Spain, Madrid. It was a beautiful city with a long history. Magnificently adorned buildings stood everywhere. Yet after centuries of passing time, those buildings had become somewhat weathered and mottled.
The Age of Discovery was undoubtedly the period when Spain's national strength was at its peak. Spain controlled the most vast colonial territories in the world. The immense quantities of gold and silver shipped back from the Americas had made Spain the wealthiest nation of that era.
But regrettably, the Spanish had taken that gold and silver and lived lives of abundance. Yet they had not used it to develop their military or industry, allowing the later-rising Britain to catch up with them head-on.
After the Invincible Armada attacked Britain and suffered a crushing defeat, Spain's national strength plummeted at once. Though they later made efforts, such as joining with France to challenge Britain's maritime supremacy, they ultimately failed every time. More than a decade ago, they had even been beaten black and blue by the newly rising United States in the Spanish-American War, losing their last colonies, Cuba and the Philippines.
This caused Spain to completely lose its last vestiges of ambition, becoming a nation immersed in the glory of bygone days.
King of Spain Alfonso XIII no longer possessed any great ambitions either. He knew that a powerful nation dominating Europe had emerged. If Spain still failed to understand the situation, the consequences would likely be extremely severe.
However, Alfonso XIII did not wish to be drawn into conflict, but that did not mean others would let him off.
On January 23, the British Ambassador to Spain met with Spanish Foreign Minister Preto. The two held talks for a full two hours. Afterwards, the British Ambassador left the embassy with a broad smile. After seeing him off, Preto