Empire Rising: Spain

Upon learning about the conflict breaking out in Borneo, Carlo was not worried at all; instead, he was pleased that the situation had changed.

No matter whether the Kutai Sultanate had Dutch support behind it or not, it would not affect Spain supporting the Lanfang Republic in counterattacking.

Without this conflict, Spain wanting to take the initiative in expanding into Borneo would be virtually impossible. The British would not allow Spain to gain the upper hand in Borneo, and the Dutch would absolutely not let go of their already occupied colonies.

But with this conflict, Lanfang has more than sufficient reason to counterattack the Kutai Sultanate. Although the strength of the Lanfang Republic has not greatly improved, with equipment from Spain, the twenty thousand new troops can easily crush the indigenous nations of Borneo.

The only possibility for the Lanfang Republic to be defeated is if one of the British or Dutch sides joins in, using superior advanced weaponry to suppress the Lanfang Republic’s army.

But this situation is even more unlikely to occur, and Spain is even less fearful of its occurrence.

The UK has consecutively gone through the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War, making it impossible for them to send an expeditionary force to attack the Lanfang Republic.

Moreover, the British troops would lack legitimacy. This conflict has nothing to do with the UK, and if they intervene, wouldn’t that mean the British Government admits to inciting the natives to attack the Lanfang Republic?

It’s possible the Dutch might threaten the Lanfang Republic with war to preserve the Kutai Sultanate, but Spain is utterly unafraid of Dutch threats.

Twenty thousand men are far from the limit for the Lanfang Republic; arming a force of over fifty thousand soldiers is quite easy for Lanfang.

The Lanfang Republic can continually replenish its population from that large East Asian country to the north, while the Dutch can only send a small number of immigrants from their homeland.

The combat strength of the regular Dutch army might be higher than that of the Lanfang Republic, but the issue is the Dutch hardly have many regular troops.

The East Indies Colony is mostly comprised of local native auxiliary forces, which neither possess advanced weaponry nor have qualified military skills, essentially a scattered rabble.

Without exaggeration, given the current combat strength of Lanfang Republic’s twenty thousand new troops, even against over a hundred thousand indigenous soldiers, it would still be a battle worth fighting.

Added to that, with Spain continually providing logistical support, the Lanfang Republic truly does not fear the Dutch who can only deploy natives.

If the Dutch were to mobilize regular troops, it would be even more entertaining to see. How many troops can a country with a population of only 4.6 million muster for an expedition against Lanfang?

Even if the Dutch Government has the resolve to form an expeditionary army, would the Dutch people be willing to join such an expeditionary force?

A homeland defense war can stir the populace’s passion for resisting enemy nations, but an expedition thousands of miles away from the homeland obviously amplifies the public’s war-weariness.

The Netherlands is fundamentally a small country, and regardless of whether the expedition succeeds or not, it’s always a failure for the Dutch.

This also means that at present in Borneo, Spain already holds an absolute advantage. Unless the British are willing to risk everything to help the Dutch, the Dutch can only choose between stability at home and the Kutai Sultanate.

Far away in the Lanfang Republic, Andrew waited quietly for several days for news, finally receiving Carlo’s response.

Upon receiving Carlo’s orders, Andrew did not hesitate at all, notifying the Lanfang Republic to mobilize forces to continue advancing eastward, attempting to connect Lanfang Republic and Spain-controlled Brunei Sultanate.

Once the connection between these two regions is opened, supplies from the Philippines can be transported more conveniently to the Lanfang Republic, and Spain can strengthen its control over Borneo.

Borneo’s geographical location is quite important. The Dutch East Indies Colony is a significantly large archipelago colony, with the most important four islands being Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi.

The distribution of these four islands resembles an ’I’, and Borneo is the middle vertical stroke. Due to its central location, Borneo has always been the main land for the Dutch to conquer, and the Lanfang Republic was also destroyed for this reason.

But now, as long as the Lanfang Republic opens the passage to the Brunei Sultanate, unless the Lanfang Republic betrays Spain, there is no possibility of its destruction.

The Dutch East Indies Colony has had a nail driven into it, making it not as easy for the colony to remain stable.

The indigenous population of the East Indies Colony is not only quite large, but the entire colony is composed of countless small and large islands. The Dutch currently control only the four large islands and some surrounding important islands; most of the medium and small islands are still outside Dutch control.

Even on the four large islands, there are numerous areas outside Dutch control. In such a situation, Spain can easily create trouble for the Dutch.

If the Dutch Government does not want to spend the next few decades on pacifying uprisings in the East Indies, then they must find ways to ensure good relations with the Spanish Government, at least to guarantee that Spain does not create trouble for the East Indies.