Chapter 201: The Performance Appraisal Bureau and the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Graft Bureau

At this cabinet meeting, the Spanish government set the development theme for the new year as "steady progress," primarily pursuing stability in industry and the economy, and secondarily pursuing a certain degree of advancement based on the existing foundation.

If a second round of economic crisis were to break out again, it would already be quite good if Spain could maintain its current industrial and economic scale.

If one were to still covet rapid development during an economic crisis, even if it could be successfully achieved, it would easily attract the attention of other great powers.

It can be seen from this cabinet meeting that Carlos's influence on the Spanish government is gradually deepening. One obvious signal is that after the cabinet meeting concluded, Carlos signaled to the Royal Senate—that is, the Upper House—to strengthen the supervision of officials and to strictly review and eradicate the existence of corrupt and incompetent officials.

If the official performance appraisal bill promoted by Prime Minister Primo at the time was a relatively mild means of reviewing officials, then the anti-corruption and anti-graft process pushed forward by Carlos is a relatively tough measure.

The Senate has the power to supervise the cabinet government and other officials, so pushing for anti-corruption and anti-graft actions is naturally a matter of course.

Starting from December 1875, Spain has been conducting elections for the Lower House on one hand, while vigorously pushing for anti-corruption and anti-graft supervisory work on the other, and verifying the rationality and accuracy of the performance appraisals of officials in major regional governments over the past year.

Although Prime Minister Primo controls the cabinet government, this does not mean that the officials below have no way to cope. Under the general trend of the official performance appraisal bill being implemented throughout Spain, there will still be phenomena of tampering with appraisal results, changing originally poor grades into better ones.

One must know that the results of the annual official performance appraisal are reported to the cabinet government and regional assemblies, and serve as an important basis for promoting officials.

Such tampering with official performance appraisal results will allow more corrupt and incompetent officials to enter the high levels of Spain's major regional governments and even the cabinet government.

Carlos has a certain degree of tolerance for corruption. But if someone is both corrupt and incompetent, Carlos cannot tolerate it in the slightest.

For this group of people, what Carlos must do is conduct regular reviews and purges every year. Only by ensuring that the entire Spanish government consists of capable or non-corrupt people can the Spanish government be full of vitality, rather than being as lifeless as it was during the reign of Queen Isabella.

In order to improve the efficiency of reviewing the performance appraisals of officials in major regions, and to strengthen the supervision of officials in major regions and the cabinet government, under Carlos's instruction, the Senate voted to establish the Performance Appraisal Bureau and the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Graft Bureau to specifically handle the above two matters.

As important departments for the Senate to exercise its power to supervise the government and officials, the importance of the Performance Appraisal Bureau and the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Graft Bureau goes without saying.

The directors of the Performance Appraisal Bureau and the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Graft Bureau are held by the President of the Senate, and there are three deputy directors in total, whose candidates are elected by the Senate, but they must not be members of the ruling party or the coalition ruling party.

The President of the Senate was elected not long ago, and the candidate is none other than the Duke of Jacobo, whom Carlos is quite familiar with.

In fact, from the moment a large number of nobles joined the Senate, it was already destined that the Senate would be controlled by the nobles. The president elected by the nobles is certainly one of their own; the Duke of Jacobo is not only a nobleman from a long-standing Spanish ducal family but also deeply trusted by Carlos, making him naturally the most suitable candidate for President of the Senate.

From this point, it can also be seen that Spain's bicameral system has begun to imitate the United Kingdom, rather than being the relatively special existence it was before.

The official names of Spain's upper and lower houses are the Royal Senate and the House of Representatives; originally, neither was under the control of the King, and the parliament held greater power.

But after Carlos dissolved the parliament and announced its reconstruction, this situation was immediately rewritten. The Senate, originally composed of representatives from major regions, was modified into the Royal Senate composed of regional representatives and nobles, changing from a system more like the United States Senate to one more like the British House of Lords.

