I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 738: Pick Up a Pig Teammate
Madrid, the capital of Spain.

The ceremony in which Carlos IV welcomed Joseph was still of the highest standard.

The palace guards stood on both sides of the road from the northern suburbs of Madrid to the royal palace. Behind them, the Spanish people came to see the French crown prince. The whole city was as lively as a festival.

In front of the Royal Palace Square, the sound of salutes and the music of the band intertwined. When Joseph got out of the car, he saw Carlos IV coming to greet him with a warm smile.

He straightened his clothes and saluted the King of Spain, who came up to him and gave him a hug:
"Ah, dear Joseph, I didn't expect you to come to see me at this time."

Carlos IV dragged Joseph into the palace: "The banquet is ready, with your favorite baked seafood. After the banquet, there will be an opera, the latest play of the Royal Theater, which has been well received by everyone. Oh, let's go hunting together tomorrow. You know, wild boars and lynxes in this season are as fat as long-legged wine barrels..."

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

Joseph also responded enthusiastically, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that it was really hard for this socially anxious brother to arrange so many social activities to entertain him.

After the banquet, on the way to the Royal Palace Theater, Joseph directly talked to Carlos IV about business:
"Perhaps you have heard that Britain has gathered a group of villains and threatened France."

"Yes, all of Europe is talking about this right now." The latter looked at Joseph and said worriedly, "The war may not be far away."

Joseph nodded: "At this time, our two countries need to unite closely."

Before Carlos IV could say anything, the former Spanish Minister of State and current royal advisor, Count Florida Blanca, who was following behind him, took a few quick steps forward, bowed and said:
"Your Highness, our two countries did sign a secret agreement, but as I recall, that agreement was only triggered when Gibraltar and Portugal were attacked."

Joseph was not surprised by this man's attitude. After all, he had always advocated keeping a distance from France.

Joseph smiled, but his words were not polite at all:

"You are right, Count Floridablanca. But tell me, is it possible to defeat Britain or Portugal with your own military strength?"

Count Florida Blanca could only shake his head: "This...I'm afraid it's difficult."

Spain's national strength has gradually fallen to the same level as Portugal. Not to mention seizing Gibraltar and unifying the Iberian Peninsula, it is even a problem to keep its existing colonies.

Joseph put away his smile and said solemnly: "For Spain, now is the only chance to challenge Britain and Portugal. That is to stand on the same front with France and defeat them together!"

Seeing that the king was nodding continuously, Count Florida Blanca gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Highness, getting involved in a war will seriously deplete our national strength..."

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him:
"You should know that Spain's future is never in America. The long distance makes it extremely difficult to govern there, and the cost of suppressing riots will soon exceed the tax revenue brought there."

He glanced at Carlos IV and raised his voice:
“The world has now entered the industrial age. If we want to become a first-class power, we must develop strong industry and commerce.

"Spain is full of mountains and hills, and the cost of developing industry and commerce is very high. It cannot compete with other big countries at all. The only large plain on the Iberian Peninsula is Portugal to the west.

"If Spain wants to develop industry and commerce, there is only one model that works, and that is to rely on the size of Spain and the plains of Portugal. Build factories in the western plains and sell products throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the American colonies."

Joseph knew very well that in history Spain had never been able to successfully unite with Portugal, so starting from the 19th century, as its colonies continued to gain independence, it quickly became a second-rate country in Europe.

He continued: "Excuse me, given the trend of riots in the American colonies, if Spain doesn't do something, its national strength will be exhausted!"

Before Count Floridablanca could say anything more, Secretary of State Count Aranda spoke first: "Your Highness, you are right, but I think it will be difficult for us two countries to challenge the British Navy alone. They will even get the Dutch fleet."

"I understand your concerns." Joseph smiled slightly, "But if our navy is already equipped with a frigate with a speed of 12 knots and a turning speed more than twice that of existing warships, would you still be so pessimistic?

"Oh, I mean the speed in the Mediterranean Sea."

The group of people walking towards the theater stopped at the same time and looked at Joseph with wide eyes - in a windless place like the Mediterranean, a speed of 12 knots is like flying!

"Your Highness," said the Minister of the Interior, Campos, "are you talking about a new type of galley?"

"No, it's a steam-powered 21-gun frigate," Joseph said. "It can maintain a speed of 12 knots for 3 to 4 days."

Gombos swallowed and said, "Are you telling the truth?"

"The French Mediterranean Fleet will arrive at the port of Valencia in the next few days. You can see it with your own eyes."

Count Aranda asked, "Your Highness, how many warships of this type are there now?"

"21. The Brest Shipyard can complete the construction of two such warships every month."

Joseph looked at the reactions of the Spanish ministers with some enjoyment, and then he threw out even more explosive news:

"By the way, the 32-gun steam-powered fifth-level ship will be launched in Brest at the end of this month. The speed can still reach 12 knots."

Campos was still not reassured and asked about the details of the steam battleship's firepower performance, combat methods, etc. Joseph also explained them to the Spaniard very patiently.

Suddenly, Carlos IV interrupted Campos and said to Count Aranda: "Please draft a Spanish-French alliance treaty as soon as possible."

He didn't actually listen to the so-called "future of Spanish industry" or anything like that, but he was deeply impressed by the steam battleship, an extremely sophisticated mechanical creation.

At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind, that is - a country that can create such a magical machine will never fail!

The next day.

Joseph and Carlos IV went to the royal hunting ground together, and indeed, they saw wild boars so fat that their bellies were dragging on the ground.

However, his mind was not on this at the moment, but he was constantly thinking about how to make Spain, this "pig teammate", play a greater role.

Yes, Spain is now at the bottom of the list of Europe's top powers.

Its domestic reforms were difficult to implement. Its fiscal deficit continued year after year. For a country that could continuously transport large amounts of silver from the silver mines in the American colonies, it was actually in deficit, which was enough to show how serious its internal problems were.

In addition, although Carlos III had weakened the church many times, the power of the Spanish church was still very strong, seriously restricting the country's development.

If Spain did not have an ancestral fleet, it would have been considered a second-rate country.

(End of this chapter)