Rise of Empires: Spain

Chapter Four: The Italian newspaper, Il Sole

Carlo's first task for Lauren was to own a legitimate newspaper.

Whether he buys an existing newspaper or starts one from scratch, Carlo only needs one outcome.

Loren took this mission very seriously in order to demonstrate his abilities to Carlo.

In just two days, they investigated existing newspaper organizations in Italy and identified those with potential for acquisition.

Il Sole 24 Ore (The Twenty-Four O'Clock Sun), this was the list of newspapers that Laurent finally provided.

This is a newspaper founded last year, and currently it only has a certain degree of recognition in Milan's business community.

But this newspaper persisted into later generations and even became one of the top ten newspapers in Italy.

Such achievements demonstrate that the newspaper's potential is undeniable.

This also shows that Laurent, who selected this newspaper, has a very unique and excellent eye.

After identifying the acquisition target, Carlo's next task for Lauren was to properly acquire the newspaper, The Sun.

This also demonstrates the advantage of having subordinates to do things for you; at least Carlo doesn't have to do things personally despite his status as a prince.

The acquisition process went relatively smoothly.

At this point, The Sun was still just a small newspaper, and its founders could not resist the temptation of Carlo's offer to acquire it at a higher price.

From proposing to acquire the newspaper to obtaining all of The Sun's shares, Carlo took less than four days.

Unfortunately, because The Sun is still a small newspaper, it can only sell about 1,500 copies a day, which is not enough to support the newspaper itself.

However, Carlo's goal wasn't to make the newspaper profitable immediately. The newspaper's role wasn't just to earn a little money; Carlo's goal was to flood the streets of Italy with cheaper and more popular newspapers, thereby increasing his control over Italian public opinion.

Whether he stays in Italy or seeks the opportunity to become King of Spain in the future, his experience in the newspaper industry will allow Carlo to more smoothly build his media empire.

Once he controls public opinion, doing whatever he wants becomes much easier. At least with public support, Carlo will hold the upper hand.

However, compared to other small and medium-sized private newspapers, Carlo's The Sun still has a significant advantage.

At least by virtue of his status as an Italian prince, Carlo can publish some content that is not easy to pass censorship, such as current affairs news that the public is more concerned about.

This wasn't the era of later times when newspapers had no sales. With good news and content, it was quite simple for a newspaper to expand its circulation and make a profit.

As Carlo's only subordinate, Loren naturally took charge of the Italian newspaper, The Sun, and was fully responsible for its expansion.

Carlo devised several plans for Lauren.

First, the daily sales of The Sun should increase from 1,500 copies to at least 7,500 copies within the next two years.

Considering that The Sun is based in Milan, a bustling city in northern Italy, and can also reach nearby Turin and Genoa, such sales targets are not actually high.

The second requirement is that The Sun must become one of the most well-known newspapers in northern Italy and have a certain level of credibility among the public.

If the content published in a newspaper cannot convince the public, then there is no need for the newspaper to exist.

After all, the primary goal of manipulating public opinion is to make the public believe in it, which is also one of Carlo's expectations of Lauren.

Another goal is to make The Sun profitable within two years and gain control of as many newspapers as possible.

Although Carlo's original intention was not to make money through the newspaper, since the newspaper industry is inherently self-sufficient, Carlo would certainly want to use the funds for more important purposes.

As for establishing or acquiring more newspapers, it was naturally to strengthen Carlo's power over public opinion.

In Carlo's plan, The Sun will focus on reporting current affairs and international events, while smaller newspapers will fill the gaps in entertainment news and gossip.

After all, if a reputable newspaper were to report on gossip and tabloid news, it would definitely damage the newspaper's credibility.

While Lauren diligently carried out Carlo's mission, Carlo was already deep in thought, studying the existing map of the Kingdom of Italy.

Although the fragmented Apennine Peninsula has been largely unified into the Kingdom of Italy, there are still two places that have not returned to Italy.

The northern Venetian region remained under Austro-Hungarian control, and Rome, the most important city in Italy, remained part of the Papal States.

Although the Papal States may seem like the easy target, it unfortunately has France standing behind it.

At this time, France was no longer the surrendered nation ridiculed during World War II, but the French Empire bathed in the afterglow of Napoleon's reign.

Because Germany was not yet unified, France at this time could be considered the hegemon of Western Europe and the strongest land power in Europe.

With the support of France, the Papal States were able to continue to control Rome, which meant that the capital of Italy could only be Florence.

However, Carlo was not in a hurry.

Historically, the unification of Italy by the Kingdom of Sardinia can be described as an easy victory, without experiencing any difficult battles.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the largest state in southern Italy, was corrupt and easily destroyed by Garibaldi's army of a thousand.

The size of the Italian states was completely disproportionate to that of the Sardinian Kingdom, and they had no right to resist the trend of unification.

The two truly difficult challenges were overcome entirely by relying on Prussia's support. During the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia diverted the Austrian Empire's attention, allowing the recapture of the Venetian region.

The Franco-Prussian War saw the French successfully take control of Rome thanks to their defenses against the Prussian army.

Two bones that looked extremely difficult to chew were easily crushed. Although it was the Prussian army that crushed these two bones, the Kingdom of Italy was the one who actually benefited.

Carlo had some understanding of this period of Prussia's rise.

As luck would have it, this year is 1866, the year the Austro-Prussian War broke out.

Historically, the Austro-Prussian War should have broken out in six months, with Prussia accelerating the unification of Germany and Italy recovering the northern Venetian region.

Faced with such a crucial historical juncture, Carlo naturally couldn't let the opportunity slip away. Although he couldn't directly intervene in the Austro-Prussian War, as a participant in the war, the Kingdom of Italy could still influence the course of history in a small way.