It doesn't matter if Spain is defeated. The key is that the Philippine Islands, a strategic location, cannot fall into the hands of the ambitious Japanese. Otherwise, there will never be peace in Southeast Asia.
Although the Government of Japan is very peaceful now, even if the Government of Vienna openly supports Spain, they still keep a low profile, as if they have no temper.
But this is only based on the fear of the strong. Now the Holy Roman Empire is strong, and the military power in Southeast Asia can make them suffer. Even if they want to be restless, they can't.
But times are changing. The Philippine Islands in the hands of the Spanish 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 it does not help the national strength much.
If it falls into the hands of Japan, it will be completely different. With the resources of the Philippines, coupled with the hardworking of the Japanese, it is proper to create a medium-sized power, and it is the kind of fighting power.
If it is only these, it is not enough to make Franz afraid. After all, the Holy Roman Empire is so abnormal that even he himself did not think that one day he could create such a huge empire.
The problem is that Japan is not a normal country. Now with the pressure of the elders, there is not much madness for the time being. The future is not certain. Referring to the practice of their original time and space, it is completely a series of tricks to seek death.
No one can guarantee that one day the Japanese will go crazy and attack the Austrian Nanyang region. Franz does not want to go on an expedition to the Far East to fight against the Japanese.
It is estimated that normal people do not like a war of loss and loss. Unless there is a certainty of killing in one blow, Franz will not launch such a meaningless war of attrition.
From the standpoint of the Holy Roman Empire, it is best to leave the Philippine Islands in the hands of the Spanish. At least the Spanish government will not fantasize about competing with them for hegemony in Southeast Asia, let alone dare to do anything to the Austrian Nanyang region.
"Is the Spanish army so useless?"
Prime Minister Carr asked first. As a normal European, he really can't imagine that the European army against the Japanese indigenous people achieved such a garbage record.
Without the record set by the Italian army, the performance of the Spanish army could be said to be the worst among all the colonial empires in Europe.
Not to mention a 1: 1.4 exchange ratio, even a 1: 10 exchange ratio would be the performance of an inferior student. Under normal circumstances, a single unit would chase after a few thousand people, and a single unit would be enough to destroy a country.
Spain was the ancestor of colonial warfare and the creator of the record of conquest. Back in the day, Spain used 600 people to conquer the Aztec Empire, and 177 people and 62 horses overturned the Incan Empire.
Compared to the current achievements of the Spanish army, even the difference between heaven and hell could not be so huge. Prime Minister Carr, as a normal person, naturally found it hard to believe such a conceptual impact.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained, "They're even more useless than we expected. However, this was not without warning. As early as the European War, the Spanish had already exposed the problem of the low combat power of their land forces.
They had gathered all the elite troops in the country and carefully planned the campaign, but in the end, they couldn't even defeat the cannon fodder troops that France had temporarily formed.
In the entire Anti-French Alliance, only the Italian Federation's military could compete with them. The combat power they have shown now should be the lower limit of the land forces in the European world. "
Everyone was complaining about the Spanish trash, but no one mentioned that the Japanese Army's combat power was strong. Well, Franz admitted that the combat power of the Japanese Army these days really had nothing to do with being strong.
It was not that the Japanese didn't work hard, the problem was that military expenses determined the upper limit of the military's combat power. Without firing hundreds of bullets, how could you call yourself a veteran? Without thousands of bullets, how could you feed an elite?
If the infantry was like this, the artillery was even more powerful. Every qualified artilleryman was trained by cannonballs. Generally speaking, hundreds of cannonballs were indispensable. Even if most of them were training shells, it was still a big expense.
What's more, there was the wear and tear of the artillery. It was common to train a few gunners to scrap a cannon.
There was no need to mention armored soldiers and pilots with higher technical requirements. They were all trained with money. Of course, the Japanese didn't have these types of soldiers, so there was no need to consider it.
In addition to the consumption of ammunition, the soldiers' pay, daily life, and maintenance of weapons and equipment were also not small expenses.
According to the standards of the Shinra Army, the Japanese Army's military expenses could barely support one infantry division. It was a bit difficult to support two, let alone others.
And this embarrassing situation would continue until the weapons and equipment could be domesticated and the cost of weapons and ammunition was reduced. Only then would there be a slight improvement.
Based on the original time and space, for a long time, the Japanese Army only maintained a single standing division, and it was often not enough.
Even so, the military expenses were still not enough. Forced to do so, the Japanese Army practiced hand-to-hand combat, and then became the king of hand-to-hand combat.
However, with the combat power brought by blood and bravery, they could bully trash cannon fodder, but if they encountered a real elite, they would be sent to their deaths.
