Chapter 222: Changes in the Situation and Large Orders

"What? The Russian offensive in the Balkans suffered heavy losses?" Carlo stood up in surprise and looked at Kadir, the director of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, with some disbelief.

"That's right, Your Majesty." Kadir nodded and explained: "The Russian army and the Ottoman army launched a fierce war around Pleven. The Ottoman Empire has never been able to regain the Pushka Pass, and the Russian army has never been able to regain it. Can take down Previn.

According to telegrams from the front, the Russian army had carried out three strong attacks on Pleven, and all had failed. These three violent attacks cost Russia a total of more than 50,000 troops. Russia's military strength on the Balkan front was no longer sufficient. "

Carlo walked forward quickly and took the map of the Balkans that he had prepared from Kadir. The direction of attack of the Russian and Ottoman armies had been marked on it. The battle damage of both sides and the current remaining balance were also marked on the side. of military strength.

When the war first broke out, Russia mobilized seven armies with more than 300,000 men on the Danube front. With the offensive in these months, the total casualties of the Russian army have been close to 100,000, which is quite exaggerated.

Although some of the wounded were able to return to the front line after treatment, it would be at least several months later.

Russia will be in a state of emergency with no available troops within a few months, and it is impossible to defeat the Ottoman Empire with only 200,000 troops.

After all, the Ottoman Empire has more advanced weapons and equipment, and in addition to being in the defensive phase most of the time, the Ottoman Empire suffered less battle losses than Russia.

If the war continues like this, it will not be good news for Russia. The loss of 100,000 troops would not be a big deal for Russia, but if it wants to take over the Ottoman Empire, it may have to lose several more 100,000 troops.

With such a huge loss of troops, can Russia still take over the entire Balkan Peninsula after the war? A completely victorious Russia may make other powers fearful, but if Russia is seriously injured, even the Austro-Hungarian Empire may covet it.

Carlo pondered deeply, judging the impact of the changes in the Balkan situation on Spain.

"Inform the Royal Arsenal and the Diplomatic Department that if the Russians want to maintain their offensive, they need more troops and weapons and equipment. This is exactly our opportunity." Finally, Carlo made the decision.

The current changes in the situation in the Balkans have not yet affected Spain. For Spain, whether the Ottoman Empire or Russia wins the final victory, the impact on Spain will be minimal.

Of course, Carlo hoped that Russia could win the final victory, because this would attract most of the British attention.

For the British, Russia, which won the Russo-Turkish War, was the more threatening country. Although Spain also has certain dangers, compared with Russia, which has a huge territory and a large population, Spain is obviously still one level behind.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Kadir nodded and respectfully withdrew.

While Carlo was quite surprised by the changes in the situation in the Balkans, on the Russian side, Tsar Alexander II was even more surprised than Carlo.

When Tsar Alexander II ascended the throne, it coincided with Russia's defeat in the Ninth Russo-Turkish War. Alexander II's father, Nicholas I, died suddenly because he could not bear the huge blow. This made Alexander II always want to avenge his shame.

But at the same time, Alexander II also had more worries about the Russo-Turkish War. He was afraid of repeating the same mistakes as his father. He certainly wanted victory against the Ottoman Empire, but he was also afraid of another defeat.

When news of heavy losses to the Russian army came from the front, Alexander II's determination to fight was shaken. He believed that the Russian army had fallen into an extremely unfavorable and even dangerous situation, and even wanted to end the war to avoid a more serious defeat.

Regarding the wavering of the Tsar's determination to fight, Russia's current Minister of War, Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin, gave his own opinion: "

Your Majesty the Tsar, I admit that our army will indeed face great losses if we continue to fight like this, and may even be exhausted in a short period of time.

But this does not mean that we can give up, otherwise we will inevitably face huge setbacks like the last war.

Behind our frontline troops, Romania has nearly 40,000 mobilized troops to support us, and we also have 70,000 mobilized reserve troops on the border.

By mobilizing some of the reserves, not only will our frontline suffer no loss of troops, but we will be able to increase our numbers by 50,000 to 100,000 people.

If we can break through Pleven Fortress, the land ahead will be smooth, and we will completely open the passage to Constantinople. "

War Minister Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin led the reform of the Russian Army and was deeply trusted by Tsar Alexander II.

After the persuasion of Dmitry Alexeevich Milyutin, Alexander II regained his confidence and re-issued orders to the front line commander, the old Grand Duke Nicholas.

At the same time, Dmitri Alexeevich Milyutin also gave his new opinion: "Your Majesty, although we have lost one hundred thousand troops on the front line, our soldiers can get good support. In addition, there is no need to worry about troop strength in the short term.

If we can sign another arms trade treaty with Spain and other countries, we will not have to worry about weapons and equipment. With soldiers and weapons and equipment, our front line will be as stable as steel, and we will even have enough strength to re-capture the Pleven Fortress.

The current failure is short-lived for us. We will still be the winner of this war. This cannot be changed or stopped by a little setback. "

Tsar Nicholas II nodded.

