Chapter 735 Multiple Parties Mobilized
Arthur had a headache for Manuel II's request.
It's not that Arthur still had a grudge against the war with Portugal. The result of this war was a comprehensive victory for Australasia. Even if there was a grudge, it should be the Portuguese.
The main reason was that Arthur was not sure that Manuel had the means and ability to rule Portugal.
If Manuel was put on the throne again, and then he was overthrown by the angry Portuguese, it would be a lot of fun.
This is like a political investment. If it wins, both sides will profit, and if it fails, it will also have a certain impact on Arthur.
After all, although the government will firmly implement its own orders, this behavior just to restore the royal family of other countries is obviously a bit too selfish.
If the country cannot get enough benefits, Arthur will not do it, even if it only needs his own idea.
But then again, as a country that once signed the "European Royal Joint Declaration", other monarchies do have reasons to help the Portuguese royal family.
But whether Arthur can get enough motivation to support Manuel to restore the throne may depend on the price Manuel can offer.
Although he is also a family member, Arthur will never help Manuel without any benefits.
After all, the power used is the military strength and international influence of Australasia, and Arthur still needs to be cautious in this regard.
Of course, Arthur also used Manuel's request as a test question to test William, Peter and George.
The three people have different ideas.
As the youngest brother, George's ideas are relatively simple. George believes that as long as he helps Manuel ascend the throne, Australasia can get enough rewards, and this deal is still worthwhile.
William and Peter have more considerations. Peter said that if Manuel can pay enough benefits, it is not impossible to help him restore the throne.
William's ideas are more far-reaching. He focuses on whether the Kingdom of Portugal will become an ally of Australasia after the restoration, and the possibility of surrendering to Britain.
After all, the relationship between Portugal and Britain is still very good, and it is difficult not to guarantee whether the Kingdom of Portugal will throw itself into the arms of the British Empire.
As one of the first countries to join the pound-dollar system, Britain's influence on Portugal is naturally needless to say.
If Arthur worked hard to support Manuel to return to the throne, but Portugal was closer to Britain, it would be a loss for Australasia.
Although the three little guys have different opinions, it is not easy to put forward their own opinions based on their own insights.
After all, their political means are still very immature, and it is good to think of so much.
Of course, after all, they will all become kings in the future, and they still reiterate the importance of the relationship between the king and the government.
First of all, the interests of the royal family and the interests of the government are different. The interests of the government cannot be harmed for the interests of the royal family, and the interests of the royal family cannot be harmed for the interests of the government.
How to control the two is very important for a king. The monarchy is destined to be unsustainable, which also means that the royal family and the government will be separated sooner or later.
Whether it is California, the United Kingdom of the West Coast, or the current Australasia, the royal power cannot be too unscrupulous, and must carefully consider the views of the country and the people.
If you want to make your throne stable, you must understand that the views of the people are the most important.
Sometimes you can give up some interests for the people. After all, small interests are not as important as your own rule.
If you lose interests, you can earn them again. If you lose the trust of the people, it is not something that can be compensated by using interests.
The support of a European kingdom is still very important to Arthur, which also makes Arthur determined to support Manuel's restoration.
Of course, Arthur knows that an incompetent Manuel is unreliable. If you want to stabilize Portugal's rule and make Portugal useful, you must find another partner to cooperate with.
After thinking about it, the only faction worth winning over in Portugal is the Portuguese Democratic Party, which has been madly suppressed and has few left.
The leader of the Portuguese Democratic Party is Morini Antonio Salazar, a poor guy who is more popular with the Portuguese people, but his regime was quickly overthrown in less than 200 days in power.
Of course, this is not Morini's fault. Portugal's political power is too chaotic. If you don't have enough military power, it will be difficult to maintain your rule even if you are popular.
In sharp contrast to Morini is Antonio Carmona, who is unpopular.
But precisely because Antonio holds a lot of military power, even if he is unpopular, he is still the irreplaceable President of the Portuguese Republic.
So why did Arthur choose to cooperate with Morini?
First of all, Morini has certain abilities, and with Arthur's support, it is no problem to stabilize the situation in Portugal.
Of course, this consideration is also to prevent Manuel II from making frequent stupid moves and wasting the throne he has finally restored.
Moreover, Morini can also serve as a check on Manuel, preventing the Kingdom of Portugal, which Arthur has finally supported, from turning to other countries, especially Britain, which has always been friendly with Portugal.
Why do you say that? Because Morini's son was pro-German, he joined the German army while studying in Germany, and then unfortunately died in a battle with the British army.
This was a heavy blow to Morini, who had only one son, and it was destined that Morini and the British would not have a easing of relations in a short period of time.
Of course, since it was decided to support Manuel to return to the throne, Arthur must also grasp part of Portugal's interests in exchange.
Arthur certainly could not help Manuel and Portugal for no reason. The proper exchange of interests was the driving force for Arthur to make such a decision.
To be honest, apart from its status as a European monarchy, Portugal could only attract Arthur with its colonies in Africa.
This was once a superpower with an area of tens of millions of square kilometers, but now only had a few pitiful colonies.
In addition to the taboos in Asia that could not be touched, Portugal's colonies were generally concentrated in Africa, and the two largest ones were Angola and Mozambique in later generations.
The two colonies seem large in area, but the population in later generations is only over 30 million, which is enough to prove the wealth of these two colonies.
