Chapter 173: The Problem of Military Expansion

The achievements of the Spanish government in 1874 cannot be explained in just a few words. Even in terms of colonies, Spain made significant breakthroughs.

Railway construction in the East Indies was proceeding very smoothly; the annexation of several indigenous sultanates was carried out openly, so subsequent colonial rule and railway construction could naturally be conducted in the light of day.

The railway in the Congo River basin needed to be kept secret during the early stages of construction, which was the biggest challenge for the project. After all, laying a railway requires a massive amount of steel rails, and transporting these rails is no easy task.

Currently, the fastest-progressing construction is the railway being laid from the Guinea colony toward the upper reaches of the Congo River basin, with a total length now approaching 100 kilometers.

However, compared to the railways built within Spain itself, this railway is somewhat rudimentary; it is only a single-track line, making it much simpler to construct.

With the help of this stretch of railway, the Guinea colony has already transported a large batch of supplies into the lands of the Congo River basin.

Once the colonial outposts in this territory have expanded sufficiently, Spain can announce the establishment of its own domain in this land and begin its governance.

By then, even if Portugal, Britain, and France react, they will be unable to engage in colonial competition with Spain in this territory. Unless they are willing to trigger a war on the mainland for the sake of this land, no one can threaten Spain's rule here.

Although the development of both the Spanish mainland and its colonies is proceeding smoothly, this was only achieved because the government invested a massive amount of capital.

In terms of finance, the Spanish government's total fiscal revenue in 1874 reached 731. million pesetas (approximately 28. 2 million pounds), a significant increase compared to 1873.

The main reason for this was the substantial results brought about by the First Five-Year Plan and the economic boost stimulated by the government's heavy capital investment.

The First Five-Year Plan supported a large number of private enterprises; although most were small to medium-sized, a few gradually became large-scale leading companies.

The taxes these enterprises contributed to the Spanish government were not a small sum. Coupled with the taxes paid by royal enterprises, the Spanish government's fiscal revenue in 1874 reached a new high.

Although the total fiscal revenue of 1874 was close to the fiscal expenditure of 1873, Gao Da could not feel happy looking at these revenue figures.

The reason is clearly stated in the next line regarding the Spanish government's fiscal expenditure. Revenue had increased tremendously, but fiscal expenditure had done the same.

In 1874, the Spanish government's fiscal expenditure for external operations reached as high as 270 million pesetas, more than double the expenditure for external operations the previous year.

At the beginning of 1874, Prime Minister Primo discussed the annual fiscal budget and, with considerable foresight, raised the fiscal budget to 897. million pesetas.

But clearly, Prime Minister Primo underestimated the economic burden brought about by the Spanish government's comprehensive development. The total fiscal expenditure for 1874 significantly exceeded this figure, even breaking into the ten-digit range.

1. 552 billion pesetas—when Gao Da saw this level of expenditure, he could not help but be shocked.

This sum is equivalent to 40. 5 million pounds; based on the cost of about 500, 00 pounds per ironclad warship, this year's total fiscal expenditure could have built over 80 ironclad warships.

Although the actual situation cannot be calculated this way, it still proves just how exaggerated this fiscal expenditure was.

It is no wonder that all departments achieved good results; this was entirely bought with the Spanish government's money—simply put, it was a result achieved by "paying to win."

Clearly, the Spanish government is not exactly wealthy. Therefore, in future development, such achievements obtained through massive "pay-to-win" methods will basically be impossible to replicate.

The reason Spain was able to bear such a high fiscal expenditure of over 1 billion pesetas was primarily due to the large loans obtained from Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and France before the economic crisis.

The loans provided by Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were not large, being 75 million lira and 120 million krone respectively (3 million pounds and 5 million pounds).

Adding the 200 million in cash that could be accessed from the 500 million franc low-interest loan provided by the French, there was already over 400 million pesetas in available funds.

When combined with the currency additionally issued by the Currency Issuance Committee using gold from the Indian Temple, the Spanish government finally had the confidence to spend over 1 billion pesetas during the economic crisis to drive the country's development.

Throughout 1874, the Spanish government's fiscal deficit reached as high as 323. million pesetas. The fiscal deficit in 1873 was also around 200 million pesetas.

