The Rise of the European Emperor

In fact, it is not that simple for Spain to explode. After all, in Spain now, the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon add up to only about 8.5 million. Without the implementation of the national mobilization system, a maximum of 30,000 to 50,000 troops can be assembled.

Moreover, in order to control the Kingdom of Naples with a population of 2 million, Spain has dispatched 20,000 troops to garrison Naples. First, it is to prevent the French from counterattacking. Second, it is to suppress the Naples uprising.

In this way, Spain can dispatch an army to attack Morocco, up to 30,000 people, including 10,000 from Aragon. However, according to Marin, it would take 50,000 troops to attack Morocco. After all, it was a war of annihilation. You know, at the end of the Warring States period, when the Qin Dynasty wiped out the Chu State, Wang Jian led the entire Qin State's 600,000 troops. Morocco does not have as many soldiers and horses as Chu State, but it still has tens of thousands of scimitar cavalry, and its combat effectiveness is no worse than that of Chu State at the end of the Warring States Period. Therefore, Spain has to mobilize at least 50,000 troops.

Moreover, in addition to the 50,000 army, there are almost 40,000 to 50,000 civilians accompanying the army. In this way, Spain's demise of Morocco is estimated to require 100,000 young and strong men.

Young and strong are actually very easy to find, just go to the folks and get a husband. However, men with combat experience are hard to find. If it's an ordinary border conflict, it's okay to bring more recruits. However, for such an important battle as the Great War of Destroying the Nation, there must be no recruits. Otherwise, once the army is defeated and destroyed because of recruits, it will not be the opponent but oneself.

But there is one problem. There are at most 50,000 men in Spain who have received military training or know how to fight. In the case that 20,000 people had to be stationed in Naples, the most people Juan III could use was only more than 30,000 people. Moreover, the more than 30,000 people cannot be taken away. Because, there is also a need to station troops on the border.

Fortunately, the defense of the Kingdom of Aragon against France was much easier due to the blocking of the Pyrenees. As for Portugal, it should not have the guts to provoke Spain. But after all the calculations, Juan III still lacks 20,000 main battle troops...

"How about we hire German mercenaries?" At this time, Queen Margaret of Austria, wife of Juan III and daughter of Maximilian I, gave a very good suggestion.

As a German, Margaret of Austria, Queen of Castile, naturally knew the combat effectiveness of German mercenaries. According to the current European mercenary combat strength list, Marin's North Sea Army ranks first; Swiss mercenaries are close in combat strength, ranking second; ordinary German mercenaries rank third; the next one is French mercenaries soldiers; last but not least Italian mercenaries.

However, it is impossible for French mercenaries to fight for Spain, and the Italian mercenaries, Juan III and his wife, look down on them. Then, the rest are Marin's North Sea mercenaries, Swiss mercenaries and ordinary German mercenaries.

But Juan III, who had just finished his visit to the North Sea, learned that two of Marin's legions were hired by England. They didn't know that Marin had 50,000 troops, and they thought that more than half of Marin's troops were hired by England. . Therefore, it is estimated that it will be difficult for them to hire 20,000 troops from Marin.

As for Swiss mercenaries, nearly 18,000 people have been kidnapped by Austria. The remaining Swiss mercenaries are fighting for sovereignty with the Habsburg family in Switzerland.

Therefore, after all the calculations, only ordinary German mercenaries met their requirements.

For this reason, Juan III sent representatives to Germany, intending to hire 20,000 German mercenaries to fill the shortage of troops.

According to the current calculation of 3 Finneys per person per day for German mercenaries, the daily commission for 20,000 German mercenaries is only 60,000 Finneys, which is 1,000 gold coins. Even if hired for one year, it is only 365,000 gold coins. Of course, taking into account the higher salaries of officers and the problem of food consumption, it is estimated that the daily cost is about 80,000 to 100,000 pfennigs. After a year, the cost is estimated to be around 500,000 gold coins.

to a normal country,

Certainly cannot afford such a high military expenditure. However, through the two monopoly trades of Indian spices, the Spanish royal family obtained huge profits of up to two to three million gold coins. Even though Spain spent a lot of money in the Kingdom of Naples and other places, the financial balance was still one or two million gold coins. Therefore, Spain today has the financial resources to fight a war of annihilation.

Moreover, the actual combat time may not necessarily take a year. If it goes well, it may be over in a few months. In short, the sooner the war is over, the less expensive it will be. This is why Juan III asked Ferdinand II for Gonzalo de Cordoba. Because the famous general commanded the battle, the winning rate was higher, and the war ended sooner.

But no matter what famous general is used, no matter how early the war ends, half a year will always be needed. This is still the best situation. If the situation is bad, it will be far more than half a year. Therefore, the consumption of this war will be an astronomical figure, which is enough to consume Spain's finances.

...

In fact, Marin's suggestion that Spain annex Morocco is itself a conspiracy. Because Spain's finances are too strong now. The financial income of two to three million gold coins is disdainful for the whole of Europe.

And in this era when mercenaries ruled the roost, having money meant having strong military strength. Therefore, Marin was also a little frightened by Spain's sudden wealth from the spice trade.

why? The Spaniards are so rich, it is easy to use the money to build ships and explode the navy. Once Spain regenerates its interest in America, Marin probably regrets it.

So, that money is best spent. In this way, Spain has no money to expand the navy, and Marin can feel at ease.

Moreover, even if Spain occupies Morocco, it will definitely be difficult to stabilize. Because most of the Arabs and Berbers in Morocco are nomadic. What are the characteristics of nomads? Naturally, everyone is a soldier. As long as he is a mature man, riding a horse and wielding a scimitar, he is a f*cking light cavalry, very difficult to deal with. Moreover, the biggest characteristic of nomads is that you can't catch up with them...

