Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 84: Habsburg Family (II)
Charles V's successor in Spain was his son, known in Spain as Philip II.
The king was a devout Catholic with outstanding military ability and very poor economic sense.
As the protector of Catholicism, Philip II fought many large-scale wars with the Ottoman Empire in many parts of Europe during his reign. Although he won most of these wars and gained control of the Mediterranean, suppressing the once powerful Ottoman navy on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, the years of war made Spain's already heavily indebted treasury even more overwhelmed.
At the same time, he also sent the Invincible Armada to England, which was defeated repeatedly. Although it eventually exhausted England and allowed Spain to continue to control the Atlantic Ocean, in addition to increasing the burden on the treasury, it also led to the decline of the Spanish navy, which was the strongest in the world at that time.
In order to suppress the independence movement in the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands, he deployed heavy troops here for decades.
Spain and France fought repeatedly for control of northern Italy...
In order to suppress the resistance of the Native Americans, they continued to deploy heavy troops in America...
He was a fanatical Catholic. Protestants and pagans were just two words to him: enemies. In addition to spending a lot of money and manpower to put down the resistance of Protestants in various parts of Europe, building a large number of inquisitions, and turning many Protestants into ashes. He also forced the Moors to migrate in the country (the Iberian Peninsula where Spain and Portugal are located was once conquered by the Arab Empire. The Moors here are the descendants of the combination of Berbers and the indigenous people of the Iberian Peninsula. They believed in the Crescent Church during the period when the Arab Empire ruled the Iberian Peninsula. Later, with the rise of Spain and Portugal, they gradually converted to Catholicism). This led to large-scale rebellions and civil wars in the country, and also caused Spain to lose its best farmers.
In short, the ruler’s first reaction to resistance and dissent is: suppression!
Although he annexed Portugal in 1580 and took over Portugal's colonies in Africa and Asia, making the Kingdom of Spain the first empire in human history on which the sun never sets, no matter how great its military achievements were, they could not conceal its economic failure: in 1557, 1575, and 1598, Spain declared national bankruptcy three times.
When this emperor who had fought all his life died in 1598, what he left to his successor Philip III was a country that seemed powerful and invincible on the surface, but was actually riddled with holes and could catch fire at any time.
Even more unfortunate was that Philip III, the heir to the British Empire, had a more fanatical religious belief than his father, but none of his father's ability to govern the country.
In the late reign of Philip II, he had realized that the country's power was seriously overdrawn. The old man, who had been strong all his life, had actually begun to pay attention to shrinking his power. For example, he reconciled with Britain and France. However, such a move was unacceptable to the then Crown Prince Philip III and his close ministers. After becoming the King of Spain in 1598, Philip III changed the old king's policy of slow contraction and became tougher in foreign policy than his father in his early years.
It's OK to be tough, as long as you have the ability. Unfortunately, Philip III had great ambitions but was not willing to endure hardships and make arduous efforts to achieve his ambitions. After he came to power, he was only interested in having fun and entrusted all state affairs to his favorite, the Duke of Lerma.
The Duke of Lerma and his many colleagues are a bunch of corrupt officials...
In the historical plane, Spain's irreversible decline occurred during the reign of Philip III.
In this dimension, on October 18, 1600, Philip III's Queen Margaret gave birth to twins - twins who were personally guarded by the Archangel Michael.
Moreover, unlike other royal families who only have one child, one of the two newborns of the Spanish royal family has the word "King" on its belly, and the other has the word "Guard" on its belly...
This shock to the whole of Europe was much greater than the shock Zhu Youdong brought to the Ming Dynasty.
Philip III, nicknamed "the Pious", wanted to abdicate at the time and give the throne to his son who had the word "King" on his belly.
Although this idea was quickly dispelled by the Duke of Lemar and other favorites, Philip III personally appointed one of his sons as Prince of Asturias when his two children were baptized, and named him Philip - this is the standard title of heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Spain.
The other child was named Grand Duke of the Basque Country. The Basque people in this region were known for their tough, brave and tenacious character. They were a famous source of soldiers for the Kingdom of Spain at that time. When naming the child, Queen Margaret from Austria expressed her opinion: if there were no regulations by Charles V, one of the two children blessed by the Lord should be sent to Austria to inherit the Habsburg family's property in Austria. Although he could not inherit now, such a son of God could not all be given a Spanish-style name. So, this child had a typical Germanic name: Rudolf.
In 1604, the year Zhu Youdong started to learn, Prince Philip of Asturias left Madrid and came to his fiefdom. He began to build a base for time travelers in a low-key manner. Archduke Rudolf of the Basque Country set out from Madrid in the name of studying, traveled all over Spain, then went to Milan (Milan was under the control of the Kingdom of Spain at that time), the Two Sicilies, and then entered Austria. Then he returned to Madrid from the German states and France.
