Chapter 158 The Results of the Five-Year Plan

Spain's equipment purchase and talent introduction actions are vigorous and have attracted the attention of many European countries.

However, this doesn't matter to the Spanish government. The talents and equipment to be introduced can contribute to the development of Spain, so there is no need to worry about the reactions of these countries.

More importantly, countries with relatively strong industries and economies such as Britain, France and Germany are still stuck in the quagmire of the economic crisis.

And countries with relatively weak industries and economies such as Portugal and the Netherlands are unlikely to pose too much threat to Spain.

It is precisely because of this that Spain's talent introduction actions have not only not been restrained after protests from some countries, but have increased their efforts.

The Spanish government also publicly stated that Spain's talent introduction actions are in compliance with the laws and regulations of various countries. Spain offers these technical talents and scientists salaries within the normal range, and welcomes these countries to offer the same salary to compete with Spain.

In fact, to put it bluntly, Prime Minister Primo is convinced that European countries cannot spend too much to retain domestic talents during the economic crisis.

For countries suffering from the economic crisis, the most important thing at present is to rectify the domestic economy and save those large companies and enterprises on the verge of bankruptcy, rather than focusing on the few talents that have been lured away.

For major countries, the talents that have been poached are still a minority after all. Do they have to fight to the death with Spain for these poached talents? Of course it is impossible.

For small countries, their actions are really just protests. Especially for Portugal, which has suffered the most serious loss of talents, they even have to consider the attitude of the Spanish government when protesting, because Spain is their neighbor?

How exaggerated is Spain's behavior in introducing talents? It has only been more than three months since the outbreak of the economic crisis, and the royal family has invested more than 3 million pesetas in the introduction of talents.

You know, this is only the cost of introducing talents, and it is only the expenditure of the royal family. If the total number of talents introduced by the government is added, the cumulative number of talents introduced by Spain has exceeded 2,000.

But unfortunately, more than half of these more than 2,000 people are ordinary engineers and technicians, and there are less than 500 scientific research talents that Carlo is most looking forward to.

Among these less than 500 scientific research talents, only less than 200 people have obtained the title and treatment of the second-level academician. Although some people are not given too high-level titles and treatment because they are new to the country, they are only a minority after all.

According to the information from the Royal Intelligence Agency, it is already very good for 20 of these less than 500 scientific research talents to finally obtain the title of the third-level academician.

However, as scientific research talents, even if their abilities are not as good as imagined, Carlo is quite welcome.

After almost all of these talents arrived in Spain, Carlo personally attended the welcome banquet held for them and expressed his warm welcome to their arrival.

After all, the cost of introducing talents is a minority, and the cost of purchasing equipment and enterprises is the majority.

In the past three months, the Spanish industrial sector has purchased more than 30 enterprises in total, and the funds spent have exceeded 80 million pesetas.

At present, the plan to purchase enterprises is still in progress. In the next few months, the industrial sector will continue to buy, and the scale will only get bigger and bigger.

In the dark clouds of the economic crisis, some major events in Europe are also worth noting.

First, before the economic crisis broke out, German Emperor Wilhelm I, Prime Minister Bismarck and Marshal Moltke visited the Russian capital of St. Petersburg and signed a secret military agreement with the Russian government.

Although Carlo was not clear about the specific content of the military agreement signed by the two countries, according to the direction of the Three Emperors' Alliance in history, Germany and Russia should have signed an agreement such as a mutual defense treaty at this time.

As mentioned before, Austria, which has become the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is constantly approaching Germany in foreign policy.

There is nothing that can be done about it. After Prussia won the German hegemony, the newly established German Empire has become an unstoppable giant.

Instead of competing with the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire might as well focus on Southeast Europe and expand its sphere of influence in the Balkan Peninsula.

The most anxious thing about the military agreement between Germany and Russia is not Britain and France, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire also has Spain as an ally, distant water cannot quench near thirst. Spain's strength is not too strong, and it cannot help the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the hegemony in the Balkans.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire needed a strong ally like Germany, at least to prevent Germany and Russia from getting closer, and to maintain the current situation in the Balkans to meet the needs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At this time, the contradiction between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia was not so intense, after all, the places targeted by both sides belonged to another country, the Ottoman Empire.

In dealing with the problems in the Balkans, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire maintained the same attitude, that is, to solve them in a coordinated manner.

