV and his three kings all inherited the throne in 1861, and he and William I are brothers and sisters.

The size and physique of Prussia were there, and he did not dare to challenge it. Instead, William IV, who was two years younger than him, was now in the limelight, but he was his whetstone and stepping stone.

He felt that his heart was about to move, but a little nervousness ignited in his heart.

"Prime Minister Barreto, you said, what should we do now"

Nuno Barreto also entered the palace for the second time as the Prime Minister of Portugal this time. He founded the History Party from 1856 to 1859 and represented the party in the election of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Portugal. Shockingly, it was successful. became the party's first prime minister.

But I don't know if it's because he's too charming, others are relatively ordinary, so after him, no one can rise in the History Party, so it was not until July 1860 that he ran for the History Party again, and he succeeded again. .

Therefore, for Louis I, Barreto is an assistant with familiar management experience and a person he can currently rely on.

"Your Majesty, I think that at present, it is the most important thing that we need to stabilize the British, and the second is to find out the truth on the Mozambique side. If it is true that our army there is deliberately running, then Bernardino. The governor of Noguera Figueiredo is coming to an end."

Barreto has long been dissatisfied with Figueiredo, especially in the last election, when he maliciously attacked his family, so he hated the other party for a long time. It was a rare opportunity like this, and he naturally didn't mind getting into trouble. .

Louis I hesitantly said: "Will this lead to dissatisfaction with the reconstruction of the Liberal Party? After all, Figueiredo is also an ally of the party. If he directly touches him, I am afraid that it will lead to a storm in the Portuguese political arena. When you fight, the situation in Portugal will be even more dangerous."

Louis I looked at Barreto with concern and said: "You know, your History Party is still too young, and the Reconstruction Liberal Party has many supporters, and even non-party people support them, and it is your History that will suffer at that time. Party, don't forget, now you are in charge of the lower house, but the upper house is in the hands of rebuilding the Liberal Party and these people, and they will encounter difficulties in the future."

"Your Majesty, I think it will be difficult for Britain to calm down its anger if it doesn't make some statements at this time."

Barreto said indifferently:

"After all, in South Africa, the British were so full of anger that they had nowhere to vent, but now Portugal has hit the edge of the knife. Isn't this looking for guilt?

It is precisely because I understand the weight of the bombardment incident in Mozambique and also understand that Figueiredo is a talent, so once I dismissed him, I saved him and avoided the British directly asking for revenge. The result was better. "

"This" Louis I hesitated, and Prime Minister Barreto was right. The anger of the British rose, and few countries in the world today can stand it.

There are countries that can withstand it, but Portugal is not in this category.

Therefore, since there is no way to withstand the situation, then there is only a scapegoat.

In fact, King Louis I is a self-consolation secret, and this is not a scapegoat. After all, you, Figueiredo, as the governor of Mozambique, have poor management, and you know that the Portuguese Kingdom can't provoke a giant crocodile like the United Kingdom, but you are provoking the other party.

Will the Kingdom of Portugal lack this colony in the Western Han Dynasty in Southern Rhodesia?

Not to mention, although Brazil has become independent from Portugal, everyone in the world knows that it is managed by the branch of the Portuguese royal family, and the relationship between the two countries is definitely more ally than allies.

In Angola, Mozambique and other major islands and peninsulas, Portugal can be rich in family property.

It is impossible to provoke Britain or even Prussia for a barren land. As for the Netherlands, Louis I is not afraid of each other, and even has the idea of ​​a contest. Maybe he can get through this difficulty, but he can go to the south of Africa. Fight with William IV of Holland, after all, the deserts and wastelands there are full of power.

I just don't know whether the Netherlands of William IV can withstand the attack of the British soldiers of our Portuguese kingdom.

Figueiredo didn't know what to think. Why didn't Tanzania in the north start earlier, and now he regrets it after the Dutch have started. He is really a guy who has more than enough success.

The weak do not provoke the strong, and it seems that Barreto is right. He is really not suitable to be the governor of Mozambique. Lisbon is suitable for his experience.

Now that the situation has developed to this level, if you don't take the first responsibility, why can't you ask him, the Portuguese kingdom, to take the responsibility.

Thinking this way, he felt that Barreto was really thinking of the country, so in the end, he agreed.

Barreto was happy in his heart, but his face remained silent. He pretended to hesitate for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty, I have a method, I don't know if I should talk about it."

"Come on, at this time, what else should I say?" Louis I is young after all, 24 years old and has just taken over Portugal. Many of them are still far from perfect.

However, this is exactly what Barreto needs, and also what the historical party just entering the development period needs.

In order to break the political structure of Portugal and deepen the relationship between the History Party and the royal family, he planned to introduce a foreign aid from outside Portugal, and this foreign aid was the Kingdom of Italy.

When an Italian princess whom he presided over the marriage became the queen of the ordinary Aya kingdom, the pillow-side wind of the historical party was successfully established.

"Your Majesty, the late Italian Prime Minister Cavour used to be my friend. During my last term as Prime Minister, I met King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy under his many recommendations. , but also had a good chat with the two of them.

At that time, in order to help Italy under the leadership of Vittorio Emanuele II to be recognized by various countries, Cavour proposed the idea of ​​​​a marriage between Italy and Portugal, but it was the former King Pedro V at the time. I rejected this marriage plan. With the death of Prime Minister Cavour last year, I thought that King Emanuele II had given up, but he sent a letter a few days ago to convey the idea of ​​marriage."

Barreto said: "Although the Kingdom of Italy is newly built, they have almost unified the Apennine Peninsula. They are already a number of major powers in Europe. If Portugal receives such foreign aid at this time, then the crisis in Portugal can be... ..."

"However, does Vittorio Emanuele II dare to stand up when Portugal faces British oppression~www.mtlnovel.com~?"

"Don't you dare, you won't know until you try it, don't you?"

"It is"

At this time, Louis I also agreed, and at the same time, this attitude also showed Barreto that Louis I did not object to the marriage of the two royal families.

August 30, 1862.

The Kingdom of Italy announced that it will marry the Kingdom of Portugal. Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, Vittorio Emanuele II, will marry King Luis I of Portugal on October 6.

One wave after another, the Portuguese kingdom is obviously looking for foreign aid.

And Italy also stood up enough to call on the United Kingdom and Portugal to suspend mutual threats and resolve disputes peacefully. Italy is willing to help the two countries restore relations as a coordinating country.

After that, France and the Netherlands also stood up and issued the same appeal, demanding that the United Kingdom must be calm. Spain has been closely related to Portugal all year round, not an ally is better than an ally, and even called to the United Kingdom to hold a meeting in Madrid.