Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 548 The Spaniards' "Priority"

The flames of war on the European continent have been burning for more than two decades. The Habsburg alliance, led by Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, and the anti-Habsburg alliance, led by France, Sweden, and the Netherlands, are completely embroiled in a deep war of attrition, with neither side seemingly able to extricate themselves.

In early 1641, France and Sweden proposed a peace conference in Münster and Osnabrück, Westphalia, but it was ignored by all parties, and the dawn of peace remained a long way off.

Both sides continued to test each other's bottom line on the battlefield. Spain attempted to reverse its decline through local victories, while France intensified its infiltration of the German princes.

The focus of the battle also expanded from Germany to northern France, the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium), and Italy.

The Spanish Flanders army and the French-Dutch alliance were locked in a tug-of-war in Flanders, while Sweden maintained pressure in northern Germany. The princes of the Holy Roman Empire were further divided, with some siding with France in exchange for autonomy.

Over the past year, Spain has suffered defeats on multiple fronts and a deep crisis in its colonies.

In June 1641, under pressure from the French-Dutch alliance, Spain was forced to relinquish control of Alsace and retreat to the Southern Netherlands.

In May 1642, Francis de Mello, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, led an army of 5 to attack northern France, where he confronted the French army at the Battle of Auennecourt.

Although Spain initially gained the upper hand on the battlefield, due to logistical deficiencies and the timely arrival of French reinforcements, they ultimately failed to break through the defenses and lost more than 5,000 troops.

This battle also exposed the fatigue of the Spanish army fighting on multiple fronts.

The situation in overseas colonies was also not optimistic. With the fall of the last stronghold on Cebu Island, the Kingdom of Spain finally lost this colony in the Far East.

The loss of the Philippines also completely severed the trans-Pacific trade that had lasted for a century. Of course, with the rise of the indigenous power that called itself the "New Continent Chinese Republic" more than a decade ago, the galleon trade had already shown signs of decline and could no longer be maintained.

To make matters worse for the Kingdom of Spain, Catalonia and Portugal declared independence last year, breaking free from the kingdom's control through armed uprisings, which further exacerbated the domestic crisis.

Taking advantage of the situation, the French army invaded Aragon and also advanced into Catalonia, threatening the kingdom's homeland from the northeast.

In May of this year, more than 10,000 French troops, led by Prince Condé, besieged Perpignan in the Spanish-controlled province of Roussillon, forcing the Kingdom of Spain to transfer its troops from suppressing Portugal to the city to defend against the French invasion.

Meanwhile, the French and Dutch forces repeatedly defeated the Spanish Flanders in Flanders, forcing Spain to continuously shrink its defensive lines and struggle to hold on with the help of the dense network of fortresses in the southern Netherlands.

Meanwhile, its ally, the Holy Roman Empire, was also performing poorly on the battlefield. After suffering several crushing defeats, the German princes became increasingly divided and centrifugal. Protestant princes such as Saxony and Brandenburg began secret negotiations with France, seeking to break away from Habsburg control.

Although Catholic princes such as Bavaria still supported the emperor, they were powerless to reverse the trend of the empire's division.

Under Marshal Torstenson, the Swedish army continued to occupy large swathes of northern German territory. The Holy Roman Empire's army was defeated again in the Second Battle of Bredenfeld in June of this year, and Emperor Ferdinand III was forced to agree to peace talks with Sweden.

It can be said that this was a turbulent time for the Kingdom of Spain, facing both internal and external pressures, which kept the Madrid court in a state of gloom and despair.

On October 12, in the afternoon, leaden-gray clouds hung low over the spire of the Alcázar Palace, like a wet wool blanket, enveloping the entire city.

The stained-glass windows of the palace council chamber had long lost their former luster, and the sunlight, filtered by the clouds, was a pale white, barely illuminating the huge map of the Americas hanging inside.

