Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 409 Cost Issues
Although Spain already possessed the blueprints for the dreadnought, the actual construction work was extremely complicated.

The construction cost of a Monarch-class battleship is only 2250 million pesetas, but the Navy expects to invest 3500 million pesetas in the construction of this new battleship, with further investment to be determined based on the progress of the ship's construction.

The good news is that the Navy has not built any battleships for several years, so the budget for building this new warship is still quite sufficient.

The Navy could afford the $3500 million pesetas for construction without the government even needing to divert funds from elsewhere.

Spain attached great importance to the construction of new battleships, even going so far as to close the entire Royal Guanizo shipyard for this purpose.

从1901年的4月份开始，皇家瓜尼佐造船厂对外宣称要进行长期扩建工作，扩建时间从1901年的4月份持续到1902年的6月份，期间暂时谢绝任何外来访客的进入。

Not only are outsiders prohibited from entering, but even all materials entering the shipyard must undergo strict inspection before they can enter.

Regardless of whether other European countries would have any doubts, Carlo would not relax his efforts to keep the Dreadnoughts secret until other countries possessed them.

While Spain was building new warships, the industrial base in Asturias was also under construction at a rapid pace.

The construction of the industrial base did not need to be kept secret. Carlos personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Asturias industrial base and also toured several northern Spanish states, including Asturias, Galicia, and Castile and León.

It must be admitted that Spain has governed the Basque Country and Catalonia, two regions that are vying for autonomy, quite well.

Since the Basque Country and La Rioja were merged into Navarre, the proportion of Basques in the Navarre region has been decreasing.

As Madrid's population reached the cap set by the city government, more immigrants were relocated to Navarre and Catalonia.

This has led to a population explosion in Navarre, leaving the Basques with no voice.

Because Basques are not the majority, it is quite difficult for Basque parties to win seats in the Navarre state legislature.

The seats they hold do not influence the policies of the Navarre state government; at most, they can only ensure that the state government's policies do not discriminate against Basques.

Unable to gain an advantage in the state parliament, these Basques naturally cannot enter the higher-level Spanish Congress of Deputies.

As a result, the threat from the Basques has been greatly reduced. It's no longer so easy for the Basques to seek independence; if they were to launch an armed uprising, the Spanish troops stationed in Navarre would teach them a lesson at any time.

The same applies to Catalonia. Although Catalonia has not merged with other regions, its core area, Barcelona, ​​has been separated as a state-level administrative region.

While the remaining state of Catalonia also has a large population, these people come from all over Spain, and the core Catalan population is actually not that large.

This also shows that Spain uses the same approach to deal with the Basque and Catalan regions: reducing the proportion of Basques and Catalans to achieve a high degree of control over both regions.

As long as the majority of the population in these two regions is Spanish, the Basques and Catalans, as minorities, are unlikely to incite the entire region to independence; at most, they can only seek more rights and protections for themselves.

Carlo certainly wouldn't give them special treatment, but he also wouldn't actively discriminate against them in terms of benefits.

For Carlo, as long as the Basques and Catalans obeyed and submitted to the rule of the Spanish government, they were his subjects.

As long as they are its own citizens, they are entitled to enjoy Spain's welfare policies and various benefits, and the Spanish army will protect them.

After learning of Carlos's tour of several northern Spanish states, people in several central and southern Spanish states also called on His Majesty the King to come and tour the country, as they were very much looking forward to seeing their beloved King in person.

Carlo, of course, did not disappoint the people. In the latter half of 1901, Carlo embarked on a month-long nationwide tour.

Carlo brought his eldest son, Juan Fernando, along on this national tour. At 27 years old, it was time for him to make his mark in various public places.

By now, Prince Juan Fernando had been married for five years. In July of 1900, the third year of their marriage, Princess Louise finally became pregnant.

This is great news for the royal family, as it not only means that there is another member in the royal family, but also that Spain is very likely to welcome a third-generation heir to the throne.

In April of this year, Princess Louise gave birth to a princess for Prince Juan Fernando. Carlo excitedly named his eldest granddaughter Anna and immediately bestowed upon her the title of Duchess of Ávila.

