Chapter 227: The Cola Company and the Formation of Reserve Forces

To push forward the reserve plan, one must also consider the attitude of the Spanish people.

After all, it is not wartime, and not all citizens agree with expanding the size of the military. Carlo does not want the public to perceive him as bellicose; it is very necessary to first investigate and guide Spanish public opinion.

But soon, Carlo discovered that his planning was somewhat redundant.

When the *Spanish Sun* first suggested in the newspaper that Spain should emulate other European countries by establishing a reserve system to enhance Spain's military strength, it immediately gained the support of a large number of Spaniards.

This even formed a wave; according to investigations by the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, many citizens in the newly emerging beverage shops in Madrid were excitedly discussing the reserve forces.

This newly emerging beverage shop is the cola shop Carlo had thought of while at the beach. Because it is a beverage made from cola nuts, the name of this drink was also unhesitatingly named "cola" by Carlo.

At this time, the two major cola giants, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, had not yet been born. Carlo was not at all modest and created the Coca-Cola Company and the Pepsi-Cola Company in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

Which of these two cola companies can capture the majority of the Spanish cola market depends on their marketing capabilities and commercial operational skills.

The initial cola formulas were not much different; the main flavor relied on cola nuts, and the differences in taste came from the amount of carbonation and the addition of sugar.

Once these two beverage companies were founded, they received a warm welcome from the citizens. The production cost of cola is not low, after all, a large amount of sugar is added to the cola.

Currently, the cost price of a cup of cola is about 0. 5 pesetas, which is 15 centimos. The selling price of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola is uniform, at 0. 5 pesetas per cup, with each cup being about 275 milliliters.

The biggest costs for cola are, firstly, the sugar added to the cola, and secondly, the glass bottles used to package the cola.

Fortunately, the demand for cola is increasing, which has led both Coca-Cola and Pepsi to order glass bottles in large quantities, effectively reducing the cost of the bottles.

The profit per bottle of cola is 0. pesetas, and the daily sales volume of both cola companies has already exceeded 50, 00 bottles.

This also means that the net profit the two cola companies can earn every day is already close to 10, 00 pesetas, and the annual profit is as high as 3. 5 million pesetas.

This data is still expanding, because this is only the demand for cola in the two cities of Madrid and Barcelona. Once the two cola companies open their shops across all of Spain, the cola sold by each company daily could exceed 100, 00 bottles, or even reach hundreds of thousands.

Carlo is happy to see this. Except for the high sugar content, there are not many downsides to cola made from cola nuts.

Although cola nuts also carry a risk of cancer, as long as one does not drink cola for a long time and in large quantities, the risk of cancer can be effectively reduced.

Moreover, this era has too many things that are more dangerous and lethal than cola nuts. Compared to the "Foggy City" of London, and the trend that previously formed among noblewomen of using heavy metals in their makeup, Carlo feels that things like cola nuts are truly too safe.

Of course, when future technology meets the requirements, the cola companies will also stop using cola nuts and switch to using healthier extracts.

Returning to the expansion of the cola companies, the Coca-Cola Company in Madrid and the Pepsi-Cola Company in Barcelona have become the two giants of Spain's beverage industry and have gradually begun to expand from the two major cities to surrounding cities.

The main direction of expansion for the Coca-Cola Company is Toledo, south of Madrid, while the main direction of expansion for the Pepsi-Cola Company is Zaragoza, west of Barcelona.

In addition to expanding within Spain, in the arms trade with Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain also friendly gifted a portion of cola.

These colas will be gifted for free to Russia and the Ottoman Empire under the name of health products and medicine; as for whether they are actually for soldiers or for dignitaries to enjoy, Spain cannot control that.

There is still a long time before the birth of the real Coca-Cola Company; Spain's two major cola companies have the hope of occupying the entire European market before the Coca-Cola Company is born, and even begin to seek the American market.

By the time the real Coca-Cola Company is born, there may not be much market left for it to develop.

Although the selling price of cola is not high, this type of beverage usually follows the strategy of small profits but quick turnover. Currently, in the two major cities of Madrid and Barcelona, the combined daily sales of the two cola companies have already exceeded 100, 00 bottles.

What if we look at the whole of Spain? The sales of cola might reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of bottles. If this scale is expanded to the whole of Europe, the daily sales of cola might reach an exaggerated millions of bottles.

Of course, this also depends on whether the production capacity of the cola companies can keep up. But it is undeniable that cola, as a low-priced beverage, also possesses huge potential, and the cola market remains an extremely vast market.

Besides the disadvantage of being carcinogenic, cola nuts are full of caffeine and theobromine, which can act as a stimulant.

And unlike coffee, cola nuts achieve physical stimulation by directly impacting the central nervous system and the heart.

In addition to acting as a stimulant, cola nuts can also treat headaches, depression, whooping cough, asthma, and bronchitis, etc., and also have digestive and diuretic effects.

It is precisely because of these many effects that Europeans of this era treat cola nuts as a type of medicine and brought them back to Europe from distant Africa.

