Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 106: Chapter 97: Agricultural Future Plan

The good news is that because most of the cabinet ministers know that Carlo rarely interferes in government affairs, at the beginning of each year, few ministers would personally visit the Royal Palace seeking an audience with Carlo to fight for more departmental budget.

The bad news is that every time budget contention comes around at the beginning of the year, it seems the ministers deliberately forget about Carlo. This is a severe blow to Carlo’s influence in the government, and it also indicates that many ministers in the cabinet government are not highly loyal to Carlo.

It seems everyone is serving Prime Minister Prim, merely because Prime Minister Prim supports Carlo’s monarchical rule, thus indirectly supporting the monarchy in Spain.

Fortunately, the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Canovas del Castillo, still knows his bounds. With the arrival of 1871, Antonio Canovas del Castillo promptly arrived at the Royal Palace to meet Carlo, firstly to report on last year’s achievements of the agricultural department, and incidentally, to express his loyalty to Carlo.

Secondly, it is to seek a larger budget for the agricultural department through Carlo. Whether or not it succeeds, this visit is deemed necessary.

Since Antonio Canovas del Castillo’s position as Minister of Agriculture was personally recommended by Carlo, he was labeled as part of Carlo’s faction from the start.

If he were to curry favor with Prime Minister Prim at this moment, he would not only gain no good outcome but would also offend both Prime Minister Prim and Carlo.

Rather, it is better to remain utterly loyal to Carlo. As the Minister of Agriculture personally appointed by Carlo, Prime Minister Prim is unlikely to give him a hard time unless he decisively breaks with Carlo.

Moreover, Antonio Canovas del Castillo himself is ambitious. He had served as a cabinet minister during Queen Isabella’s reign and is certainly not content with just being a minor agriculture minister now.

Honestly, seven years ago, he had already held positions surpassing that of the Minister of Agriculture. Now Antonio Canovas del Castillo is thinking more about how to take another step forward, to become the Prime Minister of Spain.

Logically speaking, this goal is entirely achievable. Firstly, Canovas is over ten years younger than both Prim and Serrano, so he could outlast them until their retirement.

From the last interaction with Carlo, Canovas already understood that Carlo could not be content with being a constitutional king without any power.

A strong Prime Minister like Prim and an ambitious young king like Carlo coming together is bound to lead to no good end. Even if Carlo does not eventually settle accounts with Prime Minister Prim, he is sure to gain control over government discourse standing behind Prim.

As Carlo’s first pawn placed in the government, Antonio Canovas del Castillo is acutely aware of his importance to Carlo.

As long as he does not betray Carlo, being heavily utilized in the future is certain. After all, Antonio Canovas del Castillo represents not only himself but also many old officials who have been in politics since the time of Queen Isabella.

The loyalty of these old ministers to the monarchy is beyond doubt. Carlo previously questioned their loyalty to himself, but as long as Canovas continuously expressed his loyal attitude, and through his influence urged these old officials to be devoted to Carlo’s rule, he could leap to become Carlo’s confidant.

These old ministers who once served Queen Isabella also have considerable influence in politics. By rallying them together, Antonio Canovas del Castillo can also realize his own goal, which is to contest the position of Prime Minister of Spain after Prime Minister Prim, becoming the head of the national government, second only to the king and above the masses.

Although Carlo has not shown it outwardly, inwardly he is quite satisfied with Canovas’ discernment. If Canovas hadn’t figured out whom he really needs to be loyal to, Carlo would have to reconsider the selection of the Minister of Agriculture.

Do not doubt the employed, and do not employ the doubted. Once suspicion of someone’s loyalty arises, the best choice is to dismiss him directly.

If you are suspicious yet continue to heavily utilize someone, unless this person holds real power and is difficult to dismiss, otherwise you are dancing on the knife’s edge, likely ending in mutual loss.

“Minister Canovas, are you adapting well to your role as Minister of Agriculture?” Carlo asked with a smile, looking at Canovas, whose face was full of loyal devotion.

“Fairly well, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern. Currently, under your leadership and that of Prime Minister Prim, all developments in the Spanish Government are moving steadily forward, the agricultural department included.

So far, the agricultural department has no particularly thorny issues. Farmers’ incomes are steadily increasing, and our grain production is seeing a slight increase,” Antonio Canovas del Castillo quickly responded.

Although Carlo merely asked if he was adapting well to the agriculture department, he still reported the current situation of the agriculture department in detail.

Some matters, even if Carlo did not ask about them, the best approach is still to truthfully report the situation of the agriculture department on a timely basis.

