Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 192: Prime Minister for a Day

The news that Prime Minister Primo had been assassinated and seriously injured and was in a coma quickly spread through various means to most of the city of Madrid, and even to the whole of Spain.

Both the ministers of the Spanish cabinet government and the members of the House of Representatives were shocked.

Since Prime Minister Primo was elected Prime Minister of Spain after the revolution, he has been in control of Spanish politics and is absolutely the mainstay of the government.

If Prime Minister Primo is present, even if there is a huge chaos, officials will have the confidence that they can calm it down under the leadership of Prime Minister Primo.

But now Prime Minister Primo has been seriously injured and is in a coma, and we urgently need another person who has influence and can step up to stabilize the situation. Who will this person be?

The Spanish government at this time quickly split into two factions. One faction was led by Minister of Transport Ruiz, and most of its members were members of the Progressive Party. They believed that at this time, the parliament should be pushed to elect an acting prime minister to stabilize the situation in Spain until Prime Minister Primo woke up and then canceled the position of acting prime minister.

The Conservative Party, led by Industry Minister Canovas, believes that the most important thing at the moment is to bring Carlo back from southern Morocco and that His Majesty the King should issue orders to stabilize the situation.

The Progressive Party was originally the largest party in the Spanish Parliament, but without the leadership of Prime Minister Primo, it was tied with the second largest party, the Conservative Party.

While the arguments within the parliament were raging, the rebellious nobles had already begun taking action.

Under the malicious instigation of some people, workers' marches in some areas were joined by elements of chaos and violence, and the original marches turned into conflicts with local police.

When the conflict began, even workers who were not originally opposed to the government were unable to interfere with the progress of the conflict.

The end result was that serious clashes broke out on several streets in Madrid, with both the marching workers and the police maintaining law and order suffering casualties.

The conflict changed the pattern of quarrels in the Spanish parliament. Transport Minister Ruiz suddenly won the support of the Liberal Party and was elected as the acting prime minister of Spain with a support rate of more than half of the seats in parliament. He performed the duties of the Spanish prime minister during the period when Prime Minister Primo was injured and in a coma. His term of office will automatically end when Prime Minister Primo ends his coma.

Ruiz, who overcame all difficulties to become the acting Prime Minister of Spain, was in high spirits. He certainly knew that Prime Minister Primo's injuries were serious, and he also knew that even if Prime Minister Primo could be rescued, his physical condition would deteriorate rapidly.

Although his nominal term as prime minister lasted only during the period when Prime Minister Primo was injured, it was actually an experience that no one else could get.

If Prime Minister Primo retires in the future, who will take over the power of Prime Minister from Primo? Of course, it will be him who has been the acting Prime Minister. This will be very helpful for him to become the new Prime Minister of Spain and the new leader of the Progressive Party in the future.

Ruiz did not take such a small workers' march seriously at all.

On the afternoon of November 1875, 11, Ruiz, who had just been elected as the acting Prime Minister of Spain, immediately announced that he would order the troops stationed in Toledo to march north to Madrid, and declared martial law in Madrid, demanding that the marching workers disband the march and promising to seek justice for the workers.

Although there were troops stationed in Madrid, Ruiz was smart enough not to mobilize the main army of Madrid. Why? Because Archduke Serrano also moved his Ministry of Defense office to the military camp in Madrid. The army of Madrid was completely controlled by Archduke Serrano. Ruiz was not stupid.

The army in Madrid was of course closer, but it could also threaten his position as acting prime minister. As a radical reformer, he had different ideas from a conservative noble like Archduke Serrano. If Archduke Serrano staged a military coup, it would be a lot of fun.

Therefore, even if he had to mobilize troops from Toledo, which was dozens of kilometers away, Ruiz was unwilling to mobilize troops from the closer military camps on the outskirts of Madrid.

What Ruiz didn't expect was that before Toledo's army arrived, a new accident happened.

If these rebellious nobles were quite dissatisfied with Prime Minister Primo, then their hatred and disgust for the more radical reformer Ruiz was naked.

