Chapter 297 The Most Charming Princess in Spanish History

Chapter 297 The Most Charming Princess in Spanish History

Chapter 297 The Most Charming Princess in Spanish History

August 1868, 8, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, sunny.

The blue sky was cloudless, the usually choppy Atlantic Ocean was unusually calm, coconut trees were swaying on the beach, and noble gentlemen in horse-drawn carriages were walking up and down the beach with beautiful Spanish girls. What a lazy holiday resort.

On this day, the Spaniards here had no time to relax and enjoy their vacation.

A large number of warships appeared at the port, and a large number of soldiers equipped with American equipment, wearing bicorne hats and carrying modified Schneider-Enfield breech-loading rifles rushed into this basically undefended coastal city.

The city was suddenly filled with smoke, and everywhere were heartbroken shop owners and Spanish girls screaming and running.

The Taiping Army and the Nian Army had a close relationship with Spain. In Cuba and Buenos Aires, they experienced the charm of countless Spanish girls.

That place is just a colony or former colony of Spain, but here is the Spanish mainland, and there are more beautiful Spanish girls.

The American fleet commander, George Dewey, initially tried to restrain his troops from participating in robbery, but he soon lost control.

Why did these mercenaries become like this? They were taught by American masters during the American Civil War.

The disciples went to grab the bowls and the pots, and our master who adopted a scorched earth policy was watching from the sidelines? The American soldiers of the Marine Corps soon got angry and joined the carnival.

Dewey shook his head and said, "Forget it." As the saying goes, a general is not subject to military orders when he is away from home. The soldiers have traveled across the ocean and traveled more than 40,000 miles to get here. They can't go back empty-handed, right?
Besides, the uniforms and equipment of these mercenaries are exactly the same as those of the US military. They have 40,000 people, including newly recruited native whites from South America. If we, with less than 1,000 people, refuse to join them, can the Spanish tell that we are clean?
We have all joined the coalition, who would believe us if we didn't join the robbery? The mud is sticky on our crotch, no one believes we are kind.

So, instead of being wrongly accused in the future, why don’t we just do the thing for real? At least we won’t be wronged, right?
The Imperial Guards had strict military discipline and did not participate in looting at all. The government office that escorted Shao Quanzhong here.

Yes, this is not a colony, it is the Spanish mainland, and it has a government.

"Mr. Consul, please forgive us for our intrusive visit. The disaster that your city has suffered is entirely caused by the Spanish government.

Your government has carried out three large-scale massacres of Han Chinese in Manila. We Chinese have a saying that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be punished with evil. It's not that there will be no retribution, it's just that the time has not come yet.

Your government also brazenly invaded our vassal state of Sulu, and now is our justified retaliation.

Our two countries are currently in a state of war, and you started the war without declaring it.

You can report the situation here to Madrid and tell them we are calling.

In order to avoid more loss of life, we urge the Spanish government to negotiate with us to end this war. If you refuse to negotiate, more cities will be retaliated. Don't say I didn't warn you."

These words were not said by Shao Quanzhong, but by Zeng Jize, the diplomat behind him.

Shao Quanzhong was impatient to argue with others, but Zeng Jize was able to use diplomatic rhetoric to turn the attack of the Nanyang Navy into a just action that would stand the test of history.

After following Shao Quanzhong, Zeng Jize has been saying the phrase "Don't say I didn't warn you" a lot recently.

But every time he said it, there was definitely Shao Quanzhong's military guarantee behind it. This was the most satisfying thing for a diplomat.

This famous Chinese saying began to make the foreigners tremble many, many years in advance.

The diplomats were polite, and the Guards Brigade was also polite as they seized 500,000 double-column silver dollars and stored grain from the local government's treasury.

The special uniforms of the Guards Brigade represent strict military discipline. They never set fires or massacre innocent people. All those we massacred during the Western Expedition deserved it.

Las Palmas is a small city. When Shao Quanzhong returned to the flagship, the mercenaries had already returned with full loads of goods.

There were so many of them that each person could not loot much, so they looted very carefully and carried food back. Some people also carried local embroidery, piles of woven baskets, and carefully held local specialty pottery jars.

The harvest was carefully counted by the logistics soldiers of the Guards Brigade, estimated by the employees of the Wen Chamber of Commerce on the ship, and taken away uniformly. Then it was divided into three parts according to the fleet, the leader, and individuals. In the end, the mercenaries would get the silver dollars.

The reputation of the best bearded man in the world is well-deserved, and the Huai Army’s system of dividing the spoils is already very complete.

The docks were controlled by the Guards, and the cargo ships were divided into different groups. Merchant ships from other countries were well protected, but those from Spain were confiscated.

Declaring war on the whole world is something that only a certain old lady ruler can do, but Shao Quanzhong cannot.

All the advice Zeng Jize had given in Manila Bay was actually accepted by Shao Quanzhong one by one.

On August 8, the Qing-American joint fleet blocked the Spanish home fleet in Cadiz.

"Send someone to ask them whether Spain has surrendered?"

The prisoners captured in Gran Canaria were taken there by small boat and will be back to report shortly that no news has been received from Madrid.

Then I won’t be polite, “Destroyed the Spanish fleet—huh?”

The Spanish fleet raised the white flag and surrendered directly.

Even George Dewey was stunned. Spain was so cowardly? If we had known this, we would have dared to fight it ourselves.

Of course, the huge gap in strength is a reason, but it is not the main reason. If you really want to defend your country, you have to fight even if you can't win, and you have to break a few teeth.

How far has Spain fallen? The main fleet consists of only five old, second-hand, thousand-ton ironclad ships, six steam-powered sailing cruisers, two shallow-water heavy gunboats, and some auxiliary ships.

