Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 185 Valencia State Shipyard

It will take a long time to establish plantations in Congo. Although crops and fruits in tropical regions can be harvested twice or even three times a year, it is still necessary to establish a plantation system, cultivate the land and complete the sowing.

According to the current progress, there will be no results in the next three months. However, Carlo is not in a hurry. After all, it takes a long time to develop Congolese agriculture and exchange Spanish land with nobles.

After arranging the affairs in Congo, Carlo turned his attention back to Spain. The royal family currently has sufficient assets, and more than 2 million available funds also means that the royal family still has enough strength to invest in a certain industry.

It's not even just 2 million in available funds. Some of the diamond jewels in the temple treasure can flow into the market over time, and their value is higher than their actual value.

In addition, the small amount of gold can be exchanged for several times the amount of cash in the hands of the Currency Issuing Committee. In addition, with the continuous income from the royal industry, let alone investing in a certain industry, even if it is investing in several industries a year, as long as the step is not too big, there will be no problem with funds.

Because private capital in Spain was not strong at that time, the royal family's investment was very important for the development of all walks of life in Spain.

The investment of large amounts of capital can promote the rapid development of certain industries. If they are some key industries, they will play a vital role in the future of Spain.

It is for this reason that the royal family's money must be invested in more critical industries in order to provide more effective assistance and lay a solid foundation for the future strength of Spain.

In fact, it goes without saying that the first industry the royal family needs to invest in is shipbuilding.

Spain is a country that faces the sea on many sides and has colonies on all continents, so it certainly attaches importance to the development of its navy and maritime power.

Although the shipbuilding industry does not represent the ability to build warships, it does bear the lower limit of military shipyards. If a country's shipbuilding industry is not well developed, it is difficult to build a world-class military shipyard through its own efforts.

On the contrary, if a country's shipbuilding industry is quite developed, even without the help of other countries, it can still be transformed into an excellent military shipyard through its developed shipbuilding industry.

Although these processes are also difficult, countries with more developed shipbuilding industries will also have smoother progress in the field of military shipbuilding.

Although Spain's shipbuilding industry is not bad, with large and small state-owned and private shipyards, except for the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard that Carlo invested in to save it, other military shipyards currently do not have the ability to build ironclad ships.

In addition, most civilian shipyards were relatively backward in technology and could only build wooden warships or old steamships. These ships were fine for civilian use, but if they were used for military purposes, they would be sitting ducks for the enemy.

Spain's future naval development must not rely solely on the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard. If the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard is destroyed, wouldn't it mean that Spain will completely lose the ability to build the latest ironclad ships?

Taking all the above into consideration, Carlo decided to invest heavily in the development of Spain's shipbuilding industry, helping state-owned and private civilian shipyards to acquire more advanced experience in building civilian ships, and integrating some civilian shipyards to build a new medium-to-large military shipyard.

This shipyard does not need to have the ability to build 7500-ton ironclad ships like the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard. As a shipyard that is used to replace the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard in an emergency, which is usually the second largest military shipyard in Spain, the goal of this new shipyard is to have two docks capable of building warships over tons.

The Royal Guarnizo Shipyard was located in the Bay of Santander in the Cantabria region, and the new shipyard had to be located on the Mediterranean coast to ensure that both shipyards would not be bombed and destroyed by the enemy at the same time.

After much deliberation, Carlo finally decided to locate the new shipyard in Valencia, Valencia Region, which is also the closest large port to Madrid.

Why not put it in Barcelona, ​​which has a bigger port? The main reason is that Barcelona already has an industrial zone. If there is another medium-sized or large shipyard, it will inevitably be bombed by the enemy during the war. This is inevitable.

But then again, the development of the shipbuilding industry does not rely solely on the efforts of the royal family. The Spanish government must also contribute.

The current Spanish government is not poor. After careful consideration, Carlo finally asked Butler Loren to develop a "Spanish Shipbuilding Industry Development Plan" and took this plan to the cabinet to meet with Prime Minister Primo.

Seeing Prime Minister Primo after a long time, Carlo's first impression was that Prime Minister Primo looked older.

Prime Minister Primo was born in 1814 and is currently only 61 years old. Perhaps because Spain has spent too much energy on reform, Prime Minister Primo looks older and more decadent even though he is four years younger than Archduke Serrano.

If Carlo didn't know Prime Minister Primo's age, he would even think that the old man in front of him was in his seventies or almost eighty years old.

But in fact, 61 years old is not that old. Although the average life expectancy in Europe is only or years old, this is a statistic for ordinary people after all.

High-ranking officials and nobles like Prime Minister Primo, except for those who died in childhood, had an average life expectancy of over 60 years old. Many even died in their seventies or eighties due to various diseases.

The most obvious examples are Garibaldi and Serrano.

Garibaldi was born in 1807 and eventually died of illness in 1882 due to the sequelae of traveling around the world and fighting on battlefields in his early years. He was almost 75 years old when he died, which is considered a long life in later generations.

Archduke Serrano was no different. He was born in 1810 and died in 1885, so he lived for almost 75 years, almost the entire 19th century.

