In Madrid, Antonio, who had just ascended the throne of Prime Minister, was looking at the report in his hand with a solemn expression.
In recent years, Spain's life has been like "Wang Xiaoer's New Year", which is not as good as each year.
Even the victory in the recently concluded anti-French war and the recapture of the Roussillon region could not reverse Spain's decline.
No way, a Philippine war exposed their frail nature. Even a backward aboriginal country can't do it, how dare you pretend to be a foreign power
I'm sorry, the three countries of Britain, Russia and Austria said that they are called "powers" together with such a weak chicken, and everyone can't afford to lose this person.
Even if the Philippine Islands were taken back through diplomatic means, it was based on a series of compromises and had nothing to do with "victory".
Just take it out and fool the common people. The navy fought a tie, the army suffered a crushing defeat, and finally relied on mercenaries to save the field. Isn't this a failure
Failure is failure. After closing the door, Prime Minister Antonio still dared to admit it.
As a loser, it is natural to bear the sequelae of failure. After the war, Spain received the title of "Shame of the Great Powers".
In order not to be embarrassed together, the media of the three countries of Britain, Russia and Austria have kicked Spain out of the great powers.
It's not unbearable if it's just to lose face. Anyway, in recent years, Spain has been going downhill all the time, there are so many shameful places, and everyone's heart capacity has been greatly improved.
The trouble is that the Japanese are not reconciled to failure. Even if they evacuated themselves, they did not forget to bury a nail for them.
According to the information sent by the expeditionary force, the number of indigenous rebels currently active in the Philippine Islands has exceeded 200,000.
In terms of strength alone, the rebels outnumbered the expeditionary army. Obviously, the chaos in the Philippines will not end for a while.
"House leaks happen to rain overnight", the chaos in the Philippines has not been sorted out, Cuban rebellions have followed, and there are still premeditated rebellions supported by international forces.
The main force was trapped in the Philippine Islands and could not get out, and it was very powerless in the face of the Cuban rebellion against the Spanish government.
Fortunately, the Cuban governor has very rich experience in suppressing rebellions, and immediately after the outbreak of the rebellion, he took decisive action to recruit Hispanics on the island into the army.
In addition to the original colonial army, the total force of Spain in Cuba has now reached an astonishing 200,000.
The number seems to be quite large, but this "200,000" is obviously mostly the old and the weak, and the real combat effectiveness will not exceed one division.
The specific record can refer to the Spanish-American War in the original time and space. An expeditionary force assembled by the Americans and the cooperation of the Cuban rebels won the victory after paying the cost of three-figure soldiers.
Although the American Expeditionary Force is now gone, Cuban rebels have emerged.
Then, the Spanish government army and the rebels staged a "rookie pecking" in Cuba, which was extremely touching.
Tears come out.
In short, in the face of a gang of rabble who had assembled temporarily, the Spanish government army simply did not take advantage. On the contrary, they were beaten and retreated, and they needed to seek domestic help.
If the timing is not right, Antonio will come to the front line to see if this "200,000" army of counter-insurgents is really what it is, and how many "empty noises" there are.
In any case, if the colonial government failed in its performance, the Spanish government would have to do it on its own. Anyway, Cuba could not be allowed to become independent.
Prime Minister Antonio: "Count Junior, where are our diplomatic actions?"
The performance of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not outstanding, it can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, but everything depends on comparison.
Against the background of bureaucrats in other government departments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which behaves well-behaved, is a clear stream in the officialdom.
The preceding Philippine war is proof. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond quickly enough and took timely actions to win the support of European countries, it would not have been possible to take back the Philippine Islands so smoothly.
It is a pity that diplomacy is not omnipotent, no matter how hard the diplomats try, they cannot withstand the sequelae brought about by the decline of national strength.
Foreign Secretary Junior: "Apart from the Vienna government saying that it will help contain the British, only the Russians are willing to support us diplomatically.
Other countries refused to make a clear statement because they did not want to offend the British. We just won the support of public opinion.
Because there are too few European countries willing to support us, and the Vienna government is unwilling to go all out, the chances of us getting direct support from the alliance are infinitely close to zero. "
It is human nature to bully the soft and fear the hard.
