Rise of Empires: Spain

During the few days in Vienna, the news of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie's engagement spread throughout Europe.

The marriage between the King of Spain and the Princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is definitely a strong alliance, and it may even change the situation in the Mediterranean.

Because of this, there are more than one or two countries that pay attention to this marriage, and even King Louis I of Portugal personally sent a congratulatory telegram.

Speaking of Louis I, he is also Carlo's brother-in-law. Carlo's sister Maria Pia is his queen. The two have two children in total. They were quite loving before their married life.

But after Maria Pia discovered King Louis' countless lovers, their relationship became worse and worse.

Who can be blamed for this? The only thing to blame is that Louis I's brother Pedro V died at the age of 24 without leaving any offspring. Louis, who had no hope of inheriting the throne, got the Portuguese throne that fell from the sky.

Originally, he was not trained as the heir to the throne, so naturally no one cared about Louis's romantic life. By the time he became king, he was already an adult, so naturally no one would care about him.

Speaking of Louis I, this king was still relatively popular in Portugal. He implemented the policies formulated by his brother, such as abolishing slavery and abolishing the death penalty in civil crimes.

But when it comes to political talent, Louis I's political talent can only be said to be poor. In Portugal, a constitutional monarchy, his power was too restricted, and the situation in Portugal has not improved much in the past ten years since he took office.

As for why King Louis took the initiative to congratulate Carlo and Spain, it was certainly not because of his relationship with Carlo.

In fact, the royal families of European countries have more or less some relatives, and this kind of relationship is nothing in the face of national interests.

What really made Louis I take the initiative to congratulate was actually the huge power gap between Spain and Portugal.

It would be fine if there was a power gap, but Portugal's only neighbor was Spain.

As the only two countries on the Iberian Peninsula, conflicts between Portugal and Spain often occurred.

Portugal is often the one being bullied, which is why Louis I, as the king of Portugal, was so proactive.

Previously, with the support of the British, the Portuguese did not have to worry about Spain's actions. But now that Spain is on good terms with Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it may not be afraid of Portugal, which is supported by the British.

Carlo certainly understands what Louis I means, and Spain does not plan to provoke the British again in the short term.

The British will not agree to Spain's exclusive occupation of the Iberian Peninsula unless Spain has the strength to compete with the British.

After returning to Madrid, Carlo asked Butler Loren to start preparing for the wedding one year later.

In addition to the preparations made by the royal family, the Spanish government also attaches great importance to the wedding one year later, and expressed its willingness to invest 2 million pesetas to prepare a century wedding for Carlo.

Carlo also knows the government's plan. It seems that 2 million pesetas have been invested, but the government can earn more from cooperation with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If the Austro-Hungarian Empire casually supports Spain with some industrial technology, Spain will gain far more than 2 million pesetas.

With the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain does not have to worry about some diplomatic aspects, and does not have to worry about the influence of other powers. This is the most important thing.

When the Spanish people learned that the future queen of Spain was Archduchess Sophie of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the people's attitude was supportive and optimistic.

Relying on policies such as agricultural tax reduction and abolition of tithes, Carlo has already had a certain good impression in the hearts of the Spanish people.

Archduchess Sophie is the eldest daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the eyes of the Spanish, the two are a very suitable pair.

Even some small folk newspapers have published various love stories of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie in order to attract attention.

What love at first sight, mutual affection, etc. attracted many Spaniards to buy newspapers, which is enough to show that the Spaniards. The current support for Carlo is generally quite popular.

Although these small newspapers are suspected of using Carlo to make a gimmick, after all, they have not had much impact on the prestige of the royal family, so Carlo does not intend to manage them.

Of course, if there are those who maliciously fabricate false news in an attempt to affect the reputation of the royal family and undermine the impression of the royal family in the hearts of the people, they must be resolutely eliminated and punished.

Spain's overall control over newspapers is still strict. Although it is much more relaxed than during the reign of Queen Isabel, Prime Minister Primo still established a relevant news review department at the suggestion of Carlo, which is specifically used to review newspapers printed by major newspapers.

As long as the content published by the newspaper is reviewed by the government, it is actually no big deal to use Carlo to make a little gimmick.

