Seville, the only city in Spain with an inland port, was once Spain's most prosperous trading port and witnessed the return of countless treasure ships laden with gold. However, since the 18th century, Seville has declined with the decline of Spain's maritime power and the shift of trade focus. Today, the only thing that attracts people here is its historic town, streets and ancient buildings of very different styles.

"General, this way, please!"

Leading the way with humility was a Spanish court official dressed in classical and splendid costumes. He was not tall but thin, his face was very fair, his beard was shaved from his pointed chin, and he spoke weakly.

This is the Alcasal Palace, which was originally a military fortress built by the Arabs, and was expanded from the then Kingdom of Castile to the King's Palace in the 14th and 16th centuries, and became the residence of successive Spanish kings when they visited the south after the unification of Spain. Now living here is the current King Alfonso XIII of Spain, a king in the prime of his life, who came here not to inspect the territory or escape the summer, but to escape the growing revolutionary tide!

Behind the Spanish court officials was a German army general in his fifties, of moderate build, dressed in a gray summer dress. Hans von Budenbrock, a name that is little known in Germany and the German Army, has recently been associated with the newly formed German "Black Corps" sent to Spain to replace the multinational joint forces. It was also the first time he paid a visit to the King of Spain since his new office.

Immediately behind Budenbrock were three officers who also wore the summer uniforms of the German Army - a lieutenant colonel and two majors. It was a bit surprising that the rank of lieutenant colonel was actually a black man, although black soldiers were not uncommon in the German army, but most of them were not high ranks, and school officers were even rarer! The black officer is about 1.8 meters tall and not particularly burly, but the arm muscles exposed under the short sleeves are very strong, and he also has a compelling momentum when he walks.

In contrast, the other two German majors were slightly taller than the black lieutenant colonel, but they were inferior in stature. But. Their youthful and handsome appearance, which did not match their ranks, attracted more attention from the opposite sex in the king's palace, and in the people's mind, those who could become mid-ranking officers at such an age must be nobles of distinguished families.

Today's Spanish royal family cannot be compared with the royal family and nobles of the German Empire in any way.

"Wow, look at the one on the right, it's fascinating! I think he's 20 years old at most! Maybe it's a baron! ”

On a small balcony not far away, several young women dressed in gorgeous clothes were commenting on the guests brought in by the palace officials. Of course, in their eyes, they would not have shown any interest in the German general in his fifties and the black officer.

"Don't you think the one on the left looks more handsome. A young earl, perhaps? The blonde woman with a string of large pearls around her neck said to her female companion with an obsessive expression.

Another blonde woman, wearing a string of beautiful agate jewelry around her neck, said in a different tone: "Baron, Count, look at their new and straight uniforms, full of heroism!" Alas, that's what Ramirez's guys who only know how to ride horses and have fun can compare! ”

"Alas, I don't know if they already have a fiancée!" The woman with waist-length hair at the beginning suddenly felt a little melancholy.

"Hmph, does it matter?" The one who wore the pearl ground struck a matador pose.

"Choke ......" everyone disdainful.

"Aina?" At this time, the woman wearing the agate jewelry noticed that her other companion had not spoken, but stared blankly into the distance.

"Aina. Missing the lover of your dreams again? Ay. Who the hell is he? It can't be some young German count! The waist-length man leaned in with a smile.

The woman who had just been in a daze had brown hair like a waterfall, and she was also dressed in a gorgeous lichen, but the color was not as bright as that of her companions. On the slender and white neck is a very simple ornament, which is a honey-yellow opal suspended by a red string.

Hearing the female companion's question, the woman with a hint of melancholy in her calm shook her head gently, who is he? Where is he? She also wanted to figure out such a question, but ......

"Hey, don't worry about this infatuated silly girl! Let's go to His Majesty's hall, those moral ** officials should be going to meet Your Majesty! We can hide behind the curtain...... "The woman with the pearl necklace said with a snickering smile.

"Okay, let's go!" The other two echoed, and one of them looked back at the melancholy beauty with the brown hair.

"Aina, aren't you really going?"

"No, I won't. Go ahead! ”

"Let's go, let's go!" The one with the pearl necklace eagerly greeted the two female companions.

After the footsteps faded away, the woman named Anna silently picked up the opal on her chest and rubbed it gently.

Andres Wilhelm, the crown prince of Germany and the owner of the 1st Panzergrenadier Battalion of the German Royal Family, never imagined that he would be targeted by a few "lustful" Spanish aristocratic ladies at this time.

