Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 212 Arms Trade
The war between Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire broke out, which was also good news for Spain.

As soon as the war broke out, the number of troops deployed to the battlefield by both sides was close to one million, and it would only become more and more exaggerated in the future.

The daily ammunition and material consumption of this million-strong army is a huge figure, and it is also the business opportunity that Spain has been waiting for.

More importantly, neither Russia nor the Ottoman Empire had the ability to be self-sufficient in the war.

Before the war, the Ottoman Empire experienced famine, and Russia also had a problem with reduced food production. In this war, Spain could not only sell its weapons and ammunition, but also some medical resources and food. In short, it made a lot of money.

Because Spain had no relationship with the warring parties, it could engage in trade cooperation with them without any burden.

In May 1877, Carlo summoned the Russian ambassador to Spain and proposed to sell weapons and other important materials to Russia.

For Russia, there is no serious shortage of supplies at this time. However, the consumption on the front line is very huge, and Russia's current material reserves will not last long.

More importantly, the Ottoman Empire had the help of Britain and Austria-Hungary, but Russia had no help from any powerful country.

At this time, Spain took the initiative to propose resource trade, which would help Russia avoid the problem of material shortages in the future.

It was with this idea in mind that the Russian ambassador did not immediately reject Carlo's proposal, but only expressed the need to contact Russia and then have a detailed discussion on trade between the two countries.

Carlo had no objection. After all, it was the Russians who participated in this war, and it was also the Russians who would be anxious about the lack of resources in the future.

Within a few days, the Russian ambassador brought a response from Russia, expressing its willingness to trade with Spain and purchase Spanish weapons, equipment, bullets, artillery shells and other strategic resources.

After detailed discussions between the Royal Arsenal and the Russian side, a plan to purchase a batch of weapons and equipment was finally finalized.

Russia ordered 10 rifles, 350 artillery pieces, 2500 million rounds of ammunition and 10 artillery shells, and said that this was only the first batch of orders and the size of the second batch of orders would be decided in the future based on the war's consumption.

The Russian side also specifically requested that the Royal Arsenal should transport one-third of the weapons and equipment in the order to Russia before June 6, and complete the delivery of the entire order before August 15.

Because the Royal Arsenal had produced a large number of weapons and equipment long before the outbreak of the war, it naturally agreed to the Russians' request.

But the Royal Arsenal was not without its own conditions. This batch of weapons and equipment could be produced for Russia on an expedited basis, but the condition was that Russia could only pay for the order with gold reserves, mineral resources or population.

Currently, the three countries with relatively close trade with Spain are France, Austria-Hungary and Italy, so naturally they do not need Russian rubles.

Although the value of currencies of various countries is also linked to gold and silver, the prices of currencies in different places naturally vary.

For example, the peseta, the official currency issued by the Spanish Monetary Board, has a relatively stable value in Spain, but it is definitely not as valuable abroad.

Because Russia was not willing to pay for the order with gold alone, the Royal Arsenal added other requirements, such as mineral resources and population.

Needless to say, the value of mineral resources is extremely rich in Russia, and any expenditure is like a drop in the bucket for Russia.

The population requirement was based on the difficulties Spain faced in developing its colonies.

Whether it is Spain itself or its colonies, both can be said to be vast in area and sparsely populated.

Especially the newly established Congo Territory. Although it had vast lands, the vast majority of its inhabitants were local indigenous people, and there were only a pitiful few hundred Spaniards.

If you want to carry out the initial development of this land, at least tens of thousands of people will have to be immigrated. If all of them immigrate from mainland Spain, it will have a serious impact on the development of mainland Spain.

After all, Spain's population is less than 2000 million, and its population disadvantage is too huge compared to the five traditional powers.

The Russian population of this era had one advantage: due to long-term oppression of serfdom, Russian peasants developed a submissive character.

Moreover, compared with the First World War, there were fewer radical and extreme rebels at this time, which was very suitable for Carlo's rule.

The disadvantage is that Orthodoxy is deeply rooted in the hearts of Russian peasants, and it is absolutely difficult to convert these Russians into Spaniards.

For Spain, it can absorb a part of the Russian population, but not too much.

Anyway, Carlo's goal was just to let these Russians develop African colonies and dilute the proportion of local people in Catalonia and the Basque region.

This deal was a win-win for both Spain and Russia, so both sides were smiling after signing the cooperation agreement.

Russia obtained its scarce weapons and equipment, while Spain obtained a certain amount of gold reserves and some relatively obedient Russian peasant population.

Although these people are provided by Russia, Spain will also conduct screening. Russians who are engaged in anti-government movements or have some dangerous ideas will be strictly excluded from the Russian immigrant population.

It would be better to let these people stay in Russia to harm the Tsarist government. Spain does not need these anarchists and radicals to cause trouble.

