The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 141 The Spaniard’s Thoughts

"...On July 7, at 30:9 a.m., as the ironclad "Tori Sakura" faced the enemy's artillery bombardment, until it reached 47 meters away from the opponent's warship, it violently bombarded it with its bow gun. This was the first shot of our army in this battle."

"At 9:55, the 'Liying' completed its turn and faced the enemy ship with its own side. Then it launched a salvo of six explosive bombs, five of which missed, and one hit the upper deck of the enemy's bow. building, causing a fire. Just as it was about to leave the enemy ship, the 'Tori Sakura' fired another salvo. This time, the hit rate reached an astonishing %. Three explosive bombs hit the ship with a displacement of approximately The four-hundred-ton English warship immediately burst into flames."

"...the 'Liying' did not pause at all and continued to rush into the English fleet array. With its thick armor, flexible maneuverability, and high rate of fire of one artillery gun per minute, it gave the enemy warships an extremely effective attack Killing, while also causing a certain degree of confusion in the formation of the enemy fleet.”

"In this battle, our naval fleet used the 'Tori Sakura' as the arrow, sixteen motor sailing ships as the vanguard fleet, and nineteen sailing battleships as the rearguard fleet, and formed two columns to head towards the enemy's entire fleet. Despite this attack The formation is conducive to the enemy fleet taking advantage of the artillery on both sides, but it also makes it easier for our fleet to sail past the enemy fleet and use the maneuverability of the sail warship to quickly turn around and launch another attack on the enemy ship."

"..."

"The battle lasted less than two hours. At least ten warships in the English fleet were seriously damaged, or burst into flames, or were penetrated by cone-shaped solid bullets at the waterline. They successively withdrew from the battle order and carried out emergency rescue and rescue. "

"...The turning point of this battle occurred at 11:42 a.m., when the ironclad HMS Toshio entered the center of the British fleet and used a very bold attack method - directly approaching the British flagship HMS George. Less than meters away, six port side guns were used to bombard the opponent with more than starboard guns. After three rounds of bombardment, the 'Li Ying' sailed away from the 'George', and the powerful rifle cone shape The shells left several penetrating bullet holes on the opponent's starboard side, many of which were located on the waterline, causing the first-class battleship with a displacement of tons to tilt. The subsequent follow-up' The Tianshu and Rongshui again tilted towards the ship with several rounds of explosive bombs, causing the ship to immediately fall into a huge disaster. In less than fifteen minutes, the George was struck by several violent explosions. It broke into two pieces and quickly submerged into the water."

"The British fleet, which lost its command, fell into brief chaos. Although one of the opponent's battleships raised the battle command flag ten minutes later and tried its best to gather the fleet to launch a counterattack, the enemy's formation was in chaos and was divided into mutual The three non-organized parts fought independently, falling into the battle mode that our warships are most familiar with."

"At 12:15 noon, the Spanish fleet, which had been waiting for a long time, joined the battle group, launched an attack on the English transport ship in the rear, and tried to cut off the enemy's eastward escape."

"..."

"...The battle lasted for nearly six hours. At about 3:20 in the afternoon, the English fleet began to disperse and break out. Our army immediately launched a pursuit, trying to annihilate more enemy forces."

"At 8:20 pm, no gunfire could be heard on the huge Albolan Sea, and the boiling sea surface had returned to its former calm. Under the light of the stars and moon, the blue sea was covered with scattered wooden planks, Apart from the disorderly debris and floating wooden barrels, there is no hustle and bustle anymore, and the choking gunpowder smoke also dissipates invisible with the sea breeze."

"In this battle, our naval fleet won a resounding victory. Although the specific results have not yet been calculated, it can be known from daytime battlefield observation alone that more than half of the English fleet lost more than half of the battleships that were sunk and captured. Less than twenty-three. By tomorrow morning, the warships to be pursued will return, and when better news comes."

"..."

After reading the battle log sent by the fleet staff officer, Wan Botai, commander of the Qi expedition fleet, signed his name at the end, closed it gently, and then stood up. Come, walk to the window of the command room, look at the dark sea in the distance, and let out a long breath.

In the daytime battle, the performance of the English fleet was undoubtedly admirable. Many of their warships did not stop fighting and lower their flags until they could no longer be maneuvered. Among the several sunk battleships, there was also a loyal and brave captain who gave up the chance to escape at the last moment, sank into the sea with his beloved battleship, and returned to the ocean.

