It seed Vittorio Emanuele II had long anticipated that Carlo would say this. He sighed but still nodded helplessly and said, “Alright, child, I can only wish you all the best. May God bless you, my child.”
“Father, I’m going to Spain. Aren’t you going to give any funds?” Carlo suddenly spoke up, looking like he was demanding paynt.
“Haha, of course there are, child.” Carlo’s interruption successfully eased so of Vittorio Emanuele II’s emotional sadness. The old king also smiled and said, “But I must remind you that the king’s funds cannot be mixed with the governnt’s finance. No matter how short of money the governnt is, you can only provide funds to the governnt through loans. Understand?”
This was actually a lesson learned in blood. Under monarchy it would be fine; a king who holds great power can freely withdraw funds from the treasury, and the only one to suffer would be the governnt.
But Spain is a constitutional monarchy. If the king’s private treasury is not distinguished from the governnt’s treasury, the king will be the one to suffer.
Moreover, it is easy to be exploited, and one could easily be saddled with the accusation of misappropriating governnt funds, incurring the hatred of the Spaniards.
This was also why Vittorio Emanuele II reminded Carlo: the king’s private treasury and the governnt’s treasury must be clearly distinguished. Even for loans, the specific interest and repaynt period need to be written out.
Carlo nodded. He still understood these things. Many of Carlo’s plans required substantial funds to pave the way, and his own private treasury could not be mixed with the governnt’s treasury.
After a slight silence, Vittorio Emanuele II looked at his youngest son and said, “Italy’s finance is not affluent, but the House of Savoy still has so capital.
I give you 30 million lira, plus so servants to take care of your daily life. Child, if you feel that being King of Spain is not the life you want, Italy will always welco you back.”
Carlo was sowhat surprised by the level of support from Vittorio Emanuele II.
30 million lira was equivalent to 2 million pound sterling. Though the number seed small, in the era of dreadnoughts it was already enough to build a dreadnought of capital ship level.
Even for the United Kingdom, currently the most powerful in comprehensive national strength, a skilled worker’s weekly wage was only 9 shillings and 6 pence—this was for adult male workers; for won or children, it would be even lower.（1 pound sterling＝20 shillings, 1 shilling＝12 pence）
2 million pound sterling was equivalent to the inco from more than 50,000 British workers laboring hard for a year, which was enough to prove the enormity of this sum of funds.
Even for the Italian Royal Family, the annual inco after all expenditures was only 300,000 to 400,000 pound sterling, and at most would not exceed 500,000 pound sterling.
This also ant that Vittorio Emanuele II had essentially handed over three years of the royal family’s inco to Carlo, giving him ample funds in Spain to carry out his plans.
Although he had not experienced father-son family affection with Vittorio Emanuele II since childhood, Carlo was still moved by his father Vittorio Emanuele II’s sincere intentions.
This also strengthened Carlo’s resolve: he absolutely could not let the Italian Royal Family vanish into thin air along with Mussolini. Whether Vittorio Emanuele II or Crown Prince Umberto, as long as the House of Savoy controlled Italy for one day, Carlo’s Spain would never take the initiative to be enemies with Italy.
A few days later, Carlo t Primó again.
Although only less than ten days had passed between the two etings, the conversation between the two had beco more intimate and friendly.
Primó looked at the king candidate he had personally selected and expressed his respect and support: “Esteed Your Highness Carlo, on behalf of the Pri Minister of Spain, I invite you to inherit the Spanish throne and beco the king of all Spaniards.”
“This is my honor, Marquis Primó.” Carlo nodded with a smile; he felt no embarrassnt at all about this throne won through legitimate competition.
“I look forward to cooperating with you, Marquis Primó.” Carlo continued, “As I said before, I will unconditionally support your reform and will not be trouble in your reform.”
Hearing Carlo straightforwardly express support for the reform, the weight on Primó’s heart finally lifted, and he beca very relaxed and pleased.
“It is also my honor to serve you, Your Highness.” Primó gave Carlo a standard Spanish noble salute, then said very seriously.
For the monarch he recognized, Primó did not mind serving him. Although Primó’s loyalty was to all of Spain, as long as Carlo sat on the Spanish throne for one day and did not show himself to be an incompetent ruler, Primó would be loyal to Carlo.
“Now that the throne is settled, I will return to Spain in the next few days. Your Highness, I hope you can arrive in Madrid within a month; we will prepare a grand coronation ceremony for you.” A smile also appeared on Primó’s face as he said to Carlo.
“No need, Marquis Primó.” Carlo shook his head, rejecting Primó’s proposal.
Looking at the sowhat surprised Primó, Carlo smiled and explained, “Give a few days to prepare, and I will go to Spain with you.”
Although the Spanish throne, like the Franco-Prussian War, had co more than a year early, Carlo was still worried that any accident might occur.
If Primó were assassinated after returning to Spain, Carlo heading to Madrid would still face a situation like Amadeo’s, with no one usable.
Although the subordinates Carlo had selected for himself, including Garibaldi’s second son Giuseppe, already possessed good ability, these people could not start in high positions.
The only two people Carlo could rely on in Spain were Primó and Serrano, who held power in both the Spanish Governnt and the army.
The most important among them was Primó. Not only was Primó a key figure among the reformists, his ability also surpassed Serrano’s.
In Carlo’s plan, Primó would continue to serve as Pri Minister of the Kingdom of Spain until his body could no longer bear the burden or Spain’s reform was completed.
Compared to Primó, Serrano was actually more suited to be the army’s anchor. As a forr officer, Serrano had sufficient prestige in the army, making him the best choice to lead the Spanish army.
In the first few years of Carlo’s governance, power would still be controlled by Primó and Serrano; this period was also the ti for Carlo’s several pri ministers to gain experience and cultivate prestige.
Only after confirming that one of them could take over Primó and Serrano’s positions would Carlo consider letting these two anchors retire.
Second update, seeking support!
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