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Chapter 82 - Chapter 81: Ceuta Rebellion

Immediately upon returning to Madrid, Carlo couldn't wait to hand over the more than 100 Vetterli rifles purchased from Italy to the Royal Arsenal for imitation, aiming to fully understand their principles.

No matter how successful reforms and development are, military strength is the standard by which a country's power is measured.

Currently, Spain is not very suitable for developing a navy, so it can only focus on the development of its Royal Army, striving to possess a first-class Royal Army in Europe.

Because Spain's population is far smaller than that of the European powers, the only area where significant effort can be made is the advancement of weaponry and equipment.

If Spain can equip its army with advanced rifles and machine guns in large numbers before the European powers, then the Spanish army will be at least equal in quality to any other country.

By establishing the strength of the Spanish Royal Army through a few battles, Carlo and the Spanish Government will also have more confidence in diplomatic activities.

After all, frankly speaking, a country's ability to exert influence on the diplomatic stage depends on its overall strength, especially its military capabilities.

If a country's military is a complete mess, even the most eloquent diplomat will be helpless in the face of other powerful Great Powers.

National dignity is built upon the edge of a blade, and truth is only within the range of a cannon. If Spain wants to become strong, while developing Industry and the economy, military strength is also essential, even more important.

Speaking of weapon design, compared to rifles, Carlo actually placed more importance on the research and development of machine guns.

Especially in colonial warfare, a few machine guns can typically face tens of thousands of native troops, which was something previous colonial powers had never imagined.

In the research and development of machine guns, the United States is absolutely far ahead.

The United States currently has hand-cranked Gatling machine guns. Although these machine guns have various issues in use, at least

they achieve a much more powerful firepower output than rifles.

With the purpose of learning and referencing, Carlo instructed Cadier to send personnel to America to search for talent in firearm design while also purchasing several finished hand-cranked Gatling machine guns for the Royal Arsenal to study.

As for the 10 million lira interest-free loan borrowed from Italy, Carlo decided to invest it all in factory construction.

Building factories now is no different from making money effortlessly; it's just a matter of how much is earned. It can also create thousands of jobs for the Spanish, making it a definite win-win.

The comfortable days didn't last long. Prime Minister Prim and Army Minister Serrano arrived together, bringing news that Carlo hadn't expected: a small-scale rebellion had broken out in Ceuta.

This rebellion was clearly not the reason for Prim and Serrano seeking an audience with Carlo. A small-scale rebellion like this could be handled by the local colonial troops; such news wouldn't even warrant reporting to the Royal Government.

The real reason that caught the attention of Prim and Serrano was that Spain could use this opportunity to launch another invasion of Morocco.

Morocco and Spain face each other across the Strait and are the closest African countries to Spain.

As early as the reign of Queen Isabella, Spain and Morocco had a colonial war, and Spain occupied the northern Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Ceuta.

Although they defeated the then-Moroccan government, because the British were unwilling to see Spain possess significant power near Gibraltar, under British intervention, Spain only gained two small cities.

A full ten years have passed since that war, and it happens that the British themselves have domestic issues. Prime Minister Prim believes this is a good opportunity for a large-scale invasion of Morocco.

The reason for coming with Serrano was, naturally, to persuade Carlo to launch a colonial war against Morocco.

This was also the understanding reached by Spain's three key figures. On such major events, Prim had to consider Carlo's attitude to gain Carlo's full support for reforms.

Prim indeed did so. On major matters, even though he could make direct decisions as Prime Minister, he would still come to inquire about Carlo's attitude and request Carlo's consent.

Carlo looked at the map of the Spanish Kingdom hanging in his office. The area of Morocco below, roughly the same size as Spain, was truly enticing.

In Carlo's plan, Morocco was a place that absolutely had to be taken. This was the only land Spain could truly integrate, and also the sphere of influence Spain had to gain if it wanted to become a Great Power.

However, just as in the previous colonial war, where Spain didn't gain much, the British would not allow Spain to possess such a large area of land near Gibraltar.

If Spain occupied a large area of land along the northern coast of Morocco, Spanish territory would once again surround Gibraltar, and the British plans for Gibraltar would turn into nothing.

"Your Majesty, I believe launching a war at this time is feasible." Seeing Carlo hesitate, Prim stepped forward and advised, "If Isabel's Government ten years ago could defeat Morocco, our current army can certainly defeat Morocco again.

Moreover, even if we cannot gain a large area of land in northern Morocco, we can take this opportunity to declare our claims to African territories.

If the British are unwilling for us to acquire northern Morocco, they must agree to our expansion in other regions of Africa. Otherwise, they will have to bear the consequences of us completely siding with France."

The countries least willing to see Spain align with Germany are, firstly, France, and secondly, England.

After its defeat, France lost important industrial areas like Alsace and Lorraine, and its overall strength is no longer comparable to the fully integrated German Empire.

Furthermore, the French have to pay the Germans a reparations of 5 billion francs, which is practically angel funding for Germany's industrial development.

Facing the German Empire, which is constantly growing stronger, it's impossible for the British not to be on guard. If news were to spread at this time that Spain had completely sided with Germany, and that France was being attacked from both the north and south, the British would absolutely not be able to sit still.

Not to mention that Italy and Germany are also allies. If a war were to break out, France might face attacks from three sides.

After all, the Kingdom of Sardinia at the time, in order to unify Italy, ceded the two important regions of Savoy and Nice to France.

Just look at the surname of the Italian Royal Family to know how important the region of Savoy is; it's the ancestral land of the Italian Royal Family.

It is absolutely impossible to say that Italy has no thoughts about these two territories it was forced to cede. Once France faces a situation of being attacked from multiple sides, Italy will definitely join in.

In such a situation, the British are absolutely unwilling to see the French directly defeated.

To maintain the balance of power in Europe, it is necessary to ensure that Spain does not side with Germany. This is also the reason Prim is confident in exchanging interests with the British.

After all, although Spain is not strong, it is not that afraid of the British if a real fight breaks out. A naval blockade would not have a significant impact on Spain, as Spain didn't have many colonies at this time.

And if the British want to blockade a large area of Spanish waters, they must mobilize a large fleet. Even if the British can withstand such enormous consumption, other countries in Europe may not remain indifferent.

As for whether the British will invade mainland Spain, there is absolutely no need to worry about that. Prim is confident that the British will come and not return. In terms of land warfare, it's better for the British to stand aside.

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