Rebirth of the Spanish Empire.

Chapter 56 Reaching Cooperation
  When Decaz returned to the French embassy, ​​he immediately sent a telegram to the country to convey the news.

Because of Alfonso's previous proposal, this was no longer a simple negotiation to purchase a warship.

Rather, it marks that Spain and France are dividing their own spheres of influence in North Africa.

McMahon, the president who came to power as a soldier. He was extremely vengeful towards Germany and was particularly concerned about the colonial expansion of North Africa.

Therefore, Alfonso's remarks should be regarded as a boost to McMahon, who is the President of France.

Even now, the Kingdom of Spain does not discuss this matter with France. So in the future, when France expands to North Africa, the Kingdom of Spain will also be a target to win over.

…………

“Write back to Decaz and say we agree to the terms.

However, we in France will not take action against North Africa in the short term.

Therefore, both of us must sign a confidential agreement to ensure the interests of our two countries. "

In response, McMahon immediately ordered the secretary on the side.

The condition now proposed by the Kingdom of Spain can be regarded as an additional condition for France's purchase of the former dreadnought.

And now McMahon is too lazy to fight with Parliament over this matter. So for this, he simply agreed to this condition.

Under McMahon's tough attitude, no one among the congressmen wanted to be the one who was beaten.

Messages passed quickly between Paris and Madrid. Not long after, Decaz, who was far away in Madrid, received a telegram from the Paris government.

With the telegram in his hand, Decaz changed direction again and headed to the Royal Palace of Madrid.

…………

The three pre-dreadnoughts that officially set off from the port of Barcelona finally arrived at the base of the British Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Fleet.

Rear Admiral Johnson of the Royal Navy, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet.

At this time, Johnson looked at the three pre-dreadnought ships that were temporarily assigned to his management, and felt inexplicably excited.

The Spanish naval soldiers on these three former dreadnoughts will be trained as soldiers of the British Royal Navy in the coming days.

This was a deal that had been reached privately between the top leaders of Britain and Spain.

In other words, in the following days, these three pre-dreadnought ships will be temporarily handed over to him to manage.

"The battleships of the Royal Spanish Navy are so big! These three new warships should be the Castile class."

The adjutant beside Johnson looked at the three behemoths in front of him and expressed great amazement.

The commanders of the three former dreadnoughts had also disembarked and, led by British naval soldiers, came to Johnson's command post.

"Your Majesty Commander, the three of us are reporting to you!"

Three young warship commanders, this time they have high hopes.

Their mission this time is also very clear, to bring the experience and advanced concepts of the British Navy to the Royal Spanish Navy.

"Hello."

…………

“Your Majesty, most of the schools in various parts of the country have almost been completed.

And most of the students have begun to study in school.

However, at this time, schools in various parts of the country are basically operating independently and there is no unified management standard.

So, I think we need to set up an agency to manage schools everywhere. "

The next morning, Canovas took a pile of documents and began to report to Alfonso.

Since Alfonso succeeded to the throne, school construction work has begun, and now schools have been built all over the country.

In order to recruit enough teachers, Alfonso reluctantly completed the job with the temptation of large sums of money.

After all, in the 19th century, most people would not travel far from home for work unless the job paid well.

"It does require setting up a stable governing body.

Canovas, do you have any thoughts on this? "

Alfonso looked at Canovas and said.

Since Canovas can bring it up, he must have a way to deal with it.

“Your Majesty, my idea is to set up a department specifically to manage this aspect, including the assignment of teachers and principals to each school.

We can even uniformly edit the textbooks for students across the country, so that every student in the Kingdom of Spain receives the same education. "

In this regard, Canovas said seriously.    The teaching materials they use vary from school to school in the Kingdom of Spain.

There are even situations where schools in a city use different textbooks for teaching.

These textbooks were all edited by local teachers on their own initiative, and contained a lot of private work.

“This situation is very serious, so we should establish a Ministry of Education that is specifically responsible for schools to stop this situation from happening.

Not only primary schools and secondary schools, but all universities in the Kingdom of Spain are also subject to the management of the Ministry of Education. "

Alfonso tried hard to recall the functions of the education department in his previous life, and then said:

“The Ministry of Education needs a specialized publishing house to edit textbooks for each grade.

There is also a need for a dedicated administrative department to manage all large, medium and small schools, as well as the appointment and management of teachers. "

Alfonso did not remember how the Ministry of Education was managed specifically in later generations.

However, these departments are crucial, and Alfonso can still remember them.

“Yes Your Majesty, since we have promised that education will be free.

Then textbooks and pens are indispensable, and a printing factory must be opened as soon as possible to ensure the unified use of textbooks next year. "

In fact, in the 19th century, the cost of textbooks was not high, and without requiring color, a set of six books could meet a child's learning needs for one year.

The cost of six books would not even exceed 1 game tower.

Calculated based on 6% of the total population, there are only one million children aged 10- suitable for schooling in the Kingdom of Spain.

In fact, no matter what kind of book is used, the cost of printing will never account for the majority. For example, copyright fees and design fees are the real bulk of consumption.

Nowadays, once the government releases news and announces the preparation of the first set of textbooks, there will definitely be many people rushing to do this kind of thing that is destined to go down in history.

On the contrary, the salary expenses of ordinary faculty and staff have become the bulk of financial expenditures.

“Your Majesty, didn’t the ordinary pre-dreadnoughts we sold to the French earn us 240 million pesetas in return?

This money is more than enough for this year’s education expenditure. "

In this regard, Canovas came up with the idea of ​​​​naval military spending.

"Okay, as long as you can convince Castro, I don't have any objection anyway."

Alfonso said disapprovingly.

The Royal Navy's budget has not been used up, so using it for education is also a way.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty."

Canovas raised his hand to express his understanding.

“In addition to publishing houses, departments that manage teachers and schools also need to be established as soon as possible.

The appointment and promotion of teachers also need to be integrated into the administrative system as soon as possible.

The publishing house is called the National Education Press, and the organization responsible for management is called the National Education Administration.

The personnel arrangements need to be completed as soon as possible. "

In this regard, Alfonso could only come up with one concept.

The specific implementation still needs Canovas to arrange people to complete it. But the management of the education sector must be strict.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

“There is also this education minister who is responsible for management, and he is selected from among government officials.

I will personally deal with this. I don’t want to see people who rise to power through nepotism. "

Everyone has selfish motives, yes.

However, the Ministry of Education, a vital department, has a huge impact on the country. In this regard, Alfonso will personally strictly control the situation to prevent anyone from rising to power through nepotism.

"Yes, Your Majesty!
  I will select a group of talented officials from among government officials, and then His Majesty will personally conduct interviews and select them. "

Canovas lowered his head slightly and looked at Alfonso with a serious face. He knew that His Majesty must attach great importance to this department.

"Canovas, implement it as soon as possible. I'm here waiting for your results."

In response, Alfonso waved his hand and began to see off the guests.

…………

(End of this chapter)