[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-110":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2365038,4632,"Chapter 110: Military Academy Graduates","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-110",110,"\u003Cp>During these few days in Vienna, the news of the engagement between Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie spread throughout all of Europe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marriage between the King of Spain and the Princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was undoubtedly a union of powers, one that might even change the situation in the Mediterranean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this, more than just one or two countries were paying attention to this marriage; even King Luís I of Portugal personally sent a congratulatory telegram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of Luís I, he was Gao Da’s brother-in-law. Gao Da’s sister, Maria Pia, was his Queen, and the two had two children together; their married life had been considered affectionate before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as Maria Pia discovered King Luís’s countless lovers, the relationship between the couple grew increasingly worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who could be blamed for this? One could only blame the fact that Luís I’s older brother, Pedro V, passed away at the age of 24 without leaving any heirs, allowing Luís, who originally had no hope of inheriting the throne, to receive the Portuguese throne that fell from the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having never been groomed as a successor to the throne, no one bothered to manage Luís’s philandering ways. By the time he became king, he was already an adult, and naturally, even fewer people would try to control him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of Luís I, this king was relatively popular in Portugal. He implemented the policies established by his brother, such as the abolition of slavery and the abolition of the death penalty for civil crimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when it came to political talent, Luís I’s could only be described as poor. In Portugal, a constitutional monarchy, his power was too heavily restricted, and in the ten years since he took office, the situation in Portugal had not seen much improvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why King Luís was so proactive in congratulating Gao Da and Spain, it was, of course, not because of his kinship with Gao Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, the royal families of European countries all had some degree of kinship, and this bit of family connection counted for nothing in the face of national interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What truly made Luís I take the initiative to offer congratulations was, in fact, the massive disparity in strength between Spain and Portugal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be one thing if there were a disparity in strength, but as it happened, Portugal’s only neighbor was Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the only two countries on the Iberian Peninsula, conflicts between Portugal and Spain occurred frequently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Portugal was often the one being bullied, which was the reason why Luís I, as the King of Portugal, was so proactive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, relying on the support of the British, the Portuguese did not have to worry about Spain taking any action. But now, Spain was on good terms with Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and might not fear a Portugal supported by the British.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da naturally understood what Luís I meant; in the short term, Spain did not intend to provoke the British again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The British would never agree to Spain monopolizing the Iberian Peninsula unless Spain possessed the strength to rival the British.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to Madrid, Gao Da had Butler Luo Lun begin preparing for the wedding a year later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition to the royal family’s preparations, the Spanish government also attached great importance to the wedding a year later and expressed its willingness to fund 2 million pesetas to prepare a wedding of the century for Gao Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da also knew the government’s intentions. It looked like an investment of 2 million pesetas, but the government could earn much more from its cooperation with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Austro-Hungarian Empire provided even a little bit of industrial technology to Spain, Spain’s gains would far exceed 2 million pesetas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain would not need to be fearful in some diplomatic aspects, nor would it need to worry about the influence of other great powers; this was the most important thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Spanish public learned that the candidate for Spain’s future Queen was Archduchess Sophie of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the public’s attitude was one of support and approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By virtue of policies such as agricultural tax cuts and the abolition of the tithe, Gao Da had already established a positive impression in the hearts of the Spanish people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since Archduchess Sophie was the eldest daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Spanish people saw them as a quite well-matched pair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some small private newspapers, in order to attract attention, even published all sorts of varied love stories about Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stories of love at first sight, mutual affection, and so on attracted many Spaniards to buy newspapers, which was enough to show the Spanish people’s current supportive attitude toward Gao Da; overall, he was quite popular.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although these small newspapers were suspected of using Gao Da as a gimmick, they did not have much impact on the prestige of the royal family, so Gao Da did not intend to manage them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, if there were any malicious fabrications of false news intended to affect the royal family’s reputation or destroy the royal family’s image in the hearts of the people, such behavior would naturally have to be firmly prevented and punished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spain’s control over newspapers was generally strict. Although it was much more relaxed compared to the reign of Queen Isabella, Prime Minister Primo, under Gao Da’s suggestion, still established a relevant news censorship department specifically to review the newspapers printed by major news agencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the content published in the newspapers was reviewed by the government, there was actually no harm in using Gao Da to earn a bit of attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, neither large nor small newspapers dared to smear the royal family, and such reports could, to a certain extent, increase the public’s favor toward Gao Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it could also avoid the result of stories becoming increasingly exaggerated through word of mouth. Gao Da knew deeply how exaggerated the spread of rumors could be; if there were no stories provided by these newspapers that were harmless to the royal family, who knew what version the love story of Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie would eventually turn into after being passed around by the public?