Compared to Russia, Spain still had some appeal to these Russian peasants. Although the Russian reform abolished slavery, these serfs continued to be exploited by Russian nobles and landlords in a different way.

Although Alexander II granted these serfs the status of freemen, they did not have any land property.

The peasants had no land, so how could these serfs, who had just been transformed into free people, survive?
They could only rely on loans from nobles and other banking institutions to purchase land that was obviously overpriced, or were forced to rent arable land from noble lords at rents as high as mountains, and continue their serf life in another way.

It was precisely because these Russian peasants were subjected to extremely cruel oppression and exploitation in the country that Carlo was confident that he could increase the population of Spain by introducing a number of Russian peasants.

Of course, no matter how submissive these Russian populations are, Spain's ability to carry the Russian population is always limited.

Considering the current population size of Spain, the plan to introduce Russian population has an upper limit. The current upper limit is 50 people, which will change as the total population of Spain grows.

But what is certain is that unless Spain's population exceeds 3000 million, the number of Russians introduced to Spain will not exceed 100 million.

Moreover, these introduced Russian populations will be dispersed throughout Spain, leaving them no chance to unite.

With Spain divided into more than a dozen regions and several colonies, the Russian population will not have any impact.

After all, such a population introduction plan is implemented step by step, and the maximum number of Russian people gained each year is only tens of thousands.

It is still easy to handle tens of thousands of people. It will not only not impose a burden on the Spanish government, but also effectively promote the growth of Spain's population.

Currently, Spain's population is increasing significantly in a relatively peaceful and stable environment.

During the reign of Queen Isabella, Spain's population almost stagnated, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing, and the population size never grew steadily.

After Queen Isabel stepped down, Spain's population growth began to accelerate.

In 1869 alone, Spain's net population growth exceeded 14, which was also the fastest population growth in Spain since the decade of the 19s.

Entering the 19s, Spain's population growth was like taking a train, breaking away from its original slow pace of walking.

As of now, Spain's population has officially exceeded 1866 million, while eight years ago the population was only 1661 million.

The net population growth in eight years has exceeded 200 million, and the rate of population growth is already comparable to that of some populous countries.

Although the powerful countries are influenced by immigration, the population size is there after all. Spain's population growth can be compared with these powerful countries, which can also prove the positive impact of Spain's stability during this period. According to this population growth rate, Spain has the hope of increasing its total population to more than 2000 million within five years and to more than 2500 million before the new century.

This is just a conservative estimate. If we take into account immigration, the increase in life expectancy and the development of medical technology, perhaps before the new century arrives, or in the first few years of the new century, Spain's total population is expected to increase to about 3000 million.

Taking into account Spain's population introduction programs in the Philippines, Morocco and Lanfang, a population of 3000 million is achievable.

If Spain could reach a population of 3000 million in the first few years of the new century, it would have more confidence in the future First World War.

In June 1877, guns, bullets and shells produced by the Royal Arsenal were transported to Russian ports by sea.

Because Britain had blockaded the Strait of Constantinople, Spain had only two ways to transport these weapons and equipment to Russia. One was to transport the weapons and equipment to Russian ports on the east coast of the Baltic Sea through the English Channel and the North Sea.

The other method is to transport it to the Russian Far East and then transfer it to the front battlefield by land transportation.

For Russia, the only acceptable mode of transportation was to the Baltic coast.

If it is shipped to the Far East, the time for sea and land transportation cannot be determined at all, and it will take at least several months for the front-line troops to receive this batch of equipment.

If the cargo is unloaded on the Baltic coast, Russia's railway facilities in Eastern Europe are quite good. Although not as convenient as the railways in Germany and France, it still has a complete railway transportation system.

The first mode of transportation can ensure that the Russian front-line troops receive this batch of weapons and equipment within one month, which is acceptable to Russia.

In fact, from this point, we can also see why Russia wants to continue to expand in the Balkan Peninsula.

Constantinople was in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, directly cutting off Russia's connection with the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Any country that wanted to support Russia could only transport supplies through the Baltic Sea further north.

The Baltic Sea is far away from the main battlefield in the Balkans. Compared with transporting supplies directly through the Strait of Constantinople, the wasted time may even change the situation on the battlefield.

Fortunately, Russia had made careful preparations before launching the war, so there would be no shortage of weapons and equipment at least in the short term.

This also deserves praise for the changes that Alexander II's reforms brought to Russia. During the last Russo-Turkish War, the Crimean War, Russia's industrial base was extremely poor, and the war ultimately ended in failure.

During this war, Russia had established a certain industrial foundation through reforms, which was an extremely significant change for Russia.

Although Alexander II's reforms were not thorough, they were at least reforms aimed at the whole of Russia and had a very important and positive effect on Russia.

