Just as Andrew was busy dispatching troops and actively preparing for the battle between the mountains and the plateau, the war that was about to begin, in Madrid, few of the top leaders of the noble Huayi were seriously guarding against the French invasion, and the frequent political turmoil caused the domestic situation to deteriorate.

Carlos IV, who likes to play with women, ended up not living through the end of the rainy season in 1794, just like all Madrid people predicted.

On April 25, Carlos IV died in the bed of his mistress and the Spanish king died;

On May 18, the Spanish king's court officially released a message, and King Carlos IV was summoned by God to the Kingdom of Heaven;

From May 22 to May 28, the cabinet announced this week as the National Mourning Week;

...

The issue of inheritance of the throne has become the biggest topic in Madrid at present. All the Spaniards have almost forgotten that at the northern end of the Pyrenees, Andrew, who was sharpening his knife and his French army were preparing to raid the Iberian plateau.

Because of the most likely successor to the throne, Queen Maria Louisa, voluntarily gave up the right of inheritance, resulting in the throne fighting between Princess Sophia and Prince Basquarre. Obviously, Prince Basquarre was one step ahead. With the support and instigation of the British, he used the large amount of money given to him by the British cabinet to bribe him, win over and coerce the heads of the army in various parts of Spain, as well as political leaders, and all conservative nobles became the followers of His Highness the Prince. By early May, except for the garrison troops in Madrid, Prince Basquarre had almost all the armed forces in the country.

All this is indeed very unfavorable for Prince Basqual's old opponent, Prime Minister Godoy. The Prime Minister originally hoped that Carlos IV could persist until Princess Sophia's return home. Through his own indirect attacks, relying on the advantages of the liberals in parliament and cabinet, he joined forces with Queen Maria to make her arriving in His Highness the Grand Princess.

But now it's too late, everything is too late. Prime Minister Godoy miscalculated the domestic situation and the influence of the British. When Princess Sophia landed from Santander Harbor and drove to Segovia, she was stopped by a special envoy sent by the royal family. The envoy prohibited His Highness from entering Madrid to attend the king's funeral. Then she secretly escorted Princess Sophia to the ancient castle monastery outside Segovia and put her under house arrest. This order was personally issued by Queen Maria, who acted as a national government.

Godoy understood the meaning of the above order. He knew that the only Queen Maria who could stop Prince Basquar from taking office had reached a compromise with the conservatives, and the royal garrison in Madrid no longer opposed Prince Basquar. Queen Maria chose the latter in time between Godoy's lover and family interests. She also ordered the French National Convention delegation stranded in Madrid to leave Spain within 5 days.

With the momentary reversal of the political situation, the liberals led by Gododoi were successively driven out of the Spanish parliament and cabinet, and replaced them with all conservative aristocrats. Fortunately, Queen Maria was still quite attached to her old love. With her insistence, Prince Basqual did not make things difficult for Gododoi, leaving him as a bare prime minister in the cabinet. However, the title of prime minister could not be maintained for long. According to the Spanish Succession Law, within one month after the king's funeral, that is, around July 1794, Basqual would ascend to the throne of the Spanish king. By then, let alone the title of prime minister, he might not even be able to protect his life.

When he thought of this, Godoy became indignant. He had a very bad temper now and now he was extremely irritable. He often walked around the empty manor alone. If he was anxious, he would find some objects to vent his anger.

With a "bang" sound, an exquisite patterned porcelain became fragments on the ground. Sankoro rushed to see it and found that more than 10 gold coins were thrown into the water.

Sankoro is a distant relative of Gododoi. He is in his forties and is not good-looking. Apart from the unchanging smile on his face, it is difficult to find other personal characteristics. At first, Gododoi liked Sankoro and thought his smile was too hypocritical, but now Godoi trusts him very much. At least when his political power is lost and his money falls, Sankoro is still with him without regrets.

"Sir," Sankoro has always called Godoy. He smiled and bent down to pick up the fragments on the ground, plucked up the courage to look up and said, "Actually, you still have a chance to turn over."

"Opportunity?! What else do I have? Even the queen is turning to Prince Basquard." Godoy sat on the sofa with an extremely depressed expression.

"Of course, my Prime Minister! Prince Basquard is looking for the support of the British. Wouldn't you ask for help from the French?" Sancoro still smiled. It was him rewarding himself and finally expressed his thoughts. This sentence was held in his heart for a long time.

"French people? Why should they help me, and what can I give them?" Godoy was not interested in Sancoro's suggestion at all, so he simply lay down on the sofa and went to bed.

Obviously Sankoro did not give up his claim. After packing up the garbage, he walked to Godoy and muttered in his master's ear.

