Chapter 194

The news that Prime Minister Pu Limo was assassinated and seriously injured and comatose soon spread to most of the city of Madrid, and even the whole of Spain, through various ways.

Whether it is the ministers of the Spanish cabinet government or the members of the House of Representatives, they were all taken aback.

Since Pu Limo was elected Prime Minister of Spain after the revolution, Pu Limo has always held the politics of Spain and is definitely the pillar of the government.

If Prime Minister Pu Limo is there, even if it is a huge chaos, officials have the confidence to calm it down under the leadership of Prime Minister Pu Limo.

But now Prime Minister Pu Limo is seriously injured and comatose, urgently needing another person who has influence and can stand up to stabilize the overall situation. Who will this person be?

The Spanish government at this time quickly split into two factions. One faction is headed by Minister of Transport Ruiz, and most of the members are members of the Progressive Party. They believe that at this time, the parliament should be promoted to elect an acting Prime Minister to stabilize the situation in Spain until Prime Minister Pu Limo wakes up and then cancels the position of acting Prime Minister.

And the Conservative Party headed by Minister of Industry Canovas believes that the most important thing at present is to pick up Gao Da from South Morocco and let His Majesty the King issue orders to stabilize the situation.

The Progressive Party was originally the largest party in the Spanish parliament, but because it lacked the leadership of Prime Minister Pu Limo, it fought a five-to-five split with the second largest party, the Conservative Party.

While the parliament was arguing hotly, the actions of the rebellious nobles also began.

Under the malicious provocation of some people, the worker parade in some regions added chaos and violent elements, which also turned the original parade into a conflict with the local police.

When the conflict began, even the workers who did not originally oppose the government could not interfere with the progress of the conflict.

The final result was that several streets in Madrid broke out quite serious conflict incidents, and the workers in the parade and the police maintaining public order had casualties.

The conflict incident changed the pattern of the Spanish parliament's quarrel. Minister of Transport Ruiz suddenly received the support of the Liberal Party and was elected as the acting Prime Minister of Spain with more than half of the support of the parliamentary seats, performing the duties of the Prime Minister of Spain during the period when Prime Minister Pu Limo was injured and comatose, and the term of office automatically ended when Prime Minister Pu Limo ended his coma.

Ruiz, who broke through thousands of difficulties to become the acting Prime Minister of Spain, can be said to be high-spirited. He certainly knows that Prime Minister Pu Limo's injury is not light, and he also knows that even if Prime Minister Pu Limo can be rescued, his physical condition will turn sharply.

Although his term of office as acting Prime Minister is only during the period when Prime Minister Pu Limo is injured, it is actually a kind of training that others cannot get at all.

If Prime Minister Pu Limo retires in the future, who else can take over the power of the Prime Minister from Pu Limo? Of course, it is him, the person who once became the acting Prime Minister. This is very helpful for him to become the new Prime Minister of Spain in the future and to become the new leader of the Progressive Party.

And such a small worker parade, Ruiz did not take it to heart at all.

On the afternoon of November 5, 1875, Ruiz, who had just been elected as the acting Prime Minister of Spain, immediately announced that he ordered the army stationed in Toledo to go north to Madrid, and announced military martial law in Madrid, demanding that the workers in the parade disband the parade, and promised to seek justice for the workers.

Although there are also garrisons in Madrid, Ruiz very smartly did not mobilize the main army in Madrid. Why? Because Grand Duke Serrano moved his office of the Ministry of National Defense to the barracks in Madrid, and the army in Madrid was completely controlled by Grand Duke Serrano. Ruiz is not stupid.

The army in Madrid is naturally closer, but it can also threaten his position as acting Prime Minister more. Originally, the concept between him, a radical reformer, and a conservative noble like Grand Duke Serrano was not compatible. If Grand Duke Serrano launched a military coup, the fun would be great.

Therefore, even if it was to mobilize troops from dozens of kilometers away in Toledo, Ruiz was not willing to mobilize troops from the barracks on the outskirts of Madrid, which was closer.

What Ruiz didn't expect was that he didn't wait for the army in Toledo, but he waited for a new accident to happen.

If you want to say that these rebellious nobles are quite dissatisfied with Prime Minister Pu Limo, then their hatred and disgust for the more radical reformer Ruiz is naked.