If it weren't for their own bad luck, they just happened to be unable to escape; if other countries in the alliance were against the British, they would also not easily express their position.
Being able to get countries to provide support in public opinion is enough to prove the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is a pity that European public opinion has limited influence on the British. If someone scolds it, it's not John Bull.
As for Russian-Austrian support, that's the same thing. At most the tsarist government roared twice for help, but substantive support was not at all available.
Although the Vienna government promised to contain the British, this "containment" is also full of artistry, and it is still unknown which step it can achieve.
The biggest possibility is: as long as the British don't go out in person and leave no obvious clues, the Vienna government will pretend that nothing has been seen.
Arms aid, that's what arms dealers do. No one has a few crazy arms dealers, and this bit of sewage has no role in the world.
Prime Minister Antonio nodded and said with deep feeling: "As expected, no one can be trusted, and in the end, we still have to be ourselves!"
"The mountain will fall, and everyone will run. Only you are the most reliable."
Such a simple truth, the Spaniards naturally know. It's just that people always have a fluke mentality.
The previous Philippine war was won with the support of its allies. Now that there is a problem in Cuba, the Spanish government naturally wants to copy it again and again.
After all, it's the easiest, easiest, least expensive, and 100% way to win.
It is a pity that the world is cruel, and European countries are not charitable. The Spanish government has not paid back the favors owed in the past, and it is no longer possible to come back now.
Prime Minister Antonio asked: "How far has the situation on the front line developed, and is the plan to suppress the rebellion ready?"
Since allies are unreliable, they can only go on their own. As long as the British don't go out and just deal with the rebels, the Spanish government is still somewhat sure.
War Secretary Nicole: "The situation on the front line is mixed. The situation in the Philippines has improved, the expeditionary force has taken control of all the cities, and the rebels can only survive in the jungle.
We have developed a sound blockade plan, and without the influx of supplies, the rebels will not last long.
The situation in Cuba is very bad. The development of the rebels is faster than we expected. Governor Valeriano has sent five telegrams for help.
Although the Ministry of the Army has made a sound reinforcement plan, the main force of our army is still suppressing the rebellion in the Philippine Islands, and it is impossible to draw enough troops in a short period of time.
In order to suppress the Cuban rebellion as soon as possible and leave no chance for the British to take advantage of, the War Department suggested recruiting 50,000 mercenaries for the Cuban battlefield. "
There is no doubt that the "insufficient force" is clearly just an excuse. The troops that Spain invested in the Philippine Islands were also mainly mercenaries, and their own troops were only more than 80,000 people, and there were still more than 100,000 troops in the country.
Now that France is in decline again, the Spaniards have no enemies at all on the European continent, and it is the time when the pressure on defense is at its minimum.
In theory, there shouldn't be any problem with mobilizing 50,000 troops from the country to suppress the rebellion.
It is a pity that reality is not "theory", and my family knows their own affairs. Nominally Spain does have a standing army of more than 200,000 people, but this is only "in name".
Like the vast majority of decaying empires, eating empty sounds and filling things up is also a stubborn problem of the Spanish army.
The only troops with combat effectiveness were all put into the Philippine battlefield. Naturally, Nicole did not dare to send the remaining old soldiers to the front line.
It just so happened that the mercenary had been used once before, and it felt better than his own army. Naturally, Nicole didn't mind doing it again.
Anyway, there is also a tradition of using mercenaries in the European continent, but with the expansion of the scale of modern warfare, the population of the mercenary kingdom in Switzerland is insufficient, and they are unable to participate in the continental war, and mercenaries gradually fade out of people's sight.
These are all small problems, there are no Swiss mercenaries, and there are French mercenaries.
Although the young and young population of France dwindled after the war, the poor domestic economy still forced French youth to come out as mercenaries to make a living.
According to incomplete statistics, the Allied troops stationed in France in the past year have helped the Paris government to suppress 87 workers' riots and 14 armed uprisings.
It can be said that France is now an extra-large powder keg, and it is only a matter of sparks to explode. If the Allied forces hadn't put out the fire in time, the explosion would have occurred long ago.
