Holy Roman Empire

Since the allies are unreliable, you can only do it yourself.As long as the British don't end and just deal with the rebels, the Spanish government is still somewhat sure.

Army Secretary Nicole: "The situation on the front line is mixed. The situation in the Philippines has improved, the expeditionary force has controlled all the cities, and the rebels can only huddle in the jungle.

We have formulated a complete blockade plan, and without the influx of supplies, the rebels will not last long.

The situation in Cuba is very bad. The development momentum of the rebels is faster than we expected. Governor Valeriano has sent five telegrams for help.

Although the Ministry of the Army has already prepared a comprehensive reinforcement plan, the main force of our army is still suppressing the rebellion in the Philippine Islands, and we cannot mobilize enough troops in a short period of time.

In order to suppress the Cuban rebellion as soon as possible and not leave an opportunity for the British, the Ministry of War suggested recruiting 5 mercenaries for use in the Cuban battlefield. "

There is no doubt that "insufficient troops" is obviously just an excuse.The troops that Spain invested in the Philippine Islands were also mainly mercenaries, and the number of troops invested by Spain was only more than 10,000. There are still [-]+ troops in the country.

Now that France is in decline again, the Spaniards have no enemies at all on the European continent, and it is the time when the pressure on national defense is the least.

Theoretically speaking, there shouldn't be any problems in mobilizing 5 troops from the country to suppress the rebellion.

It's a pity that reality is not a "theory", and my family knows their own affairs.Nominally, Spain does have more than 20 standing troops, but this is only "in name".

Like most decaying empires, it is also a chronic disease of the Spanish army to eat empty wages and make up money.

The only troops with combat effectiveness were all sent to the Philippine battlefield, and Nicole naturally did not dare to send the remaining veteran soldiers to the front line.

It just so happens that I have used mercenaries once before, and it feels better than my own army, so Nicole naturally doesn't mind doing it again.

Anyway, continental Europe also had a tradition of using mercenaries, but it was only when the scale of modern wars expanded and the population of the mercenary kingdom in Switzerland was insufficient to participate in the European war that mercenaries gradually faded out of people's sight.

These are all small problems, there are no Swiss mercenaries, and there are French mercenaries.

Although the young and strong population of France decreased greatly after the war, its poor economy still forced French youth to come out as mercenaries to make a living.

According to incomplete statistics, the Allied forces stationed in France in the past year have successively helped the Paris government suppress 87 worker riots and 14 armed uprisings.

It can be said that the current France is an extra-large powder keg, and it will explode if there is only a spark.If the Allies had not put out the fire in time, the explosion would have occurred long ago.

It can be said that as long as you have money, you can have as many mercenaries as you want now.The French government is eager to send these unstable factors away so that they can sleep peacefully.

Prime Minister Antonio nodded, he is not a perfectionist.In his opinion, as long as the problem can be solved, whether it is sending out its own regular army or recruiting mercenaries, it makes no difference.

"Then act as soon as possible, and suppress the rebellion earlier, so that we can concentrate on the system... developing the economy."

Before the word "reform" came out, Antonio swallowed it back.Although Spain desperately needs institutional reform, now is clearly not the time to talk about it.

The most urgent task is to suppress the colonial rebellion as soon as possible and dispel the enemy's peeping heart.At this time, it is obviously inappropriate to talk about such a sensitive topic as reform.

The most important thing is that the Spanish monarch was young, and the regent queen mother "neither opposed nor supported" the reform.

Lacking the support of the royal family, the pressure is still too great to rely on the power of the government to promote top-down reforms.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Siegfried said solemnly: "Your Excellency, the government has run out of money. We have been at war since 1891, and Spain is exhausted."

For the Spanish kingdom, which is declining like an old man, three consecutive years of war have exhausted the heritage of this old-fashioned empire.

Fortunately, the war did not happen on the mainland, and there were allies to help, otherwise the "old" Kingdom of Spain would have collapsed long ago.

The country has not collapsed, but the government finances have.Without the blood transfusion from the colonies, this old empire, which is heavily indebted, can't sustain it now.

Antonio was taken aback for a moment, and then his face became ugly.Money is not everything, but money is absolutely impossible.

After a little thought, Antonio said slowly: "Continue to borrow foreign debts! Presumably the Austrians are ready and waiting for us to come."

International loans these days are usually accompanied by a series of political strings attached.In many cases, the additional price that needs to be paid far exceeds the interest on the funds on the surface.

From this point of view, borrowing foreign debt is obviously not a good choice, but it is the only feasible choice for the Spanish government at the moment.

Antonio is a smart man, and he is very aware of how fragile the Spanish economy is now, and any tax increase may push the country into the abyss.

In contrast, the sequelae of borrowing foreign debt are much smaller.As the overlord of the European continent, the Shenluo Empire has already washed its hands and went ashore.

Even if it wants to take advantage of the fire, the Vienna government will pay attention to eating, and it is impossible to do too much, at least it will not push Spain to a dead end.

