Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 347 St. Primo High School
While the war in the Balkans was raging, Carlo was also carrying out new reforms in Spain.

Rather than being a reform, it is more like some small planning for the future.

The future here is not for Carlo, but for the next heir to the throne, Prince Juan Fernando.

Prince Juan Fernando was born in May 1875 and is now about to turn 5 years old.

As mentioned before, the little guy was quite serious about his studies and his grades in all subjects were excellent, which was highly praised by the teachers specially hired by Carlo.

When he reached the age of 14, Carlo had completed the preliminary education he had prepared for him, and he needed to undergo a higher level of advanced education, along with training in military and political skills.

Carlo has his own ambitions and plans for the education of the subsequent heir to the Spanish throne.

In order to prevent subsequent Spanish kings from becoming incompetent monarchs like the Bourbon dynasty, the most important period of education for the heir to the throne will be the few years from the age of 14 to adulthood.

Carlo also spared no expense in hiring famous teachers from all over the world and even created certain scenarios for them to hone their abilities.

In addition to the ability of the heir to the throne himself, it is also very important whether the next king of Spain can get his own help during this period.

If a king wants to properly manage his country, he obviously cannot do it by himself. He must have a certain number of capable subordinates to handle the various political affairs of a country.

Carlo had thought about this for a long time and finally decided to establish San Primo High School so that Prince Juan Fernando and the future heir to the Spanish throne could hone their abilities and find their future helpers.

San Primo High School will integrate the former Royal Knights, recruit talented young people from the aristocratic group and train them to become companions to the princes.

Integrating the power of the nobility is what Carlo must do, and it is also what the future King of Spain must do.

At all times, the nobles are the king's greatest helpers and the most loyal and reliable class.

Things are different now. Carlo has been the King of Spain for 20 years, and the Spanish nobles have no choice but to be loyal to Carlo. The previous Bourbon dynasty has become a thing of the past, and the remnants of the Bourbon dynasty cannot be restored in Spain.

It can also be seen from the movements of these old-fashioned aristocrats that they are gradually moving towards Carlo and the Spanish royal family.

Carlo proposed a plan for the development of West Africa, and these old-fashioned aristocrats mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources to develop the land in Africa.

The nobles wisely sold some of their land in their homeland to the government and the royal family, which meant that while the population in Spain was skyrocketing, the per capita arable land did not decrease significantly.

Although there are still a large number of nobles who control a considerable portion of the land in Spain today, the situation is much better than when Carlo just became King of Spain.

Carlo did not expect to control all the lands of these nobles in his hands. After all, for the old-fashioned nobles, these lands were the foundation of their survival.

As long as the rent charged by these nobles for the land is not too harsh, they can ensure that the Spanish farmers have enough income to maintain their food and clothing.

It was precisely because of the insight of these nobles that Spain's African development plan became very smooth.

Spain's large-scale industrial construction began during Carlo's reign, which also led to the fact that Spain's private capital was not very strong except for the official capital headed by the royal family and the government.

At this time, the nobles became a very important force. They had a lot of wealth in their hands, and after investing it in the development of Africa, they were very important to the construction of African colonies.

Carlo would naturally not be stingy with these sensible nobles.

If there were nobles willing to focus on developing African lands, Spain would be willing to purchase their lands at home at prices above the market price.

If you don't want to sell, you can also exchange land for land.

The land-for-land ratio was different for different colonies.

The land with the lowest value is the land in the southern Moroccan colony. One acre of land in mainland Spain can be exchanged for 1 acres of land in the southern Moroccan colony.

As for the more fertile land in the West African colonies, the land exchange ratio in mainland Spain could only reach 1:3, that is, 1 acre of land in mainland Spain was exchanged for 3 acres of land in the West African colonies.

Although the land exchange ratio was not very high, the advantage was that the African colonies had a large amount of free labor.

After these nobles exchanged their land for African colonies, they could exploit and oppress the local African natives with impunity, and no one cared about the lives of these native Africans.

The grain produced by the land can be shipped to Spain or other European countries for sale, or it can be sold to official grain trading companies at market prices.

Carlo would not cheat his own people on this point. The prices given by the import and export companies were quite reasonable and would never let these nobles who had deeply cultivated the colonies lose money.

In other words, these nobles went to the colonies to develop land, and what they did was almost a sure-win business.

If you want to acquire a large amount of land at one time, you can choose the land exchange method. Use the land in Spain to exchange for a large area of ​​cultivated land, and then hire some African natives for almost no money to start your own plantation business.

If you feel that land exchange is not cost-effective, you can also sell the land in exchange for enough funds, and then cultivate farmland in African colonies on your own.

Again, it is precisely because there is sufficient labor in the African colonies that these nobles have more choices.

After the first group of nobles who went to the African colonies made money, the remaining nobles naturally did not hesitate and invested in the development of African colonies and joined the wave of making big money.

As of May 1889, the total amount of land exchanged by these nobles had exceeded 5 million acres, which is equivalent to more than 100 square kilometers of land.

