Chapter 427: Returning the Favor in Kind

The British government reacted quickly. After confirming that the news of the Mediterranean Fleet's heavy losses was not a rumor, the British government immediately formulated a series of countermeasures to prevent itself from suffering defeat after defeat in this war.

The first plan to be completely rejected was the one originally formulated by the British government to engage the Spanish navy in a direct confrontation.

At present, the Mediterranean Fleet has already suffered heavy losses, and Britain, relying solely on the remaining main warships of the Home Fleet and the Channel Fleet, is not enough to maintain an advantage in a decisive naval battle against Spain.

This naval battle that broke out in Malta has already proven one thing: Spain possesses a new type of warship whose performance in all aspects exceeds that of the Duncan-class battleship.

If a decisive naval battle that determines the outcome of this war were to break out with the Spanish navy at this time, Britain's current fleet size would not be enough to ensure victory.

Besides, even if they won, what would it matter? Spain is not a nation founded on its navy; Spain's army is the real threat.

As long as Britain cannot strike into the Spanish mainland and cannot help the Portuguese Republican Party win this civil war, it will never be possible to end this war.

If Portugal were occupied by the Spanish, what would it matter even if Britain subsequently gained an advantage in naval battles? Wasn't this war sparked precisely because of the Portuguese civil war?

Thinking of this, the British government's focus shifted from a decisive naval battle to the situation of the Portuguese civil war.

To a certain extent, the outcome of the Portuguese civil war will also affect the result of the war between Spain and Britain.

Sure enough, within a few days, Britain dispatched a volunteer army to Portugal to assist the Portuguese Republican government in suppressing the rebellion within the country.

Although such an act is already blatant interference in Portugal's internal affairs, the British government still hypocritically disguised it with a protective shell.

Under the British government's disguise, this volunteer army, composed entirely of British army soldiers, instead became a volunteer force spontaneously organized by British civilians.

In the reports of official British news, this volunteer army is composed mostly of British farmers and workers, with only a small number of commanders being retired soldiers who once served in the British army.

To make such a volunteer army appear to have no support from the British government behind it, the way this volunteer army traveled to Portugal to fight was also quite low-key: they were broken up and traveled by cruise ship.

Before arriving in Portugal, the soldiers would not only be unarmed, but they would not even have a unified standard military uniform.

The British government did this to make the army look like a force truly organized spontaneously by civilians, rather than an elite force drawn from the British army.

The first batch of so-called volunteers numbered just over five thousand, all selected from the elite of the British army. The British hoped to quickly control the situation of the Portuguese civil war through their elite troops, helping the Portuguese Republican Party win this civil war, thereby preventing the situation where Portugal is controlled by Spain.

This act of burying one's head in the sand by the British might be able to deceive the general public, but it certainly cannot deceive the governments of various European countries.

Spain naturally learned the news that Britain had dispatched a so-called civilian volunteer army, and the Spanish government was naturally clear about the British people's schemes and tricks.

Since the British decided to personally interfere in the Portuguese civil war, Spain naturally would not make any concessions. Compared to Britain, Spain has more advantages: on one hand, Spain shares a direct border with Portugal; on the other hand, there are many immigrants from Portugal within Spain.

It is not reasonable for Spaniards to enter Portugal to fight, but wouldn't it seem more reasonable for these Portuguese to return to their motherland to join the more righteous side?

As for whether these people returning to Portugal to fight are truly Portuguese, don't worry about that; if Spain says they are, then they are.

Spaniards and Portuguese are relatively similar in appearance, and coupled with the fact that there is little difference between the two languages, perhaps only those authentic Portuguese could tell the difference when using Spaniards to disguise as Portuguese.

But at this time, the Portuguese are too busy to care for themselves because of the civil war, so how could they be free enough to distinguish the true nationality of some soldiers returning to fight in Portugal?

Could it be that their language cannot be influenced by Spanish due to long-term residence in Spain? Isn't it very normal to learn Spanish after acquiring Spanish nationality?

