Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1028 - 42, Unscrupulous Ideas and Paying the Bill

Chapter 1028: Chapter 42, Unscrupulous Ideas and Paying the Bill

Judging by the enthusiastic atmosphere on site, Franz knew that this epoch-making military parade was a success.

As for whether some of the shocking scenes would cause discomfort in the hearts of some of the audience present, that was none of Franz’s concern.

After all, a celebration was meant to be lively and noisy. With just over ten thousand people participating in the parade, compared to the vast armed forces of the Holy Roman Empire, it did not even make up one percent, which was proof enough that Franz had exercised considerable restraint.

If he really wanted to make a statement, organizing a few tens of thousands for a live-fire exercise would have had an even more deterrent effect.

But this was enough. Before modern times, large-scale battles were quite rare on the European Continent.

Many historic battles recorded in history with much bluster were mostly exaggerated. Perhaps it wasn’t that the ancients were bragging, but that they were simply using bragging techniques to write history.

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For example, Herodotus once recorded in “History” that three hundred Greek soldiers defeated an army of 5,283,220 Persians.

Yes, that’s exactly how it was recorded: three hundred people defeating over five million.

As for how the war was fought and unfolded, it was glossed over, the narrative focused on the valor of the Greek soldiers.

Three hundred Spartans were clearly not enough, but if they were all Saint Fighters implementing a decapitation strike, perhaps there might have been a chance.

Roman historians were no less bold, with Appian recording in “Roman History”: “Caesar attacked Gaul and annihilated 4 million Gallic soldiers.”

Caesar, in his own “War Memoirs of Gaul,” claimed: “Defeating an army of 430,000 Gauls, without a single Roman soldier killed.”

The exact details of the battles are lost to time, as Franz could not verify them; the only certainty was that there were definitely not four million Gauls at that time.

Of course, these are nothing compared to Indian history.

The “Mahabharata” records that over 1.6 billion royal family members fell in one great battle. As for the number of commoners who died, Franz did not recall.

It really fits the saying, “As big as your heart, so is the world.”

Compared to the achievements of the ancients, military campaigns like the Prusso-Russian War and Anti-French War seem insignificant.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of exaggeration; perhaps the ancients were writing fiction, mistakenly taken by later generations as history.

However, those who read history don’t dare take it seriously. In fact, due to the limitations of primitive economic models, ancient European wars often involved only a few hundred or thousand soldiers.

Engaging tens of thousands in battle was decidedly a major campaign. Thus, this military exercise involving ten thousand participants was sufficiently alarming.

After all, for many small countries since their inception, the highest level of battle they ever took part in was at the ten-thousand-person scale.

Even the envoys from the great powers of Britain and Russia left with unnatural expressions. Whether it was pretense or genuine, no one knew.

In any case, this military parade of the Holy Roman Empire had gone viral. The footage captured by cameras was now edited into a movie, en route to all corners of the world.

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In an era starved for entertainment materials, it was only natural to share a rare documentary filmed with live action with audiences everywhere.

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The global impact was not immediately clear, but the armaments factories of the Holy Roman Empire had recently become busy.

Airplanes, tank armor, artillery—these became hot items in the international arms market, in high demand and short supply.

What Franz had not anticipated was that the largest arms purchase orders came from the competitor, Britannia.

Upon reflection, it didn’t seem mistaken. The economic crisis was dwindling, but the financial situation of governments had not yet reversed; the British were the ones with deep pockets.

Whether it was for show or to dissect in the laboratory, they had to buy them first.

Britannia’s military enterprises were numerous, and there were plenty with the ambition to study these equipment. Each receiving a few samples for study, the orders added up to over a hundred.

Compared to the cost of millions of British Pounds for a flagship, the price of thousands for airplanes and tanks was a trifle.

…

At the Spanish embassy, Ruenior, who had yet to leave, was deep in thought. The first batch of loans had been secured, and with money in his pocket, it was natural to consider how to spend it.

