Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 556: Europe's Star Generals
"All the believers of the Lord in Europe, since Luther proposed a different view on the Lord's teachings, Europe, which was already politically torn apart, has also fallen into a serious religious division in the past 100 years. Because of different understandings of the doctrines, the believers of the Lord have fallen into extremely sad mutual hostility, hatred and even war.
The renewed division of the Christian world has caused a great setback to our common cause. Our missionaries have fallen into confusion and are unable to bring the light of the Lord to more lost souls in ignorant areas. The hostility and internal friction among countries across Europe have prevented us from uniting our forces to do what we really need to do.
The Holy City, under the rule of pagans, has become a shame for every believer of the Lord. Many Christians are groaning in pain under the oppression of pagans, and we are powerless to save them...
In view of this, my comrades and I put all our efforts into establishing the European Union. The purpose of this alliance is only one, which is to unite all believers of the Lord and fight for the Lord's cause!
We thought so and did so. Less than five years after the establishment of the alliance, we launched a war against the Ottoman Empire. In this fierce war that lasted for more than a year, the warriors of the Lord held their faith in the Lord, braved difficulties, fought bravely, and dared to sacrifice. Finally, we seized Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Cyrenaica, Egypt, Croatia... from the powerful and evil pagans...
The acquisition of Croatia gave us a barrier in the Balkan mountains. From then on, the Ottomans could no longer attack the Central European plains. Moreover, we recovered the holy city of Jerusalem! It can be said that in this war, we have achieved an incomparable and brilliant achievement! Not only did we wipe out the shame of more than 900 years, but we also let the glory of the Lord descend on a wider area!
However, we must realize that although we have made brilliant achievements, we have not been able to destroy the evil Ottoman Empire. This is not because our soldiers are not brave enough or our commanders are not wise enough, but because we have too many problems.
At the beginning of the war, we were betrayed by the Venetians in their usual way! They embezzled the rations that our people saved for the frontline soldiers and made huge profits. While committing such heinous crimes, they did not know how to restrain themselves and even colluded with the Ottomans to lure our commander to attack Jerusalem.
In my plan, if we conquer Egypt, Jerusalem will naturally return to the Lord's arms like a falling pearl. However, due to the temptation of Venice, we attacked Jerusalem ahead of time. Although we recovered the holy city thanks to the hard work of our soldiers, we also paid a heavy price. More than 50,000 soldiers fell forever in Palestine. Such tragic sacrifices also forced us to withdraw our main forces from the north to support the south. They had to withdraw from most of the Balkan Peninsula - after all, recovering the holy city and defending it is more important.
In addition to the fact that Venice's betrayal caused great losses to our common cause, some of our own problems were also fully exposed in this war.
Some of our troops had huge flaws in military discipline, so that after we liberated the Balkans, we were attacked by the people of the Balkans and even the believers of the Lord.
Our household registration system is extremely imperfect, which makes it impossible to establish a compulsory military service system and a reserve service system. The existing army can only be built mainly through recruitment. As a result, after the front-line troops suffered heavy losses, they were unable to quickly replenish new soldiers to restore their combat effectiveness...
In short, although we have achieved brilliant achievements, we are still a long way from our goal: to destroy the evil Ottoman state.
During the war, after discovering Venice's dirty tricks, I acted decisively to destroy this rogue country that had been a scoundrel in Europe for hundreds of years, and announced that all debts owed by European countries and even individuals to the Bank of Venice would be forgiven. After the war, I will push the European Union to establish a specialized organization such as the Military Service Bureau, as well as a standardized household registration system throughout Europe, and on this basis establish a European compulsory military service system.
Fellow Europeans, the above measures may indeed make people feel a little uncomfortable and unfree. However, for the cause of the Lord, we must make real sacrifices, not just empty slogans. For the cause of the Lord, we must work down-to-earth, not just rush to the Holy City with full enthusiasm and a sword to participate in the holy war - the times have changed, without a strong alliance, we cannot spread the glory of the Lord to the whole world! "
On July 18, 1626, Philip published this signed article simultaneously in major newspapers in Europe, which immediately caused a huge response throughout Europe.
Ordinary people are of course cheering for this - leeks are also grasses, they can just sway in the wind.
As for the emerging bourgeoisie and big businessmen , they smelled something different: if there is a centralized European Union, would it be more powerful? In this case, would it be faster to open up the market?
After Europe entered the steam age, the problem of overproduction gradually emerged, and overseas markets were also needed for producers to suck blood. After conquering Northern Europe, European factory owners and merchants were delighted to see that from then on, the Mediterranean route would become very safe, from Europe to Egypt, and then through the Nile River into the interior of Africa... Wow, it's so beautiful, don't look at it.
