Empire Rising: Spain

However, it was these less than 600,000 Chinese who cultivated a large tract of land, making the Lanfang Republic’s grain output always rank first among the countries and indigenous forces on the island of Borneo.

Many lands on the island of Borneo were undeveloped wasteland, of no interest to European colonists and local natives, but the Lanfang people were particularly persistent about land reclamation.

The Lanfang Republic had roughly two types of population: one comprised of prospectors near gold mines, and the other of farmers living near towns and cities.

If the Lanfang Republic had fertilizer technology, coupled with the fact that agriculture relied entirely on human labor, its grain production could have seen a substantial increase.

This is why the Dutch set their sights on the Lanfang Republic. Aren’t these people, who hardly resist and are diligent, better than the lazy natives who dislike labor?

As the head of the Spanish Military Guidance Team in Lanfang, Andrew Russo was the first to learn about the conflict that broke out between the Lanfang border and local natives.

Due to the great distance between Lanfang and Spain, Andrew, as the leader of the military guidance team, had the authority to make autonomous decisions.

If the Lanfang Republic were invaded, Andrew would have the authority to decide independently whether to assist the Lanfang Republic or remain indifferent.

Of course, according to the current diplomatic policy of Spain, the Spanish Government’s stance is clearly to protect the Lanfang Republic.

However, when facing a strong enemy, for example, if the United Kingdom chose to help the Netherlands invade the Lanfang Republic, Andrew could maintain neutrality to avoid involving Spain.

But clearly, the British had no energy to manage affairs on the island of Borneo at this time. Both the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War had just ended, and although Britain did not deploy a lot of troops, military expenditures were considerable.

Unless there was a particularly important issue, the British would not engage in conflicts with other powers at such a time.

After all, Britain had no shortage of enemies worldwide, and once Britain was embroiled in a tough battle, there would certainly be many who would seize the opportunity to strike Britain down.

Andrew also understood the importance of the Lanfang Republic to Spain, and upon learning of the conflict between the Lanfang Republic and local natives, he conveyed Spain’s stance to the Lanfang Republic, which was that Spain supported the Lanfang Republic in its fight against the natives.

With Spain’s support, the Lanfang Republic no longer hesitated, for the purpose of training 20,000 new troops was not merely a show, but to protect the security of the Lanfang Republic.

Facts proved that deploying troops was the clearest choice for the Lanfang Republic.

After the conflict broke out in the border areas, two indigenous countries had secretly gathered troops to invade the Lanfang Republic.

When the new Lanfang troops arrived near the border, they happened to encounter the indigenous troops crossing the Lanfang Republic’s border.

Both sides understood the purpose of their presence at the border, and immediately launched a fierce offensive upon encountering each other.

The new Lanfang troops, although trained for five years without engaging in real warfare, had combat strength that was unmatched by these native forces.

The outcome of the skirmish was also clear, with Lanfang forces inflicting heavy losses on the native troops, resulting in at least several thousand casualties on their side with only a few hundred losses on the Lanfang side.

When the results of the battle reached the Lanfang Government, Andrew couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. If the new troops he trained had not performed well, wouldn’t that imply his capabilities were lacking?

Fortunately, the new Lanfang troops performed quite well, easily crushing the native forces. This also demonstrated that adopting Spanish Army training methods was indeed effective, and that the Lanfang people could be trained into a formidable fighting force.

Although the Lanfang Republic achieved victory in the conflict, proper reporting was still necessary. Andrew sent a telegram back to Spain detailing the conflict between the Lanfang Republic and the natives and the results of the skirmish, requesting the Spanish Government’s next steps.

Due to the great distance between the two locations, it took several days for Spain to receive the telegram after the conflict had erupted.

The outbreak of this conflict was actually a good thing for Spain, as it showed that colonists, including the Netherlands, had not abandoned their interests in Lanfang.

If the Lanfang Republic did not depend on Spanish rule, it could be annexed by the Netherlands at any time.

This also made the Lanfang people realize that only by submitting to Spanish rule could they preserve their nation and regime.

The current forces in the Philippines were insufficient to suppress the Lanfang people, so the Spanish Government had to ensure the stability of Lanfang.

In the event of an internal rebellion in Lanfang, the Spanish Government would have to dispatch troops from more distant African Colonies or from the mainland, which would consume a long time.

As long as the Dutch maintained an interest in the Lanfang Republic, the Lanfang people would have no choice but to submit to Spanish rule.

As long as Spain maintained the upper hand, it could extract more benefits and advantages from Lanfang. Currently, the only railway in the Lanfang Republic was built with Spanish capital. Although ownership belonged to the Lanfang Republic, Spanish capital had the right to collect tolls for 30 years on the railway.

There are many such collaborations, such as the Lanfang Republic’s grain exports, with the majority first purchased by Spanish capital from the Lanfang Republic and then sold to other countries and regions.

This has led to Spanish capital almost firmly controlling the economy of Lanfang, and the Spaniards held a high status in the Lanfang Republic. Naturally, Andrew’s influence in the Lanfang Republic was also considerable.

To strengthen control over the Lanfang Republic, Spain spared no efforts in every possible way.

The good news is that the first batch of Lanfang students sent to Spain had already graduated successfully, and the second batch was about to graduate.

With Carlo’s robust development of Spain’s education sector, some Spanish universities had gained a good reputation in Europe.

This also led to a large number of study applications at Spanish universities, including many European students, but there were also many from Asia and America.

At this time, students studying abroad were different from later generations. The credentials of these students were quite prestigious. Spain did not have any diploma mills or low-quality universities. All state-prioritized universities required students to master sufficient knowledge and possess certain hands-on abilities.

Particularly famous science universities like the Royal Science Academy highly emphasized cultivating students’ talents. That graduates could join the Royal Academy of Sciences for research showed that the Royal Science Academy gave equal importance to theoretical knowledge and practical ability.

Because of this, the students produced by Spanish universities had a certain level of competency.

Currently, the first batch of students dispatched to Spain from Lanfang had successfully returned and became highly valued talents in the Lanfang Republic, entrusted with important responsibilities upon their return.

Among the most valued was perhaps Wu Yuansheng, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy.

Andrew carefully selected in the Lanfang Republic and ultimately chose fewer than ten people to study at the Madrid Royal Military Academy.

Wu Yuansheng was a standout among them and was even invited to stay in the Spanish Army due to his excellent performance at the Madrid Royal Military Academy, where he was received by the vice-minister of the academy.

However, due to his attachment to Lanfang, Wu Yuansheng ultimately chose to return, and the Spanish side did not obstruct him.

Upon their return, Wu Yuansheng and his peers were heavily employed by the Lanfang Government, receiving the rank of colonel and the position of military leader in the new Lanfang troops.

Especially for Wu Yuansheng, due to his outstanding performance, his military rank was exceptionally promoted to Major, to serve as the actual leader of the new Lanfang army.