The good news is that the African tropics possess a large number of cola nut trees, and naturally, they also possess a large number of cola nuts.

In addition to picking these natural cola nut trees, Spain is also conducting artificial cultivation to ensure that the yield of cola nuts will become higher and higher.

Currently, because of the hot sales of cola, cola nut plantations have also become one of the choices for Spain to open plantations in its colonies.

Also because cola contains a large amount of sugar, Spain has also attempted to establish a large number of sugarcane plantations in other colonies to replace Cuba, the major sugar producer.

Of course, before Spain completely loses Cuba, the trade routes between Spain and Cuba are still quite prosperous.

In addition to all the cane sugar from the Americas being transported directly by Cuba, more than 60% of the cane sugar trade between Europe and Cuba is first transported from Cuba to Spain, and then transported from Spain to various European countries.

Relying on Cuba, this major sugar producer, the selling price and cost of Spain's cola have also been reduced slightly.

Currently, on the most prosperous streets in Madrid, one can see several beverage shops with bright red signs; these are the beverage shops opened by the Coca-Cola Company in Madrid.

Buying Coca-Cola at the beverage shop not only allows for free chilling but also allows one to rest in the public area of the shop.

The public area not only provides free newspapers and news issued by major newspaper offices in the past week but also provides some books for customers to read.

At the beginning, the cola company relied on the name of health products and medicine, as well as the method of providing free newspapers and books in the public area, to attract customers.

But once customers tasted Coca-Cola, they fell in love with this beverage that tastes wonderful after being iced.

Chilling, carbonation, and the unique taste of cola nuts are all indispensable; the combination of the three created cola, a beverage that is extremely popular even in later generations.

Not to mention that in this era where beverages are extremely scarce, a drink like cola is a delicacy that is rare to taste in a lifetime for the citizens of Madrid.

At first, the cola company still needed to rely on the name of health products and medicine, plus free newspapers and books, to attract customers.

Later, it was not needed at all; the first sentence customers said when they came to the beverage shop was that they needed to buy cola, and it had to be cola that had been chilled for more than two hours.

For the citizens, drinking a cup of iced cola in the hot summer makes the irritability of work almost vanish.

While drinking cola, if one takes a few glances at the long-legged beauties passing by, that means they will have a good mood for the rest of the day.

It is precisely because the cola shops provided the latest week's newspapers for free that when the *Spanish Sun* published the news suggesting that the Spanish government establish a reserve system, it set off a wave of heated discussion.

What surprised Carlo was that after the Spanish public learned the news in the newspaper, they also successively suggested that the Spanish government establish a reserve system.

The citizens all felt that the 150, 00-man Spanish army was too small and could not protect Spain's security at all.

Moreover, among these 150, 00 troops, there are 15, 00 in the Guard Division and 46, 00 in the colonial troops; the Royal Army actually stationed in the homeland is only 90, 00.

"I really didn't expect that the broad Spanish public seems to be more hawkish than me, the King." Hearing the report from Kadier, the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Carlo was somewhat dumbfounded and uttered this sentence.

"This is actually a good thing for Your Majesty; at least the reserve plan can be implemented smoothly." Kadier also smiled and congratulated Carlo.

Since being appointed as the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Kadier has been conscientious, and the expansion of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency has been quite rapid; it has now become the main agency for Carlo to understand intelligence within Spain and even the whole of Europe.

And as the head of the intelligence agency, Kadier is naturally deeply trusted by Carlo. Currently, Kadier is Carlo's absolute confidant, and the importance of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency is no less than that of the 15, 00-man Guard Division.

Carlo nodded. Although the hawkish attitude of the Spanish public surprised Carlo, this was actually a good thing for him.

In this chaotic era, being too fond of peace and opposing war is not a good thing. If there is no sufficient military force to protect one's country, then what awaits the people is not long-lasting peace, but long-lasting bullying and oppression.

What protects peace is not a heart that loves peace, but a sharp sword that can kill the enemy.

Carlo is very clear about this point; even if Spain currently has no danger of war, one must still be prepared for danger in times of peace and consider the threats that Britain and France might pose to Spain in the future.

After all, to put it bluntly, a strong Spain will inevitably conflict with Britain. For Spain, the first thing after becoming strong is not to expand into Europe, but to recover Gibraltar, which is occupied by Britain.

The point of Gibraltar alone dictates that there is an irreconcilable contradiction between Britain and Spain.

It is just that Spain's current strength is too weak, making the British temporarily give up their schemes against Spain and focus more on strong rivals like Russia.

By the time Spain's strength reaches the level of the five great powers, the relationship between Britain and Spain will not be so peaceful.

"Since that is the case, then let us promote the implementation of the reserve plan in the name of the Royal Family," Carlo said with a smile.

Since it has been determined that Spanish public opinion supports the reserve plan, there is naturally no need for other members of parliament to push for it.

After all, doing so can also be said to be following public opinion; no matter who pushes for the reserve plan, they can gain the favor of the people.