This is the time traveler doing field research for the upcoming pan-European war.
"Philip, the above is a rough outline of my travels in Europe over the past two years. Well, as an officer of the Spanish National Defense Forces before the time travel, I know that Spain of this era, and even the entire Habsburg family, is on the decline . But I never expected the decline to be so obvious. Hey, Philip, weren't you a history professor at the University of Madrid before you traveled through time? Why do I feel that your attitude before departure is more optimistic than mine?"
"Yes. Things on paper are not as good as real-life investigations. One of the great shortcomings of our European historical community is that we place too much emphasis on emperors, famous ministers, and generals in history, while ignoring the situation of ordinary people. Therefore, it is normal that our research in the 21st century is far from the real situation of this era."
"Well, let's not talk about the rest. How have you been doing in your fiefdom during the two years I was away?"
"It's OK. I have tried every means to invite the greatest scholars of this era to Asturias. At least, Galileo, Kepler, Steven (Dutch engineer) and many other scholars are living comfortably there now. Descartes is still too young at the moment, I will invite him in a few years... In my fiefdom, in terms of industry, all large iron mines have been fully explored, and some iron mines have begun production. Twenty steel-making blast furnaces have been built, and within three years, domestic steel production can be doubled. At the same time, I have also organized scholars to explore various types of steel... In terms of military, according to your The Mauser 1871 breech-loading rifle, which was given to me in advance, has already been manufactured. However, the output of the hydraulic machinery is unstable, and the products produced by it have a large error. Therefore, to ensure the quality, it can only be produced by hand. Moreover, without smokeless gunpowder, the practical value of the breech-loading rifle is not great, and the machine gun cannot be used in actual combat. Before these problems are solved, in the future European war, I suggest that the breech-loading flintlock rifle should be the main weapon of the infantry... In addition, I have already started to improve the steam engine. Once there is a practical industrial steam engine, the real industrial revolution will come. "
"Very good! Then should we ignite a European war in advance?"
"I used to think so, but based on what you and I have learned in the past few years, it's not possible." Although he didn't wear glasses, Philip, who had a strong scholarly air, habitually touched his nose bridge: "Spain's prosperity in this era is based on the continuous import of gold and silver from the Americas. But now the output of gold and silver in Central and South America has begun to dry up. If is not supported by gold and silver all of a sudden, it will definitely not work. So, my current idea is not to ignite a European war for the time being, but to wait for the opportunity. After all, our enemies are not actually Protestants."
"Yes! The German wife I married before I traveled through time was a Protestant! Well, Philip, we agreed that after the European war, you must achieve religious reconciliation."
"Of course, Rudolph, I promise."
"Okay, then we won't move for now. Well, no, we have to do something else besides accumulating strength, right?"
"I have an idea. Now, as the gold and silver mines in Central and South America are gradually drying up, in addition to writing a letter to inform the governor of the Spanish Viceroyalty to head to California to look for new gold mines, I also want to contact the other two of the three East Asian travelers besides China."
"According to our joint sensing and positioning , one of them should be in Japan, and the other should be in Southeast Asia, right?"
"It's not a should, but a must. The Jesuit intelligence network is all over the world. The one in Southeast Asia was born in Thailand... Rudolf, I always feel that the only one who can pose a threat to our cause in the end is the one in China. After all, in the era before we traveled through time, China's rise was already visible to the whole world. For such a hardworking, tenacious and intelligent nation, as long as the qualifications of the Chinese traveler are slightly higher than the average level, it is enough to reverse the demise of the Chinese central government in this era and make this country burst out with powerful power... Therefore, I intend to bring together the two people in Japan and Thailand to fight against the one in China. Otherwise, before we integrate Europe and defeat the Ottoman Empire, the one in China will unify East Asia first, and then our pressure will be too great."
"That makes sense. You scholars are better at this kind of thing. I won't worry about this. Next, I will go to my fiefdom to train our guards. Oh, before that, Philip, I want to inform you of something."
"Notify? Rudolph, you said inform rather than discuss?"
"Yes, I have reported it. The two-year journey across Europe has made me very anxious and uneasy. Seeing the miserable people in my country has made me hate Duke Lerma and his followers even more. I will go to my fiefdom to train assassins! Lerma and his son, I will not let them live for long!"
"Uh... okay." Philip, still with a gentle smile on his face, said: "Dear Rudolf, I will support all your decisions. The Basques have always produced the most outstanding warriors in Iberia. You will definitely find the right person."