As everyone knows, the titles of nobles are hereditary. Therefore, their seats in the Senate are naturally hereditary as well, which is the same as the British House of Lords system.

Since entering December 1875, the Duke of Jacobo, who concurrently serves as the director of the Performance Appraisal Bureau and the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Graft Bureau, has been so busy that he is almost impossible to find.

Since being elected President of the Senate, the Duke of Jacobo has gained immense power, and he is quite happy about this.

But because Carlos demanded a strict investigation into the performance appraisal situation of officials in all major regions, as well as a nationwide anti-corruption and anti-graft campaign, he, as the director of these two major bureaus, naturally needs to run all over Spain.

Although the official performance appraisal system pushed by Prime Minister Primo effectively alleviated some corruption, it only alleviated a portion of it.

Regarding the chaotic and corrupt phenomena across Spain, it is difficult to eradicate them unless extremely powerful and strict supervisory reviews are conducted.

In the half-month that the Duke of Jacobo has been running all over Spain, he has discovered more than a dozen incidents of tampering with performance appraisal results.

This is only under the condition of investigating the major regional governments. If the investigation were to go deep into cities and even towns, the phenomena of tampering with appraisal results and corruption would surely be even more serious.

After the Duke of Jacobo reported such data to Carlos, he received a brief order from Carlos: handle them seriously to serve as a warning to others.

Having received the order, the Duke of Jacobo naturally would not have the slightest hesitation, but this also made him a butcher in the eyes of Spanish officials, and he even earned the title of "Jacobo the Cruel."

In the week or more that followed, the Duke of Jacobo dealt with over 20 regional-level officials, including high-ranking officials such as the Governor of the La Rioja region.

Officials who tampered with official appraisal results were given a grade of "poor" for their 1875 appraisal without exception, and were prohibited from being promoted or running for parliament for two years.

Those with relatively serious corruption were dismissed from their posts without exception and required to turn in all embezzled funds within three months.

If they are unable to turn in all embezzled funds within three months, all their property will be confiscated, and they will be sentenced to at least ten years or more of imprisonment.

The Duke of Jacobo set a bottom line, which is the red line of 1, 00 pesetas. Corruption amounts below 1, 00 pesetas can be considered for exemption from punishment at his discretion.

Especially for those officials who have a certain degree of ability, as long as the corruption amount does not exceed 1, 00 pesetas, they can still be given a chance.

For those whose corruption amount exceeds 1, 00 pesetas, if they have had relatively good performance in the past or possess a certain degree of ability themselves, they can be considered for lighter punishment, such as a "poor" appraisal grade and the recovery of embezzled funds, etc.

But if they have neither performance nor ability, and at the same time the corruption amount exceeds 1, 00 pesetas, then they can only be dealt with seriously to deter other Spanish officials who have thoughts of corruption.

And it must be said, there really are those in Spain's major regional governments who have little ability and yet have significant corruption amounts.

An official in the Valencia region had a corruption amount that reached a rather exaggerated 100, 00 pesetas or more, which is also the biggest corrupt official caught since the promulgation of the official performance appraisal system.

Since this tiger had been caught, there was naturally nothing more to say. After a few days of searching for evidence, the corrupt official was finally publicly executed on the streets of Valencia, and his body was hung on an upright wooden pole.

By confiscating the corrupt official's family property, the Duke of Jacobo instead recovered over 120, 00 pesetas in funds. These funds will be reinvested into the construction of Valencia to compensate for the impact on development caused by the birth of the corrupt official in Valencia.

It must be said that such large-scale actions of reviewing officials and publicly dealing with corrupt officials have allowed the Spanish interim cabinet to quickly gain prestige and have earned Carlos higher support.

The Duke of Jacobo's reputation among officials is not very good, but among the Spanish public, the Duke of Jacobo has been described as a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of officials, and he has received praise from many media outlets.

