Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 83: Chapter 81: Ceuta Rebellion

Returning to Madrid, Carlo couldn’t wait to hand over the more than 100 Vitali Rifles purchased from Italy to the Royal Military Factory for imitation and to fully understand their principles.

No matter how successful the reforms and development are, military strength is the ultimate standard to measure a nation’s power.

Currently, Spain is not well-suited for naval development, so the focus can only be on the development of the army, aiming to have an army among the best in Europe.

Due to Spain’s population being far smaller compared to the European Powers, emphasis must be placed on the advancement of weaponry.

If Spain can be the first to equip its army with advanced rifles and machine guns on a large scale, then at least in terms of quality, Spain’s army would not be inferior to any other nation.

By solidifying the Spanish Army’s strength through several campaigns, Carlo and the Spanish Government would have more confidence in diplomatic activities.

After all, a country’s influence on the diplomatic stage relies on its overall strength, particularly its military capabilities.

If a country’s military is a mess, no matter how eloquent the diplomats, they are helpless in front of other strong powers.

National dignity rests upon the edge of a blade; truth exists only within the range of a cannonball. For Spain to grow stronger, alongside industrial and economic development, military strength is indispensable or even more crucial.

Speaking of weapon design, Carlo actually places more emphasis on the development of machine guns compared to rifles.

Especially in colonial wars, a few machine guns can face off against tens of thousands of native troops, a concept not considered by previous colonial nations.

In terms of machine gun development, the United States is undoubtedly leading by far.

The United States currently has hand-cranked Gatling machine guns, which, despite various operational issues, at least achieve much more powerful fire output than rifles.

With the purpose of learning and borrowing ideas, Carlo instructed Kadir to dispatch personnel to America to look for talent in firearms design and to purchase several hand-cranked Gatling machine guns for the military factory’s research.

As for the interest-free loan of 10 million Lira borrowed from Italy, Carlo decided to invest it entirely in factory construction.

Now building factories is like making money while lying down; it’s only a matter of how much. It can also create thousands of jobs for the Spaniards, making it a sure-win scenario.

Not long after enjoying easy days, Prime Minister Prim and Secretary of State for War Serrano came together with unexpected news for Carlo: a minor rebellion had broken out in Ceuta.

This rebellion is clearly not the reason Primo and Serrano sought Carlo’s audience. Such a minor rebellion could be solved by the local colonial troops, and such news wouldn’t even qualify to be reported to the Kingdom Government.

The real reason that caught Prim and Serrano’s attention is Spain now has the opportunity to launch another invasion of Morocco.

Morocco, being across the strait from Spain, is the closest African country to Spain.

Back during Queen Isabel’s reign, Spain had already engaged in colonial warfare with Morocco, occupying the northern Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Ceuta.

Although defeated the then Moroccan Government, due to the British not wanting to see Spain gaining power near Gibraltar, under the intervention of the British, Spain only obtained two small cities.

A full ten years have passed since that war, and coincidentally, the British are having problems domestically themselves, leading Prime Minister Prim to see it as a good opportunity for a grand invasion of Morocco.

Coming with Serrano, of course, was to persuade Carlo to launch a colonial war against Morocco.

This is the tacit agreement reached by Spain’s three giants. In such major events, Prim must consider Carlo’s stance to exchange for Carlo’s full support for reforms.

Prim indeed follows through, even when as Prime Minister he can make direct decisions, he would still come to seek Carlo’s stance and ask for his approval.

Carlo gazes at the map of the Kingdom of Spain hanging in his office, below which lays Morocco, roughly equal in size to Spain, truly alluring.

In Carlo’s plans, Morocco is a place that must be taken. It is the only land that can be localized to Spain and must be the power range Spain acquires to become a great power.

But just like the reason Spain didn’t gain much benefit in the last colonial war, the British would not allow Spain to hold such a large territory near Gibraltar.

If Spain occupies large coastal lands in northern Morocco, its territories would envelop Gibraltar, turning British plans at Gibraltar into mere illusions.

“Your Majesty, I believe this is an opportune moment to initiate the war.” Seeing Carlo hesitate, Prim steps forward to persuade: “Ten years ago, Queen Isabel’s Government could defeat Morocco, naturally this time our army can defeat Morocco again.

Moreover, even if we cannot gain large lands in northern Morocco, we can seize the opportunity to declare our claim over African lands.

If the British are unwilling for us to have northern Morocco, they must agree to our expansion in other parts of Africa, or else they must face the consequences of us turning towards France completely.”

The country most opposed to Spain siding with Germany is firstly France, followed by the United Kingdom.

After being defeated, France lost vital industrial districts like Alsace and Lorraine, rendering its overall strength inferior to the fully integrated German Empire.

Moreover, the French must pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs to the Germans, practically angel seed money for Germany’s industrial development.

Facing the ever-strengthening German Empire, the British cannot be unguarded. If news of Spain’s complete turn towards Germany, leaving France encircled both north and south spreads, the British certainly wouldn’t sit still.

Not to mention Italy and Germany are also allies, if caught in conflict, France might face a three-pronged attack.

After all, in its quest for Italian unification, the Sardinian Kingdom ceded important regions of Savoy and Nice to France.

Looking at the surname of the Italian Royal Family reveals how significant the Savoy region is, for it is the cradle of the Italian Royal Family.

To say Italy harbors no thoughts about these forcibly ceded lands is hardly possible; should France indeed confront an encirclement scenario, Italy will undoubtedly also step in.

Under such circumstances, the British absolutely don’t want to witness France being directly overwhelmed.

To maintain balance in the situation on the European Continent, it must be ensured Spain does not lean towards Germany, which gives Prim confidence to exchange interests with the British.

Despite Spain not being strong, if truly daring it isn’t that fearful of the British. A naval blockade affecting Spain isn’t significant, since Spain at this time has few colonies.

And for the British to blockade Spain’s vast sea areas, must mobilize numerous fleets. Even if the British can endure such immense consumption, other European countries may not remain indifferent.

As for the issue of the British invading Spanish mainland, it is of no concern. Prim is confident the British would have a one-way trip; in terms of land warfare, the British ought to stay on the sidelines.