Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 386 Marriage
A diplomatic delegation led by the Danish royal family soon arrived in Spain, and Carlos approached Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark to discuss the specific details of the marriage between Prince Juan Fernando and Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Serra Olga.

Because both sides were willing to bring the two together, and because Prince Juan Fernando and Princess Louise also had feelings for each other, the marriage was quickly arranged.

The engagement ceremony will be held at the end of this year, and the wedding ceremony will be held next summer.

The engagement ceremony can be smaller in scale, but the wedding ceremony is very important and requires careful preparation by both governments and royal families over a long period of time.

As Carlos's eldest son and the country's crown prince, Prince Juan Fernando's wedding will be a grand affair, and the cost is destined to be substantial.

Fortunately, the Spanish royal family already possesses immense wealth, so spending millions of pesetas on a grand wedding is merely a drop in the ocean for them.

After the marriage was finalized, Crown Prince Frederick, along with Princess Louise and several other members of the royal family, stayed in Spain for a few more days.

Compared to Denmark, which is further north, Spain has a significantly warmer climate. Coupled with its vast territory and abundant resources, Crown Prince Frederick is quite curious about Spain.

Accompanied by Spanish government officials and Prince Juan Fernando, the Crown Prince and his entourage visited Madrid’s once-famous “city that never sleeps,” which is essentially a bustling street with numerous streetlights.

Crown Prince Frederick also watched a bullfight in Spain. Bullfighting has become an integral part of Spanish culture, attracting thousands of spectators to any bullfight, whether in a large or small city.

Those star bullfighters who excel in bullfighting often gain a large following among Spaniards. The ultimate winner of the annual bullfight can become a renowned warrior throughout Spain overnight.

Although bullfighting has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. Since Carlos decided to promote bullfighting extensively in Spain, hundreds of bullfighters have died or been seriously injured in bullfights to date.

If those who sustained minor injuries are included, the total number of accidents that have occurred in bullfighting matches has reached several hundred.

However, it is clear that the high accident rate cannot stop the bullfighters from bravely challenging the bull, nor can it stop the audience from watching the bullfighting with enthusiasm.

Crown Prince Frederick was full of praise for the bullfights in Spain. Although such competitions may seem somewhat dangerous, entertainment options were limited in this era, and most Europeans would likely be happy to watch such a match from time to time.

During his trip to Spain, what surprised Crown Prince Frederick the most was not Spain's current development and prosperity, but the Spanish people's heartfelt love and support for Carlo.

Carlos enjoyed extremely high prestige within Spain. His prestige reached its zenith, especially after the annexation of Morocco, which granted him supreme power.

The people would unhesitatingly support any order from the Royal Palace of Madrid. This meant that Carlos had a chance to achieve true absolute monarchy and become the sole and undisputed ruler of the country.

The higher Carlos's prestige and the greater his power, the better it is for the Danish royal family. After the marriage alliance was finalized, the Spanish royal family became an ally of the Danish royal family.

From his own perspective, Crown Prince Frederick would naturally prefer that the Spanish royal family have more power so that it can help the Danish royal family in more ways.

To demonstrate Denmark's sincerity, during the few days the Danish royal family was on their trip, Danish government officials reached an agreement with their Spanish counterparts on their respective areas of cooperation.

Although Denmark and the Netherlands are both small European countries, Denmark's status is now significantly lower than that of the Netherlands. The Netherlands still possesses the vast Dutch East Indies colony, which provides a substantial amount of revenue to the country each year.

Denmark now has only two major colonies left, Iceland and Greenland, neither of which can generate substantial revenue for Denmark.

The only reason Denmark has been able to retain these two colonies to this day is because the value of these two lands is really not high.

Iceland and Greenland are both large in area, but because they are too close to the Arctic Circle, most of the land is uninhabitable.

In addition, both colonies were islands, far from Europe and the American continent, making them even more sparsely populated.

Stronger countries didn't want these two colonies, and weaker countries couldn't defeat Denmark, which is why Denmark has always held onto these two colonies.

The cooperation between Denmark and Spain mainly includes the import and export of grain, the purchase of warships, and the import of weapons and equipment.

In fact, Denmark is quite unique compared to other small European countries.

Denmark is composed of several islands and peninsulas, the top three being Jutland, Zealand, and Funen.

Despite Denmark's landmass consisting entirely of peninsulas and islands, it has achieved basic self-sufficiency in agricultural products.

These islands and peninsulas together cover an area of ​​4.3 square kilometers, but Denmark has a meager population of only 228 million.

It's worth noting that countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal, which are considered small European countries along with Denmark, all have populations of 500 million or more.

Even countries like Switzerland and Greece have long since surpassed 300 million people. Denmark, with a population of only 228 million, is relatively small among small and medium-sized European countries.

Denmark's ability to achieve food self-sufficiency is due not only to its small population, but also to its relatively flat terrain with few mountains.

Denmark has a well-developed livestock industry, with high production of dairy products and meat, and even exports a large amount of dairy products and meat every year.