Prime Minister Primo's reforms would also take into account the opinions of the nobles and would not kill them all. However, Ruiz's reforms were extremely radical, and he even supported the abolition of the Spanish monarchy and the establishment of a completely republican and democratic Spanish state.

For the rebellious nobles, Ruiz was also a trouble that must be removed. If Ruiz was allowed to take control of the power, I am afraid that this guy would definitely find an opportunity to promote the Spanish Republic.

The rebellious nobles were still waiting to welcome back Queen Isabella and regain their aristocratic privileges, but they did not want to think that Spain would become a republic before the queen returned.

If that's the case, what's the point of the Queen coming back? Does she need to get a Spanish Republic resident ID card?
While quickly preparing for an armed rebellion, the rebellious nobles spread all kinds of rumors that were unfavorable to Ruiz.

For example, it was said that Prime Minister Primo was actually killed by someone sent by Ruiz, in order to take control of the Spanish government after Prime Minister Primo fell into a coma.

There were also news reports that Ruiz owned several large factories and that he was even more hateful than the factory owners who had been exposed, trying to discredit Ruiz, who had become the acting prime minister.

Ruiz was also very troubled at this time. He had just become the acting prime minister and had not enjoyed the power for long, but his reputation had already been smeared like this.

However, the most important thing at the moment is to end this workers' march that has affected most of Madrid, otherwise the government will not be able to free up time to deal with other issues.

In order to ensure stability in Madrid, Ruiz issued a new order that police responsible for maintaining public order could use firearms in dangerous conditions to prevent workers' marches from turning into armed conflicts.

But what he didn't expect was that this order instantly ignited the workers' march.

Originally, the police did not intend to actively shoot at the working class, but they could not resist the malicious guidance and fuel-fueling of the rebellious nobles on the working class side.

When someone in a chaotic crowd shoots at the police, even if the police are reluctant to shoot at civilians, they have to use their guns for their own personal safety.

The fatal consequence of this was that several demonstration sites were ignited in a short period of time, and the cumulative casualties of workers and police quickly reached hundreds.

"What?" Ruiz, who had just learned of the casualties, showed a shocked expression on his face and asked incredulously: "Who told them to shoot first? Didn't I tell you to wait until the most dangerous moment to use firearms?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, it was not our police who opened fire first, but someone in the crowd who shot and attacked them first." The Minister of Public Security explained with a wry smile: "After the shooting, the crowd fell into chaos, and our police suffered a large number of casualties.

In order to maintain stability, we had no choice but to fire warning shots at the crowd and force them to retreat."

"Damn it." Ruiz pounded the table twice. He was not in a very good mood at the moment.

The current situation has reached a more critical point. If the workers' demonstration is not handled properly, it is likely to turn into civil unrest against the government. "Where are our troops? How long will it take to reach Madrid?" Ruiz asked.

At present, only by controlling the army can he ensure the stability of Madrid and secure his position as acting prime minister.

As for whether using the army to suppress the march would cause fierce resistance from workers, this was no longer a question Ruiz wanted to consider.

After all, only by resolving the current workers' demonstrations can the Spanish government have the opportunity to consider other issues. If even the workers' demonstrations in Madrid cannot be resolved, then there is no need to consider other things, because the workers themselves will overthrow the government.

"We received news this morning from the Toledo army that they have already started their operation. Based on the distance between Madrid and Toledo, they should be able to reach Madrid in half a day at most," replied the Minister of Security.

Ruiz did not dare to trouble Archduke Serrano to mobilize the army, but directly contacted the garrison in Toledo as acting prime minister.

Although he is acting as prime minister, he also has the same powers as the prime minister, including the power to mobilize the army in an emergency.

Hearing the news that the army was about to arrive, Ruiz nodded in relief, and then ordered: "When the army arrives in Madrid, immediately suppress the workers' march.

I don't expect any demonstrations in the streets tomorrow, Spain should be in a stable situation by tonight."

"I understand." The Minister of Security nodded.

On the other side, in the Madrid military camp, Archduke Serrano was communicating with Carlo via telegram.