A few days after the *Spanish Sun* published the news suggesting that the Spanish government establish a reserve force, Carlo submitted the reserve formation plan to the Military Committee in the name of the King of Spain.

Unsurprisingly, the reserve plan was passed unanimously by the entire Military Committee.

Except for Carlo and the Prime Minister, the Military Committee is composed entirely of high-ranking military generals. The Prime Minister is concurrently held by the Minister of National Defense, Grand Duke Serrano, and since Carlo is the one who proposed the reserve plan, naturally, no one could oppose it.

After all, this is also a good thing for the military; the expansion of the reserves represents an increase in military strength, and the high-ranking generals of the military will also increase their own status.

After the Military Committee passed it unanimously, there is naturally no need to mention the parliament.

The members of parliament are not stupid; they will not oppose a proposal that has been unanimously passed by the high-ranking generals of the military. Moreover, this was proposed by Carlo himself as the King.

Plus, this is a proposal that follows public opinion; standing up to oppose the reserve system at this time is actually destroying one's own future political career with one's own hands.

After being successively passed by the Military Committee and the Lower House, Spain officially implemented the reserve system starting from the end of August 1887.

All male Spanish citizens aged 20 to 25, except for scientific research personnel, university students, and some special talents, should participate in a three-year reserve service.

Unlike the regular army, reserve soldiers can still continue their own work, but they need to go to the training ground for at least one month of training during the annual collective training phase.

According to the discussion of the Spanish Military Committee, the collective training time for these reserve soldiers is three months a year: April, May, and September.

During the period when reserve soldiers go to the training ground for collective training, the enterprises and factories where they work should retain the soldiers' job positions, but they do not have to pay wages and other subsidies.

The wages of these soldiers during the collective training period are uniformly responsible by the Ministry of National Defense, and their wages are based on 1. times the average annual income of Spaniards that year.

Although they need to take out three months each year for collective training during the three-year reserve service stage, there will be income during these three months of training, which can reduce the negative emotions of the public being conscripted as reserves.

Although most of the public supports the formation of reserves, this does not mean that everyone wants to become a member of the reserves.

It is very necessary to appropriately increase the income of the reserves, and they only train for three months; this expenditure is not that expensive compared to the role of forming reserves.

Since Carlo became the King of Spain, in order to show that he values the military, the average salary of Spanish soldiers is already about 1. times the average annual income.

And for the most elite Royal Guard, the average salary of soldiers has already reached 1. times the average annual income of Spaniards, which is also the reason why the Guard attracts ordinary soldiers.

Not to mention officers; the income of officers is even higher than that of ordinary soldiers, which is also the reason why a large number of high school graduates apply for military academies every year.

It is precisely because the income of soldiers and officers was increased under Carlo's leadership that the Spanish military's support for Carlo is quite high.

When the soldiers' income increases, naturally more young people will be willing to join the army. This is the best of both worlds for Carlo; not only can he increase the military's loyalty to him, but he can also let more Spaniards enthusiastically join the army, ensuring that the Spanish military can expand to several times its size at any time and place.

It is just that Spain's finances are insufficient to support hundreds of thousands of troops, and there is indeed no danger of war at present.

Otherwise, judging from the enthusiasm of the Spanish public to join the army, it would be easy for Spain to maintain an army of 300, 00 to 500, 00.

But doing so would not only put Spain's finances under huge pressure, but it would also affect Spain's industry and economy.

Forming a huge army of hundreds of thousands is simple, but this also means that hundreds of thousands of manpower will be wasted. If this manpower were used in agricultural and industrial production, Spain's agriculture and industry would improve significantly.

With the official announcement of the reserve plan at the end of August, the recruitment offices in Madrid were filled with young people of the right age who wanted to become reserves.

According to the regulations of the Military Committee, the first batch of reserves will be maintained at a scale of 150, 00. Once someone meets the three-year service period of the reserves, enough people will be selected to make up the 150, 00.

Once the number of reserves exceeds 150, 00, the Ministry of National Defense will stop recruiting to ensure that the number of recruits does not exceed the planned target.

Spain forming 150, 00 reserves is for national defense, but if it forms 200, 00 or even 300, 00 reserves, then it is not just for national defense.

Although Spain can indeed do this, at that time, I am afraid that not only Portugal, but even the British would jump out to question what Spain's intentions are.

In order not to attract the attention of that famous British troublemaker, Kaluo still strictly limited the scale of the reserves to 150, 00 men.

If the number of young men who come to sign up is less than 150, 00, according to the reserve system, Spanish males aged 20 to 25 will be forcibly conscripted into the reserves.

Even if the number of applicants exceeds 150, 00, the Guofang Force will still select from these 150, 00 people to ensure that the physical fitness of the reserve soldiers is also quite excellent.

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

Two things to mention: first, the weapon prices in yesterday's chapter have been modified; the previous selling prices were indeed too low, and such low profit margins were unreasonable.

The second thing is that the author will not stop updating during the New Year period; there will be a guaranteed minimum of 4, 00 words updated during the New Year, and there will be bursts of extra updates depending on the situation.





(End of this chapter)