Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 557 Rewards based on merit
Besides distributing pensions and relief funds and transforming the military industry, there was another matter that required Carlo's personal involvement: rewarding those who had contributed during the war.

Spain is a monarchy, and military meritocracy is essential. On the one hand, it provides a channel for ordinary people to rise quickly to the top levels of the state; on the other hand, it is an important means of expanding the noble class loyal to the king.

Although Spain itself has a noble population of thousands or even tens of thousands, these old-fashioned nobles who are rooted in Spain are not very loyal to outsiders like Carlo.

Modern Spain doesn't need too many old-fashioned nobles who rely on land for income. What Carlo and Spain need is a new type of noble who doesn't rely on land but on industry and finance.

Despite mobilizing an army of over 420 million men during the war, the number of people who actually earned enough merit to be granted titles was only around a thousand.

Of the nearly one thousand people who are about to be granted noble titles, fewer than four hundred will actually receive noble titles, that is, hereditary noble titles of baron or above.

The remaining six hundred or so people could also obtain knighthood or baronial titles, but their noble titles could not be passed down to the next generation and could only be held for life.

Spain's hereditary noble titles are divided into five ranks: Grand Duke, Duke, Marquis, Count, and Baron.

Although princes and kings are also noble titles, the former is an exclusive title for the heir to the Spanish throne, while the latter is an exclusive title for the rulers of Spain. They are passed down only between the throne and the heir to the throne and are not considered part of the noble system.

The non-hereditary noble titles are divided into two levels: life baron and honorary knight.

Except for the fact that the title of life baron is not hereditary, the rights and privileges of a life baron are the same as those of a hereditary baron. A nobleman who obtains the title of life baron can run for a seat in the Royal House of Lords and can also send his or her children to the Royal Knights to grow up alongside other noble children of the royal family.

Honorary knights do not have this status. If a life baron is still considered a member of the aristocracy, then an honorary knight is more of an honorary title, and naturally cannot enjoy the various benefits and privileges that aristocrats can enjoy.

Of course, an honorary knight is still a knight, and their status is still a slight improvement over that of an ordinary person.

They could at least barely squeeze into the aristocratic class, but they couldn't get their children into the Royal Knights or run for a seat in the Royal House of Lords.

In addition to officers of all ranks in the front-line army and some soldiers who made outstanding contributions receiving titles, domestic officials responsible for coordinating and transporting logistical supplies to the front-line army will also receive corresponding rewards based on their merits.

Besides the commanders on the front lines, the greatest credit should naturally go to Prime Minister Andrew and Count Menotti, the Minister of Defence, during the war.

Although neither of them were native Spaniards, Carlo was very generous to those who had contributed to the country. In this list of rewards, Prime Minister Andreu and Count Menotti will both receive the title of Marquis, thus truly entering the upper echelons of the Spanish nobility.

Because there were so many native Spanish nobles, the lowest ranks of nobility, such as count and baron, had little presence among them.

Unless one is an earl or baron favored by Carlo, one has no advantage whatsoever when running for a seat in the Royal House of Lords.

Even the governors of the Spanish colonies would usually send high-ranking nobles, such as marquises or above.

This is the reputation and status that these old nobles have cultivated over a long period of time, and Carlo generally would not undermine their status.

Of course, if it harms the interests of the royal family or the national interest, Carlo will not be polite to these old-fashioned nobles.

However, under normal circumstances, Carlo was willing to coexist harmoniously with these old-fashioned Spanish nobles, after all, everyone was considering the long-term existence of the Spanish monarchy and the far-reaching interests of the monarch and the noble system.

In this respect, Carlo and both the old and new Spanish nobles were actually on the same page.

Apart from Prime Minister Andrew and Earl Menotti, in this award ceremony, one person was awarded the title of Duke, seven people were awarded the title of Marquis, 92 people were awarded the title of Earl, and 193 people were awarded the title of Baron.

A total of 216 people were granted the title of life baron, and 496 people were granted the title of honorary knight, for a total of 1005 people who were granted noble titles, which greatly increased the power of the Spanish noble class.