Although these funds were exchanged for the rapid development of various industries in Spain, it is clear that Spain no longer has the capacity to continue such spending.

Since the gold from the Indian Temple was transported to Spain, the Currency Issuance Committee has issued over 250 million pesetas in additional currency.

Only with the addition of loans from the three countries did Spain have enough funds to sustain this vigorous development over the past few years.

However, the currently available funds in the Spanish treasury are less than 100 million pesetas. For development in 1875, the balance between fiscal expenditure and revenue must be considered.

Although the Currency Issuance Committee can still create enough available funds for the Spanish government by issuing more currency, if the Spanish market is not considered and paper money is injected into the market at a high frequency, it is very likely to affect the actual value of the peseta.

Moreover, Spain's development has gradually moved onto the right track; the most important thing next is to seek stability. Letting Spain's economy and industry progress steadily is exactly what the government should do.

Thinking of this, Gao Da could not help but be thankful for the corruption during the reign of Queen Isabella. It was precisely because the Spanish government at that time ignored development and sought pleasure that it did not carry excessive debt.

Currently, the total debt of the Spanish government adds up to only about 700 million pesetas, which is still within a manageable range for the Spanish government.

Furthermore, the shortest debt repayment period is over a dozen years, and the longer ones even extend for over twenty years.

With low debt pressure, the future development of the Spanish government is indeed bright. Even without relying on capital-driven growth, the growth rate of industry and the economy in the coming years will be steady.

Not to mention, because of the economic crisis, Spain's agriculture also saw significant improvement in 1874.

After obtaining large tracts of land from the nobility and the church, these lands were provided to farmers for cultivation in various ways.

Coupled with newly reclaimed land, the total area of cultivated land in Spain reached a new high, and food production also climbed steadily.

Although there are no detailed statistics, what is certain is that Spain's cultivated land area has exceeded 10 million hectares, and most of the 18 million Spaniards are engaged in agricultural work on this land.

Yes, Spain's population has exceeded 18 million. Although this figure is a simple estimate of births and deaths by the various regions, the actual situation should not be much different.

After the average annual income of Spaniards increased, the birth rate also continued to grow. After all, only when people have spare money in their hands will they consider other matters.

If they cannot even feed themselves, few people will consider the issue of continuing the family line.

It is a pity that among the large number of babies born in Spain every year, a portion will still pass away prematurely.

This is something that cannot be helped, and it is something Gao Da is powerless to change.

Ultimately, it is because the medical technology of this era is too backward, resulting in a very high risk factor during childbirth.

Even if one can get through childbirth safely, the care of infants and young children is also a major problem. All kinds of invisible diseases can endanger the lives of infants, which has kept Spain's infant survival rate consistently low.

This problem also exists in other European countries, and the European royal families are no exception.

To improve the survival rate of infants, one can only pin hopes on the subsequent improvement of the medical environment and related medical equipment and technology.

"Your Majesty, the total fiscal budget for the government this year is approximately 722 million pesetas. These are the fiscal budget reports for each department; please take a look." After finishing the 1874 annual work report of the Spanish government, Prime Minister Primo handed over a brand-new fiscal budget report and introduced it to Gao Da.

"722 million pesetas?" Gao Da was somewhat curious upon hearing this, looked at Prime Minister Primo, and asked: "Reducing the fiscal budget by over 300 million pesetas all at once—will it have an impact on the construction plans of each department this year?"

"According to the current situation, reducing the budget will have an impact, but the impact should not be large," Prime Minister Primo explained: "The reason our total fiscal expenditure exceeded 1 billion pesetas last year was primarily because the expenditure for external operations was close to 270 million pesetas.

Precisely because of this, even if our fiscal budget this year is reduced by 300 million pesetas, the impact on each department will not be too great.

Moreover, our military expansion has ended, and military spending can also be appropriately reduced. It is precisely for these reasons that this year's fiscal budget will be 300 million pesetas lower than last year."

Hearing Prime Minister Primo say this, Gao Da nodded, and naturally, there were no more questions.

Indeed, the reason the fiscal budget went off the charts last year was largely because the industrial department used a massive amount of funds to purchase foreign companies and industrial equipment.

