Chapter 159: The Achievements of the Five-Year Plan

Spain's campaign to purchase equipment and recruit talent was truly vigorous, attracting the attention of many European countries.

However, this no longer mattered to the Spanish government. As long as the recruited talent and equipment could contribute to Spain's development, there was naturally no need to worry about the reactions of these countries.

More importantly, countries with relatively strong industries and economies, such as Britain, France, and Germany, were still mired in the quagmire of an economic crisis and unable to extricate themselves.

As for countries with relatively weaker industries and economies, such as Portugal and the Netherlands, they could not possibly pose a significant threat to Spain.

Precisely because of this, Spain's talent recruitment campaign did not scale back after receiving protests from some countries; instead, it intensified.

The Spanish government even publicly stated that Spain's talent recruitment campaign was in compliance with the laws and regulations of all countries. Spain offered these technical talents and scientists salaries within the normal range, and welcomed these countries to offer the same salaries to compete with Spain.

In plain terms, Prime Minister Primo was certain that European countries could not afford the high cost of retaining domestic talent amidst an economic crisis.

For countries plagued by the economic crisis, the current priority was to rectify their domestic economies and save large companies and enterprises on the verge of bankruptcy, rather than focusing on the few talents being poached.

For major countries, the number of talents being poached was, after all, a minority. Would they really fight Spain to the death over these few poached talents? Of course that was impossible.

As for the small countries, their actions were truly limited to protests. Especially for Portugal, which suffered the most in terms of talent loss, they even had to consider the attitude of the Spanish government when protesting—after all, Spain was their neighbor.

Just how exaggerated was Spain's talent recruitment? From the outbreak of the economic crisis until now, only three months had passed, yet the royal family had already spent over 3 million pesetas on recruiting talent.

It must be known that this was only the cost of recruiting talent, and only the expenditure from the royal family. If the total number of talents recruited by the government were added, the cumulative number of talents recruited by Spain had already exceeded 2, 00.

Unfortunately, more than half of these 2, 00-plus people were ordinary engineers and technical personnel; there were fewer than 500 of the research-oriented talents that Carlo had most anticipated.

Among these fewer than 500 research talents, fewer than 200 had obtained the title and treatment of a second-tier academician. Although some were not granted higher titles and treatment because they were newcomers, they were ultimately only a minority.

According to data from the Royal Intelligence Agency, among these fewer than 500 research talents, it would already be quite good if 20 of them eventually obtained the title of third-tier academician.

However, they were research talents after all, and even if their abilities were not as outstanding as imagined, Carlo was still quite welcoming.

After these talents had almost all arrived in Spain, Carlo personally attended the welcome banquet held for them, expressing a warm welcome for their arrival.

The expenditure on recruiting talent was ultimately a small portion; the cost of purchasing equipment and enterprises was the majority.

Over these three months, the various enterprises purchased by the Spanish industrial sector totaled more than 30, with funds spent exceeding 80 million pesetas.

Currently, the plan to purchase enterprises was still ongoing; in the coming months, the industrial sector's "buying spree" would continue, and the scale would only grow larger.

Amidst the dark clouds of the economic crisis, some major events occurring in Europe were also worth noting.

First, before the outbreak of the economic crisis, German Emperor Wilhelm I, Prime Minister Bismarck, and Field Marshal Moltke visited the Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, and signed a secret military agreement with the Russian government.

Although Carlo did not know the specific contents of the military agreement signed by the two countries, judging from the historical trajectory of the League of the Three Emperors, what Germany and Russia signed at this time should have been a mutual defense treaty of some kind.

And as previously mentioned, Austria, which had become the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was constantly moving closer to Germany in its foreign policy.

This was unavoidable. After Prussia won the struggle for German hegemony, the newly established German Empire had become an unstoppable behemoth.

Rather than competing with the German Empire, it was better for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to set its sights on Southeast Europe and expand its sphere of influence in the Balkan Peninsula.

The one most anxious about the military agreement between Germany and Russia was not Britain or France, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire also had Spain as an ally, distant water could not quench a near thirst. Spain's strength was not overly powerful, and it could not help the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the struggle for hegemony in the Balkan region.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire needed a powerful ally like Germany, or at least to prevent Germany and Russia from continuing to draw closer, in order to maintain the current situation in the Balkans and satisfy the needs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At this time, the conflict between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia was not yet that intense; after all, the places both sides were eyeing belonged to another country, the Ottoman Empire.

Regarding the handling of the Balkan issue, both Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire maintained the same attitude: a coordinated resolution.

Shortly after the outbreak of the economic crisis, Russian Emperor Alexander II paid a public visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Taking this opportunity, the two emperors of Russia and Austria formally signed the Schönbrunn Agreement, which was another affirmation of the two countries' attitude toward a coordinated resolution of issues.

Because the entire agreement had only one theme: that in the event of aggression by a third country endangering peace in the European region, the contracting parties (i. ., Russia and Austria) should immediately discuss a common course of action.

In plain terms, it was a mutual compromise between the two countries to deal with other countries interfering in the situation of the Balkan Peninsula.

