Empire Rising: Spain

Spain’s stronghold remains the Iberian Peninsula, where the government and the Royal Family hold more land. This is undoubtedly beneficial for the country’s development.

Exchanging more Congo land for the noble Carlo is not a loss, considering this land was colonized initially without much cost from Carlo.

Moreover, utilizing the energy of the nobility to cultivate this land can hasten the colonization of the Congo River Basin and accelerate development in the Congo Territory.

The nobles are building numerous plantations in the Congo River Basin, which not only fully utilize the indigenous labor but also produce a large quantity of crops and other economic products to be transported back to Spain or other regions and countries in Europe for sale.

This will not only boost Spain’s economic development, but the land acquired by the Royal Family and government can also be rented and sold to civilians, increasing Spain’s per capita arable land, achieving multiple benefits.

Of course, exchanging land is a lengthy process. There is enough land in the Congo River Basin to exchange with the nobility, but that doesn’t mean the nobility is willing to exchange their long-cultivated Spanish land for unclaimed Congo land.

Even if one can exchange for several times more land, it requires much time to cultivate and enrich the land. It can be anticipated that, in the short term, few nobles are willing to exchange land; they are scarce to the point of rarity.

But why does Carlo believe this method can address the issue of nobles holding most of the nation’s land? The primary reason lies in Spain’s predominance of barren deserts and, due to many mountainous areas, not much fertile plains can be cultivated as arable land.

Additionally, with Spain’s gradual industrialization, many agricultural populations are destined to move into cities, becoming workers or other employees.

As the agricultural population decreases, the value of the extensive land held by the nobility also diminishes. Furthermore, due to Spain’s geographic environment, arable lands are fragmented, making it difficult to implement concentrated mechanized agriculture.

Instead of this situation, it is better to exchange for large, contiguous Congo lands, hiring inexpensive local indigenous labor to establish various crop plantations.

With significant media and Church propaganda and certain guidance, many nobles will undoubtedly be tempted to exchange their Spanish land for more Congo land.

Once that day arrives, the land exchange plan will be successful. The Royal Family and government will acquire more land to better pursue industrialization and agricultural centralization and mechanization.

The entire process may take ten to twenty years to complete, but once the land exchange is mostly done and Spain’s land is centralized and mechanized, Spain’s national strength will undoubtedly soar.

If these arable lands are in the hands of farmers and nobles, the grain produced can at most feed 25 million people. However, if land is centralized and mechanized, the grain produced can support at least 50 million people.

Furthermore, with the addition of Portugal’s land and Morocco’s land, Spain, in the future, can sustain a population of close to 80 million people or more.

These arable lands and grain production will also serve as Spain’s assets in the Western Mediterranean and a guarantee in Spain’s quest for regional supremacy.

To expedite this process, Carlo decided on an early layout. The efforts of newspapers and the Church are indispensable because convincing Spain’s nobles of Congo’s fertile lands cannot rely solely on the words of the Royal Family.

If both the Church and newspapers promote this idea, coupled with some nobles entering Congo first and profiting from plantations, it will stir interest among other nobles.

Fortunately, a portion of the nobility has pledged allegiance to Carlo’s rule, and the first noble to venture into Congo can be selected from these more loyal ones.

In fact, exchanging Congo’s land won’t leave nobles disadvantaged. Congo is an undeveloped region that can offer many fertile arable lands. In addition, Congo has exceptionally abundant mineral resources, and managing this land with even a minimal effort won’t lead to losses.

Ultimately, the indigenous labor force here is vast and perceived more as expendable resources than people. Exploiting this labor force casually yields profits that are incomparable with farming in Spain.

“Pedro Archbishop, you are aware of the establishment of the Congo Territory, aren’t you?” Having a thorough plan, Carlo turned his gaze back to Pedro Archbishop, asking with a smile.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Pedro Archbishop nodded, waiting for further instructions from Carlo.

He knew Carlo wouldn’t mention the Congo Territory without a specific task.

Carlo continued: “Through exploration by the expedition, the plateau upstream of the Congo is an unclaimed fertile land. It harbors exceedingly rich mineral resources, numerous natural rubber trees, and other materials.

If the Church is interested, I suggest organizing personnel to cultivate land in the Congo River Basin, establishing plantations, among others. By dispatching missionaries to understand this land, believe me, it is a treasure-laden unexploited territory,” Carlo said with a smile.

Although Carlo could directly command the Church to send personnel to cultivate Congo River land, the Church might be unwilling.

While they wouldn’t blatantly oppose, they would likely shirk responsibilities. Instead, it’s better to let the Church discover the vastness and richness of the Congo River Basin land, encouraging them to voluntarily cultivate and manage the Congo Territory.

If it facilitates the development of Congo Territory, Carlo finds it acceptable. If the Church wants to develop the land in the Congo Territory, it won’t be free. To cultivate fertile land in the Congo River Basin, they must sacrifice something, like Spain’s less fertile arable lands.

The Church’s covert actions combined with the initiatives of some pioneering nobles and media propaganda will undoubtedly catch the attention of the broader nobility.

Once they realize that the Church and some nobility are earning vast wealth in the Congo River Basin, they will naturally become interested.

By then, Carlo won’t need to take the initiative, as there will naturally be nobles eager to participate in the development of Congo Territory through land exchange.

Carlo will then be able to keep a firm grip on Congo Territory’s sovereignty, waiting patiently for these biting fishes to take the bait.