Walking on his right hand at this time was his best friend Adolf Friedrich Ruprecht, the third son of King Ruprecht of Britain, who had been awarded the title of Duke of Bavaria by the Kaiser because he had been serving in the German Army, which was obviously many ranks higher than the "baron" guessed by the young ladies!

The two noble princes followed behind without saying a word, and the two had made a bet in private. Bet on whether Alfonso XIII and his ministers will recognize the two of them, after all, the two have been in the army for many years, and there have not been many opportunities to participate in international conferences and visits in recent years. The last time Andres accompanied his father to a visiting Spanish royal family was seven years ago, while Friedridge met Alfonso XIII when he was eleven years old. The two felt that if they were recognized, it would also be due to Jose, the old Spanish Prime Minister, because he had the qualifications and opportunities to have regular contact with the royal family and high-level government officials of various countries.

The castle-turned-king's palace was not particularly large, but it took a quarter of an hour for the group to walk from the gate to the council hall. The winding cloisters here are full of Muslim colors, and the unique wall blankets and roof carving techniques make it very different from other European palaces, and the green courtyards and water and fountains are dotted with water, so you can feel cool even on this hot summer day.

The council halls of the palace are just as imposing, but the intricate architecture is even more intriguing to the decline of Spanish royalty. Alfonso XIII, 46, sat on his throne like an old man with a dejected expression, accompanied by an aged prime minister and a gloomy court minister, and at the foot of the steps stood several army and navy generals in bright uniforms but with gray faces.

"General Hans von Budenbrock!" The first to speak was the court minister who did not have the slightest masculine aura.

"My king welcomes you and your army to Spain to assist in quelling the rebellion, and I ask you to convey your respect to His Majesty the German Emperor on behalf of my king!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty the King of Spain!"

Hans von Budenbrock looked like he was born into an aristocratic family, and his words and deeds were perfectly in line with the standards of European high society, and the only place here would be uncomfortable with the atmosphere and etiquette. It should be the black lieutenant colonel.

"My king sincerely wishes that the general can achieve the important task of countering the rebellion as soon as possible and return triumphantly, as for all military affairs related to the garrison and strategy, my king has full authority to entrust General Ramirez to be responsible!"

As soon as the court minister finished speaking, a handsome Spanish general in his early thirties standing next to him took the initiative to step forward, his thick eyebrows, big eyes, angular face, tall figure and broad shoulders added a lot to the khaki short-sleeved military uniform. He wore a colourful ribbon between his left shoulder and right waist, and six or seven glittering medals on his chest.

Like von Budenbrock, the general was quite aristocratic in his gestures.

"Our king has set up a feast for your guests, before the supper begins. Our General Ramirez will discuss defense and counterinsurgency matters with you in detail! "Say it. The court minister bent over and tilted his head in an expression asking for instructions from Alfonso XIII.

The king nodded expressionlessly, got up and left his throne and walked back.

In the process, the aging Spanish Prime Minister José did not say a word. It was only after the king's departure that he came over, bowed calmly to Andres and Friedrich behind Hans von Budenbrock, and then left in the direction of the gate.

"Everyone, please!"

Although the general Ramirez spoke Spanish, his tone was somewhat arrogant.

For this Spanish Royal Guard commander, hereditary count, Andres and others had heard of it before coming to Spain. He was of noble birth, illustrious and uninhibited, and he had a lot of experience in bed, but he did not command a few battles in a serious manner. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, the Royal Guard, numbering 16,000 men, was the best armed force in all of Spain, using not only standard German 1924-style army equipment, but also retired officers from the German Army to train soldiers.

is such an elite division, but it can't resist the ** armed forces of half soldiers and half civilians. Eventually, the capital city of Madrid was ceded, but their only commencement was that there were no mass defections and mutinies like ordinary army units.

With this, Ramírez not only did not receive a penalty from Alfonso XIII for losing Madrid, but was reused. Today, his Royal Guard has grown to 60,000 and is constantly being recruited. The capabilities of the Royal Guard on this scale are no longer limited to defending members of the royal family. In fact, they have gradually replaced the Army as the main armed force of the Spanish government.

Hans von Budenbrock had a calm face about Ramirez's aristocratic arrogance, and he disdained to deal with such a fool. Moreover, the Italian government has sent 200,000 troops to Spain, while Germany has less than 80,000 naval and air forces.

Andres and Friedridge, who followed behind, were still amazed by the special atmosphere and Prime Minister José's strange nervousness, but since their identities had not been revealed by Jose, and this Ramirez did not know himself, the two of them continued to play the role of accompanying staff officers behind General von Budenbrock and the black lieutenant colonel.

