At the very mont the army from Toledo arrived in Madrid, Duke Serrano, who had stayed secluded in the barracks, finally made a public appearance, bringing new orders from King Carlo, declaring martial law nationwide.
Due to Pri Minister Prim being gravely injured and unconscious, and the mistaken decisions by Deputy Pri Minister Ruiz leading to a massive clash between police and the marching workers, Carlo, as the King of Spain, announced under the constitution the dissolution of the Spanish Parliant, the abolition of the Spanish Cabinet Governnt, and the establishnt of an interim military governnt of Spain. Marshal Serrano was appointed as the supre commander of the interim military governnt, and Minister of Industry Canovas was appointed as the Governor of Madrid for the interim military governnt.
At the mont the orders were issued, the Spanish Army entered the city in grand force, brutally suppressing the rebels besieging the parliant building and the governnt offices.
Reaching this stage, it was certain that the marching workers would suffer unnecessary casualties. But there was no choice, as so unfortunate sacrifices were inevitable to fully root out the rebellious nobles.
However, Carlo would not hold these marching workers accountable, as they were, after all, coerced by the rebellious nobles. Although their demonstrations caused trendous losses to the Spanish Governnt, they also facilitated Carlo’s consolidation of power.
With Pri Minister Prim gravely injured and unconscious, and the reputation of Ruiz, the second person in the Progressive Party, severely damaged, Carlo’s power had now grown imnsely.
In fact, as long as he could control the army, Carlo could at any mont establish an autocratic monarchy, turning the entire Kingdom of Spain into a domain dictated by his word alone.
But being too autocratic is not a good thing. Even if Carlo could steer Spain in the right direction with historical experiences and lessons, he could only ensure no issues arise during his reign.
However, if any heirs to the throne made the wrong choices, the absolute monarchy could very well push the Savoy Family’s rule in Spain into the abyss.
Among the monarchies of European countries, Carlo was more inclined to emulate the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom.
Although the British King typically wields little power, by steadily building reputation and maintaining a long reign, a King could still gain substantial power in the mid to later stages.
This system ensures a competent King gains the power they deserve, while an incompetent one can still serve as a symbolic figurehead, at least ensuring the throne remains intact under their tenure.
Of course, this system needs to be pushed gradually. In the early stages of Carlo’s reign, he wouldn’t relinquish all his power to the governnt and parliant.
At the mont of announcing the final roundup, Carlo had already departed from the South Morocco Colony, leading his entourage back to Madrid in great form.
This inspection of the South Morocco Colony was originally intended to lure out enemies; since the initial objective was completed, the visit to the South Morocco Colony had naturally co to an end.
The entire "fishing" process went fairly smoothly, though there were so unexpected incidents along the way. Pri Minister Prim’s severe injury and unconsciousness was sothing Carlo hadn’t anticipated. Before this, Carlo had repeatedly advised Pri Minister Prim to strengthen his security asures, but still, the enemies found an opening.
The good news was that although Pri Minister Prim was gravely injured and unconscious, at least his life was not in danger. However, the tiline of when he would wake and the extent of his physical damage remained uncertain.
Perhaps Pri Minister Prim’s retirent would be brought forward due to this assassination attempt, which might be a favorable outco for Carlo, as no one could impede his consolidation of power. The only threat, Ruiz, also ca into the open during this operation, digging his own grave.
Under the suppression by the military, the noble rebellion was swiftly quelled, and the governnt regained control of the governnt and parliant buildings.
The workers’ demonstrations that threatened Madrid for several days were also resolved with the personal assurance of Duke Serrano.
After all, the workers’ initial goal was rely to safeguard their interests; they hadn’t aid to oppose the governnt, rely echoing anti-capitalist sentints.
Although Duke Serrano’s popularity among the Spanish populace was not as high as Pri Minister Prim’s, he represented King Carlo of Spain.
With promises from the King and the personal appearance of Duke Serrano, combined with the elimination of the rebellious nobles, the worker demonstrations were easily resolved.
By the ti Carlo returned to Spain, it was already the evening of the next day.
As soon as he arrived back at the Madrid Royal Palace, Duke Serrano and Canovas brought lists of the nobles involved in the rebellion and so officials who had secretly pledged allegiance to the Bourbon family.
It was indeed quite shocking that the nobles and high-ranking officials associated with the Bourbon family numbered in the hundreds, including 14 dukes, 4 marquises, 32 earls, and over 50 barons.
The number of rebellious nobles alone was nearly a hundred, with the lands owned by the combined 14 dukes and 4 marquises being several tis the land held by the Spanish Royal Family.
"What an eye-opener!" Carlo looked at the list of rebellious nobles in his hand, the coldness in his eyes even made Duke Serrano a bit apprehensive.
