Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 442 Pensions and Peace Talks
Although the British army had surrendered, cleaning up the battlefield was no easy task. The Portuguese Republican government's initial escape led to an unimaginable rout for the Portuguese Republican army.

This also means that many Portuguese Republican troops still remain on the main battlefield. Although their morale has been completely shattered, if they are taken lightly, these enemies lurking in the shadows could very well deliver a fatal blow to the soldiers.

For this reason, Lieutenant General Kaman specifically instructed all soldiers not to be polite to any enemy wearing Portuguese Republican government uniforms when cleaning up the battlefield.

If they surrender voluntarily, that would be fine; it would give them another chance. But if they continue to hold their weapons, we must fire first to ensure we pose no threat.

In Lieutenant General Kaman's view, the lives of Spanish soldiers were extremely precious. Even though the casualty ratio between Spanish and Portuguese soldiers in this war was an absurd 1:4, Lieutenant General Kaman still felt that Spain had suffered heavy losses.

To reduce Spanish casualties, Lieutenant General Carman also effectively utilized the Portuguese forces of the Iberian Party. The remaining large numbers of British and Portuguese troops on the main battlefront were dealt with by the Spanish army, while the smaller groups of Republican troops who fled to various cities or mountains were handled by the Portuguese forces of the Iberian Party.

It shouldn't be a big problem, since the Portuguese Republican government to which the Republican army was loyal has already collapsed. With the government gone, these troops probably won't continue to resist.

The Spanish army spent several days completely mopping up the remaining enemy forces on the battlefield. After a lengthy inventory, they then reported a relatively complete post-war summary back home.

When Carlo received the telegram, he read it carefully about the reports on Spanish army casualties and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Spain committed nearly 20 troops to the war. By the time Carlo received the telegram, the Spanish army had suffered more than 5 casualties, including 1.6 killed and nearly 3.5 wounded.

In this war, 12 infantry divisions, 5 cavalry divisions and 4 artillery divisions of the Royal Spanish Army participated in the fighting, and each army gained considerable benefits.

Although some infantry divisions suffered heavy losses, the remaining soldiers, having been tempered by war, were able to grow into qualified elite soldiers.

Compared to Spain, the British army suffered much heavier losses.

The total number of British troops sent to Portugal also exceeded 20, including about 11 troops in the mainland and about 9 troops in the various colonial legions.

The British home army suffered more than half of its casualties, with the death toll approaching 2 and the number of wounded reaching around 4.

The colonial legion suffered even greater casualties than those on the homeland; of the 9 colonial soldiers, nearly half had died.

The total number of British casualties was 6.5 dead, hundreds missing on the battlefield, and the remaining more than 10 soldiers, including the wounded and sick, were all captured by the Spanish, which set a record for the most British soldiers captured in the 20th century.

If the casualties suffered by the British army can be described as heavy, then the casualties suffered by Portugal, the host country of the civil war, can only be described as horrific.

The impact of this civil war on Portugal is incalculable; the casualties on both sides alone amounted to nearly 20, with nearly 10 Portuguese soldiers dying on the battlefield.

Because of the large scale of the war, many Portuguese civilians were also affected, suffering losses ranging from property damage to death.

It is certain that due to the impact of this civil war, Portugal's economic and industrial development was directly put on the reverse, and it will completely become one of the most backward countries in Europe in the coming decades.

The deaths of a large number of adult men also led to a significant decrease in the birth rate. Before the war, Portugal's annual net population increase was only tens of thousands.

This also shows how severe the impact of the civil war has been on Portugal's population growth. Perhaps in the coming years, Portugal's population will show a negative growth trend.

This doesn't even include the population outflow caused by the war. Since the outbreak of the Portuguese Civil War, countless Portuguese have chosen to emigrate abroad, a significant portion of whom have chosen to emigrate to neighboring Spain.

According to statistics from the Spanish government, since 1904, Spain has received nearly 10 Portuguese immigrants annually, which is a considerable proportion for Portugal, a country with a population of just over 500 million.

While Spain and the Portuguese Democratic Republic were tallying their casualties and gains, the news of the British surrender and the end of the Portuguese civil war had become the hottest news in Europe, spreading rapidly throughout the continent.

Britain's defeat was something many European countries had never anticipated. According to publicly available information from Spain, at least 10 British soldiers were captured by the Spanish.

How exaggerated is this? To put it bluntly, Spain has already seized the initiative in the subsequent negotiations, and the British government has been completely outmatched on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. The heavy losses in this war are inevitable.

No country can ignore the opinions of the families of 10 soldiers, and the British government is no exception.

If the British government fails to rescue these 10 soldiers, the families of these angry soldiers will be enough to overthrow the British government, even before the peace talks end.