Although more than half of the credit for this is due to the guidance of newspapers controlled by the royal family, it is true that the current Spanish public has expressed high approval and attention to the anti-corruption and anti-graft actions launched by Carlos.

The Duke of Jacobo is a sharp sword, and the wielder of the sword is naturally the King of Spain, Carlos. While the public praises the Duke of Jacobo in every way, they naturally will not forget Carlos, the true protagonist behind the scenes who pushed for this anti-corruption and anti-graft action.

I don't know when it started, but Spanish newspaper media have begun to vigorously promote Carlos as the wise monarch that Spain has been waiting for for a hundred years.

At first, the Spanish public did not have a very deep identification with such a view. But after Carlos had been in Spain for more than six years, more and more Spanish people identified with this view, and it even occupied the majority of the Spanish public.

For the Spanish people, whoever can lead Spain toward greatness is the true wise monarch of Spain.

It just so happens that Carlos's predecessor and the one before him were famous incompetent monarchs in Spain; under such circumstances, it is only natural that Carlos, this wise monarch, was quickly recognized by the Spanish people.

If you take Carlos out alone, what Carlos has done might not count as a wise monarch. But if compared with Isabella II and the "Furious King" Ferdinand VII, Carlos is simply as wise as one can be.

Why say so?

The incompetence and debauchery of Isabella II need not be mentioned; she triggered the Great Revolution in Spain and ultimately sent the Bourbon dynasty to its grave.

If it weren't for the fact that her successor, Amadeo I, had no great ability, and the Spanish Republic was also very chaotic, I am afraid that Spain would have had nothing to do with the Bourbon family.

Such a monarch who lost the country is naturally as incompetent as one can be.

And her father, the "Furious King" Ferdinand VII, although not a monarch who lost the country, directly caused decades of great chaos in Spain.

Ferdinand VII's incompetent manifestations are simply too numerous to count, and he and his daughter Isabella II are also the culprits who directly caused Spain to fall from a great power to a second-rate European country.

When Napoleon invaded Spain, Ferdinand VII, as a prince, directly led the way for the French army and forced his father, Charles IV, to abdicate, establishing himself as the new King of Spain.

But Napoleon, who controlled France, directly ended Ferdinand VII's dream, detained him in France, and established his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as the new King of Spain.

During the phase of being invaded by France, the Spanish public spontaneously resisted the French invasion and supported their own detained Prince Ferdinand.

But after Ferdinand returned to Spain, he directly overturned the liberal constitution adopted by Spain, implemented a cruel and bloody dictatorial rule, and backstabbed the people who supported him.

It was also because of Ferdinand VII's brutal dictatorial rule that Spain lost the vast majority of its colonies in the Americas during his reign, completely falling from a powerful colonial empire into the abyss.

During the phase when Ferdinand VII established his dictatorial rule, the constitutionalists and republicans in the army once launched an uprising. Ferdinand VII directly announced his surrender to the army and publicly swore before the constitution to uphold the liberal constitution, but subsequently went back on his word and used external forces to extinguish the domestic uprising.

After Napoleon's restoration failed, France restored the rule of the Bourbon family. Ferdinand VII, also of the Bourbon family, in order to unite with France, did not hesitate to use various means to deliberately weaken the Spanish army, so as to reduce the opposition forces in the army, while at the same time facilitating the French army's interference in Spain's rebellions.

Besides this, Ferdinand VII forcibly modified the succession law, causing Spain to face the Carlist rebellions that lasted for decades.

This rebellion caused Spain to lose a great opportunity for development and remained chaotic until before World War II. The Spanish-American War during this period caused Spain to lose its only two large colonies, and also directly led to Spain becoming a second-rate European country, which also did not have much fame in later generations.

When later generations mention the great powers of Europe, they will think of Germany, which took on all of Europe in the two world wars; they will think of the tyrannical British Empire of the Victorian era; they will think of France, which swept across Europe during the Napoleonic era; they will think of Russia, which was corrupt but could win by numbers; they will think of the most special Austro-Hungarian Empire; but they will not think of Spain, the world's first empire on which the sun never sets.