This was clearly good news for Carlo. Besides the expansion of the new Spanish aristocratic system, there was also the fact that Spain's military power was now largely in the hands of these new nobles.

These people could not only help Carlo better control the Spanish army, but also help him counterbalance the old-fashioned Spanish nobility, making them understand that only by pledging allegiance to the king could they have a good life.

Because it involved the bestowal of titles upon thousands of people, this was destined to be a grand ceremony that garnered much attention. Carlos attached great importance to this ceremony and decided to invite media from across the country and even the world to witness it, making it the grandest bestowal ceremony Carlos had held since becoming King of Spain.

In addition to bestowing titles of nobility, Carlo would also award different medals to officers and ordinary soldiers who made outstanding contributions in the war.

Currently, Spain awards two types of medals: one awarded by the King and the Royal Family, and the other awarded by the government.

Different medals correspond to different levels of contribution. In addition to rewarding officers and soldiers who have made contributions to the military, there are also corresponding medals and titles awarded to the general public who have made contributions to society.

The victory in this war was undoubtedly due to the outstanding contributions of the commanders and soldiers in the army. The scientists who developed tanks and airplanes, the enterprises and factories that produced large quantities of weapons and urgently needed supplies for the front lines, and the workers, all naturally deserved their due credit and contributions.

Carlo's focus in rewarding merit was not limited to the army, but extended to all people in all walks of life throughout Spain.

This is precisely what has attracted the attention of a large number of people throughout Spain. Following the investiture ceremony, a grand event will be held at the ceremony awarding medals to military personnel and members of the public.

The investiture ceremony and the awarding ceremony were destined to be two grand events, and the corresponding statistics and preparations were naturally quite complex.

The good news is that, as King of Spain, Carlos doesn't need to personally oversee these matters. He only needs to establish a general process and then delegate the preparation to Spanish officials.

Aside from grasping a general direction, Carlo didn't need to do anything else, so he wasn't busy.

This caused considerable hardship for many Spanish officials. Both investiture ceremonies and medal-awarding ceremonies required careful accounting of the contributions of frontline troops and people from all walks of life in the rear.

These two grand events, attracting national and even European attention, could not afford any unforeseen circumstances. In particular, the statistics on the merits of the frontline troops could not contain any errors or omissions.

The appropriate titles and medals to be awarded require detailed discussion between the House of Lords and the House of Commons to ensure that the investiture and awarding ceremonies are fair and that the public will not raise any objections.

Because the preparations were quite complex, both events were postponed for three months.

During this period, Spain primarily focused on distributing pensions and relief funds, while also making initial attempts to transform its military industry. There was also good news in this regard: Spain's largest military industrial enterprise was controlled by the royal family.

Both the Royal Arms Factory and the Royal Guanizzo Shipyard are enterprises wholly owned by the royal family. Although the transformation of the military industry will be a painful process, it is necessary for national development, and Carlo will not stop it.

With the royal family, the largest military-industrial enterprise, taking the lead, other private military-industrial enterprises, even if they had grievances, had no choice but to comply with the government's requirements.

Of course, the transformation of the military industry was inevitable. With the end of the world war, Spain no longer needed such a large-scale military industry.

Even at the crucial tank and aircraft factories, Carlo would shut down several production lines, focusing primarily on the upgrading and replacement of tanks and aircraft.

What is certain is that both the victorious and defeated nations focused on the development of tanks and aircraft after the World War.

In other words, countries like Germany, which are almost completely restricted by France, are unlikely to focus on developing tanks and aircraft in the short term because they cannot openly develop them.

Most of the remaining countries will focus on developing tanks and aircraft, given that these two weapons have already proven their worth in world wars.

Tanks, of course, played a crucial role in Spain's swift victory over Germany.

On the vast plains of Western Europe, tanks were truly a weapon of mass destruction. Even with the formidable defenses Germany had built, it was still unable to stop the tanks from breaking through.

