Chapter 117: Military Reform
This meeting between the two eventually turned into a small conference of three people. The extra person was naturally the one with the highest prestige and status in the army besides Prime Minister Primó, the current Minister of Defense Grand Duke Serrano.
When he was temporarily summoned to the Royal Palace, Grand Duke Serrano clearly did not know what Carlo’s idea was. But after Carlo personally stated that the current Spain needed to carry out a military reform, Grand Duke Serrano was first startled, but then quickly reacted and gave his attitude: “
Your Majesty, I support the reform you mentioned. Since the end of the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, there has already been a significant gap between the Spanish Army and Europe’s top armies.
If we cannot catch up with the currently powerful German Army, our Royal Army may become like a pool of stagnant water, with combat effectiveness deteriorating further and further.”
The Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, these two wars that established the German Empire, brought enormous changes to the European countries.
These two wars also marked the complete farewell of line infantry and muzzle-loading rifles from the historical stage, with breech-loading rifles and advanced artillery technology becoming increasingly valued by various countries.
The current Spanish Army has just over 100,000 men in total, of which the garrisons in various colonies add up to about 30,
This also means that the army stationed on the Spanish Mainland is only about 70,If reforms are to be promoted, the progress should be quite fast.
But immediately after, Grand Duke Serrano also raised his own question based on the current state of the Spanish Army: “However, I believe that regarding army reform matters, we should carefully consider the environment of the Spanish Army.
The composition of our army is really too complex. If we reform rashly, it may cause dissatisfaction among some soldiers, thereby leading to the occurrence of a coup d’état.”
The main body of the current Spanish Army consists of the armies from the revolutionary period and the surrendered armies of the original Kingdom government. At that time, among the armies that first launched the revolution, besides conservative factions like Grand Duke Serrano, there were also some radical factions supporting the republic.
If military reform is rashly launched, these radical republican elements will definitely not sit idly by. This would cause serious damage to the originally stable situation in Spain, and could even promote the outbreak of the next civil war.
“Of course I know these things, Grand Duke Serrano. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss a method of army reform that can effectively deal with this situation.” Carlo nodded and said to Grand Duke Serrano: “
Despite the difficulties, our army reform is very necessary. Military expenses account for 1% of our total fiscal expenditure, of which at least one-third of the military expenses can be saved.
If we complete the army reform, we can streamline the total army size to around 60,000-70,000, and the saved military expenses can also be used to purchase new weapons and equipment.
Even if the army is expanded back to 100,000, we can ensure that the new army will be much stronger than the current one. For Spain, this is something that must be done.”
Carlo’s attitude toward army reform was quite firm. There are indeed capable officers in the Spanish Army, but there are also many officers who simply muddle along.
Including many soldiers who are essentially farmers holding spears; they know nothing about military knowledge and, when fighting, only know to raise their guns and aim randomly.
Although this phenomenon is common in many European countries, it does not mean Carlo is willing to see it in Spain’s army.
Spain’s population is inherently small, which also means that the army size Spain can form is far less than that of other great powers.
In a situation where the army size is already small, if army combat power cannot be guaranteed, then competition with other great power countries can be completely abandoned.
To deploy in European colonies while ensuring the safety of the Spanish Mainland, it is necessary to possess an army of over 200,000 men with combat effectiveness ranking among Europe’s top armies.
Currently, it is difficult to meet the requirements in terms of numbers, as even maintaining an army of 100,000 is already putting some strain on the Spanish Government’s finances.
If the army size is rashly expanded to 200,000, Spain’s economy would probably go bankrupt in a few years due to the huge army.
Therefore, in the case where the army size cannot be expanded, maximizing the improvement of every soldier’s military quality has become the only means to enhance army combat power.
In the short term, with no ability to develop the navy, Spain must have a decent army to ensure that no great power dares to invade the Spanish Mainland.
Prime Minister Primó on the side pondered for a long time before speaking: “Your Majesty, the biggest problem with army reform is what to do with these streamlined soldiers.
If their employment issues cannot be resolved, this military reform may cause dissatisfaction among some people.”
Carlo had actually thought of this point long ago. After all, it is because the current Spanish Government was established after the revolution, and it considers the opinions of those revolutionary armies too much.
If it were the traditional Spanish Kingdom government, how would it care about the opinions of those streamlined soldiers? Anyway, even without jobs, they can be farmers and grow crops without starving to death.