Anyway, no matter whether it is a major newspaper or a tabloid, they dare not discredit the royal family. Such reports can also increase the public's favorability towards Carlo to a certain extent.

Of course, it can also avoid the result of word of mouth leading to more and more exaggerated stories. Carlo knows how exaggerated the spread of rumors is. If these newspapers did not give a story that was not harmful to the royal family, who knows what version of the love story between Carlo and Archduchess Sophie would be spread after word of mouth among the people?

As time came to the end of April 1871, Carlo also ushered in a very important day, which was the first graduation ceremony after the expansion of the Royal Military Academy of Madrid.

Nearly two years have passed since the reform of the Royal Military Academy, and the students who were at the Royal Military Academy before the reform finally ushered in their graduation day.

As military students who faced the reform of military academies while still in school, they were both lucky and unfortunate.

Fortunately, after the reform of the Royal Military Academy, Carlo and the government will pay more attention to it. As the first batch of graduates trained by the reformed Royal Military Academy, they are destined to be reused in the military in the future.

But unfortunately, due to the reforms to the Royal Military Academy, all their previous study time at the military academy was wiped out.

No matter which class of military academy students they are, they have actually become new students after the reform. They graduated from the military academy for nearly two years and became low-level officers with the rank of lieutenant.

The first batch of graduates from the Royal Military Academy of Madrid reached more than 400 people, which is good news for Carlo.

The shortage of Spanish military officers can finally be alleviated, and there is even hope that among these more than 400 people, a few senior officers who can grow into generals will be born.

As the honorary dean of the Royal Military Academy, Carlo certainly cannot miss the graduation ceremony of the first class of students at the military academy.

In theory, these graduates are also his disciples. Of course, Carlo will not miss the opportunity to win over them and let them understand who they should be loyal to.

And these graduates are basically Spanish, and there will be no obstacles to their promotion in the army. Only when these Spaniards become the middle and high-level people in the army can Carlo's influence truly penetrate into the army.

After Carlo's influence truly penetrates into the army and controls at least half of the army, Carlo's power will gradually expand, and will eventually replace the power of Prime Minister Primo, completing the replacement of Spanish government leadership.

April 28, 1871, outside Madrid, inside the Royal Military Academy.

Bathed in the warm sunshine, Carlo successfully arrived at the Royal Military Academy and walked towards the conference venue inside the academy.

More than 400 graduating military students gathered here, and their graduation ceremony was also held today.

It seems that they have already learned the news that His Majesty the King is coming. Most of the military school graduates are looking forward to it and can't help but stand up and stare at the door of the venue.

Suddenly, several Royal Guards soldiers opened the door to the venue and stood guard at the door.

All the teachers and students in the venue immediately knew that the king was coming, and everyone stood up and welcomed their king with applause and cheers.

Hearing the cheers of this group of graduates, Carlo's mood became even better. These more than 400 people are not just simple military school graduates, they are also Carlo's help in controlling the army in the future.

Under the fiery gazes of many military academy graduates, Carlo walked up to the podium in the center of the venue with a smile on his face and started his passionate speech: "

Dear graduates of the Royal Military Academy and outstanding teachers of the academy, good afternoon! It is a pleasure to meet you. The royal family will never forget your efforts in the past few years.

Everyone here is the elite of Spain, and they are also the hope of Spain's future. I hope you can continue to work hard after graduation to become an excellent Spanish soldier and a hero trusted by all Spanish people.

Spain was glorious and great in the past, but now Spain has long fallen from the altar. We lost the Latin American colonies, we lost Gibraltar, what else can we lose?

Classmates, I hope that after you enter the army, you will remember your mission and the mission of every Spaniard, which is to make Spain great again!

Spain is big, but we have nothing more to lose. We must do everything we can to protect our country and every Spaniard.

It is the duty of all Spaniards to rebuild the glory of Spain! When all of us are fighting for the greatness of Spain, Spain's strength is unstoppable by anyone.

Let us shout together at the top of our lungs: ‘Make Spain great again! Long live Spain! ’”

"Make Spain great again!"

"Long live Spain!"

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