Empire Rising: Spain

As time reached June of 1877, a message from the Kingdom of Italy caused Carlo to change his travel plans for the second half of the year.

Carlo’s father, Vittorio Emanuele II, had suffered from rapidly deteriorating health ever since unifying Italy, and the poor state of Italian affairs left Emanuele II overwhelmed every day.

Since January of this year, Vittorio Emanuele II had passed the majority of his governmental duties to his eldest son, Crown Prince Umberto, while he himself resided in a villa outside of Rome to recuperate.

However, the medical technology of this era proved unreliable, and after half a year of recuperation, Vittorio Emanuele II’s health had not improved. Instead, it worsened, leaving him bedridden and seemingly with little time remaining.

Although Carlo is a Transmigrator, he has always held a good impression of his father. Upon learning that Vittorio Emanuele II was bedridden and critically ill, Carlo immediately decided to bring the entire Royal Family and Giotto to Italy to visit his father.

As one of Carlo’s earliest confidants to accompany him to Spain, Giotto had now become the Commander of the Spanish Royal Guard, truly in charge of the Guard Army.

Although the Guard Army currently only comprised one division, this division was a reinforced unit combining cavalry and artillery, with a total of 15,000 men.

The reason for bringing Stino to Italy was also to let him visit his father, Garibaldi.

In terms of age, Garibaldi, born in 1807, is thirteen years older than Vittorio Emanuele II, who was born in 1820.

In terms of health, Garibaldi’s condition is somewhat better than that of Vittorio Emanuele II, not being immediately life-threatening for now.

Of course, Garibaldi is still a 70-year-old man. Medino, who has followed Carlo to Spain for several years, ought to go home, see his father, and catch up with his family.

Moreover, beyond visiting his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, Carlo also wished to take the opportunity to finalize a new level of cooperation with the Italian Government and strengthen ties with his brother, Crown Prince Umberto.

Vittorio Emanuele II has three sons with royal succession rights: Crown Prince Umberto, Prince Amadeo, and Carlo.

As the first in line for the Italian throne, Crown Prince Umberto has no competition. The second in line is Crown Prince Umberto’s son, young Vittorio Emanuele, with his brother, Prince Amadeo, being the third.

Carlo’s position in the line of succession to the Italian throne is after his two brothers and their sons, ranking seventh.

Since there are no conflicts of interest between him and Crown Prince Umberto, it’s natural to foster a good relationship, thereby improving relations between Spain and Italy through the bond with Crown Prince Umberto.

Currently, Spain and Italy share excellent cooperation, but this was established under the support of Vittorio Emanuele II for Carlo.

If Crown Prince Umberto does not wish to continue this cooperation, then the collaboration between the two countries would have to be forcibly ceased.

The good news is that at present, there are no conflicts of interest between Spain and Italy. Cooperation is necessary for both countries.

Though Italy is among the Great Powers, it ranks last among them, with a relatively poor population and industrial economy scale.

Spain is in a similar position. Though vast in territory, Spain lags far behind all Great Powers in population.

Only by joining forces with Italy can Spain resist covetous desires from other Great Powers. Currently, Spain and Italy share a common enemy, France, in the African Colony context.

Carlo has his sights set on Italy’s population and naturally does not wish to abandon cooperation with Italy now.

As this journey to Italy involves taking the whole family, ensuring stability in Spain is of utmost importance.

Carlo does not wish to lose his core base by making a single trip to Italy; therefore, he carried out meticulous planning to ensure no issues would arise in Spain during this period.

Previously, in order to bait an opportunity, he allowed rebellious nobles and Bourbon Remnants to create disturbances. But now, Carlo seeks stability and will not grant any opportunity to anyone else.

Before departing Madrid, Carlo summoned the Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, Kadir, and assigned him a rather challenging task.

Carlo instructed that while he is in Italy, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau focus its primary intelligence operations on Madrid and surrounding cities, to ensure that no unexpected events occur around Madrid.

If any forces are discovered planning protests or rebellions, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau can preemptively suppress them and extract the identity of the masterminds.

Aside from the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau being responsible for Madrid’s surrounding stability, the 15,000-strong Guard Army will also be stationed around Madrid to ensure no issues arise in Spain’s political heart.