Chapter 1116: The Wealth of the Sea II
From the 16th century to the 19th century, the Kingdom of Spain relied on its maritime power to obtain astonishing wealth in the Americas, and it is said that gold alone obtained more than 2.5 million kilograms, 100 million kilograms of silver, and countless jewels.
The world-famous treasure of the golden fleet, the vast wealth plundered by the Spanish colonial government in South America, was brought back to Spain in the early eighteenth century, and a total of seventeen galleons were organized.
However, when the fleet arrived in Vigo Bay, it encountered a joint attack by the British and Dutch navies, and the commander of the fleet had to order the ships to be burned and the treasure sunk to the bottom of the sea.
"If you want the Spanish government to divert attention, it's not much of a problem, at the moment Morocco has a territorial dispute with Spain, and Britain has a territorial dispute with Spain, and with a little effort, the two sides can toss for a while."
"The matter should not be too big, I want the shadow organization to come forward to negotiate with the Moroccan government, arrange a small-scale dispute, test the attitude of Spain, the target is on the island of Leila, His Majesty the King is about to get married, just give him a gift!" Wu Chen looked at the map and said.
Leila Island is a small island off the coast of Gibraltar and an uninhabited desert island with an area of only a dozen hectares, but because of the shipping lanes facing the Strait of Gibraltar, the geographical location is very important, and Spain and Morocco have declared it their own.
The Spanish government calls this island Perehill, which is less than 200 meters away from the coast of Moroccan land, and the Moroccan government is absolutely unwilling to give up this island, and the call for the resumption of sovereignty in the country is also very high.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Government of Spain and the Government of the United Kingdom are negotiating the ownership of Gibraltar, but it is certain that, for strategic reasons, the Government of the United Kingdom will not make substantial progress with the Government of Spain in this regard. Given the situation, we wanted to make a small move here and try the reaction of the British and Spain, and the choice was the island of Leila. ”
"Externally, it can be claimed that the mercenary navy accepted the invitation of the Moroccan government to hold an anti-terrorist exercise on the island of Leila, as for how long, there is no time limit, I think the gentlemen of the British government will not give up this opportunity and make up for it again." Valia said.
"There can be no doubt that the island of Leila is the inherent territory of Morocco, and the Federal Government of the Golden Triangle is a good friend of the Kingdom of Morocco, and we are very happy to be able to make such a proposal at this time, but the stakes are very high, and I will immediately ask to see His Majesty the King, and give you an accurate answer at noon."
"On one more point, the Federal Government of the Golden Triangle has chosen to act at such a sensitive time, and what price does the Kingdom of Morocco have to pay for it? If you have something to say, just open up, everything is easy to discuss. The Prime Minister said with a smile.
There is no free lunch in the world, and the Golden Triangle Federation is willing to help the Kingdom of Morocco recover the island of Leila, which must be in demand in the Prime Minister's opinion, but as long as he takes back the sovereign territory of his country, any price can be considered.
"The Strait of Gibraltar is a military location, and mercenaries are regarded as an important part of strategy, and we only have one pier in Tangier, which is really not enough, and the other is that the water depth is not enough to moor aircraft carriers."
"After the Admiralty sent technical personnel to conduct on-site surveys and studies, we want to build a permanent naval base on a coast forty kilometers east of Tangier, that is, in the nature of a permanent lease, and at the same time we can also provide assistance to the Kingdom of Morocco to build a commercial dock, and the mercenary corps cannot let the Strait of Gibraltar choke the neck." Valia said.
"If there is a request from another country, I will veto it at the first time, but the mercenary corps is a good friend of the African people, and even more so a good friend of the Kingdom of Morocco, and what you have done in various countries has benefited the local people a lot, and I personally agree with it, and it needs to be approved by His Majesty the King." The Prime Minister nodded and said.
He knew what Valia was talking about, and it was indeed in an excellent location, with a water depth of about twenty meters, which could fully withstand the tonnage of an aircraft carrier.
The government also intends to build a commercial terminal there, but there is currently insufficient funds to start it, and it would be a good thing to use the financial resources of the Golden Triangle Federation to get a start-up fund.
It is an indisputable fact that the mercenary corps has an excellent reputation in Africa, providing an astonishing amount of funds and projects every year to improve the problems of education, health care, poverty and transportation in African countries, while also providing a large number of jobs and raising the income level of the people, and is warmly welcomed and heartily supported by the people of African countries.
"The Moroccan Navy actually occupied the island of Leila, raised the flag and built an observation post? Then what are you waiting for, asking the Navy to hurry up with a plan to drive out the Moroccan servicemen, and absolutely not to create an established fact! The Spanish Prime Minister was shocked.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this time the Moroccan government is making trouble, in the name of anti-terrorist exercises, they invited the mercenary marines stationed in the port of Tangier to land on the island together, and now it has been surrounded by the warships of the mercenary navy, and if we want to forcibly drive away, we will inevitably be counterattacked by the mercenaries, and these people do not care about the dispute between Morocco and Spain." The Minister of Defense is also a bit of a headache.
The island of Leila is a disputed territory, Morocco says it is its own family, and Spain also says it is its own, and they are entangled in their own opinions, but they did not expect the Moroccan government to drag the mercenaries into the chariot, which is a big problem.
Mercenaries and the countries of Western Europe are secret strategic partners with the task of building aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines for the European autonomous defense system, as well as supplying the countries of Western Europe with energy and raw materials.
At present, more than 90 percent of the oil and gas needed for the production and daily life of the Spanish national economy are provided by mercenaries.
In the vicinity of Leila Island, the fleet of the Mercenary Legion Navy is lined up, including two Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ships, one Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, two Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers, four Ali Burke-class missile destroyers, four Spruance-class missile destroyers, four Perry-class frigates, two Oscar-class cruise missile nuclear submarines, and four Los Angeles-class attack nuclear submarines.
The transport helicopters of the mercenary corps of the Marine Corps constantly transported all kinds of building materials to the bare island of Leila, and found a sheltered place to build an observation post.
Under the protection of the naval fleet, there were no anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles on the island, but some large equipment was also brought in, such as radar vehicles, as well as oil tanks and diesel generators.
The mercenary corps marines arranged two companies, armed with four Longbow Apache gunships and four Black Hawk utility transport helicopters, while the Moroccan army placed only one company and set up machine guns to arrange sentry posts, and one day was equivalent to the actual occupation of the island of Leila.
This time the action was too sudden and too fast, the Spanish government has not had time to react, the fact has become a foregone conclusion, it is absolutely impossible to start a fight, and this problem can only be solved from the level of political games.