The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1482: One Step at a Time

In the following months, the United States and Spain declared embargoes against each other.

Although there is a high degree of overlap in goods between the United States and Spain and the long distance between them means that there is not much trade volume, the momentum must be shown.

Both sides made harsh remarks to each other, and the initial three months became half a year, then from half a year to a year, and finally all the way to ten years.

The number of troops sent by the United States to the island of Cuba also increased from 4 regiments to 8 regiments. Ferdinand II was also unwilling to be outdone. Although the Spanish army was large, fighting across the ocean was not an easy task.

Taking into account factors such as logistical supplies and the number of warships, he could only send an expeditionary force of 10,000 people.

The Spanish navy at that time was already weak, and having just experienced a civil war, its manpower was even more stretched.

However, the clever Ferdinand II still thought of a solution. He hired several cargo ships from Britain, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Naples and the Duchy of Omar (Algeria) to transport soldiers and supplies.

The Spanish Navy had only more than 50 wooden sailing warships, and the United States had about the same number. However, both sides had only a few battleships, mostly small and medium-sized frigates.

Most of those so-called sailing battleships can only serve as a deterrent. After all, these big guys have been in disrepair for a long time. Not to mention going out to sea for battle, they may sink in the military port one day.

However, the United States has the advantage of being at home, and the US Navy is far stronger than the Spanish Navy in terms of steam-powered warships.

The U.S. Navy had eight 800-ton steam ships, while Spain had only four 600-ton steam ships.

If a naval battle really took place between the two main forces, the Spanish navy, which had traveled a long way, would most likely be defeated. So Ferdinand II decided to go all out, and he leased a number of large armed merchant ships from various countries to give the Spanish navy a face.

In fact, it was obvious that Ferdinand II had ulterior motives in hiring merchant ships and cargo ships from other countries. After all, Spain was once a powerful country in Europe, and it was still possible to gather dozens of troop transport ships.

However, these cargo ships from other European countries were actually amulets of Spanish soldiers. Although they were carrying Spanish soldiers and Spanish goods, the ships themselves belonged to different countries.

What Americans are best at is commerce warfare, so the question is, what would happen if the US Navy sank the ships of other European powers?

The great powers may still use reason, evidence and conventions to talk to each other, but they may not be reasonable with the Americans.

Huge compensation is inevitable, and we may be forced to sign various treaties. Some countries may even intervene in the war for their own interests.

Ferdinand II did not initially intend to defeat the United States on the battlefield, besiege Washington, and force the other side to sign a surrender agreement.

His idea was that since he had the Austrian Empire as a backup, he could fight the United States with real weapons and show the momentum of Spain. As for breaking the contract, Ferdinand II would never dare to dream of it.

And once the US Navy actually sinks merchant ships of other countries, everything will become more natural.

In fact, all countries turned a blind eye to Spain's hiring of their own merchant ships, and they all had this in mind to some extent.

At this time, the United States was big but not strong in the eyes of European countries, but its territory was too large and its population was too large. Except for France, no country had ever thought of annexing the United States.

But in the end, the United States is still a piece of fat in the eyes of European countries, especially the United States cheated European countries once during the economic crisis in 1837 (see the previous article). Everyone still remembers this account, but they just didn't have the opportunity to get it back before. On the one hand, the focus of the Austrian Empire was still in the country, and the remaining capital had not yet been invested overseas. On the other hand, as the main driver of the real estate crisis, Franz would naturally not be cheated.

But out of strategic considerations and personal interests, Franz has always been very concerned about things that harm the United States.

If the Americans really dare to attack this multinational fleet, then he would not mind holding a military parade in Washington with European countries.

The United States at this time is not without border pressure as it was in history, so its military strength is much stronger than in history.

However, this strength is still very limited and is not enough to support the complete destruction of the Spanish Navy.

On the other hand, Millard Fillmore and even the entire US government did not expect Spain to accept the challenge, let alone a real fight.

Since it has long been an indisputable fact that the Spanish Kingdom's national strength is declining, the Americans did not panic because of this.

However, for the sake of face, the US government cannot tolerate the Kingdom of Spain jumping around all day long, and necessary military deterrence is still needed.

So the US government decided to send the navy to patrol the Caribbean to protect its own shipping routes.

Both sides were bluffing, and in order to avoid each other's fleets, both sides chose to carry out their military activities in different areas.

The imagined naval battle did not happen, but even if a battle occurred, there would be nothing worth recording, after all, both sides had neither very high military qualities nor advanced weapons.

So the Spanish expeditionary force arrived at the island of Cuba safely, which made the situation on the island even more chaotic.

In fact, the most terrifying thing at this time is not the war itself, but the secondary disasters it brings. The most terrifying of these is the fire that devours everything. The guerrillas use it to escape the pursuit of government forces and create more homeless people to expand their own team.

La Concha used fire to create a buffer zone to prevent the invasion of the rebels and the US army. Narciso López, out of fear of failure, also did not want to fight with the Spanish regular army. Creating a fire was the best way to isolate the two sides.

Everyone on the island of Cuba was playing with fire, so the newly arrived Spanish troops quickly learned this trick.

There were several exchanges of fire between the various forces on the island, but they were not large-scale. There is not much to say about this kind of fish pond hegemony, but the lives of ordinary people on the island of Cuba have become unbearable.

Faced with various natural and man-made disasters, it seems that there is no choice but to escape.

Every day a large crowd gathered around the port. American ships came and went, but the number of refugees increased.

However, the number of ships soon increased, and some South American countries also smelled the business opportunity.

Brazil and Argentina were the first to join the army of talent hunting. After all, both countries are characterized by vast land and sparse population, and they are in urgent need of manpower to fill their land.

Following closely behind are countries such as New Granada and Chile. These countries are also in urgent need of population, but either because of their weak national strength, the long distance, or the control of their colonial powers, they cannot join the team to recruit people in the first place.

The main reason was that the Americans were too inefficient, so Franz had to find another way. However, after the competition, the efficiency of all parties was significantly improved.