Carlo has no particular requirements regarding whether his grandchildren are grandsons or granddaughters. In Carlo's view, whether they are grandsons or granddaughters, they are all his descendants and should be treated equally.

Moreover, Prince Juan Fernando and Princess Louise are still very young, and as long as they take good care of their health, they can have several more children in the future.

As long as one of these children is a prince, there will be no problem with the succession to the Spanish throne.

Carlo's eldest daughter, Sophia, also found her other half in 1900, namely Albert, Count of Flanders in Belgium.

Although Albert was only a count, he was the grandson of the former King Leopold I of Belgium and the nephew of the current King Leopold II of Belgium.

Because Leopold II had no sons, the Count of Albert was the de facto heir to the Belgian throne and was expected to succeed Leopold II after his death.

Carlo was generally satisfied with this son-in-law.

Although Belgium is not a powerful country, its economy and industry are quite good due to its location in the Low Countries.

Compared to the great powers, it may not seem like much, but compared to non-great powers, Belgium's economy and industry are already among the top.

More importantly, Count Albert and Princess Sophia truly loved each other, which was the most important thing for Carlo.

In late 1900, Belgium held a grand wedding ceremony for them. Carlo also prepared a lavish dowry for Princess Sofia and took the opportunity to demonstrate Spain's power.

After settling the marriages of his eldest son and daughter, it was Carlo's turn to arrange the marriages of his second son, Martin.

Prince Martin was born on October 12, 1879, and is not yet 22 years old. Carlo is not in a hurry for his second son's marriage.

The reason why Prince Juan Fernando's marriage is in such a hurry is that, as the heir to the Spanish throne, he must settle down and have his own offspring as soon as possible.

The throne is passed down from generation to generation in this way. Having an heir is very important to members of the royal family, as it means that the succession to the throne will not be interrupted and that the royal family will not die out.

Prince Martin is not even 22 years old yet, not to mention Prince Alexander and Princess Christina, who are even younger than him.

Prince Alexander was born in January 1884 and has just turned 18. Princess Christina was born in July 1885 and is still a minor, so there's no rush for her to get married.

Compared to princes, princesses don't need to rush into marriage. European royal families have always tended to have more men than women, and male royals must marry someone of equal social standing.

If a nobleman and a commoner were to marry, the male royal family's descendants would have to relinquish their right to inherit the title, which was unacceptable to many nobles.

This has led many princes to prefer waiting for several years or even more than a decade to choose a princess of high status to marry.

The good news is that, as a powerful nation, Spain gives Carlos's children more options when it comes to marriage.

They could choose any prince or princess from almost every monarchy in Europe, and these countries would certainly not object to marriage alliances with Spain.

If Spain were a weaker country, everything would be different. After all, the changes in relationships and benefits brought about by marriage are what royal families and governments value more.

The reason Belgium held such a lavish and extravagant wedding ceremony for Princess Sofia is precisely because she came from Spain, a powerful nation.

Belgium's location is extremely awkward, with almost half of its territory sandwiched between Germany and France. Germany and France are deeply conflicted superpowers and leaders of two major military blocs in Europe.

If war were to break out between these two superpowers, Belgium, situated between them, would almost certainly not fare well.

The Belgian government is certainly aware of its situation. Their eagerness to form an alliance with Spain is naturally aimed at preserving its independence through good relations with Spain.

Of course, if things really get really bad, the Belgian government can flee to Spain to form a government-in-exile, and the royal family can naturally also flee to Spain or other non-war areas.

For Belgium, the alliance with Spain is not only a guarantee of peace, but also provides it with more options in times of crisis.

For Carlos, there weren't many things to consider. Belgium could offer Spain very little help, and their awkward geographical location meant they couldn't afford to be enemies with either Germany or France.

Of course, this excludes the case where either Germany or France initiates a declaration of war against Belgium.

Although the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium was largely due to the sanctions imposed on the Kingdom of the Netherlands by Britain, France, and Germany, none of these three countries wanted a powerful force in the Low Countries that could threaten them.