Even if Spain can capture Morocco, it will definitely only be able to control a few important cities in Morocco in the early days. As for the vast countryside, it must be dominated by Arab and Berber herdsmen. At that time, the money used to suppress those herdsmen who are good at maneuvering will be a bottomless pit, draining Spain's finances...

Of course, if the Spaniards hold on. As long as a few decades, Morocco can permanently become Spain's second native. Since then, Spain will nearly double its size.

But only if they drive out the Arabs...

For the local Berbers, it doesn't matter what they believe in. Anyway, they were originally a conquered people. In the past, they had also surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and they were no strangers to Christianity.

The Arabs are different, they are the most steadfast followers of Allah. It is very difficult to force them to convert from Allah to Catholicism unless they are killed or driven away.

Therefore, in the future, Catholic Spain and the residents of Morocco will definitely cause bloody storms one after another because of religious issues. After all, the Spanish Inquisition was no show. In the face of heretics, the Inquisition is a cannibal hell...

Out of friendship, Marin has pointed out the direction for Juan III to drive away the Arabs, and then slowly guide the Berbers to convert...

If Spain can patiently expel the die-hard Arabs first, and then slowly convert the Berbers, it will not be a big problem. However, the existence of such a radical institution as the Inquisition will inevitably bring endless troubles to Spain. Anyway, Spain will definitely not have the energy to take care of other things in the future. The civil strife in Morocco alone is enough to drain Spain's finances and energy...

...

Of course, those are things for the future. For now, what is very important to Marin is that Spain's large-scale dispatch of troops will definitely require a lot of military rations...

It is a pity that although Spain is a large country, it is mostly mountains and hills, and agriculture is underdeveloped. Therefore, Spain has been short of food and the price of food is also high. Barcelona, ​​the largest seaport in the kingdom of Aragon, has the highest food price in Europe. And Marin has always liked to sell food to Spain, a country with high food prices.

Therefore, Marin suggested that Spain destroy Morocco, which is really a malicious intention. Because once Spain invades Morocco, not only will it fall into the quagmire of religious disputes in the future, but for now, the supply of military rations is a huge trouble first...

50,000 troops! Add 50,000 strong people, and 100,000 young and strong people eat horse chews every day. How much food will they consume? This does not include children who don’t eat much and the elderly and the weak, but all of them are 100,000 young and strong who eat a lot!

Even if the bread is mixed with a lot of other things, such as sawdust and soil, according to the low standard of one pound of grain per person per day, 100,000 young and strong will consume 100,000 pounds of grain every day. But 100,000 young and strong must consume more than 100,000 pounds a day, plus the consumption of horses, this army will consume at least 150,000 pounds a day. In this way, the monthly food consumption of the army is estimated to reach 4.5 million pounds, which is 27 million pounds in half a year!

Of course, the Spaniards are not short of money now, but they must be short of food!

And what about Marin? The most important thing is food. Therefore, once Spain begins to conquer Morocco, Marin's opportunity to make a fortune will come!

According to the normal price, the price of grain in Spain is about 2 pfennigs per pound of rye, and it is more expensive for big ones, and the price of wheat directly goes up to 10 pfennigs per pound.

Therefore, out of cost considerations, the Spanish army must choose rye for the rations, because the cost is the lowest. In this way, if the monthly consumption is 4.5 million pounds, it is estimated that the consumption of food and grass alone will reach 9 million pfennigs a month, which is 150,000 gold coins...

But this war will last at least half a year, or even a year or two. Even if it is only played for half a year, the food consumption will reach 27 million pounds, and the total price will be as high as 900,000 gold coins.

Ma Lin's heart is not dark, as long as he takes half of the order, it will be worth 450,000 gold coins.

Moreover, Marin decided to sell grain at a low price. Your Spanish grain price is 2 pfennies per pound of rye, right? I only sell 1.8 Finney, I will give you a 10% discount! In this way, there is no need to ask whose food the Spanish military purchases...

Even if it was sold to the Spanish army at a price of 1.8 pfennig per pound, Marin would have made a lot of money. Because, in Germany, the retail price of rye is only 1 pfennig per pound. Selling it to the Spanish army at a price of 1.8 Finneys per pound, Marin has already doubled his profit. After all, in Germany, the wholesale price of rye is only 0.7 to 0.8 pfennigs, which is less than half of 1.8 pfennigs...

...

Therefore, when they learned that Spain had really begun to call up the army, the spies of the North Sea Kingdom in Spain immediately sent people back to the country through the post system, and reported the news to Marin...

"Haha, the big order is coming!" Marin laughed after receiving the information. Then, he ordered to send envoys immediately to Toledo, the capital of the Kingdom of Castile, to ask Juan III to talk about the supply of military supplies. As long as this big order is discussed, Marin will receive a large amount of income, and by the way, he will dispose of a batch of backlog of grain for the granary full of grain in Beihai...

Anyway, Marin expects the Spanish conquest of Morocco to last as long as possible. In this way, his grain sales will be greater, and the money he will sell will be more...

All in all, Spain's invasion of Morocco was of great benefit to Marin, both politically and economically. If Spain and Morocco are snipe and clam competing with each other, then Marin is the fisherman who benefits...

Of course, in the long run, the Spanish snipe will eventually be able to eat the meat of the clam. However, during the long process of eating clam meat, Marin, the "fisherman", first cut off a large piece of meat from the "snipe". …