“The construction of the Seville Industrial Base should be almost completed, right? The first batch of withdrawn soldiers can choose to work in the factories of the Seville Industrial Base.” Carlo said: “
I will ensure they receive wages at the per capita income level, so supporting their families will not be a problem. The current reform temporarily does not involve the colonial army, only targeting our 70,000 mainland army.
This 70,000-strong army must be streamlined to at least 50,000, dismissing those soldiers with low military quality and mixed ideologies.
After completing the army streamlining, the next step of expansion plan can be launched, restoring our mainland army to around 70,
In the future, soldiers conscripted by Spain must meet both physical fitness and ideological level conditions. I hope that the 100,000 Spanish soldiers are all excellent soldiers who have been tested, not mercenaries just for income.
As for the remaining ones who insist on making trouble, there is no need to tolerate them anymore. I believe you can deal with these issues. If someone wants to incite a rebellion, then suppress them harshly and let them understand who is the master of Spain.”
Hearing Carlo say this, Prime Minister Primó and Grand Duke Serrano both nodded, indicating they had no objections.
In fact, what they were worried about were precisely those soldiers who support the government, not the radical factions disloyal to the government.
There are also many supporters of the government among those unqualified soldiers and officers, but their abilities are not very good.
If a way out can be arranged for these people, this military reform is still feasible.
As for the radical republicans in the army, they are currently a minority. Even if those republicans can incite part of the army to rebel, Carlo is not too worried.
After all, with military heavyweights Primó and Serrano stationed in the capital, let alone radical republicans, even if they joined forces with the Carlist faction, they are destined not to capture Madrid.
Prime Minister Primó has indeed offended some forces, but his prestige among farmers and new liberals is quite high.
Grand Duke Serrano has now become the representative figure of Spanish nobles. Grand Duke Serrano has gradually drawn closer to royal power, and Carlo naturally welcomes this military heavyweight’s attitude of loyalty to him; the two hit it off immediately.
Prime Minister Primó’s new liberals and reformists, Grand Duke Serrano’s conservatives, and Cánovas’s old royalists together form the forces supporting Carlo in the current Spanish Government and military.
Opposing these forces, or rather resisting the Spanish monarchy, are naturally the so-called democratic faction and republican faction.
However, after a series of policies and reforms, the conservatives and reformists currently control the government and hold the majority of seats in the Spanish Parliament.
At the same time, the new liberals and royalists have also formed considerable forces. It can be said that the entire Spanish Parliament is controlled by these four factions.
The republican faction no longer has much market in Spain. Monarchy and Spain are inseparable; without a king, it means Spain will fall apart.
It is precisely because of this that the forces and factions supporting the monarchy in Spain have become more and more numerous, forming an overwhelming advantage over the factions supporting the republic.
Especially after defeating the Carlist faction, the farmers, who make up the majority of the Spanish population, have also expressed their firm support for the monarchy.
Under such circumstances, even Prime Minister Primó can no longer change the fact that Spain is a monarchy country.
Since it has been decided to carry out military reform, the next most critical thing is to discuss the specific process of the military reform and when to implement it.
On this point, Grand Duke Serrano, as the Minister of Defense, has a lot of say.
Grand Duke Serrano knows the situation of the Spanish Army best and naturally knows best how to carry out the reform and where to make cuts.
After more than two hours of discussion, Carlo and the two military heavyweights finally worked out a preliminary plan for the Spanish Army reform.
After this military reform, the 70,000 mainland army of Spain will expand to 100,000, which also means Spain will have at least 130,000 standing army.
However, before expansion, the 70,000 mainland army must first undergo extremely strict streamlining, dismissing those soldiers and officers who do not meet military quality standards.
Officers will be graduates cultivated by the military academy, with basically more than 400 graduates joining the army each year, so there is no worry about officer reserves.
After thoroughly streamlining the army, the expansion process of the Spanish Army will be launched. However, this expansion will have very strict requirements, not only requiring conscripted Spaniards to have good physical fitness, but also clear family backgrounds, preferably farmers for generations.
The reason is also simple: currently, farmers have the highest support for the monarchical government, and they are the least likely to join activities against the government.
After completing this military reform, the government will also appropriately increase the income of soldiers and officers based on fiscal conditions. Stabilizing morale by raising the income of soldiers and officers is also what Carlo, Prime Minister Primó, and Grand Duke Serrano discussed.
Streamlining the army will inevitably shake morale, and appropriately increasing wages is always beneficial for army construction.
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