Empire Rising: Spain

Successfully becoming the new Cabinet Prime Minister, Canovas gained great power, but he did not let it swell him with pride.

He knew who granted him his power, and he also knew that his power could easily be taken back. On the second day after being elected as the Prime Minister of the Spanish Cabinet, Canovas went to the Madrid Royal Palace to meet Carlo and inquire about Carlo’s attitude towards the appointment of Cabinet members.

Both Canovas and Carlo understood that Carlo himself was indifferent to who the Cabinet Ministers were. However, Canovas had to fully respect Carlo’s opinion, as this was a manifestation of loyalty.

As expected, Carlo was quite pleased with Canovas’s arrival. But when Canovas inquired about Carlo’s attitude towards the Cabinet members, Carlo expressed that he would not interfere with government decisions.

The implication was simple: Canovas had full appointment power. Of course, before appointing a Cabinet Minister, Canovas had to ensure that the appointee possessed sufficient loyalty to Carlo as well.

Indeed, Carlo did not care about the selection of Cabinet Ministers, because Carlo had enough power to deal with a Cabinet Government that was not under his control.

Fortunately, Canovas was indeed loyal enough, and Carlo did not want to frequently change the Cabinet Government, as this would only make Spain’s political situation chaotic.

After Canovas became the Prime Minister of Spain, the first thing Carlo did was appoint Duke Serrano as the Deputy Prime Minister of Spain.

The role of Duke Serrano was quite clear, which was to support Canovas, who was assuming the position of Prime Minister for the first time.

Although Canovas was also of noble birth, his title was just that of a small Earl. In the European noble hierarchy, an Earl was not low-ranked; in the Middle Ages, they were actual lords with their own territories.

But in Spain, a rather special nation, an Earl was as pitiable as an honorary title, barely having any presence.

Even after the previous noble rebellion led Carlo to abolish hundreds of titles, the number of Spanish nobles remained vast.

In an era where Dukes were everywhere and Marquises were as common as dogs, an Earl was indeed insignificant. If it wasn’t for Carlo’s vigorous support, Canovas wouldn’t have gained the support of the Conservative Party, let alone become the Prime Minister of the Spanish Cabinet in such a short time.

With Canovas taking on the important role of Prime Minister for the first time, it was indeed necessary for Duke Serrano to back him up.

Moreover, this was likely the last time Duke Serrano would hold a position as a Cabinet Minister. Duke Serrano, born in 1810, was already at the advanced age of 69 this year, which, even in the later ages a hundred years ago, was already retirement age, not to mention in an era with an average lifespan of around 40 years.

Because of Duke Serrano’s advanced age, Carlo did not intend for him to continue serving as Spain’s Minister of Defense.

Though Duke Serrano’s capability and loyalty were sufficient, having a 69-year-old man in charge of a busy and complex department was clearly too cruel.

Duke Serrano’s role as Deputy Prime Minister was more of a nominal position, also as a consideration for his health. Canovas had already been practically managing the affairs of the Spanish Cabinet Government during his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, and would only become more adept as Prime Minister.

Although Carlo did not plan for Duke Serrano to continue as Minister of Defense, he needed to retain a high-ranking military position to maintain order.

Among the senior military officials on the Spanish Military Committee, Carlo planned to promote Evan Bradley, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, to become the new Minister of Defense of Spain. Anthony Mark Fletcher, the Chief of Staff, would succeed Evan as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, and Duke Serrano would replace Marca as the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Spain.

Even though both the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Chief of Staff held the Marshal rank, the power and importance of these positions were different.

The Minister of Defense was, of course, the highest position in the Spanish military, and also the position with the most power. The Minister of Defense typically held the rank of Marshal, with command over the Army and Navy headquarters, Staff Department, Logistics Department, and other departments.

Under the Minister of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army held a higher status than the Chief of Staff, and the Chief of Staff held a higher status than the Navy Commander-in-Chief.

The reason for this was Spain’s differing emphasis on the Army and Navy and the establishment time of the Staff Department.

Carlo appointed Duke Serrano as the Chief of Staff of Spain, allowing him to comfortably enjoy his later years in a relatively leisurely position during this period of peace.

Though no longer serving as Minister of Defense, holding the titles of Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff was indeed a higher status than being the Minister of Defense.

Upon hearing Carlo’s orders, Duke Serrano had no objections and accepted Carlo’s orders very willingly.

Since Carlo had already made a decision, the election of the Spanish Military Committee naturally faced no obstacles.

The Military Committee originally consisted of only seven people, with Carlo having gained the support of the Commander of the Imperial Guard, the current Prime Minister, the current Minister of Defense, and the current Commander-in-Chief of the Army, totaling five votes, it naturally passed smoothly.

Although his position was demoted to Chief of Staff, Duke Serrano’s Marshal rank would be retained. Evan, promoted to Minister of Defense, was expecting to be awarded the Marshal rank soon, and he would officially take over Spain’s Defense Department.