Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 109 Military Academy Graduates

During these few days in Vienna, the news of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie's engagement spread throughout Europe.

The marriage between the King of Spain and the Princess of Austria-Hungary was definitely a powerful alliance, and it might even change the situation in the Mediterranean.

Because of this, more than one or two countries paid attention to this marriage. Even King Louis I of Portugal personally sent a congratulatory telegram.

Speaking of Louis I, he was also Carlo's brother-in-law. Carlo's sister Maria Pia was his queen. They had two children together and were quite loving before their marriage.

But their relationship deteriorated as Maria Pia discovered King Louis' numerous lovers.

Who can be blamed for this? The only thing to blame is that Luis I’s elder brother, Pedro V, died at the age of 24 without leaving any heirs. Luis, who had no hope of inheriting the throne, got the Portuguese throne out of the blue.

Louis was not trained as the heir to the throne, so naturally no one cared about his romantic life. When he became king, he was already an adult, so naturally no one cared about him.

Louis I was a relatively popular king in Portugal, and he implemented policies set by his brother, such as abolishing slavery and the death penalty for civil offenses.

But when it comes to political talent, Louis I's political talent can only be described as poor. In Portugal, a constitutional monarchy, his power was too restricted, and the situation in Portugal has not improved much in the ten years since he took office.

As for why King Louis took the initiative to congratulate Carlo and Spain, it was certainly not because of his relationship with Carlo.

In fact, the royal families of European countries are more or less related, but this relationship is nothing in the face of national interests.

What really made Louis I take the initiative to congratulate was actually the huge gap in strength between Spain and Portugal.

It would be fine if there was a gap in strength, but Portugal’s only neighbor is Spain.

As the only two countries on the Iberian Peninsula, conflicts between Portugal and Spain often occur.

Portugal is often the one that is bullied, which is why Louis I, as King of Portugal, is so proactive.

Previously, with the support of the British, the Portuguese did not have to worry about Spain taking any action. But now that Spain is on good terms with Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it may not be afraid of Portugal, which has the support of the British.

Carlo certainly understood what Louis I meant, and Spain had no intention of provoke the British again in the short term.

The British would never agree to Spain's exclusive possession of the Iberian Peninsula unless Spain had enough strength to compete with the British.

After returning to Madrid, Carlo asked Butler Loren to start preparing for the wedding one year later.

In addition to the preparations made by the royal family, the Spanish government also attached great importance to the wedding a year later and expressed its willingness to invest 200 million pesetas to prepare a wedding of the century for Carlo.

Carlo also knew the government's intentions. It seemed that the investment was 200 million pesetas, but the government could earn more from cooperation with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If the Austro-Hungarian Empire had provided Spain with just a little industrial technology, Spain would have gained far more than 200 million pesetas.

With the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain does not have to worry about some diplomatic issues or the influence of other powers. This is the most important thing.

When the Spanish people learned that the future Queen of Spain would be Archduchess Sophie of Austria-Hungary, their attitudes were supportive and optimistic.

Thanks to policies such as agricultural tax reduction and abolition of tithe, Carlo has already established a certain good impression in the hearts of the Spanish people.

Archduchess Sophie is the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the eyes of the Spaniards, the two are a very well-matched couple.

Even some small private newspapers published various and varied love stories of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie in order to attract attention.

Words like love at first sight and mutual affection attracted many Spaniards to buy newspapers, which is enough to show that the Spaniards' current support for Carlo is generally quite popular.

Although these small newspapers were suspected of using Carlo to gain publicity, they did not have much impact on the prestige of the royal family, so Carlo did not intend to manage them.

Of course, if there are those who maliciously fabricate false information in an attempt to influence the reputation of the royal family and undermine the impression of the royal family in the minds of the people, they must be resolutely stopped and punished.

Spain's overall control over newspapers is still strict. Although it is much more relaxed than during the reign of Queen Isabel, Prime Minister Primo still established a relevant news review department at Carlo's suggestion to review newspapers published by major newspapers.

As long as the content published in the newspaper is approved by the government, there is actually nothing wrong with using Carlo to make some publicity.

