The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1258 Peaceful Reception
Unsurprisingly, Austria's vanguard took over Barcelona, ​​the most important city in Catalonia.

In fact, Friedrich personally did not like Franz's approach. After all, occupying a region by conspiracy and intrigue rather than bloodshed and sacrifice was really despicable.

But Friedrich also knew that Franz was right.

Otherwise, even if he did not take the Spanish fleet seriously, if the defenders defended the port fortress, the Austrian Imperial Fleet would inevitably suffer some damage in its attack.

At this time, if the British, French and Spanish fleets outflanked from behind, it would be possible to defeat the main force of the Austrian Imperial Navy.

But if it were a head-on combat, the possibility would be no more than 1%. At this time, the Austrian Imperial Navy had an absolute advantage in the Mediterranean.

Intelligence was unilaterally transparent to the Austrian Empire. Friedrich was well aware of the intelligence of all his opponents, while those opponents only saw the tip of the iceberg of the Austrian Navy.

In addition, the Austrian Empire has allies in the Mediterranean. The fleet of Duke Omar in Algeria is the original French Grand Orient Fleet, which is far stronger than the Spanish Navy and the newly formed New Orient Fleet of the French.

Greece, Tripoli, and the Two Sicilies are also allies of the Austrian Empire and can provide a certain degree of support.

Friedrich is not a battle maniac. He is very proud but not arrogant, and he will not look down on his opponents just because they surrender.

On the contrary, due to his long-term relationship with Franz, he also began to be cautious. In addition to the six main battleships, the vanguard troops were all the latest fast ships, which could quickly leave the battlefield if they found that the enemy was cheating.

As for the six battleships, Friedrich felt that the Spanish's old-fashioned coastal defense guns could not even break through their defenses.

The first to land were the Austrian Imperial Marines, whose equipment and training were much better than those of the general army.

They also had one ability that no other Austrian army could match: survivability.

Survivability is a compulsory course for the Marine Corps because the situations they face are often more complex and harsher than those of the Army.

Many times they cannot rely solely on equipment and training advantages to turn the tide, so they must learn how to survive in harsh environments and regroup again.

It was this outstanding ability that allowed them to land first this time.

However, the expected ambush did not occur, nor did the bloody mutiny. The Spanish simply calmly accepted the fact that the Austrian army entered the city.

For safety reasons, General Iglesias drew a red line and prohibited civilians and non-military personnel from approaching.

After the Austrian army completed the occupation of Barcelona, ​​Iglesias sailed to Friedrich's flagship "Trieste" and handed over his command sword.

Friedrich was already accustomed to such scenes, and the command knife did not arouse any interest in him. Moreover, according to traditional etiquette, he had to return the command knife to the other party as a sign of respect.

So the whole process was just a routine for Friedrich.

“General Iglesias, I hope that you and Mayor Urfax will continue to run this city together.

We, the Austrian Empire, come here for liberation and do not covet the rights in your hands. But we also hope that you understand that all those villains who harm the people and betray their faith will be eliminated by us. "

"As ordered."

Iglesias knew this was a warning, and he had no doubt that the vanguard of the Austrian Empire alone could capture the city of Barcelona.

Iglesias himself is a naval technical expert. He is very excited about the flagship of the Austrian Navy, but he also knows how powerful such a warship will be. If the two sides fight with real swords and guns, Barcelona may not be able to hold out for a day.

Before Iglesias left, Friedrich said one more thing.

"Thank you for saving this city and its inhabitants from the flames of war."

In fact, this is what Franz wanted to say. Although it is not difficult to take Barcelona, ​​a complete city is much better than a ruin.

And since we have boasted that we are here to save people, it would not be good to start killing people right away.

However, it was not Franz's request that Iglesias let the young officer go. He would not be soft-hearted at such a critical moment, nor would he deliberately pursue so-called perfection.

Iglesias felt differently when he heard these words at this moment. He didn't say anything but just turned and left, but the blood in his heart began to boil again.

After the vanguard had fully taken control of Barcelona's defenses, the main force of the Austrian Empire began to land.

In addition to more soldiers, there were also many priests, as well as some cooks and doctors who were obviously non-military personnel.
Soon, someone posted recruitment notices near the dock and square. The jobs involved some simple moving, construction, cleaning, etc.

However, the salary is very generous and is paid on a daily basis.

At least it was very generous for the Spaniards at that time, but it might be a little low for the Austrians.

Although Barcelona is one of the most prosperous cities in Spain, it has long been ruined by years of war and government extortion.

Except for a few rich people who still live a luxurious life like hundreds of years ago, most people in the city can only barely survive, and often can only barely get by after trying their best.

However, there are still many people who cannot even reach the minimum living standard because of terrible taxes, tithes, exploitation by the rich and gangs. In order to avoid starving to death, they often have no choice but to wander.

This also gave rise to Spain's unique tramp literature, but the funny thing is that with the complete severance of the upward channel, the tramp literature that once caused headaches for the Spanish government was also completely ended.

Those who killed off the hobo literature were the former hobos.
The conditions were so attractive that it was impossible for the local residents not to be tempted. Just when everyone was eager to try, someone stood up and said.

"Do you think such a good thing really exists? The Austrians have supervisors, and the whips are made of steel wire.

If you are slow, you will be killed with a few whips! If they don't pay you, will you choose money or life?
The city is now full of Austrian soldiers, and they have real weapons in their hands!"

"Yes! I heard that Austrians are demons who eat human flesh and drink human blood, otherwise how could they grow so strong.

Think carefully! That's the money you're going to use to buy your life!"

Due to Franz and Friedrich's elite military policy, the average height of the Austrian Imperial Navy was more than ten centimeters taller than that of the Army.

Combined with ample food, plenty of training and work, there were a lot of strong men in the Austrian Navy.

After a few people said this, the enthusiasm of the people was immediately dissipated. After all, no one wants to be someone else's dinner.

(End of this chapter)