Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 58 Serrano Returns

The grand ceremony of consecration will be held in July 1870.

The army led by the Duke of Serrano is expected to return to Spain in mid-to-late June.

After more than a week of rest, I can attend the consecration ceremony and a small-scale military parade in Madrid.

The purpose of the military parade was simple. First, it was to celebrate the fact that Spain had resolved the rebellion problems at home and in the colonies, and that the Spanish people could finally enjoy peace.

Secondly, it is also a deterrent to the Republicans and other forces with ulterior motives in Spain. Even the Carlists and Cuban separatists can be dealt with, and other forces will also have to consider whether they can pose a threat to the Spanish government.

For the Spanish people, the investiture ceremony and military parade are not only fun to watch, but also can inspire the patriotic enthusiasm of some people and their admiration for military merit.

After all, most of the soldiers who received titles and awards were ordinary people. If they could do it, why couldn't other Spanish civilians do it?
Since early June, the government has been warming up for the sealing ceremony.

Newspapers, including The Sun and others, have also been publishing news about the investiture ceremony and making bold guesses about the nobles who will be invested in the ceremony.

Prime Minister Primo and Duke Serrano are two names that are often mentioned. Their reputation in politics and the military far exceeds that of others, and they are the greatest contributors to the suppression of the rebellion.

Amid the people's expectations, Duke Serrano finally led his army to Spain and returned to Madrid by train.

Carlo attached great importance to his heroes. On the day when Duke Serrano led his army back to Madrid, Carlo not only went to greet them in person, but also had the makeshift Royal Military Band play the "Royal March" to welcome the returning heroes.

Duke Serrano was obviously a little surprised by Carlo's personal welcome.

However, Serrano reacted quickly. The moment he saw Carlo coming to greet him personally, he immediately abandoned the army behind him, rode forward alone, stopped a hundred meters away, and then walked towards Carlo alone.

"Your Majesty!" Duke Serrano was the first to salute Carlo.

"Welcome back to Spain, Duke of Serrano." Carlo smiled and nodded, and said very intimately: "I have prepared a celebration party for you. Go and have a rest. We will have a good chat in the evening."

Duke Serrano nodded, and then started chatting with Prime Minister Primo and others behind Carlo.

Following behind Duke Serrano, Carlo saw two familiar faces, Andrew Rosso and Carmen Esposito, whom he had assigned to the anti-rebellion army.

During the process of suppressing the rebellion in Cuba, Carlo also read several reports on the results of the battle from Duke Serrano.

Andrew and Carman were both outstanding graduates of the Turin Military Academy. They performed very well in the war against Cuba and were praised many times by Duke Serrano himself.

You know, although Duke Serrano leans towards the conservative royalist faction, it doesn't mean that he will give in to anything Carlo does.

Even though he knew that Carlo put these two guys into the army to gild their reputation, Duke Serrano would never take the initiative to praise them if they did not have enough ability.

Being praised by Duke Serrano proves that Andrew and Kaman's military command abilities are excellent and worth using for Carlo.

It just so happened that the credit for suppressing the rebellion in Cuba was still great. Taking the opportunity to confer the title of Grand Duke to Duke Serrano, Carlo also planned to confer the title of Baron to Andrew and Carman, and to further win them over while also giving them the hope of entering the higher levels of the Spanish army and taking charge of the Spanish army when Primo and Serrano retired in the future. The reason why they were not promoted directly was not only to actually test their abilities, but also because they were also Italians and had not made any contributions in Spain.

Although it would be easy for Carlo as a king to promote them, if he forcibly promoted them without any merit, the soldiers under his command would have different opinions, and it would also cause dissatisfaction among the generals and nobles.

After Cuba became a gold-plated country, such problems no longer existed.

The importance of Cuba to Spain is self-evident. This is also the reason why Spain would rather spend 700 million pesos to keep Cuba under its colonial rule in history.

Their contribution in suppressing the Cuban rebellion was enough to earn both of them a knighthood and a chance for rapid promotion in the military.

As for whether they can gain recognition from their soldiers and gradually enter the military hierarchy, that depends on their actual abilities.

Anyway, Carlo has already set up the ladder for them to move up. If they still can't climb up to the highest level of the military, it can only prove that Carlo's vision is wrong.

Anyway, Carlo has enough time to wait. As the Royal Military Academy gradually gets on track, more new officers will be trained in the future.

Carlo also holds the title of honorary principal, and these young officers trained can be said to be Carlo's disciples.

Whether Andrew and Carman become senior officials in the Spanish military first, or wait for the outstanding young officers trained in military academies to gradually climb to the top of the military, it is acceptable to Carlo.

Anyway, Serrano and Primo are at least a few years away from retirement, and these few years are exactly the golden period for them to work hard to climb up.

These years were also the most stable period in Spain. Military and political power was divided among Serrano, Primo and Carlo, and the others could only succumb to the tyranny of the three men.

Once Serrano and Primo retire one after another, if the confidants cultivated by Carlo cannot take over their power, what Carlo will face next will not be such a stable division of political power.

"Well done." Carlo said with a smile to Andrew and Carman.

The two of them had completed the task assigned to them, so Carlo naturally had to express his close attitude towards them.

After all, in some ways, Andrew, Carman and Carlo, who are all Italians, are closer.

They are also outsiders in Spain, and if they want to move up, they can only rely on Carlo's support. This is why Carlo chooses to trust them and give them opportunities.

Carlo has no shortage of ordinary talents. For Carlo, what is really scarce are those subordinates who he can fully trust and have certain abilities.

"Go back and have a good rest. As heroes, you must not miss the banquet tonight." Carlo continued, "You have done a good job in suppressing the rebellion in Cuba this time. I will definitely not treat heroes unfairly."

Let me report to you all. If I really chase 1300, I still have some distance to Sanjiang. So I can’t get to Sanjiang in the next issue. I can only wait until next Monday to see if there is any hope. But don’t worry, although I am disappointed, it will not affect my mentality. This book will never be abandoned. The author will check and revise the whole book to live up to your support.

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(End of this chapter)