prosperous age

"To this end, we plan to requisition one hundred merchant ships and dispatch more than fifty warships of the navy, carrying ten thousand soldiers to attack Britain."

The officer, with a stern face, spoke seriously about the opinions of the military commanders.

"To this end, we have already redeployed some warships from the four major governorates to fill any potential military vacuum in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions."

The army has already deployed 4,000 troops.

"We await His Majesty's command and can quickly expand to ten thousand men to serve as an armed force to teach the Anssa people a lesson."

After he finished speaking, the ministers in charge of the kingdom's finances glanced at him discreetly before looking away.

Punishing British pirates was, in fact, a consensus had been reached among the upper echelons of the kingdom, as well as among the country's nobles and merchants.

Therefore, no one was surprised when the Kingdom's marshal announced that the military had begun preparations for an attack on Britain.

"Francos, is this stance your opinion, or that of a few generals, or the opinion of the War Council?"

Philip II stared at Marshal Francos and asked seriously.

In the 16th century, with the rapid expansion of Spain's overseas colonies, monarchs such as Charles V and Philip II established a new administrative structure.

This vast empire, spanning Europe and America, was governed by a highly centralized monarchical autocracy, a complex bureaucratic committee system, and religious unification. Its core characteristics were the coexistence of "royal supremacy" and "decentralized governance."

The king held the final decision-making power, especially Philip II, who was hands-on, personally reviewing a large number of official documents and refusing to delegate power, resulting in the decision-making center being highly concentrated in Madrid.

To handle the complex political affairs, several specialized advisory committees were established in addition to the existing ministers responsible for managing various affairs, such as the Castilian Committee, the Indian Affairs Committee, and the War Committee.

These agencies are responsible for drafting policies and reviewing cases, but they have no final decision-making power and only serve as administrative assistants to the king.

Given the vastness of the empire, Philip II's territory at this time included mainland Spain, the Netherlands, Italian territories, and American colonies, excluding African colonies.

The king appoints governors or viceroys to represent the royal family in exercising administrative, judicial, and military powers, but these powers are subject to strict oversight by the tribunal, and some traditional laws and privileges are retained in various regions, forming a "composite monarchy".

The War Council was a department established by Philip II to deal with war.

Initially, ministers and staff involved in the war were included, and their first real battle was the suppression of a rebellion in the Netherlands.

Although he has not yet achieved a satisfactory result, the kingdom has at least restored nearly half of its rule over the Netherlands.

Furthermore, the annexation of Portugal was also orchestrated behind the scenes by a war council, which played a significant role, particularly in dividing and disintegrating the Portuguese nobility.

"The committee believes it is necessary to bring them to their knees by forcefully destroying most of Britain's coastal cities."

Especially in resolving the Netherlands issue, given that, according to intelligence provided by the Foreign Secretary, they have actually been providing aid there, including weapons and money, striking the British mainland could instill fear in them.

After suffering a blow, their subjects will certainly express doubts about that woman's ability to rule.

That's the Foreign Minister's responsibility going forward.

Marshal Franco bowed slightly as he answered the king's question.

Philip II glanced at his ministers and, seeing that they looked perfectly normal, knew that the matter had actually been agreed upon in the war council.

"What about military spending?"

When Philip II said this, he looked at the kingdom's treasurer.

He knew that the kingdom's high-ranking officials and merchants were outraged by the British pirates' unbridled attacks.

However, attacking Britain would require mobilizing a large number of ships and troops, which would consume enormous financial resources.

This money should not be borne by the Kingdom's treasury, even if reparations can be sought from Britain after the war.

"We can raise funds through fundraising to prepare for the war."

Subsequent expenses could be covered by the kingdom's treasury, and ultimately recouped through compensation sought from the British.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied.

War and war reparations were common occurrences in European wars.

The biggest reason is that their wars are rarely aimed at conquest; they are more likely to be wars waged for reasons such as ideology and honor.

Of course, there will be territorial demands, but the conditions are generally not very harsh.

They were more adept at expanding their territory by acquiring titles and inheritance rights through marriage alliances.

