It doesn't matter if Spain is defeated, the key is that the strategically important Philippine Islands cannot fall into the hands of the ambitious Japanese, otherwise there will be no peace in the Nanyang region.
Despite the fact that the Japanese government is very quiet now, even if the Vienna government supports Spain with open flames, they are still low and small, as if they have no temper.
But this is only based on reverence for the strong. Now that the Holy Roman Empire is strong, the military power in the Southeast Asian region alone can make them unable to eat and walk, even if they think about it.
But times are changing. The Philippine Islands in the hands of the Spaniards and the Philippine Islands in the hands of the Japanese are two completely different concepts.
The former has declined. Even if the Philippines is fertile, it can only contribute an income to Spain, and the help of national strength is not great.
If it fell into the hands of Japan, it would be completely different. With the resources of the Philippines and the hard work of the Japanese, it is appropriate to create a medium power, and it is still the kind that is good at fighting.
If that's all, it's not enough to make Franz jealous. After all, the Holy Roman Empire is so perverted now that even he himself never thought that one day he would be able to create such a huge empire.
The problem is that Japan is not a normal country. Now there are veterans who are pressing down, and they have not gone crazy for the time being. The future is uncertain, and with reference to their original time and space practices, it is known that it is completely a series of tricks.
No one can guarantee that one day the Japanese will go crazy and attack the Austrian Southeast Asian region. Franz didn't want to go on an expedition to the Far East to fight the Japanese.
It is estimated that normal people do not like the war of blood loss, victory or blood loss. Franz would not launch such a meaningless war of attrition unless he was sure of a one-shot kill.
From the standpoint of the Holy Roman Empire, the Philippine Islands are best left in the hands of the Spaniards. At least the Spanish government will not fantasize about competing with them for hegemony in the South China Sea, let alone the Austrian Southeast Asia region.
"Is the Spanish army so useless?"
Prime Minister Carr asked first. As a normal European, he really couldn't imagine that the European army had made such a rubbish record against the Japanese aborigines.
There is no record set by the Italian army at the bottom, and the Spanish army is currently performing arguably the worst of all the colonial empires in Europe.
Not to mention the exchange ratio of 1:1.4, even if it is an exchange ratio of 1:10, it is the performance of inferior students. Under normal circumstances, one group is chasing thousands of people, and one group can play the war of destroying the country.
Spain is the originator of colonial wars and the creator of records of conquest. In the past, Spain conquered the Aztec Empire with 600 people, and overturned the Inca Empire with 177 people and 62 horses.
Comparing the current record of the Spanish army, even the gap between heaven and hell cannot be so big. The impact of such a concept, as a normal person, Prime Minister Karl is naturally unbelievable.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained: "It is much more waste than we expected. But this is not without signs. As early as the European War, the Spaniards exposed the problem of the low combat effectiveness of the army.
They concentrated the country's elite troops, and carefully planned the battle, and in the end they didn't even do the cannon fodder troops temporarily formed by France.
In the entire anti-French alliance, only the troops of the Italian states had the same fighting strength as them. The combat effectiveness they are showing now should be the lower limit of the army in the European world. "
Everyone is complaining about the Spaniards' rubbish, and no one mentions the strong combat effectiveness of the Japanese army. Well, Franz admitted that the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army this year has nothing to do with toughness.
It's not that the Japanese don't work hard, the problem is that military spending determines the upper limit of the army's combat effectiveness. If you haven't shot hundreds of bullets, you are ashamed to say that you are a veteran; without thousands of bullets, can you feed the elite
The infantry is so, the artillery is even more powerful. Every qualified artilleryman is fed with cannonballs. Generally speaking, hundreds of cannonballs are indispensable. Even if most of them are training bullets, that's a lot of money.
What's more, there is artillery wear and tear, and training a few gunners to scrap an artillery is a routine operation.
Armored soldiers and pilots with higher technical requirements, not to mention, are all made with money. Of course, the Japanese do not have any of these arms, but it does not need to be considered.
In addition to ammunition consumption, soldiers' salaries, daily life, and maintenance of weapons and equipment are also not small expenses.
According to the standards of the Shinra Army, the Japanese Army's military expenditure is not enough to raise an infantry division. Both are a bit difficult, not to mention others.
And this embarrassing situation will continue until the localization of weapons and equipment can be achieved, and the cost of weapons and ammunition will be reduced, and then it will improve slightly.
Referring to the original time and space, we know that for a long time, the Japanese Army only maintained a standing division in single digits, and was often dissatisfied with the number.
Even with this reduction of troops, military spending is still not enough. Out of necessity, the Japanese army practiced hand-to-hand tactics and became the king of hand-to-hand combat.
It's just that it's okay to bully the garbage cannon fodder with the combat power brought by the blood and courage. If you meet a real elite, it will be a food delivery.