Colonial Secretary Taboyada added: "The problems we are facing now are not limited to financial and military issues.

According to the information collected by the Colonial Department, besides the British, there are other international forces involved in the Cuban rebellion.

There are a total of four international forces that have the strength to provide support to the rebels. In addition to the British who have already shown their cards, there are the United States of America, the Confederate States, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Whether one of the three is supporting the rebels, two are supporting, or all three are secretly supporting, we still don't know.

Of course, it is also possible that the British are suspicious and want to divert our attention and find someone to take the blame for them.It's just that now that they've been exposed, it doesn't seem necessary to do so.

The Colonial Department has already sent people to investigate, but the person we bought is not high enough in the rebel army, so I'm afraid we won't be able to find out who else is behind the scenes in a short time.

Not only Cuba, but even the Morocco region has not been very stable recently.I fear that the enemy will turn to the Moroccans if they fail to achieve results in Cuba. "

Where there is strength, there is suspicion. There are a lot of things that stab each other in international politics.Even if they are allies, digging holes in each other is nothing new.

The most important thing is: whether it is the United States of America, the Confederate States, or the Holy Roman Empire, they all have motives to attack Spain.

The declining Kingdom of Spain still holds a few wealthy colonies, but now it is a "bad boy holding gold bricks", and it is difficult not to attract people's attention.

Foreign Minister Junior seriously warned: "Marquis, please stop your meaningless pursuit. Now it is the British who are planning the Cuban rebellion, and it can only be the British!"

There is no way, Spain is now incapable of adding another enemy to itself.

Even if they find out who is behind the scenes, they can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, and even help the enemy cover it up in order not to cause trouble.

Chapter 34 The Fog

It’s okay to pretend to be confused, but it’s okay to be really confused.Junior was unwilling to investigate further, mainly because he was worried that the final result would be the enemy they least wanted to face.

If you don't lift the lid, everyone can pretend to be confused.Let's play this political game together. Once something is found out, it will be impossible to restore it to the present.

The Marquis of Taboyada nodded thoughtfully, with a gloomy expression on his face.The former empire on which the sun never sets has been reduced to the point where it has to pretend that nothing happened when it is plotted against.

It's just that it's okay to pretend to be deaf and dumb, but the problem still needs to be solved.

Having one more hidden enemy means that the Spanish government must allocate more energy to prevent emergencies.

This is undoubtedly a torture for the Spanish government, which is already suffering from headaches.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the room became silent, Antonio decisively chose to change the subject: "Okay, everyone needs to be more vigilant about the colonial issue. Let's talk about the loan first!

Unlike last time, now there is no love accumulated in the anti-French war, and it may not be easy to get an interest-free loan. "

As an old empire, although Spain has declined, Antonio is still familiar with the rules of the political game between the great powers.

Frankly speaking, Antonio was already very surprised when he was able to get a large interest-free loan from the Vienna government before.

According to the normal rhythm, the Vienna government should take advantage of the fire in the Philippine War.Unexpectedly, just because of a previous promise, the Vienna government gave up.

It's really good to talk to a boss who talks about credibility, but the boss also wants to eat meat.The Holy Roman Empire can own today's vast territory, and the Vienna government is definitely not as harmless as it seems.

The last time I was willing to help, maybe it was out of reputation, or maybe it was because the Holy Roman Empire needed a political show after it became the overlord of the European continent.

It is absolutely impossible for similar things to happen twice. Even if the Vienna government is willing to help free of charge, Spain cannot bear it.

Based on past political experience, Antonio knows very well that in this world "the more you want, the more you have to pay".

It is absolutely not easy to take advantage of the advantages of the hegemony.Once it is stained, when it is repaid in the future, it may cost Spain half its life.

For example: the conflict between Britain and Austria escalates, and Spain, which has benefited, must act as a pawn.

Don't expect to be able to renege on your debts, Spain simply doesn't have that capital.Just one France can't stop Shinra's revenge.

Not wanting to become cannon fodder in the struggle for hegemony between Britain and Austria, Spain must also maintain sufficient autonomy while embracing Shinra's thigh.

This is what European governments do.Despite the existence of the Continental Union, the Vienna government still has no mandatory binding force on all countries, and it still needs to exchange benefits to do something.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Siegfried: "Don't even think about interest-free loans, Austrians don't do charity.

Unless we can exchange enough benefits, otherwise, this loan is an ordinary commercial loan.

The Ministry of Finance has communicated with the domestic bank consortium, and they require the government to use the salt tax as collateral, and they can only provide loans of up to 5000 million matcha.

The loan fee is 8%, the annual interest rate is 8.9%, and the repayment is divided into 30 years.

I have calculated that the loan of 5000 million actually received 4600 million, and the total principal and interest to be repaid is 1.43532 million.

This is already the best commercial loan we can get.For ordinary private commercial loans, the interest rate is doubled.

Such high interest rates cannot even be afforded by the government, let alone ordinary people.The money has been stolen by these vampires, so it's no wonder our economy can't develop.

