Empire Rising: Spain

As the commander of the Colonial Defense Corps stationed in the Congo Territory, Manuel Massias y Caduza bears a significant responsibility.

He has made substantial contributions to the expansion of the Congo Territory and was promoted to the rank of Colonel by Carlo last year.

Since the Congo Territory requires a larger army, Manuel Massias y Caduza is the obvious choice to command this larger force.

A 32-year-old Major General, his future military career is bound to be quite illustrious and brilliant. Even without any outstanding achievements or contributions, simply by accumulating experience, Manuel Massias y Caduza could advance to the ranks of Lieutenant General and Major General.

As for the higher rank of Marshal, aside from experience, it depends on his ability and loyalty. Certainly, in terms of loyalty, Manuel Massias y Caduza is trustworthy.

While Carlo intends to cultivate native Spanish officers, he also considers their loyalty. If he is unsure about someone’s loyalty, Carlo would not nurture them so earnestly.

Being cultivated by Carlo so strongly proves one thing: after investigation by the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, it was confirmed that Manuel Massias y Caduza and his family are sufficiently loyal to Carlo and the Royal Family.

Of course, after the expansion of the garrison in the Congo Territory, it’s unrealistic to rely on Manuel Massias y Caduza alone to control the stationed troops throughout the Congo Territory.

After all, the Congo Territory is a vast region nearing a million square kilometers, and its future size will continue to grow.

The garrison needs to be spread across various parts of the Congo Territory to better ensure that the colonial points distributed throughout are well protected.

In Carlo’s plan, the garrison in the Congo Territory will be increased to the size of an entire Colonial Defense Division, with a number of approximately 20,000 troops.

Because the artillery number equipped by the Colonial Defense Corps is too few, they can only enhance the firepower of the defense troops by increasing the number of personnel.

Considering the Congo Territory has a population of several million, and the ability to recruit troops from the nearby Guinea Colony, forming a defense unit of about 20,000 soldiers is still quite easy.

If necessary, manpower can be recruited from the South Morocco Colony or the Philippine Colony. Anyway, many Moroccans are eager to gain Spanish citizenship, so they can enter the colonial army to demonstrate their loyalty to Spain.

With the stationed troops in the Congo Territory reaching 20,000, besides the Commander-in-Chief, who is also the Division Commander, a Deputy Division Commander is needed to assist in managing the army of over 20,000.

After consideration, Carlo ultimately decided to promote Andrew for this Deputy Division Commander role.

Andrew is among the first group of confidants who accompanied Carlo to Spain, graduating from the Turin Military Academy in Italy. Originally the commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division of the Royal Spanish Army, Andrew was later promoted by Carlo to be the commander of the stationed Lanfang Military Guidance Team.

Currently, Andrew has been in Lanfang for more than two years, and the results have been quite good. With the help from the Military Guidance Team, Lanfang has successfully established a new army of 20,000, equipped with rifles and a small number of cannons from Spain.

Currently, the Lanfang Republic is the third largest military power on Borneo, second only to Spain and the Netherlands. The new army of 20,000 can easily crush the indigenous people of Borneo.

It is precisely because the Lanfang Republic trained a new army that the Dutch found their expansion in Borneo extremely difficult.

The Lanfang Republic has not only maintained its current land scale but also established more close cooperation with some indigenous people of Borneo.

The Chinese population of the Lanfang Republic is also continuously increasing, with hopes of boosting it to more than 600,000 before 1880.

The Lanfang Republic has formally signed a treaty with Spain, becoming a protectorate of Spain. The Lanfang Republic needs to be guided by Spain in military and diplomatic matters, but the advantage is that Spain will protect the independence of the Lanfang Republic and pledge never to annex it.

Anyway, the Lanfang Republic was previously nominally subject to Dutch rule, and regarding the matter of a protectorate and related treaties, the Lanfang Government had no hesitation.

The current situation is already clear: the Qing Dynasty, whose banner they once held high, cannot help them, and would not help them.

The Lanfang Republic could only choose to ally with the Netherlands or Spain; otherwise, it cannot maintain its independence. Compared to the Netherlands, which has ambitions to annex the Lanfang Republic, Spain’s terms are not so harsh.

Aside from needing Spanish guidance in diplomacy, military, and goods trade, the Lanfang Republic can have full internal governance rights, and Spain will not interfere with the domestic administration of the Lanfang Republic.

For Spain, the new army of 20,000 trained by the Lanfang Republic will also be a significant aid.

Whether used to quell uprisings among various indigenous people within the Philippines or to defend against the Dutch and the British, this new army of 20,000 can play an important role.

At the same time, a 20,000-strong army is not sufficient to defeat the Dutch. It ensures that the Lanfang Republic remains strong enough to be under Spanish control and prevents the Lanfang Republic from breaking away from Spain’s control.