The Sun Never Sets In Spain - Chapter 149
Iwakura is quite heart-moving. In other words, Spain is also an old European power. Its help will greatly help Japan’s westernization.
More importantly, what Spain wants to establish with Japan is an equal partnership!
These days, Japan sees Europe in the same way that ordinary people see nobles. Even a small country can stand up to them, and even the Netherlands can point to them.
If an economic alliance can be established with Spain, it will undoubtedly regain the confidence of the Yamato nation, and it will also show that the Meiji government is completely different from the past shogunate.
You know, none of the unequal treaties signed by the shogunate were denied, and they all inherited them.
This is one of the important reasons why Japan failed to show the new atmosphere of the new regime.
But this is the first stop, and it is too early to give a promise.
Iwakura Gu Shi forcibly resisted the urge to agree immediately, only saying that he would consider it carefully.
Alfonso has nothing to do, he thinks Iwakura has no reason to refuse.
The conditions given by Spain cannot be granted by countries such as Britain, France and the United States.
Although Alfonso treats the missions equally, in fact, Japan’s international status can only be said to be slightly higher than that of Southeast Asian indigenous peoples, and it is not as good as bringing Qing Qing.
If there is fair trade with Japan, will the British and French colonial empire system be maintained? You can’t open this hole indiscriminately.
Even if the UK is very polite to the delegation, it does not mean that they can really value Japan as a country.
After bidding farewell to Iwakura, Alfonso received news of the rapid progress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After listening to Campos’ report, Alfonso sighed: “So Italy has lost the Italian-Austrian war? This is faster than I thought.”
Campos nodded first and then shook his head: “It is certain to lose the 1866 harvest, but the subsequent development is not necessarily true. The self-help of the nation-state may work miracles.
Italy is using militias to organize a defense line, and they made a request to us. “
“Exchange prisoners?” Alfonso probably guessed it.
“Yes.” Campos affirmed: “Italy has been expanding its army in recent months, and fighting has been frequent.
The military, especially the grass-roots officers, has deteriorated drastically.
If this continues, it will not constitute a complete chain of command.
So they want to exchange some prisoners in the volunteer army. “
After listening, Alfonso did not answer immediately, but thought carefully for a while.
…It’s no surprise that Italy has such an idea. Even if an ordinary soldier can shoot, even if it is worthy of use, an officer has to master a variety of abilities.
When Italy sent a volunteer army to Spain, because it was a small-scale elitist operation, the volunteer army had a very abundant number of officers.
They originally wanted to increase their actual combat experience and brush their resumes. They never expected that they didn’t learn the battlefield knowledge, but because of a blessing in disguise, they had a healthy complexion and cemented endurance.
“I vaguely remember that His Majesty Vittorio said, “Never redeem an officer until the last soldier returns home”?” Alfonso mocked and responded:
“It’s okay in principle, but what do they trade for? There seems to be only a small number of naval officers in Italy.”
“Yes, but they offered a high price, like Captain Ruben who sank an ironclad ship. They asked for 30 ordinary officers to be replaced.
Otherwise, the average price is about 1 Spanish for 2 Italians. “
“Heh.” Alfonso smiled indifferently: “The price is not expensive.
Even so, their gap is huge. Should we put the rest first? “
“No, they said it was redeemed with money, and the price given was not low. An ordinary officer can exchange it for £800. The only requirement is to owe it first.
The Italian government says it will be paid back within 15 years and will pay 8% interest every year…”
Before Campos could finish speaking, Alfonso interrupted him: “Italy can’t even pay our war reparations, and still expect them to pay the ransom?
And as it is, I am not surprised that the Italian government will fall tomorrow.
I don’t need money, so I change people. “
Seeing Campos look puzzled, Alfonso continued: “Italy has no money, but they are crowded. Don’t you think our domestic shipbuilding industry is too bad? Half of the iron-clad ships currently in service are I bought it.”
“Ah…” Campos was stunned at the beginning. In the past few years, he didn’t pay much attention to these skilled workers. It can be said that it is another pioneering work to exchange workers for prisoners of war.
But after thinking about it carefully, he understood the evil of this trick. It was rooting, especially in a maritime country with a backward education system like Italy, it is almost impossible to stand up.
When the shipbuilding capacity returns to a normal level, I don’t know how many years later.
“Your Majesty’s opinion.” Campos praised sincerely.
Not only that, he is also good at inferring things from one another: “Then just change to shipbuilders? Is it a bit of a loss?”
Our economy cannot support the shipbuilding industry that is too large…The technicians and scientific researchers in other industries are also very valuable… Italy will die if you don’t change, and they will definitely agree. “
Campos gets more excited as he speaks, his expansion site is severely restricted, but plundering talents won’t attract too much opposition.
He seemed to have found another way to kill the losers, adding more value to the war.
“You figure it out on your own, and try to find a relatively advantageous exchange method.
This exchange of personnel may become a case for later generations, and we must be cautious with a responsible attitude towards the future.
In addition, scientific researchers rarely change points, unless they are willing to come, and the main exchange target is still shipbuilders. The shipbuilding industry in Italy is actually more advanced than us. “
Alfonso warned, he was afraid that Campos would focus on scientific researchers.
People in the 19th century had a very serious tendency to heroism, as if with a good leader, all problems were solved.
However, scientific research should match the overall strength. With Spain’s education system and industrial strength, there are not too many researchers for the time being.
As long as we maintain a small and sophisticated force that can realize some of Alfonso’s ideas.
Others… let’s make a copy first.
Moreover, the level of Italian scientists should be at the lowest level in Europe.
Coupled with the grievances of language barriers and forced exchanges, it would be nice not to add confusion. It is unrealistic to expect them to help.
Ordinary people can get by and can use some powerful methods, but this set is obviously not suitable for high-quality people.
There has never been a scientist who has been arrested that can produce results.
In addition to skilled workers, what Spain needs more is a large number of teachers. Unfortunately, the language problem is not easy to solve, and Alfonso is also worried about letting enemy personnel to educate his own children.