Empire Rising: Spain

The split of the Ministry of Industry is merely a minor interlude for both Prime Minister Prim and Carlo, and will not disrupt their currently cooperative relationship.

The previous Minister of Industry, Ruiz, smoothly became the first Minister of Transportation following the establishment of the transportation department, thus retaining his position as Cabinet Minister.

With the appointment of the Minister of Transportation, the new members of Spain’s Cabinet Government were freshly unveiled.

According to Spain’s constitutional regulations, after the Prime Minister nominates candidates for various departments, the final list must be submitted to the King of Spain.

Only when the King of Spain personally signs the appointment of cabinet members can those nominated by the Prime Minister be considered as becoming part of the Cabinet.

Of course, Carlo, as King of Spain, also has the authority to reject the nominations for cabinet members and require the Prime Minister to re-select candidates.

However, this power is generally not exercised because the candidates nominated by the Prime Minister are usually his trusted confidants, and directly rejecting them would be akin to falling out with the Prime Minister.

Once the cabinet members were confirmed, Prime Minister Prim promptly unveiled the expectations for the second five-year plan to the Cabinet Government and required each department to adjust the objectives within the plan, according to their specific situations.

It is necessary to conduct practical discussions with each department, as the detailed content of the five-year plan still needs to be executed by each department.

Without this step, the goals of the five-year plan might turn into mere empty talk, either becoming unrealistic and leading to deceit within the departments, or being too easily attainable for Spain, causing the plan to lose its initial purpose.

The second five-year plan in Prime Minister Prim’s agenda is even more important than the first, serving a critical role in bridging past and future objectives.

The expressions on the faces of the department ministers upon receiving Prime Minister Prim’s second five-year development plan revealed just how ambitious this plan is.

“Prime Minister, is it somewhat unreasonable to increase the railway scale to 11,000 kilometers by 1879?” Although reluctant to oppose Prime Minister Prim, Ruiz felt he had to stand up to voice his differing opinion to ensure the Transportation Department’s tasks could be completed smoothly over the next five years.

Currently, Spain’s total railway mileage is only slightly over 7,500 kilometers, achieved last year through a substantial effort by the former Ministry of Industry.

There remains a gap of 3,500 kilometers to the target of 11,000 kilometers, requiring the construction of over 3,500 kilometers of railway within five years, averaging over 700 kilometers per year.

Though 700 kilometers might seem modest, the problem is Spain only constructed 2,100 kilometers of railway in the last five-year plan, averaging just over 400 kilometers per year.

This was accomplished under the Ministry of Industry’s fervent railway construction in 1873. If we consider the levels of the first four years of the plan, the average yearly railway construction was only over 300 kilometers.

Prime Minister Prim’s proposed second five-year plan requires an average annual railway construction of over 700 kilometers, nearly double the pace of the first plan.

And the Transportation Department, having just separated from the Ministry of Industry, whether it can rapidly achieve the previous railway construction speed remains unknown.

Prim had anticipated dissenting opinions, and calmly nodded, directing his gaze to Ruiz: “Does the Transportation Department have any other comments?”

“Prime Minister, I believe the Transportation Department’s objective should be to increase our total railway mileage to 10,000 kilometers within the five-year development plan.

Our current railway construction speed cannot meet the requirement of 11,000 kilometers unless the government is willing to significantly increase funding and accelerate railway construction,” said Transportation Minister Ruiz, gritting his teeth.

“Considering the challenges faced by each department in completing their tasks, this year’s fiscal budget will be increased. As for problems beyond funding, you’ll need to find solutions yourselves,” Prime Minister Prim’s face turned more stern, showing no leniency even towards his party—

“If you feel the task is unattainable, you might want to bring it up early. This would give me more time to report to His Majesty the King and replace cabinet ministers sooner.”

“Understood, Prime Minister. The Transportation Department will do everything possible to complete your task,” Ruiz promptly realized Prim was warning them through this act, nodding in earnest, and dared not raise any objections further.

With Ruiz’s standpoint, other Cabinet Ministers refrained from dissenting, each nodding to express their understanding.

Prime Minister Prim nodded in satisfaction, officially affirming the new five-year development plan.

Although this plan set more ambitious goals than the previous one, it was not an unattainable dream for each department.

If the government increases investments and department officials put in slightly more effort, the goals are achievable.

Take the Transportation Department’s target of 3,500 kilometers of railway as an example. Though Spain constructed over 2,100 kilometers of railway in the previous five-year plan, only 1,500 kilometers were built in the first four years, with more than 600 kilometers constructed in the final year.

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