Prime Minister Pu Limo's reforms will also consider the opinions of the nobles and will not kill the nobles. But Ruiz's reforms were extremely radical, and he even once supported the abolition of Spain's monarchy and the establishment of a completely republican democratic Spanish country.

For the rebellious nobles, Ruiz is also a trouble that must be removed. If Ruiz is allowed to control great power, I am afraid that this guy will definitely find an opportunity to promote Spain's republic.

The rebellious nobles are still waiting to welcome back Queen Isabella and regain noble privileges. They don't want Spain to have become a republic before the Queen returns.

If this is the case, what is the use of the Queen coming back? Is it to receive a resident ID card of the Spanish Republic?

While quickly preparing for the armed rebellion, the rebellious nobles also spread various rumors unfavorable to Ruiz.

For example, Prime Minister Pu Limo was actually assassinated by Ruiz's people, and the purpose was to control the political power of Spain after Prime Minister Pu Limo was comatose.

And there are news that Ruiz has several large factories under his hands, and he is more hateful than the exposed factory owners, etc., trying to smear Ruiz, who became the acting Prime Minister.

Ruiz at this time is also very big-headed. Having just become the acting Prime Minister, he has not enjoyed the power in his hands for long, and his reputation has already been smeared like this.

However, the most important thing at present is to end this worker parade that has affected most of Madrid, otherwise the government will not be able to spare its hands to solve other things.

In order to ensure the stability of Madrid, Ruiz issued a new order, that is, the police responsible for maintaining public order can use firearms under dangerous conditions to stop the worker parade from evolving into an armed conflict.

But what he didn't expect was that this order instantly ignited the situation of the worker parade.

Originally, the police did not intend to take the initiative to shoot at the worker group, but they could not stand the malicious guidance and adding fuel to the fire by the rebellious nobles on the worker group side.

When someone in the chaotic crowd fired at the police, even if the police were unwilling to shoot at civilians again, they had to use the firearms in their hands for their own personal safety.

The fatal consequence of this is that in a short period of time, several parade scenes were ignited, and the cumulative casualties of workers and police quickly reached hundreds.

"What?" Ruiz, who had just learned the news of the casualties, showed a shocked expression on his face and asked incredibly: "Who let them shoot first? Didn't I say that, wait until the most dangerous time to use firearms."

"Prime Minister, it was not our police who shot first, but someone in the crowd shot and attacked them first." The Minister of Public Security explained with a bitter smile: "After the shooting, the crowd fell into chaos, and our police suffered a large number of casualties.

In order to maintain the stability of the situation, they had to fire warning shots at the crowd to force the crowd back."

"Damn it." Ruiz hammered the table twice, and his mood at this time was not very wonderful.

The situation at present has reached a more critical situation. If the worker parade is not handled well, it is very likely to evolve into a civil strife against the government.

"What about our army? How long will it take to arrive in Madrid?" Ruiz asked.

Only by mastering the army in his hands can he ensure the stability of Madrid and sit firmly in his position as acting Prime Minister.

As for whether using the army to suppress the parade will cause fierce resistance from workers, this is no longer a problem that Ruiz wants to consider.

After all, only by solving the current worker parade can the Spanish government have the opportunity to consider other problems. If even the worker parade in Madrid cannot be solved, then there is no need to consider other things. The workers themselves will overthrow the government.

"This morning, the army in Toledo sent news that they have already taken action. Judging from the distance between Madrid and Toledo, it will take at most half a day for them to arrive in Madrid." The Minister of Public Security replied.

Ruiz did not dare to trouble Grand Duke Serrano to mobilize the army, but contacted the garrison in Toledo directly as acting Prime Minister.

Although he is acting as Prime Minister, he also has the power that the Prime Minister has, including the power to mobilize the army in an emergency.

Hearing the news that the army was about to arrive, Ruiz nodded with relief, and then ordered: "After the army arrives in Madrid, immediately suppress the worker parade.

I don't want any parade team to appear on the street tomorrow. Spain should enter a stable situation tonight."

"I understand." The Minister of Public Security nodded.

In the barracks in Madrid on the other side, Grand Duke Serrano was communicating with Gao Da across the telegram.