Anyway, no matter whether it is a big newspaper or a small newspaper, no one dares to discredit the royal family. Such reports can also increase the public's favorability towards Carlo to a certain extent. Of course, it can also avoid the result that the story becomes more and more exaggerated due to word of mouth. Carlo knows very well how exaggerated the spread of rumors is. If these newspapers had not given a story that did not harm the royal family, who knows what version of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie's love story would eventually be spread through word of mouth?

As time came to the end of April 1871, Carlo also ushered in a very important day, which was the first graduation ceremony after the expansion of the Royal Military Academy of Madrid.

Nearly two years have passed since the reform of the Royal Military Academy, and the students who were at the Royal Military Academy before the reform have finally graduated.

As military academy students who faced military academy reform while they were in school, they were both lucky and unfortunate.

Fortunately, after the reform of the Royal Military Academy, Carlo and the government will pay more attention to them. As the first batch of graduates trained by the reformed Royal Military Academy, they are destined to be reused in the army in the future.

But unfortunately, due to the reform of the Royal Military Academy, all their previous study time at the Military Academy was reset to zero.

Regardless of which class the military academy students were from, they were actually new students after the reform. They graduated after nearly two years of military academy study and became low-level officers with the rank of lieutenant.

The first batch of graduates from the Royal Military Academy of Madrid reached more than 400 people, which was good news for Carlo.

The problem of the lack of young Spanish officers can finally be alleviated, and there is even hope that among these 400 people, a few senior officers who can grow into generals will emerge.

As the honorary president of the Royal Military Academy, Carlo certainly could not miss the graduation ceremony of the first batch of students of the Military Academy.

In theory, these graduates are also his disciples. Carlo will certainly not miss the opportunity to win them over and make them understand who they should be loyal to.

Moreover, these graduates are basically Spanish, and their promotion in the army will not be hindered. Only when these Spaniards become middle and high-level in the army can Carlo's influence really penetrate the army.

Once Carlo's influence truly penetrates the army and controls at least half of the army, Carlo's power will gradually expand, and eventually replace Prime Minister Primo's power, completing the transition of leadership of the Spanish government.

April 1871, 4, at the Royal Military Academy on the outskirts of Madrid.

Bathed in the warm sunshine, Carlo successfully arrived at the Royal Military Academy and walked towards the conference hall inside the academy.

More than 400 graduating military cadets gathered here, and their graduation ceremony was also held today.

As if they had already known the news that His Majesty the King was coming, most of the military academy graduates were looking forward to it and could not help but stand up and look at the entrance of the venue.

Suddenly, several soldiers of the Royal Guards opened the door of the venue and stood guard at the door.

All the teachers and students in the venue immediately knew that the king had arrived, and they all stood up and welcomed their king with applause and cheers.

Hearing the cheers of these graduates, Carlo felt even better. These 400 people were not just simple military academy graduates, they were also Carlo's helpers in controlling the army in the future.

Under the enthusiastic gazes of many military academy graduates, Carlo walked up to the podium in the center of the venue with a smile on his face and began his passionate speech: "

Good afternoon, outstanding graduates of the Royal Military Academy and excellent teachers of the academy! It is a pleasure to meet you. The royal family will never forget your efforts in the past few years.

All of you here are the elites of Spain and also the hope of Spain's future. I hope that after graduation you will continue to work hard to become an excellent Spanish soldier and a hero trusted by all Spanish people.

Spain used to be glorious and great, but now it has fallen from grace. We have lost our Latin American colonies, we have lost Gibraltar, what else can we lose?

Fellow students, I hope that after you join the army, you will remember your mission and the mission of every Spaniard, which is to make Spain great again!

Spain is big, but we have nothing to lose. We must do everything we can to protect our land and every Spaniard.

It is the duty of all Spaniards to restore the glory of Spain! When all of us are fighting for the greatness of Spain, the strength of Spain is unstoppable by anyone.

Let us all shout together at the top of our voices: 'Make Spain Great Again! Long Live Spain!'"

"Make Spain great again!"

"Long live Spain!"

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(End of this chapter)