Chapter 29: A Headache-Inducing Reform Plan

The news of the Royal Military Academy opening its major recruitment drive was scrambled for by Gao Da's Spanish Sun and other newspapers, becoming big news around Ma Deli.

Thanks to such publicity, in just a few days, over a hundred people signed up for the military academy.

Although only sixty-some people were recruited after layers of screening, it was still considered a relatively large improvement compared to the previous military academy.

While vigorously recruiting new students, Gao Da also ordered the Royal Military Academy to study the training system and processes of Prussian and Falanxi officers, and to carry out reforms to the military academy.

The old Spanish officer training system was not very suitable for the current era; was learning those already-obsolete line infantry tactics meant to make Spanish soldiers line up to be shot?

The good news is that the Prussian-Austrian War and the Prussian-Falanxi War that broke out in recent years could both serve as subjects for the Spanish military academy to study; the Prussia, Austria, and Falanxi involved in these wars were all among the most powerful land-army nations in the world today.

Speaking of the Prussian-Falanxi War, this war, which was brought forward by a year, was clearly fought more fiercely than in history.

In history, the Second Empire of Falanxi only held out for less than two months before Emperor Napoleon III officially surrendered to the Prussian army.

The Falanxi of this world was no better; although it held out for a longer time, the war situation was firmly controlled by the Prussian army.

There were a large number of line infantry regiments in the Falanxi army, and this tactic of lining up to be shot had already lost its effectiveness now that rifle range was gradually increasing.

Moreover, the problems of the Falanxi army did not stop there. There was no sufficient preparation before the war, and after the war broke out, Napoleon III was still struggling with whether to attack or defend.

Added to this was the fact that the Falanxi army did not usually set up corps or division levels, making it difficult for the various corps and divisions hastily organized for the war to exert the necessary coordination and combat effectiveness.

Facing the Prussian army, which had just experienced the Prussian-Austrian War and was well-equipped and experienced, the Falanxi army was clearly at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

The only suspense now was when Prussia would end the war, and whether a revolution would break out within Falanxi after Napoleon III surrendered.

This was the focus of Gao Da and the Spanish government; after all, the situation in Falanxi could also affect Spain.

Under Gao Da's suggestion and the tacit approval of Pu Li Mo, the Spanish government also had a plan for the construction of universities.

It was expected that within the next five years, Spain would build at least 5 universities, increasing the total number of universities to double digits.

At the same time, most of these universities would focus on building science and engineering majors, and mathematics, physics, and chemistry would be key projects for Spanish universities.

Literature, art, and other less important majors would be integrated into two or three universities; after all, Spain did not need that many art talents.

In order to encourage the willingness of Spaniards to apply for universities, Gao Da planned to establish a scholarship system among university students.

Doing so would not only allow more children of commoners to enter universities but also allow them to receive the grace of the royal family. It could not only cultivate talent for Spain but also improve the prestige of the royal family, which could be described as a win-win.

Amidst the busyness, 1869 soon came to an end.

If 1869 was just a probe for Pu Li Mo's reforms, 1870 was about to enter the stage of Pu Li Mo's true reforms.

In order to make Spain more powerful, Pu Li Mo brought out a "Comprehensive Reform Plan" at the end of 1869, which left Gao Da dumbfounded.

In this reform plan, Pu Li Mo mentioned the necessity of imitating Prussia to implement compulsory primary education, and declared that he would promote comprehensive literacy education in Spain.

Because the target covered more than 16 million Spaniards, Pu Li Mo also set the implementation period for comprehensive literacy education to within five years.

Education was only the first step.

The second goal of Pu Li Mo's reform was to effectively increase the income level of Spaniards. Not to mention surpassing great powers like England and Falanxi, but it must at least surpass neighboring countries like Portugal and reach a level not much worse than Italy.

How to achieve such a goal?

Pu Li Mo proposed three plans.

First, promote the implementation of Spanish labor laws to effectively guarantee the salary treatment and payment of Spanish workers and other employees of enterprises.

Second, effectively increase the income of the agricultural population by reducing agricultural taxes and increasing grain output. Pu Li Mo also proposed that the government establish a grain price regulatory agency to ensure that grain purchasers could guarantee the income of farmers, while also controlling grain prices in the Spanish market.

Third, reduce the various miscellaneous taxes left over from the period of Queen Isabella and streamline the tax items for the Spanish public. In order to reduce the pressure on government finances, taxes on enterprises and factories should be appropriately increased to achieve a balance of payments for the Spanish government.

Gao Da had a headache just looking at these two goals.

Although these two goals were indeed for the sake of reform and could also effectively increase the income level of Spaniards.

But the problem was that doing so would also offend the two deeply rooted forces in Spain, namely the religious forces and the big bourgeoisie.

Most of Spain's education was currently in the hands of religious forces, that is, the Catholic Church of Spain.

The reason why there were over 70% illiterates was that the schools founded by the church not only had high tuition fees but also had quite high thresholds; most ordinary people could not afford to attend church schools.

The big bourgeoisie went without saying. The greed of capitalists would make them constantly exploit the Spanish public. If Pu Li Mo wanted to guarantee the income of Spanish workers, he would inevitably offend the big bourgeoisie behind the factory owners and business owners.

If one added those republicans waiting to see the monarchy make a fool of itself, as well as the Carlos faction hiding in the shadows, Gao Da's head was about to explode.

A small Spain actually had so many troubles; it was no wonder that A Ma Di Ao only lasted three years after coming to Spain before decisively choosing to flee to Italy.

"Prime Minister Pu Li Mo, is your reform plan a bit too radical?" Inside the Ma Deli Royal Palace, Gao Da held Pu Li Mo's plan and asked with a headache.

"But Spain can no longer wait that long, Your Majesty," Pu Li Mo explained.

"This plan directly pushes the church and the capitalists to our opposite side. Do you have the confidence to solve these two troubles?" Gao Da looked at Prime Minister Pu Li Mo and asked very seriously.

If the troubles from the church and capital could be solved, this reform would naturally be beneficial to Spain.

But if these two troubles could not be solved, the hidden Carlos faction and the anti-monarchist republicans would take the opportunity to make trouble, and the situation in Spain might be even worse than expected.

Second update, asking for support!

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(End of this chapter)