"Father, your speech last night was so wonderful. I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep all night."

In the early morning of the 25th, after Philip delivered a speech "We are not afraid of total war." That night, the Spanish government took the lead, with the participation of EU heads of state, followed by countless fanatics, and a team of approximately 15,000 people held a demonstration in Jerusalem.

A massive torchlight parade.

As a historian, Philip was actually very dissatisfied with this kind of thing that was started by the National Society in the 1920s and 1930s, so he took the lead and walked around before retreating to rest. But for the 17th century

For Europeans in the 20th century, the march of torches on such a scale was really shocking. Especially Crown Prince Louis, who was only 22 years old this year, was even more excited - he walked all night until the morning light gradually faded.

The effect of the torchlight parade was reduced before it was stopped.

When Philip got up for breakfast, the energetic young man sat opposite his father without any fatigue, talking endlessly about everything last night. In his words and eyes, he was full of admiration for his father.

and love.

Looking at his son who was in a frenzy, Philip sighed slightly: If the Chinese time traveler hadn't been so good at fighting, why would he have used such a trick?

But to be honest, when the news came that the coalition forces were defeated in the Malay Peninsula at the end of November and that 200,000 coalition troops were captured, although Philip was sad, he really did not feel danger or despair.

Thanks to the advancement of medicine in recent decades, the leap in productivity, and the brutal Thirty Years War, which caused the direct population of the German region to be halved, many large-scale wars were quickly ended or simply disappeared. Therefore, at this time, Spain passed the European Union

The European area under control actually has a population of 130 million. Among them, there are about 16.2 million young men of working age. With this base number, since the conquest of India, a total of more than 400,000 troops have been lost, as well as 200,000 captured soldiers.

Although it is heartbreaking to have an army of ten thousand, it is not at all serious to say that it has lost all vitality.

What's more, of the more than 400,000 troops lost, one-fifth were black? Two-fifths were Germanic, and one-fifth were Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, Slavic...

In short, there are only about 70,000 real Castilians.

In addition to being tolerable in terms of manpower losses, in terms of economy, it is different from the Ming Dynasty, which almost collapsed due to the blockade of the South China Sea economic circle. On the EU side? Although the cost of supporting a 600,000 expeditionary force is huge, in the past three years? EU

The fiscal revenue and expenditure are still in surplus!

The reason for this? On the one hand, the EU has taken in India: unlike America, which has more than 40 million square kilometers of land, there are only more than 10 million Indians to exploit. India has more than 3 million (not counting Pakistan allocated to the Ottomans)

There are more than 80 million people in a square kilometer of land - and unlike the vast pristine landscapes of America, the land here has been developed for thousands of years, accumulating a lot of wealth.

On the other hand, of course, electrical technology has entered the stage of large-scale practical use? The society has new wealth growth points.

And the most surprising thing? Or because of the large-scale war, the trade volume between China and Europe has been reduced to almost nothing - ever since the new sea route was opened and direct economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe. China-Europe trade, Europe has always been

It's a deficit: Europeans like Silk Porcelain Tea, three of China's top products, but cannot find suitable substitutes. Therefore, they have to spend a lot of silver to buy them every year. According to Spanish Prime Minister Osvalles

Estimates? In the past twenty years, the trade deficit between China and Europe has become larger and larger. Especially in the second year after the opening of the Suez Canal? European businessmen spent a total of 150 million double columns on silk, porcelain and tea.

.

This expenditure? It seems that the European businessmen spent it. But after the businessmen bought the Chinese goods, they still had to sell them in Europe. And after the ordinary people in Europe bought these? They had limited funds and could not buy them.

Other goods produced in Spanish factories – the economic damage? Ultimately the Spanish government will have to bear the brunt.

On the contrary? The large surplus not only brought high taxes to the Ming government, but also the influx of large amounts of silver allowed the Ming Dynasty, which had a serious shortage of silver production, to continue to maintain the silver standard currency system.

It can be said that the incoming and outgoing trade between China and Europe is what has made Philip the most unhappy in the past few decades: the two sides are life-and-death competitors, but we are still constantly trying to capitalize on the enemy!

However, after the war in Southeast Asia, the economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe were almost completely severed. Osvalles was surprised to find that the trade deficit that had lasted for decades since he became prime minister had actually increased in the past two years.

Completely reversed.

As for the arms expenditure of more than 600,000 troops and a huge fleet? Come on, don’t these weapons and gunpowder factories belong to Philip himself? For time travelers, money is enough. The profits earned are all

It is used in conjunction with the treasury.