Because the land in the West African colonies was the most fertile and most suitable for agricultural cultivation, most of the land exchanged by the nobles was in the West African colonies.

Through a 1:3 exchange ratio, the nobles quickly took control of more than 1.2 square kilometers of land in the West African colonies. These lands were covered with plantations or farms, each of which was a place of labor for the native Africans.

This is also the reason why agricultural production in the West African colonies has grown rapidly. These 1.2 square kilometers of land are equivalent to 300 million acres, 121.4 million hectares, and 1 million mu.

How exaggerated is it to have such a large area of ​​arable land?

This means that the food production of the West African colonies has the potential to surpass that of Spain in the future, and even the so-called future is not far away.

It is worth mentioning that the grain yield per mu in the West African colonies is currently higher than that in Spain. One reason is that the West African colonies can achieve two or even three crops a year, which has doubled or tripled the grain yield per mu.

The second reason is that the West African colonies made extensive use of chemical fertilizer technology. In addition, the entire colony was traversed by rivers, so there was no shortage of water for irrigation.

The land in mainland Spain is relatively water-scarce, and coupled with the large number of mountains, the actual per-acre grain yield in mainland Spain is lower than that of other European countries.

The land in the West African colonies made up for this shortcoming very well, and the grain yield per mu has reached more than twice that of Spain itself.

Under such circumstances, these 1821 million acres of land can easily produce nearly 150 million tons of grain.

This grain output already exceeded one-third of Spain's own grain output, and this only included the land in the West African colonies controlled by the nobles.

Of course, the actual grain output of the land controlled by the nobles would not be so exaggerated. After all, it is certainly impossible for all of these lands to be used for cultivation.

Whether it is buildings, roads, or other water conservancy facilities, etc., a large amount of land will be consumed.

However, what is certain is that after the land in the West African colonies controlled by the nobles is fully cultivated, the grain output can still be increased to the level of millions of tons, which is one-quarter of the grain output in Spain itself.

按照400万吨粮食够2，000万人吃的预估来算，这100万吨粮食也够500万人吃了。

In addition to the land held by the nobles, many immigrants also reclaimed a large amount of land, as well as the land reclaimed by the Spanish government through the West African development plan. These lands combined can provide nearly one million tons of grain production.

Based on Spain’s current total grain production, all grains and vegetables and fruits combined, the annual grain production can feed at least 3500 million people.

This actually means that even if the scale of agriculture in Spain will not grow much in the next few years, there will not be any food crisis in Spain.

The nobles made a lot of money in Africa, so they naturally gathered around the royal family and Carlo. Carlo would naturally not refuse the nobles' surrender, which was why Carlo wanted to integrate the power of all the nobles and use it as much as possible for himself and the future heir to the throne.

The San Primo High School mentioned earlier, its name obviously comes from the former Spanish Prime Minister Primo.

Although Prime Minister Primo's reputation is not that good, after all, he single-handedly promoted reforms that had far-reaching effects on Spain and harmed the interests of many classes.

But for Carlo, Prime Minister Primo's ability and loyalty are worthy of recognition. The high school that will train members of the royal family and nobles is named after Prime Minister Primo, which also represents Carlo's hope that this high school can cultivate more talents like Primo.

Competence is important, but so is loyalty.

Carlo had gone over the idea of ​​such a high school in his mind many times, and after finalizing his plan, the education department also took action.

This high school will be funded by the royal family, and the most famous teachers and experts from all over Spain and even Europe will be invited to teach high school students rich cultural knowledge and relevant theories.

In addition to normal academic courses, high schools also offer courses related to politics and military affairs to cultivate students' interests and abilities in these two areas.

If you are sure that you have certain talents and interests, once you graduate from San Primo High School, you can go to the corresponding university for further studies to deepen your corresponding professional abilities.

To put it bluntly, this high school is to train political and military talents for the heir to the Spanish throne.

Studying together from high school can also allow the heir to the throne and the nobles to develop deeper feelings and strengthen their loyalty.

As for the nobles, they certainly would not miss the opportunity to let their children study with the future king.

The nobles and the king share the same fate. Only when they gain the full trust of the king can the nobles let go and give full play to their abilities.

This can be considered as training a team for his son, Prince Juan Fernando, in advance. According to the age of the little guy, when his classmates have certain abilities and enter the top ranks of the country, it is almost time for Carlo to abdicate and let a younger heir take the helm of the country.

By then, the new king will have his own confidants in both the political arena and the military, and he will not have to worry about being sidelined by the prime minister and parliament.

If a monarch is a man of great ability and vision, he can naturally gradually control the government and the army through his own abilities, and then realize his own aspirations and ambitions.

If he has no ability or ambition, he can maintain a certain influence through his confidants and pass on the throne safely without paying too much attention to government and military affairs.

This is almost another trump card that Carlo left for the future heir to the throne.