For Spain, grain import and export trade with Denmark allows it to obtain dairy products and meat from Denmark.

Spain originally had no shortage of these things, but due to the continuous growth of the population, although food production has barely kept up, the production of dairy products and meat has clearly not kept up with the rate of population growth in Spain.

Spain receives dairy products and meat from Denmark, while Denmark receives vegetables and fruits from Spain.

When it comes to vegetables and fruits, Spain can confidently claim to be number one in Europe.

After taking on the task of growing grain in the West African colonies, much of the land in mainland Spain was converted to produce vegetables and fruits.

This is why Spain's vegetable and fruit production continues to increase. While supplying the needs of more than 3000 million people in the country, it still exports a large amount of vegetables and fruits every year, earning a considerable amount of foreign exchange.

Compared to the Netherlands, Denmark's shipbuilding industry is not as developed. Denmark also doesn't need to maintain a large navy, given that its overseas colonies are few and not too far from its homeland.

After seeing off the Danish diplomatic delegation, all departments of the Spanish government focused on wrapping up their year-end work.

As mentioned before, Spain will hold elections for a new cabinet government next year, in 1897.

This also means that in the remaining few months, ministers of all departments must make a final effort to contribute to the achievements of their five-year term.

Only if their performance is outstanding will they be qualified to seek re-election or further advancement.

If one's performance is a complete mess, re-election is naturally impossible, and members of parliament are unlikely to support someone with little ability to continue serving as a high-ranking cabinet minister.

Carlos had already communicated with Prime Minister Evan Bradley earlier this year.

Prime Minister Evan Bradley is no longer young, and he is considering retiring formally after the end of his current term as prime minister to enjoy his remaining years.

Carlo naturally wouldn't stop Prime Minister Evan Bradley; the constant changes in the Spanish cabinet's prime ministerial candidates are actually a good thing for Carlo.

Of course, such a change of government must be a normal one. If a prime minister is impeached and removed from office before the end of his term, it will only cause instability in the Spanish political situation.

During the nearly 30 years that Juan Carlos was King of Spain, Spain actually only had four prime ministers, with each prime minister serving an average term of more than seven years, which is quite healthy.

This ensures that government policies are implemented in the long term without allowing the prime minister to acquire power that could threaten the monarchy.

Now that it has been confirmed that Prime Minister Evan Bradley will retire at the end of his term, the most important thing for Carlo is to find a successor for him.

The selection of a prime minister is crucial, as it relates to the stability of Spain's political situation and its development over the next five years. The first suitable candidate is the current Deputy Prime Minister, Joycel Soler. Having served five years as Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Minister Canovas, there's no need to worry about his political prestige being insufficient for the prime ministerial position.

Howellal Soler's political views are somewhat similar to those of Prime Minister Canovas, making him one of the more suitable candidates for prime minister.

The second suitable candidate is the current Speaker of the House, Ewald Bartel. Compared to Hovilial Soler, Ewald Bartel has more seniority, having served as the Minister of Finance during Prime Minister Primo's tenure, and was one of Prime Minister Primo's closest confidants.

Because of the deep trust placed in him by Prime Minister Primo, Ewald Bate served as Spain's Minister of Finance from 1869 until 1882, a total of 13 years.

He successfully returned to the cabinet during Prime Minister Evan Bradley's term, becoming Speaker of the Spanish Chamber of Deputies. This also made him the only cabinet minister in Spain to have served under four prime ministers, demonstrating his extensive experience and political prestige.

However, Ewald Bartel has a significant drawback compared to Hovilial Soler: he is much older.

Ewald Batel was born in 1834 and is 62 years old this year. If he serves as prime minister for another five years, he will be 67 years old when he retires.

Whether Carlos can become a qualified prime minister during the five years from age 62 to 67 is a question worth considering.

It is undeniable that life expectancy is very short in this era. People in their 60s are already considered elderly, and their physical condition and energy for handling government affairs cannot compare with those of younger people.

Compared to the elderly Ewald Bartel, Hoviljal Soler is a bit younger, but not by much.

Hoviljal Soler was born in 1839 and is 57 years old this year. If he were to serve as prime minister for five years, he would retire at the same age as Ewald Batel is now, at 62.

Compared to the two older prime ministerial candidates, Carlo actually favors the current Minister of Industry, Angelo Orcajo.

Baron Angelo Orcajo, born in 1847, is only 49 years old now, and his physical condition and energy for handling affairs are clearly much better than the two old men mentioned above.

More importantly, Baron Angelo Orcajo was a true ally, Carlo's confidant.

His ability in industrial development is beyond doubt. He rose through the ranks from his original position as the head of the Barcelona Industrial Zone, to become the mayor of the Barcelona Special City, the mayor of the Madrid Special City, and the Spanish Minister of Industry, which is enough to show how outstanding his abilities are.

In fact, during the 1892 cabinet election for prime minister, Carlo had considered appointing Baron Olcajo as prime minister.