"My master, the French will not help you, but Andrew will help his lover, Princess Sophia. Now the Pyrenees of the Mountain General, tens of thousands of troops are gathering near the city of Meas, and can cross the Pyrenees at any time. With your help, in the name of assisting Princess Sophia ascend the throne, the soldiers arrived in Madrid and drove away the ambitious Prince Basqual. Haha! Then..." Sancoro paused when he said this.

"Yeah, the truth!" Godoy began to turn his face and looked at Sankoro, judging whether he was bad-minded. After confirming the loyalty of his servant, he was carefully thinking about Sankoro's suggestions just now.

Indeed, Godoy had already reached the peak of power. He wanted him to give up his current status and power and resign to Prince Basqual and become a poor man; or run away and become a homeless man, which would be more uncomfortable than killing him. Since he still had a chance to play, why not try it? But Godoy thought of another question, which was how to dispel the greedy Andrew and other legions.

Understanding Godoy's concerns, Sancoro continued to explain: Andrew just loves money. The money cabinets of conservative aristocrats are mostly in the box. Anyway, it does not belong to Godoy himself, so it is not a pity to send it out. As for the territorial issues, for hundreds of years, the French have never thought of occupying the land on the Spanish plateau. At most, they could cede a few colonies to them as a reward for the French government to send troops. For the issue of revolution, this is even simpler. Once Godoy regained power, he could promulgate a free law in real time and implement a constitutional monarchy in the name of Queen Sophia...

After several remarks, Godoy fully agreed with Sancóro's proposal and handed over his token to the latter, and he had his full power to contact the French delegation that was about to leave Madrid to discuss related matters of borrowing troops.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～�

Duke Sanchez is an old man about 74 years old. Although he is old, he is still energetic. The Duke of the early years was born in a noble family. Due to his handsome birth, elegant temperament and elegant conversation, he completely lost his initial stage in socializing and mingling with women. However, now he is no longer as handsome as before, with wrinkles on his face and thick bags of eyes, which is because the responsibility of the family and the country is pressing on his shoulders.

Duke Sanchez is a close relative of the Spanish royal family and belongs to the Bourbon family. He has a great reputation in the military, but Duke Sanchez has always emphasized that he is a soldier rather than a politician. With his transcendent status in the country, he has maintained a good relationship with the authorities in Madrid for decades. He is not partial to liberals or conservatives. He only upholds the honor of the Spanish Kingdom. This is the poisonous oath that Duke Sanchez once made to himself and will never allow any foreign forces to invade the Spanish motherland.

He did well, at least before 1789. Since the last war on the throne in the early 18th century, there was little war in Spain. In the Seven Years' War on the European continent and the Northern War, he tried his best to stop Spain from joining the war, and by political and diplomatic means, he was single to the French and British.

Peace is really beautiful, but war is the theme of historical development. Duke Sanchez is not a simple peace lover. At least he hates the British very much like other Spanish people. Since now, he is still resentful about the Utrecht Peace Treaty that ceded Gibraltar to Britain. When the British were trapped in the North American War of Independence, he generously accepted the invitation from the Americans, worked with the French to aid the Continental Army, and severely punished the arrogant British gentleman. This service made his reputation in the country reach its peak.

Unlike many things, Duke Sanchez rarely favored power. In 1789, when Carlos IV ascended the throne, he resolutely gave up all his posts and returned home to enjoy his old age. But when he left the center of power, Spain was immediately trapped in the whirlpool of the anti-French war and could not extricate himself.

Despite staying at home, Duke Sanchez was still concerned about the international and domestic situation. He was not as arrogant as other fanatical aristocratic generals. He clearly understood the huge gap between his own army and the revolutionary French army. He wrote several times to the king, requesting to stop cooperation with the British, immediately engage in peace talks with the French, and end the war as soon as possible. But after all, the tea was cold and no one listened to his correct suggestions. It was not until the Spanish failed in Toulon, Bordeaux, and other places, and the Spanish army, which had been defeated repeatedly, was driven back to the Pyrenees that Prime Minister Godoy accepted the Duke's proposal and began to negotiate peace with France. However, all this effort was gone because of the changes in the political situation in Madrid.

Prince Basqual surrendered to the British and became the heir to the throne. Subsequently, Princess Sophia was under house arrest, and Prime Minister Godoy had actually emptied his power, causing the conflict between France and Spain to become more and more intense on the borders of the two countries. At the western end of the Pyrenees, the Spanish army was beaten by the French Biscay Legion. If it weren't for the poor supply of the Blue Legion and could not carry out long-term and long-distance combat, the French might have fought from the northwest to the city of Saracoza.

The disadvantage of the war also made Prince Basqual worried. He was timid and did not want to make his throne unstable. Therefore, at the request of British spies, the quasi-king asked Duke Sanchez to come out again and serve as the commander-in-chief of the defense of the Northern Theater Command in Spain, governing all the Spanish troops north of the Ebro River, and having all the military and political power in the region. Its base camp is located in the fifth largest city in Spain, the city of Saracossa.