"In accordance with the agreement signed between our two countries on February 20 of this year, your ministry may remain stationed in Malaga or, after consultation with our Government, in other military or demilitarized areas, and our Government will provide you with the necessary consumables as far as possible, at a cost of 80 per cent of the market value! That's right. It is not known what the plans of General von Budenbrocht's troops are in Zhejiang? Ramirez said this slowly, then looked at von Budenbrock meaningfully.

"Familiarize yourself with the environment first, and then make further deployments according to the situation!" Von Budenbrock replied in the same vein.

"By the way, I also heard that General von Budenbrock's troops are predominantly African?"

With that, Ramirez glanced at the black officers behind him with a strange gaze, although there were blacks in Spain, most of them were engaged in very low-level jobs, and the Royal Spanish Army had never recruited black soldiers. Not to mention the Spanish Royal Guard, which has a glorious tradition.

"Yes, nearly ninety percent of the soldiers in my unit are Africans!"

At this point, von Budenbrock stopped and turned sideways to introduce: "This is my staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ayo Mkwa, a native of Bantu who has already obtained citizenship of our German Empire ten years ago!" ”

"Hello, General!"

The black lieutenant colonel, who spoke fluent German, extended his right hand as usual, after saluting the other man.

Ramirez returned a Spanish military salute, but he didn't look at the black hand. Instead, he stepped forward and walked in front of Andres.

"This major looks very young!"

"General. Refusing to shake hands with a German official is a very rude thing! ”

Andres looked coldly at the Spanish general in front of him, although the Germans also had a Great Germanic complex, few refused to shake hands with their black comrades. As for this Lieutenant Colonel Mkwa. Not long ago, they were received by the Kaiser, shook hands cordially, and ate at the same table, which attracted some people's complaints, but most people still felt that these brave foreign soldiers should be respected.

At this moment, Ramirez was stunned, he stared at the young German major in surprise, and his eyes seemed to say: Boy, fortunately you are not Spaniard, otherwise Lao Tzu could have thrown you into the water dungeon to feed the rats!

Andres' eyes were also unreasonable. Faced with this situation, the old and spicy General von Budenbrock rebuked in a low pretense beside him:

"Major, please pay attention to your identity! You're talking to a Spanish general! ”

"It's okay, haha!" Ramirez suddenly pretended to laugh generously, "In Spain, the aristocracy does not shake hands with blacks!" ”

"Ayo Mkwa is a moral officer!" Although Andres did not give an inch, his words and actions were not excessive, as if a knight was defending the dignity of his subordinates, which also made von Budenbrock sigh to himself.

"General. Your officer is really funny! ”

After saying this, Ramirez turned around, said "no company" to von Budenbrock, and left without looking back.

"Your Highness......" said von Budenbrock and Ayo Mkwa after the Spaniards left.

"To disrespect the officers of the German Empire is to disrespect the German Empire!"

Andres, who is usually mild-mannered, said coldly that if Alfonso XIII knew that the German crown prince would say such a thing, he would probably faint on the spot.

"You're doing the right thing!" Friedridge said approvingly that at this moment, Andres was more tall in his mind than ever.

"Let's go back!" In the absence of outsiders, Andres became the one who took the idea.

"General, report this situation to the Supreme Command as soon as you go back, if the Spaniards dare to get along with us because of this, hum!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" General von Budenbrock immediately regained his true character.

A few hours later, news of Ramirez eating turtles in front of the Germans quickly spread throughout the palace. Although they didn't know Andres's true identity, the aristocratic ladies who usually had no waves in their lives turned to this brave and handsome young officer at the first time.

"Wow, I can't believe it, Ramirez's face must stink right now!" The woman wearing the agate necklace said happily.

"That's not it, Ramirez usually knows how to bully others, hmph, this time it's a wall!" The one with the pearl necklace obviously didn't like Ramirez either, and even though he was the most handsome and powerful single aristocrat in the country, only the uninformed girls were deceived by his appearance.

"Hey, it seems that the Germans are still very united, and we don't know if our two countries will be at odds because of this!" The long-haired one was also excited, but she had one more heart than the others.

"That's to blame Ramirez, I heard that he also laughed at the black army from Germany at the banquet the day before yesterday, saying that they came to sweep the streets!" The woman wearing the agate looked disdainful.

"What are you talking about?"

The young lady with a seemingly inconspicuous but priceless opal around her neck happened to come over.

"Aina, you don't know yet! That Ramirez ...... today, "The long-haired one painted the picture again.

Listening to it, Leng Meiren also clapped her hands like everyone else, but in the end she said with some concern:

"With Ramirez's character, I'm afraid I'll find another chance to retaliate!"