Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 131: Debate On Military Expansion

For every colonial country, resistance in the colonies has always been the most headache-inducing issue and the greatest expenditure in managing the colonies.

Spain currently has three major colonies: Cuba, the Philippines, and South Morocco Colony.

Among these three colonies, except for South Morocco Colony which was just occupied and has no large-scale resistance, the other two colonies both have large-scale resistance.

For the Spanish Government, it is certainly hoped that the Cuba and Philippine colonies can be stable and continuously generate income to support the development of the Spanish Mainland.

Only when the Spanish Mainland becomes more powerful can these colonies be better preserved, while Spain’s sphere of influence is continuously expanded, ultimately creating Spain’s revival.

To ensure the stability of the Cuba and Philippine colonies, after discussion in the Cabinet Meeting, it was finally decided to increase the garrison scale in these two colonies.

As mentioned before, Spain’s total army size is only around 100,000 men, with the Home Army approximately 70,000 and the colonial defense troops approximately 30,

As one of Spain’s most important colonies, Cuba’s colonial garrison totals 12,000 men, which is also the colony with the largest number of garrison troops possessed by Spain.

Ranking second is the Philippine Colony, with garrison troops totaling around 4,000 men. In the vicinity of the Philippines, Spain also possesses a colony on Borneo, with approximately 3,000 garrison troops.

Yes, Spain also possesses a colony on Borneo. Although the history of the Sulu Colony adds up to only 30 years, it is currently indeed a Spanish Colony, and the total area is not small. Spain has garrisoned approximately 7,000 troops in total in the Philippines and Sulu, which on the side also proves that the Philippine Colony, including Sulu, is still very important to Spain.

Apart from the two extremely important colonies of Cuba and the Philippines, Spain’s garrison in the northern cities of Morocco, Ceuta and Tetuán, also exceeds 8,000 men.

Besides these three colonies with garrisons on the scale of thousands, the remaining colonies, including Puerto Rico, Guinea, and the Canary Islands, have garrison soldier numbers just over 1,

Of course, the South Morocco Colony is currently also expanding the scale of its colonial defense troops. Although the number of these colonial defense troops seems large, only about half are actual Spaniards, and the rest are those native soldiers recruited locally from the colonies.

If only counting Spaniards, the current army numbers in each colony are still somewhat few. Particularly Cuba and the Philippines—these two colonies can obviously afford to support more troops, and it is also necessary to strengthen the local army scale to ensure the stability of these colonies.

All the colonial defense regiments add up to approximately 14 regiments, with a total troop strength of around 32,200 men.

With such an army scale, let alone supporting the Spanish Mainland in specific situations, it is not even that easy to maintain the stability of Spain’s existing colonies.

Expanding the scale of the existing colonial army is very necessary—this not only concerns the stability of Spain’s various colonies but also, to a certain extent, the stability of Spain domestically.

In terms of the colonial army, Carlo still has considerable right to speak. The colonial army is under the leadership of the colonial government and the Colonial Governor, and the colonial governor is appointed by the King.

On this point, Prime Minister Primó’s influence is not as high as Carlo’s. However, because Prime Minister Primó has actually served as a colonial governor, his influence on individual colonies is certainly much higher than Carlo’s.

“Prime Minister, I suggest increasing our 14 colonial defense regiments to 25, and the problem of troop shortages in each colony can be resolved effortlessly.” Colonial Affairs Minister Scottie Álvarez put forward his opinion on the issue of troop shortages in the colonies.

But before Prime Minister Primó could express his attitude on this opinion, Finance Minister Ewald Bartel stood up and retorted: “Mr. Scottie, have you considered that the kingdom’s finances simply cannot bear such a scale of colonial army?

25 defense regiments would be nearly 60,000 troops—do our colonies really need so many people?”

The differing opinions of the Colonial Affairs Minister and the Finance Minister are already very common in the Cabinet, after all, the angles from which they consider problems are different.

As the Colonial Secretary, what Scottie thinks of, of course, is expanding the colonial army, enhancing the influence of the colonies, which can also indirectly enhance his influence as Colonial Secretary.

While as Finance Minister, what Ewald must first guard is the nation’s finances. If any Cabinet Minister could take away a large portion of the budget through proposals, then the Ministry of Finance would lose its role.

Finance, as a core department of the country, is extremely important, and Ewald is also one of Prime Minister Primó’s confidants.

Precisely because he understands that Prime Minister Primó’s attitude toward reform and mainland development is higher than that toward the colonies, Ewald was the first to stand up against Scottie.

If the government’s finances are all used to expand the armies of the colonies, then what about the development of the mainland?

Carlo watched the officials’ quarrel without any action. Even though Carlo has right to speak on colonial matters, as a King, before the ministers have quarreled to a result, it is best not to clearly side with any one party.

This not only keeps oneself in an invincible position but also allows using others’ means to achieve one’s own purpose.

If Carlo clearly expressed support for one side during the meeting, it would not only offend the other side being refuted but also tie himself highly to the supported side.

The current Spanish Cabinet Government is obviously still dominated by Prime Minister Primó, and Carlo is also waiting for Prime Minister Primó’s opinion.

Seeing that his subordinates had argued for a long time without reaching a clear result, and Grand Duke Serrano and Carlo, who also have right to speak, had no intention of stepping in, Prime Minister Primó could only stand up and stop the Spanish Cabinet Government’s debate.

“There is nothing to argue about this matter. Our colonial armed forces are indeed somewhat weak, but we cannot expand the army on a large scale.” Prime Minister Primó said: “

Considering our government’s financial capacity, I believe expanding the number of colonial defense regiments to around 20 is the most appropriate.

If too many, it will affect the government’s finances and harm the development of the mainland. But if we do not expand the army, the problems in each colony will continue, which is also unfavorable to Spain’s development.

Your Majesty, I think we should expand the number of colonial defense regiments to 20, while equipping these colonial troops with a certain number of Spanish officers; the soldiers can recruit a portion of local natives to join.

As long as there are Spanish officers to maintain the army’s order, the stability of these colonial armies can be ensured.”

First update, seeking support!