In this naval battle, Qi won a complete victory and almost destroyed the English fleet. In contrast, Qi's more than 30 ships were not lost, and there were only more than 620 casualties among officers and soldiers (including those killed in action). One hundred and fifty-six people), with minor losses.

Even more rare is that in the pursuit before sunset, the Qi fleet captured five troop transports and two "treasure ships". The former carried more than 1,800 British troops and a large amount of weapons and equipment, and the latter carried He had plundered countless gold and silver supplies from the Knights Hospitaller of Malta and Alexandria, but he didn't want to take advantage of the Qi expedition fleet in the battle of the Alboran Sea.

"General, the Spaniards hope that we will cooperate with them in attacking Gibraltar from the sea tomorrow." A liaison officer from Linghui Colonel (lieutenant colonel) walked up behind Wan Botai and saluted him with a military salute.

"How many British warships are in Gibraltar harbor?"

"It is reported that there should be ten to twelve British warships in the port of Gibraltar." The liaison officer thought for a while and replied softly: "If there are sporadic British warships escaping our pursuit during the daytime battle, they may escape Enter Gibraltar. By then, the number of British warships in the port will most likely increase."

"Tell the Spaniards that during the day's battle, our ships and personnel suffered heavy losses and were unable to cooperate with their attack on Gibraltar." Wan Botai showed a sarcastic smile on his lips, "Since we are recovering our own land, how can we Why do they expect foreign military power? Moreover, in the daytime battle, the Spaniards ignored the British warships, but blindly attacked the British merchant ships. Such opportunism, how dare they ask us for help? "

"Yes, General."

"By the way, let the intelligence officers who interrogate the British prisoners work harder, and try to extract all the useful intelligence information from the British soldiers overnight, so that we can point out the accurate direction for our next move." Wan Botai turned to his adjutant commanded.

"Yes, General."

"Order the medical officers and escorts on each ship to do their best to treat all injured officers and soldiers without giving up the life of any soldier."

"Yes, General."

"Properly keep the remains of the officers and soldiers who died in the battle, and tomorrow morning, all members of the fleet will hold a grand sea burial for them."

"...Yes, General!"

"I believe that if we inflict such heavy damage to the English navy near the strait, it will almost shake the English people's will to fight." Wan Botai turned his eyes to the ink-colored sea again and murmured.
-

On August 8, a Spanish naval captain changed horses fifteen times along the way and rushed to the Privy Council of Madrid at 6 a.m. to report the Battle of Alboran to the Minister of the Navy, Count Adolfo Suárez González. the result of.

Although he was woken up from his sleep, after hearing the battle report, Count Gonzalez stood stunned for a moment, and then looked ecstatic. He immediately got dressed in a hurry, took a carriage, and went straight to the Prime Minister's residence regardless of the darkness of the night.

At this time, the Madrid court, which has been shrouded in political haze, urgently needs exciting news to dispel the decadent and helpless mood of all its subjects.

Because His Majesty King Philip V suffered from intermittent mental illness again, and his whole person fell into periodic states of melancholy and depression, almost going crazy. In this situation, the king closed himself off and only allowed the queen to approach - this behavior was secretly criticized by many palace ministers, who believed that the king had been controlled by his wife, causing the kingdom to lose its due power. Impartiality and transparency.

What's more, the Queen suggested that His Majesty the King leave Madrid and temporarily move the palace to Andalusia, where the environment is more suitable for His Majesty's recovery and recovery.

Although the Queen can assist His Majesty the King in handling public affairs, this move away from the center of the government will cause the entire kingdom to fall into a state of anarchy - under the eyes of the King, many palace ministers will be idle and idle in government affairs. Performance, if there is no king to sit in charge, wouldn't it be possible for everyone to let the sheep go, leading to the paralysis of Madrid's central institutions and leaving the entire kingdom in a state of no supervision!

It’s a tear-jerker to say that the once-prominent Kingdom of Spain has been plagued by many disasters in the past hundred years. Almost none of the wars it participated in have been won. This not only greatly depleted the country’s power and lost a large amount of territory, but also caused great losses to the country. Every proud Spaniard sank day by day, becoming the object of scorn and ridicule by all European nations.

