Chapter 83 Ceuta Rebellion (Please subscribe!)
As soon as he returned to Madrid, Carlo couldn't wait to hand over more than 100 Vitali rifles purchased from Italy to the Royal Arsenal for imitation, and tried to understand the principles.
No matter how successful reform and development are, military strength is the criterion for measuring whether a country is strong.
The current Spain is not suitable for developing a navy, so it can only focus on the development of the army and try to have a first-class army in Europe.
Because Spain's population is far smaller than that of the European powers, what can be done now is the advancement of weapons and equipment.
If it can equip a large number of advanced rifles and machine guns before the European powers, then the Spanish army will at least be not inferior to any country in terms of quality.
By establishing the strength of the Spanish Army through several battles, Carlo and the Spanish government will be more confident in diplomatic activities.
After all, to put it bluntly, whether a country can be influential at the diplomatic level depends on its overall strength, especially its military capabilities.
If this country is in a mess militarily, no matter how eloquent the diplomats are, they will be helpless in front of other powerful powers.
National dignity is built on the edge of a knife, and truth is only within the range of a cannon. If Spain wants to become strong, while developing industry and economy, military strength is also essential, or even more important.
Speaking of weapon design, Carlo actually values the research and development of machine guns more than rifles.
Especially in colonial wars, a few machine guns can usually face thousands of indigenous troops. This is something that previous colonial countries have never thought of.
In the research and development of machine guns, the United States is definitely far ahead.
The United States already has a hand-operated Gatling machine gun. Although there are various problems with using this machine gun, so far
At least it has achieved far more powerful firepower output than a rifle.
For the purpose of learning and reference, Carlo ordered Qadir to send personnel to the Americas to search for talents in firearms design and at the same time purchase several finished hand-cranked Gatling machine guns for research in military factories.
As for the interest-free loan of 10 million lire borrowed from Italy, Carlo decided to invest all of it in the construction of the factory.
Now there is no difference between building a factory and making money lying down, it’s just about how much you earn. It can also create thousands of jobs for Spanish people, which is a complete win-win.
Not long after the comfortable days, Prime Minister Primo and Minister of War Serrano came hand in hand, bringing unexpected news to Carlo, that is, a small-scale rebellion broke out in Ceuta.
This rebellion was clearly not the reason for Primo and Serrano's request to see Carlo. Such a small-scale rebellion could be resolved by the local colonial army, and even such news was not qualified to be reported to the royal government.
What really attracted the attention of Primo and Serrano was that Spain could use this opportunity to launch another invasion of Morocco.
Morocco and Spain face each other across the strait, and it is also the closest African country to Spain.
As early as the reign of Queen Isabel, Spain had a colonial war with Morocco, and Spain occupied the northern Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Ceuta.
Although they defeated the Moroccan government at the time, because the British were unwilling to see Spain having a strong power near Gibraltar, Spain only gained two small cities under British intervention.
A full ten years have passed since the war, and the British also have domestic problems. Prime Minister Primo thinks it is a good opportunity to invade Morocco on a large scale.
The reason for coming with Serrano was naturally to persuade Carlo to launch a colonial war against Morocco.
This is also the tacit understanding reached by Spain's three giants. In such a major event, Primo must consider Carlo's attitude in exchange for Carlo's full support for the reform.
Primo has indeed done it. On major matters, even if he can make direct decisions as prime minister, he will ask Carlo for his attitude and ask for Carlo's consent.
Carlo looked at the map of the Kingdom of Spain hanging in his office. The area of Morocco below was about the same size as Spain, which was really attractive.
In Carlo's plan, Morocco is a place that must be won. This is the only land that Spain can localize, and it is also the sphere of influence that Spain must obtain if it wants to become a great power.
But just as Spain did not gain much benefit in the last colonial war, the British would not allow Spain to own such a large area of land near Gibraltar.
If it occupies a large area of land on the northern coast of Morocco, Spanish territory will once again surround Gibraltar, and the British plan in Gibraltar will also come to nothing.
"Your Majesty, I think it is feasible to launch a war at this time." Seeing Carlo's hesitation, Primo stood up and persuaded: "The Isabel government ten years ago was able to defeat Morocco. Of course our current army can defeat Morocco again. .
Moreover, even if we cannot acquire large tracts of land in northern Morocco, we can still take the opportunity to declare our claim to African land.
If the British don't want us to get northern Morocco, they have to agree to our expansion in other parts of Africa. Otherwise, they will have to bear the consequences of our complete defection to France. "
To say that the country least willing to see Spain surrender to Germany, one is France, and the other is the United Kingdom.
After the defeat, France lost important industrial areas such as Alsace and Lorraine, and its overall strength was not as good as that of the integrated German Empire.
Moreover, the French had to pay the Germans 5 billion francs in compensation, which was simply the angel start-up money for Germany to develop its industry.
Facing the German Empire, which was still becoming stronger and stronger, it was impossible for the British to be unprepared. If there was news that Spain had completely turned to Germany and France was being attacked from both north and south at this time, the British would definitely not be able to sit still.
Not to mention that Italy and Germany were also allies, and if they really fought, France might face a three-sided attack.
After all, in order to unify Italy, the Kingdom of Sardinia at that time ceded two important regions, Savoy and Nice, to France.
Just look at the surnames of the Italian royal family to know how important the Savoy region is. This is the birthplace of the Italian royal family.
It is impossible to say that Italy has no idea about the two pieces of land that were forced to cede. Once France faces a situation of being attacked, Italy will definitely get involved.
In this case, the British absolutely do not want to see the French being directly defeated.
In order to keep the situation in the European continent balanced, it is necessary to ensure that Spain does not lean towards Germany, which is why Primo is confident in exchanging interests with the British.
After all, although Spain is not strong, it is not so afraid of the British if a war really breaks out. The blockade at sea does not have such a big impact on Spain, because Spain does not have many colonies at this time.
And if the British want to blockade a large area of Spain, they must mobilize a large fleet. Even if the British can withstand such a huge consumption, other European countries may not be indifferent.
As for whether the British will invade the Spanish mainland, there is no need to worry about it. Primo is confident that the British will never return. In terms of land war, the British should stand aside.
The 2nd/7th day of the 10,000-day update, 4200/10,000 words have been updated. The remaining three updates may be late, but they will definitely be finished in the evening.
