Chapter 99: Agricultural Future Plan

The good news is that because most cabinet ministers know that Carlo does not interfere much in government affairs, very few ministers personally come to the Wang Gong at the beginning of each year to see Carlo and fight for more departmental budget.

The bad news is that whenever the beginning of the year comes and it is time to fight for the budget, those ministers seem to have voluntarily forgotten about Carlo. This is a huge blow to Carlo's influence in the government, and it also means that many ministers in the cabinet government do not have such high loyalty to Carlo.

Everyone seems to be serving Prime Minister Primo, and it is only because Prime Minister Primo supports Carlo's monarchical rule that they also implicitly support the Spanish monarchy.

Fortunately, the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, still knows his place. With the arrival of 1871, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo arrived at the Wang Gong on time to see Carlo, firstly to report on the agricultural department's achievements from the previous year, and incidentally to express his loyalty to Carlo.

Secondly, it was to seek more budget for the agricultural department through Carlo. Regardless of whether it could succeed, he definitely had to make this trip.

Because Antonio Cánovas del Castillo's position as Minister of Agriculture was personally recommended by Carlo, he had been labeled as part of Carlo's faction from the very beginning.

If he were to go and curry favor with Prime Minister Primo at this time, not only would there be no good result, but he would instead offend both Prime Minister Primo and Carlo.

It is better to focus wholeheartedly on being loyal to Carlo. As the Minister of Agriculture personally appointed by Carlo, unless Prime Minister Primo decides to fall out with Carlo, it is impossible for him to make things difficult for him.

What's more, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo himself is ambitious. He served as a cabinet minister during the time of Queen Isabel, and naturally, he is not satisfied with being a mere Minister of Agriculture at this time.

To be honest, his position seven years ago already exceeded the status of Minister of Agriculture; at this moment, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo is thinking more about how to take the next step and become the Prime Minister of Spain.

Reasonably speaking, doing so is entirely achievable. First of all, Cánovas is more than a dozen years younger than Primo and Serrano, so even if he just waits it out, he can wait until the time when Primo and Serrano retire.

Through his last contact with Carlo, Cánovas had long understood that Carlo could not be content with being a constitutional monarch without any power.

A strong-willed prime minister like Primo and a young, ambitious king like Carlo together will not have a good ending. Even if Carlo does not eventually liquidate Prime Minister Primo, it is certain that he will stand behind Prime Minister Primo and gradually take control of the government's discourse.

As the first chess piece Carlo planted in the government, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo knows well his importance to Carlo.

As long as he does not betray Carlo, he will certainly be reused in the future. After all, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo represents not only himself, but also many old ministers who entered the political arena during the time of Queen Isabel.

The loyalty of these old ministers to the monarchy is unquestionable. Carlo previously doubted their loyalty to him, but as long as Cánovas constantly expresses his loyal attitude and uses his influence to make these old ministers return to Carlo's rule, he can leap to become Carlo's confidant.

These old ministers who once served Queen Isabel also have considerable influence in the political arena. By uniting them, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo can also achieve his goal, which is to run for the position of Prime Minister of Spain after Prime Minister Primo, and become the head of the national government, second only to one and above ten thousand in Spain.

Although Carlo did not show it on the surface, he was quite satisfied with Cánovas's tact in his heart. If Cánovas did not even figure out who he truly needed to be loyal to, then Carlo would have to start reconsidering the candidate for Minister of Agriculture.

Do not doubt the person you employ, and do not employ the person you doubt. Once you have doubts about someone's loyalty, the best choice is to discard them directly.

If you continue to use someone while doubting them, unless that person holds real power and is difficult to discard, it is like dancing on the tip of a knife; if things go wrong, it will be a lose-lose situation.

"Minister Cánovas, are you adapting well to the identity of Minister of Agriculture?" Carlo looked at Cánovas, whose face was written with loyalty, and asked with a smile.

"I am adapting quite well, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern. Under the leadership of you and Prime Minister Primo, all developments in the current Spanish government are moving forward steadily, and the agricultural department is the same.

So far, the agricultural department has not had any particularly thorny problems. The income of farmers is growing steadily, and our grain production is also undergoing small-scale growth," Antonio Cánovas del Castillo replied hurriedly.

Although Carlo only asked if he was adapting in the agricultural department, he still answered about the current situation of the agricultural department as well.

Although Carlo did not take the initiative to ask about some things, the best way is still to report the situation of the agricultural department truthfully according to time.

Although Carlo is not yet 20 years old (born June 2, 1851), Cánovas will not simply regard Carlo as a young man under 20.

