Empire Rising: Spain

War between Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire broke out, and this was also good news for Spain.

As soon as the war erupted, the armies involved on both sides approached a million, and it would only get more extreme going forward.

The daily consumption of ammunition and supplies by these million troops was an enormous number, which was also a business opportunity Spain had been desperately waiting for.

More importantly, neither Russia nor the Ottoman Empire, the parties involved in the war, had the ability to be self-sufficient during the conflict.

Before the war, the Ottoman Empire had experienced famine, and Russia also faced the issue of reduced grain production. In this war, Spain could not only sell its weapons and ammunition but also some medical resources and food, ensuring substantial profits.

Because Spain had no relations with either of the warring parties, it could engage in trade cooperation with them without any burden.

In May 1877, Carlo summoned the Russian ambassador to Spain and proposed selling weapons and other important materials to Russia.

For Russia, there was not yet a severe shortage of supplies. However, the consumption at the front was enormous, and Russia’s current resource reserves would not last long.

More importantly, the Ottoman Empire had the help of the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary, while Russia had no assistance from any major power.

At this point, Spain’s proactive offer of resource trade could help Russia avoid facing resource shortages in the future.

With this in mind, the Russian ambassador did not immediately reject Carlo’s proposal but said he needed to contact Russia for further detailed trade talks between the two countries.

Carlo had no objection. After all, the participants in this war were Russians, and it would also be Russians who would be anxious if resources ran out.

Within a few days, the Russian ambassador brought back a response from Russia, expressing willingness to trade with Spain, purchasing Spanish weapons, bullets, shells, and other strategic resources.

After detailed negotiations between the Royal Military Factory and the Russians, a procurement plan for a batch of weapons was finalized.

Russia ordered 100,000 rifles, 350 cannons, 25 million bullets, and 100,000 shells, indicating that this was just the first order, with the scale of the second order to be decided based on future consumption in the war.

Russia also specifically requested that by June 15, the Royal Military Factory should deliver one-third of the order’s weapons to Russia, and complete the entire order by August 15.

Since the Royal Military Factory had produced a large batch of weapons even before the war broke out, it naturally agreed to the Russian demands.

However, the Royal Military Factory also had its conditions. This batch of weapons could be urgently produced for Russia, but only if Russia paid for the order with gold reserves, mineral resources, or population.

Currently, the countries with more active trade with Spain are France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, so there is naturally no need for Russian rubles.

Although the value of currencies in various countries is also linked to gold and silver, their prices naturally vary in different places.

For example, the official currency Pesseta issued by Spain’s Currency Issuing Committee is quite stable in value within Spain, but it would undoubtedly be less valuable abroad.

Since Russia was unwilling to pay for the order with gold alone, the Royal Military Factory also added other requirements, such as mineral resources and population.

The value of mineral resources goes without saying, as Russia is extremely rich in mineral resources, and a small expenditure is insignificant to them.

As for the requirement regarding population, it takes into account the difficulty Spain faces in developing colonies.

Both in mainland Spain and in its colonies, the land can be described as vast and sparsely populated.

Especially in the newly established Congo Territory, although it possesses vast lands, the majority of its inhabitants are local natives, with only a few hundred Spaniards.

To begin developing this land, tens of thousands of immigrants are needed. If all immigrants came from mainland Spain, it would seriously impact Spain’s domestic development.

After all, Spain’s population is barely 20 million, so it has a significant disadvantage compared to the five traditional great powers.

The benefit of Russia’s population during this era is that, due to the long oppression under serfdom, Russian peasants have developed a submissive nature.

Moreover, compared to the wartime period, there are fewer radical extremists at this time, making them very suitable for Carlo’s rule.

The downside is that the Eastern Orthodox Church is deeply rooted in the hearts of Russian peasants, making it extremely difficult to transform these Russians into Spaniards.

For Spain, it can absorb part of the Russian population but not too much.

In any case, Carlo’s aim was simply to have these Russians develop the African Colony and, in the meantime, dilute the local population proportions in the Catalonia Region and Basque Region.

This transaction was mutually beneficial for both Spain and Russia, so both parties were smiling after signing the cooperation agreement.

Russia obtained the much-needed weapons, while Spain gained some gold reserves and a portion of the relatively docile Russian peasant population.