Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 222: Changes in Situation and Large Orders

"What? The Russians suffered heavy losses in their attack on the Balkans?" Carlo stood up in surprise and looked at Kadir, the director of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, with some disbelief.

"That's right, Your Majesty." Kadir nodded and explained: "The Russian army and the Ottoman army launched a fierce war around Pleven. The Ottoman Empire has not been able to recapture the Pushka Pass, and the Russian army has not been able to take Pleven.

According to telegrams from the front, the Russian army has launched three assaults on Pleven, and all of them have failed. These three assaults have caused Russia to lose more than 5 troops in total, and Russia's military strength on the Balkan front is already insufficient. "

Carlo walked quickly forward and took from Kadir the map of the Balkans that he had prepared long ago. The attack directions of the Russian and Ottoman armies were marked on it, and the casualties of both sides and the current remaining forces were also marked next to it.

When the war broke out, Russia mobilized seven armies with more than 30 men on the Danube front. With the offensive over the past few months, the total casualties of the Russian army have approached , which is quite exaggerated.

Although some of the wounded were able to return to the front line after treatment, it would take at least several months.

Russia will fall into an emergency state with no soldiers available in the next few months, and it will not be able to defeat the Ottoman Empire with just 20 troops.

After all, the Ottoman Empire had more advanced weapons and equipment, and was on the defensive most of the time, so it suffered less casualties than Russia.

If the war continues like this, it will not be good news for Russia. Losing 100,000 troops will not cause serious damage to Russia, but if it wants to conquer the Ottoman Empire, it may have to lose several hundred thousand more troops.

With such a huge loss of troops, could Russia still take over the entire Balkan Peninsula after the war? A victorious Russia might make other powers wary, but if Russia was seriously injured, even Austria-Hungary might covet it.

Carlo pondered, judging the impact of the changes in the Balkan situation on Spain.

"Notify the Royal Arsenal and the Diplomatic Department that if the Russians want to maintain their offensive, they will need more troops and weapons and equipment. This is precisely our opportunity." Finally, Carlo made the decision.

The current changes in the Balkan situation have not affected Spain. For Spain, no matter whether the Ottoman Empire or Russia wins the final victory, the impact on Spain will be minimal.

Of course, Carlo hoped that Russia would win in the end because that would attract most of the British attention.

For the British, Russia, which won the Russo-Turkish War, was the more threatening country. Although Spain was also dangerous, it was obviously a level lower than Russia, which had a huge territory and a large population.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Kadier nodded and retreated respectfully.

While Carlo was quite surprised by the changes in the situation in the Balkans, Tsar Alexander II of Russia was even more surprised than Carlo.

When Tsar Alexander II ascended the throne, Russia was defeated in the ninth Russo-Turkish War. Alexander II's father, Nicholas I, died suddenly because he could not bear the huge blow, which made Alexander II always want to avenge the previous defeat.

But at the same time, Alexander II was more worried about the Russo-Turkish War. He was afraid of repeating the same mistakes as his father. He certainly wanted to win against the Ottoman Empire, but he was also afraid of failing again.

When the news of heavy losses of the Russian army came from the front line, Alexander II's determination to fight was shaken. He believed that the Russian army had fallen into an extremely unfavorable and even dangerous situation, and even wanted to end the war to avoid a more serious defeat.

Regarding the Tsar’s wavering determination to fight, Russia’s current Army Minister Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin gave his own opinion: “

Your Majesty, I admit that if we continue to fight like this, our army will indeed suffer great losses and may even be completely wiped out in a short period of time.

But this does not mean that we can give up, otherwise we will inevitably face a huge setback like the last war.

Behind our front-line troops, Romania has nearly 40,000 troops available to support us, and we also have 70,000 reserve troops available on our borders.

If we mobilize a part of the reserve forces, not only will our front line not suffer any loss of manpower, but it will be able to increase the number of troops by 5 to 10.

If we can break through the fortress of Pleven, the land ahead will be clear and we will have a complete passage to Constantinople."

War Minister Dmitri Alexeevich Milyutin led the reform of the Russian Army and was deeply trusted by Tsar Alexander II.

After the persuasion of Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin, Alexander II regained his confidence and gave orders to the front-line commander, Grand Duke Nicholas the Elder.

At the same time, Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin also gave his new opinion: "Your Majesty, although we have lost 100,000 troops on the front line, our troops can be well replenished, and we don't have to worry about the problem of troops in the short term.

If we can sign an arms trade treaty with Spain and other countries, we won't have to worry about weapons and equipment. With soldiers and weapons and equipment, our front line will be as solid as steel, and we may even have enough power to recapture the Pleven Fortress.

The current failure is short-lived for us, and we will still be the winners of this war, which cannot be changed or stopped by a little setback. "

Tsar Nicholas II nodded.