Compared to these aristocrats, officials related to the rebellion are rather unimportant. Besides a small number of parliantarians, the remaining officials are not very high-ranking and do not qualify to stand alongside the nobility.
"Bring Kadir over here." Carlo’s voice was extrely cold, devoid of any emotion as he spoke.
The Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, Kadir, walked over with his head held high, eyes full of loyalty and fanaticism, respectfully saluting Carlo and then quietly listening to his orders.
This was Carlo’s first ti revealing his trump card in front of others; the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau had never been publicly disclosed before, and even Pri Minister Prim only knew that Carlo had such an organization.
"Investigate these people thoroughly; leave no stone unturned." Carlo sneered, already having sentenced these people to death: "Investigate their families, investigate their friends.
Anyone connected to the Bourbon remnants must be captured and thrown into the prison of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau. Also, I hope this kind of incident does not happen again. As for the culprit in France, I trust you know what to do."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Kadir nodded, fully aware of Carlo’s intentions.
Since the Bourbon family planned the assassination of Pri Minister Prim, retaliatory assassinations from Spain are only justified.
Even though the Bourbon family was once royal in Spain, that does not an they have the right to ddle in the affairs of Carlo’s rule over Spain.
If they have the courage to ddle in Spanish internal affairs and the audacity to plot a rebellion against the Spanish governnt, they should also have the courage to bear all consequences.
Carlo is far from being indecisive. Since the Bourbon family has beco his enemy, the best solution is to eliminate the Bourbon family.
Upon hearing the naked implication in Carlo’s words, Duke Serrano swallowed saliva, not daring to offer any refutation.
Canovas, on the other hand, dared not show any expression, silently listening to Carlo’s further instructions.
After seeing Kadir off, Carlo then turned his gaze to Duke Serrano and Canovas, who were quietly waiting nearby, continued with a smile:
"Though the situation in Madrid has stabilized, Pri Minister Prim remains critically injured. May God bless Pri Minister Prim for a speedy recovery, but currently, the most crucial issue for us is to get the Spanish governnt back to work, ending the recent chaos.
The acting Pri Minister elected by Parliant handled this crisis terribly, so I abolished the Spanish Parliant. To ensure smooth governnt operations, I’ve decided to reorganize the temporary military governnt into a temporary cabinet, with Duke Serrano as the temporary cabinet Pri Minister, and Canovas as the temporary cabinet Deputy Pri Minister. What do you think?"
Duke Serrano never expected the position of Pri Minister to return to him after so many years, naturally, he had no objections.
And although Canovas was appointed to the newly established position of Deputy Pri Minister, being associated with the Pri Minister was surely a promotion compared to his previous role as Minister of Industry.
Seeing neither of them oppose, Carlo was satisfied and nodded, then instructed: "In that case, continue the work of running the governnt.
Parliant has been dissolved; your appointnts just need to be announced in the na of the governnt. Once Pri Minister Prim has recovered, further discussions about forming parliant and cabinet elections can take place."
Appointing Duke Serrano as the temporary cabinet Pri Minister was a decision Carlo made after careful consideration. While he might directly promote Canovas to be the temporary cabinet Pri Minister, doing so would be too deliberate, and Canovas lacked the prestige to stabilize the post-chaos governnt and army.
Having Duke Serrano act as the transitional figure in the power exchange is the best choice. He holds enough prestige and status to maintain governnt and military stability, yet due to his advanced age, he won’t affect subsequent power transitions.
If Pri Minister Prim, born in 1814, is nearing retirent age, then Duke Serrano, four years older than Prim, is already 65 years old now.
This is actually why Carlo felt secure in letting Duke Serrano beco the temporary cabinet Pri Minister, after all, this is not the modern era, and 65 is already quite elderly.
On the morning of November 7, 1875, the Spanish Governnt officially made public Carlo’s order, indicating that Spain would reorganize the temporary military governnt into a temporary cabinet governnt, with Duke Serrano as the cabinet Pri Minister, and Canovas as the cabinet Deputy Pri Minister, which is also the role of Minister of State.
Besides the newly added position of Minister of State as Deputy Pri Minister, the positions in the temporary cabinet experienced no other changes.
Defense, finance, industry, agriculture, public welfare, transportation, law and order, health, education, diplomatic ten departnts remain unchanged; additionally, three new positions were introduced: Minister of Royal Affairs, Minister of Colonial Affairs, and Minister of Justice.
Including the Pri Minister and Deputy Pri Minister, the Spanish cabinet comprises 15 important positions. However, generally the Deputy Pri Minister would also serve as a Minister of a departnt, so cabinet mbers usually total 14.
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