This also means that with the surrender of the British army, not only did the Portuguese civil war end, but the war between Spain and Britain also came to an end.

Moreover, the final outcome of this war was a Spanish victory, a result that would inevitably have a profound impact on the future situation in Europe.

Of course, this news is certainly good news for the countries along the Mediterranean coast.

Before the outbreak of this war, both outlets to the Mediterranean were controlled by Britain, and coastal countries had to rely on the British to access the ocean.

However, with Spain's recapture of Gibraltar and victory in the war, the Strait of Gibraltar, the western gateway to the Mediterranean, fell into Spanish hands.

The Strait of Gibraltar connects to the Atlantic Ocean and northern Europe, and its importance is in no way inferior to that of the Suez Canal.

Especially for countries that have no colonies on the east coast of Asia and Africa, the Suez Canal is less important than the Strait of Gibraltar.

After all, Europe is currently the most prosperous region in the world, and most of their import and export trade is conducted with European countries.

While European countries were concerned about the future development of the situation in Europe, Carlos was already carrying out the post-war cleanup work in Spain.

Putting aside other matters, the distribution of compensation to the 1.6 fallen soldiers needs to be carried out effectively in a short period of time to ensure that their families receive the compensation.

The Spanish military's pension system is quite strict, and the relevant pension amounts were personally determined by Carlo. They are uniformly based on the average annual income per capita in Spain at that time, and are divided into two parts: a one-time pension payment and annual relief payments.

The standard for the one-time death benefit is based on the average annual income in Spain at that time, with different proportions depending on the specific circumstances (wounded or killed). The highest amount for a soldier killed in action is five times the average annual income at that time, while the lowest amount for a lightly wounded soldier is still the average annual income at that time.

The lump-sum payment of the death benefit is exactly what it sounds like; it must be paid to the soldier within 12 months after the end of the war, and the full amount must be paid in one lump sum, with no delays except in special circumstances.

Because the relief payments were distributed annually, they were not based on the average annual income of the year after the war ended, but rather on the annual income of the year in which the relief payments were made.

Similar to pensions, relief payments are also distributed for different periods and at different rates depending on the circumstances of the wounded, sick, or killed soldiers. For those with minor or serious injuries, the payment period is 5 to 10 years, and the payment rate is 20% to 50% of the average annual income of that year. For disabled and killed soldiers, the relief payment period is uniformly 10 years, and the payment rate is 75% of the average annual income of that year.

This regulation also shows that Carlo was specifically looking out for soldiers who were disabled due to injuries or illnesses.

Unlike fallen soldiers, these wounded soldiers still have to live their lives. However, due to their disabilities, they find it difficult to find jobs that ordinary people can find, and their standard of living will definitely be significantly reduced because of their injuries.

The pension is compensation for their sacrifice for the country, while the relief fund is to prevent them from having too much hardship in the future, so that they can at least survive with this relief fund.

In addition to pensions and relief funds, Spain also tries its best to provide some jobs for wounded soldiers. Although the income from these jobs is much lower than the average annual income, it at least ensures that wounded soldiers have enough to eat and wear.

In addition to these measures to ensure the basic living standards of wounded soldiers, the rewards and honors given after the war also provided soldiers and officers with a large sum of money.

The post-war reward and honor ceremony is always a must, which to some extent alleviated the grief in Spain caused by the deaths of more than 1.6 soldiers.

Soldiers who distinguish themselves on the battlefield will receive their due rewards. Promotion in rank, land grants, money, and even titles are all highly possible.

This is good news for the soldiers who are still alive, and also good news for those who have been killed or wounded.

These rewards provide them with a substantial extra income, ensuring a more secure future. This is why they are loyal to Carlo, as Carlo is never stingy with his soldiers.

Since the government of the Portuguese Democratic Republic announced the relocation of the capital to Lisbon, Spanish troops have been gradually withdrawing from Portugal.

The Portuguese civil war has ended, and there is no legitimate reason for Spanish troops to remain in Portugal. For Spain at present, it is crucial to mend relations with the Portuguese people.

The most fundamental factor in bringing Portugal under Spanish rule was gaining the support of the Portuguese people, or rather, ensuring that they did not oppose Spanish rule.

As the Spanish army withdrew, it also sorted out some of the strategic supplies it had brought with it. Most of the weapons, equipment, and ammunition would not be left in Portugal, but the food and medical supplies could be left behind to win over the local population.

On December 16, 1904, the Spanish government issued a public statement indicating that it would completely withdraw its troops from Portugal within the next month to show that it had no intention of interfering in Portugal's internal affairs.

