Chapter 829: Chapter 737: Taking Advantage of a Pig Teammate

Madrid.

The ceremony for Charles IV to welcome Joseph still adhered to the highest standards.

On both sides of the road from the northern suburbs of Madrid to the Royal Palace were soldiers of the Court Guard standing solemnly, and behind them, crowds of Spaniards who had come out to catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince of France’s elegance. The entire city was as lively as a festival.

At the Royal Palace Square, the sounds of saluting cannons and the orchestra’s melodies intertwined. As Joseph stepped out of his carriage, he saw Charles IV approaching with an exuberant smile.

Adjusting his garments, he placed his hand over his chest and bowed to the King of Spain, though the latter immediately stepped forward for an embrace: “Ah, my dear Joseph, I didn’t expect you to come see me at this moment.”

Charles IV escorted Joseph into the palace: “The banquet is already prepared, with your favorite baked seafood. After the banquet, there’s an opera–the latest production from the Royal Theater Troupe, acclaimed by all. Oh, tomorrow we’ll go hunting together. Do you know? This season’s wild boars and lynxes are as plump as tall-legged barrels of wine…”

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

Joseph responded warmly but couldn’t help inwardly marveling–how difficult it must be for this socially-anxious brother to arrange so many social activities to entertain him.

After the banquet ended, on the way to the palace theater, Joseph directly broached the main issue with Charles IV: “You may have already heard, England has rallied a group of rogues and issued threats against France.”

“Yes, all of Europe is discussing this matter now.” Charles IV looked at Joseph. “War may not be far off.”

Joseph nodded: “At this moment, our two countries must unite closely together.”

Before Charles IV could respond, the former State Minister of Spain, now Royal Family advisor the Count of Floridablanca, quickened his steps, bowed deeply, and said, “Respectable Crown Prince, while our two countries indeed signed a secret treaty, as I recall, it is conditional–activated only during attacks on Gibraltar and Portugal.”

Joseph was unsurprised by this stance–after all, the Count of Floridablanca had always advocated for keeping a distance from France.

Joseph smiled, yet his words were anything but polite: “You are correct, Count of Floridablanca. But please tell me, relying solely on the military power of your nation, is it possible to defeat England or Portugal?”

The Count of Floridablanca could only shake his head: “That would be extremely difficult.”

Spain’s national strength had gradually declined to the level of Portugal. Forget reclaiming Gibraltar and unifying the Iberian Peninsula–just maintaining its existing colonial territories was proving problematic.

Joseph dropped his smile and spoke solemnly: “For Spain, now is the only opportunity to challenge England and Portugal. That is–standing on the same side as France, joining forces to crush them!”

Seeing the King silently nodding repeatedly, the Count of Floridablanca gritted his teeth: “Your Highness, entering war will severely drain our nation’s resources…”

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt: “You must understand that Spain’s future will never lie in America. The vast distances make it extremely difficult to control, and the costs of suppressing rebellions will soon exceed the revenue brought by those territories.”

He glanced at Charles IV and raised his voice: “The world has now entered the industrial era. To become a first-rate power, a nation must develop strong industry and commerce.

“Yet Spain is covered with mountains and hills, making the cost of developing industry exceptionally high. It cannot compete with other great powers. The only large flat terrain on the Iberian Peninsula is in the west–Portugal.

“For Spain to develop industry, there is only one viable model: leveraging Spain’s size combined with Portugal’s plains. Factories must be built on the western plains, and their products will be sold throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the American colonies.”

Joseph knew well that historically, Spain had never successfully united with Portugal, which is why from the 19th century onward, as colonies gained independence, it quickly became a second-rate power in Europe.

He continued: “To be frank, with the ongoing trend of rebellions in the American colonies, if Spain doesn’t act, its national strength will truly be depleted!”

The Count of Floridablanca still wanted to say more when the State Minister, Count Aranda, suddenly interjected: “Your Highness, you are quite correct; however, I believe that even with our two nations combined, challenging the British Navy will be very difficult. They will even have the Dutch fleet supporting them.”

“I fully understand your concerns.” Joseph smiled faintly. “But if the Navy of my country is already equipped with escort ships capable of reaching a speed of 12 knots and turning twice as fast as current warships, would you still feel so pessimistic?

“Oh, I’m referring to speed within the Mediterranean Sea.”

The group heading toward the theater all stopped in their tracks, their eyes wide as they stared at Joseph. In the windless Mediterranean, a speed of 12 knots was practically like flying!

The Minister of the Interior, Campos, asked, “Your Highness, are you referring to a new type of oar and sail ship?”

“No, it’s a steam-powered escort ship with 28 cannons.” Joseph replied. “It can maintain a speed of 12 knots continuously for 3 to 4 days.”

Campos swallowed hard: “Are you telling the truth?”

“The French Mediterranean Fleet will arrive at the Port of Valencia in a few days–you will see it with your own eyes.”

The Count Aranda asked, “Your Highness, how many of such warships do you currently possess?”

“Twenty-one. The Brest Shipyard can construct two of these warships every month.”

Joseph cast a somewhat satisfied gaze at the reactions of the Spanish ministers and then dropped an even more shocking piece of news: “Oh, by the end of this month, a steam-powered fourth-rate ship with 32 cannons will also launch from Brest. It can maintain a speed of 12 knots as well.”

Campos, still uneasy, proceeded to ask details about the combat capabilities and operational tactics of steam-powered warships, which Joseph patiently explained to the Spaniards.

Suddenly, Charles IV interrupted Campos and said to Count Aranda: “Please draft a French-Spanish alliance treaty as soon as possible.”

In truth, the King hadn’t paid much attention to notions like “Spain’s industrial future,” but the ingenious mechanical contraption of steam-powered warships had captivated him profoundly.

At this moment, his mind was filled with only one thought–that a nation capable of creating such miraculous machines could never fail!

The next day.

Joseph and Charles IV traveled together to the Royal Hunting Ground, where they indeed saw wild boars so plump their bellies practically dragged along the ground.

However, Joseph’s thoughts at that moment were entirely focused on how to make Spain, this “clumsy ally,” play a more effective role.

Yes, Spain had now become Europe’s last-ranking first-rate power.

Domestic reforms had stagnated. The nation had maintained consecutive years of budget deficits–a country that could transport massive amounts of silver from American colonies and still run deficits spoke volumes about how profound its internal issues were.

Furthermore, despite suppression during the reign of Charles III, the power of Spain’s Church remained strong, significantly hampering national progress.

If it weren’t for its inherited fleet, Spain would have already qualified as a second-rate country.