It can even be said that Russia was able to maintain its position among the five traditional European powers after the Crimean War. One reason was its vast territory and population that led the European powers. The other was the improvement of Russian industry brought about by the reforms of Alexander II.

Russia's industry can only be said to be the last among the five traditional European powers, but compared with other powers and countries that are not powers, Russia's industry is certainly still very strong.

After finalizing the arms trade with Russia, the Spanish government turned around and contacted the Ottoman Empire.

Although the Ottoman Empire had experienced famine and financial collapse, who could blame them for having the support of the British?
As we all know, Britain is definitely one of the richest countries in Europe. The support of the British was an extremely important blood supply for the Ottoman Empire, and it also kept this decadent empire alive.

But no matter what, at this time on the battlefield, the Ottoman Empire still lacked advanced weapons and equipment and ammunition supplies.

Spain happened to have these two things, which is why Spain turned to the Ottoman Empire.

In addition to scarce weapons and equipment, the Ottoman Empire also lacked food, which was something Spain did not lack at the moment.

Compared with the negotiations with the Russians, the negotiations with the Ottoman Empire were obviously smoother. The main reason for this was that the industrial base of the Ottoman Empire was weaker, and the weapons, equipment and ammunition consumed in the war almost all came from the assistance of Britain and Austria-Hungary.

Since it is aid, it must be limited. The Ottoman Empire's domestic stockpile of guns and ammunition supplies is getting less and less, which has also caused panic among the top leaders of the empire.

The Spanish government’s proactive contact now seemed to the Ottoman Empire like seeing hope for holding on.

It can be said that the Ottoman Empire lacks everything, but the two things it lacks most at the moment are weapons and equipment, and the other is food.

Before the outbreak of this war, the Ottoman Empire had experienced a severe famine, which not only led to chaos in the Ottoman Empire, but also caused a large number of refugees to starve to death.

The British aid played a vital role in organizing an army of nearly 40 during the war. Most of the weapons and equipment of these soldiers came from the British aid, and a small amount was secretly transported by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

From this aspect, we can also see that the British aid to the Ottoman Empire is so strong that they have spared no effort to help the Ottoman Empire.

In addition to weapons and equipment, the British also provided the Ottoman Empire with food and some financial support.

The Ottoman Empire had already fallen into a financial crisis due to the famine. Without financial support, the Ottoman Empire would have gone bankrupt before the war was over.

It was this part of the money that Carlo was eyeing. The British pound was still valuable and could be used as currency in other European countries.

It was a perfect plan to sell large quantities of weapons and equipment to the Ottoman Empire in exchange for pounds, and then use the pounds to purchase industrial equipment and other technical information from other European countries to develop Spain's own industry.

The arms trade with Russia was mainly orders for rifles and bullets. After all, Russia had an advantage in artillery, and the domestic artillery production in Russia was sufficient for the consumption in this war.

The Ottoman Empire was different. The Ottoman Empire was at a huge disadvantage in terms of artillery, and what they wanted most was a large number of artillery to make up for the gap.

The Ottoman Empire was not short of rifles. After all, the British provided considerable support. The Ottoman soldiers had British-made rifles in their hands, so naturally they would not have much thought about the Spanish-made rifles.

After several days of negotiations, the military factory signed another order with the Ottoman side.

The order included only 2 rifles and 1000 million rounds of ammunition, but more than 580 artillery pieces were ordered, along with 15 rounds of ammunition.

The Ottoman Empire also specifically requested that orders for rifles and bullets could be delivered later, but artillery orders should be fully delivered within three months.

For the Royal Arsenal, which had been well prepared, there would be no problem in delivering more than 580 artillery pieces within three months.

In this way, the Royal Arsenal and the Ottoman Empire happily signed the order. Both parties agreed to complete the delivery of the order within three months, and the Ottoman Empire would pay for the order with gold, pounds and mineral resources.

In addition to this arms order, the Ottoman Empire also signed a grain trade agreement with Spain.

During the stable period of the past few years, Spain's grain production has also been stable and improved. At present, Spain exports a large amount of grain every year, and signing a grain trade order with the Ottoman Empire is not a big deal for Spain.

The signing of two orders in a row has brought the Royal Arsenal into a short period of busyness. Currently, the Royal Arsenal's inventory is enough to deliver most of the two orders, and a small amount of weapons and equipment has been expedited to ensure that the entire order can be delivered within the specified time.

As for the profits generated by the two arms trades, the Royal Arsenal used them to upgrade and transform weapons and equipment.

Although the rifles and artillery currently equipped by Spain are relatively excellent products, with the development of military technology, these rifles and artillery will eventually become outdated.

Only by constantly improving it and developing new products generation after generation can we ensure that Spain's military technology always remains at the forefront of Europe.

Although a huge amount of money will be spent on this, this tiny amount of money is definitely worth it compared to the improvements that the continuous updating and iteration of military technology will bring to Spain.

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