The excuse for Pedro II to reject Antonio's request is very simple, that is, the Chinese prince is very busy, and this is exactly the fact.

After Li Junwei arrived in Lisbon, envoys from European countries flocked to him. Sometimes Li Junwei had to receive three or four envoys a day. Later, Li Junwei even directly stated that the envoys who lived in Lisbon in various countries were gone and asked all parties to send envoys of full power.

These envoys represent different forces, including the heads of state of the Netherlands, Britain, Habsburg and other countries, as well as private representatives of some domestic forces. For example, Prince Eugen from Habsburg sent private representatives, Scottish Governor Churchill and Ireland Governor Fitz James also sent secret envoys.

Most of the things discussed were related to the succession of the Spanish throne, and the most important messenger came from France. The messengers sent by King Louis XIV of France represented France, the Netherlands and Britain, and proposed that the empire support the inheritance plan proposed by the three families.

This plan was to allow Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria to inherit the throne of Spain, but to split Spain's territory in Europe, with Sicily and Naples in Italy being handed over to the Duke of Anjou in France, while Milan ceded to the Habsburgs.

Li Junwei was basically satisfied with this plan. The only regret is that Habsburg and Spain, which are related to the inheritance of the Spanish throne, cannot accept this plan.

Emperor Leobed of Habsburg could only accept that Grand Duke Charles of his country became the king of Spain, and he did not accept that the land division of Spain was completely unacceptable. After all, in the current Spain, the Austrian faction still had considerable authority, especially the Empress Dowager Anna was an Austrian.

Although the Spanish aristocrats were divided into two factions: pro-French and pro-Austrian factions, they also had a common demand, that is, Spain could not be divided.

The diplomatic situation in Europe is turbulent, but one thing is common, that is, all countries hope that the empire will come forward to mediate the matter. But European countries have made one mistake, that is, Li Junwei came from Shen Jing from afar, not to be a mediator or a good man.

Although countries have different demands, they are willing to negotiate. The key reason is that everyone hopes for peace.

But what the empire wants is not peace. The more wars in Europe, the more materials purchased from the empire are, and the more conducive it will be for the empire to survive the economic crisis. On the contrary, once the Europeans are idle, it will be unfavorable to the empire's development. Not to mention anything else, the war of the Great Alliance ended in just a few years, France was making trouble with the empire's Mediterranean strategy, the Netherlands began to interfere in North Africa, and even the Scottish nobles re-launched colonies against the Americas, and the colonization operations of various countries in West Africa became even more intense.

Because of peace, European funds have also begun to shift towards science and technology. The technological progress of the Netherlands and France has quickly made rapid progress and began to imitate various steam engines from the empire. Although they cannot be used as power for the time being and can only be used as water pumps, they cannot be underestimated.

In order to maintain the advantage of the empire and to expand Europe's demand for imperial goods, it is crucial to provoke wars in Europe.

Li Junwei also needs to be a good measure. The best strategy for the empire is to start a war without joining the war. This way, you can eat both ends and the empire's investment cost will be much lower.

When May of the 35th year of the empire came, in Lisbon, Li Junwei proposed his mediation plan, which was to make Grand Duke Ferdinand of Bavaria the heir to the Spanish throne, but not to split the territory of Spain. However, this compromise plan was rejected by various countries.

The first person to refuse was Leobed, the Emperor of Habsburg. He did not support any of the other heirs except Grand Duke Charles.

The second one to refuse was Spain, and some troubles happened.

Before the announcement of this plan, Li Junwei sent people to Spain. The Spanish king agreed. He himself has always been inclined to Prince Ferdinand, not wanting his country to fall into war, nor wanting to be used by France and Austria.

But unexpectedly, after the plan was announced, Spain was full of discussions, and the pro-France and pro-Austrian factions joined forces to oppose it. The reason was very simple. This was the plan proposed by the Prince of China.