Seeing the world scramble for airplanes and tanks left Ruenior very envious. The accompanying military representatives were nagging him about it daily.

As much as he coveted them, Ruenior was a rational man. He would not make hasty decisions influenced by external forces.

Airplanes and tanks, desirable as they were, were they truly what the Spanish Army needed at the moment?

Airplanes could be excused; after all, they flew in the sky where the terrain was barely a factor. But tank armor was different; they were kings in flat terrain, but once in the mountains or hills, they were as good as bronze.

Spain was no longer the awe-inspiring Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets. The government’s money was borrowed from abroad, money that would have to be repaid in the future.

If they didn’t spend cautiously and the funds ran out before the rebellion was suppressed, it would be tragic.

Ruenior did not believe that the Vienna Government’s money was easy to come by, that if it ran out, one could simply ask for more.

Even as a subordinate, one must show one’s value. It was obvious to anyone that the Vienna Government’s intention in supporting Spain was to use it as a pawn to suppress France.

The precondition for support was that Spain could recover and must possess a certain military strength.

If Spain could not improve its military capabilities, what difference would there be between Spain and small nations like Belgium, Switzerland, and Sardinia?

Spain could end up even less significant than these smaller nations. Sardinia aside, Belgium and Switzerland might be small, but their military’s combat effectiveness was formidable.

Both countries combined had a population roughly thirty percent that of France. In the Anti-French War, they had even bitten off a chunk from France.

Once these two countries developed, reaching a third of France’s national strength was not a fantasy. After all, France was being suppressed by the Continental Alliance and could not possibly develop freely.

In theory, as long as Spain did not perform poorly—threatening France from behind, along with a few Italian Sub-States boosting morale—France, even if it were to revive, would be solidly restrained by its neighbors.

Without this troublemaker stirring the pot, the Holy Roman Empire would be free to challenge the British dominance of the seas.

This was an overt strategy, fully aware that the Vienna Government’s support was self-interested, the Spanish Government still had no choice but to actively join in.

There was no other reason; Spain wanted to revive too. But resources and space were limited, and the European Continent already had a hegemon—there was no room for two regional powers in the tiny area of Western Europe.

Whether out of hatred or for profit, Spain was inevitably going to clash with France. After the European wars ended, Spain became the vanguard in suppressing France.

Even when colonial rebellions erupted, Spain still maintained an “elite” force stationed within French territory. The fact that the Spanish Government would rather recruit mercenaries than move this force was telling enough.

Ruenior, “How are things with the Jews? Can the follow-up loans be guaranteed?”

No matter the strategic plan, in the end, it all came down to “money.” To get more money, Ruenior had given up on moral integrity.

Even though he knew there might be problems with the Jewish loans, thinking of the Divine Shield, Ruenior was still happy to turn a blind eye.

Regardless of whether there was an issue with the origins of the Jewish loan capital, or whether Jewish capital was involved in any conspiracy, it had nothing to do with Spain the borrower.

The contract Ruenior had signed was an ordinary commercial loan agreement, the bank’s source of funds was none of his business.

Even if there were problems in the future, it wouldn’t fall back on him. There was no law in the world that required a borrower to be responsible for the bank’s funding sources.

Minister Brad, “The Jews are using the contract we signed with them to raise funds everywhere. I’ve secretly sent people to attend their promotional meetings in Vienna, and it doesn’t look optimistic.

The market has significant doubts about our repayment capabilities. If it weren’t for the promise of high returns, there probably would be no investors at all.

Of course, those Jews indeed give excellent speeches. Even with doubts in their minds, quite a few investors still tentatively put in some money.

In theory, as long as they don’t abscond with the donations, there shouldn’t be a problem with securing further loans. After all, there are too many people with money and nowhere to invest it right now, there will always be a few bold ones.”

Default on debts?

No!

Even if the loan interest was a bit high, as long as they were capable of repayment, the Spanish Government would not default.

National reputation was very valuable, and no government would intentionally default unless absolutely necessary.