The reason why the German Emperor Wilhelm II was sidelined in the middle and late stages of World War I was that, on the one hand, the influence of the Junker aristocracy at the time had become extremely huge and Wilhelm II could no longer suppress it.

On the other hand, his grandfather and father died in a short period of time, and William II succeeded to the throne hastily before he had developed enough influence and prestige, so he naturally did not have that much control over the government and the military.

As expected, after the news of the establishment of San Primo High School spread, Spanish nobles found excuses to meet Carlo and wanted to get their children into the high school.

On the one hand, they have the opportunity to become classmates with the future King, and on the other hand, it is also a good opportunity for the children of the nobility to expand their network.

In such a high school, only the children of nobles or dignitaries can enter. At most, some capitalists can donate money to enter, but those who can donate money to enter are a minority after all.

Most of the students have strong family backgrounds, and if your children can join them and become their classmates, the benefits will definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

The school was located in an estate outside Madrid, which had the advantage that the school could be opened without much renovation.

It is not far from the city of Madrid. Because it is located in the suburbs, the place is quite large, and students can cultivate their interests and hobbies during their free time between classes, such as horse riding, archery, etc.

There are still four months from May to the start of school in September, which is enough time for the education department to open this school.

The lack of teachers in the early stages is not a big problem. At most, we can draw teachers from Spanish universities and other high schools, and then slowly hire teachers from abroad to fill the vacancies.

Anyway, after 20 years of development, Spain's education industry is not short of excellent teachers.

In order to cultivate students' interests and abilities in politics and military affairs, Carlo even planned to have military generals come to give lectures to students at regular intervals, telling them interesting stories from their military lives and cultivating the patriotic feelings of these aristocratic children.

Students of this age are quite passionate, and if they are nurtured a little in their patriotic emotions, they can grow into passionate patriotic teenagers.

It is always better to let them be fanatically patriotic than to pursue other interests. Children of nobility should serve the country and establish meritorious services so that their family titles can be passed down.

As soon as the news of the establishment of San Primo High School was announced, a large number of nobles immediately signed up enthusiastically.

According to the report from the high school principal appointed by Carlo, hundreds of children from hundreds of nobles have submitted their registration information, which also means that the enrollment for the noble group this year has been full.

San Primo High School is definitely not like ordinary high schools. The number of high school students enrolled each year will not exceed 200.

Among them, about 160 places are for nobility, more than 10 places are for children of non-noble high-ranking officials, and the remaining 20 to 30 places are for the children of capitalists.

The reason why some places are prepared for capitalists is mainly to obtain some school operating funds from the capitalists.

Although it is just a high school, the annual operating expenses of San Primo High School are guaranteed to be hundreds of thousands of pesetas.

After all, the most elite education is provided here, which not only teaches students ordinary cultural courses, but also cultivates their interests and hobbies in politics, military affairs and even other areas.

Not to mention, Carlo also prepared monthly target shooting training for these students. For the European aristocracy of this era, riding and target shooting training were must-learns.

Even among the aristocratic groups in many countries, duels still exist, and videos of duels among the aristocrats of this era can actually be found on the Internet in later generations.

Once a conflict occurs between two nobles, if the conflict cannot be resolved, the nobles will invite each other to a duel.

The content of the duel was basically two nobles standing within a range of 10 meters, each holding a revolver, and then seeing who could kill the other.

Generally, this kind of close-range duel does not have any good results. Only a very few lucky people can kill the opponent without being hit by the opponent.

After all, the distance was only within 10 meters, and it would be difficult for a noble who had received a little training in archery to miss a target.

The noble who wins the duel will also win the final dispute, whether it is a dispute over land or property, the one who wins the duel will get it.

Although duels were a life-or-death struggle, the nobles of this era did not reject duels. They even took pride in dueling and looked down on those who were timid in duels.

After Carlo vigorously developed bullfighting, the dueling method of Spanish nobles changed from gun duels to bullfighting duels.

Once an irreconcilable conflict broke out between nobles, they would make an appointment to go to the bullring and use bullfighting to decide the winner.

Although bullfighting is equally dangerous, the survival rate is much higher than in close-range gun duels.

Moreover, bullfighting can also cultivate the nobles' bellicosity and bravery. In addition to giving the nobles a greater chance of survival, bullfighting duels are not much different from previous gun duels.

After all, this was the first enrollment of San Primo High School. Carlo ordered the principal of the high school to carefully select from among the registered children of nobles those who were truly capable and talented to join the high school.

This is the first screening criterion. The second screening criterion is to select the children of grand dukes, dukes and marquises as much as possible.

There is no way. There are too many noble groups in Spain, and earls and barons with lower titles are basically not respected.

The number of Spanish nobles who hold high-ranking noble titles such as Grand Duke, Duke and Marquis alone adds up to hundreds.

Under such circumstances, the admissions of San Primo High School also have to take into account the nobles of the earls and barons, and the 200 admission places are obviously not enough.

(End of this chapter)