In fact, elite troops are not necessarily all daredevils. Their real power lies in their professionalism.
To put it simply, even if you are a few hundred meters away, the probability of him hitting you is 20 to 30 percent, but you can only fight back by luck.
In modern warfare, an average of thousands of bullets kill an enemy, and tens of thousands of bullets in future wars kill an enemy, mostly due to the credit of ordinary troops. On average, elite troops need much less ammunition to kill an enemy.
It is also based on this that the upper levels of the Vienna government do not take the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army to heart. A country that even needs to import artillery has no qualifications to make everyone jealous.
…
Seeing that the topic was derailed in the rant, Franz interrupted: "It doesn't matter whether the Spanish army is a waste or not, the key is that the British are involved. The London government is supporting the Japanese, so we can't let Spain lose the war, at least You can't lose too badly."
In international politics, face is sometimes very important, especially for newly born hegemons.
Although both Britain and Austria are only remotely controlling the war between Japan and Spain, in the eyes of many people, the Spanish-Japanese war is a continuation of the struggle for hegemony between Britain and Austria.
If Spain suffered a crushing defeat, it would send a signal to the outside world that the Holy Roman Empire was no match for the British in overseas competition.
Although this is true, the Vienna government must also die of denial. In a sense, acknowledging that it is inferior to Britain in overseas competition means admitting defeat.
As a challenger, you can tolerate failure, but you cannot admit failure. That's what politics is, and sometimes you have to deceive yourself.
Besides, if you don't show some strength to the younger brothers, how can you make them feel at ease
Franz didn't ask Spain to turn the tables, as long as he could play a win-lose record, he would be satisfied.
If not, it is not unacceptable for the Spaniards to lose decently. After all, a military victory is not a victory, and a diplomatic game can still rewrite the final outcome.
As long as the Spaniards showed sufficient strength, Franz was sure to force the Japanese to withdraw from the Philippine Islands through diplomatic means.
"It's too late to help the Spaniards train the army. If you want to change the battlefield situation in a short time, you can only use mercenaries.
The problem now is that the Spaniards are too poor, and it is very difficult to maintain the expeditionary army to fight, and there is simply not enough financial resources to hire an army.
What's more, the military strength of the Japanese is not too weak, and there is no mercenary in the world that can complete this task. "
Prime Minister Carr proposed. It is not that the Vienna government has not done similar things. Back then, when it competed with the British for South Africa, it overcame the "mercenary" vest. It was only later found that it was superfluous and simply shot the government army of the Boer Republic.
The only problem is that the Philippine archipelago is different from South Africa. South Africa is eaten by itself, and it should be paid for by others; while the Philippine Islands are owned by Spaniards, for the sake of international reputation, it is impossible for the Vienna government to swallow it.
Bringing your own dry food to help the Spaniards fight, how can there be such a good thing in the world? Even if the Spanish government has paid the price, it is only in exchange for the support of the Vienna government, and it is not enough for the Holy Roman Empire to fight in person.
Without the participation of the Vienna government, with the ability of the Spaniards, even if they were willing to pay to hire troops to help fight the war, there would be no such powerful mercenaries.
Under normal circumstances, a mercenary is only about 180 people, and those with more than 1,000 people are giant teams.
The combat power is also very different. Among them, those with strong combat power can fight against the government forces of various countries, which can be said to be the elite of the elite; more mercenary teams, it is okay to bully the natives, and they can only deliver food when they encounter the regular army.
It's fine in small-scale battles, but in a large battle of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, a mercenary with only 1,000 or 800 mercenaries is not enough.
Franz nodded: "If you don't have any money, lend it to them, and let the Spaniards take the colonial income as collateral. There is no such strong mercenary group in the world, so you can form it yourself.
Not long after the European War ended, there are still a large group of retired officers and soldiers on the European continent, and there are always outlaws who like to lick blood on the tip of a knife.
If the number of people is not enough, I will go to France to recruit. I have been hungry for so long. I believe that there will be people willing to work hard to fill the stomach of the family.
By the way, all mercenaries in Italy are not. This time it was to fight in the Philippine Islands, where there was no pasta. "
There are no conditions, and it is necessary to create conditions. No one knows whether the mercenaries can defeat the Japanese army. Anyway, doing it is better than not doing it at all.
Rather than sit back and watch the Spaniards lose, it's better to fight hard. Anyway, it was the Spaniards who paid for it, and the Vienna government just had to push it in secret.
It works best, and it doesn't matter if it doesn't work. The situation has deteriorated to the point where it is now, and no matter how bad it is, it will not be so bad.
Even if the plan fails, the Spanish government will cry if it wants to cry. The Vienna government is nothing more than losing face. At most, it will not compete with the British for the time being in overseas competition.