The first batch of weapons and equipment provided by Spain has been shipped to the front battlefield. Although the soldiers are relatively unfamiliar with these weapons and equipment, after a few days of running-in, they have no problem engaging in combat.

Compared with weapons and equipment produced in Russia, Spanish rifles are more advanced, which has also strengthened Russia's front-line firepower to a certain extent.

Although rifles did not play a big role in fortress attack and defense, the increase in rifle firepower was still very effective in defending against the Ottoman Empire's counterattack.

Moreover, Spain is one of the few countries in Europe that is willing to engage in arms trade with Russia, so Russia naturally wants to seize this opportunity.

Although Spain required gold and population as payment, these were not scarce for Russia at the moment. The Romanov family had ruled Russia for hundreds of years, so it was easy for them to pay with a little gold.

What's more, in addition to gold, Russia's countless farmers and mineral resources can also pay for the purchase of weapons and equipment from Spain.

As long as we can win the war, let alone using population and mineral resources, even if we only use gold to pay, we will make a profit.

With another order issued by Tsar Alexander II, the Russian government also became busy.

First, the front-line commander, Grand Duke Nicholas, commander-in-chief of the Danube Army, asked for help from Grand Duke Carol I of Romania, asking Romania to send troops to assist the Russian army in the fight.

In the telegram requesting assistance, Grand Duke Nicholas described in detail the difficulties facing the Russian front and added that if Russia failed in the offensive, Romania would face the Ottoman Empire alone.

Russia's defeat was nothing to Romania, but if Romania was left to face the Ottoman Empire's attack alone, it would definitely panic.

As expected, after receiving the telegram from Grand Duke Nicholas, Grand Duke Carol I of Romania quickly agreed to Grand Duke Nicholas' request for help and sent 4 troops to assist the Russian troops on the front line.

With 40,000 Romanian troops assisting the Russian army, Grand Duke Nicholas finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although this could not change the situation on the front battlefield, it could at least ensure that the Russian army would not be quickly defeated during this period of manpower shortage.

It can also allow the Russian army to hold out longer and wait for the arrival of real Russian reinforcements.

This also requires mentioning the changes brought to Russia by the military reforms promoted by Army Minister Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin.

Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin's military reforms mainly focused on the reform of the conscription system, the military management system and military education.

Before the reform, the Russian army mainly relied on the conscription system to maintain its size, and there were also differences in rank among the noble soldiers, landlord soldiers and peasant soldiers in the army.

But after Milyutin's military reform, Russia's military service system was changed to a compulsory military service system. Russian citizens aged 20 to 25 are obliged to serve in the Russian army, with a military service period of 6 to 7 years and a reserve service period of 3 years.

After implementing this military service system, Russia not only had sufficient manpower, but also sufficient reserves.

Although Russia's current army is only 70 strong, if you include the reserve forces, Russia can mobilize more than one million troops. If a full mobilization is really carried out, Russia will have no problem arming an army of more than 500 million, which is why European countries are wary of Russia.

Not to mention 500 million troops, there are actually only seven European countries that can arm an army of 100 million, namely the five traditional powers, Italy and Spain.

There are only five traditional powers that can arm an army of 200 million. This is no longer an army size that ordinary powers can handle.

Two million troops are not just two million people, but also represent at least two million rifles, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of bullets, thousands of cannons, two million military uniforms, military boots and other armaments.

Soldiers' food, drink, defecation and urination require a lot of money. Whether it is training or combat, the consumption of bullets and artillery shells is an incalculable huge expense.

Italy has a population of over 2900 million and is capable of arming an army of over 200 million. However, if the Italian government were to be responsible for the daily expenses of these 200 million troops, Italy's finances would quickly fall into crisis in a short period of time.

Even if the war is fought on the territory of other countries, the military expenditure is extremely huge for any country that deploys 200 million troops.

If the war is fought on one's own land, the losses will be immeasurable, and it may even take more than ten or twenty years to recover.

This was the case with France during World War I. Not only did France deploy millions of troops, but the war was also fought on French soil.

This also caused great damage to France's industry and economy, and the population faced a sharp decline, which took more than ten years to recover.

While Grand Duke Nicholas was contacting Romania, the Russian diplomatic department was already contacting Spain to seek the purchase of more weapons and equipment.

Because of the previous cooperation, the Russian ambassador went directly to the Royal Arsenal and requested to reach a larger-scale arms purchase order with the Royal Arsenal.

Because Carlo had reached a relevant agreement with the Russian diplomatic department before, the Royal Arsenal did not hesitate and immediately signed a larger-scale arms purchase order with Russia.

Because the Russians' first order was delivered at the end of last month, their appetite for this order has become even greater.

上一份的订单只有10万支步枪，这份订单俄国人订购了整整25万支步枪，770门火炮和6500万发子弹以及25万枚炮弹。

This also shows the Russian military's trust in Spanish-made weapons and equipment. After all, 25 rifles is not a small number. There are currently only five major powers with an army of more than 25.