Those were once the proud symbols of Spain's "empire on which the sun never sets," but now the markings along the Gulf Coast are worn white from being rubbed by fingers, as if even the map is tacitly acknowledging an unspeakable fact: the empire's territory has begun to blur.

Duke Olivares, the chief minister of the kingdom, sat at the head of the long walnut table, writing official replies with a quill pen in hand. On the table lay two crumpled letters: one from Merlot, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, whose handwriting was so illegible that it repeatedly mentioned "the loss of three thousand elite troops in the Battle of Honnecourt" and "the French army is approaching Bruges".

The other letter came from New Spain; the edges of the envelope were crumpled and wrinkled, as if the messenger had been soaked by waves or sweat along the way to Madrid.

“Your Grace, Viscount Francisco de Viscount has arrived.” The servant’s voice interrupted Olivares’s thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Viscount Francisco de Viscount entering the hall, bowing.

This young nobleman, who had returned from America less than six months ago, was wearing a luxurious dark velvet coat with a few specks of powder on the cuffs and a thick layer of white frost on his face. He had obviously rushed over from a noble banquet after being summoned.

“Kvido, sit down.” Olivares’ voice carried a barely perceptible weariness. He gestured to the chair in front of the table. “Let’s talk about Flanders first. Melo’s letter reads like that of a frightened apprentice, lacking the composure of a great commander. You visited that legion last month on behalf of His Majesty the King. Tell them what the situation is like there. Are they really… in such a bad state?”

As Quetzal sat down, the sword at his waist clinked against the chair leg. He straightened his back habitually, as if he were still inspecting the colonies in America: "Your Grace, it is indeed a bit... terrible there. The autumn rains in Onercourt have turned the trenches into mud pits. The Spanish phalanx can't even stand firm in the mud, while the French cavalry can ride around the phalanx and cut down enemies."

"To make matters worse, the Dutch fleet was stuck outside the port of Cádiz, and not even half of the silver brought from the Americas could be unloaded. The legion's pay was five months overdue, the soldiers were complaining, and morale was very low. Faced with the French attack, they preferred to hide in the castle and let the French cavalry ravage the countryside rather than come out of the city to fight."

Olivares frowned even more deeply, grabbing the letter from the Netherlands, his fingers crumpling the paper: "The Habsburgs' glory is almost ruined by this bunch of good-for-nothings! Last year they lost Alsace, and this year they couldn't hold Onercourt. If this continues, the Flemish army will be swallowed up by the French and Dutch sooner or later."

He paused, his gaze shifting to the letter bearing the New Spain seal, his tone hardening, "What's worse, our backyard is on fire too."

Kvido's eyes flickered slightly. He followed Sanlucal's gaze to the letter, a dismissive smile playing on his lips.

This is probably the real reason why the Duke summoned him!
"Your Grace is referring to the unusual activities in New Spain?" Quevedo carefully chose his words. "When I was in Mexico City, I often heard officials from the Governor General's Office mention the 'New Chinese,' saying how powerful they were on the Pacific coast and how strong their military was. But in my opinion, it was just some smugglers causing trouble."

“Smugglers?” Olivales shoved the letter in front of Quevedo, his voice filled with suppressed anger. “Look for yourself! This group of smugglers has swept through port towns along Mexico’s Pacific coast and even invaded the interior, capturing Guadalajara, the capital of Nuevo Galicia!”

"Now, Governor Pacheco is asking us to send the navy and army from the mainland, saying that the colony's army is simply no match for the attack of these 'smugglers'!"

Kvido picked up the letter, quickly scanned the words, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Then, a mocking smile appeared on his lips, and he shook his head and sighed repeatedly. "Your Grace..." He put down the letter and said solemnly, "Two years ago, I was ordered by His Majesty the King and entrusted by Your Grace to go to the Americas for an inspection, so I have a certain understanding and knowledge of the situation there."

Upon hearing this, Olivares put down his quill, leaned back slightly on the cushion of his chair, and appeared to be listening attentively.