It can be said that as long as you have money, you can have as many mercenaries as you want. The French government is eager to pack these unstable factors away so that they can get a good night's sleep.
Prime Minister Antonio nodded, he wasn't a perfectionist. In his view, as long as the problem can be solved, it makes no difference whether it is sending his own regular army or recruiting mercenaries.
"Then act as soon as possible, suppress the rebellion as soon as possible, so that we can concentrate on the system... develop the economy."
Before the word "change" came out, Antonio swallowed it again. Although Spain desperately needs institutional reform, now is clearly not the time to talk about it.
The top priority is to suppress the colonial rebellion as soon as possible and dispel the enemy's peeping heart. At this time, it is obviously inappropriate to talk about such a sensitive topic as reform.
The most important thing is that the Spanish monarch is young, and the regent Queen Mother "neither opposes nor supports" the reform.
Without the support of the royal family, the pressure is still too great to rely on the strength of the government to promote top-down reforms.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Siegfried said solemnly: "Your Excellency, the government has run out of money. We have been at war since 1891, and Spain is exhausted."
For the declining kingdom of Spain like an old man, three years of continuous war have exhausted the heritage of this old-fashioned empire.
Fortunately, the war did not happen on the mainland, and there were allies to help, otherwise the "aged" Spanish kingdom would have collapsed long ago.
The country has not collapsed, but government finances have collapsed. Without the blood transfusions from the colonies, this old-fashioned empire with high debts could no longer sustain it now.
Antonio was stunned for a moment, and then his face became ugly. Money is not everything, but without money it is absolutely impossible.
After thinking for a while, Antonio said slowly: "Continue to borrow foreign debts! Presumably the Austrians are ready and waiting for us to come."
International loans these days are usually accompanied by a series of political strings attached. In many cases, the additional price that needs to be paid is far more than the interest on the funds on the surface.
From this point of view, borrowing foreign debt is obviously not a good option, but it is the only viable option for the Spanish government at the moment.
Antonio is a smart guy and knows very well how fragile Spain's economy is right now and that any tax hike could push the country into the abyss.
In contrast, the after-effects of borrowing foreign debt are much smaller. As the overlord of the European continent, the Shinra Empire has already washed its hands and landed.
Even if it wants to take advantage of the fire, the Vienna government will pay attention to the appearance, it is impossible to do too much, at least it will not force Spain to a dead end.
Colonial Minister Taboada added: "The problems we are facing now are not limited to financial, and military.
According to the intelligence collected by the Colonial Ministry, there are other international forces involved in the Cuban rebellion besides the British.
There are four international forces that have the strength to provide support to the rebels. In addition to the already-cleared British, there are the United States of America, the Confederate States, and the Holy Roman Empire.
Whether one of the three is supporting the rebels, or whether two are supporting, or whether all three are secretly supporting, we do not yet know.
Of course, it's also possible that the British were so suspicious that they wanted to distract us and find someone to take the blame for them. It's just that now that they have been exposed, it seems that there is no need to do so.
The Colonial Ministry has already sent people to investigate, but the people we bought don't have enough status in the rebels, and I'm afraid we won't be able to figure out who else is behind it in a short period of time.
Not only Cuba, but even Morocco has been unstable recently. I fear that if the enemy fails to achieve results in Cuba, they will turn to the Moroccans. "
If you have strength, you will be suspicious, and there are many cases of stabbing knives in international politics. Even allies, digging holes with each other is nothing new.
The most important thing is: whether it is the United States of America, the Confederate States, or the Holy Roman Empire, all have motives to attack Spain.
The declining Kingdom of Spain, still holding a few rich colonies, is now a "children holding golden bricks", and it is difficult not to attract prying eyes.
Foreign Minister Junior warned solemnly: "Marquis, please stop your meaningless pursuit. Now it is the British who are planning the Cuban rebellion, and only the British!"
There is no way, Spain is now incapable of adding another enemy to itself.
Even if the culprit behind the scenes is found, they can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, and even help the enemy to cover up in order to avoid extravagance.