Although Carlo's political means are still immature, he is definitely a smart person. Since he has decided to be loyal to Carlo in exchange for the opportunity to move to a higher position, he should not have any other thoughts; this is also the experience that Cánovas's long political career has brought him.

Do not treat others as fools, even if it is just a young king under 20 like Carlo.

Some political means might be able to deceive Carlo for a short time, but once discovered by Carlo, what one faces might be the king's anger and the accountability of the Wang Quan.

Never underestimate the power of a king, even if it is just a king without real power under a constitutional monarchy. It might be troublesome to target a force, but if it is just targeting one person, there are simply too many means available, and one does not even need to use one's own means; one only needs to borrow the power of the outside world to do it.

Carlo nodded, very satisfied with his choice of Cánovas as Minister of Agriculture. Regardless of anything else, Cánovas's tact had already made Carlo quite satisfied.

As for those ministers who looked down on him, although Carlo would not directly express his attitude, once Prime Minister Primo leaves the center of power, what awaits them will be Carlo's liquidation.

"Your Majesty, the agricultural department's plan for the new year does not have much, mainly focusing on the popularization and promotion of chemical fertilizers, and the establishment of a state-owned grain company.

If chemical fertilizers are popularized on a large scale, it is expected that our crop yields can be effectively increased without too much change in the total cultivated land area, with an expected growth rate of at least more than 5%.

The state-owned grain company will take over bulk grain trade, such as being responsible for grain import and export trade, etc. After the reduction of farmers' taxes, the future period will be the golden development stage of agriculture.

It is expected that our country's total grain production and total cultivated land area will both increase within the next three years. Under the condition that we can fully achieve grain self-sufficiency, we can seek a certain degree of grain export," seeing that Carlo was quite satisfied with his attitude, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo began to report the agricultural department's plan for the next year, seeking Carlo's attitude.

Because of capital limitations, the agricultural department does not have any major moves in the coming year; overall, it is just promoting the application of chemical fertilizers and researching new fertilizer technologies.

Although the technology of chemical fertilizer has been born for nearly 30 years, the true comprehensive commercial use of chemical fertilizer will have to wait until nearly a hundred years later.

Europeans at the beginning of the century did not even know how plants grew; with only a 70-year interval, it is simply impossible to fully popularize the use of chemical fertilizers.

The current mainstream chemical fertilizers are superphosphate and potash. The former has been born for less than 30 years, and the latter has been born for less than ten years; the related technology is still very primitive.

But Spain has no choice at this time. Compared to Britain, France, and Germany, which have many plains, although Spain's land area is large, most of the land is plateaus and mountains. The areas suitable for planting are only a small amount of mixed mountain and plain areas in the eastern and southern coastal regions.

The barren land has already lagged behind other great powers in terms of grain production. Despite occupying more land, Spain's per capita grain production is not much better than that of the great powers.

If it were not for the fact that Spain's climate is suitable for growing vegetables and fruits, I am afraid that whether it could achieve self-sufficiency in food would be a problem.

Currently, the production of vegetables and fruits accounts for 25. % of Spain's total agricultural production. It is precisely because of such rich vegetable and fruit production that Spaniards can seek to eat more abundantly while having enough food to eat.

Coupled with the fact that Spain has a large coastline, it can also harvest many seafood products every year.

At this time, there is no need to worry about the impact of nuclear radiation on fish in the ocean; seafood can basically be eaten with peace of mind.

Because the train lines surrounding Spain have been fully completed, Carlo can also enjoy various seafood products from the seaside.

This also makes Carlo glad that he is in Spain. If it were a food desert like Britain, even if there were seafood, it probably wouldn't be delicious.

Hearing the plan for the agricultural department for next year reported by Cánovas, Carlo nodded and had no objections: "I agree with your plan, Minister Cánovas.

I hope that Spain's agriculture can achieve continuous growth under your leadership; this is a good thing for both Spain and you."

Cánovas nodded respectfully; he certainly understood what the good thing Carlo mentioned was. As Minister of Agriculture, the steady growth of Spain's agricultural situation is certainly a political achievement for him.

Only by accumulating political achievements and prestige in the government can Cánovas seek a higher cabinet position, or even compete for the seat of Prime Minister.

After all, if there are no political achievements and prestige, whether it is the public's vote or the election of the House of Representatives, there is no advantage in competing with others.

To be able to become Prime Minister, one must have ability and also obtain support from the public and the members of the House of Representatives.

If one is unpopular, even with Carlo's strong support, one is destined to be unable to sit on the throne of the Spanish Prime Minister.

3, 00 words, second update, asking for support!

Sixth day of 10, 00 words a day, 6, 00/10, 00 updated today, asking for support!

The last update will be posted before two o'clock.

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(End of chapter)