The first batch of weapons and equipment provided by Spain has been shipped to the front battlefield. Although the soldiers are unfamiliar with these weapons and equipment, after a few days of running-in, there is no problem in putting them into combat.

Compared with the weapons and equipment produced in Russia, the Spanish rifles are more advanced, which has also strengthened Russia's front-line firepower to a certain extent.

Although rifles do not have much effect on fortress attack and defense, the improvement of rifle firepower is still very effective in defending against the counterattack of the Ottoman Empire.

And Spain is also one of the few countries in Europe that is willing to trade arms with Russia, so Russia naturally has to seize this opportunity.

Although Spain requires gold and population as payment, these are not scarce for Russia at present. The Romanov family has ruled Russia for hundreds of years, so it is easy to pay with a little gold.

Moreover, in addition to gold, Russia's numerous farmers and mineral resources can also pay for the purchase of weapons and equipment from Spain.

As long as the war can be won, let alone using population and mineral resources, even if only gold is used to pay, it is a sure win.

With another order issued by Tsar Alexander II, the Russian government also entered a busy period.

First, the frontline commander, Grand Duke Nicholas, commander-in-chief of the Danube Army Group, asked for assistance from Grand Duke Carol I of Romania, asking Romania to send troops to assist the Russian army in the battle.

In the telegram requesting assistance, Grand Duke Nicholas described in detail the difficulties faced by the Russian front, and additionally stated , if Russia failed in the attack, Romania would face the Ottoman Empire alone.

Russia's failure was nothing to Romania, but if Romania had to face the Ottoman Empire's attack alone, Romania would definitely panic.

Sure enough, after receiving the telegram from Grand Duke Nicholas, Grand Duke Carol I of Romania quickly agreed to Grand Duke Nicholas's request for help and sent 40,000 troops to assist the Russian army on the front line.

With 40,000 Romanian troops assisting the Russian army, Grand Duke Nicholas finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although this could not change the situation on the front battlefield, it could at least ensure that the Russian army would not be quickly defeated during this period of shortage of troops.

It would also allow the Russian army to hold out longer and wait for the arrival of real Russian reinforcements.

This is not We have to mention the changes that the military reform promoted by Army Minister Dmitriy Alexeevich Milyutin brought to Russia.

Dmitriy Alexeevich Milyutin's military reforms mainly focused on the reform of the military service system, the reform of the military management system and the reform of military education.

Before the reform, the Russian army mainly relied on the recruitment system to maintain its size, and there was also a level difference between the noble soldiers, landlord soldiers and peasant soldiers in the army.

But after Milyutin's military reform, Russia's military service system was transformed into a compulsory military service system. Russian citizens aged 20 to 25 are obliged to serve in the Russian army, and have a military service period of 6 to 7 years and a reserve period of 3 years.

After the implementation of this military service system, Russia not only has sufficient sources of soldiers, but also sufficient reserves.

Although Russia's current military size is only 700,000, if the reserves are counted, Russia can mobilize more than one million troops.

If a full mobilization is really carried out, it will be no problem for Russia to arm more than 5 million troops, which is also the reason why European countries are afraid of Russia.

Let alone 5 million troops, there are actually only five traditional powers and Italy and Spain in Europe that can equip 1 million troops.

There are only five traditional powers that can equip 2 million troops, which is not the size of the army that ordinary powers can handle.

2 million troops are not just 2 million people, but also represent at least 2 million rifles, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of bullets, thousands of cannons and 2 million uniforms and boots and other armaments.

Soldiers need a lot of money to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. Whether it is training or fighting, the consumption of bullets and shells is an incalculable huge expenditure.

Italy has a population of more than 29 million and is capable of equipping more than 2 million troops. But if the Italian government is responsible for the daily expenses of these 2 million troops, I am afraid that Italy's finances will quickly fall into a crisis in a short period of time.

Even if the war is carried out on the territory of other countries, for any country that deploys 2 million troops, the military expenditure is extremely huge.

If the war is fought on one's own land, the losses will be immeasurable, and it may even take more than ten or twenty years to recover.

This is what happened to France in World War I. Not only did France send out millions of troops, but the war was also fought on French soil.

This also led to great damage to France's industry and economy, and a sharp decline in population, which did not recover for more than ten years.

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While Grand Duke Nicholas was contacting Romania, the Russian diplomatic department was already contacting Spain to seek to purchase more weapons and equipment.

Because of the previous cooperation, the Russian ambassador went directly to the Royal Arsenal and asked for a larger weapons purchase order with the Royal Arsenal.

Because Carlo had reached a relevant agreement with the Russian diplomatic department before, the Royal Arsenal did not hesitate and immediately signed a larger weapons purchase order with the Russian side.

Because the Russians' first order had been delivered at the end of last month, the Russians' appetite for this order became bigger.

The previous order was only 100,000 rifles. This order ordered a full 250,000 rifles, 770 artillery pieces, 65 million rounds of bullets and 250,000 shells.

