Chapter 30: The Rougher the Waves, the More Expensive the Fish

Why are things in Spain always so terrible?

Carlos faced a very difficult choice, one that was highly likely to affect the future fate of Carlos and the Kingdom of Spain.

Once Primo's in-depth reforms were fully successful and the potentially opposing Church and capitalists were dealt with, Spain's comprehensive national strength would flourish, and returning to the ranks of the great powers would not be out of the question.

But if this reform provoked opposition from the Church and capitalists, and allowed the Republicans and Carlists to seize the opportunity to launch a major rebellion, the situation Carlos would face would be no better than that of Queen Isabella a year and a half ago.

Although Carlos still had the ultimate fallback of returning to Italy, the Church and capitalists whom Carlos had offended might not necessarily be willing to let him return to Spain.

Moreover, if he were to return to Italy in such a disheveled state, it would be a heavy blow to Carlos, who had only just managed to obtain the Spanish throne.

To gamble or not? How to gamble? This was the problem that gave Carlos the biggest headache at the moment.

"We may have to face the Church, we may have to face the capitalists, or perhaps the Carlists and the Republicans. But Your Majesty, if our reforms are successfully implemented and gain the support of the people, we will have the support of 16 million Spaniards; this is the confidence I have in pushing for reform.

I plan to start promoting military reform this year and equip the army with more artillery. Our enemies certainly won't expect us to push for reform so firmly and be willing to fight them for it.

As long as the people choose to stand on our side, victory will be within our grasp." Primo laid out his entire plan and tried to win Carlos's support.

Regardless of what status Carlos held before becoming king, the moment he was crowned King of Spain, he possessed a certain prestige and status in Spain.

Spain had a large number of farmers, and the majority of these farmers supported the monarchy. If Carlos could support his comprehensive reforms, the success rate of the reforms would undoubtedly be much higher.

Of course, Primo also knew the degree of difficulty of this reform and how powerful the enemies he would face were.

He was already prepared to fight alone; even if it were just for a glimmer of hope for Spain's revival, he would absolutely not give up.

"How is Minister Serrano doing in Cuba?" Carlos did not immediately agree to Primo's plan, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Minister Serrano arrived in Cuba two and a half months ago and immediately launched a crackdown on the rebel forces in Cuba. If all goes well, perhaps in a few more months we will hear news of Cuba's recovery," Primo said with a smile.

Serrano was indeed one of the most influential figures in the current Spanish army, and his military talent was worth affirming.

More importantly, Serrano himself had served as the Viceroy of Cuba a few years ago and was relatively familiar with the situation in Cuba.

Historically, Spain had been unable to suppress the rebellion in Cuba for several years, and it was not until the time of Alfonso XII that it spent a great price to regain control of Cuba.

But by then, the Cuban independence forces had already gained momentum, which was the reason why it took Spain a full ten years and 700 million pesetas to wipe out the Cuban rebellion.

That was a full 27 million pounds, enough to build ten capital ships in the era of dreadnoughts, let alone in an era even earlier than that.

Primo's reforms had not yet consumed that much capital; if all the money used to suppress the Cuban rebellion were used for Spain's reforms, Spain's comprehensive national strength could at least rise by a small tier.

"Very good, Prime Minister Primo." Hearing that Cuba could be pacified within a few months, Carlos was in a very good mood.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Carlos said to Primo: "Prime Minister Primo, I support your reforms. But I also hope you will be prepared for any rebellion that might break out; we must eliminate any enemy that might stand in opposition to Spain's reforms."

"As you command, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, the Spanish army will fight for Your Majesty and Spain at any time; we will not fear any enemy that stands in opposition to Spain.

Before pushing for comprehensive reform, I will approve a portion of funds to help the army purchase weapons, equipment, and artillery. If those Carlists and Republicans want to block Spain's reforms, then I will send them to meet God and let God reason with them." Hearing that Carlos supported his reforms, Primo stood up instantly and assured Carlos very firmly and seriously.

"Excellent, Prime Minister Primo. I am glad that Spain has ministers like you and Serrano. Once these enemies blocking Spain's progress are wiped out, I will personally bestow rewards upon you and celebrate your achievements!" Having received Primo's assurance, Carlos nodded with satisfaction and dangled a carrot before Primo.

In this high-stakes gamble, Carlos still chose to stand on Primo's side, for no other reason than that the big capitalist class and the Republicans who opposed Primo could never stand on Carlos's side either.

To put it bluntly, Carlos and Primo were in a state where they would prosper together and suffer together.

If Primo failed in the reforms and lost his power and status, it would not be a good thing for Carlos either.

After all, Carlos could be considered to have been supported by Primo, and Carlos's initial position came entirely from Primo's support.

If these enemies blocking Spain's path forward were not resolved, how could Spain achieve revival?

If he only wanted to be a great noble enjoying life, Carlos could do that in Italy. But if he wanted to realize the ambition in his heart, and wanted to raise Spain from a second-rate European country to a first-rate or even a great power level, he must never be afraid because of some domestic opposition.

What about the Carlists? Queen Isabella was able to defeat the Carlists twice in a row, and Carlos did not believe that with the full support of Serrano and Primo, he could lose to the Carlists, a rebel faction that had already experienced multiple failures.

As the saying goes, the rougher the waves, the more expensive the fish. Although pushing for comprehensive reform in today's Spain seemed very risky, the rewards once successful would definitely not be small.

The support of the people and the improvement of Spain's comprehensive national strength were only part of it; Carlos could also take the opportunity to resolve the issues of the Church and the Carlists that had plagued Spain for many years, and make the Spanish people loathe the republican system.

In this way, the problems within Spain would be largely resolved, and the various independence elements that had not yet formed a climate would also disappear due to Spain's flourishing national strength.

Thinking of this, Carlos's mood became unusually relaxed. Whether it was the Carlists or the Church, they were just clowns who had lost the momentum of the times.

If he didn't even have the courage to defeat these forces, then Carlos's ambition could be dismissed early.

First update, asking for support!

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(End of chapter)