"From what I've learned from various sources, this indigenous nation that calls itself the 'Republic of the New Continent' was established by a group of people from the East. Their territory is located 450 leagues north of Mexico, and it would take one to two months to reach it by boat. Given such a long distance, even if they did attack, how much of a threat could they pose?"

"After all, a long-distance expedition across the sea is not an easy task. More than forty years ago, when our Kingdom of Spain assembled the Invincible Armada to launch an expedition against England, we still encountered... well, we encountered some setbacks. For a small country like Xinhua, launching an expedition of a few hundred leagues would probably be even more difficult."

He paused, took the wine offered by the waiter, took a sip, and said with absolute certainty, "Therefore, I believe that the threat posed by the new Chinese to the New Spanish territory is quite limited. Moreover, when I was in Mexico City, I asked the Viceroyalty's treasurer about the situation of the new Chinese, and he said that the population of the new Chinese was less than 200,000."

"Your Grace, how many soldiers do you think a small country with less than 200,000 people can muster? At most a few thousand. Even if the colonial army of New Spain is undisciplined and poorly trained, it still has five or six thousand soldiers."

"If mobilized and a large number of militia and Native American servants are recruited, an army of more than 10,000 men can be easily assembled. With such military strength, how could they possibly fail to stop an attack by a few thousand Chinese?"

"How did the fall of Guadalajara and the defeat of over four thousand colonial troops happen?" Olivares asked in a deep voice.

“Your Grace, I believe the Viceroyalty of New Spain must have been negligent in its defenses, allowing the Chinese to launch a surprise attack.” Quevedo shook his head and said with regret, “Furthermore, the colonial armies in the Americas have become lax, with many officers and soldiers just loafing around. They don’t even have decent artillery for land warfare, which led to such a humiliating defeat at the very beginning of the war.”

“I have inspected the troops in Veracruz and Mexico and found that many soldiers there do not even know the basic maintenance of their muskets. The barrels are full of rust, and the officers spend their days in taverns and dances. They are too lazy to even do drills.”

"Even so, I remain optimistic about the situation in the New Spain territory. Because with the Viceroyalty’s large population and abundant resources, it is more than enough to deal with a small indigenous country with a mere 200,000 people."

He leaned forward and lowered his voice, “Your Grace, I suspect that those colonial officials deliberately exaggerated the strength of the Xinhua to intercept some of the gold and silver that should have been shipped to the mainland. In the past, they smuggled silver from Mexico to the Xinhua in exchange for silk, furs, woolen goods, and other commodities in the hands of the Xinhua.”

Olivares narrowed his eyes slightly as he recalled the report submitted by Quevedo, which stated that the smuggling trade between merchants from New Spain and the new Chinese was conducted almost openly, not only evading the kingdom's taxes but also continuously depleting the gold and silver that should belong to the kingdom.

It should be noted that when Quvedo toured the Americas as the chief inspector, he managed to "squeeze" 2.5 million silver pesos back for the kingdom's government over a period of more than a year, which significantly alleviated the kingdom's financial burden.

Now, will they exaggerate a mundane "border conflict" into a large-scale war, openly intercepting the kingdom's tax revenue and then manipulating it to recover the losses caused to them by Inspector General Quvido?
He leaned back in his chair, his tense shoulders relaxing, the firelight from the fireplace reflecting on his face and dispelling some of his fatigue: "Since the situation in the Americas is not serious, why are they asking for help from the mainland, and even making a great effort to request the deployment of the navy and army to New Spain to contain the attack of those new Chinese?"

“Because they are certain that no reinforcements can be sent from their homeland…” Kwydor said in a low voice.

"Hmm?..." Olivares's anger flared upon hearing this. "Count Pacheco dares to deceive His Majesty the King?"

"..." Kvedo remained silent, but a cold laugh kept rising in his heart.

Hmph, Count Pacheco dared to secretly report to His Majesty the King that he was extorting money and property in the Viceroyalty of New Spain as the Inspector General, causing "public resentment to boil over" and making him look very bad in the court.