Originally, Duke Sanchez still wanted to continue to negotiate with the French, but Basquarre did not allow it at all. The quasi-king king threatened Princess Sophia's life safety and forced her to submit. The helpless Duke Sanchez had no choice but to take office. After all, the patriotic old duke also did not want the French army to fight, causing the Spanish land to be hit by war again and suffered from the disaster.

In mid-May, Duke Sanchez and his accompanying him arrived at the base camp of Saracoza, and what was before him was a mess.

A large number of incompetent and stupid noble generals flooded the army. During the war with the French, they actually brought dozens of chefs by their side. Because of the continuous failure and the continuous withholding of military pay from subordinates, the morale of the soldiers was extremely low. The feudal lords refused to accept the command of the old duke and unconditionally handed over their private armed forces.

Although General Monse's legion had retreated to the northern foothills of the mountains to rest, the local Spanish defenders who suffered heavy losses were no longer able to organize any effective defense. At the same time, the Basque separatist forces began to move, and the originally scattered resistance teams began to unite and the attack range continued to expand. What was even more terrifying was that Andrew's legion remained unmoved and commanded 40,000 troops with General Gronimo to confront the mountain pass in the eastern mountain range.

In response to the above adverse situations, Duke Sanchez, at the beginning of his tenure, immediately transformed the entire northern defense system. He first dismissed a series of corrupt officials and allowed talented officers to replace them. Then, in addition to ordering noble officers to spit out greedy money, the old duke also publicly auctioned a large number of his family's property as military pay to military soldiers, and greatly increased the treatment of officers and soldiers. In suppressing the Basque separatist forces, he first appeased the Basque elders and exempted the Basques from all kinds of harsh taxes. Later, he sent heavy troops to encircle and suppress the stubborn elements, drove them to the deep mountains and forests, and relieved the rebels from the harm to various rural towns.

In particular, he ordered the controversial General Geronemo to be promoted to general. In the commendation order, the duke praised the general for being calm and controlling the northeastern defense line for the Kingdom of Spain. Before this, countless people complained in front of the old duke, saying that when Geronemo suffered major losses in the western defense line, he refused to send troops to support him on the excuse of focusing on guarding the most dangerous Andrew's army.

The above measures immediately made the Duke of Sanchez win the hearts of the army and the people. The soldiers with high morale returned to the playground to receive training. The number of people who signed up for the army increased greatly. By the end of June, the entire northern Spanish defense line led by the Duke of Sanchez had 120,000 regular troops. In addition, he used the iron bowl method to force the local feudal lords to hand over private armed forces and train with the current Spanish army. However, instead of forming them into the regular army, they imitated the French to form several independent battalions, with a total of more than 60,000 people serving as strategic reserves.

In the war zone deployment, Duke Sanchez considered that the weak French navy could not break through the maritime cooperation of the huge Spanish and British fleet and provided coastal landing operations for his army; while in the middle of the Pyrenees is a high-altitude area of ​​more than 2,000 meters, the Blue Legion at both ends could not carry out large-scale movements, and at best it was a harassment war by small troops. Therefore, the focus of defense should be on the east and west ends of the Pyrenees.

The Duke of Sanchez mainly reflects the entire defense system into three major areas:

In the northeast, there are 60,000 troops commanded by General Gironimo (the original 40,000 people, and later 20,000 more) to resist the attack of the Andrew's army (Pyrenees). In the view of Duke Sanchez, General Gironimo's responsibility is the core of the entire display. For this reason, Duke Sanchez, regardless of his age, ran from Saracossa to the headquarters of the Geronemo army, issued a commendation order and held a promotion ceremony. Until before leaving, he repeatedly asked Geronemo not to let the Andrew's army cross the line and allow it to smoothly pass through the Pyrenees from the eastern mountain pass.

The northwest is the confidant of Duke Sanchez, led by General Gioma, whose mission is to guard against the attack of the Monté Legion (Biscai Legion). The mission assigned by Duke Sanchez to General Gioma was: as long as the Monté Legion did not cross the Ebro River, Gioma's army would try to avoid fighting with it. Because the Monté Legion's food and ammunition supply convoy needed to cross the rugged and long Cantabrian Mountains and Pyrenees, the French could only carry out short-term raids and plunders in this area.

The central area is an independent battalion of 30,000 regular troops and 60,000 people, and is all led by itself. The main responsibility is to protect the city of Saracoza, the important northern gateway of Spain. Although Duke Sanchez was very at ease with General Gironimo's defense, he still ordered the construction of various fortifications in the city to build various types of solid fortifications, and reserve a large amount of strategic materials. In the view of the old duke, it was better to take the battle situation into consideration the worst and take the battle situation into consideration when the matter was about to come. In this regard, the two opponents, General Andrew and Duke Sanchez, had a very consistent view.
Chapter completed!