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time reached the end of April 1871, Gao Da also ushered in a very important day, which was the first graduation ceremony of the Royal Military Academy of Madrid after its expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearly two years had passed since the reform of the Royal Military Academy, and the students who were already at the Royal Military Academy before the reform finally ushered in their graduation day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As military cadets who faced the reform of the military academy during their time in school, they were both lucky and unfortunate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lucky part was that after the reform, the Royal Military Academy would be more valued by Gao Da and the government. As the first batch of graduates cultivated by the reformed Royal Military Academy, they were destined to be heavily used in the army in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the unfortunate part was that because the Royal Military Academy was reformed, their previous study time at the military academy was completely wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of which class the military academy students belonged to, they had effectively become new students after the reform. They only ushered in their graduation after receiving nearly two years of military academy training, becoming junior officers with the rank of second lieutenant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first batch of graduates from the Royal Military Academy of Madrid numbered over 400, which was good news for Gao Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem of the gap between the old and new Spanish officers could finally be alleviated, and there was even hope that a few high-ranking officers capable of growing into the general level could be born among these 400-plus people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the honorary president of the Royal Military Academy, Gao Da certainly could not miss the graduation ceremony of the first class of the military academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These graduates were theoretically his own protégés, and Gao Da would certainly not miss the opportunity to win them over; he also had to make them understand exactly who they should be loyal to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, these graduates were basically all Spanish, and their promotion in the army would not face any obstacles. Only when this batch of Spaniards became middle and high-level officers in the army could Gao Da’s influence truly penetrate into the military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Gao Da’s influence truly penetrated into the army and he controlled at least half of the military, Gao Da’s power would gradually expand, eventually replacing Prime Minister Primo’s power and completing the handover of the Spanish government’s leadership.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>April 28, 1871, in the suburbs of Madrid, inside the Royal Military Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bathing in the warm sunshine, Gao Da successfully arrived at the Royal Military Academy and walked toward the large assembly hall inside the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over 400 soon-to-be-graduated military cadets were gathered here, and their graduation ceremony was also being held today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seemingly having learned the news that His Majesty the King was about to arrive, most of the military academy graduates stood on tiptoe in anticipation, unable to help but stand up and gaze at the entrance of the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, several Royal Guard soldiers opened the doors of the hall and stood guard at the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the teachers and students inside the hall immediately knew that the King had arrived, and everyone stood up one after another, using applause and cheers to welcome their King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the cheers of this group of graduates, Gao Da’s mood became even more wonderful. These 400-plus people were not just simple military academy graduates; they were also the help Gao Da needed to control the army in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the gaze of the fiery eyes of many military academy graduates, Gao Da walked onto the podium in the center of the hall with a smile on his face and began his passionate speech:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excellent graduates of the Royal Military Academy, excellent teachers of the academy, good afternoon everyone! I am very happy to be able to meet with you. The royal family will absolutely not forget the efforts you have all made over the past few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone sitting here is the elite of Spain, and also the future hope of Spain. I hope that after you graduate, you can continue to work hard, become excellent Spanish soldiers, and become heroes trusted by all the Spanish people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Spain of the past was glorious and great, but the Spain of today has long since fallen from its pedestal. We lost our Latin American colonies, we lost Gibraltar, what else can we lose?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Students, I hope that after you enter the army, you will remember your mission, remember the mission of every Spaniard, which is to make Spain great again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Spain is large, we can no longer afford to lose anything. We must try every possible means to protect our homeland and protect every Spaniard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To recast the glory of Spain is the duty of all Spaniards! When we are all fighting for the greatness of Spain, the strength of Spain will be unstoppable by anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please let us shout together with the loudest voice: 'Make Spain great again! Long live Spain!'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Make Spain great again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Long live Spain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second update of three thousand words, please support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1917,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","790ecf96470dbca19cc76d21c4f86d3f02685e37c675e93809f9f4611695986c","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-111","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-109",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]