Chapter 117 Military Reform

The meeting between two people eventually turned into a small meeting between three people. The extra person is naturally the person with the highest reputation in the army besides Prime Minister Primo, the current Minister of Defense, Archduke Serrano.

When he was called to the palace temporarily, Grand Duke Serrano obviously didn't know what Carlo was thinking. But after Carlo personally said that Spain now needs to carry out a military reform, Archduke Serrano was shocked at first, but then quickly reacted and gave his own attitude: "

Your Majesty, I support the reforms you are talking about. Since the end of the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, there has been a large gap between the Spanish army and Europe's top armies.

If we cannot catch up with the currently stronger German army, our Royal Army may become like a pool of stagnant water, and its combat effectiveness will eventually become worse and worse. "

The two wars that established the German Empire, the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, definitely brought huge changes to European countries.

These two wars also marked the complete farewell to the historical stage of line infantry and muzzle-loading guns. Muzzle-loading guns and advanced artillery technology are increasingly valued by various countries.

The current Spanish army has more than 100,000 troops at full strength, of which the total number of garrisons in various colonies is about 30,000.

This also means that there are only about 70,000 troops stationed in Spain. If reforms are to be promoted, the progress should be very fast.

But then, Archduke Serrano also gave his own question based on the current situation of the Spanish army: "However, I think that regarding the reform of the army, the environment of the Spanish army should be carefully considered.

The composition of our military is too complex. If we reform it rashly, it may cause dissatisfaction among some soldiers, leading to a coup. "

The current main body of the Spanish army consists of the army of the revolutionary period and the surrendered army of the original royal government. At that time, in addition to conservative factions such as Grand Duke Serrano, there were also some radical factions that supported the republic in the army that initiated the revolution.

If military reforms are launched rashly, these radical republicans will certainly not remain indifferent. This would cause serious damage to the otherwise stable situation in Spain and may even promote the outbreak of the next civil war.

"Of course I know this, Grand Duke Serrano. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss an army reform method that can effectively solve this situation." Carlo nodded and said to Grand Duke Serrano: "

Despite the difficulties, reform of our military is necessary. Military expenditures account for 25.1% of our total fiscal expenditures, of which at least one-third can be saved.

If we complete the reform of the military, we can reduce the total number of troops to about 60,000 to 70,000, and the saved military expenses can also be used to purchase new weapons and equipment.

Even if the army is expanded to 100,000 people, we can guarantee that the new army will be much stronger than the current army. For Spain this is what has to be done. "

Carlo's attitude towards military reform is relatively firm. The Spanish army does have capable officers, but there are also many officers who are just messing around.

Including many soldiers who are simply farmers with long guns. They know nothing about military knowledge, and they only know how to pick up their guns and aim at random when fighting.

Although this phenomenon is common in many European countries, this does not mean that Carlo wants to see it in the Spanish army.

Spain's population is originally small, which also means that the size of the army that Spain can form is far smaller than that of other powerful countries.

When the size of the army is already small, if the combat effectiveness of the army cannot be guaranteed, then it is completely possible to give up the competition with other powerful countries.

If you want to deploy colonization in Europe and ensure the security of Spain at the same time, you must have an army with more than 200,000 people and one of the best combat capabilities in Europe.

At present, it is difficult to meet the requirements in terms of numbers. After all, just maintaining an army of 100,000 people has already made the Spanish government's finances somewhat unbearable.

If the size of the army is rashly expanded to 200,000, Spain's economy may go bankrupt in a few years because of the huge army.

Therefore, when the number of troops cannot be expanded, improving the military quality of each soldier as much as possible has become the only means to improve the combat effectiveness of the army.

With the inability to develop a navy in a short period of time, Spain must have an army with good combat effectiveness to ensure that no great power has the courage to invade Spain's homeland.

Prime Minister Primo thought for a long time and then said: "Your Majesty, the biggest problem in the reform of the army is where these streamlined soldiers should go.

If their work problems cannot be solved, perhaps this military reform will cause dissatisfaction among some people. "

Carlo had actually thought of this for a long time. In the final analysis, it is because the current Spanish government was established after the revolution and takes too much into account the opinions of the revolutionary armies.

If it were the traditional government of the Kingdom of Spain, how could it care about the opinions of those streamlined soldiers? Anyway, they can become farmers without a job, and they will not starve to death by cultivating the land.