If the Spanish fleet fought to the death, it might not be able to sink the medium and large ironclad ships of the Nanyang Navy, but damage and sacrifice of sailors were inevitable.

Shao Quanzhong was prepared for the loss when the attack reached the people's doorstep.

But why did they surrender without fighting? Everyone was puzzled. Did the Spanish really have no patriotic feelings at all?
The reserve officers and sailors of the Nanyang Navy went to receive the surrendered warships. After being captured, the Spanish sailors immediately made demands, "We want the treatment of prisoners of war, we want to eat."

What? Shao Quanzhong was stunned. No way? Spain is so poor that the sailors can't even afford to eat?

After interrogation, we learned that the Spanish sailors really couldn't afford to eat. In normal times, Spain would not be without money for the sailors' meals.

Shao Quanzhong's arrival was untimely, or rather too coincidental, as a coup d'état was taking place in Spain.

Spain is now also ruled by old women, led by Queen Isabella II of the Bourbon dynasty.

Isabella II had a chaotic private life, a messy administration, and was extremely extravagant, making life miserable for the people.

Reformist general Juan Prim led a rebellion two years ago, which was suppressed.

After two years of preparation, the uprising was launched again this year. This time, the coup was successful as two old-school generals loyal to the queen had passed away.

Isabella II was deposed and was about to go into exile in France. The Spanish throne was vacant and no one was in charge.

Prim, a professional rebel, was capable of rebellion, but he did not have the prestige to come to power, and the people did not support the complete overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty.

Isabella II herself did not announce her abdication, and her children and relatives did not dare to accept the rebels' invitation to succeed to the throne, after all, the reputation was too bad.

The situation remains deadlocked and Spain is currently in a state of anarchy.

The king has gone down, so who among the ministers will still work? Who am I performing for?

As a result, the sailors here have not received their salaries for two months, and the food that was supposed to be delivered was embezzled by corrupt officials who were not familiar with the details...

Now the reason why Madrid has been slow to respond to Shao Quanzhong's request for negotiations has been found.

Shao Quanzhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Spain was really too abstract. This Isabella II was not as good as the old Buddha. At least the old Buddha had always firmly grasped the power until his death.

I really don't know what to say about you, a queen of an orthodox dynasty, being overthrown by a warlord with no prestige.

And that Prim, you don't know your own weight. Why are you rebelling when you have no prestige?

It is indeed a barbarian country, and its methods are too crude. They cannot be compared with our China's rich experience in political struggles.

Such a country actually owns several colonies in the world, which is absolutely unworthy of its position.

Well, the Spanish Navy has at least formally surrendered, and the Nanyang Navy will provide meals.

The Guards Brigade and the mercenaries went to the port of Cadiz and returned disappointed.

This is a military port, there are no civilians. There is no food in the warehouse, and no military pay in the barracks.

The Guards Brigade did transport back a large amount of munitions, but the guns were flintlock rifles, the gunpowder was black powder, and the shells were solid iron balls. They were all useless and had to be melted down. At least they were metal.

Finally, we took great pains to dismantle the coastal defense guns in the port. They were all ancient copper cannons, and copper is valuable after all.

Seeing that the mercenaries returned empty-handed, Shao Quanzhong felt embarrassed and said, "I don't care whether you have a government in Spain or not. Let's continue fighting and urge them to elect a government to negotiate."

The next day, the allied forces plundered the port of Ceuta and reaped a rich harvest. Four days later, the allied forces plundered Valencia and also reaped a rich harvest, with a harvest worth six million taels of silver.

Then, Madrid still did not respond.

Shao Quanzhong was furious. "Let's go and rob Barcelona! If you won't negotiate, I will rob around Spain until I get what I want."

…………

Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Hall.

There is a huge Venetian crystal chandelier overhead, velvet embroidery from Naples hangs on the walls, and a bronze lion statue from Rome holds its head proudly, showing the remaining power of the British Empire.

The person in charge in the hall who is now in a state of panic is the rebel leader Prim, and next to him is his accomplice Francisco Serrano.

"Is there any member of the royal family who is willing to take the throne? There are urgent reports coming in every day that the Qing fleet is plundering the Iberian Peninsula and the glorious Barcelona is about to be destroyed. Are there any princes and princesses who are willing to step forward and take responsibility?"

Serrano shook his head. "I had some thoughts in mind, but now I don't dare to speak out. Negotiations will definitely lead to the loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country. Who would be willing to take on such a stigma? How about we set up a regency group, and you can serve as the regent and negotiate with the Qing people?"

"Do I really want to bear this infamy? Spain belongs to the Bourbon family. Why should I be scolded for them?"

"You are such a loser. You have the guts to rebel but not the guts to take responsibility, right? My great Spain has been messed up by traitors like you."

A majestic curse was heard in my ears, and the deposed Isabella II walked in.

"Who let this tyrant in?!"

"I am their queen. I told them that I can solve the kingdom's current predicament. At the critical moment, the Bourbon royal family has to step forward. We can't rely on you traitors. Now the guards have pledged allegiance to me again."

"What can you do? Aren't you selling out the country?"

"Of course I have better ways than you losers. Now I need you to order your soldiers to escort me to Barcelona. It doesn't matter who is in power. The pearl of Iberia cannot be destroyed in our hands."

Isabel II turned around and said, "Maria, pack up and follow me to Barcelona."

An elegant Spanish princess turned out from behind the queen. She had dark brown hair and eyes, fair skin, and wore a blue floor-length dress with a triple pearl necklace on her chest. She was the eldest daughter of Isabel II.

She has the title of "the most charming princess in Spanish history" and her name is Maria Isabel Francisco de Sis de Bourbon.

(End of this chapter)