Holding this thought, the Spanish government also planned a program for Portuguese immigrants to return to Portugal to fight.

Compared to Britain's act, which is completely akin to burying one's head in the sand, the Spanish government's approach was not that shameless.

Among the first batch of soldiers returning to Portugal to fight, nearly one-fifth were true Portuguese immigrants. To make these Portuguese immigrants willing to join the Spanish army, the Spanish side also invested heavily.

Every Portuguese immigrant willing to join the army would immediately receive a settlement allowance. Their treatment was also fully aligned with that of the Spaniards; they would enjoy every policy that Spaniards could enjoy, without missing a single bit.

Such generous policies did indeed attract a portion of Portuguese immigrants; after all, the salary income and various subsidies of the Spanish army are quite substantial.

The Spanish army also has clear pension standards; even if one unfortunately dies in the war, their family can receive a large pension, ensuring that they will not lose their source of income because of the loss of a laborer in the family.

The British side dispatched five thousand volunteers, and Spain followed closely by dispatching five thousand as well. Although the numbers on both sides were equal, Gao Da believed that the combat effectiveness of the Spanish army was a level higher than that of the British.

If nothing else, the improvement in national consciousness brought about by bullfighting activities nationwide alone ensures that the Spanish army is unlikely to have soldiers who flee before the battle.

In order to improve the fighting will and morale of the Spanish army at various levels, Gao Da also imitated some strategies of later armies and carried out various adaptations.

The uniforms of the Spanish Royal Army and the Imperial Guard were specially designed; the Royal Army's uniforms are gray-green, while the Imperial Guard's uniforms are overall gray, looking very majestic and imposing.

These two uniforms alone invisibly increased the enthusiasm of Spaniards to sign up for the army. After all, who wouldn't want to wear a handsome military uniform to fully display their might and power?

Both the Royal Army and the Imperial Guard have their own exclusive marches, which are used to encourage and boost the morale of the troops.

Whether it is the Royal Army March or the Imperial Guard March, in the final section of the march, there is such a stirring passage:

Great warriors who protect the home and country, please give everything you have for the motherland and for His Majesty the King!

This passage actually serves as a bugle call for a charge. In the final stage of the Siege of Gibraltar, Gao Da ordered people to play the final section of the Royal Army March, which is also the exclusive charge bugle for the Royal Army.

When the soldiers heard the march, they didn't even need the officers at various levels to carry out any mobilization; this was already the most inspiring mobilization preparation.

In addition to also dispatching volunteer armies in the Portuguese region, Gao Da also decided to find something for the British to do, so as to keep them from only knowing how to stare at Spain's doorstep all day long.

How to find something for Spain to do? Of course, it starts with the British people's Portugal, which is the Ireland region.

Actually, speaking of which, the history of Britain and Spain is quite similar.

Although Britain is called Britain or the British Empire, its official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Great Britain is composed of England, Scotland, and Wales, which is similar to Spain being composed of countries like Castile and Aragon.

What is relatively different is that Castile and Aragon, which make up Spain, have had a good merger, and most of the Spanish public also recognize themselves as Spaniards.

Except for a small number of exceptions like the Catalans and Basques, the population in most of the Spanish territory recognizes this unified country.

And Britain is not as good as Spain in this regard. The hatred between the Irish and the British is not even mentioned yet, and even among the Scots who jointly make up Great Britain, there are many who do not recognize Britain.

Even in the 21st century of later generations, the Scottish region still held an independence referendum, but those who voted against it accounted for 55%, which is also the reason why Scotland remains in Britain.

But then again, since those who support remaining in Britain account for 55%, it also means that those who support Scottish independence also account for about 45%.

This is already a quite dangerous proportion, proving that nearly half of the Scots do not recognize Britain's policies; they believe that they have not enjoyed sufficient rights under Britain's policies, and their own interests have not been sufficiently protected.

These events also represent that Britain itself is not stable. Spain has at least solved its domestic problems, while Britain, even in later generations, has still not solved the problems of Scotland and Ireland.