In the eyes of these Spanish nobles, if Spain only owns Antonio, the interests of its colonies have been annexed by China. If there is a king supported by China, it is a question whether Spain's overseas colonies can be preserved. In order to oppose this, the Spanish nobles spread rumors in China, how did Prince Ferdinand and China do, and even the plan to stolen the country after ascending the throne. In fact, Li Junwei had never seen Prince Ferdinand before.

Surprisingly, France and the Netherlands support this plan. France's demands are just to gain some benefits from Spain, such as Naples or Sicily.

Spain's attitude doesn't matter. Although this is a matter of inheritance of the Spanish throne, if Habsburg in Austria does not agree, then this plan will be invalidated.

"The efforts to peace have failed, let's prepare for war." After confirming the plan for miscarriage, Li Junwei said to Pedro II.

Pedro II said: "Prince, what should we be in this war?"

"It's a bit too early to formulate a strategy, my friend." Li Junwei said: "Where is the king of Spain not dead yet?"

"At least we must make sure whether to join the war." Pedro II said, and he asked, "Prince, will your parliament participate in the war?"

"At least I won't join the war very early." Li Junwei couldn't give a decent answer. Just like during the Great Alliance War, Li Junwei didn't want to join the war, but in order to kill the British bourgeoisie, he ended up in person, but the scale was very small.

Pedro sighed: "It seems that I have to prepare in advance, too."

But he had to prepare in advance. The war caused by the inheritance of the Spanish throne would inevitably affect the two countries of France and Austria. Both countries owed him a lot of money. Pedro did not want the war to start. He joined one side, but the other side could not collect the accounts.

At the very least, he has to join the winning side, so that he can collect the accounts with the attitude of a victor.

Although Pedro heard about the preparations for war, he was not going to prepare with him, at least he was not the only partner.

"Your Highness, I am already isolated in Spain. Just the night before I came, the pro-French nobles surrounded my home. I escaped from the sewer! I even suspected that if I appeared in the Indy Court or the Royal Palace, they would be shot and killed on the spot.

There is a very close relationship between you and me, our fathers. I have always been committed to maintaining friendship between the two countries. Whether out of public or private affairs, you should give me the necessary help, rather than avoiding me."

At Li Junwei's residence, Antonio was in a hurry in the living room. He was in a bad mood. His anger that had accumulated for more than two months was vented at this moment. Li Junwei hid far away and made tea on the coffee table to taste it, which did not stop Antonio from venting his anger.

After a long time, because Li Junwei refused to respond, Antonio also stopped. Li Junwei said: "Antonio, there is a saying in China that you are self-bearing. If you are not greedy for money, suppressing the nobles of France and dividing the nobles of Austria, can you reach this point?

No one can save you now, and I don’t want to help you return to the position of prime minister.”

"Then you can't use me!" Antonio shouted.

In the matter of proposing a mediation plan, Li Junwei did take advantage of Antonio, but Antonio was willing to take the bait. He knew that neither the Duke of Anjou in France nor the Duke of Charles in Austria became kings, he did not have any good results. Therefore, when Li Junwei proposed that Prince Ferdinand inherited the Spanish throne and that Spanish territory was not separated, Antonio naturally supported it. However, the Spanish nobles had already hated him.

The two nobles of the two factions of pro-Austria and pro-French reached an agreement on the issue of anti-China, and Antonio was naturally the best scapegoat.

"Jiang Taigong fishes, the willing one takes the bait. The people I sent don't take the initiative to find you." Li Junwei asked back.

Antonio was also helpless because this was the fact. He sat next to Li Junwei and begged in the gentlest tone: "Your Highness, you cannot give up on me. If you give up on me, it means that China has given up on its interests in Spain."

Li Junwei shrugged: "There is not much benefit at all."

The empire has actually always wanted to expand its interests in Spain, but in recent years, anti-China matters in Spain have become increasingly serious, resulting in no room for economic cooperation. The empire and Spain's interests are not in Spain, but in the American colonies with tens of millions of people.