From these examples, we can see that even if the average life expectancy of civilians is less than 40 years due to various exploitation and security issues, the high-ranking officials and nobles are still unaffected.

Not to mention these famous dukes and nobles, even if they are just ordinary barons and earls, as long as they don't commit suicide, living to fifty or sixty years old is not a problem.

Moreover, many people of this era died of poisoning from various chemical elements, not natural deaths in the true sense of the word.

Especially among the noble ladies, many of them used substances on the periodic table of chemical elements to make up. These were strictly prohibited in the palace, and any strange things and elements entering the palace had to be examined.

Carlo doesn't want the normal food he eats to be mixed with some strange things. It will not only affect his lifespan, but also the health of his family and the growth of his children.

"Your Majesty." Although it was Carlo who took the initiative to meet Prime Minister Primo, Prime Minister Primo still took the initiative to salute Carlo.

"Prime Minister Primo." Carlo also stepped forward, stopped Prime Minister Primo's salute, and pulled Prime Minister Primo to sit on the sofa next to him, with a very gentle and respectful attitude.

For Carlo, Prime Minister Primo is definitely his benefactor. Without the support of Prime Minister Primo, he would never become the King of Spain.

After choosing a young foreign nobleman to become the King of Spain, Prime Minister Primo not only did not take the opportunity to fight for power, but also guaranteed Carlo a certain voice.

Although such a small amount of voice will not play a role in the government's decision-making, it is at least much better than openly sidelining Carlo.

Moreover, Prime Minister Primo gradually handed over more power to Carlo as time went by. The fact that he was not greedy for power was enough to make Carlo admire Prime Minister Primo sincerely from the bottom of his heart.

Not to mention Prime Minister Primo's contribution to Spain. Agricultural reform, land recovery, literacy education, industrial development and other achievements are enough to make Prime Minister Primo one of the greatest prime ministers in Spain in the past century, and even the word "one" can be removed.

Especially since the rule of the irascible King Ferdinand VII and Queen Isabella II, Spain has been sinking and declining at an extremely fast pace.

Prime Minister Primo deserves absolute credit for stopping and reversing this downward trend.

Again, in Carlo's heart, Prime Minister Primo is definitely a major contributor to Spain's rejuvenation, and can even be said to be the number one contributor.

As long as Prime Minister Primo does not do anything stupid next, he will become a representative official who has been highlighted and praised by Carlo throughout his reign. His ten-year rule with Carlo will also be promoted as a close cooperation similar to the close cooperation between German King William I and Prime Minister Bismarck, and they will jointly write a good story and epic for people to read and admire.

This is a true reputation that will be passed down through the ages. Even if the Kingdom of Spain is destroyed in the future, this history will not be changed. For politicians, such a reputation may be more attractive than some actual benefits. After all, although the benefits are tempting, they are only temporary. This kind of story that will be passed down through the ages is not something you can have just by wanting it. It requires a certain timing, a certain opportunity, and the trust of the king.

"Prime Minister Primo, this is the shipbuilding industry development plan I formulated based on the current backwardness of Spain's shipbuilding industry. It requires close cooperation with the government, and related matters also require your attitude, Prime Minister Primo." Carlo smiled and took out his long-prepared shipbuilding industry development plan. After handing it to Prime Minister Primo, he explained with a smile.

Prime Minister Primo nodded, took the shipbuilding industry development plan, and read it carefully.

“Integrate some of the unsalvageable private and state-owned civilian shipyards and transform them into medium- to large-scale military shipyards?
Help other private and state-owned civilian shipyards that can be saved to develop better, and improve the Spanish shipbuilding system? "Primo read and nodded to himself, obviously taking this development plan very seriously.

Carlo's development plan was actually just a few pages, but Prime Minister Primo still spent nearly half an hour reading it.

Prime Minister Primo read out almost every word in the plan himself, and sometimes even thought about it seriously, obviously showing great respect for Carlo's development plan.

After reading the last word on the plan, Primo's subordinate closed his eyes first, then suddenly opened them, nodded, looked at Carlo, and said with a smile: "From this plan alone, I can't find any problems, Your Majesty."

Not finding any problems actually means that they agree, but Prime Minister Primo is not too sure. The specific development of the shipbuilding industry still requires detailed consultation and joint investment between the government and the royal family. Prime Minister Primo will not take on too much, which will only bring a huge financial burden to the government.

“My plan is that the royal family and the government will each contribute 1500 million pesetas to acquire certain state-owned and private civilian shipyards that are beyond rescue, and completely integrate these shipyards, absorb shipbuilding workers, and then build medium-to-large military shipyards in Valencia to replace the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard in certain emergencies.

The government is responsible for the land and shipyard construction. The government holds a 55% stake in this newly established military shipyard, and the royal family holds a 45% stake. We work together to build this shipyard.

What does Prime Minister Primo think? "Some more complicated things are naturally not something that can be explained by a small plan, and Carlo needs to explain them in more detail.

After hearing what Carlo said, Prime Minister Primo thought about it and finally gave his answer: "1500 million pesetas? This amount of money is not much. Your Majesty, what about the subsequent encouragement of other state-owned and private shipyards? How should it be carried out?"

