Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 212 The Target is France
The communication between the Sons of God was not allowed to be eavesdropped by mortals. This was an unwritten tradition in the Spanish court for 12 years starting in 1600. So, when Philip and Rudolf entered a secret room again, all the servants automatically stood far away.
"Congratulations! After twelve years, we finally reached the summit."
"Hey, Rudolf, this king is just a title. Isn't it the same whether you treat me as such?"
"It's different. From the moment we were born, our identities were determined by the Lord."
"Let's not talk about this anymore, Rudolf. Now we can finally start our big move. I think we should start a war against France before the Throwing Out of the Window incident in the historical plane happens!"
"I agree! With the strength we have accumulated now, we can completely eliminate the Bourbon rule in France in one fell swoop."
It is now 1612, and eight years have passed since the two time travelers began to build their own territory.
Over the past eight years, the time traveler named Philip has mainly focused on education, science and technology, and economy.
In terms of education, he built the University of Asturias and invited major European scholars to give lectures at a high price. Now, this university has graduated five classes of students totaling 1,500 people. About one-third of them are children of common people. In addition, when His Majesty Philip was a prince, he was a wise king praised by all the Spanish people. He rarely participated in court balls and did not like to build new palaces. A considerable part of his income was used to help the poor in the territory and to support poor students to study. In his fiefdom, in addition to a university, there was also a middle school and two elementary schools. By 1612, the number of students in the four schools had reached nearly 10,000.
The University of Asturias, where Philip has spent the most effort, has an academic level in mathematics, physics and chemistry that is slightly higher than that of Fangshan University in the Ming Dynasty.
For example, in the field of power research, the University of Asturias is very close to completing the improvement of the steam engine. Apart from being limited by the progress of materials science, which leads to insufficient fatigue resistance of metals, it only needs to improve two or three key parts before it can be used in industrial production.
In terms of weapons, Spain's copper-cased bullets had entered the mass production stage at this time, so breech-loading rifles could also be put into practical use. The only drawback was that smokeless gunpowder had not been developed, so machine guns could not be used, and breech-loading rifles often jammed and lacked stability during continuous shooting. In addition, the firing rate of single-shot breech-loading rifles did not show a crushing advantage over the muzzle-loading rifles that had reached their peak. Therefore, the Spanish army still used muzzle-loading flintlock rifles at this time.
In terms of cannon casting technology, Spain was originally the most advanced country in Europe at that time. After receiving the blessing of the time travelers, it was far ahead of other countries, and even the locking mechanism at the rear of the gun body had been developed. However, after all, it was limited by the fact that smokeless gunpowder and advanced explosives were not successfully developed. Therefore, at this time, although Spain's artillery had rifled cannons, it was still a muzzle-loading cannon.
In terms of economy, the new king had already begun to control the country's economy when he was still a prince, especially after the assassination of the Duke of Lerma. Thanks to his efforts, the country's court banquets were greatly reduced, and the painters, musicians, and writers supported by the royal family were forced to find other ways out. The construction of various churches continued, of course, but the materials and scale were obviously restricted.
In terms of culture, although the time traveler is not interested in writers and musicians, the importance of controlling public opinion is still very clear to a history professor. Over the years, he has founded three newspapers, Marca, Español and Madrid Daily. He has also gained considerable control over public opinion. In addition, he also invested in and founded the King's Cup football match that implements modern football rules. Through sports competitions, while making a lot of money, he also further released social pressure and eased social conflicts ...
He sent the Grand Duke of the Basque Country to North America to guide the governor of the colony to discover new gold mines in California, and more gold and silver mines were discovered along the Cordillera Mountains. At the same time, Spain successfully developed glass, and Venice, which had originally operated exclusively, suffered a heavy blow to its economy. Moreover, relying on Spain's advantage as the Atlantic hegemon at this time, he started to trade in penicillin, silk, ceramics, and tea. Especially penicillin, the Spaniards bought it in the Ming Dynasty for fifty taels of silver, and after shipping it to Europe, they directly set the selling price at fifty gold coins! With the successful development of streptomycin, which is effective against severe infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and plague, Spain's drug trade will undoubtedly get more income.
In short, on the one hand, expenditures were reduced, and on the other hand, revenues increased. The Kingdom of Spain finally achieved a fiscal surplus after nearly a hundred years. The country's past debts were being repaid, and the country's credit was constantly improving. The pride of the people was slowly returning.
As for Rudolf, apart from touring Europe and America, all his energy was devoted to military affairs.
He established the Basque Military School, using the military knowledge of the 19th century to train officers of this era. At the same time, because he was a modern man, he did not openly discriminate against people of different races. Therefore, there were students of all skin colors in the Basque Military School.
The military academy is like this, and the army is naturally like this. Now, Spain has built ten divisions according to the general military organization of later generations, with a total force of 150,000. In this army, native Spanish soldiers account for about 70%, mixed-race people and Indians from various colonies account for about 25%, and Africans account for about 5%. Moreover, Rudolf changed the previous system of Spain, which was mainly based on recruitment, to a system of conscription. He also persuaded Philip III at the time to launch a universal conscription system throughout Spain.
The Spanish phalanx was invincible for nearly a century, but now it has gradually fallen behind. Rudolf made reforms to this, mainly reducing the proportion of pikemen in the army from 70% to 10%. Correspondingly, the proportion of musketeers increased significantly. Secondly, the artillery was upgraded from an auxiliary branch to a main combat branch, and improvements were made in the lightweight of the cannon and the multi-purpose of the shells.
Through the above efforts, coupled with the allocation of a large number of officers trained by time travelers to this army, the combat effectiveness of these 150,000 new troops is definitely the best in Europe!
In terms of the navy , as the economy improved, the royal family allocated more funds to the navy. The Spanish galleons were of course the pride of an era, but it was time to change them. Rudolf, together with Ferdinand, the fourth Duke of Alva (the third was a tough guy), reformed the navy ships - in short, they changed the large and clumsy galleons into more maneuverable galleons. Then they classified the warships according to their functions...
In short, Spain at this time has changed its declining appearance and is becoming more and more revitalized.
"There is no need for an excuse for a war with France. This shameful country, although Catholic, is willing to unite with Protestants and even the Ottomans to fight against us for the sake of European hegemony. Before the upcoming European war, we must eliminate this shameless traitor first!"
"I agree. For hundreds of years, we have fought with this country many times, and many princes and nobles on both sides have died in the war. With such hatred, there is no need for any excuse for war. Moreover, our territories such as the Netherlands, Alsace, and Lorraine are separated from the mainland by France. Therefore, this country must be destroyed!"
"Rudolf, I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the French expedition army. Can you accept it?"
"Of course! This is my honor and my mission that I cannot shirk!"
"Okay, of the 150,000 new troops, I will allocate 100,000 to you first. At the same time, I will let Marquis Spinola lead his 10,000 elite troops to support you. Governor Albrecht of the Netherlands will provide you with a base and food for the march. As for the navy, I will let the Duke of Alva and Viscount Barudice launch an attack on France from the Atlantic and Mediterranean at the same time."
"Okay, when do we start?"
"In the second half of this year, after all, the logistics and equipment for 100,000 new troops are too large to transport. We will start the war in the second half of 1613 and strive to defeat France before 1618. Of course, we cannot incorporate such a big country with its own independent culture, language and large population into Spain. However, we can divide this country into several small countries and let our relatives be kings."
"Please rest assured, I will conquer France within three years!"
