[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-83":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2365011,4632,"Chapter 83: The Ceuta Rebellion (Please Subscribe!)","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-83",83,"\u003Cp>Just after returning to Madrid, Kaluo impatiently handed the more than 100 Vitali rifles purchased from Italy to the Royal Arsenal for imitation, striving to fully grasp the principles behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how successful reform and development may be, military strength is the true standard for measuring whether a country is powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Current Spain is not very suitable for developing a navy, so it can only focus its gaze on the development of the army, striving to possess a first-class European army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Spain's population is far inferior to the European powers, the only thing that can be worked on at present is the level of advancement of weapons and equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one could manage to equip a large number of advanced rifles and machine guns before the European powers, then the Spanish army would at least not be inferior to any country in terms of quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By establishing the strength of the Spanish army through a few campaigns, Kaluo and the Spanish government would also have more confidence in diplomatic activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, to put it plainly, whether a country can possess influence at the diplomatic level depends on the comprehensive strength of this country, especially its military capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this country is a total mess in terms of the military, even if its diplomats are as eloquent as can be, they will be helpless in front of other powerful nations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>National dignity is built upon the edge of a blade; truth only exists within the range of cannons. If Spain wants to become powerful, while developing industry and the economy, military strength is also indispensable, and perhaps even more important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of weapon design, compared to rifles, Kaluo actually values the research and development of machine guns more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in colonial warfare, generally a few machine guns can face tens of thousands of indigenous troops; this is something previous colonial nations had never thought of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the research and development of machine guns, the United States is definitely far ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The United States currently already has hand-cranked Gatling guns; although this type of machine gun also has all sorts of problems when used, at\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>least it has achieved a firepower output far more powerful than rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the goal of learning and drawing inspiration, Kaluo instructed Kadi'er to dispatch personnel to the Americas to search for talent in firearm design while simultaneously purchasing several finished hand-cranked Gatling guns for the arsenal to study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the 10 million Lira interest-free loan borrowed from Italy, Kaluo decided to invest it all into the construction of factories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Building factories now is no different from lying down and making money; it is merely a question of how much is earned. It can also create thousands of jobs for Spaniards, which counts as a solid win-win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The comfortable days did not last long before Prime Minister Primo and Minister of War Serrano arrived together, bringing news that Kaluo had not expected: a small-scale rebellion had broken out in Ceuta.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This rebellion was clearly not the reason for Primo and Serrano to request an audience with Kaluo. Such a small-scale rebellion could be resolved by the local colonial troops; such news was not even qualified to be reported to the Kingdom government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real reason that drew the attention of Primo and Serrano was that Spain could take this opportunity to launch another invasion of Morocco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Morocco and Spain face each other across the strait and are also the African country closest to Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As early as the reign of Queen Isabella, Spain had already fought a colonial war with Morocco, and Spain had occupied the northern Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Ceuta.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although they defeated the Moroccan government of that time, because the British were unwilling to see Spain possess powerful forces near Gibraltar, under British intervention, Spain only obtained two small cities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, a full ten years have passed since that war, and it happens to be a time when the British have problems of their own at home; Prime Minister Primo believes it is a good opportunity for a large-scale invasion of Morocco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for coming with Serrano was naturally to persuade Kaluo to launch a colonial war against Morocco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also a tacit understanding reached by the three giants of Spain. In such major events, Primo must consider Kaluo's attitude to exchange for Kaluo's full support for reform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Primo did indeed achieve this; in major matters, even if he as Prime Minister could make direct decisions, he would still come to ask for Kaluo's attitude and request Kaluo's consent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kaluo looked at the map of the Kingdom of Spain hanging in his office; the area of Morocco below was about the same size as Spain, which was truly attractive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Kaluo's plan, Morocco is a place that must be taken. This is the only land Spain can localize, and it is also a sphere of influence that Spain must obtain to become a power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as in the last colonial war where Spain did not gain much benefit, the British would not allow Spain to possess such a large piece of land near Gibraltar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a large piece of land on the northern coast of Morocco were occupied, Spain's territory would once again surround Gibraltar, and the British schemes in Gibraltar would also come to nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty, I believe that launching a war at this time is feasible.\" Seeing Kaluo hesitating, Primo stepped forward to persuade him: \"The Isabella government ten years ago could defeat Morocco, so our current army can certainly defeat Morocco again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Moreover, even if we cannot obtain a large piece of land in northern Morocco, we can take the opportunity to announce our claims to African land.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the British are unwilling for us to obtain northern Morocco, then they must agree to our expansion in other regions of Africa. Otherwise, they will have to bear the consequences of us leaning completely toward France.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one were to name the countries least willing to see Spain lean toward Germany, the first is France, and the second is Britain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the defeat, France lost important industrial areas like Alsace and Lorraine, and its comprehensive strength is already inferior to the integrated German Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, the French still have to pay the Germans 5 billion francs in reparations, which is simply angel startup capital for Germany's industrial development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the German Empire, which is still becoming more powerful, it is impossible for the British not to be on guard. If news were to come at this time that Spain had leaned completely toward Germany, and France was being attacked from the north and south, the British would definitely not be able to sit still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that Italy and Germany are also allies; if a real fight broke out, France might face a three-sided pincer attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the Kingdom of Sardinia at that time, in order to unify Italy, had ceded the two important regions of Savoy and Nice to France.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just looking at the surname of the Italian royal family, one knows how important the Savoy region is; this is the place where the Italian royal family rose to power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say that Italy has no thoughts about these two pieces of land that were forced to be ceded is simply impossible; once France faces a situation of being pincered, Italy will definitely get involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, the British are absolutely unwilling to see the French be directly crushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To keep the situation on the European continent balanced, it is necessary to ensure that Spain does not lean toward Germany; this is also the reason why Primo has the confidence to exchange interests with the British.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, although Spain is not strong, it is not that afraid of the British if a real fight breaks out. The blockade at sea does not have that much of an impact on Spain, because Spain does not have many colonies left at this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if the British want to blockade Spain's vast sea areas, they must mobilize a large number of fleets. Even if the British could withstand such massive consumption, other European countries would not necessarily remain indifferent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the question of whether the British would invade the Spanish mainland, this is completely unnecessary to worry about. Primo has the confidence to make the British never return; in terms of land warfare, it is better for the British to stay on the sidelines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daily 10,000 words, day 2\u002F7, 4200\u002F10000 words updated. The remaining three updates might be late, but they will definitely be finished tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1443,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","259068e1d6795fa2b51a76d9f62ec1d63b59d62fbb97d5857facb3732203de07","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-84","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-82",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]