Russia's main defense in this agreement was against the British, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire's main purpose was to ease the situation and prevent the Austro-Hungarian Empire from being diplomatically isolated.

Both countries had their own motives; this agreement was more like a compromise between the two countries based on their respective interests, rather than a true alliance treaty.

But regardless, the easing of relations between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at this time was a good thing for both sides.

However, the signing of this agreement actually made Germany somewhat uneasy. At this time, Germany's diplomatic system was established by Prime Minister Bismarck, and his main diplomatic system was to isolate France and establish a conservative alliance treaty between the three monarchies of Germany, Austria, and Russia.

The drawing closer of Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire instead caused Germany to worry, because Germany was also afraid that Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire would cast it aside, which would directly cause Germany's anti-French alliance system to go bankrupt, and Germany would also suffer a new diplomatic crisis.

It must be known that the relationship between Germany's predecessor, Prussia, and Austria was hostile. With the rise of Germany, the Russians would certainly also worry about the threat of Germany.

If the original alliance to isolate France were to turn into an alliance to isolate Germany, that would be a huge joke.

Precisely because of this, after the agreement between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was signed, the German diplomatic department immediately took action, stating that Germany was also willing to join this agreement, with the three countries jointly maintaining peace in Europe.

Because Germany and Russia had only signed a secret military treaty the previous month, the two sides were currently in a honeymoon period.

Russia did not oppose Germany joining this agreement, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not express a clear attitude of opposition.

Precisely because of this, after some consultation, Germany also publicly joined this agreement, and the first League of the Three Emperors was formally established.

However, because the essence of this agreement was a certain compromise between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire regarding their own interests, the validity period of the agreement was very short, only two years.

Although the League of the Three Emperors was successfully formed, such a League of the Three Emperors was not stable, and the alliance relationship was very likely to break due to an accidental event.

Although Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire each had their own ulterior motives, the German government at this time was very satisfied. In the eyes of the Germans, if the relationship between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were too stable, then what would be the need for Germany's role as an intermediary?

Wasn't the reason Germany joined this agreement to seek the status of a mediator for the agreement and control the relationship between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to maintain a delicate balance?

Anyway, regardless of what other countries thought, the League of the Three Emperors was established just like that.

The Russians breathed a sigh of relief; they could focus on dealing with their conflict with the British. The Austrians also breathed a sigh of relief; the diplomatic crisis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was successfully resolved, and the interests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkan Peninsula were also guaranteed.

The Germans likewise breathed a sigh of relief. After the establishment of the League of the Three Emperors, France was successfully isolated, and naturally became the main country targeted by the League of the Three Emperors.

Carlo followed the entire process of the establishment of the League of the Three Emperors. However, for Spain at this time, the League of the Three Emperors was not suitable for Spain to participate in, and Carlo had no intention of participating in it.

The three participants of the League of the Three Emperors each had their own ideas, and such an alliance was not stable. History indeed proved that the first League of the Three Emperors only lasted for two years, and the second League of the Three Emperors signed in 1881 only lasted for 6 years.

Ultimately, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia set their sights on the Balkan Peninsula. This was a conflict that could not be eased, and would only become more intense with the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Added to this, neither Britain nor France would allow such an alliance to exist; the disintegration of the League of the Three Emperors was inevitable, and it was merely a matter of time.

When the League of the Three Emperors treaty was formally signed, the time had already reached the end of October 1873.

In the two-plus months that followed, Spain still maintained its policy of "buying and poaching," purchasing a wide variety of factories and enterprises from various European countries in large quantities, and poaching thousands of talents.

Although a lot of funds were consumed, it indeed allowed Spain to make great progress in talent reserves. Currently, Spain might not be able to catch up with other European powers in terms of talent reserves, but it had already far surpassed small and medium-sized countries like Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Even if compared with a minor power like Italy, Spain was actually in a leading position in terms of talent reserves.

Time reached the end of December 1873. Because a new cabinet government election was to be held the following year, the ministers of various departments attached great importance to the annual report meeting for this year.

If Prime Minister Primo chose to run for re-election, they could only set their sights on the seats of cabinet ministers. But if Prime Minister Primo gave up running, they would have hope of striving for the position of Prime Minister of Spain—a position below one person but above ten thousand—by relying on the political achievements and reports in their hands.

In fact, for Spain at present, the actual power of the Prime Minister's position was much greater than that of the King. As long as the Prime Minister was willing, he could even easily sideline the King and control the entire parliament.

At the annual summary report meeting, each department prepared detailed report materials, and even the smallest political achievement was summarized in the report.

Carlo naturally would not miss such an important meeting. The annual summary report meeting was held in the parliament, and Carlo sat in the main seat of the parliament with composure, amidst the varying gazes of the members.

A few minutes later, the entire report meeting officially began.

It was still Prime Minister Primo who first set a broad tone.

"Your Majesty, honorable members. 1873 has been a very important year for us. Under the efforts of the government, Spain's industrial environment has seen relatively significant growth.

According to the cabinet government's estimates, as of today, our country's total population has officially exceeded 17. 5 million, an increase of at least 300, 00 compared to last year.

