Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 46: Chapter 45: Jacopo’s Private Banquet

“Congratulations, Your Majesty, the construction of the Royal United Bank has been very successful. Perhaps this year, Spain will give birth to a mega bank with deposits exceeding a million.” Duke Jacopo of Alba smiled and complimented Carlo.

“You are also a shareholder of the joint bank. With the success of the joint bank, every shareholder has a share.” Carlo nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with the achievements of the Royal United Bank.

Just now, the butler Loren reported that the Royal United Bank had as many as 684 depositors that day, with total deposits exceeding 18 million Pesseta and an average deposit of 26,870 Pesseta.

Of course, such figures actually have a huge amount of padding.

Of the 684 depositors, the vast majority were nobles who had received the news. Among them, three people had deposits exceeding a million, namely Duke Jacopo of Alba, Duke Fernando of Albuquerque, and Carlo himself.

The true commoner depositors were actually only one or two hundred people, which is also the reason why the average deposit was eventually pulled very high.

From this, it’s evident how enormous the assets of the Spanish nobles are. The deposits they put in to show some sincerity were just a drop in the bucket compared to their assets, but for Carlo, it was already quite an important starting fund.

The 18 million Pesseta was already more than half of the assets Carlo brought to Spain, and this was only the total savings obtained on the first day the Royal United Bank opened.

If the Royal United Bank can gain the trust of the public and attract a large number of Spanish people to deposit, the funds Carlo can use will be continuous.

With enough funds, Carlo can continuously plan the expansion of industry and the financial sector, earning more money.

In this era, making money is still quite easy, especially making money as a king. With the enormous capital brought by the Royal United Bank, Carlo can easily monopolize an industry, maximize the benefits of a particular industry, and quickly fill his pockets.

“Your Majesty, please don’t miss tomorrow night’s banquet, as there will be a large number of nobles participating. It’s also time for Your Majesty to meet these fellows.” Jacopo smiled and said.

Ever since Prim quelled the Carlos Faction rebellion, Jacopo had not dared to underestimate Carlo. Because he knew that from then on, Carlo’s throne would become very stable, and Carlo’s fate was tied with the nobles of Spain.

If they looked down upon Carlo, the king, at such a time, they would actually be looking down upon themselves, who were the king’s subordinates.

Nobles have their elevated status purely because of the obedience and support of the people for the monarchy. If the people no longer support the king, when the monarchy is overthrown, the nobles’ sense of superiority would also cease to exist.

Although Carlo is an outsider, wasn’t the Bourbon also an outsider? The Savoy Dynasty still controls the throne of Italy, while the Bourbon Dynasty currently does not control any country.

“Of course.” Carlo smiled and nodded.

“Jacopo, since you personally invited me to the banquet, what reason do I have not to attend?” Carlo said with a smile.

Jacopo nodded, bade farewell to Carlo’s palace, and went back to prepare for the banquet that had been long planned.

This banquet was hosted in Jacopo’s private capacity, with the primary goal of expressing his loyalty to Carlo, and also, during the banquet, to help Carlo completely win over the nobles of Spain.

After all, Carlo is an outsider, and to gain the recognition of the entire noble class, support from native Spanish old-line nobles like Duke Jacopo is very important.

Jacopo also naturally understood the principle that providing help in times of need is far more important than adding icing on the cake. If he waited until Carlo had already won over some nobles and then joined in, it would not be so easy to become Carlo’s confidant.

It should be known that although nobles possess elevated status, their families do not remain prosperous forever.

To ensure the long-lasting prosperity of the family, first, they must gain the support and trust of the king, and secondly, they must engage in political intermarriage and cooperate with other nobles.

In this banquet, Jacopo also had some personal agendas.

His daughter Anna was born in 1855 and is soon to be 16 years old. Carlo was born in June 1851 and has not yet turned 19, so their ages are not too far apart.

If during the banquet Anna and Carlo happen to take a liking to each other, perhaps the position of the de Toledo family in Spain will rise even higher.

Even if Anna can’t become the Queen of Spain, if she catches Carlo’s eye and becomes one of his mistresses, the Toledo family wouldn’t lose out.

After all, it’s quite normal for European monarchs to have a mistress, and the chaotic life among nobles is beyond common imagination.

The time soon arrived for the day of the banquet.

The banquet was held in the castle of Duke Jacopo. The castle is located in the outskirts of Madrid, and further south, it wasn’t far from Toledo.

