Rise of Empires: Spain

Chapter 12: When the Wall Falls, Everyone Pushes It Down

Although the evolution of various political systems may seem complex, it ultimately stems from public dissatisfaction with those in power.

This actually means that there is no real difference between a monarchy and a parliamentary republic.

The most fundamental problem is whether the needs of the people can be met. This will lead to dissatisfaction among Europeans with those in power and the government, and is the real cause of the revolution.

If the Spanish government had paid attention to the people's situation and introduced policies to improve their lives as much as possible, perhaps this revolution would not have happened, and Spain's absolute monarchy could have continued.

This also means that Spain's problems were already very serious; the people were starving and unable to make a living, which led to the revolution.

Carlo's newspaper report delved into the core of the Spanish problem, namely the most fundamental demand of the Spanish people: to improve their quality of life.

Eating bread and drinking milk, though seemingly normal requests, were extremely difficult in 1868, more than 100 years ago.

Even simplifying it to just being fed and watered is not enough for the Spanish government.

What Carlo wanted to do was to place all the blame on Queen Isabella and the Bourbon dynasty, in an effort to whitewash the monarchy as much as possible.

Later, on November 30, 1868, in Madrid, Spain.

"General, there is a report from Italy that I would like you to review."

Primo, who had been busy all day, was about to finish his work when he was interrupted by a remark from one of his subordinates.

"A report? From Italy?" Primo asked, somewhat surprised. "What wind could blow an Italian report all the way to Spain?"

"It's a report about monarchy and republic, General." The subordinate handed over a newspaper, with a headline clearly printed in the center: "We need bread, not republic."

“Interesting.” Primo hadn’t intended to take the newspaper, but after seeing the headline, he took it and opened it to read.

This report was reprinted by a small newspaper in Madrid, which translated the Italian into Spanish so that Spaniards could understand it.

"How well is this report spreading elsewhere?" Primo asked a strange question after reading the entire report.

"Besides a small-scale spread in Madrid, it's also circulating in Barcelona, ​​Valencia, and Valladolid, and newspapers in all of them have reported on it."

Primo laughed, a hint of something deeper in his eyes, and said jokingly, "It seems someone deliberately placed this report on my desk."

"General, I..." The subordinate was about to explain when Primo interrupted him, smiling as he said, "Alright, of course I believe in your loyalty. What I mean is that someone is probably already eyeing Spain. The fact that an Italian report could circulate so widely in so many cities in such a short time proves that the enemy was definitely prepared. If it were just a coincidence that this revolution happened, that would be fine. But if our revolution was foreseen by the people behind it all along, that would be truly worrying."

Seeing his subordinate's worried expression, Primo patted him on the shoulder to comfort him: "Alright, I don't doubt you at all. Now I'm giving you a task: go to Italy to investigate the source of this report, and then find out everything about everyone at that newspaper."

Although he wondered who wanted to use this report for what purpose, it was still very useful to Primo at the moment.

The simplest example given is irrefutable, because at that time, powerful European countries were all monarchies.

This also allows Primo to extend the new government towards a constitutional monarchy, achieving his vision of reforming Spain by concentrating power in the national government.

Why did Primo oppose republicanism?

The republican system proposed by the farmers and workers would be a loose Spanish federation. This would not only trigger waves of independence movements in the already insatiable regions of Spain, but would also cause the Spanish government to lose control over the various regions.

The reformers wanted a stable government that could implement reforms, not a fragmented and chaotic one, which is why Primo ultimately chose a constitutional monarchy.

As one of the most powerful figures in the Spanish revolutionary ranks, Primo's opinions had a significant influence.

The Spanish interim government did not prevent the spread of this report; in fact, the big capitalists helped spread it to more Spanish cities.

Thanks to the heated discussion sparked by this report, Spaniards have also begun to discuss the merits and demerits of the monarchy and the responsibility of the overthrown Queen Isabella II.

Saving the country in a crisis is impossible, but capitalists are all too good at frantically shifting blame and shirking their responsibilities.

Since Queen Isabella has lost her throne, and the interim government has no intention of welcoming back either Queen Isabella or Prince Alfonso.

So why not take advantage of their misfortune now? Are we going to wait until everyone else shifts all the blame onto us and that damned queen before we stop?

Capitalists will show no mercy when it comes to their own interests.

From December onwards, the weather in Madrid gets colder, at least for Bourbon die-hards.

Isabella II's reputation can no longer be described as bad, because it was already quite bad before.

The public's anger was diverted to Queen Isabella by capitalists and some nobles with ulterior motives. At least those factory owners and nobles who had once ruthlessly exploited the Spanish people no longer had to worry about being shot in the back.

But this was not good news for Queen Isabella, who was far away in France, because she was still looking for an opportunity to restore her throne.

However, not all nobles were happy at this moment. The Carlos faction, who shared the same lineage as Queen Isabella, were not in a good mood.

Queen Isabella's bad reputation affected the Bourbon dynasty, and as a member of the Bourbon dynasty, Charles VII was no less troubled than Queen Isabella.

More importantly, after many generations, the Carlos school is no longer recognized by most people.

Especially after the Second Charles War, Charles VI came to power and became the leader of the Charles faction.

But a few years later, this self-proclaimed King of Spain was arrested by the government forces, and "Carlos VI" was forced to give up his right to the throne.

Juan, the younger brother of Charles VI, seized the opportunity and became the King of Spain, Juan III, as claimed by Charles's faction, without any preparation.

However, the Carlos faction did not support this "king" who found the crown, and after "Carlos VI" was forced to give up his right to the throne, he was quickly released, resulting in a situation where the Carlos faction had two kings.

The king, who was already unappreciated by most and only knew how to amuse himself, faced a situation where two kings coexisted, causing the support for the Carlos faction to decline further.

Although Juan VI, who had no descendants, died soon afterward, Juan III, the so-called claimant to the throne, still did not receive strong support from the Carlos faction. This meant that the Carlos faction was powerless to stop the Spanish Revolution and had no power to put Juan III on the throne.

Since launching his public relations campaign, Carlo has focused his attention on the situation in Spain.

Carlo finally breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the report had been widely reprinted and disseminated throughout Spain.

But soon, Carlo began to have new worries.

This action was completely different from history, and the fact that the report was so widely disseminated in Spain certainly wasn't solely due to Carlo's efforts.

If it has a good effect, that's fine. But if it affects the situation in Spain and pushes Spain toward a republic, then Carlos will regret it to the point of having a toothache.

However, Carlos doesn't have many good options right now. He can only hope that General Primo, who historically supported the monarchy, will perform as well as he did in history, winning a majority of seats in the Spanish parliamentary elections and becoming the Prime Minister of Spain, thus taking control of the entire Spanish government.