Our annual gross national product is approximately 7. 61 billion pesetas, an increase of over 9% compared to last year.

Although an economic crisis broke out across Europe in May, Spain was not too severely affected. In order to cope with the reduction in imports and exports that might be caused by the economic crisis, we formulated various plans and achieved relatively good results.

It can also be seen from the economic growth rate that the government's plans were very successful. We are also the only country in the world to have positive economic growth during the economic crisis, and the growth rate is even higher than before the economic crisis."

Speaking of positive economic growth, Prime Minister Primo's report received a round of applause from all the members of parliament.

Carlo was the very one who took the initiative to applaud. After Carlo took the initiative to applaud, the other members, even if they did not intend to applaud, had to take action to cooperate.

After waiting for a little over a minute, and after the applause died down, Prime Minister Primo then continued his summary report:

"Benefiting from our positive economic growth, our government's total fiscal revenue for the entire year has also seen a significant increase.

According to the statistics of the finance department, for the entire year of 1873, our country's total fiscal revenue was 545. million pesetas, an increase of 19. million pesetas compared to last year.

However, in order to cope with the impact of the financial crisis on Spain, the government's various construction projects have also significantly increased the proportion of fiscal expenditure.

For the entire year of 1873, our total fiscal expenditure reached 743. million pesetas. Among this, regular fiscal expenditure was 612. million pesetas, and expenditure for external actions was 130. million pesetas.

Although the annual fiscal deficit is nearly 200 million pesetas, the foreign factories and enterprises purchased through the government's external actions can be of great help to our industrial growth.

It is expected that in the next few years, Spain's industry and economy will ignore the impact of the economic crisis and achieve significant development at a very fast speed.

The government will next formulate a detailed new 5-year development plan, dedicated to Spain's comprehensive development and industrial construction in the next five years.

Currently, our first five-year construction plan launched in 1869 has achieved great success. In these nearly five years, our industrial, agricultural, railway, educational, and economic construction have all achieved complete success.

Since the launch of the Five-Year Plan, our total population has increased by approximately 1. 5 million, total steel production has increased by over 400, 00 tons, and the total economic volume has grown by over 2 billion pesetas.

Our fiscal revenue has increased from less than 300 million pesetas in 1868 to nearly 550 million pesetas in 1873, a difference of over 250 million pesetas, which is close to the total fiscal revenue of 1868.

We have increased our investment in railways. As of now, Spain's total railway mileage has exceeded 7, 00 kilometers, and there is less than 100 kilometers left to reach the 7, 00-kilometer target we originally set.

Before the start of the Five-Year Plan, our total railway mileage was less than 5, 00 kilometers. In the five years, we have built a total of over 2, 00 kilometers of railway, and we will continue to increase our investment in railways in the future.

In the next Five-Year Plan, Spain will usher in a total railway scale of over 10, 00 kilometers. Perhaps after the completion of the next Five-Year Plan, we can proudly declare that Spain has built a powerful industry and economy, and that we are a powerful country!"

Because Spain's cabinet election is held in February, this also means that there are less than two months left until the cabinet changeover.

Precisely because of this, this year's annual summary report meeting was not just a report meeting for the year 1873, but also included the contributions made by the Spanish cabinet government over the five years from February 1869 to February 1874.

It is worth mentioning that Prime Minister Primo mentioned the government's next Five-Year Plan multiple times at the Five-Year Plan report meeting, which actually represented one thing: that Prime Minister Primo had decided to continue running for cabinet Prime Minister.

If he had decided to give up running, Prime Minister Primo would not have talked about any next Five-Year Plan at all. After all, the Five-Year Plan was formulated by the cabinet government; if he were not running for cabinet Prime Minister, whether the second Five-Year Plan would be implemented, and the specific content of the second Five-Year Plan, would have nothing to do with Prime Minister Primo.

Upon learning the news that Prime Minister Primo would continue to run, many members showed expressions of disappointment, but they quickly hid them.

It was normal for Prime Minister Primo to continue running. After all, Spain had already moved onto the right track under Prime Minister Primo's reforms, and the second Five-Year Plan would only be simpler compared to the first Five-Year Plan.

As the greatest contributor to promoting reform, it would be the strangest thing for Prime Minister Primo to suddenly give up the position of cabinet Prime Minister at this moment.

It can be expected that Prime Minister Primo, relying on the huge prestige of the successful reforms and the rapid expansion of the Progressive Party over these five years, would easily obtain the majority of votes and serve as the Prime Minister of the next cabinet government.

But there is one question that is also worth thinking about, and that is Carlo's growth over these five years.

In 1869, Carlo had just arrived in Spain, and coupled with the fact that he was still a teenager, it was normal that he could not hold great power.

But five years have passed, and Carlo has already turned 22 this year. Does a young king in his 20s really have no need for power?

Prime Minister Primo, who still held great power, and Carlo, who had sat firmly on the throne in Spain and might make more demands for his own power—this also made the expressions in the eyes of many members become more complex, constantly shifting between Prime Minister Primo, who was speaking passionately about his plans, and Carlo, who was sitting steadily in the main seat of the meeting with a smile and no other expression.

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(End of chapter)