Chapter 47: Royal Council

Carlo experienced the distinctive banquet of the Spanish nobility of this era.

Luxurious, truly damn luxurious.

Carlo could not help but exclaim.

Although the scale of this castle was far smaller than Carlo's royal palace, the interior decor was in no way inferior to the palace, showcasing the luxury and wealth of the Spanish nobility since the colonial era.

The tableware at the banquet was made of gold and silver, and the wine served was private reserve vintage costing hundreds of pesetas.

Because Carlo was Italian, when Ya Ke Bo planned this banquet, he specifically invited several skilled Italian chefs to prepare Italian delicacies exclusively for Carlo.

The nobles were quite reserved at first, but once Carlo displayed a fairly approachable attitude, they began to relax.

"Gentlemen, let us raise our glasses and toast to our great King, His Majesty Carlo I of the House of Savoy!" Just as everyone held a glass of wine, Ya Ke Bo stepped out in time, raised his glass, and proposed to everyone.

"To the King!"

The crowd raised their glasses one after another to signal to Carlo; even those with other intentions dared not refrain from raising their glasses on such an occasion.

Whether one opposed him in private was a private matter. But if one did not raise their glass on such an occasion, they would likely become an outcast of the entire noble class by the next day.

After all, there is a saying: a leader might not remember you for giving a gift, but if you don't give one, the leader will definitely remember you vividly.

This saying holds the same truth here. Carlo might not remember who all raised their glasses, but he would certainly remember who did not.

This was also a clever point of Ya Ke Bo. As the host and one of the oldest and highest-ranking nobles in Spain, he was naturally the most qualified person to say such things.

Guiding the nobles to express their support and loyalty to Carlo on appropriate occasions was exactly what Ya Ke Bo needed to do at this banquet.

Up to this point, Ya Ke Bo was quite satisfied with his actions. The nobles had expressed their respect to Carlo as planned, and the smile on Carlo's face had not ceased.

"Everything is proceeding smoothly," Ya Ke Bo thought silently to himself.

Sipping the wine, Carlo maintained a pleasant mood, tasting the delicacies meticulously prepared by the chefs under Ya Ke Bo's introduction.

If most of Europe could be called a culinary desert, then Spain was definitely a shining pearl in that desert.

Not to mention the world-famous Iberian ham, even the seafood paella, oxtail stew, and roast suckling pig were enough to place Spanish cuisine at the forefront of the European culinary rankings.

The variety of delicacies was dazzling, even filling two long, giant dining tables.

However, it was clear that most of the people present were not that interested in the food. Although this dinner was quite luxurious and sumptuous, the nobles' daily meals were not much worse.

The main purpose of this banquet was still social interaction among the nobles, and many nobles held the same idea as Ya Ke Bo: to see if they could marry into the royal family and establish a connection.

Marriages among European nobility emphasized social standing; the lowest rank for a King's wife had to be the daughter of a Duke.

As for those Marquesses and Counts, they were basically excluded; their daughters could not possibly become the Queen of Spain.

Carlo still underestimated the openness of the European nobility of this era.

Just as the banquet began, several noblewomen came to invite Carlo to dance. If it were just a simple invitation, it would be one thing, but their posture and expressions clearly suggested that as long as Carlo wanted, they could have an affair at any time.

Among these women were not only young, unmarried maidens but also sexy wives who were already married.

It was only because Carlo was often accompanied by two beautiful and sexy maids that he could withstand such top-tier temptation.

Carlo was originally curious if the husband of this sexy wife would mind, but he turned his head and saw that the Count was chatting heatedly with another Marquess's wife, not caring about the matter here at all.

Seeing such a scene with his own eyes, Carlo truly understood how open the Europeans of this era were, and how decadent the lives of the nobles were.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Carlo were willing, at least half of the noblewomen present could be slept with.

Because they had enjoyed a luxurious noble life since childhood, these noblewomen were dressed very beautifully and sexily, and each had their own merits according to their different characteristics.

Carlo finally understood why lovers became an unspoken secret among European nobles, because most people could not remain indifferent at such a banquet.

"Your Majesty." Seeing Carlo beckoning to him, Ya Ke Bo hurriedly abandoned the two beautiful and moving noblewomen beside him and hurried toward Carlo.

"Duke Ya Ke Bo, is your banquet always like this?" Carlo asked with some helplessness.