"The fleet in the Mediterranean direction must not be reduced, as that is our main direction of confrontation with the Ottomans."

In the Netherlands, we need to increase military pressure; I don't want it to become a battlefield where you wear down Britain.

I have no objection to drawing warships from the colonial and home fleets, and requisitioning armed merchant ships to form a fleet to punish British pirates.

Philip II finally made his final decision: "The War Council should submit the documents as soon as possible. I want to know the entire plan you have devised."

Furthermore, in order to ensure the kingdom's tax revenue and prepare for this war, could the Chancellor of Finance consider raising the customs duties in Seville?

The king asked again.

"Your Majesty, you must not. The kingdom's taxes on the colonies are already very high. If they are increased further, the domestic prices will likely skyrocket."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer quickly stepped forward to object.

Spain's current strength is actually supported by its powerful military force, which is backed by high tax revenue.

In order to control the interests of its colonies in the Americas, Spain designated Seville as the sole port for trade with the colonies and levied a tax on trade with the colonies at a rate of one-fifth of the total tax.

High taxes were a crucial guarantee for Spain to build a large standing army.

Moreover, Spain was not as powerful as it seemed. In fact, European countries at this time were generally hostile to the Ottoman Empire to the east.

Of course, this was not only due to religious influence, but also to the fact that its ambitious behavior led European countries to be on guard.

At present, the main naval force of Spain is concentrated in the Mediterranean to guard against possible attacks from the Ottoman Empire.

It can be said that the main armed force resisting the Ottomans in the Mediterranean was the Spanish Navy.

The rebellion in the Netherlands had drawn the army's main attention, making an attack on Britain at that time a very risky move.

However, the kingdom's high command believed that attacking Britain would help them regain control of the northern Netherlands, which is why it received unanimous support from ministers and advisors.

"Just two days ago, the Foreign Minister told me that he had discovered that the British and some Portuguese nobles were in private contact."

And then there were the French, who, forgetting their feud with the British, actually got involved as well.

We need to teach them a lesson, to show them who the most powerful nation on this continent truly is. One hundred and fifty warships, thirty thousand soldiers—which other nation has the capability to assemble such an expeditionary fleet?

Philip II sat on his throne and roared at his ministers below.

The group of kingdom officials below all had flushed faces. Although they didn't know how long it would take before they could send troops, if the kingdom were to take action against the British, then the British should not dare to continue their rampant plundering along the Atlantic shipping routes in the meantime.

Seeing the ministers' reactions, Philip II muttered something to himself.

"Apart from the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire, it seems that only my Kingdom of Spain has such strength."

Philip II's mind was suddenly filled with memories of a night more than ten years ago.

That was ten or eleven years ago.

Sander, the then Governor of Manila, once wrote an official document to the Kingdom, which was then forwarded by the New Spanish Governor's Office.

In the document, Governor Sand claimed that if the kingdom allocated him 6,000 troops, he could conquer the Ming Dynasty.

And how young and naive I was back then, that I actually fell for someone at that moment.

If I hadn't checked the kingdom's records about that country, I almost would have agreed.

He still remembers the description of that country recorded in the classified documents.

With a population of over 50 million, it possesses a massive navy and army, with a total military strength exceeding one million, and defeated the Portuguese navy in two naval battles.

Two years ago, a new military strength assessment report sent by Manila directly stated that the Republic of China's navy had more than 300 warships and more than 100,000 personnel.

The army was much larger, with more than 300,000 troops near the imperial capital alone, and equipped with a large number of advanced artillery pieces and muskets.

According to the staff's analysis of the report, the strength of the Ming Dynasty was approaching or even surpassing that of the Ottoman Empire.

The only good news is that the Ming Dynasty is far from Europe, so there's no need to worry about their emperor sending troops over.

Therefore, their greatest enemy remained the Ottoman Empire.

Just as the meeting was about to end, a palace guard came in and brought in a document.

An aide took the document, glanced at it briefly, and then handed it to Philip II with both hands, his expressionless face blank.

"Your Majesty, a document from the Canary Islands states that more than half a month ago, two British ships passed through the vicinity and sailed south. Their destination is unknown."

