By the time Prim finished the mopping-up work and led his army back to Madrid, it was already mid-March 1870.
Spain's civil war did not attract much attention from the great powers because, in the north of Spain, the war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire was already nearing its end.
Carlo was also following this war between the two major European powers.
French Emperor Napoleon III taught Carlo a truth with his own fate and the future of France: it is best not to micromanage the war on the front lines; one should trust the generals and soldiers under one's command.
Before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, revealing to the high command of any European country that Prussia would win the war against France would likely have been met with eye rolls and ridicule.
Why? Because at that time, France was still basking in the afterglow of the Napoleonic Empire, and the empire created by Napoleon III was still the most powerful land military power on the entire European continent.
On paper, there seemed to be no reason why the Prussian army should be able to defeat the French army.
But the powerful Second French Empire was defeated so decisively. It was defeated by the large numbers of line infantry maintained due to excessive admiration for Napoleon's afterglow, by the constant micromanagement of the overly confident Napoleon III, and also by insufficient preparation in the early stages of the war and the lack of thorough planning and response from the high command.
On March 21, 1870, world-shaking news broke.
The Emperor of the Second French Empire, Napoleon III, the nephew of the awe-inspiring Napoleon, officially announced his surrender to the Prussian army.
The once-mighty French Empire had been defeated, something no European country had anticipated.
France's defeat was bound to cause a series of policy changes in various European countries, and the importance placed on Prussia would increase infinitely.
But what everyone didn't expect was that before their own foreign policies could be changed, the French created another major news story.
On March 23, 1870, the third day after Napoleon III announced his surrender, a coup d'état broke out in Paris, France. Taking advantage of the army and the emperor being at the front, the imperial government was overthrown, and the Third French Republic was established.
This time, it was Prussia and Bismarck who were dumbfounded.
The Prussian army had just captured Napoleon III and planned to use him to make huge demands on the French government, asking for large amounts of reparations and territory.
But they didn't expect the French to turn around and stage a coup, establishing a republican government. Napoleon III lost his usefulness within just a few days..
What supported Napoleon III as emperor was the vast military power he held, an advantage that ceased to exist after the French army was defeated.
What emperor? Sorry, France is now in the era of the Government of National Defense led by General Louis-Jules Trochu.
There was no choice; the war with France had to continue. What Bismarck wanted was definitely not the surrender of Napoleon III who had lost his legitimacy; he wanted the surrender of the entire French government, along with large amounts of reparations and territory, to declare that the entire German region was free from French control.
Only by decisively defeating France and forcing the French to sign reparations and territorial cession agreements could the southern German states understand that the German region could only be controlled by Germans and that Prussia was the chosen one of the German region, destined to unify the entire Germany.
But the French also had their pride. The French were unwilling to see a once-powerful France humiliated by Prussia, a country that France had looked down upon just a few decades ago.
The French people demanded that the new Government of National Defense strengthen the defenses of Paris and reassemble a national defense army to fight a decisive battle against the Prussians in Paris.
But for the current French Government of National Defense, the will of the French people had become a sort of 'Golden Fillet' on their heads, forcing them to seek a peace agreement with Germany more quickly.
As is well known, launching revolutions and coups is a French tradition.
Although the current Government of National Defense was established through a coup, this does not mean that the officials of the Government of National Defense, and the large bourgeoisie behind it, were willing to hand over control of the government to others again.
Actively preparing for war could indeed align with public opinion, but the current situation in France also had to be considered.
The previous war had consumed large amounts of funds, and the French army on the front lines had been defeated multiple times. Furthermore, Napoleon III had surrendered with tens of thousands of French soldiers.
To now rely on a newly assembled army to fight the Prussian army would be repeating Napoleon III's past mistakes, wouldn't it?
Compared to the external enemy, Prussia, the Government of National Defense was more worried about the intense emotions of the French people within Paris and the escalating revolutionary fervor.
When faced with the choice between preserving France's territory and dignity and preserving its own power, the French Government of National Defense chose the latter without hesitation.
While appeasing the public's emotions and strengthening Paris's defenses, they secretly negotiated with Bismarck, the commander of the German army.
The diplomatic representative sent by the French government was named Fabre.
When Fabre secretly approached Bismarck to request peace talks, Bismarck was in the army, planning the attack on Paris.
Upon meeting Bismarck, Fabre spoke at length about the French Government of National Defense's condemnation and protest against Napoleon III and thanked Prussia for helping France overthrow Napoleon III's rule.
Bismarck's face remained expressionless, waiting for Fabre's main point.
Fabre knew that mere words would not move Bismarck, so he immediately presented the French Government of National Defense's sincerity.
"Esteemed Prime Minister Bismarck, I represent our Government of National Defense and convey the opinions of all French people to you.
We acknowledge France's defeat in this war and are willing to compensate generously to mend relations with Prussia.
However, at the same time, our government absolutely does not accept the cession of any territory, and neither do all French people.
If you are willing, we can sign a peace treaty at any time to end this war that should not have happened."
What Fabre said, or rather, the opinion of the current French Government of National Defense, was that they would pay whatever amount of reparations was demanded, but they would absolutely not accept the territorial cession.
Ceding territory is a huge humiliation for any country and would provoke public anger and widespread opposition domestically.
Let alone France, which was considered the hegemonic power of Europe just a year ago, even backward and corrupt countries would face intense popular resentment if they ceded territory.
The French Government of National Defense wanted to preserve its power, and on the issue of territory, they could not back down.
But for Bismarck, this was rather amusing.
The French government's willingness to concede on financial matters and their firmness on territorial matters might impress others, but it certainly wouldn't impress Bismarck.
For the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, if a country displayed a tough attitude in front of him, the best way to respond was with an even tougher attitude.
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