Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 30 The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.

Why are things always so bad in Spain?

Carlo faces a very difficult choice, which is likely to affect the future fate of Carlo and the Kingdom of Spain.

Once Primo's deepening reforms are fully successful and the possible opposition from the church and capitalists is resolved, Spain's comprehensive national strength will flourish and it may even be possible for it to return to the seat of the great powers.

But if this reform aroused opposition from the church and capitalists, and allowed the Republicans and Carlists to take the opportunity to launch a major rebellion, the situation Carlo would face would not be much better than that of Queen Isabel a year and a half ago.

Although Carlo still has the ultimate retreat of returning to Italy, the church and capitalists that Carlo has offended may not be willing to let Carlo return to Spain.

Moreover, if he returned to Italy in such a miserable state, it would definitely be a heavy blow to Carlo, who had finally obtained the Spanish throne.

Should I gamble? How should I gamble? This is Carlo's biggest headache at the moment.

"We may have to face the church, the capitalists, the Carlists and the Republicans. But your Majesty, if our reforms are successfully implemented and supported by the people, we will have the support of 1600 million Spaniards, and this is also the confidence I have in promoting reforms.

I plan to promote military reforms starting this year and equip the army with more artillery. Our enemies will never imagine that we will be so determined to implement reforms and will not hesitate to fight them.

As long as the people choose to stand on our side, victory will be ours." Primo laid out his plan in full and tried to win Carlo's support.

No matter who Carlo was before becoming king, the moment he was crowned King of Spain, he had a certain prestige and status in Spain.

Spain has a large number of peasants, most of whom support the monarchy. If Carlo can support his comprehensive reforms, the success rate of the reforms will undoubtedly be much greater.

Of course, Primo also knew how difficult this reform was and how powerful the enemies he would face were.

He is ready to fight alone, and he will never give up even if it is just for a glimmer of hope for Spain's revival.

"How is Minister Serrano doing in Cuba?" Carlo did not immediately agree with Primo's plan, but asked a seemingly irrelevant question.

"Minister Serrano arrived in Cuba two and a half months ago and immediately launched a crackdown on the Cuban rebel army. If nothing unexpected happens, perhaps in a few months we will hear the news of the recovery of Cuba," Primo said with a smile.

Serrano is indeed one of the most influential figures in the Spanish army at present, and his military talent is worthy of recognition.

More importantly, Serrano himself had served as the Governor of Cuba a few years ago and had a relatively good understanding of the situation in Cuba.

Historically, Spain had been unable to quell the rebellion in Cuba in the past few years. It was not until the time of Alfonso XII that Spain regained control of Cuba at a great cost.

But by then, the Cuban independence forces had already gained momentum, which is why it took Spain a full ten years and cost 700 million pesetas to suppress the Cuban rebellion.

This is a full 2700 million pounds, which was enough to build ten main battleships in the era of dreadnoughts, not to mention the era before dreadnoughts. Primo's reforms have not cost so much money so far. If all the money from suppressing the rebellion in Cuba is used to reform Spain, Spain's comprehensive national strength can at least rise a small step.

"Very good, Prime Minister Primo." Carlo was in a good mood when he heard that Cuba could be pacified within a few months.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Carlo said to Primo: "Prime Minister Primo, I support your reforms. But I also hope that you can be prepared for possible rebellions. We must eliminate any enemy who may stand against the Spanish reforms."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Please rest assured that the Spanish army is ready to fight for Your Majesty and Spain at any time. We will not be afraid of any enemy who stands against Spain.

Before pushing forward comprehensive reforms, I will approve some funds to help the army purchase weapons and cannons. If those Carlos and Republicans want to block Spain's reforms, I will send them to see God and let God reason with them. "Hearing that Carlo supported his reforms, Primo stood up instantly and assured Carlo very firmly and seriously.

"Great, Prime Minister Primo. I'm glad that Spain has ministers like you and Serrano. Once we wipe out these enemies that block Spain's progress, I will personally reward you and celebrate your success!" After getting Primo's guarantee, Carlo nodded with satisfaction and painted a big picture for Primo.

In this gamble, Carlo chose to stand on Primo's side. The reason was simple: the big bourgeoisie and the Republicans who opposed Primo would never stand on Carlo's side.

To put it bluntly, Carlo and Primo are in a state of shared success and shared failure.

If Primo failed in his reforms and lost his power and status, it would not be a good thing for Carlo either.

After all, Carlo was supported by Primo, and Carlo's initial status also came from Primo's support.

How can Spain achieve revival if it does not resolve these enemies that block its path forward?

If Carlo just wanted to be a noble who enjoyed life, he could do it in Italy. But if he wanted to realize his ambition and wanted to elevate Spain from a second-rate country in Europe to a first-rate country in Europe or even a great power, he must not be afraid of some domestic opposition.

What about the Carlists? Queen Isabel was able to defeat the Carlists twice in a row. Carlo didn't believe that he could lose to the Carlists, a rebel group that had experienced many failures, with the full support of Serrano and Primo.

As the old saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. Although implementing comprehensive reforms in Spain today seems very risky, the rewards if successful will definitely be huge.

The support of the people and the improvement of Spain's comprehensive national strength are only part of it. Carlo can also take the opportunity to solve the problems of the church and the Carlists that have plagued Spain for many years, and make the Spanish people disgusted with the republic.

In this way, most of Spain's domestic problems will be solved, and local independence elements that have not yet gained momentum will disappear due to the growing strength of Spain.

Thinking of this, Carlo became unusually relaxed. Both the Carlos sect and the church were just some clowns who had lost their power.

If he didn't even have the courage to defeat these forces, Carlo's ambitions could have been abandoned earlier.

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(End of this chapter)