Chapter 195: Dissolving Parliament, Dismissing the Cabinet

At the very moment the Toledo army arrived in Madrid, Grand Duke Serrano, who had been staying in the military camp, finally made a public appearance, bringing with him a new order from King Carlos: a nationwide state of emergency.

Due to the grave injuries and unconscious state of Prime Minister Primo and the erroneous decisions of Acting Prime Minister Ruiz that led to the massive conflict between the police and the protesting workers, Carlos, as the King of Spain, declared in accordance with the constitution the dissolution of the Spanish Parliament, the dismissal of the Spanish cabinet government, and the establishment of a Spanish provisional military government, with Field Marshal Serrano serving as Commander-in-Chief of the provisional military government and Minister of Industry Canovas serving as the Military Governor of Madrid for the provisional military government.

At the same moment the order was issued, the Spanish army marched into the city in full force and launched an extremely brutal suppression of the rebel forces besieging the parliament building and government buildings.

Things reaching this point would certainly cause unnecessary casualties among the protesting worker groups. But there was no other way; if one wanted to completely draw out these rebellious nobles, some helpless sacrifices were unavoidable.

However, Carlos would not hold these protesting worker groups accountable; after all, they were also being coerced by the rebellious nobles. Although their protests caused the Spanish government to suffer huge losses, they also facilitated Carlos's consolidation of power.

With Prime Minister Primo in a coma from severe injuries and the reputation of Ruiz, the number two figure of the Progressive Party, severely damaged, Carlos's power had grown boundlessly.

In fact, as long as he could control the army, Carlos could establish an absolute monarchy at any time and turn the entire Kingdom of Spain into his own personal domain.

But too much autocracy was not a good thing. Even if Carlos could steer Spain's direction by relying on historical experience and lessons, he could only ensure that no problems would arise during his own reign.

If the children who inherited the throne made mistakes in their choices, an absolute monarchy could very well push the House of Savoy's rule in Spain into the abyss.

Speaking of the monarchical systems of European countries, what Carlos actually wanted to emulate was the British monarchical system.

Although the British King usually had little power, as long as the King steadily cultivated his own prestige and reigned for a longer time, he could still obtain a large amount of power in the middle and later stages.

This system could ensure that a capable King obtained the power he deserved, while it was also fine for an incapable King to be a mascot; at least it could ensure that the throne would not be lost in his hands.

Of course, this kind of political system had to be pushed forward step by step. In the early stages of his reign, Carlos would not hand over all power to the government and parliament.

When announcing the final closing of the net, Carlos had already left the South Morocco colony and was leading a large entourage on his way back to Madrid.

This inspection of the South Morocco colony was intended to lure the snakes out of their holes from the start; since the original purpose had been accomplished, the inspection of the South Morocco colony should naturally come to an end.

The entire fishing process went relatively smoothly, although some accidents occurred along the way. Prime Minister Primo falling into a coma from severe injuries was something Carlos had not expected; Carlos had previously advised Prime Minister Primo many times to strengthen his own defensive forces, but he did not expect that the enemy would still find a loophole.

The good news was that although Prime Minister Primo was severely injured and unconscious, he was at least not in any life-threatening danger. However, when he would wake up, and the state of his physical damage after waking, remained uncertain.

Perhaps Prime Minister Primo's retirement would be brought forward due to this assassination, but this might be a good thing for Carlos, because no one could stop him from taking power anymore, and the only threat, Ruiz, had also jumped out himself during this operation and dug a hole for himself.

Under the suppression of the army, the nobles' rebellion was quickly quelled, and the government regained control of the government buildings and the parliament building.

And the worker protests that had threatened Madrid for several days were also resolved under the personal promise of Grand Duke Serrano.

After all, the workers' initial goal was only to ensure their own interests; they did not intend to oppose the government, but were merely parroting others while harboring hatred for capitalists.

Although Grand Duke Serrano's prestige among the Spanish people was not as high as Prime Minister Primo's, he represented the King of Spain, Carlos.

With the promise from the King and the personal appearance of Grand Duke Serrano, plus the fact that the rebellious nobles had already been brought to justice, the worker protests were naturally resolved easily.

By the time Carlos returned to Spain, it was already the evening of the next day.

Just after returning to the Madrid Royal Palace, Grand Duke Serrano and Canovas brought the list of nobles who participated in the rebellion and the list of officials who had secretly defected to the Bourbon family.

It was quite shocking to speak of; these high-ranking officials and nobles who had connections with the Bourbon family totaled hundreds of people, including 14 dukes, 4 marquesses, 32 counts, and over 50 barons.

The number of rebellious nobles alone was nearly a hundred, and the land owned by the 14 dukes and 4 marquesses combined was several times that of the land in the hands of the Spanish royal family.

"This is truly an eye-opener!" Carlos looked at the list of rebellious nobles in his hand, the coldness in his eyes making even Grand Duke Serrano feel some fear.

