Chapter 14: Spain Elects a King

Time quickly came to 1869.

Although there was no news from Spain, Carlo had already made full preparations for the possible entry into Spain.

First of all, the public opinion force that Carlo vigorously developed has achieved certain results.

Carlo's largest newspaper, the Italian 24-hour Sun, has become the largest newspaper in northern Italy, with an average daily sales of more than 24,000 copies in 1868.

In addition to the Sun, Loren also founded several newspapers in northern and southern Italy under Carlo's instructions. The daily sales of these small and medium-sized newspapers are more than 10,000 copies.

Carlo has also completed his initial deployment of public opinion. The various newspapers have tens of thousands of loyal readers, and the groups that can be affected are at least hundreds of thousands of people.

As long as Carlo wants, he can make hundreds of thousands or even millions of Italians know a piece of news in a short time.

This is very exaggerated in this era when transportation is extremely inconvenient and people mostly rely on horses, ox carts and other livestock to travel.

These large and small newspapers also brought Carlo nearly 250,000 liras in two and a half years.

Thanks to Garibaldi's reputation, The Sun was able to quickly penetrate the market, otherwise more than 200,000 liras would not be so easy to earn.

As time entered February 1869, the Spanish parliamentary election officially arrived.

As in history, Primo, as the most powerful individual in the provisional government, coupled with his huge reputation in the revolutionary army, successfully controlled the majority of seats in the parliament.

This news made Carlo feel relieved, which meant that Spain would move towards a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic, and Carlo still had great hope of becoming the King of Spain.

As soon as the new Spanish Parliament was established, it announced that it would not abolish the monarchy, but would establish a national government under a constitutional monarchy to manage Spanish affairs.

Because the throne of Spain was unresolved, the parliament appointed the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, Francisco Serrano Dominguez, as the regent of the Kingdom of Spain, and the Minister of War, Primo, as the new prime minister.

These two people are not only the two most prestigious people in the provisional government, but also the two most supported generals in the revolutionary army.

This is actually the real reason why Spain continues to maintain the monarchy. After all, the two people with the decision-making power both support the monarchy.

Thanks to the report that promoted the advanced monarchy, the news that Spain continued to maintain the monarchy did not cause much waves.

As long as there is no more tyrants like Queen Isabel ruling Spain, the Spaniards' opposition will at least not be so intense.

The affairs of the parliament have come to an end for the time being. The most troublesome thing for Serrano and Prime Minister Primo has become choosing a suitable king for Spain.

Although they can choose any one from the European royal family, the object of choice must also be recognized by the people.

Those with a bad reputation cannot be accepted. The Spaniards cannot believe that such a king can do better than Isabel. If only a new Queen Isabel comes to rule Spain, what is the purpose of the Spanish revolution?

Those with controversial origins cannot be accepted. For Spain, a king with a noble origin and supported by a large family can stabilize the order in Spain.

If the origin of the new king is controversial, it will also be a new blow to the constitutional monarchy that Spain has finally determined.

Coupled with various other conditions, there are actually only a few European princes who are suitable to become the King of Spain.

After more than a month of screening, Serrano and Primo finally determined a list of five people.

The first choice is Leopoldo, a prince of the German royal family. Prince Leopoldo was born in the Hohenzollern family and backed by the Kingdom of Prussia, which had just won the Austro-Prussian War. His origin and reputation meet the requirements of Spain.

The second choice is Fernando, who served as the regent of Portugal. Fernando's wife and son are both kings of Portugal. During his tenure as king of Portugal (husband of the queen) and as regent, his performance was above the qualified line and his reputation was also quite good.

The third choice is Prince Amadeo of the Savoy Dynasty of Italy. After the unification of Italy, it still has a say on the Mediterranean coast, and the prestige of the Savoy family in the European royal family has also ushered in a small increase. For Spain, Amadeo may not be as reliable as the first two, but he is also a qualified candidate.

The fourth choice is also from the Savoy Dynasty of Italy, Amadeo's younger brother Carlo. Carlo's shortcoming is that he is a little young, and he is still a few months away from turning 18. But Carlo's reputation in Italy is no less than Amadeo, and the publicity of Carlo by The Sun is still very effective.

Even many Italians like this youngest prince very much, because this little prince does not have too much airs when traveling, and will greet Italian people in a friendly manner.

Under the influence of public opinion, some Spaniards have also heard of this friendly prince of Italy. This is also the reason why Carlo can be included in the candidate list. After all, Primo and Serrano both believe that the Spaniards will not reject a friendly king.

The last candidate is Queen Isabel's brother-in-law, the Duke of Ponteponchel of Spain. However, considering the Spaniards' disgust for Queen Isabel and the possible hatred of the whole family, Primo ranked the Duke of Ponteponchel at the end of the candidate list and considered removing him from the list.

After all, the selection of the King of Spain is extremely strict. Any shortcomings of the candidates will be magnified countless times, and any possible impact must be considered by Serrano and Primo.

What disappointed Primo was that the Spanish government had just released a little wind to Fernando, and Fernando directly refused the throne of Spain.

This also theoretically cut off the possibility of Spain and Portugal uniting again, after all, Fernando's son is the current King of Portugal.

If Fernando can obtain the throne of Spain, the future King of Portugal may inherit the Spanish throne and realize the merger of the two Iberian countries.

Fernando's voluntary withdrawal reduced the list of five to four. After a long discussion with Serrano, Primo finally decided to exclude the Duke of Puente Pont Pont Pont, which left only three candidates.

Although the king selection in Spain was kept relatively secret, there is no airtight wall in the world.

At this time, Primo and Serrano did not know how their king selection would affect the European situation, and it might even directly cause the European hegemon to be trampled under the feet of other countries.

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