Although Carlo was not yet twenty years old (born on June 2, 1851), Canovas would not simplistically see Carlo as a young man under 20.

Carlo’s political tactics, though still quite immature, undoubtedly indicate he is a smart person. Having decided to be loyal to Carlo in exchange for an opportunity to climb to a higher position, harboring ulterior motives is unwise, and this too is a lesson gleaned from Canovas’ long political career.

Do not take others as fools, even if they are youthful kings like Carlo who are not yet twenty.

Some political maneuvers may deceive Carlo in the short term, but once discovered by Carlo, what awaits could be the king’s wrath and royal accountability.

Never underestimate the power of a king, even a king without real power under a constitutional monarchy. Targeting a power might be troublesome, but if it’s just one person, there are countless means available, even without personal intervention, by merely leveraging external forces.

Carlo nodded, quite satisfied with his choice of Canovas as Minister of Agriculture. Regardless of other matters, Canovas’s discernment already pleased Carlo greatly.

As for those ministers who belittled him, although Carlo would not directly reveal his attitude, once Prime Minister Prim departs from the power center, they will face Carlo’s reckoning.

“Your Majesty, the new year’s plan for the Ministry of Agriculture is not much; it mainly focuses on the popularization and promotion of chemical fertilizers, as well as the establishment of a state-owned grain company.

If we widely popularize chemical fertilizers, it is expected to effectively increase our crop yield without significant changes in total arable land area, with an expected growth rate of at least over 5%.

The state-owned grain company will take over the bulk grain trade, such as managing grain import and export trade. After reducing farmers’ taxes, there is a golden development phase for agriculture in the coming period.

In the next three years, it is expected that the total grain output and the total area of our arable land will increase, allowing us to achieve complete agricultural self-sufficiency while seeking a certain level of grain exports.” Seeing Carlo quite satisfied with his attitude, Antonio Canovas del Castillo began to report the next year’s plans of the agricultural department, seeking Carlo’s stance.

Due to funding constraints, the agricultural department will not have significant actions in the coming year, mainly focusing on promoting fertilizer application and developing new fertilizer technologies.

Although fertilizer technology has been around for nearly 30 years, its full commercial application would not be realized for nearly another hundred years.

At the beginning of the century, Europeans didn’t even understand how plants grow. Only 70 years apart, it’s simply not possible to fully popularize the use of fertilizers.

The mainstream chemical fertilizers currently include superphosphate and potash. The former has been around for less than 30 years, while the latter has been around for less than ten years, and the related technology is still very primitive.

But Spain has no other choice at this time. Compared to the vast plains of the UK, France, and Germany, although Spain’s land area is large, most of it is highlands and mountains. The areas suitable for cultivation are only the eastern and southern coastal areas mixed with some mountainous plains.

With its barren lands, Spain’s grain output has already lagged behind other major powers. Despite having a larger territory, Spain’s per capita grain production is not much better compared to other powers.

If it weren’t for Spain’s climate being suitable for growing vegetables and fruits, it would be challenging to achieve food self-sufficiency.

Currently, the output of vegetables and fruits accounts for 25.7% of Spain’s total crop production. It is precisely because of such a rich output of vegetables and fruits that Spaniards are able to eat more abundantly despite having enough grain to eat.

Additionally, due to Spain’s extensive coastline, a large harvest of seafood products can be obtained annually.

At this time, there is no need to worry about the impact of nuclear radiation on the fish in the sea; seafood can be consumed safely.

Because the railway lines around Spain have been fully constructed, Carlo can enjoy various seafood products from the seaside.

This also makes Carlo grateful for being in Spain. If it were in the UK, such a gastronomic desert, even if there is seafood, it probably wouldn’t be tasty.

After hearing Canovas’s report on the agricultural department’s plan for the coming year, Carlo nodded with no objections: “I agree with your plan, Minister Canovas.

Hopefully, under your leadership, Spanish agriculture will achieve continuous growth, which would be beneficial for both Spain and you.”

Canovas nodded respectfully, fully understanding what Carlo meant by benefits. As Minister of Agriculture, the stable growth of Spanish agriculture would certainly result in political achievements for him.

Only with accumulated political achievements and prestige can Canovas seek higher cabinet positions, or even strive for the Prime Minister’s seat.

After all, without any political achievements or prestige, whether it’s the public vote or the House of Representatives’ election, competing against others would leave him at a disadvantage.

To become Prime Minister, one must be capable and gain support from both the public and the members of the House of Representatives.

If public support is lacking, even with Carlo’s strong backing, it will be impossible to ascend to the position of the Prime Minister of Spain.