Chapter 445: Large Orders

The Portuguese army's slightly lackluster performance was merely an interlude in the Grand Parade of Cadiz, and the Portuguese performance would not affect Spain, the host of the parade, in the slightest.

After the Portuguese army marched past the reviewing stand, the army parade was officially declared over; next, it was the turn of the Spanish air force and navy to appear in sequence.

Compared to the army units that had already finished, the various European nations—especially the European superpowers led by Germany and France—were actually more interested in the Spanish air force and navy units about to appear.

The Spanish air force units did not disappoint them; only a few minutes after the army units left the reviewing stand, several airships approached the reviewing stand from the distance.

The two leading airships each hung a flag; the flags were suspended from steel cables, and there were counterweights of sufficient mass beneath the cables to ensure the flags could be fully unfurled in the air.

One of these two flags was the national flag of Spain, and the other was the royal flag of the Spanish monarchy.

Following the two leading airships were more than ten other airships of varying sizes. These airships flew in a grand procession through the high sky above the reviewing stand, and the surrounding onlookers watched these flying objects in the sky with curiosity.

Considering that most of the public was still very unfamiliar with these things flying in the sky, Spain had thoughtfully added a commentary segment to this grand parade.

In addition to introducing to the public what exactly the airships in the sky were, the main purpose of the commentary segment was, in reality, to attract the attention of dignitaries from various countries and focus it entirely on the airships.

Sure enough, when the on-site commentary began to introduce the airships flying in the sky to the public, many high-level government officials and royal family members from European countries also began to listen.

There was no helping it; something like an airship that could fly into the high sky would bring about extremely significant changes for humanity at present.

Not to mention the changes in the civilian sector, the changes in the military field alone were enough to make the dignitaries of various European countries turn their attention to the airships.

Whether it was the Anglo-Spanish War currently in peace negotiations or the more distant Franco-Prussian War and Austro-Prussian War, armies, when digging trenches, only considered the artillery fire of enemies on the distant ground and never considered the danger from the sky.

Just imagine, if these airships flew over the heads of one's own army and easily dropped one bomb after another beside the soldiers, this would not only cause huge casualties to the army but would also affect the morale of the troops.

No army could fight fearlessly against an enemy in front of them while being constantly attacked by bombs from overhead. Even if the German army, known as the number one army in Europe, were to come, their first thought when facing such a scene would have to be to find cover to avoid the bombing.

This was the immense role demonstrated by the airships. For the various European countries, they could accept that their own domestic forces were not equipped with airships, but they could never accept other European countries possessing them.

Although many European countries, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, were currently conducting research, Spain was definitely at the forefront of airship research among all European nations.

The purpose of many European countries coming to Spain was also very simple: it was to see to what extent Spain's airship research had progressed, and whether Spain could sell its existing airship technology to them, thereby allowing their own countries' airship technology to reach a leading position in Europe.

Regardless of the inner thoughts of the European dignitaries present, at this moment, seeing the airships flying overhead one after another, the Spanish public felt quite proud and satisfied.

Before Yu Kaluo became the King of Spain, the Spanish public had never felt the sensation of being the center of global attention. This grand parade not only showed the strength of the Spanish army to all of Europe but also showed the strength of Spain in terms of airships and the navy to all of Europe.

This grand parade was also the first in human history to cover the three services of sea, land, and air. With such a grand occasion happening in Spain, how could all the Spanish people present not feel proud and excited?

A large number of Spanish people cast their fanatical gazes toward the two flags hanging beneath the airships; the royal flag next to the national flag was so dazzling, and to the Spanish people, the two flags symbolized everything.

Compared to the army's parade segment, the air force's parade segment appeared much simpler. As the dozen or so airships slowly flew past, the air force parade had already concluded.

The subsequent naval parade could not continue to be held at the reviewing stand but had to be moved to a place closer to the sea.

In the naval parade, the Dreadnought battleship only made a brief appearance, after which the entire parade segment ended.

Although the Dreadnought battleship only made a brief appearance, it was still very easy for the dignitaries of various European countries to see the difference between the Dreadnought battleship and Spain's other battleships.

Because the difference in tonnage was too great, the Dreadnought battleship was a full size larger than the other battleships, and the visual effect was also completely different.

Surrounding newspaper media were also constantly filming the Spanish air force and navy; they could not wait to showcase Spain's achievements in the air force and navy to the outside world through news.

Whether it was the airships, which were still fresh to the European public, or that seemingly massive battleship of Spain, as long as they could capture clear photos and publish related news, it would definitely become the hottest news sensation in Europe.

The newspaper reporters on the scene were also clearly aware of this; they constantly urged the photographers beside them to take clearer photos so that they could write corresponding articles based on these images.

The dignitaries of various European countries who had watched the entire parade returned to the hotels prepared for them by Spain with different moods, and Yu Kaluo also had the Spanish government prepare for the next step: finding a way to sell the military technology Spain had currently displayed to the various European countries.

Especially regarding airships; for Spain, which was currently researching airplanes, airships were actually of no great use.

Aside from being able to carry passengers and cargo in the civilian sector, their role in the military field was completely incomparable to airplanes. Do not be fooled by the fact that airships could also be equipped with weapons; in reality, when facing airplanes, airships had no power to fight back.

Although Spain was also researching airships, it was more to cover up the airplanes being developed simultaneously. As for the part of airship technology that Spain had already mastered, it was best to sell it to European countries at a higher price before they had fully mastered airships themselves.

If they could exchange technology related to airships for a large sum of income, it would not only alleviate the fiscal strain on Spain caused by the war but also allow Spain to have more funds for the research and development of military technology.

Of course, making the various European countries focus all their attention on airships was also one of the important goals.

Just imagine, when most European countries were working hard to develop airships, and Spain suddenly pulled out an airplane, how would the European countries respond?

Not to mention, there was more than one country interested in Spain's air force and naval technology.

On the second day after the Spanish grand parade ended, which was February 1, 1905, the diplomatic representative of Italy submitted a request to the Spanish government, asking whether Spain could sell technology related to battleships and airships to Italy, or build several battleships and airships for Italy.

Spain was, of course, willing to sell technology related to airships, and could even build Dreadnought-class battleships for Italy.

But in order to sell these two products at a higher price, Spain certainly could not show an eager attitude toward selling them.

After the Italian diplomatic representative submitted the relevant request, the Spanish government did not directly agree to the Italian side's request but instead indicated that it required long-term discussion to reach a conclusion.

The Spanish government did indeed conduct long-term discussions, and it was not until a few days later, when the Italian diplomatic team was about to leave Spain, that the Spanish government indicated it could sell the technology related to airships to Italy.

Of course, they could also build airships for Italy; how specifically to proceed would depend on the choice of the Italian government.

As for the Dreadnought-class battleship, the trump card with which Spain defeated the British navy, it could also be sold to the Italian government. However, the sale of the Dreadnought-class battleship could only be conducted as complete vessels; Spain would not sell the relevant blueprints and design data to the outside world.

Moreover, the construction cost of such a super-giant ship with a displacement of nearly 20, 00 tons was also quite expensive. The Spanish government even specifically reminded the Italian diplomatic representative that Italy's finances might not be able to support a large number of battleships.

The Italian diplomatic representative originally did not take it to heart, but when they learned that the external selling price of the Dreadnought-class battleship was as high as 45 million pesetas, and that it also required a large amount of additional expenditure including personnel training fees, technology transfer fees, and other costs, they were still shocked and dumbfounded.