Britain and Germany had already produced simplified versions of tanks during the war, and they naturally understood the role of tanks on the battlefield.

The French army was even more aware of this, because the British and German tanks were specifically designed to be used against France.

Spain's tanks were far more powerful than the makeshift tanks produced by Britain and Germany. After Spain easily destroyed a large number of these makeshift tanks, Britain and Germany learned their lesson and deployed all their makeshift tanks to the front lines in the war against France.

This also led to France suffering heavy losses several times when facing Germany's makeshift tanks.

Despite the fact that the tanks produced by Britain and Germany were only simple ones, they were able to wreak havoc on infantry in France, where there were no tanks of the same level.

France did contact Spain, making multiple requests to purchase Spanish tanks.

Although Spain agreed to France's request, it delayed the delivery of tanks to France, citing insufficient tank production lines.

France received its first batch of tanks from Spain near the end of World War II.

The tanks that Spain delivered to France were far from the active tanks that Spain used on the main battlefield; they were older, obsolete tanks.

Of course, even the previous generation of tanks were more powerful in terms of performance and armor protection than the simple tanks copied by Britain and Germany.

Unfortunately, the tanks that France purchased at great expense did not prove useful. By the time France received the tanks, Allied forces had already reached German territory, and Germany quickly surrendered, giving France no chance to use them.

However, France was not too disappointed, as these tanks could be used to help France conduct research and enable France to have its own tanks sooner.

Compared to tanks, which performed exceptionally well in war, airplanes were not as well-known in world wars.

Although various countries had discovered that the Spanish air raids on the German command headquarters were conducted using aircraft, Spain maintained a high degree of secrecy regarding its aircraft. The Allies only had a few rough photos of the Spanish planes, and knew nothing about the relevant data.

France was familiar with the appearance of Spanish aircraft, but Spain was only willing to sell the most basic models and refused to sell any of its existing aircraft.

France was unwilling to buy the simplest aircraft from Spain, because most European countries already had such aircraft.

Although these simplest aircraft could fly, they were not very effective and could not carry out a large-scale surprise attack on the German headquarters like the Spanish invasion.

If France wanted such a simple aircraft, it could purchase it anytime in Europe or even the world. Both Europe and the United States have private organizations engaged in aircraft research and development; it's just that governments don't prioritize it.

By now, most European countries understand why Spain has been so heavily promoting its airships.

This is an open and unsolvable trap, and it has indeed caught Europe and the world off guard.

At the time, airships performed exceptionally well. Because airplanes were still immature, European countries did indeed focus a great deal of attention on airships and invested a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources in their research and development.

Who would have thought that Spain had already mastered the most basic aircraft technology at that time, and was developing airplanes while Europe was extensively researching airships?

By diverting the attention of other European countries, Spain has already taken the lead in aviation. Unless Spain is willing to share its most advanced aircraft technology, no country will be able to surpass Spain in this field anytime soon.

Even if countries like Britain and Germany have strong military research and development capabilities, they cannot quickly overtake Spain when they are significantly behind.

After all, Spain not only made advance plans for developing the aircraft, but also invested a lot of human, material and financial resources.

More importantly, Spain has been conducting research on aircraft for two or three decades. If the results are not leaked, it would take other European countries at least eight to ten years to catch up with the current pace of Spain.

By then, Spain will most likely have more advanced aircraft technology, so it won't have to worry about other European countries catching up with it in terms of aircraft.

Even if Spain catches up with its own aircraft carrier, it won't panic in the slightest. After all, Spain's aircraft carrier project is about to begin development, which is what can greatly enhance the effectiveness of aircraft.

Because European countries have not focused their attention on aircraft, neither the UK nor any other country has developed an aircraft carrier.

If Spain can take the lead in aircraft carriers, the effect will be no less than developing dreadnoughts ahead of time. This also means that Spain has the potential to overtake Britain again in the future, achieving a complete naval superiority and thus having greater strength and confidence to contend for the throne of world hegemony.

(End of this chapter)