From this aspect, it can also be seen that the Russian military trusts the weapons and equipment made in Spain. After all, 250,000 rifles are not a small number. There are only five major powers with an army of more than 250,000.

Because the order is urgent, Russia did not prepare enough mineral resources. Therefore, the payment method for this order is all gold and Russian farmers.

According to the agreement between the Russian government and Spain, each Russian peasant can deduct 200 pesetas of funds. The Russian government plans to immigrate 20,000 Russian peasants to deduct most of the cost of the order, and the rest will be paid with gold.

The transfer of peasants will also be carried out from the Baltic Sea, which will be safer, although the journey will be longer.

The Royal Arsenal naturally has no objection to this. These Russian peasants transported to the colonies are excellent labor, and they play an extremely important role in the development of Spanish colonies. The more such people, the better.

Although 20,000 Russians seem to be a lot, several colonies are divided here and there, and each colony actually does not get many Russian peasants.

There is another advantage of dispersing these Russian peasants, which is to ensure the stability of these Russian peasants to the greatest extent.

In addition, the original character of these Russian peasants is to be submissive and good people, and the probability of their rebellion is much lower than that of the natives.

Because of the urgent shortage of weapons and equipment on the front line, the Russian side also put forward its own requirements. Russia required that these weapons and equipment must be transported within five months, and the first batch of 100,000 rifles must be sent to the Russian Baltic coast within two months.

Completing the production of 250,000 rifles within five months is a very demanding requirement for the Royal Arsenal. Not to mention 770 artillery pieces, 65 million rounds of bullets and 250,000 shells. Even the Royal Arsenal, which is undergoing a major expansion, will take at least a year to complete production.

But because Carlo had ordered the Royal Arsenal to expedite the production of weapons and equipment for export when the Balkans were just in turmoil, the Royal Arsenal had already stockpiled more than 200,000 rifles, 600 artillery pieces, nearly 100 million rounds of bullets, and more than one million shells before the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War.

After completing the first transaction with Russia and the Ottoman Empire, most of the inventory of these weapons and equipment had been cleared.

But in the past few months, the Royal Arsenal has produced another batch of weapons and equipment, enriching the reserves of the arsenal again.

For the Royal Arsenal, it is indeed difficult to complete the Russian order within five months, but fortunately it is not too difficult.

At most, some orders for bullets and shells can be transferred to other small military factories, and the Royal Arsenal will only be responsible for the production of rifles and artillery.

Doing so can also allow the entire arms industry in Spain to expand rapidly, which is better than the Royal Arsenal enjoying the cake alone.

Although a monopoly can promote the development of military technology, if a hundred flowers can bloom, Carlo is willing to make the Spanish military industry more competitive.

Transferring some orders for bullets and shells can also allow the Royal Arsenal to take on more orders for rifles and artillery.

Anyway, the Royal Arsenal has made enough profits from these orders, and it is not a big deal for the Royal Arsenal to share some cakes with other military factories appropriately.

The diplomatic ambassador who signed a new arms trade treaty with the Royal Arsenal excitedly reported the news to Russia, and the Royal Arsenal was also holding a celebration banquet for the signing of a new arms trade order.

The two Russian orders are not small numbers. The profits obtained by the Royal Arsenal are enough to support the Royal Arsenal's weapons research and development and transformation research in the next two years.

Carlo is not a stingy person. As early as the first time he signed an arms trade order with Russia, Carlo specifically instructed that the Royal Arsenal could keep most of the profits obtained from this arms trade for the research of the Royal Arsenal.

The remaining small part of the profit is shared with all employees of the military factory, so that all employees have a sense of participation.

In the end, the reward each employee gets is probably only one or two months' salary, but after all, it is extra income. I believe that every military factory employee who gets this reward will be happy.

And Carlo, who issued this reward, will naturally be grateful to the employees of the military factory.

Improving the treatment of employees in all factories and enterprises under the royal family is a strategy that Carlo has already formulated.

The purpose of doing this is naturally to maintain a large gap with the treatment of employees under entrepreneurs.

In this way, while the workers hate the capitalist class, they will also be grateful to Carlo and the royal family.

The working class stands on the side of the royal family. What else can threaten Carlo's throne?

As for the capitalists who might be offended by doing so, Carlo is not worried at all. Spain has always been on the road of state capitalism, or more precisely, the road of state monopoly capitalism.

Several important industries in Spain are all monopolized by the Spanish government and royal family's enterprises. Private capitalists cannot achieve a monopoly position, and their capital power naturally cannot pose a threat to the government and the royal family.

After all, the Spanish government and the royal family are the two largest capitalists in Spain. In front of these two largest capitalists, what threats can other small capitals pose?

The disadvantage of state capitalism is the prevalence of corruption. Carlo only needs to monitor the corruption of enterprises controlled by the state and the royal family to basically ensure the future development of Spain and win the hearts of Spanish workers.

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