We need to fight two wars at the same time, and 4600 million game towers are only enough to pay soldiers' salaries for two months.If it is used in war, it is a miracle that it can last for a month.

According to the most optimistic estimate, if we put down the Philippine rebellion within half a year and suppress the Cuban rebellion within a year, then the government still has a funding gap of 8.8 million.

Converted into Aegis, it is about 7000 million.If calculated according to the interest rate of 8.9%, the interest on the funds that needs to be paid every year will almost catch up with a quarter of our fiscal revenue.

The actual situation will be even more serious. With our current financial situation, no commercial bank dares to lend us so much money.

Even if there is a greedy vampire who dares to take over this business, the interest rate will be terribly high.The yield of only 8.9% is not enough to make them take the risk of losing their money in lending. "

(1 game tower is about 0.29 grams of gold)

Since the outbreak of the Philippine War, the Spanish government has lived a life of debt. Today, Spain's total debt has reached an astonishing 3.3 million Aegis.

The debt has already caught up to one-fifth of Shinra's total debt, but Spain's fiscal revenue is far less than one-fifth of Shinra's, or even less than one-twentieth.

There is no way, this is the difference between a semi-industrial country and an industrial country.Spain, which has one-seventh of the population of Shinra, has less than one-twentieth of Shinra's fiscal revenue.

Today, more than half of the Spanish government's annual fiscal revenue is used to repay domestic and foreign debts.

In this context, the Spanish government's finances will naturally not get better.From the first day of becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer, Siegfried has lived a life of tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall.

This is against the backdrop of the establishment of a large number of interest-free loans, otherwise the interest on funds alone could crush the Kingdom of Spain.

By this time, the biggest problem facing the Spanish government was no longer the level of loan interest, but its own debt repayment ability.

The richer you are, the easier it is to borrow money.The same applies to the country. Spain, which has lost its ability to repay its debts, will naturally not be easy to get a loan.

You can't even get loans, let alone issue bonds.The capital market has always been the most realistic, and no one wants to lend money to a poor man.

Antonio rubbed his forehead: "The issue of high domestic financing costs will be discussed later. Now we should first find a way to raise funds to overcome the current difficulties.

If we want to get this loan from Shinra, what price will we have to pay? "

Apparently, this isn't the first time these problems have arisen.In fact, high financing costs are also a common phenomenon in this era, not an isolated case in Spain.

The commercial loan interest of ten or twenty points may seem high, but in this era, it is really nothing.

Behind the high interest rate is high overdue and high risk.It is common to run away in default. Once the debtor leaves the country, the bank will not be able to pursue it.

Even if there are assets as collateral, there are often multiple and repeated mortgage loans.Limited by poor information exchange, no matter how cautious banking institutions are, it is inevitable that they will step on thunder.

"High risk" does not frighten bankers, as long as the loan interest rate is raised and the loss of default is distributed to other debtors.

This is why the cost of government borrowing is much lower than the interest on commercial loans. After all, the risk of default in lending money to the government is small.

Of course, the Spanish government is obviously not a high-quality customer.Therefore, it is necessary to provide collateral, and the interest rate of the loan cannot be lowered.

Siegfried shrugged and pretended to be humorous: "It depends on what the Vienna government wants. Maybe they are in a good mood, suddenly show kindness, and lend us the money directly."

Siegfried himself didn't believe this, let alone everyone else.

7000 million Aegis is not 7000 Aegis. Unless the brains of the top leaders of the Vienna government are collectively flooded, otherwise such charity will definitely not be done.

……

Taking the blame for others for no reason, Franz felt the same as the British.It is impossible to explain, and this kind of thing can only be blackened.

From the perspective of pure interests, the motives of the Vienna government to play against Spain are too strong.

Spain, where "children are busy holding gold bricks", has always been the target of everyone's spying.As long as there is strength, there is motivation.

Unhappy is not happy, but Franz can't do anything yet.The Spaniards are just secretly suspicious, and they don't even check below, what else can they do?

After suffering this dumb loss, Franz also complained about the mastermind behind the scenes.

This means and method is too familiar, the same recipe, the same routine, Franz really did not expect to apply it to himself one day.

It can only be said that there are still many caring people in this world. While provoking the Cuban independence movement, they not only hid themselves, but even found several scapegoats.

If it weren't for deliberate calculations, Franz didn't believe that the Spaniards would find out that other international forces were involved when the British were responsible.

……

Franz asked, "Have you found the mastermind behind the scenes?"

The Spanish government is worried that it will not be able to end if it finds out the truth that it does not want to see, and it is unwilling to investigate below.

Although it is not necessary to go to war for such a trivial matter, it is still indispensable to find out the mastermind behind the scenes and take precautions.

Prime Minister Karl shook his head: "No! This black hand hid too deeply. After provoking the Cuban independence movement, he quickly disappeared.

The clues left behind are all messy, some point to us, and some point to the British, the United States, and the Confederate States. There is no way to distinguish the true from the false.