[{"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-16":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},2364944,4632,"Chapter 16: Investigation","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>One has to admit that, looking at the history of Italian unification, aside from the accidental factor of Garibaldi, the rest can be collectively attributed to pure luck, without a shred of real strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Austro-Prussian War allowed Italy to easily acquire the Venice region and southern South Tyrol, and this Franco-Prussian War, triggered by the Spanish throne, also allowed the Italians to see an opportunity to recover Rome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, entrenched in Rome was the Catholic Holy See, also known as the Papal States. Supporting the Papal States was the European hegemon, France, which is the reason why Italy, despite having already unified, had long been unable to recover the core region of Rome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after the war broke out, the French troops stationed in Rome had gradually begun to withdraw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Italy was waiting for the moment when all French troops had finished withdrawing; the Roman Papal army would be unable to block the pace of Italian unification, and Rome was about to become the official capital of the Kingdom of Italy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Victor Emmanuel II was anxiously waiting for the French troops to completely withdraw from Rome, the Spanish government sent a request for a diplomatic visit to the Italian government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The delegation sent by Spain this time was very luxurious, led by Prime Minister Prim and accompanied by several government ministers, as well as several high-ranking generals from the Spanish military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with the recent Spanish throne selection event, Victor Emmanuel II seemed to understand the purpose of this Spanish diplomatic visit a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, there was one point Victor Emmanuel II did not quite understand, which was that when the Spanish government was examining candidates from other countries, they had all been investigated secretly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did it become sending a diplomatic delegation for a visit when it came to Italy? Moreover, the leader of the delegation was Spain's new Prime Minister Prim, who was a figure holding both military and political power; calling him the most powerful person in Spain today would absolutely not be an exaggeration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he did not quite understand Prim's intentions, Spain was, after all, a major power along the Mediterranean coast, so the Italian side naturally would not refuse the Spanish government's proactive visit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carlo, who was constantly paying attention to news from Spain, naturally also learned of the Spanish government's request for a diplomatic visit to Italy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding this event that had never happened in history, Carlo could not help but have a few more conjectures in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Amedeo's name were the only one on the list of candidates for the Spanish throne, they would likely not have come to Italy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, of the four major competitors in history, three had already withdrawn; if there were no other competitors, Amedeo should have already won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with the Spanish government's request for a diplomatic visit, Carlo could basically conclude that he should also be on the list of candidates for the Spanish throne, and had already reached the final round of competing with his older brother Amedeo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also meant that the choice for the Spanish throne would be revealed with this diplomatic visit by Prim. If Carlo wanted to become the King of Spain, he had to firmly grasp every opportunity during this diplomatic visit and show his strengths to Prim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good news is that the reason Amedeo became the King of Spain in history was not because he was particularly outstanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, compared to the other three candidates, Amedeo could only be considered barely qualified. It was precisely because of the voluntary withdrawal of the Portuguese Regent Fernando and the French people's strong opposition to Prince Leopold becoming the King of Spain that Amedeo benefited from the situation and ultimately won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, compared to Carlo, Amedeo did have advantages. First, he was six years older; the age of 25 looked more mature and steady, which was relatively important for Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Carlo was not without advantages either. Regarding the two people currently in power in Spain, Carlo was definitely more familiar with them than Amedeo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Prim's pursuit for Spain, Amedeo's mere six-year age advantage did not actually count for much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for Prim, who held the reins of military and political power, he might not necessarily want to see a more mature and steady king coming to fight for power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being young, while representing a lack of maturity and steadiness, also meant being easier to control than someone older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least for Prim, who was currently single-mindedly trying to promote reform in Spain, Amedeo might not necessarily hold the advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After silently calculating the respective advantages of himself and his brother Amedeo in his heart, Carlo began to plan how to demonstrate his advantages during this diplomatic visit and make Prim choose him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing to do was to recognize his own status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, regardless of whether Amedeo or Carlo became the King of Spain, it would be impossible to hold much real power in the early stages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be fine if there were support from Prim and Serrano; both of them held military and political power in their hands, which would be no small help to the king.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there were no support from the two, then this King of Spain could be said to be a completely bare commander, without a single reliable subordinate under him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, Carlo's initial plan for after becoming the King of Spain was never to seize power, but to help Prim and Serrano carry out Spain's reforms on the basis of stabilizing his throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Spain was still a second-rate country in Europe, it had already fallen too far behind powers like Britain, France, Prussia, Russia, and Austria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Italy, which had not been unified for long, surpassed Spain in terms of comprehensive strength. If Spain did not reform and continued to drag on like this, Spain would even become a third-rate European country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Prim and Serrano both possessed immense prestige; having them proactively carry out Spain's reforms would be smoother than Carlo pushing for reforms himself, and the Spanish people would also find it easier to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, Prim and Serrano, both of them were also willing to see a monarch who supported reform appear in Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Prim; as the most powerful person in Spain, he was a thorough reformist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the historical Prim was assassinated before Amedeo arrived in Spain, he had pushed for the promulgation of many decrees during his short time as Prime Minister of Spain, and was also a representative figure of the Spanish reformists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Carlo could show his support for reform during Prim's visit to Italy, he believed he would gain Prim's favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as either Prim or Serrano supported him, Carlo did not feel that he would lose to his brother Amedeo in this competition for the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Amedeo did not show any talent during his three years as King of Spain, and did not even have much ambition or lofty aspirations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First update, asking for support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1188,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","1def713a4c0dace382b8d19092071d031ae30bfebcc1371d90573647e9fc6d85","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-17","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-15",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]