Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 47 Royal Council
Carlo experienced the unique Spanish aristocratic banquets of this era.

Luxury, so fucking luxurious.

Carlo couldn't help but sigh.

Although the scale of this castle is much smaller than Carlo's palace, the decoration inside the castle is in no way inferior to that of the palace, showing the luxury and wealth of the Spanish aristocracy since the colonial era.

The tableware for the banquet was made of gold and silver, and the drinks used at the banquet were private wines that cost hundreds of pesetas.

Because Carlo is Italian, when planning the banquet, Jacobo specially invited several skilled Italian chefs to prepare Italian food specifically for Carlo.

The nobles were still very reserved at first, but after Carlo showed a very friendly attitude, the nobles began to relax.

"Everyone, let's raise our glasses and toast to our great king, His Majesty Charles I of the House of Savoy!" When everyone was holding a glass of wine, Jacopo stood up in time, raised his glass and proposed to everyone.

"To the King!"

Everyone raised their glasses to signal Carlo. Even if some had other thoughts, they did not dare not raise their glasses in such an occasion.

Whether you objected secretly or not was a private matter. But if you didn't raise your glass on such an occasion, you would probably be ostracized by the entire aristocracy the next day.

After all, there is a saying that goes, if you give gifts, your leader may not remember you, but if you don’t give gifts, your leader will definitely remember you.

The same thing applies here. Carlo may not remember who raised the glass, but he certainly remembers who did not.

This is also a clever point of Jacobo. As the host and one of the oldest and highest-ranking nobles in Spain, he is certainly the most qualified person to say such words.

What Jacobo had to do at this banquet was to guide the nobles to express their support and loyalty to Carlo on the appropriate occasion.

So far, Jacobo was quite satisfied with his actions. The nobles showed respect to Carlo as planned, and Carlo never stopped smiling.

"Everything is going smoothly." Jacobo thought silently.

Carlo took a sip of wine and maintained a good mood, tasting the delicious food carefully prepared by the chefs under Jacopo's introduction.

If most parts of Europe are food deserts, then Spain is definitely a shining pearl in the food desert.

Not to mention the Iberian ham that became very famous in later generations, the seafood risotto, stewed oxtail and charcoal-grilled suckling pig alone are enough to make Spanish cuisine rank among the top European cuisines.

There was a wide variety of delicious food, even filling up two long giant dining tables.

But it was obvious that most of the people present were not that interested in food. Although this dinner was quite luxurious and sumptuous, the nobles' usual meals were not bad at all.

The main purpose of this banquet was to socialize among the nobles, and many nobles had the same idea as Jacobo, which was to try to establish a relationship with the royal family through marriage.

Marriages between European nobles were based on equal status, and the king's wife had to be at least the daughter of a duke.

As for those marquises and earls, they were basically excluded, and their daughters had no chance of becoming queens of Spain.

Carlo still underestimated the openness of European aristocrats of that era.

As soon as the banquet began, several noble ladies came to invite Carlo to dance with them. If it was just an invitation, it would be fine, but their gestures and expressions clearly said that as long as Carlo wanted, he could have sex with them at any time.

Among these women, there are not only unmarried young girls, but also sexy married women.

That is to say, Carlo is always accompanied by two beautiful and sexy maids, otherwise Carlo may not be able to withstand such top temptation.

Carlo was originally curious whether the husband of this sexy wife would mind, but when he turned around, he saw that the earl was chatting enthusiastically with the wife of another marquis and didn't care about what was happening here at all.

After seeing this scene with his own eyes, Carlo finally understood how open-minded the Europeans of that era were and how decadent the lives of the nobles were.

It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Carlo is willing, he can sleep with at least half of the noble women present.

Because they have enjoyed a luxurious aristocratic life since childhood, these aristocratic women dress very beautifully and sexily, and each has their own merits according to their different characteristics.

Carlo finally understood why lovers had become an unspoken secret among European aristocrats, because it was impossible for most people to remain indifferent at such a banquet.

"Your Majesty." Seeing Carlo waving at him, Jacobo quickly gave up the two beautiful ladies beside him and hurried towards Carlo.

"Duke Jacobo, have your banquets always been like this?" Carlo asked helplessly.

