Chapter 183: Military Advisory Group Stationed in Lanfang

To demonstrate the importance placed on developing the navy, Gao Da personally attended the commencement ceremony for 11 small and medium-sized warships and inspected the construction progress of the ironclad *Fuxing*.

Although these small and medium-sized warships were basically British designs, the Royal Guanizo Shipyard had made certain improvements on this basis, giving them a slight difference from the original British designs.

But in reality, the difference was not significant; it was nothing more than changing the caliber of the artillery and increasing the tonnage of the warships slightly.

The good news about doing this is that Spain can claim these warships are independently developed, letting the public believe that Spain possesses richer experience and excellent concepts in shipbuilding, thereby increasing the national pride of the Spanish people.

After all, warships that are independently developed and independently built certainly sound more pleasing than imitating the warship models of other countries.

In any case, there are no patent rights regarding warships; countries generally imitate warship types with better designs, improving their shortcomings and carrying forward their advantages.

As the country with the most powerful navy, Britain's warship designs are even more imitated and studied by various countries. Spain doing this is not special; it can even be said to be the tacit choice of many countries.

Spain's recent expansion actions in the navy have also made the Dutch very panicked. Although the Dutch mainland is 108, 00 miles away from Spain, the Dutch East Indies colony and the Spanish East Indies colony are currently theoretically bordering each other.

The colonies of both sides are only separated by the Sultanate of Bulungan, where great powers have interests, and further south is the territory of the Sultanate of Kutai controlled by the Dutch.

Spain building a large number of warships is certainly not for its own territory. Considering Spain's expansion in the Philippines and the Kalimantan region, the Dutch believe it is necessary to strengthen the defensive forces of the Dutch East Indies colony.

The day after Spain built 11 warships with great fanfare, the Dutch government urgently decided to send an additional army of more than 2, 00 people to the East Indies colony and to build two brand-new thousand-ton class coastal defense gunboats in the East Indies colony.

Such thousand-ton gunboats do not have the capability for ocean-going combat, but they are still very useful in Kalimantan and the surrounding islands.

Whether it is suppressing the local indigenous people or guarding against the expansion of the Spanish, this army of more than 2, 00 people and the two brand-new warships can play a certain role.

It is not that the Dutch have not considered seeking help from the British, but the British attitude toward this is somewhat ambiguous, and they are clearly not very willing to directly help the Dutch.

It is understandable. The area of the East Indies colony occupied by the Dutch is quite large, which allowed the Netherlands, an industrial power, to leap into the top ten countries in Europe in terms of comprehensive strength.

Letting the Netherlands and Spain engage in appropriate competition also has its benefits; at least it can make the Netherlands understand the importance of Britain and make the Netherlands obediently listen, without having other thoughts.

However, this is not very wonderful for the Dutch. If Spain's actions were only these, it would be fine, but it just so happens that Spain has already signed a cooperation agreement with Lanfang, a vassal state of the Netherlands.

The Republic of Lanfang had already submitted to the rule of the Dutch decades ago, and a considerable portion of the tax revenue that the Netherlands obtains from this land every year comes from there.

The biggest reason for the establishment of the Republic of Lanfang is that the gold miners on this land had reached a certain scale.

A portion of the wealth created by these gold mines was obtained by the Republic of Lanfang, and another portion became tax revenue, which was turned over to the Dutch East Indies colony.

For the Netherlands, losing Lanfang, in addition to losing this portion of tax revenue, also means having to worry about the threat from Lanfang.

The Dutch rule over Lanfang is not that gentle; it is full of constant exploitation and aggression. After these Lanfang people have obtained a more powerful ally, will they remain indifferent to the previous invasion acts of the Dutch? Of course, that is impossible.

This also means that in the future on the island of Kalimantan, the Dutch are very likely to face a situation of being attacked from both sides by the Spanish in the north and the Lanfang people in the west.

The Dutch do not take a single Lanfang into their eyes. But if it is the Republic of Lanfang supported by Spain, then the threat is not something that a single Lanfang can compare to.

After all, the Netherlands is also a country with a population of more than four million, and the army it can organize is really limited; the army that can be used in the East Indies colony is even more limited.

On July 21, 1875, the military advisory group sent by Spain finally arrived at the Republic of Lanfang to help the Republic of Lanfang organize a new army and better maintain national sovereignty.

