Empire Rising: Spain

In order to demonstrate the importance attached to naval development, Carlo personally attended the commencement ceremony for eleven small and medium-sized warships and also inspected the construction progress of the Rejuvenation-class Ironclad.

Although these small and medium-sized warships were mostly designed by the British, the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard made certain modifications on this basis, making them slightly different from the original British designs.

In reality, the differences are not substantial, merely involving changes in the caliber of the guns and a slight increase in the tonnage of the warships.

The good news about these actions is that Spain can claim these warships as independently developed, convincing the public that Spain has more extensive experience and excellent concepts in shipbuilding to enhance the national pride of the Spaniards.

After all, independently developed and constructed warships definitely sound more appealing than replicating foreign models.

Anyway, there are no patent rights in warships; countries generally imitate the better-designed types, improving flaws and enhancing strengths.

As the strongest naval power, British warship designs are widely imitated and studied by other countries. What Spain is doing is not unusual and can even be said to be the tacit choice of many countries.

Spain’s recent naval expansion has also greatly alarmed the Dutch. Although the Netherlands is far removed from Spain, the Dutch East Indies Colony and the Spanish East Indies Colony are theoretically adjacent at present.

Only the Brunei Sultanate, where all major powers have interests, separates the two colonies. Further south is the area controlled by the Kutai Sultanate under Dutch control.

The large-scale construction of warships by Spain is definitely not for their homeland. Considering Spain’s expansion in the Philippines and the Kalimantan Region, the Dutch consider it necessary to strengthen the defense forces of the Dutch East Indies Colony.

On the day after Spain’s high-profile construction of eleven warships, the Dutch government urgently decided to deploy a force of over 2,000 troops to the East India Colony and to build two brand-new thousand-ton-class coastal defense gunships there.

These thousand-ton gunships do not have the capability for long-range combat but are effective around Kalimantan and the surrounding islands.

Whether suppressing local natives or guarding against Spanish expansion, these more than 2,000 troops and two brand-new warships can serve certain purposes.

The Dutch have not ruled out seeking help from the British, but the British attitude towards this is somewhat ambiguous, clearly unwilling to directly assist the Dutch.

After all, the Dutch East Indies Colony is not small, making the Netherlands leap into the top ten European countries in terms of comprehensive strength as an industrial power.

Engaging in appropriate competition between the Netherlands and Spain is beneficial, at least making the Netherlands understand the importance of the United Kingdom, prompting it to behave and not entertain other thoughts.

However, this situation is not ideal for the Dutch. If Spain’s actions were limited to this, it would be manageable. But Spain already has a cooperative agreement with Lanfang, a Dutch vassal state.

The Lanfang Republic had already submitted to Dutch rule decades ago, and a significant part of the tax revenue from this land is obtained by the Netherlands annually.

The establishment of the Lanfang Republic was mainly due to the gold prospectors who reached a considerable scale in this land.

A part of the wealth created by these gold mines is obtained by the Lanfang Republic, while another part becomes tax revenue, submitted to the Dutch East Indies Colony.

For the Dutch, losing Lanfang would entail losing that portion of the tax revenue and also worrying about threats from Lanfang.

The Dutch rule over Lanfang was not mild, being filled with continuous oppression and invasion. Once these Lanfang people acquire a more powerful ally, will they remain indifferent to previous Dutch invasions? Certainly not.

This also suggests that in the future on the island of Borneo, the Dutch may likely face a situation of being pinched from the north by the Spaniards and from the west by the Lanfang people.

One Lanfang is not enough to concern the Dutch. But a Lanfang Republic with the backing of Spain could pose a threat unmatched by Lanfang alone.

After all, the Netherlands is a country with a population of over four million, limiting the number of troops it can organize, with even fewer troops available for the East Indies Colony.

On July 21, 1875, the Spanish dispatched military guidance team finally arrived at the Lanfang Republic to help the Lanfang Republic establish a new army to better maintain national sovereignty.

The leader of this military guidance team was Andrew Russo, who had not been seen for a long time. Currently holding the rank of Major, he previously served as the commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division of the Royal Spanish Army and was personally appointed by Carlo as the head of the Lanfang Military Guidance Team.

As for Kaman Esposito, a confidant who, like Andrew, also came to Spain from Italy, he has now been promoted to the rank of Colonel, serving as the commander of the 3rd Artillery Regiment of the 2nd Artillery Division of the Royal Spanish Army, receiving more significant opportunities for advancement.

This also reflects the focus of the development of the Spanish army. Due to the relatively small size of the Spanish army, the fewer number of artillery divisions is more important than the infantry divisions.

Kaman Esposito has clearly integrated into the Spanish artillery unit. According to the plans of the Ministry of Defense, if the artillery units continue to expand in the future, he has the potential to serve as the deputy division commander of the new artillery division, thereby gaining the opportunity to become a division commander.