Otherwise, if he hadn't brought back 2.5 million silver pesos to His Majesty the King, he might have been severely reprimanded or sent to the court of prosecution for trial.

Now, the tables have turned. Count Pacheco has suffered a setback at the hands of the Chinese and has been subjected to their military invasion. If he does not handle the situation properly, he will lose several major cities and towns in succession, and may even seriously endanger the security of his colonial territory. In the end, he may not have a good ending.

Olivares pondered for a moment, then tapped his fingers on the table: "So you mean, there's no need to send any troops over from the mainland at all?"

“Of course not.” Kvedo’s tone was resolute. “Where would we find any extra troops on our homeland right now? The Flanders Legion needs reinforcements, the Catalan riots haven’t been quelled, the Portuguese rebellion hasn’t been suppressed, the French are eyeing our northern border, and the situation in Italy is unstable. If we were to divert our precious homeland troops to our American territories, the European theater would be completely finished!”

“Hmm, you make a good point.” Olivares nodded, already having a plan in mind. “What about the navy? I’ve heard that those new Chinese have a large number of ships in the Pacific Ocean, and their naval strength is considerable. They’ve completely blockaded the Mexican coast. Meanwhile, the Peruvian fleet is busy protecting the treasure ships and maintaining the security of Callao Port, so they have no time to provide support.”

Upon hearing the word "navy," Kwido couldn't help but laugh: "Sir, what kind of navy could the Chinese have? They only have some converted merchant ships, and hardly any cannons. If the Peruvian squadron cannot be mobilized, then Governor Pacheco can transfer a few warships from the Caribbean Fleet to go around the southern tip of the Americas to Mexico and drive away those Chinese merchant ships that have little military strength."

Seeing Kvedo's confident demeanor, Olivales' last bit of doubt disappeared.

He picked up the letter requesting help and casually placed it on the corner of the table, as if it were just an insignificant private letter: "You're right, a small country of two hundred thousand people can't cause any trouble. Count Pacheco has probably been living too comfortably in Mexico City, to the point that he can't even handle this little problem."

He stood up and paced around the hall: "However, as you just said, the colonial armies in the Americas have been neglected for a long time. In terms of both combat effectiveness and fighting courage, they are far behind the several legions on the mainland. Therefore, we need to send some military generals and junior officers with rich combat experience to Mexico to reorganize the army there and enable them to truly shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending the kingdom's colonial territories."

Kwiddo smiled and echoed, "Your Grace is wise. I believe that with these experienced generals reorganizing the colonial army, it won't be long before New Spain can quell the unrest among the new Chinese."

Olivales smiled reservedly, his gaze returning to the map of the Americas on the wall, his eyes filled with arrogance and certainty.

In his view, the Americas were merely the empire's backyard, and those distant colonies and insignificant pagan forces could never shake Spanish rule.

The rain was still falling outside the window, tapping against the stained glass and making a soft, pattering sound, as if silently reminding the people inside the hall that an unexpected storm was brewing on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

As Quetzal walked out of the council chamber, a cold wind carrying rain blew on his face. He tightened his coat and quickly climbed into the waiting carriage.

He recalled that during his inspection of the port of Acapulco, he had met a smuggler from Xinhua. The man was dressed in simple cotton clothes and spoke in a gentle manner. He did not seem like the kind of person who could start a war.

“They’re just a bunch of heretics trying to make a little money, not worth mentioning,” he muttered to himself, then leaned back gently in his chair.

In a few days, he would also have to meet with King Philip IV to express his loyalty and courage, and to ask the king for permission to visit the Southern Netherlands. After all, in his view, only the battlefields of Europe deserved the attention of the Spanish nobles.

Inside the council chamber, Olivares picked up the letter requesting assistance, glanced at it again, and then casually tossed it aside to continue dealing with other more urgent state affairs.
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(End of this chapter)