As we all know, the recovery of colonies depends on the population of the colonies in addition to the reserves of mineral resources.
After all, if the population is small, the value that can be exploited is also small, which means that the income of the colonies is doomed to be insufficient.
This is actually the major reason why Portugal can still maintain these two colonies.
Arthur is not interested in these two large colonies. If I remember correctly, when these two colonies became independent more than 30 years later, the population was only about five or six million.
Arthur is not sure how many people there are now, but these two colonies are like chicken ribs to Australasia, and there is no need to annex them.
What Arthur is really interested in is actually the numerous archipelagos of Portugal.
From Portugal to Africa, the islands of Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe are what Arthur is more interested in.
These islands are all located on the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean. If missiles are deployed, it will have a major impact on Western Europe and Africa.
As missile technology is further strengthened, Australasia's influence on Europe will become higher and higher.
More importantly, these islands only need to build naval bases and missile bases, and do not need too much development, and they can be firmly held in their hands.
After all, the population on the islands is not large to begin with. Together with the garrison and the permanent population on the base, they can account for most of the permanent population of the islands.
Of course, it is still quite difficult to get these islands from Portugal now. Even if Arthur expressed his idea, Manuel II was only willing to lend Sao Tome and Principe to Australasia on a lease for 20 years.
Where is this area located? If Africa is compared to a 7, then Sao Tome and Principe is at the corner of this period, an archipelago more than 200 kilometers away from the African continent.
This archipelago basically has no advantages except for its geographical location.
Even in the future, nearly a hundred years later, Sao Tome and Principe is just a poor country with an area of just over 1,000 square kilometers and a population of barely over 170,000.
Even compared with other African countries, the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe is still one of the few least developed countries.
If it is just a lease, Arthur is not very satisfied. After all, the lease period is only 20 years, and 20 years cannot change people's memory.
But think about it carefully, World War II will definitely break out within 20 years, and the world situation is bound to undergo some huge changes.
As long as Australasia develops this island, it can definitely guarantee that most of the population on this archipelago will be Australasia in 20 years.
By then, the ownership of this archipelago will not be decided by Portugal.
With the missile technology at that time, as long as missiles are deployed in Sao Tome and Principe, most of Africa will be within the range of Australasia.
Of course, air force and naval bases can also be established here, allowing Australasia's global naval base strategy to go a step further.
Although the geographical advantage here is not as good as other islands after all, it is better than nothing, so Arthur still agreed to Manuel's proposal.
Arthur's requirements are far more than this small archipelago.
There are still many benefits that Portugal can dig out, but Arthur also needs to wait for a more appropriate time.
Although he has decided to help Manuel II restore the throne, Arthur does not intend to do it alone.
As the most powerful family at present, if Arthur does not make good use of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family, he will simply disgrace his reputation as a member of the Gotha family.
What's more, Arthur's prestige and reputation in the Gotha family are still very high. In this case, if the entire Gotha family can be mobilized to help him, the success rate will be higher.
So what can be used to persuade other royal families and members of the Gotha family to go out together?
The best way is Arthur's firm attitude to protect the thrones of various countries.
As we all know, the thrones of various countries are not so stable. In the face of the current world situation, if you want to keep your throne, support from other royal families and the same family is still very important.
At present, it seems that the royal families of other countries have also contributed, but doesn't this mean that Arthur will support their restoration when their thrones are at risk?
This way of giving their thrones an extra layer of protection is also an option for the royal families of other countries.
What's more, the target of this action is just a small Portugal, not a huge power like the United States.
Apart from anything else, even without the support of the British, Arthur only needs to call on other royal families of the Gotha family to still promote the restoration of Manuel's throne.
Don't underestimate the influence of a powerful country on ordinary countries, not to mention that there are many European countries following.
As for whether Portugal will disobey Arthur's will, it depends on whether Antonio's rule over Portugal is so stable.
From the boiling public resentment of the Portuguese people, it can be seen that Antonio's dictatorship does not seem to be so popular.
In addition to Antonio's confidant army, there are not many people who support Antonio's rule, and it can even be said that there are very few.
Facts have proved that under the connection of a powerful family, multiple countries can easily have a huge impact on a small country.
On July 27, 1929, the Portuguese government held a very special and secret meeting.
There were many participants in the meeting. In addition to the diplomatic representatives of Australasia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Principality of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Bulgaria and other countries participated in the meeting, as well as several officials of the Portuguese government and the Portuguese Democratic Party.
These officials were all dissatisfied with Antonio's rule, but had to succumb to Antonio's dictatorship.
Relying on the intelligence system of Australasia, Arthur quickly found them and promised to give them high positions in the new government.
Such a promise naturally made them quickly agree to support Manuel's restoration. After all, for them, their official positions are the most important.
It doesn't matter who the ruler above their heads is, because they only care about their own interests.
Another major partner chosen by Arthur is the Portuguese Democratic Party, which is still popular among the people.
There is no way. When the British cannot be the main force, Arthur has to consider the opinions of Portugal.
If Manuel continues to be a dictator, the Portuguese will definitely be dissatisfied, because this is equivalent to another Antonio, and a more legitimate dictator.
I will write 4,000 words a day these days, and I will talk about it after I finish my work (I may need to take leave in the middle, please understand.)