Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The next day at noon, the Marquis Talavera gazed at the distant eastern retreat of the French army, grim-faced, and complained to the officer beside him:

“Those cunning French! We’ve already controlled all areas north of the Douro River; there’s no need to protect any supply lines.

“He doesn’t even want to hear my suggestion to go to Penafiel. God, he just wants to slack off at the rear!”

Penafiel is located 30 kilometers east of Porto, and if necessary, can provide support to the Spanish forces besieging Porto.

Yet Juno insists on stationing his troops nearly a hundred kilometers away in Reyal to “protect the logistical supply line.”

Bear in mind, from Reyal to the Spanish border is only about 120 kilometers, definitely at the rear of the Franco-Spanish Alliance.

However, according to the Franco-Spanish Alliance agreement, Marquis Talavera has no authority to command Juno’s troops.

So after a bout of grumbling, he had no choice but to lead his army toward Porto.

The Franco-Spanish Alliance previously launched a surprise attack, easily capturing the Almeida Fortress on the Portugal-Spain border, and met hardly any resistance as they advanced toward Porto, which they reached in less than 20 days.

Now in Madrid, everyone believed he could break Porto in a short time, adding immense pressure on him. But at this critical moment, Juno planned to abandon him for a rest; how could he not be filled with resentment?

On the other side, as the French army’s winding column marched eastward for most of the day, the commander of the scattered soldier camp, Major Reynier, finally couldn’t help but approach Juno and quietly ask, “Major, are we really going to Reyal?”

He gestured to the soldiers beside him, “Look, everyone is ready for a big fight; there’s no need for rest.”

“Rest?” Juno laughed and gave him a pat, “Were you dizzy from the Madrid girls last month?

“Of course not; we’re preparing to save the Spanish army.”

Reynier’s eyes lit up immediately but asked doubtfully, “But there doesn’t seem to be any enemies in the east…”

Juno nodded, “We’re not going to Reyal; that’s just to deceive the Portuguese spies. You know the Spaniards can’t keep anything hidden.

“The General Staff believes fighting the British-Portuguese army at Porto is very disadvantageous to us.

“The British can continuously supply via sea routes, and that place is flanked by water, with a strong fortress.”

Reynier agreed, “We’d also face the problem of an overextended supply line; the British could attack our supply line anytime.”

“Exactly. So the General Staff decided to engage the enemy on the east bank of the Tamega River.” Juno pointed forward with his whip, “We’re heading there now to set up the defense line. Oh, you need to take some men to Reyal and show face; there are definitely Portuguese spies there too.”

The Tamega River is a north-south river more than 40 kilometers east of Porto, flowing south into the Douro River.

Reynier asked again, “It seems you haven’t told Marquis Talavera about our battle plan?”

“That’s right,” Juno responded as a matter of course, “This way, when he retreats from Porto, the British won’t suspect anything.”

What Juno didn’t say was that according to the French General Staff’s plan, the east bank of the Tamega River was just the first battle.

Afterward, the Franco-Spanish Alliance would continue to retreat, ultimately blocking the British forces again in the upper reaches of the Douro River.

This area is less than 50 kilometers from the Spanish border city of Lumbrales, making supplies very convenient, whereas the British-Portuguese army would have to get logistical support from Porto. The French army would also continually harass the enemy’s supply line.

This is the correct way to unfold an attrition battle.

For Portugal, it’s imperative to take back the eastern border Almeida Fortress, so they will definitely drag the British forces to chase them to the French’s preset battlefield.

At the same time, the Franco-Spanish Alliance will launch constant diversionary attacks on the southern front.

In the southern Portuguese region of Olivenza, a mere three to four thousand soldiers guard the orange-growing area, the Franco-Spanish Alliance can easily break through there and then head straight west toward Lisbon.

By then, the British would have to rush back and forth between the north and south to put out fires.

And on the Spanish side, this time they are very confident in their ability to sustain an attrition battle.

…

Royal Palace of Madrid.

The Spanish Minister of the Interior, Campos, surveyed the seven or eight archbishops in front of him and said in an irrefutable tone:

“The war to reclaim the western territories of our country, I trust you all understand its significance.

“Therefore, we must win this war!”

He gestured for his assistant to unfold a document edged in gold, signaling to the people before him:

“This is the latest decree from His Majesty.”

The archbishops quickly stood up, showing their solemn respect.

Campos continued, “Each diocese, according to its income, must ‘contribute’ military funds ranging from 300,000 to 800,000 escudos within two months.”

Before he finished speaking, the assembled archbishops were already wide-eyed in shock.

The escudo is a type of gold coin issued by the Spanish government, with one escudo roughly equivalent to 11 francs.

This means the King of Spain is demanding military funds ranging from 3.3 million to 8.8 million francs from each diocese.

Spain alone has eleven dioceses on its mainland, which, if they all contribute in full, will amount to over 50 million francs!

As for the overseas dioceses, although not very wealthy, combining them should result in an additional three to four million francs.

This is Spain’s “terrifying foundation”!

The Church wields enormous power, having desperately pocketed money for centuries, nearly draining the last drop of blood from the country.

Spain’s national strength has waned, and the greed of the Church is a key factor.

Campos is certain the Church will come up with the money!

Archbishop Himenes of the Leon Diocese immediately protested:

“Count Campos, the Church’s property belongs to Jesus, and His Majesty has no right to do this!”

The Archbishop of Aragon nodded and added:

“Moreover, the Church simply doesn’t have that much money…”

Campos had anticipated this reaction. The influence of the Spanish Church is deeply rooted, having long controlled various aspects of Spanish politics, economy, and culture.

Even a capable king like Charles III, despite his lifelong efforts, could only slightly weaken the Church’s interference in politics.

These archbishops, united, even the king can do nothing against them.

However, this time, Campos smiled coldly at the corner of his mouth: “Are you curious why Archbishop Ortiz and Archbishop Serrano didn’t come today?”

The archbishops present exchanged glances, but no one knew the reason.

Campos said calmly, “Because they will soon step down from their positions as archbishops.”

Archbishop Himenes immediately said, “That’s impossible! The Holy See would never simultaneously reassign the archbishops of three dioceses…”

Campos raised his hand to interrupt him, “In fact, the envoys sent by the Holy See to retrieve their shepherd’s staffs and power rings are already on their way, and will arrive at each diocese by next week at the latest.”

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