Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Undercurrents Surging

With Carlo’s full support, Prim was brimming with confidence and stayed up late that night to revise his reform plan.

Since the capitalists and the Church are destined to be the enemies of the Spanish Government, there was no need to consider their opinions during the reforms.

On January 3, 1870, the Spanish Government applied to the parliament for extra military expenditure, which was successively approved by both the parliament and Carlo.

At that time, Prim still controlled the majority of seats in the parliament, so such processes were just mere formalities.

With this extra military funding, Prim immediately dispatched a diplomatic team to purchase weapons and cannons abroad.

In Prim’s plan, the Krupp cannons, which had been tested in both the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, were the top choice for the Spanish Army.

However, considering that Prussia was embroiled in a war with France, Prim had a backup plan, which was Austria-Hungary or Italy.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army was not impressive, Italy still had some capabilities in weapon development.

If it was impossible to purchase the most advanced cannons from Krupp, buying some substitutes from Italy would suffice.

On January 11, 1870, the Spanish Sun reported news about a factory exploiting workers for long hours and withholding their wages.

Such reports were very common in contemporary Spanish society and initially did not attract the attention of the Spaniards.

But soon after, a large number of newspapers in Madrid also published similar news, and most of the reports originated from the same factory.

Quickly, the continuous reports caught the attention of Madrid’s citizens.

The workers who had suffered began to speak out, demanding the government ensure that the salaries of all Spanish workers were paid on time.

After successfully attracting the attention of the Spaniards, on January 15, a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives submitted a draft document of the “Spanish Labor Law” to parliament, requesting the parliament to enact laws to ensure workers could receive their deserved salaries and benefits.

This document stirred up a hornet’s nest, immediately sparking strong discussions in parliament.

Of course, since Prim controlled the majority of seats in parliament, the draft of the “Spanish Labor Law” eventually received a majority of support votes.

On January 16, 1870, the Spanish Government issued documents regarding the “Spanish Enterprise Management Regulations,” announcing the preliminary control of all enterprises and factories in Spain in accordance with labor law.

This decree was met with cheers from all workers and laborers around Madrid, representing the government’s acknowledgment of their opinions.

But for factory owners and capitalists in Madrid and even all of Spain, it was not so favorable. According to the government’s decree, they had to pay workers and laborers weekly, with penalties for wage arrears.

This was unprecedented in Spain. While paying salaries in full would not necessarily cause losses to these enterprises and factories, for the capitalists, making more money was always better than making less.

Isn’t this government decree essentially taking money from their pockets? And giving it to those useless workers.

The capitalists, seeing their profits threatened, attempted to incite workers to stage demonstrations, demanding the government repeal the newly issued decree.

But the workers were not fools. The government’s decree was evidently in their favor, so why would they come out to oppose a government that supported them?

Seeing that they could not incite the workers to demonstrate, the capitalists finally panicked. They began to gather one after another, trying to find other ways to reverse the situation.

On January 18, in a factory in Madrid.

“Daniel, what are we going to do? If we really pay wages weekly as the government says, won’t my factory go bankrupt?” The factory owner Jilun sat in his office with a pained expression, next to his friend and fellow factory owner, Daniel.

“Don’t worry, my friend. It’s not just you and I who have to pay salaries.” Daniel smiled, seemingly unfazed.

“Damn, do you have any good ideas, Daniel? I don’t want to pay those damn workers each week—that’s my money, my money!” Jilun looked to his friend, who usually had plenty of cunning ideas.

“I said don’t worry, buddy.” Daniel’s smile remained unfazed, exuding confidence: “Think about it, are we the only ones who need to pay wages? No, it’s all factory owners across Spain—just think how many that is.

You don’t want to pay wages, I don’t want to pay wages, do they want to pay wages for those workers?

Just wait and see. If our King Carlo has forgotten who helped him to the throne, we wouldn’t mind Spain having a new master.”

“Oh, damn, are you suggesting a rebellion?” Jilun was momentarily stunned, looking incredulously at Daniel.

“Why not, my friend? We can make Isabel step down from the throne, and we can also make Carlo step down. Spain should be governed by capital—we are the real masters of this country, aren’t we?” Daniel nodded with a smile, undisturbed by his friend’s shocked expression.

“Damn, that’s right.” At the thought of paying wages to those workers each week, Jilun’s rational thoughts shattered into madness, nodding in agreement with Daniel, and then angrily exclaimed: “Whoever tries to take money from my wallet is my enemy, even God.”

“Good for you, buddy.” Daniel’s laughter grew louder: “Just wait and see; both Prim and Carlo will regret it because they’ve offended the true masters of this country.”

The turbulent winds were not only in Madrid but also in Catalonia and the Basque Region.

The Carlos Faction, which had troubled Spain for decades, was hidden in the Catalonia Region, ready at any moment to march into Madrid and ascend the throne of Spain.

The current leader of the Carlos Faction, claiming to be the “King of Spain,” Carlos VII, wore a smile, with a hint of impatience in his expression: “Thank God, the opportunity has finally come. Damn Prim, abandoning support for Bourbon—both he and that false king Carlo should be sent to the guillotine!”

“Your Majesty, the troops of Catalonia are always ready to march to Madrid for you. There is only one King of Spain, and that’s the great King Carlos VII of the Bourbon family!” A subordinate chimed in with timely flattery, expressing admiration to “King Carlos VII.”