The leader of this military advisory group is Andrew Luo Suo, who has not appeared for a long time. He is currently a lieutenant colonel and previously served as the commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division of the Spanish Royal Army. He was personally appointed by Gao Da as the leader of the military advisory group stationed in Lanfang.

As for Caman Esposito, who, like Andrew, also came to Spain from Italy as a trusted aide, he has currently been promoted to the rank of colonel and serves as the commander of the 3rd Artillery Regiment of the 2nd Artillery Division of the Spanish Royal Army, receiving more important responsibilities.

From this aspect, one can also reflect the focus of the development of the Spanish army. Because the number of Spanish troops is not large, the importance of the smaller artillery divisions is higher than that of the infantry divisions.

Caman Esposito has clearly integrated into the Spanish artillery forces, and even in the plans of the national defense department, if the artillery forces continue to expand in the future, he has the hope of serving as the deputy division commander of a new artillery division, thereby gaining the opportunity to become a division commander.

From the current situation, it is indeed the case. Caman Esposito, who graduated with an artillery major, has a brighter future than Andrew, who has an infantry major. After all, infantry combat currently does not have any overly fancy tactical systems, and the training of infantry commanders is simpler.

If it is said that Caman Esposito integrated well into the Spanish army by virtue of his own ability, then Andrew's situation appears somewhat awkward.

It is not to say that Andrew's ability is not outstanding, but Gao Da indeed needs to use more Spanish local officers.

As an Italian, Andrew's positioning in such a Spanish army is somewhat awkward, and it is unlikely that he will receive more important responsibilities.

After all, he is a trusted aide who came to Spain from Italy. After consideration, Gao Da let Andrew become the leader of the military advisory group stationed in Lanfang, responsible for helping the Republic of Lanfang organize their new army and trying his best to get in touch with colonial affairs.

If there are no accidents in the future, Andrew has the hope of becoming one of the Spanish colonial viceroys. After all, he also has a title; although it is only the lowest-ranking baron, he is indeed one of the many nobles in Spain.

In addition to Andrew as the leader of the military advisory group, Metino, the military person in charge who was previously responsible for exploring Africa, was also appointed by Gao Da as the deputy leader of the military advisory group.

Like Andrew, Metino is also one of Gao Da's trusted aides. Both of them are capable; it is not suitable to use them heavily in the army, but they can also exert their abilities in other aspects, such as colonial affairs.

From Spain to Lanfang, one needs to cross the Mediterranean, pass through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, then cross the entire Indian Ocean, and finally, pass through the Strait of Malacca to arrive at the island of Kalimantan.

This is an extremely long journey. The military advisory group spent more than two months, to be precise, two and a half months, to arrive at the island of Kalimantan.

The Republic of Lanfang also attaches great importance to the arrival of the military advisory group. Of course, they cannot help but attach importance to it. After all, the current Spain is indeed the only force they can rely on, and the strength of Spain is also something they cannot resist.

"Envoys of the military advisory group, welcome to Pontianak." Just as the ship carrying the military advisory group docked, Liu Asheng, the current Great President of the Republic of Lanfang, Wu Guanghuai, the King of the Kingdom of Dayan, and many officials of the Republic of Lanfang were already standing at the port quite sensibly, specifically to welcome the group of the advisory group.

For the Republic of Lanfang, they kept a very low profile. After all, the current situation is that the Republic of Lanfang is asking for help, and Spain is the most powerful country between the two.

As the leader of the military advisory group, Andrew stepped forward first, nodded with a smile on his face, and did not have any arrogant or domineering expression.

Before coming to the Republic of Lanfang, Gao Da had already instructed Andrew about the purpose and mission of the military advisory group coming to Lanfang, as well as how to get along with the officials of the Republic of Lanfang.

First of all, before completely defeating the Dutch colonial forces, Spain will not take the initiative to turn against the Republic of Lanfang, which is also the reason why Andrew's attitude is relatively kind.

Of course, if the officials of the Republic of Lanfang do not know their place, then Andrew will also follow Gao Da's orders to let them know the strength of Spain.

Andrew is an Italian, and after coming to Spain for a few years, he also learned Spanish. But the language used by the Republic of Lanfang is Chinese, and Liu Asheng, the Great President of the Republic of Lanfang, does not know Spanish or Italian.

This also led to the need for translators for communication between the two sides. Fortunately, because the Republic of Lanfang has been in contact with the Dutch for a long time, there are also a small number of translators in the country who understand European languages.