"The construction of the Seville Industrial Base should be almost completed, right? The first batch of soldiers who have just been withdrawn can choose to work in the factories of the Seville Industrial Base." Carlo said: "

I will ensure that they receive a wage at the level of per capita income and that they can support their families. The current reform does not involve the colonial army for the time being, but only the 70,000 troops of our homeland.

The 70,000 troops should be streamlined to at least 50,000, and those soldiers with low military literacy and mixed thoughts should be dismissed.

After the army is streamlined, the next expansion plan can be launched to restore our homeland army to about 70,000.

In the future, the soldiers recruited by Spain must meet both physical fitness and ideological level. I hope that the 100,000 Spanish soldiers are all tested and excellent soldiers, not mercenaries who are just trying to make a living.

As for the remaining ones who insist on making trouble, there is no need to tolerate them anymore. I believe you can solve these problems. If someone wants to incite a rebellion, then suppress it harshly and let them know who is the master of Spain. "

Hearing what Carlo said, Prime Minister Primo and Archduke Serrano both nodded, indicating that they had no objection.

In fact, what they were worried about were the soldiers who supported the government, not the radicals who had different ideas about the government.

Many of those unqualified soldiers and officers also supported the government, but their own abilities were not very good.

If a way out could be arranged for these people, this military reform would still be feasible.

As for the radical republicans in the army, they are a minority at present. And even if those republicans could incite some of the army to rebel, Carlo would not be too worried.

After all, both Primo and Serrano, the two military leaders, were in the capital. Not to mention the radical republicans, even if they joined forces with the Carlists, they were destined to be unable to attack Madrid.

Primo It is true that the prime minister has offended some forces, but his reputation among farmers and neoliberals is quite high.

And Archduke Serrano has now become a representative of the Spanish aristocracy. Archduke Serrano has gradually approached the royal power, and Carlo is naturally willing to see this military leader express his loyalty to him. The two of them hit it off.

Prime Minister Primo's neoliberals and reformists, Archduke Serrano's conservatives, and Canovas's old royalists together form the forces in the current Spanish government and military that support Carlo.

Those who oppose these forces, or those who resist the Spanish monarchy, are naturally the so-called democrats and republicans.

However, after a series of policies and reforms, the current conservatives and reformists have taken control of the government and occupied most of the Spanish Parliament. Majority of seats.

At the same time, the neoliberals and royalists have also formed a certain force. It can be said that the entire Spanish parliament is controlled by these four factions.

Republicans no longer have much market in Spain. The monarchy and Spain are inseparable. Without a king, Spain will be torn apart.

It is precisely because of this that there are more and more forces and factions in Spain that support the monarchy, and they have formed an overwhelming advantage over the factions that support the republic.

Especially after defeating the Carlos faction, the peasants who make up the majority of the Spanish population also expressed their firm support for the monarchy.

Under such circumstances, even Prime Minister Primo can no longer change the fact that Spain is a monarchy.

Now that it has been decided to carry out military reforms, then the next step is The most important thing is to discuss the specific process of military reform and when to implement this reform.

At this point, Archduke Serrano, as the Minister of Defense, has a lot of say.

Archduke Serrano knows the situation of the Spanish army best, and he is naturally the most clear about how to reform and where to make the cut.

After more than two hours of discussion, Carlo and the two military leaders finally discussed the preliminary plan for the reform of the Spanish army.

After this military reform, the 70,000 people of the Spanish native army will be expanded to 100,000 people, which also means that Spain will have at least 130,000 standing troops.

However, before the expansion, the 70,000 people of the native army must be extremely strictly streamlined, and those soldiers and officers with unqualified military qualities must be dismissed.

Officers are graduates trained by military academies. Basically, more than 400 graduates join the army every year, so there is no need to worry about the reserve of officers.

After the army is thoroughly streamlined, the expansion process of the Spanish army will be started. However, the requirements for this military expansion will be very strict. Not only will the Spaniards who join the army have good physical fitness, but they will also be required to have a clean family background, preferably from generations of farmers.

The reason is also very simple. At present, farmers have the highest support for the monarchy government, and they are the least likely to join activities against the government.

After completing this military reform, the government will also increase the income of soldiers and officers as appropriate according to the financial situation. Stabilizing the morale of the army by increasing the income of soldiers and officers is also discussed by Carlo, Prime Minister Primo and Grand Duke Serrano.

The disbanding of the army will inevitably lead to the shaking of the morale of the army. Appropriate salary increases will never be bad for the construction of the army.

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