Meanwhile, in order to compensate the Portuguese people affected by the civil war, the food and medical supplies brought by the Spanish army will be donated unconditionally to the local Portuguese people. The Spanish government will also donate additional food and medical supplies to the Portuguese people to help them better get through the winter.

Spain's statement did achieve some results. After all, Spain was not the first country to send troops to Portugal, and the purpose of the Spanish troops' arrival in Portugal was truly only to help the Iberian Party win the civil war and help the Portuguese people overcome the great obstacle that had been weighing on them.

The civil war is not yet completely over; it is only in the final stages of preparation. Yet, the Spanish army has already declared its intention to withdraw from Portugal. Doesn't this demonstrate that Spain has no intention of interfering in the Portuguese civil war?
So the question arises: who exactly intervened in the Portuguese civil war, ultimately causing such heavy losses to the Portuguese population?

There is only one answer: the British Empire, which was defeated in this war.

The Portuguese people already had a negative view of Britain, after all, the pink map plan that the Portuguese people had been longing for was destroyed by the British government itself.

Now, they are even more dissatisfied with the British government. After all, it was Britain that forcibly intervened in the Portuguese civil war, and it was Spain that had no choice but to help the Iberian Party win the civil war for the sake of peace and stability on the Iberian Peninsula.

Under the propaganda efforts of the Spanish and Portuguese governments, many Portuguese people believed this narrative and shifted all the hatred stemming from the wounds of the civil war onto the British government.

In any case, the British government was the defeated party, and the defeated are the sinners; there's nothing more to say about that. Whoever wins the war will have the real say.

The Iberian Party also learned from the essence of Spain. Not long after relocating government institutions to Lisbon, the government of the Portuguese Democratic Republic announced that it would spend 100 million pesetas to purchase a large amount of food and medical supplies, which would be distributed unconditionally to the Portuguese people in need of assistance.

The Iberian Party already had the highest approval rating among all political parties in Portugal, and this announcement of unconditionally distributing aid to people in need has garnered even more support for the democratic republican government controlled by the Iberian Party.

This completely sealed the victory for the Iberian Party. The remaining Republican forces in Coimbra quickly surrendered to the Iberian Party, and the small numbers of British and Republican troops holed up in the mountains and wilderness were also eliminated one by one thanks to reports from enthusiastic Portuguese citizens.

After confirming that the cleanup work in Portugal was completely finished, Carlo turned his attention to the upcoming negotiations with the British government.

It was a tacit understanding between the British and Spanish governments not to completely break off relations. Given the current state of the war, the British government really had no other choice.

Sure enough, three days after the Portuguese Democratic Republic announced the relocation of its capital, Britain contacted Spain through other European countries, hoping to hold peace talks to end this war that should never have happened.

Because of the war between Britain and Spain, both sides withdrew their diplomatic ambassadors. This meant that communication between the two countries had to be relayed through other countries, and the country Britain chose was one that surprised Carlo but was not unexpected: the German Empire.

Looking at the situation in Europe makes it clear that Britain's choice of Germany as the neutral country was inevitable. Such a neutral country, which can be considered a mediator, needs to possess strength that commands respect from both sides.

This also means that only the three superpowers—Germany, France, and Russia—are truly capable of fulfilling this role. Britain itself is a troublemaker on the European continent, and its relations with both France and Russia are poor, so it naturally cannot rely on these two countries.

If France or Russia were to act as the neutral mediator, both countries would likely side with Spain without hesitation, which would put Britain in a more passive position at the negotiating table.

Germany was Britain's only option. Germany's own strength was enough to warrant the attention of both Britain and Spain, and its relationship with Britain was not too bad.

Although Germany's two allies had good relations with Spain, these allies were not Germany. More importantly, Britain had no other choice at this point.

When the Spanish government received the message from Britain requesting peace talks, both Carlos and the ministers of the Spanish cabinet understood that Britain was taking the initiative to back down.

There's an unspoken rule in peace negotiations: whoever speaks first is at a disadvantage. The current situation is clear: it's the British government begging Spain to engage in peace negotiations, not the other way around.

Since the British government was seeking Spain's assistance, Carlo showed no hesitation. He agreed to the British request for peace talks, but stipulated that such talks could only take place on the Iberian Peninsula.

It's either Lisbon or Madrid; there's no other option.

In addition to demanding peace talks in the Iberian Peninsula, Carlo also called for an increase in the number of neutral mediators and invited France or Russia to act as mediators.

Furthermore, now that the Portuguese Civil War has ended, the British government should sever all ties with the former Portuguese Republican government. If any remnants of the Portuguese Republican government flee to Britain, the British government also has an obligation to transfer them to the Portuguese Democratic Republic.

(End of this chapter)