Jacobo thought Carlo was worried about whether the husbands of these noble ladies would have any objections, so he quickly explained: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, no one will care about what happened at the banquet, and no one will know."

After that, Jacobo very considerately signaled another group of women to come forward and invite Carlo to dance. In order to please Carlo, Jacobo took great pains.

These women have a variety of characteristics, and can definitely suit anyone's taste. From girls who have just come of age to women of noble families, there is everything you can think of.

The first group consisted of older women, while the second group consisted of young girls.

Carlo shook his head helplessly, knowing that he couldn't keep refusing, so he could only pick a few girls who looked more pleasing to the eye to dance with.

These girls were also quite bold when dancing with Carlo.

But then again, it seems that no girl can resist a young, handsome king who owns an entire country.

The temptation of becoming a queen is enough to attract a large number of girls to take action, even if there is no result.

But to be honest, although these girls are all very distinctive, none of them caught Carlo's attention.

Moreover, considering the interests of Carlo and Spain, it is highly likely that Carlo will not marry a native Spanish noble.

Since he couldn't give these girls a result, Carlo naturally wouldn't take the initiative to provoke them.

But if someone really came to him, Carlo couldn't just sit there and do nothing. After all, it wasn't illegal for nobles to have a lover.

Although this was a large banquet organized by Jacobo, the nobles interacted in groups of three or five and did not gather together.

It can be seen that the rank gap between the nobles is quite obvious.

Dukes often get together to chat with other dukes, and some marquises of high status might join in, but there are definitely very few earls.

Some marquises get together to chat with dukes, while others can only get together to chat with earls, which best reflects the difference in status and influence of the nobles.

As the earls were at the lowest level at the banquet, most of them could only gather together and chat with other earls.

It is difficult for earls to chat with dukes. They have to wait until the dukes finish their chat and then find an opportunity to chat with the duke they want to chat with.

Carlo was definitely the most conspicuous among the nobles. A large number of grand dukes and dukes gathered around Carlo, and those below the dukes could not even squeeze in.

Carlo was in a very good mood as he held his glass of wine and listened to the dukes' compliments and words of approaching him.

Of course, Carlo would not be complacent because of some small flattery. The reason why Carlo was in a good mood was that these nobles were very sensible and chose to get closer to the royal power and truly support Carlo as the king.

The nobility is definitely the most powerful force in Spain, and Carlo is bound to fully control this power.

Seeing that the conversation was getting more heated, Carlo immediately put forward his own proposal, which was to establish a royal parliament and form a noble union under the leadership of the monarchy.

The so-called Royal Parliament is composed entirely of nobles, and those above the rank of Marquis are eligible to join the Royal Parliament.

These Royal Councils, composed entirely of dukes and marquises, represented the Spanish nobility, and Carlo could control the entire nobility and exert his influence on the government by exerting influence on the Royal Councils.

In this way, even if Primo retires from politics in the future, Carlo does not have to worry about whether the new prime minister will support him.

With the strong support of the aristocracy and the Royal Parliament alone, Carlo was able to maintain his influence on the government and ensure that he would not be completely sidelined.

In addition to the Royal Parliament, Carlo also wanted to establish the Royal Knights to cultivate outstanding backbone military forces among the nobles.

As we all know, the education of the elite aristocracy in Europe still attaches great importance to military affairs. Spain has such a large aristocracy, and the children of the aristocrats are also numerous.

By forming the Royal Knights, they can select capable children from among these nobles to serve them, thus ensuring that the next generation of nobles will be sufficiently loyal to them.

Truly capable noble children can quickly enter the army and get promoted by gilding their skills in the Royal Knights.

And those who are incapable can also obtain the honor of Royal Knight, which is regarded as a reward for them and used to win over the nobles.

After all, not all noble children are capable. For those who are not very capable, the best way is to grant them honorary titles similar to royal knights, which can win the favor of the nobles without placing too much burden on the government and the royal family.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, the nobles' thoughts became less rational. Under Jacobo's instigation, they quickly agreed to the establishment of the Royal Council and expressed their willingness to let their sons join the Royal Knights.

After all, joining the Royal Knights is not a bad thing. Not only can you get the honorary title of Royal Knight, but it will also make it easier for you to be employed by Carlo, thereby gaining Carlo's trust and making the family's position in Spain more stable.

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(End of this chapter)