Compared to these nobles, the officials involved in the rebellion were less important. Except for a small number of parliamentarians, the remaining officials were not of very high rank and were not qualified to be ranked alongside the nobles.

"Bring Kadier here," Carlos said in a very cold voice, without a trace of emotion.

Kadier, the Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, walked over with his head held high, his eyes full of loyalty and fanaticism, bowed respectfully to Carlos, and then waited for orders.

This was the first time Carlos had shown his trump card in front of others; the Royal Security Intelligence Agency had not been made public before, and Prime Minister Primo only knew that Carlos had such an organization in his hands.

"Investigate these people thoroughly for me; do not let a single one go." Carlos had a sneer on his face, having already sentenced these people to death: "Check their families, check their friends."

"Anyone with ties to the Bourbon remnants is to be arrested and brought to the prisons of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency. Also, I do not want such a thing to happen again; for the culprits in France, I believe you know what to do."

"As you command, Your Majesty." Kadier nodded; he naturally understood what Carlos meant.

Since the Bourbon family had plotted the assassination of Prime Minister Primo, it was only natural for Spain to assassinate them back.

Although the Bourbon family was the former royal family of Spain, this did not mean they were qualified to point fingers at the Spain under Carlos's rule.

Since they had the guts to participate in Spain's internal affairs and the guts to plot the subversion and rebellion of the Spanish government, they should also have the guts to bear all the consequences.

Carlos was not a hesitant person. Since the Bourbon family had become his enemy, the best solution was to eliminate the Bourbon family.

Hearing the naked meaning in Carlos's words, Grand Duke Serrano swallowed, but dared not offer the slightest rebuttal.

Canovas, standing to the side, dared not show the slightest expression, quietly listening to Carlos's further instructions.

After watching Kadier leave, Carlos then turned his gaze to Grand Duke Serrano and Canovas, who were waiting quietly to the side, and continued with a smile:

"Gentlemen, although the situation in Madrid has stabilized, Prime Minister Primo remains severely injured and unconscious. May God bless Prime Minister Primo with a speedy recovery, but the most important issue for us at present is to get the Spanish government back to work and end the chaos of this recent period."

"The acting prime minister elected by the parliament handled this crisis very poorly, so I have dissolved the Spanish Parliament. To ensure the smooth operation of the government, I have decided to reorganize the provisional military government into a provisional cabinet, with Grand Duke Serrano serving as Prime Minister of the provisional cabinet, and Canovas, you will serve as Deputy Prime Minister of the provisional cabinet. What do you think?"

Grand Duke Serrano did not expect that after many years, the prime minister's seat could return to his hands, and naturally, he would not have any opposition to this.

And although Canovas was serving in the newly established position of Deputy Prime Minister, it was at least related to the prime minister, which was definitely a promotion compared to his previous position as Minister of Industry.

Seeing that neither of them objected, Carlos nodded with satisfaction and then instructed: "Since that is the case, the work of keeping the government running is left to you."

"The parliament has been dissolved, and the appointments of the two of you only need to be announced in the name of the government. It will not be too late to discuss the formation of parliament and cabinet elections after Prime Minister Primo has recovered from his injuries."

Letting Grand Duke Serrano serve as Prime Minister of the provisional cabinet was a choice Carlos made after careful consideration. Although he could have directly promoted Canovas to be Prime Minister of the provisional cabinet, doing so would have been a bit deliberate, and Canovas did not yet have enough prestige to suppress the government and the army after the chaos.

Letting Grand Duke Serrano be the transition during the exchange of power was the best choice. He had enough prestige and status to maintain the stability of the government and the army, and because of his advanced age, he would not affect the subsequent change of power.

If Prime Minister Primo, born in 1814, was at the age of near retirement, then Grand Duke Serrano, who was four years older than Prime Minister Primo, was already at the advanced age of 65.

This was actually the reason why Carlos felt at ease letting Grand Duke Serrano become Prime Minister of the provisional cabinet; after all, this was not the later generations, and 65 was already a quite advanced age.

On the morning of November 7, 1875, the Spanish government officially made public Carlos's order, which was that Spain would be reorganized from a provisional military government into a provisional cabinet government, with Grand Duke Serrano serving as Prime Minister of the cabinet and Canovas serving as Deputy Prime Minister of the cabinet, that is, the position of Minister of State.

In addition to the newly added position of Deputy Prime Minister of State, the positions in the Spanish provisional cabinet also underwent many changes.

The ten major departments of Defense, Finance, Industry, Agriculture, Livelihood, Transportation, Public Security, Medical, Education, and Foreign Affairs remained unchanged; in addition, three positions were added: Minister of Royal Affairs, Minister of Colonial Affairs, and Minister of Justice.

Including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, the Spanish cabinet had a total of 15 important positions. However, the Deputy Prime Minister usually also held the post of minister of a certain department, so there were usually 14 cabinet members.

Three thousand words of additional content delivered; today's regular chapter will have to wait a while.

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(End of chapter)