In fact, elite troops were not necessarily warriors who dared to die. Their real strength was in their professionalism.
Simply put, even if they were a few hundred meters away, the probability of them hitting you was twenty to thirty percent, and you could only rely on luck to fight back.
In modern warfare, on average, killing an enemy with a few thousand bullets, and in future wars, killing an enemy with tens of thousands of bullets, was mostly the work of ordinary troops. On the other hand, elite troops would need much less ammunition to kill an enemy.
This was also the reason why the Government of Vienna didn't care about the Japanese Army's combat power. A country that even imported artillery didn't have the qualifications to be feared.
…
Seeing that the topic had deviated from the topic, Franz interrupted, "It doesn't matter whether the Spanish Army is useless or not. The key is that the British are involved. The Government of London is supporting the Japanese, so we can't let Spain lose the war, at least not too badly. "
In international politics, face was sometimes very important, especially for a newly born hegemon.
Although the British and Austria were only controlling the war from behind, in the eyes of many people, the war was a continuation of the struggle for supremacy between Britain and Austria.
If Spain suffered a crushing defeat, it would send a signal to the outside world: in the overseas competition, the Holy Roman Empire was no match for the British.
Although this was the truth, the Vienna government had to deny it no matter what. In a sense, admitting that they couldn't compete with Britannia in the overseas competition meant admitting defeat.
As a challenger, they could tolerate failure, but they couldn't admit defeat. Politics was like this. Sometimes they had to deceive themselves.
Moreover, if they didn't show some strength to their brothers, how could they feel at ease?
Franz didn't expect Spain to be able to reverse the situation. He would be satisfied as long as both sides suffered.
If they couldn't do it, then it was not unacceptable to let the Spanish lose with dignity. After all, a military victory was not a victory. The diplomatic game could still change the final outcome.
As long as the Spanish showed enough strength, Franz was confident that he could force the Japanese to withdraw from the Philippine Islands through diplomatic means.
"It's too late to help the Spanish train the army. If you want to change the situation on the battlefield in a short time, you can only use mercenaries.
The problem now is that the Spanish are too poor. It's already very difficult to maintain the expeditionary force. They don't have enough financial resources to hire an army.
What's more, the military strength of the Japanese is not too weak. There is no mercenary force in the world that can complete this task. "
Prime Minister Carr suggested. It wasn't that the Government of Vienna hadn't done similar things. When they fought with the British for South Africa, they used the identity of "mercenaries." However, they later found it unnecessary and simply used the name of the Boer Republic government army.
The only problem was that the Philippine Islands were different from South Africa. The South Africa region was taken by themselves, and it was reasonable to pay for it; but the Philippine Islands belonged to the Spanish. For the sake of international reputation, the Government of Vienna couldn't swallow it.
How could there be such a good thing in the world to bring dry food to help the Spanish fight? Even if the Spanish government had paid the price, it was only in exchange for the support of the Government of Vienna. It was not enough for the Holy Roman Empire to personally go into battle.
Without the involvement of the Government of Vienna, with the ability of the Spanish, even if they were really willing to pay to hire an army to help fight, they wouldn't have such a strong mercenary force.
Under normal circumstances, a mercenary force would only have a hundred and eighty people. A force with more than a thousand people was a large force, and they couldn't afford to support any more.
There were also great differences in combat power. Among them, the powerful ones could suppress the government forces of various countries and could be said to be the elite of the elite. More mercenary teams could bully the indigenous people, but they could only serve as fodder when they encountered a regular army.
It was okay in small-scale battles, but if it was in a large-scale battle of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, a mercenary force with only a thousand or eight hundred people was not enough.
Franz nodded. "If you don't have money, lend it to them and let the Spanish use the proceeds of the colony as collateral. There are no such strong mercenary groups in the world, so they can form their own.
The European war had just ended not long ago, and there were still a large group of retired officers and soldiers on the European continent. There were always outlaws who liked to lick blood on the tip of a knife.
If the number is not enough, go to France to recruit. They have been starving for so long, I believe there will be people who are willing to work for their families.
By the way, don't hire mercenaries from the Regions of Italy. This time, we are going to the Philippines to fight, and there is no spaghetti there. "
Without the conditions, they had to create the conditions. No one knew if the mercenaries could defeat the Japanese Army, but it was better than nothing.
Instead of sitting back and watching the Spanish lose, it was better to work hard and fight. Anyway, the Spanish were paying, and the Government of Vienna only needed to push them in the dark.
It would be best if they could play a role, but it was okay if they couldn't. The situation had deteriorated to this point, and it couldn't be any worse.
Even if the plan failed, the Spanish government would cry. The Government of Vienna would only lose some face. At most, they would not compete with the British in the overseas competition.
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