Ya Ke Bo thought Carlo was worried about whether the husbands of these noblewomen had any objections, so he hurriedly explained: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, no one will care about what happens at the banquet, and no one will know."

After speaking, Ya Ke Bo very thoughtfully signaled another group of women to come forward and invite Carlo to dance.

To please Carlo, Ya Ke Bo had truly racked his brains.

These women had all kinds of characteristics and could definitely satisfy anyone's appetite. From girls who had just come of age to noble wives, there was everything one could wish for.

The first group consisted of slightly older women, and the second group of women became young maidens.

Carlo shook his head helplessly, knowing he couldn't keep refusing, so he could only pick a few girls who looked pleasing to the eye to dance with.

These girls were also quite bold when dancing with Carlo.

But then again, it seemed no girl could refuse a young, handsome King who possessed an entire country.

The temptation of becoming Queen was enough to attract a large number of young girls to take action, even if there was no result.

But honestly, although these girls were all very distinctive, none of them made Carlo's eyes light up.

Moreover, out of consideration for the interests of Carlo and Spain, it was highly probable that Carlo would not marry into the local Spanish nobility.

Since he could not give these girls a result, Carlo naturally would not take the initiative to provoke them.

But if someone really threw themselves at him, Carlo couldn't do nothing; anyway, having a lover among the nobility was not against the law.

Although this was a large banquet organized by Ya Ke Bo, the interaction among the nobles was in groups of three or five, and they were not completely gathered together.

It could be seen that the hierarchy gap among the nobles was still quite obvious.

Dukes often gathered to chat with Dukes, and some influential Marquesses might be able to join in, but Counts were definitely rare.

Some Marquesses gathered to chat with Dukes, while others could only chat with Counts, which best reflected the gap in the status and influence of the nobility.

As the lowest level at the banquet, the vast majority of Counts could only chat with other Counts.

It was very difficult for Counts to chat with Dukes; they had to wait until the Dukes finished their conversation and find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the Duke they wanted to talk to.

Carlo was definitely the most conspicuous among the nobles. A large number of Grand Dukes and Dukes gathered around Carlo, and those below the rank of Duke could not even squeeze in.

While holding his wine glass and listening to the flattery and overtures of the Dukes, Carlo felt quite wonderful.

Of course, Carlo would not be full of himself because of some small flattery. The reason Carlo was in a good mood was that these nobles were very sensible and chose to move closer to the royal power, truly supporting him as King.

The nobility was definitely the most powerful force in Spain, and Carlo was bound to fully master this power.

Seeing that the timing for the conversation was about right, Carlo followed up with his proposal, which was about establishing a Royal Council and forming a noble coalition under the leadership of the royal power.

The so-called Royal Council was composed entirely of nobles, and anyone above the rank of Marquess had the qualifications to join.

This Royal Council, composed entirely of Dukes and Marquesses, represented the Spanish noble class. And Carlo could control the entire noble class and exert his influence on the government by exerting influence on the Royal Council.

In this way, even if Primo retired from the political scene in the future, Carlo would not have to worry about whether the new Prime Minister would support him.

Relying solely on the strong support of the noble class and the Royal Council, Carlo could guarantee his influence on the government and ensure that he would not be completely sidelined.

In addition to the Royal Council, Carlo also wanted to establish a Royal Order of Knights to cultivate excellent core military forces among the nobles.

As everyone knows, European elite noble education attaches great importance to military aspects. Spain has such a huge noble class, and the children of the nobles are also countless.

By forming the Royal Order of Knights, he could select capable individuals from among these noble children to serve him, ensuring that the next generation of nobles had sufficient loyalty to him.

Truly capable noble children could quickly enter the army and get promoted by gilding themselves in the Royal Order of Knights.

And those who were not capable could obtain the honor of a Royal Knight, which could be considered a reward for them to win over the nobles.

After all, not all noble children are capable. For those noble children without much ability, the best way is to grant them honorary titles similar to Royal Knights, which can win over the favor of the nobles without causing too much burden on the government and the royal family.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, the nobles' thoughts were not so rational. Under the instigation of Ya Ke Bo, everyone quickly agreed to the establishment of the Royal Council and expressed their willingness to let their sons join the Royal Order of Knights.

After all, joining the Royal Order of Knights was not a bad thing; not only could they obtain the honorary title of Royal Knight, but they could also be more easily appointed by Carlo, thereby gaining Carlo's trust and making their family's status in Spain more stable.

The second update of three thousand words, please support!

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(End of this chapter)