“Then let’s secretly have someone keep an eye on them for now, and refrain from taking any action. As long as the monthly loans can be transferred on time, we will comply with them for the time being.”

Ruenior hoped that the creditors would run into trouble, but certainly not now. It would be best if the problems occurred after they had taken all the loans.

Deep down, Ruenior also harbored another unethical thought: to collect the Jews’ weaknesses and, after securing all the loans, turn around and report them, forcing those people to flee.

Of course, such a move was also very risky. Once it got out, the Spanish Government’s reputation would be ruined, and no bank would dare to cooperate with them again.

“The world’s crows are all as black,” is not said in jest. Today’s banks, there are hardly any that are completely clean.

The difference is only in the scale of the issues, once exposed to the sunlight, most banks would not be able to escape unscathed.

Minister Brad nodded, “No problem, I’ll have someone keep a close eye on them for the long term. They won’t cause any trouble.”

After a pause, Minister Brad asked, “Your Excellency, the Minister, have you thought through the military procurement issue?”

Suppressing the Philippine native rebel army or crushing the Cuban independence movement both inevitably require munitions.

Industrialization in Spain had only half progressed, and its military production capacity could only be described as “capable.” In theory, whether it be airplanes, artillery, tanks, or warships, Spain could build them independently.

Being capable of production did not equate to usability; these are two different concepts. Not to mention airplanes, artillery, tanks, or warships—these high-end items—even the capacity to produce ammunition fell short.

It wasn’t just insufficient production capacity; the higher problem was the exorbitant cost. The domestic production costs were nearly identical to the international arms market prices, yet the quality still couldn’t match up.

To change this, the Spanish Government made an effort.

After the Anti-French wars ended, the Treaty of Vienna restricted France from engaging in military production.

The machinery for producing weapons was directly confiscated by the Anti-French Alliance, turning into spoils of war—either dismantled and taken by the nations or put to a pyrotechnic display on site.

Unforeseen by many, these seemingly valuable pieces of machinery turned out to be of little practical use.

The countries with the capability to use this equipment had already completed industrialization and had their own industrial systems, not needing these at all.

The countries that needed this equipment were limited by industrial foundations and talent; obtaining the machinery did not mean they could utilize it.

As a member of the victorious countries, Spain also dismantled plenty of equipment from France, but without a corresponding industrial system and industrial workers, it couldn’t be put into production.

Clearly, the Spanish Government officials were not the ones who could solve the problem. As a result, this equipment now lay in warehouses, waiting to rust.

Without the production lines running, ammunition depleted with each shot fired, and the Spanish Army’s French equipment soon became no more useful than firewood sticks.

While the Spanish Government was contemplating whether to spend a great deal of money to bring people from France to start the production lines, aid with weaponry from the Vienna Government also arrived.

Free things should not be declined; under the law of true fragrance, the Spanish Army quickly abandoned the French equipment and switched to the Austrian equipment, which performed better on the battlefield.

It proved that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. After gaining an advantage in the early stages, now came the time to pay the bill.

With the end of the Spanish-American War, the era of free weapon and ammunition aid also ended. To meet the demands of war, the Spanish Government had no choice but to purchase ammunition from the Holy Roman Empire.

Ruenior, “Our budget is limited, so we’ll have to spend it judiciously. Just follow the prepared list for the procurement of regular weaponry, armor, and ammunition.

We’ll only purchase twenty bombers for now. Armored tanks aren’t very useful and are not needed against the rebel army.”

Leaving the Foreign Minister to decide on military procurement, Ruenior had nothing to say. Was this truly out of “trust,” or was it out of “trust”?

There was no choice; what the Spanish bureaucrats excelled at was reaping benefits. Neither the subordinates nor including the military representatives, coming from governmental official backgrounds, were professionals.

Since everyone was an amateur, it might as well be the honorable amateur who does the job. At least as the Foreign Minister, Ruenior wasn’t so superficial as to take kickbacks.