Chapter 14

Time came to 1869 very quickly.

Although there is no news from Spain, Gao Da has made full preparations for the possible entry into Spain.

The first is the opinion power that Gao Da has vigorously developed, which has already achieved certain results.

The Italian 24-Hour Sun, the largest newspaper in Gao Da's hands, has become the largest newspaper in northern Italy, and the average daily sales for the whole year of 1868 have exceeded 24,000.

In addition to the Sun, Luo Lun also founded many newspapers in northern and southern Italy under Gao Da's instructions, and the daily sales of these small and medium-sized newspapers added up to more than 10,000.

Gao Da can also be considered to have completed his preliminary deployment of opinion power. The newspapers added up to have tens of thousands of loyal readers, and the groups that can be influenced are at least hundreds of thousands.

As long as Gao Da wants, he can make hundreds of thousands or even millions of Italians know a piece of news in a short time.

This is very exaggerated in this era when transportation is extremely inconvenient and people mostly rely on livestock such as horses and ox carts to travel.

These many large and small newspapers also brought Gao Da an income of nearly 250,000 lire in two and a half years.

It is also thanks to Garibaldi's prestige that the Sun could quickly open up the market, otherwise more than 200,000 lire would not be so easy to earn.

As time entered February 1869, the Spanish parliamentary election also officially arrived.

As in history, Primo, as the most powerful individual in the Provisional Government, coupled with his huge prestige in the revolutionary army, successfully controlled the majority of seats in parliament.

This news made Gao Da breathe a sigh of relief, which means that Spain will move towards a constitutional monarchy instead of a republic, and Gao Da still has great hope of becoming the King of Spain.

The new Spanish parliament announced as soon as it was established that it would not abolish the monarchy, but would establish a national government under a constitutional monarchy to manage the government affairs of Spain.

Because the Spanish throne was undecided, the parliament appointed Francisco Serrano Dominguez, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, as the Regent of the Kingdom of Spain, and Primo, the Minister of Land Forces, as the new Prime Minister.

These two are not only the two most prestigious people in the Provisional Government, but also two generals who are highly supported in the revolutionary army.

This is actually the real reason why Spain continues to maintain the monarchy, after all, the two people who have the decision-making power both support the monarchy.

Thanks to the report advocating the advancement of the monarchical system, the news that Spain continues to maintain the monarchy did not set off too many waves.

As long as it is no longer the rule of a faint king like Queen Isabella, the opposition of the Spanish people will at least not be so intense.

The matter of the parliament came to an end for the time being, and the most headache-inducing thing for Serrano and Prime Minister Primo had become choosing a suitable king for Spain.

Although they can choose arbitrarily among European royal families, the chosen object must also be recognized by the people.

Those with too bad reputation cannot be wanted. The Spanish people cannot believe that such a king can do better than Isabella. If it is just a new Queen Isabella to rule Spain, then what is the purpose of the Spanish people's revolution?

Those with controversial backgrounds cannot be wanted. For Spain, a king with a noble background and the support of a big family can stabilize the order of Spain.

If the background of the new king is controversial, this is also a new blow to the constitutional monarchy that Spain has finally determined.

Coupled with various other conditions, there are actually not many European princes suitable to become the King of Spain left.

After more than a month of screening, Serrano and Primo finally determined a list of five people.

The first choice is Prince Leopold of the German royal family. Prince Leopold was born in the House of Hohenzollern and is backed by the Kingdom of Prussia, which has just won the Austro-Prussian War. His background and reputation meet Spain's requirements.

The second choice is Fernando, who served as the Regent of Portugal. Fernando's wife and son are the King of Portugal, and his performance during his tenure as King of Portugal (husband of the queen) and Regent was above the passing line, and his prestige was also relatively good.

The third choice is Prince Amadeo of the Italian House of Savoy. After unification, Italy still has a say along the Mediterranean coast, and the prestige of the House of Savoy in the European royal family has also ushered in a small increase. For Spain, Amadeo may not be as reliable as the first two, but he is also a qualified candidate.

The fourth choice also comes from the Italian House of Savoy, and is Amadeo's own younger brother, Gao Da. Gao Da's shortcoming is that he is slightly young and will not be 18 years old for a few months. But Gao Da's reputation in Italy is no weaker than Amadeo's, and the Sun's propaganda for Gao Da is still very useful.

Even many Italians love this youngest prince very much, because this little prince has no big airs when traveling and will greet the Italian people in a friendly manner.

Under the power of public opinion, some Spanish people have also heard of this friendly prince of Italy. This is also the reason why Gao Da can enter the list of candidates. After all, Primo and Serrano both believe that the Spanish people will not exclude a friendly king.

The last candidate is Queen Isabella's brother-in-law, the Duke of Montpensier of Spain. However, considering the Spanish people's hatred of Queen Isabella and the possible psychology of hating the house and its crow, Primo ranked the Duke of Montpensier last on the candidate list and considered removing him from the list.

After all, choosing the King of Spain is extremely strict. Any shortcoming of the candidate will be magnified countless times, and any possible impact is something Serrano and Primo must consider.

What disappointed Primo was that just after the Spanish government released a little wind to Fernando, Fernando directly refused the Spanish throne.

This also theoretically cut off the possibility of Spain and Portugal uniting again, after all, Fernando's son is the current King of Portugal.

If Fernando could obtain the Spanish throne, the future King of Portugal might inherit the Spanish throne, realizing the merger of the two countries in Iberia.

Fernando's active withdrawal turned the list of five into four. After a long discussion with Serrano, Primo finally decided to remove the Duke of Montpensier from the list, which led to only three candidates left on the list.

Although Spain's work of choosing a king is relatively confidential, there is no wall that does not leak in the world.

At this time, Primo and Serrano did not know what major impact their work of choosing a king would have on the European situation, and it would even directly cause the European hegemon to be trampled under the feet of other countries.

First update, seeking support!

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(End of this chapter)