If the Empire protects its own interests in the war caused by the inheritance of the Spanish throne, colonies are the key.

"Anton, there is no need to get entangled in Spain anymore. If you still want to have a place in the political arena in the future and want to maintain your home business, I will give you a piece of advice and go to the colony." Li Junwei said.

Antonio shook his head: "I will never go to Brazil, I will only waste my second half of my life there."

Li Junwei smiled, because Antonio misunderstood his meaning, Li Junwei said: "I am not talking about Brazil where you transferred your assets, but the Spanish colony. The Governor of New Spain and the Governor of Peru, where is the stage for you to perform."

Antonio was a little confused, and Li Junwei asked: "Anton, who do you think if King Carlos dies, will he inherit the throne?"

There were three answers to this question, but after Li Junwei proposed a mediation plan and was rejected by most Spanish nobles, there were actually only two choices. In other words, the imperial mediation not only did not promote peace, but instead brought Europe one step closer to war.

Antonio knows the current Spain very well. Although it is divided into two factions: pro-French and pro-Austrian factions, in fact, pro-French factions have the upper hand. If Carlos dies, the power of pro-French factions will increase a large part of it.

Because a large part of the pro-French factions in Spain were fenceists, and in the past, Spain was beaten very badly in the wars between Spain and France. Now Spain is definitely not a match for France on land. Even if it has Habsburg as a supporter, it is not reliable. In the Great Alliance War, there were Habsburg, and Britain and the Netherlands as allies, but they were beaten up as well.

Since you are fighting with France, you will be beaten up no matter how you fight, so just stand on the French side. Once King Carlos dies, you will choose Duke Anjou to lean on the big tree in France, and choose Grand Duke Charles to be beaten. With such an obvious gap, it seems that it is not a problem to join the pro-French faction.

Therefore, if one of them can only be chosen by two, Spain is more likely to choose France.

"Philipel Duke of Anjou is the most likely," said Antonio.

Li Junwei snapped his fingers: "You are right, but can the Empire accept this result?"

Antonio immediately shook his head, and when he chose one of two, the empire would definitely choose Habsburg Austria. Even if these two countries merged, they were a land country and their influence was only in Europe. The Habsburg dynasty had almost no influence on the Spanish colonies.

If France and Spain merge, it will not work. France will immediately gain a large number of American colonies, which will greatly threaten the empire's maritime hegemony.

"Philipel becomes the new king of Spain and forms an alliance with France. The empire is neither acceptable nor willing to participate in the war. How can we protect the interests of the empire in the Spanish colonies?" Li Junwei continued to ask.

Antonio fell into thinking, which sounded impossible, but it was not impossible to think carefully. Because Antonio knew that Spain had a contradiction between its colonies and its native areas in the Americas, and the biggest contradiction was its relationship with the empire.

Spain's natives can refuse the entry of imperial goods and treat merchants in the East maliciously, but it is completely different in colonies, because America and Spain are separated by the Atlantic Ocean, and the empire is the overlord of this sea area. If the American colonies hurt the interests of the empire, it would not have been so simple. The imperial warships cruising on the east and west sides of the Americas are not so easy to talk about.

Moreover, in recent years, the economic ties between the Spanish colonies and their local areas have become weaker and weaker, but their ties with the empire have become more and more frequent. The colonies need all kinds of goods from China and import a lot of raw materials into China. Chinese merchants are also required to transport the colonial goods to all parts of Europe.

While in the Indy House, Antonio was criticized by Spanish nobles: Our colony, now the king, cannot be separated from China.

"You mean, take this opportunity to make Spain's colonies independent in America!" Antonio said with wide eyes.

"Independence? It seems a bit too much. Do you think it is operational? If so, I can support it." Li Junwei said.

Antonio immediately shook his head. The Spanish nobles still had an influence in the colonies. Independence requires a lot of force to suppress and resist. Only the empire can do it. But if the empire is willing, why bother so much? Just intervene in the Spanish mainland directly.
Chapter completed!