It's okay that the country is weak. If a promising monarch succeeds to the throne, with the Kingdom of Spain's huge territory and rich historical heritage, there is still a chance for revival. However, God wanted to play tricks on the Spaniards. From the time when the former King Carlos II took the throne to his death, there was little time for his body and spirit to be in normal condition. When he died, not only did the Habsburg dynasty become completely extinct, but it also triggered a succession war that would be a catastrophe for Spain.

Finally, Philip V, who came from the Bourbon dynasty, is a little more normal, and he has a strong French background. It is expected that he can restore the decadent Spanish country.

After Philip V succeeded to the throne, he also took advantage of the war to launch a strong reform process, building a professional army, increasing fiscal revenue, strengthening centralization, and creating an elite bureaucratic rule and many other positive measures. At that time, His Majesty the King was high-spirited and meritocratic, and selected a group of high-quality management and administrative officials to provide manpower support for the smooth advancement of reforms.

However, after the war ended, the king from the Bourbon dynasty suffered from intermittent mental illness, which made him unable to effectively control the power of the king, and the political atmosphere that had once been trending towards good was irresistibly heading into the quagmire. It has caused countless hopeful subjects to fall into endless despair again.

Under this situation, Spain unsurprisingly lost the Italian War (also known as the Quadruple Alliance War) and almost lost all its territory there, leaving only a few inconspicuous coastal towns and remote offshore islands.

Now, in order to recapture Gibraltar and Minorca, which were occupied by England, Spain organized several rounds of offensives. As a result, it lost consecutive battles and failed to invade Gibraltar.

Now, good news finally came from the Alboran Sea. The Western Qi Maritime Allied Forces defeated the English fleet, sank and captured more than 30 British ships, killed, wounded and captured more than 5,700 British soldiers. The remaining British troops The ship fled without a trace. After this battle, the West-Qi coalition forces have completely controlled the sea control of the strait, and it will be just around the corner to defeat Gibraltar and recapture Minorca.

"So, after the Royal Navy has won a hearty victory, when can our army regain Gibraltar and Minorca?" Long-term mental illness troubled Philip V, who was only 44 years old. He looked extremely old, and his hoarse voice echoed in the empty hall, giving off a dull sense of depression and suffocation.

After the Prime Minister Duke Giulio Alberoni heard Philip V's question, the smile on his face suddenly froze. After being stunned for a moment, he turned to look at the Minister of War Antonio Ibáñez Fernando. Count Rael.

Yes, with the "cooperation" of the Qi Expeditionary Fleet, the navy defeated the English fleet and achieved an extremely rare victory in decades. Shouldn't your army also show its face and show a decent record?

Gibraltar is a tiny place. The Army has mobilized tens of thousands of troops and launched repeated attacks. Why can't it be recaptured?

"Your Majesty, it is not impossible for the tens of thousands of army officers and soldiers to regain lost ground, but..., but...the army officers and soldiers have always been short of equipment, especially the lack of heavy artillery and other equipment for attacking fortresses. Facing the Gibraltar Fortress occupied by England, in a short period of time, they could only rely on The flesh and blood of the soldiers really cannot conquer it. In addition..." Count Antonio Ibáñez Frère, Minister of War, first looked at the Prime Minister, Duke Alberoni, and then said to His Majesty the King in embarrassment: "In addition, more than 10,000 officers and soldiers on the front line have not been paid military pay and battlefield subsidies for more than eight months. Therefore..., therefore, during the battle, the army officers and soldiers generally had low morale and complained constantly. If General Juan had not managed the army well and suppressed it effectively, Maybe there will be chaos like mutiny and demands for pay.”

"Duke Alberoni, can the kingdom financially raise the corresponding army salaries and war subsidies?" Philip V asked softly.

"Your Majesty, due to the war, the transportation of silver from the American territories has been greatly disrupted. In order to prevent the silver ships from being intercepted and attacked by the English navy, the silver that was supposed to be transported to the mainland in the first half of the year was temporarily stranded in Havana, waiting for the kingdom Escort of the naval fleet. In order to block the strait and cut off the English navy's retreat, we have used all the five hundred thousand pesos raised to prepare naval ships and pay officers and soldiers. In this way, we won the victory in the Battle of Alboran .As for the long-overdue military pay and battlefield subsidies for army officers and soldiers, the kingdom’s finances already...do not have any extra funds to pay them.”

"..." After hearing this, Philip V suddenly felt an inexplicable anxiety and irritability.