Currently, various European countries have gradually emerged from the impact of the economic crisis, and the procurement plans of the industrial department have already been completed, so there is naturally no need to spend any extra funds.

Deducting the 270 million pesetas in external operation funds from last year, the Spanish government's total annual fiscal budget is only about 800 million pesetas.

This year's fiscal budget is indeed lower compared to last year, but it is not a large reduction; at most, it is only a few tens of millions of pesetas.

"Did you encounter any problems during the military expansion?" Gao Da expressed concern about the expansion of the Spanish military.

This military expansion was no small operation; it increased the scale of Spain's original army several times over.

After the expansion was completed, the scale of the Spanish army had risen to the top eight in Europe—to be precise, second only to Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Austria, and larger than Italy's standing army.

More importantly, the Spanish army also possesses relatively strong combat capability. As early as the era of the Empire on which the sun never sets, Spain was a world hegemon strong in both land and sea.

Although both the army and navy had declined, the Spanish army did not have any major flaws; after focusing on training, it could still become an elite force.

Coupled with the new rifles and cannons equipped after the military reform, the combat capability of the Spanish army, even if it cannot compare to great powers like Germany and France known for their armies, is at least at the level of Britain and Austria, and still a bit stronger than Russia and Italy.

Italy naturally goes without saying; its performance in the two World Wars was very poor. Although there were various reasons, it is a fixed fact that the Italian army's overall performance was not good.

The Russian army also has too many complex reasons, but the biggest reason is still the corruption of the country of Russia.

After all, it is an autocratic empire that has been established for hundreds of years, and the corruption of the empire is very normal. Corruption and embezzlement within Russia are visible everywhere, and the combat capability of the army is a complete mess.

Whether in World War I or World War II, the Russian army relied on numerical superiority rather than combat capability.

This also made Russia one of the countries with the most casualties in the World Wars, with soldier casualties alone reaching tens of millions.

Having an army combat capability stronger than Italy and Russia is nothing to boast about. Italy is the tail-ender of the great powers, and Russia has extremely vast territory and a dense population.

And Spain, all told, only has a population of 18 million. In extreme situations, it could indeed recruit over a million troops, but this would cause irreversible damage to the country.

Look at the great powers like Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Austria; any one of them can recruit over a million troops, or even several million.

Spain still has too many shortcomings compared to these countries, and the biggest gap is in population.

Only by increasing the population to over 30 million will Spain be qualified to confront these countries. Otherwise, the casualties in terms of population alone would be enough to make Spain ache; this is also the biggest gap between small-to-medium countries and great powers.

"The expansion of the army went very smoothly; basically, we did not encounter any trouble," Prime Minister Primo first said a piece of good news, then mentioned the actual problems encountered during the expansion: "

If I had to name a problem, it would be that there is a certain discrepancy between the number of artillery pieces we planned for the army and the number of artillery pieces we could actually equip.

In our expectations, each infantry division would have a total of over 248 artillery pieces. But after actually equipping 248 artillery pieces, we simply could not meet the shell requirements for these guns.

This would form huge pressure on frontline supplies and would also slow down the advance speed of the infantry divisions.

After discussion, the Ministry of Defense reduced the number of artillery pieces equipped by each infantry division to 112, which was the only way to barely meet the shell requirements for these cannons to fire simultaneously."

Artillery is indeed a good thing, but this does not mean that the more artillery, the stronger the army's combat capability.

Artillery needs shells to demonstrate its power; once a war starts, the consumption of shells is an astronomical figure.

Don't look at the fact that the current cannons don't have a very high rate of fire, but if each infantry division were equipped with over 200 artillery pieces, these six Spanish infantry divisions alone would possess over 1, 00 artillery pieces, almost catching up to the number of artillery pieces of the Prussians and the French during the Franco-Prussian War.

Yet Spain's six infantry divisions have fewer than 100, 00 men. What kind of concept is this? The number of artillery pieces equipped by each Spanish division is several times that of the Prussian and French armies; the logistical pressure of this is imaginable.

After discovering this problem, the Ministry of Defense made timely modifications, changing the original 248 artillery pieces per infantry division to 112, which finally barely solved the problem.

(End of chapter)