The most mainstream among European languages is French, after all, France was once the most powerful country. Although the usage scenarios of French have decreased slightly at present, French is still one of the mainstream languages in Europe, and basically most European nobles can speak French.

In addition to French, there are many relatively mainstream languages, such as Spanish, English, and German.

Spanish is not a niche language, which is also the reason why the translators here understand Spanish.

Compared to Spanish, Italian is indeed a relatively niche language at present. Except for the use of Italian within Italy, the use of Italian is rarely seen in other parts of Europe, and even diplomatic occasions in Italy do not use Italian, unless it is with other weaker countries.

"Envoys, our country has prepared a sumptuous welcome banquet for you, please move to the venue." Liu Asheng, the Great President of the Republic of Lanfang, said with a smile.

After hearing the translator's words, Andrew nodded with a smile and gave his attitude: "With pleasure."

Although the purpose of the military advisory group is to help the Republic of Lanfang build a new army, this is clearly not something that can be completed in a day.

Andrew is not in a hurry for this day, but wants to understand the current situation of the Republic of Lanfang as much as possible, so as to determine how the new army of the Republic of Lanfang should be organized and trained.

Fortunately, Spain already has experience in military reform and has already transported several batches of weapons and equipment to the Republic of Lanfang.

At present, the Republic of Lanfang has hoarded more than 20, 00 old-style muskets and more than 1 million rounds of ammunition, so it is completely no problem to organize a new army of about 20, 00 people.

For the Republic of Lanfang, which has only a little over 500, 00 Han people, organizing a new army of 20, 00 people is almost the limit.

If the number of people is larger, not to mention the problem of whether weapons and ammunition are enough, the Republic of Lanfang cannot afford to support so many soldiers.

The group of people headed toward the mansion of Great President Liu Asheng in a mighty manner, where relatively sumptuous dishes had already been prepared, specifically to treat the members of the military advisory group who had come from afar.

At the banquet, Liu Asheng introduced some of the main officials in the military aspect of the Republic of Lanfang to Andrew, as well as Wu Guanghuai, the King of the Kingdom of Dayan, and stated that the organization of the new army of the Republic of Lanfang would follow Andrew's command and arrangement.

The relatively cooperative attitude of the Republic of Lanfang made Andrew relatively satisfied, but Andrew clearly could not believe everything the officials of the Republic of Lanfang said.

After the dinner ended, Andrew returned to the room prepared for his group by the Republic of Lanfang to rest, and understood the current situation of the Republic of Lanfang through materials.

The history of the establishment of the Republic of Lanfang is relatively complex, and even the current political system of the Republic of Lanfang is relatively complex.

Saying that Lanfang is a country is correct, and saying that it is just a Chinese company is also correct. Although there is a so-called Great President as the ruler of the country, the system of Lanfang does not look like a perfect country, but more like a company with an army.

The establishment of the Republic of Lanfang has been nearly a hundred years, and the Han population has reached the highest level of 500, 00.

But the current situation of the Republic of Lanfang is relatively bad, and there is also a certain loss of population. Many Han people choose to go to the Kingdom of Sarawak in the north, where there are new gold mines waiting to be mined.

And a considerable part of the gold mines in the Republic of Lanfang has been mined, and gold miners naturally like gold mining areas that no one has visited.

Then there is the crazy expansion of the Dutch, which has severely squeezed the living space of the Republic of Lanfang and the Kingdom of Dayan.

The so-called Kingdom of Dayan is actually an indigenous force in the east of the Republic of Lanfang. And the first king of the Kingdom of Dayan was Wu Yuansheng, the founder of the Jusheng Company, the predecessor of the Lanfang Company.

At that time, the Jusheng Company was also a relatively large Chinese company on the island of Kalimantan, but because the prestige of Luo Fangbo, a subordinate of Wu Yuansheng, gradually exceeded that of Wu Yuansheng, the Lanfang Company eventually replaced the Jusheng Company.

After Wu Yuansheng's position was replaced, he was sent to guard the Dayan Sultanate to the east of the Lanfang Company. Because the Sultan of that time was quite cruel, causing dissatisfaction among the local indigenous people and a small number of Chinese, Wu Yuansheng eventually killed the Sultan of Dayan, and he himself was supported by the local indigenous people as the new King of Dayan.

(End of this chapter)