In the more than 20 years since he succeeded the King of Spain, the kingdom's finances have never been well-off, and there has been a financial crisis almost every year. The gold and silver shipped back from the Americas have basically been depleted except for the repayment of part of the debt and interest. In order to maintain the normal operation of the kingdom and the security of its vast overseas territories, the government had to borrow large amounts of debt again to plug the big holes everywhere. The cycle continued over and over again, seemingly without end.

"Do you have any way to raise funds?" Philip V asked feebly as he looked at several important court officials present.

When everyone heard this, they all looked at each other with a look of embarrassment on their faces.

In the European loan market, the credit of the Kingdom of Spain is not very good. It has been financially bankrupt several times, which not only greatly damaged the credit of the Kingdom, but also made many creditors feel miserable.

The Genoa consortium, which used to be famous in Europe, has lost all its investment for decades because the Kingdom of Spain declared financial bankruptcy and refused to repay its debts. As a result, the consortium has not yet crawled out of the debt pit. The financial lending industry is completely in decline and has lost its former glory.

During this period, almost no consortium dared to lend money to the Spanish government. Even if they wanted to lend, the amount was controlled to a very small scale, and the loan interest was as high as more than 20%.

"Your Majesty, the people of Qi expressed their willingness to provide a loan to the Royal Government a few months ago, but because the collateral proposed by the other party was too harsh, the Privy Council rejected it collectively." Prime Minister Duke Alberoni hesitated, and then forced He said with a scalp: "Now that the kingdom is in financial crisis, can we consider borrowing a sum of funds from the people of Qi to meet the current urgent needs. As for the collateral for the loan, we have proposed a plan, which still needs your majesty's permission."

"How much is the loan amount provided by the people of Qi?...What are your Privy Council going to use as collateral?" Philip V asked in a deep voice.

"The Minister of Qi stated that if the Royal Government needs it, they can provide us with a loan totaling no less than two million pesos (1 tael of silver is equivalent to approximately 1.3-1.4 pesos, and 1 gold yuan note is equivalent to approximately 4.5 pesos). As for the loan guarantee, We, the Privy Council, discussed mortgaging the island of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean to Qi and asked for a loan of five million pesos.”

"As far as I know, this island has been the territory of the kingdom for more than two hundred years, and there are tens of thousands of people on the island. How can it be easily given to the people of Qi?"

"Your Majesty, since France occupied the western territory of Saint-Domingue Island, it has been trying to seize the entire island, which has caused constant conflicts and friction on the island. It not only makes local colonial officials and many people worried, unable to engage in production with peace of mind, but also wastes a lot of money. Supplies and money were used to prepare for the French invasion. In addition, many pirates who wreaked havoc in the Caribbean also frequently attacked coastal towns on the island, looting property and killing residents, which further led to serious population loss on the island."

"In this case, why not use this dangerous and controversial territory as collateral to obtain a large sum of money from the Qi people to fully ensure the smooth progress of the kingdom's war against England. If this war can be won, Not only can we revitalize the kingdom’s power, but we may also be able to obtain a large amount of compensation from England, repay Qi’s loan, and then redeem the island of Saint-Domingue.”

Philip V listened and remained silent.

As a descendant of the Bourbon royal family and the grandson of the Sun King Louis XIV, he was once full of ambitions. He wanted to rely on the strong national power of France to bring the sluggish Kingdom of Spain back to its peak, and then prosper the Bourbon dynasty and make the Its glory shines all over the world.

However, since he succeeded to the throne of Spain, he has been facing the loss of troops and territory, and signed one humiliating contract after another. In the War of Succession, most of the European territories including the Southern Netherlands were lost, and Gibraltar and Minorca were also occupied by England; and the Italian War (the War of the Four Powers) a few years ago also destroyed the territory there. Territory was also lost.

Today, the Kingdom of Spain can be said to have lost its status as a top European power and has become a "fish belly" that can be bullied.

"Duke Alberoni, you will immediately negotiate with the Minister of Qi about the loan." Philip V leaned back gently on his chair and said firmly: "I hope this loan can be implemented as soon as possible, but While the island of Santo Domingo is being mortgaged to Qi, we must ask Qi to treat the people of the island owner well and protect their full right to faith in God.”

"As you command, my lord." Duke Alberoni leaned down and replied respectfully.

(End of this chapter)