Because the order was urgent, Russia did not prepare enough mineral resources. Therefore, the payment method for this order was all gold and Russian farmers.

According to the agreement between the Russian government and Spain, each Russian farmer could offset 200 pesetas of funds. This time, the Russian government planned to immigrate Russian farmers to offset most of the order costs, and the rest would be paid with gold.

The transfer of farmers will also be carried out from the Baltic Sea, which will be safer, although the journey will be longer.

The Royal Arsenal naturally had no objection to this. These Russian peasants were excellent laborers when sent to the colonies, and they played an extremely important role in the development of Spanish colonies, so the more such people there were, the better.

Although 20,000 Russians seemed like a lot, after the several colonies were divided up here and there, the amount of Russian peasants each colony received was actually not that many.

Another benefit of dispersing these Russian farmers is that it can ensure the stability of these Russian farmers to the greatest extent.

In addition, these Russian peasants are originally submissive and good citizens, and the probability of them rebelling is much lower than that of the indigenous people.

Because of the urgent need for weapons and equipment at the front, Russia also put forward its own requirements. Russia required that these weapons and equipment must be transported within five months, and the first batch of 10 rifles must be sent to the Russian Baltic coast within two months.

Completing the production of 25 rifles within five months was a very demanding requirement for the Royal Arsenal, not to mention 770 artillery pieces, 6500 million rounds of ammunition, and 25 shells. Even if the Royal Arsenal was undergoing a major expansion, it would take at least a year to complete the production.

However, because Carlo had ordered the Royal Arsenal to speed up the production of weapons and equipment for export when the Balkans were just in turmoil, the Royal Arsenal had already stockpiled more than 20 rifles, 600 artillery pieces, nearly million rounds of bullets, and over one million artillery shells before the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War.

After completing the first transaction with Russia and the Ottoman Empire, most of the inventory of these weapons and equipment had been cleared.

But during these few months, the Royal Arsenal produced another batch of weapons and equipment, enriching the factory's reserves again.

For the Royal Arsenal, it was indeed difficult to complete the Russian order within five months, but fortunately the difficulty was not too great.

At worst, part of the orders for bullets and shells could be transferred to other small military factories, and the Royal Military Factory would only be responsible for the production of rifles and artillery.

Doing so would also allow Spain's entire arms industry to expand rapidly, which would be better than the Royal Arsenal having the cake all to itself.

Although a monopoly can better promote the development of military technology, Carlo would be willing to make Spain's military industry more competitive if a hundred flowers can bloom.

Transferring some orders for bullets and shells would also allow the Royal Arsenal to take on more orders for rifles and artillery.

Anyway, the Royal Arsenal has already made enough profits from these orders, and it is not a big deal for it to share some of the cake with other military factories appropriately.

The diplomatic ambassador who signed a new arms trade treaty with the Royal Arsenal excitedly reported the news to Russia, while the Royal Arsenal was also holding a celebration banquet for the signing of a new arms trade order.

These two orders from Russia are not small numbers. The profits earned by the Royal Arsenal are enough to support the Royal Arsenal's weapons research and development and transformation research for the next two years.

Carlo was not a stingy person. As early as when he signed the first arms trade order with Russia, Carlo had specifically instructed that most of the profits earned by the Royal Arsenal from this arms trade could be retained and used for the research of the Royal Arsenal.

The remaining small portion of profit is shared with all employees of the military factory so that all employees feel involved.

In the end, the reward each employee received was probably only one or two months' salary, but it was extra income after all. I believe that every military factory employee who received this reward would be smiling with joy.

And Carlo, who distributed this reward, will naturally be grateful to the employees of the military factory.

Improving the treatment of employees in all factories and companies under the royal family is a strategy that Carlo had already formulated.

The purpose of doing this is naturally to maintain a large gap in treatment between the employees under the entrepreneur and those who work for the entrepreneur.

In this way, while the workers hate the capitalist class, they will also be grateful to Carlo and the royal family.

With the working class on the side of the royal family, what else could threaten Carlo's throne?

Carlo was not worried about the capitalists that might be offended by doing so. Spain had always been on the path of state capitalism, or more precisely, state monopoly capitalism.

Several of the more important industries in Spain are all monopolized by enterprises owned by the Spanish government and the royal family. Private capitalists cannot achieve a monopoly position, and their capital power naturally cannot pose a threat to the government and the royal family.

After all, the Spanish government and the royal family are the two largest capitalists in Spain. In front of these two largest capitalists, what threat can other small capitals pose?

The disadvantage of state capitalism is the prevalence of corruption. Carlo only needs to monitor the corruption in the state and royal-controlled enterprises to basically ensure the future development of Spain and win the hearts of the Spanish workers.

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(End of this chapter)