Seeing that Prime Minister Primo did not refuse to establish the second largest military shipyard, Carlo breathed a sigh of relief and began to answer Prime Minister Primo's new questions: "The current preliminary plan is to issue certain tax reduction policies for the civilian shipbuilding industry, and the government will take the lead in organizing the training and cultivation of some shipbuilding industry employees.

Another thing is to solve the problem of orders from civilian shipyards. Only by taking multiple measures can we completely solve the current situation of our shipbuilding industry gradually falling behind and declining, and let the Spanish shipbuilding industry return to the forefront of the world. "

There are many reasons for the decline of civilian shipyards, the most important of which can be divided into three aspects: backward technology, reduced orders and insufficient staff.

These three aspects also affect each other. The backward technology leads to a decrease in orders for shipyards, which in turn affects the income of shipyards, and ultimately leads to layoffs.

The fewer employees a shipyard has, the more impossible it is to make technological progress. This will prevent the shipyard's related technologies from making any progress, and eventually lead to a vicious cycle.

To solve this problem, external forces are needed to solve these three problems at the same time in an extremely tough manner.

If the government and the royal family cooperate, these three problems can indeed be easily solved. Insufficient staff can be quickly trained, and backward technology can be supported. As for the lack of orders for private shipyards, they can compete with foreign shipyards for orders after they have enough staff and excellent technology.

Spain still has a certain reputation in the civilian shipbuilding industry. Although it was weak for a while, it has regained a certain reputation in the civilian shipbuilding industry thanks to the strong rise of military shipyards.

As long as we can strike while the iron is hot and speed up the support and construction of civilian shipyards, we will have no problem competing for some international orders.

The cost of ships built in civilian shipyards is not high. After all, the tonnage of these ships is not as large as that of main battleships, which can easily reach several thousand tons or nearly ten thousand tons.

There is no need for excellent armor protection and large-caliber artillery, and a lot of costs have been saved.

Low cost means low selling price. As long as the selling price is low, more ship orders can be found from all over the world to meet the needs of shipyards.

Previously, the Fuxing-class ironclad ships could not find buyers anywhere in the world, but now it is relatively easy to find a few buyers for civilian ships.

For example, the former Spanish colonies in the Americas may not have enough funds to build ironclad ships, but they still had enough money to build civilian ships.

In addition to these countries in the Americas, some European countries with underdeveloped shipbuilding industries can also become potential customers for Spanish private shipyards.

In addition, these Spanish colonies also need some civilian ships to enhance their transportation capacity. Sea transportation is an extremely advantageous mode of transportation in any era, even in later generations.

Although airplanes are faster, they can't carry as much cargo and have fairly strict cargo restrictions.

The speed of trains is also higher than that of transport ships, but trains have to run on land, and cross-border transportation is more troublesome.

Large transport ships are different. To travel from one port to another, they only need to cross the ocean and resupply supplies at coastal ports.

In later generations, a super-large transport ship can carry up to 10,000 tons or even tens of thousands of tons of cargo. If an airplane were to transport this amount of cargo, it would be beyond its capacity.

After hearing Carlo's introduction, Prime Minister Primo nodded, secretly estimating the cost the government would have to bear by doing so.

In the shipbuilding industry alone, the investment required is at least 5000 million pesetas. If the royal family or the government were to pay for this amount alone, it would not be a major blow, but it would obviously affect the development of other areas.

If the royal family and the government each pay half, the problem can be solved. Half of 5000 million pesetas is 2500 million pesetas, which is less than one-third of the annual profit of the royal family's enterprises and less than one-twentieth of the government's annual fiscal revenue.

Taking out this money is not a big burden for the royal family and the government. If it can effectively promote the development of military and civilian shipbuilding, it will definitely be a good thing.

After thinking for a moment, Prime Minister Primo said, "Your Majesty, I agree with your shipbuilding development plan. I will notify the relevant departments to closely cooperate with the royal family's actions, and I will also ask the industrial department to come up with a specific plan and time period for the construction of the shipyard.

Let the ministers of various departments and Butler Loren discuss some specific matters. This will be of great benefit to Spain and will promote the development of Spain.

Your Majesty, do you have any naming suggestions for this medium-sized and large military shipyard after the integration? "

The naming of the shipyard? Carlo shook his head. It would be better for him not to participate in the naming fee of the shipyard.

Seeing Carlo shook his head, Prime Minister Primo continued: "Since the site is in Valencia, why not call it the Valencia State-Owned Military Shipyard."

For a monarchy, enterprises controlled by the royal government are state-owned, and enterprises controlled by the royal family are also state-owned. Enterprises jointly controlled by the royal government and the royal family are naturally state-owned within state-owned, so there is nothing wrong with calling them state-owned shipyards.

Carlo also nodded and had no objection to the naming of the shipyard.

The naming of military shipyards does not need to be too fancy. On the contrary, simple and clear naming can increase the recognition of military shipyards.

Just like the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard, the largest military shipyard in Spain, it is actually a military shipyard established by the royal family in Guarnizo, and the name is also simple.

5400 words two-in-one chapter, please support!



(End of this chapter)