The split of the Ministry of Industry is rely a minor interlude for both Pri Minister Prim and Carlo, and will not disrupt their currently cooperative relationship.
The previous Minister of Industry, Ruiz, smoothly beca the first Minister of Transportation following the establishnt of the transportation departnt, thus retaining his position as Cabinet Minister.
With the appointnt of the Minister of Transportation, the new mbers of Spain’s Cabinet Governnt were freshly unveiled.
According to Spain’s constitutional regulations, after the Pri Minister nominates candidates for various departnts, the final list must be submitted to the King of Spain.
Only when the King of Spain personally signs the appointnt of cabinet mbers can those nominated by the Pri Minister be considered as becoming part of the Cabinet.
Of course, Carlo, as King of Spain, also has the authority to reject the nominations for cabinet mbers and require the Pri Minister to re-select candidates.
However, this power is generally not exercised because the candidates nominated by the Pri Minister are usually his trusted confidants, and directly rejecting them would be akin to falling out with the Pri Minister.
Once the cabinet mbers were confird, Pri Minister Prim promptly unveiled the expectations for the second five-year plan to the Cabinet Governnt and required each departnt to adjust the objectives within the plan, according to their specific situations.
It is necessary to conduct practical discussions with each departnt, as the detailed content of the five-year plan still needs to be executed by each departnt.
Without this step, the goals of the five-year plan might turn into re empty talk, either becoming unrealistic and leading to deceit within the departnts, or being too easily attainable for Spain, causing the plan to lose its initial purpose.
The second five-year plan in Pri Minister Prim’s agenda is even more important than the first, serving a critical role in bridging past and future objectives.
The expressions on the faces of the departnt ministers upon receiving Pri Minister Prim’s second five-year developnt plan revealed just how ambitious this plan is.
"Pri Minister, is it sowhat unreasonable to increase the railway scale to 11,000 kiloters by 1879?" Although reluctant to oppose Pri Minister Prim, Ruiz felt he had to stand up to voice his differing opinion to ensure the Transportation Departnt’s tasks could be completed smoothly over the next five years.
Currently, Spain’s total railway mileage is only slightly over 7,500 kiloters, achieved last year through a substantial effort by the forr Ministry of Industry.
There remains a gap of 3,500 kiloters to the target of 11,000 kiloters, requiring the construction of over 3,500 kiloters of railway within five years, averaging over 700 kiloters per year.
Though 700 kiloters might seem modest, the problem is Spain only constructed 2,100 kiloters of railway in the last five-year plan, averaging just over 400 kiloters per year.
This was accomplished under the Ministry of Industry’s fervent railway construction in 1873. If we consider the levels of the first four years of the plan, the average yearly railway construction was only over 300 kiloters.
Pri Minister Prim’s proposed second five-year plan requires an average annual railway construction of over 700 kiloters, nearly double the pace of the first plan.
And the Transportation Departnt, having just separated from the Ministry of Industry, whether it can rapidly achieve the previous railway construction speed remains unknown.
Prim had anticipated dissenting opinions, and calmly nodded, directing his gaze to Ruiz: "Does the Transportation Departnt have any other comnts?"
"Pri Minister, I believe the Transportation Departnt’s objective should be to increase our total railway mileage to 10,000 kiloters within the five-year developnt plan.
Our current railway construction speed cannot et the requirent of 11,000 kiloters unless the governnt is willing to significantly increase funding and accelerate railway construction," said Transportation Minister Ruiz, gritting his teeth.
"Considering the challenges faced by each departnt in completing their tasks, this year’s fiscal budget will be increased. As for problems beyond funding, you’ll need to find solutions yourselves," Pri Minister Prim’s face turned more stern, showing no leniency even towards his party—
"If you feel the task is unattainable, you might want to bring it up early. This would give more ti to report to His Majesty the King and replace cabinet ministers sooner."
"Understood, Pri Minister. The Transportation Departnt will do everything possible to complete your task," Ruiz promptly realized Prim was warning them through this act, nodding in earnest, and dared not raise any objections further.
With Ruiz’s standpoint, other Cabinet Ministers refrained from dissenting, each nodding to express their understanding.
Pri Minister Prim nodded in satisfaction, officially affirming the new five-year developnt plan.
Although this plan set more ambitious goals than the previous one, it was not an unattainable dream for each departnt.
If the governnt increases investnts and departnt officials put in slightly more effort, the goals are achievable.
Take the Transportation Departnt’s target of 3,500 kiloters of railway as an example. Though Spain constructed over 2,100 kiloters of railway in the previous five-year plan, only 1,500 kiloters were built in the first four years, with more than 600 kiloters constructed in the final year.
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