Jacopo attached great importance to this banquet, inviting a large number of nobles from within Spain to participate. However, due to space limitations, the lowest rank of nobles able to participate in this banquet had to be Earl, and unless the Viscount and Baron had high prestige or status, they were basically not qualified to attend.

This is something that can’t be helped. After all, the number of Dukes, Marquises, and Earls in Spain already reaches the hundreds. Although due to distance reasons, fewer than a hundred can attend the banquet.

But if you count the noblemen’s female companions and family members, the banquet could still have hundreds of participants.

This is about the maximum capacity of a private banquet. If there were more people, the scene would become rather chaotic, and it would be impossible to ensure the safety of the nobles attending the banquet.

Especially with Carlo also participating, security matters must be taken seriously. If unexpected events caused the banquet to end on a sour note, Jacopo’s preparations would amount to nothing.

Carlo is also quite looking forward to this banquet.

Although during the last coronation ceremony Carlo had already met many nobles of Spain, at that time the nobles weren’t so sincere in their attitude towards Carlo.

Now, with Jacopo’s support and Carlo’s throne already quite stable, the nobles have no choice but to submit to Carlo’s rule.

Tonight’s banquet marks the beginning of Carlo fully securing the allegiance of the noble class, becoming the undisputed King of Spain, and being able to exert his influence on the government through the noble class.

After tonight, Carlo will gain a large number of trustworthy subordinates. At least in terms of maintaining the Monarchy, these nobles are absolutely on Carlo’s side.

When facing the Republican Faction, Carlo will not stand alone; these nobles are the best allies for Carlo, and aside from Carlo, the strongest opponents of the republic in all of Spain.

To gain Carlo’s trust and ensure the smooth progress of the banquet without any mishaps, Duke Jacopo specifically requested Carlo to dispatch some Royal Guard to help maintain order at the banquet site.

Included in this was a simple frisking of those attending the banquet, ensuring that no one would carry weapons.

This was also discussed in advance with the nobles attending the banquet. After all, Carlo does not wish for anyone to bring weapons into the banquet and deliver a fatal blow when he is at his most relaxed.

His own life still must be in his own hands, and when necessary, no one can be trusted.

It’s not that Carlo is unwilling to trust others, but in Europe, the assassinations of kings have become numerous, and Carlo is no fool.

Even if Jacopo can be trusted, can every noble at the banquet be trusted? Even if all the nobles are fine, can they ensure their female companions won’t include any insurgents?

Checking each one by one wastes time and is inefficient; the best way is to ensure no one carries weapons, turning the castle where the banquet is held into a weapon-free safe zone.

Around six in the evening, Carlo rode a carriage, slowly heading towards Jacopo’s castle under the escort of the Guard Army.

This carriage was specially made, even with a steel plate that can be pulled down over the windows to prevent bullets from penetrating.

Due to the heavy steel plating on the carriage, the entire carriage is drawn by four horses to ensure its speed.

To guarantee Carlo’s safety, two identical carriages simultaneously set out from the Royal Palace to ensure that even if there were assassins, they wouldn’t be able to discern which carriage Carlo was in in a short time.

A little past seven in the evening, Carlo’s carriage finally arrived at Jacopo’s castle.

Outside the castle, a crowd of nobles had been waiting for some time.

The arrangement of the nobles also reflected their status. In front stood Dukes like Jacopo, followed by Marquises, and finally, Earls and a few Viscounts and Barons.

Beside the nobles were their companions and family members, with hundreds of people gathered outside the castle to welcome Carlo’s arrival, creating quite a lively scene.

“His Majesty is here!”

Watching the carriage slowly approach, Duke Jacopo quickly called out, signaling the nobles to adjust their attire and not lose etiquette in front of the King.

As Carlo stepped down from the carriage with the assistance of a maid, all the nobles together gave Carlo the standard noble salute, using the highest form of etiquette to welcome the King’s arrival.

“Good evening, my nobles.” Carlo also waved with a smile, showing his friendly attitude towards these nobles.

Jacopo quickly stepped forward, respectfully saying, “Everything is ready, Your Majesty. We await your command to commence the banquet at any time.”

“Well done, Jacopo. Alright, gentlemen, let’s go inside and enjoy this banquet,” Carlo said with a smile, showing no airs of being the King.

Amidst a throng of nobles, Carlo slowly headed into the castle, beginning to experience a private noble banquet with distinct Spanish characteristics.