The Kingdom of Spain in 1636 AD was still the powerful, vast, wealthy, and arrogant world empire! He is just a bit neurotic. Any foreign friend who has been to Madrid does not think that the monarch who rules this huge country is a normal person.
Just look at the shabby appearance of Madrid. The Kingdom of Spain made so much gold and silver from America that it was able to spend money in Europe fighting the Thirty Years' War, the Eighty Years' War, and the Franco-Spanish War in 1635... .Can’t you build some infrastructure for your home? No matter what, we have to build a more beautiful palace!
But there are none of these... The Spanish kings are really reluctant to eat, wear, and live in beautiful big houses. They wholeheartedly support the Catholic world war.
Isn't this a brain disease? Can't you just enjoy it and live a few years of debauchery?
To be honest, if these "King Philips" of Spain were willing to be extravagant and waste the country's wealth on palaces and mistresses, Spain's national power would definitely be stronger!
But the reason why Spain is so nervous is that it cannot live a good life without the whole world looking for happiness.
In fact, even the king's younger brother, Prince Ferdinand, the cardinal, governor and commander of the legion, now does not think that his brother is sane... Look at what Philip IV arranged for his own brother You'll know the errand.
Prince Ferdinand was the youngest son of Philip III. He had a predestined relationship with God since he was a child. He became the cardinal of Toledo at the age of 10. But such a master who "achieved the Tao" at the age of 10 did not go to Rome to study the teachings of God. However, after he came of age, he was sent to the Southern Netherlands by Philip IV and served as the governor of the Southern Netherlands. Commander of the Army of Flanders. Now he has full authority to command the Spanish army and the Holy Roman Empire army on the northern front, and is also responsible for commanding the Spanish-Holy Roman Empire coalition forces to invade France!
What is this thing called? A cardinal is actually going to lead troops to France to kill Catholics. Is this what a cardinal should do? If Jesus knew this, Prince Ferdinand would definitely lose his life! And you may go to hell after death!
But Prince Ferdinand still has to listen to his brother’s words! That was his brother. Although he looked like a fool and was extremely stupid, Ferdinand still believed that he had an obligation to help his stupid brother conquer the world.
Therefore, Prince Ferdinand, who was very handsome and smart, and was quite good at fighting, was preparing for a raid on Paris, the capital of France, throughout the spring of 1636 - he hoped to conquer Paris in one fell swoop and force King Louis XIII of France and Cardinal Richelieu surrendered to Spain and withdrew from the war (Thirty Years' War).
However, just when Prince Ferdinand spent a lot of effort to gather 36,000 Spanish-Holy Roman Empire coalition forces and could launch an attack on France at any time, he was recalled to Madrid by his brother Philip IV.
Could it be that the war with France could be avoided?
When he walked into the dilapidated Royal Palace of Madrid, Prince Ferdinand once had some illusions about the diplomatic skills of his idiot brother and the lunatic prime minister Count Olivares, whom he most trusted. Spain should try to avoid peace. Everyone (except relatives with the last name Habsburg) goes to war... If this can be done, this country still has a bright future.
The cardinal prince, who was thinking of something good, had already followed an attendant in embroidered clothes into the audience hall of the palace.
The stupid king, who had a slightly wrong face, and the Count-Duke Olivares, who had a thick face and a big beard, were both in the audience hall.
When the cardinal prince walked in, the king was talking to "Duke-Earl" (such a strange title, it doesn't sound like it was thought up by normal people) about kidnapping and ransom.
"The Chinese emperor must be crazy. He dared to attack Manila together with the Dutch. Doesn't he know how powerful Spain is? And he is a fool. He actually believes that there are 30,000 Spaniards in the Philippines... It's ridiculous! "
"It must be China's treacherous ministers who are deceiving the emperor. The officials in that country are corrupt and ignorant, and they still don't believe in God... We should teach China a lesson!"
Prince Ferdinand was startled when he heard the discussion between these ignorant and treacherous ministers - what do you mean? Going to war with China again? Spain only has a population of over 5 million! Where can we support so many wars?
"Your Majesty, I'm coming!"
The Cardinal Prince bowed to Philip IV, then nodded to Count-Duke Olivares, and then asked: "What happened? Did you just mention China?"
The King of Spain smiled and said: "You have very good ears! We are discussing the issue of punishing China...Ferdinand, do you remember the governor of the Philippines during the time of Philip II? What was his name?"
"The name is Francisco de Sandy," Count-Duke Olivares reminded, "He once made a plan to conquer China with 4,000-6,000 people."
Prince Ferdinand frowned, "Duke-Earl, do you know how many of us there are in the Philippines?"
"There are 2,000 Spanish warriors, 1,500 Japanese mercenaries, and several thousand indigenous soldiers." Count-Duke Olivares said.
"It's already over 4000-6000!" Prince Ferdinand pointed out seriously.
Exceeded? The King of Spain thought hard, no... 2000 plus 1500 is not 3500?
Count-Duke Olivares said: "According to the report of the Governor of Goa, the Chinese and the Dutch used insidious tactics to bribe Japanese mercenaries in Manila and sneak attack on Manila."
"Sneak attack?" Prince Ferdinand frowned. "Can Japanese mercenaries enter and leave the Santiago Fortress at will? As far as I know, it is an indestructible bastion... It has been captured, right?"
"Yes..." Count-Duke Olivares said, "According to the report of the Governor of Goa, Fort Santiago did not hold on for too long. Someone should be acting as an insider."
The King of Spain shouted: "Damn the Japanese... they all deserve to go to hell!"
Well, there’s another Japan!
The Cardinal Prince's head was about to explode. "Brother, we can't do this. There are too many enemies in Spain... Do you know how many people there are in China? It is said that there are 100 million people! Do you know how many 100 million people there are?" ?"
"Of course I know!" The King of Spain glared at his smart brother, "Our debt is as much as 200 million!"
The Cardinal Prince sighed in his heart, "We have a national debt of 200 million, but only have a population of more than 5 million...and our army has reached 300,000, and it is no longer possible to expand the army."
Not all of Spain's 300,000 troops are natives. There are many Germans helping Spain fight the war, but there are also many Spaniards fighting in the army.
The cardinal added: "If we want to go to war with China, we must first stop one or two wars. Maybe we can armistice with France, maybe we can withdraw from Germany, maybe we can make peace with the Dutch."
"No, no!" shouted the King of Spain, "I don't agree!"
Count-Duke Olivares said: "Sinners who rebel against God must be punished."
The cardinal snorted: "They will go to hell...but we don't have to send them to hell immediately. If we insist on sending them to hell immediately, then don't think about conquering China for the time being. We can Let’s negotiate peace with China first.”
"This is impossible," the King of Spain shook his head. "The Chinese emperor and the Dutch liar claimed to have captured 30,000 Spaniards and asked us to spend 30 million silver pesos to redeem them!"
"What?" The cardinal didn't believe his ears, "Who said this?"
Count-Duke Olivares said: "It was the Governor of Goa...the Portuguese acted as middlemen! The Chinese emperor and the Dutch swindler not only wanted us to pay high prices for the ransom of the captured people, but also wanted to possess them." The whole Philippines!”