However, Baron Orcajo was only the mayor of Madrid at the time, and it was undoubtedly very difficult for him to become prime minister without ever having been in the cabinet.

At the time, Lord Havilaire Soler, Ewald Bartl, and other party leaders were competitors, and Baron Orcajo's own advantages were not enough to secure his election.

It was for this reason that Carlo appointed Evan Bradley, a military man, as prime minister, giving Baron Angelo Orcajo five years to build up his seniority and prestige.

Looking back, Baron Olcajo performed quite well in his role as Minister of Industry. Spain's industry experienced strong growth over the past five years, even showing signs of solidifying its position as the world's fourth-largest industrial power.

In this context, it is not surprising that Baron Orcajo was given a new position.

If Jovillar Soler or Ewald Bartel were to become the Prime Minister of Spain, they could only serve one term at most.

After all, age must be taken into account. No matter how capable they are, Carlos cannot allow a man who is nearly 70 years old to continue serving as the Prime Minister of Spain.

One reason is the Prime Minister's health; he is in his seventies and could very well die during his term as Prime Minister.

On the other hand, it also takes into account Spain's own development. As a great power, Spain faces many challenges and situations.

A prime minister nearing 70 years old simply doesn't have the energy to handle these matters, which will, to some extent, affect Spain's own development, something Carlo cannot accept.

If Baron Angelo Orcajo were to become the Prime Minister of Spain, there would be no restriction on serving only one term.

Because Baron Olcajo is only 49 years old, barring any unforeseen health issues, he could serve at least two more terms as Prime Minister.

During his ten years as Prime Minister, Spain's political situation became more stable, and its industrial and economic development made significant progress.

Considering this alone, Carlos was more inclined to choose Baron Angelo Orcajo as his prime ministerial candidate.

Unless something unexpected happens in the next few months that affects Carlo's judgment, Baron Olcajo is likely to win the cabinet election early next year.

Although Carlos has already made preliminary choices for prime minister, the competition for the next cabinet prime minister is still quite fierce on the surface.

In addition to the three cabinet prime minister candidates mentioned above, the Progressive Party, the Conservative Party, and the Workers' Party also have their own candidates.

In theory, any member of the Spanish lower house is eligible to run for the position of prime minister.

However, there are certain restrictions on political parties. Each political party can only nominate one candidate to run for prime minister, and this candidate also represents their party.

If one cannot qualify to run for prime minister through a political party nomination, one can only run as an independent.

Running for prime minister without a party affiliation is a significant disadvantage. Prime ministerial elections are decided by the number of votes a candidate receives, meaning independent candidates have virtually no support from others.

In addition to party nominations and self-nominations by non-partisan individuals, candidates can also become prime ministers through personal nomination by the king.

The prime ministerial election consists of three rounds. The first round is a contest among all independent candidates. The two winners advance to the second round to compete against nominees from other parties, ultimately determining three prime ministerial candidates who will participate in the final round.

If the King does not personally nominate a candidate for Prime Minister, the final round will be a contest among these three candidates. If the King personally nominates a candidate for Prime Minister, the final round will be a contest among four candidates.

The candidate with the most votes will become the Prime Minister of Spain, while the others will have to settle for cabinet minister positions.

This election process is significantly more refined than that under Prime Minister Primo. As King of Spain, Carlos also has more say in the prime ministerial election process.

If Carlos does not want a political party to nominate someone as its prime ministerial candidate, he can reject that party's nomination and require the party to resubmit another candidate.

This will ensure that the final prime ministerial candidates are the ones Carlo wants to see, and that no ambitious, power-hogging prime minister will reappear on the Spanish historical stage.

This was also to prevent the Spanish monarchy from being undermined. The king may not be a dictator, but his power must not be usurped.

Even without using these powers, simply holding them would be a tremendous deterrent. These powers are the trump card for the future King of Spain to secure his throne.

Even if voices against the monarchy emerge in Spain in the future, the King of Spain can use his power to prevent extreme republicans from becoming high-ranking officials in the Spanish government.

That's pretty much all Carlo can do. Carlo can only ensure that the throne doesn't fall into the hands of his son and grandson; what happens after that is beyond his control.

Even if Carlos had succeeded in annexing Portugal, reclaiming Gibraltar, and becoming one of the greatest monarchs in the hearts of the Spanish people, he could not have allowed the Spanish throne to remain in the hands of the House of Savoy for hundreds of years.

To maintain control of the Spanish throne, the efforts of every future Spanish king are necessary. Only by gaining the trust of the people can the Spanish monarchy be passed down.

If the day truly comes that the Spanish throne is lost, it will not necessarily be the end for the Spanish royal family.

After all, Carlo has already built up enormous wealth for his descendants, enough to make the future Spanish royal family top capitalists.

Royal power cannot make the Spanish monarchy the de facto rulers of the country, but their vast wealth can. Even if they lose their noble titles, their wealth alone will be enough to propel them to the highest echelons of the nation.

(End of this chapter)