Royal Palace of Madrid.
Count of Floridablanca, Spain's Chief Minister, shook his head repeatedly.
"No, no, this would cause trade in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and other places to collapse, and..."
Talleyrand immediately raised his voice. "Have you calculated how much it would cost to send troops there? It would very likely exceed the trade revenues you mentioned." And if the Americans were not frightened into retreating, the Expeditionary Force would be drawn into a prolonged standoff with them, and military funds would vanish as quickly as paper tossed into a fire.
"Following the Crown Prince's strategy, if all goes smoothly, the Port of New Orleans may resume navigation in two months—four months at the very most."
Seeing that the Count of Floridablanca was still hesitating, he turned to the other senior ministers from Spain and said solemnly:
"The Portuguese battlefield is where our greatest interests lie.
"It is like two bulls locking horns now. Whoever takes a step back first will immediately fall into a disadvantageous position!
"We have committed enormous forces at Coimbra. We absolutely must not let distant North America affect that.
"Why are the British urging the Americans to threaten New Orleans at this very moment? Because they are nearly unable to hold on.
"We should press our advantage and crush them in one fell swoop!
"Think of the moment when His Majesty the King's glory shines over Gibraltar once more. You will realize that Louisiana's little trade is not worth mentioning at all."
Count of Aranda, the Minister of War, was the first to look toward Count of Floridablanca. "I believe the Crown Prince's proposal is worth trying." Campos nodded as well. "The Coimbra battlefield is indeed more important.
"As for the cities of Louisiana, we can provide subsidies to help them weather the crisis."
According