Chapter 470: Super Dreadnought

After concluding the inspection of Portugal, Carlo, accompanied by Prince Juan Fernando and a group of high-ranking government officials, inspected the states of Andalusia, Valencia, and Catalonia in succession, visited hundreds of thousands of workers at the Barcelona industrial base, and subsequently returned to Madrid by train.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the entire inspection process; judging by what he saw with his own eyes, the current Spain could be said to be thriving, with all industries in the midst of heated development and construction, and the country could be described as flourishing.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the state of the country under his rule; Spain had shown no signs of decline thus far and even possessed the potential to go further.

Because the entire inspection covered nearly half of the Iberian Peninsula, the total duration of the tour was extended to two and a half months.

During these two and a half months, Carlo also held multiple discussions with Prince Juan Fernando regarding what a King of Spain should pay attention to, which industries should be highly prioritized, which should be left to free enterprise, and so on; Carlo had long conversations with Prince Juan Fernando on these topics.

Carlo was quite satisfied in his heart with this heir to the throne whom he had personally cultivated. If nothing else, he would certainly serve as a bridge between the past and the future, ensuring that Spain's prosperous golden age would continue for decades to come.

As for matters further down the line, that would have to depend on the efforts of the next generation.

Carlo also held high hopes for the second in line to the Spanish throne, his eldest grandson, Prince Christian.

Prince Christian was born in February 1903 and had just turned five years old.

At five years old, most children are still at an age of innocence, free to play without restraint and with no need to worry about their future.

But for the second in line to the throne, the destined third King of the Spanish House of Savoy, Prince Christian, his childhood was destined not to be so leisurely.

Carlo would not be as strict with the cultivation of his grandson as he was with his son.

However, the necessary learning could not be avoided; starting last year, Prince Christian had already begun to come into contact with various types of knowledge, preparing early for his future succession to the throne.

The good news was that Prince Christian was not as mischievous as other children. He seemed to have long understood the heavy responsibility on his shoulders; Prince Christian did not resist the various study tasks Carlo arranged for him and even completed them quite satisfactorily.

This was a clear difference from the eldest son of Carlo's second son, Martin, named William.

Prince William was also born in 1903, but he was about half a year younger than Prince Christian.

Acting on the principle that cultivating one is the same as cultivating two, Carlo intended to raise these two children of similar age together to ensure that the third generation of the House of Savoy would all be capable nobles.

But heaven did not grant his wish; compared to the sensible Prince Christian, Prince William was not as obedient.

Under Carlo's supervision, his various study tasks were only barely passing; if not supervised, Prince William would likely spend most of his time playing.

Upon learning that little William truly had no heart for his studies, Carlo temporarily gave up on cultivating Prince William.

In any case, the little one was not even five years old yet, and since he was far from inheriting the throne, it did not matter if he played for a few more years.

Compared to his strictness with his grandsons, Carlo was much more lenient with his two granddaughters, Princess Anna and Princess Maria.

The eldest, Princess Anna, was already seven years old, while the youngest granddaughter, Princess Maria, had just turned three.

Aside from normal learning, Princess Anna was mostly exposed to noble etiquette and general knowledge, and she would not be subjected to a rigorous elite noble education.

Princess Maria, naturally, went without saying; because she had just turned three, aside from her daily Spanish lessons, the rest of her time was spent playing.

To this day, the Spanish royal family could be said to have truly branched out.

Moreover, there was more good news for Carlo: this year, Prince Juan Fernando and Prince Martin would both have children born, and the marriages of Prince Alexander and Princess Christina were also about to take place; the Spanish royal family would continue to expand in the future, with the number of members potentially reaching over a dozen.

Carlo and Queen Sophie had a total of five children, and Carlo did not have high demands for his children, as long as they had five or more children each.

To increase their enthusiasm for having children, Carlo specifically established a rule within the Spanish royal family to increase the annual allowance of the princes and princesses based on the number of children they had.

Carlo treated his sons and daughters equally; whether it was Prince Juan Fernando or Princess Christina, their royal annual allowance was 1 million pesetas each.

While this allowance might not seem like much, it was actually much higher than the allowance Carlo received when he was a prince in Italy.

When Carlo was still an Italian prince, the Italian royal family only provided him with an annual allowance of 260, 00 lire, which was equivalent to about 300, 00 pesetas at the time.

According to Carlo's understanding, although the assets of the Italian royal family had expanded over the years, because the number of royal family members had also been growing, the annual allowance for ordinary Italian royal members remained at about 300, 00 pesetas.

The annual allowance for members of the Spanish royal family was already three times that of the Italian royal family, which was certainly not a small amount by European standards.

After all, the royal allowance was funds that these members received without any effort; the purpose of these funds was originally just to cover their daily expenses, so the amount was generally not too high.

If one only wanted to live a life wealthier than the average person, 1 million pesetas per year was completely sufficient. But royal family members needed to attend various banquets, and whether it was formal wear or jewelry, everything was custom-made by royal jewelers and tailors.

Expenses for clothing and accessories alone were an astronomical figure. Furthermore, the food, clothing, and daily necessities of royal members were of the highest standard; although 1 million pesetas was enough, no one disliked having a larger royal allowance.

Carlo had also given his sons and daughters millions of pesetas in assets as coming-of-age gifts, but the net profit these assets could earn annually was actually only a few hundred thousand pesetas.