The aide briefly explained the contents of the document to the king and then returned.

"They trade with the Portuguese? That doesn't make sense either; it would be better to trade directly in their port."

Philip II simply muttered something, then put the document aside without even looking at it.

The Canary Islands are Spain's only stable territory in the African direction, located in the Atlantic Ocean in northwestern Africa.

According to the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494, newly discovered lands west of the Papal Meridian belonged to Spain, while those east of it belonged to Portugal.

The west coast of Africa lies east of the meridian and was legally within Portugal's sphere of influence; Spain did not undertake large-scale expansion there.

Therefore, they devoted all their energy to the Americas, desperately searching for gold and silver deposits and enslaving the local natives to mine the minerals for them.

British ships had passed through the Canary Islands and were effectively out of Spanish surveillance.

As for the title of King of Portugal that he still nominally holds, apart from having some influence in the homeland, the Portuguese overseas colonies actually outwardly comply with orders from the homeland but inwardly defy them.

Among the Portuguese nobility who opposed Spanish rule, those with overseas interests were the main ones.

Their opposition to Philip II's rule stemmed not primarily from the possibility of annexation by Spain, but from their fear of damage to overseas interests.

The Kingdom of Spain levied heavy taxes on trade with its colonies and stipulated that trade could only take place in Seville.

If Philip II were to become the true King of Portugal, Portugal's overseas colonial trade would likely be forcibly transferred to Seville.

This is a disaster for Portugal.

Moreover, despite Spain's larger colonies, it did not mean that the kingdom had lost control of its overseas colonies.

In reality, the colonial administration system designed by Philip II involved internal checks and balances that greatly constrained the exercise of power by the colonial governors.

The governors of Spain were all high-ranking nobles, belonging to the royal family, and the governors of the Americas of Spain particularly emphasized military background, especially military generals, who were the most popular.

Those born into high-ranking noble families and military generals during that period were practically living in a superior position.

Madrid granted these governors seemingly enormous powers, especially in the military sphere. However, while the governors' powers were numerous and broad, the unclear boundaries of their authority meant they were subject to checks and balances from other agencies almost everywhere.

Martín Henriquez de Almanza, who served as governor of New Spain from 1564 to 1580, complained that a governor of the New World did the work of five men in the country.

He was responsible for religious affairs, judicial affairs, taxation, dealing with Native American issues, and military preparations. However, these tasks often intersected with those of other institutions and required him to follow the guidance of the royal family at any time.

Despite seemingly wielding immense power, they are subject to numerous constraints, often resulting in their orders being ignored by subordinate units.

Furthermore, to prevent the governors from rebelling, Spain imposed strict limits on the term of office of the governors.

After Portugal established governors-general overseas, the governors-general were granted independent administrative and taxation powers.

Compared to Spain, Portuguese governors had greater autonomy in local governance, and at one point even allowed hereditary succession.

No one wants to lose the "territory" they have worked so hard to build, so the Portuguese nobles, especially those with overseas interests, were naturally unwilling to submit to Spain.

Spain began tense preparations for a full-scale attack against Britain.

Although the British were unaware that they had become a target of Spain, they were preparing for war.

Large quantities of gold and silver were loaded onto ships and transported eastward to trade with the Ming Dynasty for arms and other goods.

Although the cost is a bit high, it is certainly worthwhile for large-scale arms transactions, especially since such transactions are rare and difficult to find in Europe.

At this time, under Shen Shixing's leadership, the Ming Dynasty was operating normally and would not be disrupted by the departure of any one person.

Another batch of gunpowder and firearms produced by the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Works Ordnance Department in Beijing was transported to Tianjin to be loaded onto ships and headed south.

In Songjiang Prefecture, they would be transported to Persia along with firearms produced by the Nanjing Arsenal.

When they returned, they would be laden with specialties from the Western Regions and gold and silver.

This type of trade was no longer a tribute system, exclusively enjoyed by the imperial family. Instead, it became trade between the imperial court and vassal states, with profits split proportionally between the inner court and the outer court. (End of Chapter)