The decline of Spain has many causes, and it cannot be blamed entirely on the Bourbon family. But it is undeniable that in the decades of rule by Ferdinand VII and Queen Isabella, Spain quickly fell from a powerful colonial empire to a second-rate country with few colonies.

These two outstanding father-and-daughter monarchs, Ferdinand VII and Isabella II, can definitely compete for the title of the most incompetent father-and-daughter king combination in Europe.

It is precisely because of the terrible performance of this father and daughter that Carlos quickly gained the support of the Spanish people. In fact, the Spanish people do not want much; they only want a stable and peaceful development environment, plus a faint hope for the country's revival.

Since Carlos brought them this faint hope, they are also willing to hold on to this hope and fight for the hope of the country's revival, for Spain.

While conducting a nationwide anti-corruption and anti-graft and performance appraisal screening, Carlos also reiterated the requirements regarding official performance appraisal.

In fact, performance appraisal is very simple; it mainly examines the changes that occurred during an official's tenure in a certain department they are responsible for or a certain city they manage.

Whether it is industry, agriculture, economy, or education, as long as there is a certain amount of growth, it counts as the official's performance.

Although under such indicators, officials might pay too much attention to data on paper, for the current Spain, having data is better than having no data.

At least in the short term, vigorously developing industry, agriculture, economy, and education does more good than harm. Spain's development has not yet reached a bottleneck period; under the current environment, great development will only make Spain stronger and stronger.

As time approached Christmas, the land seized from rebellious nobles and officials who participated in the rebellion also began to be sold and rented to farmers in batches.

In different regions, the selling price of land is also completely different. In some plain areas where the land is more fertile, the price of arable land is relatively expensive.

But if it is in mountainous or hilly areas where the land is not fertile or even relatively barren, the price of arable land will be relatively low.

The rent of land is also the same. The rent is not immutable, but will change according to the past harvest situation of the land, combined with local grain prices and farmers' income.

Regarding land rent, the Land Leasing Act also has relevant regulations. Whether it is relatively fertile land or relatively barren land, the rent of the land must not exceed one-quarter of the income.

For farmer families whose income is lower than the per capita annual income, they can also apply for an agricultural tax reduction subsidy of up to 30%.

If they are family members of the Royal Army, they can apply for 1 year of land tax exemption plus 3 years of agricultural tax reduction subsidy of no more than 25%. For those wounded or killed in battle, the agricultural tax reduction subsidy can be extended for 10 years.

The treatment of the Royal Guard is a bit better, but overall it is about the same.

This era does not have a perfect pension system; the compensation that can be obtained after a soldier dies depends entirely on whether the ruler is willing to issue it.

Carlos is relatively generous in this regard, at least willing to give a certain amount of subsidy and compensation to soldiers who sacrificed for the country and the royal family.

Soldiers' families can also enjoy a certain amount of agricultural tax reduction subsidies and commercial tax reduction subsidies; in short, being a soldier has many benefits, which is also to encourage Spaniards to join the army enthusiastically.

Under such a system, Spaniards are indeed not resistant to joining the army, and even hope to join the army to get the opportunity to obtain military merit and be awarded titles.

Even if they cannot obtain a title, obtaining some land and financial subsidies is also quite good. Especially for those farmer families, the more land they have in their hands, the higher their family income.

Land rewards obtained due to military merit can be exchanged for land in different locations. This allows their land to be connected into one piece, which is not only convenient for planting and harvesting but also saves a lot of trouble from running around.

Carlos and the Spanish government also encourage those who have received land rewards to merge their land into one place through land exchange.

The complete land after merging is conducive to the further development of agriculture in the future; whether it is the use of chemical fertilizer technology or future mechanized agricultural cultivation, it is more convenient than fragmented and scattered land.

5, 00-word two-in-one chapter, please support!

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(End of this chapter)