Therefore, even after the three-year war, Zhu Youdong's finances were already out of balance, and he was so poor that he had to sell naming rights to buy new ships for the navy. However, the finances of Spain and the European Union have actually improved!

In short, the European Union at this time is already very powerful. Compared with Japan and Siam more than 20 years ago, if they lose a war and lose their country, he can withstand a major defeat. Not only that, Philip can also rely on

The war has brought about many benefits that were unimaginable before.

What really troubled Philip was the Americas: Cromwell wrote many times asking for help, saying that the Chinese power in the Americas suddenly grew explosively. Starting from the end of 1640, the Chinese brought a large number of Indians from the Andes.

emerged from the mountains - they no longer fought guerrilla warfare, but used various light and heavy weapons to engage in frontal combat with the Spanish garrison. Cromwell expressed in horror that in recent battles, the Indian soldiers had shown extremely high

Their tactical qualities are not much different from those of a purely Chinese force.

In addition to the consecutive defeats of the army, which was at a disadvantage in terms of strength, the American Squadron headed by the Prince of Asturias also encountered a strong challenge from the Ming Dynasty's American Squadron with five heavy cruisers as its backbone - in early 1641

In the Battle of Lima, on land, Cromwell's 30,000-strong army, backed by the fortified city of Lima, was defeated by 100,000 civilian and Indian coalition forces. On the sea of ​​Lima, Spain's American Squadron was also defeated. Prince

The ship hit a torpedo and staggered away to the south...

Now, the rebellious Indians have reoccupied Lima, and continue to move north, occupying Quito, and are planning to march towards Bogotá. Although the political center of Spain's American colonies is Mexico, Lima has the largest population under Spanish control.

Silver mine!

Of course, after having India, the Americas are not that important to Spain economically. But politically, the Americas cannot be lost: Africa is allocated to the EU countries, and India is shared by all countries in the alliance. Only

There is America, a colony exclusively owned by Spain. If America is lost, how will the countries in the alliance view themselves?

In addition to the headache of America, what made Philip feel a little desperate in his mentality was the unity and loyalty shown by the Chinese during this three-year war.

Yes, it is true that some Chinese colluded with them. Some ministers of the vassal countries expressed their intention to surrender to them. But this harvest is nothing compared to Spain's efforts for this: you know, from

As soon as the Spanish fleet entered the South China Sea, Spanish diplomats began non-stop lobbying. Its intelligence officers also landed in various places and carried out various instigations of rebellion.

But what was the result? More than 90% of the diplomats and intelligence personnel were killed or captured on the spot by the parties, and then handed over to the Chinese Jin Yiwei to show their loyalty to their emperor...

As a historian, Philip knows very well: In the past five thousand years, if there were no traitors to lead the way, or if China itself fell into civil strife, no external force could destroy China's central power purely through military means. But he has already entered the South China Sea.

It has already exerted extreme economic pressure on China. But even so, the Chinese people still refuse to give up their emperor.

This, this is really disappointing!

However, despair was over, and what needed to be done still had to be done - at this time, Philip was no longer the young man who cried bitterly after Spain's defeat in Jerusalem and needed comfort from veterans like Count Tilly.

And to continue doing things, the first priority is to stabilize America.

"Louis, are you twenty-two years old?"

"Yes, father."

"Your Uncle Rudolf led an army of more than 100,000 men to fight France at the age of thirteen. Speaking of which, I have protected you a little too much over the years."

The heavy seat made an unnatural sharp squeak, and Louis jumped up in surprise: "Father, do you want to give me a task?"

"Please sit down, Louis, you are the crown prince and you must have basic manners and etiquette,"

"I'm sorry, father. I'm just too excited. Anyway, your son is at your command."

"...Go to America, and I will crown you the Prince of Mexico. Go there, help Cromwell, and eliminate all the Chinese and Indian rebels that have grown everywhere like bacteria!"

"As you command, father. I will show you all the skills I learned at the Madrid Military Academy."

"No, my son, you may not fully understand what I mean. When you go there, you will be less involved in military matters. In fact, as my son, you go there to take charge, which has more political significance.

.I will let Raimundo Montecuccoli take full responsibility for military matters."

"Of course!" Looking at his son who was clearly in a bad mood in front of him, Philip quickly pulled away and said, "You can study hard with Raimondo and Cromwell."

Standing up, patting his son on the shoulder, Philip slowed down and said: "This time, I am going to send a large fleet with two battleships as the backbone, and ten Castile divisions. You have never been on the battlefield, why?

Can you firmly control so many armies and so many proud generals at once? Follow Raimundo and Cromwell and study hard, as long as you can get their approval. In the future, we will expedition to the East again
Chapter completed!