Grand Duke Serrano reported in detail the current situation in Madrid and the fact that Minister of Transport Ruiz became acting Prime Minister with the support of the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party in parliament.

Gao Da's reply to this was that since the Spanish government has an acting Prime Minister, Grand Duke Serrano naturally does not rush to come forward.

Originally, Gao Da only intended to solve the rebellious nobles and Bourbon remnants in this chaos, but since the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party were involved, it is more important to let them bite the dog and watch a show.

As long as Gao Da is unwilling, it is impossible for Ruiz to suppress the worker parade. Because the military power of Spain is completely concentrated in the hands of Grand Duke Serrano, and Grand Duke Serrano obeys Gao Da's orders.

Originally, Prime Minister Pu Limo also had a great influence on the army, but after he was seriously injured and comatose, there was no one whose influence in the army could compare with Grand Duke Serrano.

Don't look at Ruiz playing a little clever in mobilizing the Toledo army. In fact, the commander of the Toledo garrison had already sent a telegram to ask Grand Duke Serrano for his opinion.

If Grand Duke Serrano refused, the Toledo army would not act at all, let alone cooperate with Ruiz's order on the surface.

On the evening of November 5, the rebellious nobles led a small number of troops to attack the police in Madrid and obtained a batch of weapons and equipment.

Through this batch of weapons and equipment, the number of rebel troops quickly expanded to hundreds. Hundreds of people wrapped up thousands of workers to attack the Spanish government and parliament, and even attacked several military warehouses set up by the public security department in Madrid.

During the period, there were also teams attacking the royal palace, but at the moment of the worker parade, the Imperial Guard Division had already stationed around the royal palace.

Don't talk about the armed forces of hundreds of people, even the armed forces of tens of thousands of people cannot capture the royal palace in a short time.

The rebellious nobles returned without success and could only focus on other relatively important places, such as the Spanish government building, the parliament building, and the residences of government officials.

Because of being caught off guard, the Spanish parliament building was soon occupied, and some police and rebel troops launched a fierce battle outside the government building.

The Spanish government retreated steadily in front of the rebel troops, and the Toledo army that Ruiz was thinking of was still moving slowly on the south side of Madrid at this time.

Gao Da's purpose is to make the water in Madrid more muddy, so Grand Duke Serrano, although not explicitly stated in the telegram to the Toledo army, also hinted that the Toledo army should delay the speed of marching.

The distance between Madrid and Toledo is only 70 kilometers, and the garrison of the Toledo army is on the north side of Toledo city, which is only a little over 50 kilometers away from Madrid city.

But it was this distance of more than 50 kilometers that made the Toledo army walk from morning to evening, and there was still a distance of ten or twenty kilometers.

The deliberate slowing down of the Toledo army made the Spanish government have no means of resistance when facing the rebel troops. Although there are many police in Madrid, they are scattered all over Madrid to maintain order and prevent the parade team from creating chaos.

The police protecting the government building and the parliament building add up to only a few dozen people. In front of the group of hundreds of armed forces holding firearms and thousands of workers united, a few dozen police are a bit thin.

"Damn it!" Ruiz in the government building had a pale face at this time, and he knew he was finished.

The worker parade team turned into a rebel team, which means that a small-scale civil war broke out in Spain under his hands. Regardless of the outcome of this war, in the case of Prime Minister Pu Limo's serious injury and coma, he is definitely the main person to take the blame.

The reputation of causing such civil war in Spain, let alone continuing to run for the next Prime Minister of Spain, it is already a good result not to be liquidated.

What's more, the rebel army has already hit the outside of the government building, and now Ruiz wants to escape but can't escape.

The pale-faced Ruiz still wanted to make a final resistance. He asked with a hoarse throat: "What about the Toledo army? Have they arrived in Madrid?"

The Minister of Public Security first shook his head, and then the Spanish government building received a telegram.

After reading the full content of the telegram, the Minister of Public Security walked up with a strange face and handed the content of the telegram to Ruiz.

"Acting Prime Minister, you should take a look yourself. The Toledo army has arrived, but they went to the south of Madrid to report to Grand Duke Serrano."

Ruiz's pupils instantly enlarged, and then he fell on the stool with a pale face: "Finished!"

(End of this chapter)