Empire Rising: Spain

After spending a few days in France, Carlo’s visit successfully concluded.

Despite some decline in its industrial development, France’s economy remains strong. Under the precondition that Spain will not align with Germany, the French are willing to invest more in Spain.

After discussions between the two governments, Carlo secured a loan of 500 million francs from France.

Among this, 100 million francs come from the French Government, as a reward for Spain remaining neutral or leaning towards France. This loan is interest-free, and Spain only needs to repay it within five years without any additional conditions.

The remaining 400 million franc loan originates entirely from French private banks and consortia, but they are also low-interest loans.

The repayment period for these low-interest loans is longer, and the Spanish Government only needs to repay them within ten years.

Of course, like the previous loans provided by France, these loans from French private banks and consortia come with certain requirements.

For example, 60% of the 400 million francs can only be used to purchase supplies in France, leaving the remaining 40% as funds the Spanish Government can freely allocate.

This means the available free funds for the Spanish Government are only 160 million francs, while the remaining 240 million francs must be used for imports from France.

The good news is that due to these various restrictions, the loan’s interest is not high. The Spanish Government only needs to repay a total of 480 million francs, including principal and interest, within ten years, with an annual interest rate of only 2% of the principal.

Since 240 million francs must be spent in France, Carlo, of course, spared no effort and immediately signed a large order with France.

This purchase mainly included various industrial equipment, some technical data, and shares in certain French factories and enterprises.

This large procurement alone cost more than 100 million francs, making French officials and the heads of those ordered factories and enterprises smile from ear to ear.

These orders not only alleviate the economic crisis faced by these factories and enterprises but also promote France’s economic growth.

The money, having changed hands like this, has essentially returned to France, having no effect whatsoever on the country.

Spain also obtained the necessary industrial equipment and related technical data through major procurement. In summary, this cooperation is worthwhile for both Spain and France.

This large procurement was also the last thing Carlo did in France. After signing the large order, Carlo, along with several Spanish government officials, took the train south to return to Spain.

This entire visit took nearly two months. When Carlo left Spain, Christmas had just ended, and by the time he returned to Spain, it was already February.

The first thing to do upon returning to Spain naturally was to spend quality time with little Juan Fernando and Sofia. Of course, this included Queen Sophie and the two young maids.

After a few days of rest, Carlo turned his attention back to Spain’s development, continuously attending meetings to discuss Spain’s next development plans.

After proposing the proposal to exchange the Cuban Colony at the last Cabinet meeting, the Spanish Government also determined a basic strategy, which is to prioritize the development of African colonies.

Among Spain’s three African colonies, the highest priority is the South Morocco Colony, followed by the Congo Territory, and lastly Guinea Colony.

Apart from the South Morocco Colony, the development of the Congo Territory and Guinea Colony both face a population shortage issue.

The population referred to here is the one recognized by Spain, meaning those who have obtained Spanish nationality as legal citizens.

Currently, the entire Congo Territory has a population of less than 20,000, which is a drop in the bucket for a territory covering over a million square kilometers, limiting the territory’s development speed.

The same theory applies to the Guinea Colony. With an area also exceeding tens of thousands of square kilometers, Guinea’s population is less than 10,000.

Therefore, Carlo convened the Cabinet meeting to find ways to further address the population issue in these colonies.

Last year’s efforts by the Cabinet Government were quite effective. By trading with Russia to exchange for population, Spain obtained about 25,000 people from Russia, with at least half distributed across various colonies.

This resulted in rapid population growth in several major Spanish colonies, and the Congo Territory began to take shape, no longer appearing as rudimentary as before.

However, clearly, this small population is still not enough to meet the demand of Spanish colonies. To bring African colonies onto the right track early, the Spanish Government still needs to acquire more population from other places.

Currently, the only country that allows Spain to massively introduce immigrants is Russia, Europe’s most populous country.

For a nation as populous as Russia, losing tens of thousands of immigrants each year is hardly a concern and will not distress Russian leaders in the slightest.

Currently, the proportion of the Russian population in the Congo Territory is about half. According to Carlo’s idea, the proportion of the Russian population needs to be maintained at around 50%, or even lowered to below 50%.

Fortunately, Spain can also obtain populations from the South Morocco Colony and alongside a small number of immigrants from the homeland, ensuring that the Russian population in the Congo Territory is not too overwhelming, thereby not affecting the territory’s stability.