Archduke Serrano gave a detailed report on the current situation in Madrid and the fact that Transport Minister Ruiz became acting prime minister with the support of the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party in Parliament.

Carlo's response was that since the Spanish government had an acting prime minister, Archduke Serrano would naturally not be in a hurry to step forward.

Originally, Carlo only intended to deal with the rebellious nobles and Bourbon remnants in this chaos, but since both the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party intervened, it would naturally be more important to let them fight each other for fun.

As long as Carlo was unwilling, Ruiz would not be able to suppress the workers' demonstrations, because the military power in Spain was completely concentrated in the hands of Archduke Serrano, who in turn obeyed Carlo.

Originally, Prime Minister Primo had a great influence on the army, but after he was seriously injured and fell into a coma, no one could match Archduke Serrano's influence on the army.

Although Ruiz was clever in dispatching the Toledo army, in fact the commander of the Toledo garrison had already sent a telegram to ask for Archduke Serrano's opinion.

If Archduke Serrano refused, Toledo's army would not take any action at all, let alone openly cooperate with Ruiz's orders.

On the evening of November 11, the rebellious nobles attacked the Madrid police with a small number of troops and seized a batch of weapons and equipment.

With this batch of weapons and equipment, the number of rebel troops quickly expanded to hundreds. Hundreds of people, along with thousands of workers, attacked the Spanish government and parliament, and even attacked several arms warehouses set up by the security department in Madrid.

During this period, some troops attacked the royal palace, but as early as the moment the workers marched, the Guards Division had already been stationed around the palace.

Not to mention an armed force of several hundred people, even an armed force of tens of thousands of people would not be able to capture the palace in a short period of time.

The rebellious nobles returned empty-handed and could only turn their attention to other more important places, such as the Spanish government building, the parliament building and the residences of government officials.

Because of the sudden attack, the Spanish Parliament building was quickly occupied, and some police and rebel troops engaged in fierce fighting outside the government building.

Instead, the Spanish government was losing ground to the rebel army, and the Toledo army that Ruiz had been thinking about was still advancing slowly south of Madrid.

Carlo's goal was to make the water in Madrid even more muddy. Therefore, although Archduke Serrano did not say it explicitly in his telegram reply to the Toledo army, he also hinted that the Toledo army should delay its advance.

The distance between Madrid and Toledo is only 70 kilometers, and the Toledo army is stationed in the north of Toledo, just over 50 kilometers away from Madrid.

But it was this distance of more than 50 kilometers that meant that Toledo's army still had to walk more than ten or twenty kilometers from morning to evening.

The deliberate slowness of the Toledo army left the Spanish government with little means of resistance against the rebel army. Although there were many police officers in Madrid, they were scattered throughout Madrid to maintain order and prevent the marching teams from causing chaos.

There were only a few dozen police officers protecting the government buildings and the parliament buildings. Facing hundreds of armed forces with guns and thousands of united workers, dozens of police officers were really too few.

"Damn it!" Ruiz in the government building was pale at this time. He knew that he was finished.

The workers' march turned into a rebellion, that is, a small-scale civil war broke out in Spain under his hands. No matter what the outcome of this war, with Prime Minister Primo seriously injured and in a coma, he would definitely be the main candidate to take the blame.

With a reputation as the cause of the Spanish Civil War, it would be a good outcome if he could avoid being purged, let alone continue to run for the next Prime Minister of Spain.

What's more, the rebels have already reached the outside of the government building, and Ruiz can't escape now even if he wants to.

The pale Ruiz wanted to make a final resistance. He asked hoarsely: "Where are the troops from Toledo? Have they reached Madrid?"

The Minister of Security first shook his head, and then a telegram was received inside the government building.

After reading the entire content of the telegram, the Minister of Security walked up with a strange look on his face and handed the contents of the telegram to Ruiz.

"Mr. Acting Prime Minister, you should check it out yourself. Toledo's troops have arrived, but they went to the south of Madrid to report to Archduke Serrano."

Ruiz's pupils dilated instantly, and then he fell down on the stool with a pale face: "It's over!"

(End of this chapter)