But it cannot be denied that the Belgians have shown enough resilience and perseverance to resist any country that invades their territory.

When Carlos accompanied Prince Juan Fernando on a tour of the Spanish states, the personal arrival of His Majesty the King and His Highness the Crown Prince was met with a warm welcome from the Spanish people.

To ensure his safety, Carlo's itinerary was kept strictly confidential. The cities he visited were decided upon arrival, and his public speeches were subject to extremely high security measures.

Within a 50-meter radius of Carlo, there was an absolutely open area. Anyone who approached this area would be immediately subdued by the guards.

Within a range of about 50 to 200 meters, there were a large number of intelligence personnel and actors arranged by various governments.

These actors were all trustworthy personnel; they served two purposes: to amplify the local welcome for Carlo and to keep the real crowd within a 200-meter radius.

Thanks to the amplification equipment, people could hear Carlo's speech even from 200 meters away.

However, because of the distance of at least 200 meters, even if criminals wanted to attack Carlo, they would find it difficult to do so.

It wasn't that Carlo was cowardly or afraid of death; rather, historical experience taught him that his own life was the most important thing compared to everything else.

If Carlos were to commit suicide, Spain's long-standing stability could very well crumble instantly. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Bourbon remnants and Republicans are no longer active; that's because under Carlos's control, Spain's political situation was remarkably stable.

If anything happens to Carlo, these people will once again jump out and launch an attack on Spain's highest political power.

When Carlo finished his tour of the states, it was September 1901.

To date, construction of the new warship has been underway for more than five months.

On September 11, Carlo received a report from the Royal Guanizzo Shipyard. The shipyard's chief engineer excitedly stated that the construction of Spain's new warship was progressing very smoothly, and the battleship, which had not yet been named, was very likely to be completed by March of the following year, 1902, and begin the next stage of launching and testing.

In addition to reporting the good news to Carlo that the warship construction was progressing smoothly, the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard also requested Carlo to name the new generation of battleships.

As a new type of warship with epoch-making significance, the naming of this warship naturally had to be done by His Majesty the King, the most esteemed king of Spain.

Carlo did not refuse the request from the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard. After a brief period of consideration, Carlo decided to retain the historical name and call the warship the Dreadnought.

Battleships of this class are collectively known as Dreadnought-class battleships. As a result, similar warships subsequently developed by various countries can also be called Dreadnoughts.

The reason for this name is not only to follow historical precedent, but also because it is a more familiar name.

Moreover, the name "Fearless" is indeed very good, and it fits well with the national spirit of the Spanish people.

Spain has an exceptional passion for bullfighting, and bullfighters embody a spirit of bravery and fearlessness. The name "Intrepid" for the battleship perfectly reflects this Spanish spirit.

As expected, after learning that Carlo had named the new warship the Dreadnought-class battleship, all the engineers and warship designers at the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard had no objections and strongly agreed with Carlo's naming.

Carlo has even come up with names for the successor warships to the Dreadnought-class battleships.

If the Dreadnought battleship is completed without any problems, then Spain will proceed with the mass production of Dreadnought-class battleships.

There are many words related to dreadlessness, which means that Spain will have no shortage of names for the dreadnoughts it will build for many years to come.

While the smooth progress of the construction of the Dreadnought battleship is good news, it doesn't mean that there's no bad news in warship construction.

As the first epoch-making warship, the Dreadnought's cost was higher than originally expected because it incorporated many new technologies.

The 35 million pesetas budget provided by the Navy was insufficient, even though it was equivalent to £1.4 million, which was 40% higher than the construction cost of the previous Monarch-class battleships.

According to estimates from Royal Guarnizo Shipyard, including sea trials after the warship is completed, the total cost of the warship is expected to exceed 4200 million pesetas, or £168 million.

The main reason for the high cost is that the Dreadnought was the first warship of its class.

According to the Royal Guanizo Shipyard's speculation, the construction cost of the subsequent Dreadnought-class battleships should be reduced to around 3875 million pesetas, which is much cheaper than the first warship.

(End of this chapter)