Empire Rising: Spain

The expansion of the colonial forces and the formation of the colonial division were progressing in an orderly manner, but Carlo’s mood could not be lifted.

News from Rome reported that Carlo’s father, Vittorio Emanuele II, was critically ill and his body couldn’t hold on much longer.

The private doctors of the Italian Royal Family estimated, based on Vittorio Emanuele II’s condition, that the King who unified Italy likely had no more than three months to live.

Upon learning of King Vittorio Emanuele II’s critical condition, the Italian people were quite concerned.

Many newspapers and media even listed Vittorio Emanuele II as one of Italy’s greatest ten monarchs, highlighting how significant unifying Italy was to the Italians.

Judging from the current attitude of the Italians, they were reluctant to part with this Father of the Nation. This was a silver lining, as it ensured the continuing heritage of the Italian Royal Family and a temporarily stable government.

At this moment, the Savoy Family was still quite prominent in Europe. Boasting two kings, the family held the thrones of the legitimate European powers, Italy and Spain.

Although there was a gap compared to the five traditional European powers, one should not underestimate these second-tier powers.

Except for the five traditional European powers, neither Spain nor Italy feared any country in Europe.

Because of this, the critical illness of Vittorio Emanuele II caught the attention of many nations, and European monarchs sent telegraphs to Italy expressing their condolences.

Historically, Vittorio Emanuele II passed away shortly after the new year commenced.

To see his father one last time, Carlo decided to travel to Italy after spending Christmas of 1877 in Spain, to accompany his father on his final journey.

Though Carlo had transmigrated to this world, the father of this body, Vittorio Emanuele II, had shown Carlo deep affection.

Logically and emotionally, it was necessary to accompany his father on his final journey. Regardless of how the relationship between Italy and Spain would develop in the future, it could not change the current fact of their close cooperation.

Seemingly sensing Carlo’s melancholic mood, Prince Juan Fernando and Princess Sofia refrained from their usual antics, quietly accompanying Carlo for a somewhat solemn Christmas.

Of course, it was mainly Prince Juan Fernando who quieted down. Princess Sofia, being only a year old at that time, was not yet capable of causing trouble.

The two-and-a-half-year-old Prince Juan Fernando, however, was at an age prone to mischief. Queen Sophie often fretted over Prince Juan Fernando’s naughtiness, but fortunately, the child knew his limits, apologizing whenever he upset his mother.

Carlo noted Prince Juan Fernando’s mischievousness, but was not inclined to intervene.

The primary reason was that an elite-style aristocratic education for Prince Juan Fernando was about to commence. Before this education began, Carlo wished for his child to have happy memories.

Once all courses started, the young Prince Juan Fernando would not have the leisure to be mischievous.

The courses were sufficiently demanding, and completing all that Carlo had prepared for him within the allotted time would require considerable effort.

Just after Christmas ended, Carlo received a telegram from Manuel.

During this period, two colonial defense corps, moved by Carlo from the South Morocco Colony and the Guinea Colony, had arrived in the Congo Territory. Manuel had officially begun the formation of the colonial division.

At present, Manuel had nearly 7,000 troops across three colonial defense corps, barely enough to oversee the 70,000 native laborers acquired in the last operation.

It is worth mentioning that Carlo’s chosen deputy for Manuel, Andrew, was still in the Philippines Colony.

Due to the necessity of providing over 5,000 soldiers from the Philippine Colony to the Congo Territory, Andrew needed to first recruit 5,000 soldiers and then lead them to the Congo Territory.

The situation was similar in the South Morocco Colony. Given the current pace at which these two colonies organized manpower, Manuel was expected to secure 10,000 troops within two months, completing the formation of the colonial division.

Of course, while forming the division is one thing, turning a 20,000-strong colonial division into a combat-ready force would require a long training period.

Carlo assigned two colonial defense corps to Manuel not only to ensure enough manpower for the stability of the Congo Territory, but also to utilize these veterans to train new soldiers, thus expediting the combat readiness of the colonial division.

With the formation of the colonial division, there would be many vacancies for basic military officers at the levels of company and platoon command. These positions, including company commanders, would obviously still be filled by Spanish officers.

Conveniently, the Royal Military Academy trained several hundred outstanding graduates every year. Selecting some military academy graduates to train in various colonial military units could not only fill the vacancies of grassroots officers in the colonial army, but provide these graduates with greater opportunities for advancement.