Moreover, Philip also spread the word that I was planning to build the Suez Canal - after this news spread, the entire European business community got a shot of chicken blood and became extremely excited!
Without a doubt, we must support His Majesty Philip. If it weren't for His Majesty's iron fist to unify all of Europe, how could we have taken Egypt and how could we have the financial resources to open the Suez Canal? As long as this canal is opened, God, we no longer have to go around the African continent and can sail directly to Asia! That is the real place of wealth.
The common people and the bourgeoisie quickly stood on Philip's side. The monarchs of various countries, whose power was constantly damaged by the increasing authority of the European Union, could only hold their noses and endure it: Want to betray the alliance? Look at the fate of Venice, which was a small tyrant that dominated the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, and was destroyed in an instant. Moreover, since His Majesty Philip tied all of Europe together economically and controlled public opinion in Europe, even if Spain did not come to attack after he betrayed the alliance, he would not be able to bear the resistance of the people at home. Not to mention, at this moment, the Ottomans were just beaten up, and it was true that they were injured, but it was definitely not dying.
In short, although he failed to defeat the Ottoman Empire in one wave, Philip achieved his goal of strengthening his control over all of Europe through the war against Austria.
After doing all this, Philip immediately returned to Madrid and convened a special meeting to resolve the crisis in the American colonies - America is Spain's America and has nothing to do with the European Union. The intervention of EU countries is neither needed nor allowed.
"Your Majesty, this is an urgent letter from Marquis Spinola that was sent from America the day before yesterday. Two months ago, the rebels captured Lima. During the siege, the rebels used 75mm heavy artillery for the first time."
“Damn the Chinese!”
"Your Majesty, the Marquis said that he had betrayed your Majesty's trust and requested to resign as Governor-General of America."
"It's not his fault. Our troops stationed in America are still armed with outdated flintlock rifles and heavy muzzle-loading cannons with a very short range. Because of the war against the Ottoman Empire some time ago, our arsenal could not spare production capacity for him and could not re-equip his soldiers. Therefore, the responsibility for the defeat is not his. I will not approve his resignation report."
"Your Majesty's wisdom sees through everything." After casually flattering him, Prime Minister Osvalles said, "Then should we send reinforcements now?"
"Of course! America is our source of precious metals and a dumping ground for our goods, and order must be maintained there . However, our army has been fighting for too long recently and needs to rest and replenish. We will not send them there for the time being. Raimondo!"
"Your Majesty, your attendant is here."
"I appoint you as my personal adjutant and grant you the rank of colonel. Then I will hand over my Second Guard Division to you. You take them to America and bring back the woman named Tia and the man named Liuco. I will let them taste our Spanish fist product, the stake !"
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. You will see the wonderful scene of the two rebel leaders howling in the flames."
"Your Majesty, I have no doubt about Raimondo's talent, but he is only eighteen years old after all."
"Prime Minister, I admire your wisdom immensely, but I will never tolerate your doubting my ability! Your Excellency, ability has little to do with age! You should know that Prince Maurice of the Netherlands was the governor of a province and led the army into battle at the age of seventeen!"
"But Prince Maurice only commanded 300 soldiers when he went into battle for the first time."
"Prime Minister, you are insulting me by saying that!"
"Okay, okay..." Seeing Osvalles's persistence, Philip was also troubled: Spain is short of famous players! Moreover, he was a little worried about Raimondo: Am I pushing things too far?
But luckily, I had a backup plan.
"How about this, Raimondo? I will still appoint you as the division commander, but I will send two more people to serve as your supervisor and chief of staff."
"Supervision?"
"Yes, there is a supervisory system in the Chinese military. Supervisors usually do not participate in specific military affairs, but if they believe that the commander has made a decision that will cause heavy losses to the entire army, they have the right to veto it."
"...Okay, I accept your proposal. But Your Majesty, who will be my supervisor and chief of staff?"
"Your supervisor is familiar to everyone, the current Duke of Bourbon, Henry II. He is also your friend, Louis' father."
"So he is a famous general of France. Thank you very much, my lord. I will respect His Excellency the Duke and learn from him."
"Very good. As for your chief of staff, Oliver, come in."
Following Philip's call, a tall young man, about 20 or 30 years old, with an obvious mole on his chin and right eyebrow, entered the venue.
"Let me introduce to you all. This outstanding young man is from England. His full name is Oliver Cromwell. Raimondo, this is your chief of staff!"