Shortly after the outbreak of the economic crisis, Russian Emperor Alexander II made a public visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Taking this opportunity, the two emperors of Russia and Austria formally signed the "Hingbolon Agreement", which was also a reaffirmation of the attitude of the two countries to jointly solve problems.

Because the whole agreement has only one theme, that is, when a third country invades and endangers peace in Europe, the two parties to the entente (Russia and Austria) should immediately discuss a common course of action.

To put it bluntly, the two countries compromise with each other to deal with other countries interfering in the situation in the Balkans.

Russia's main defense in this agreement is the British, while the main purpose of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is to ease the situation and prevent the Austro-Hungarian Empire from being diplomatically isolated.

The two countries have their own purposes, and this entente is more like a certain compromise between the two countries for their own interests, rather than a true alliance treaty.

But in any case, the easing of relations between Russia and Austria-Hungary at this time is a good thing for both sides.

But the signing of this agreement made Germany a little worried. At this time, Germany's diplomatic system was established by Prime Minister Bismarck, and his main diplomatic system was to isolate France and establish a conservative alliance treaty among the three monarchies of Germany, Austria and Russia.

The approach between Russia and Austria-Hungary made Germany worried, because Germany was also afraid that Russia and Austria-Hungary would leave itself aside, which would directly bankrupt Germany's anti-French alliance system and Germany would also suffer a new diplomatic crisis.

You know, the relationship between Prussia, Germany's predecessor, and Austria was hostile. With the strength of Germany, the Russians will certainly worry about the threat of Germany.

If this makes the original alliance to isolate France become an alliance to isolate Germany, it would be a big joke.

It is for this reason that after the signing of the agreement between Russia and Austria-Hungary, the German diplomatic department immediately took action, indicating that Germany was also willing to join the agreement, and the three countries would jointly maintain peace in Europe.

Because Germany and Russia signed a secret military agreement last month, Germany and Russia are currently in a honeymoon period.

Russia did not object to Germany joining the agreement, and Austria-Hungary did not express a clear opposition.

It is for this reason that after a certain amount of consultation, Germany also publicly joined the agreement, and the first Three Emperors Alliance was officially established.

However, because the essence of this agreement is a certain compromise between Russia and Austria-Hungary on their own interests, the validity period of the agreement is also very short, only two years.

Although the Three Emperors' Alliance was successfully formed, such a Three Emperors' Alliance was not stable, and the alliance relationship was likely to break down due to an unexpected incident.

Although Russia and Austria-Hungary had their own ghosts in their hearts, the German government at this time was very satisfied. In the eyes of the Germans, if the relationship between Russia and Austria-Hungary was too stable, what was the role of Germany as a middleman for?

The reason why Germany joined this agreement was not to seek the identity of the mediator of the agreement and control the relationship between Russia and Austria-Hungary to maintain a delicate balance?

Anyway, no matter what other countries think, the Three Emperors' Alliance was established so quickly.

The Russians breathed a sigh of relief, and they could concentrate on dealing with the conflicts with the British. The Austrians also breathed a sigh of relief. The diplomatic crisis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was successfully resolved, and the interests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkans were guaranteed.

The Germans also breathed a sigh of relief. After the establishment of the Three Emperors' Alliance, France was successfully isolated, and naturally became the main target of the Three Emperors' Alliance.

Carlo followed the entire process of the establishment of the Three Emperors' Alliance. However, for Spain at this time, the Three Emperors' Alliance was not suitable for Spain to participate in, and Carlo had no intention of participating in it. The three participants in the Three Emperors' Alliance each had their own ideas, and such an alliance was not stable. History has indeed proved that the first Three Emperors' Alliance lasted only two years, and the second Three Emperors' Alliance signed in 1881 lasted only 6 years.

In the final analysis, with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia set their sights on the Balkan Peninsula. This is a contradiction that cannot be eased at all, and it will only become more and more intense with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire.

In addition, Britain and France will not allow such an alliance to exist, and the collapse of the Three Emperors' Alliance is inevitable, it is nothing more than a matter of time.

When the Treaty of the Three Emperors' Alliance was officially signed, it was already the end of October 1873.

In the following two months, Spain still maintained the decision to buy and dig, purchasing a large number of various factories and enterprises from European countries, and tapping thousands of talents.

Although a lot of money was spent, it did make Spain make great progress in talent reserves. At present, Spain may not catch up with other European powers in terms of talent reserves, but it has far surpassed small and medium-sized countries such as Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Even if compared with the inferior powers such as Italy, Spain is in a leading position in talent reserves.

The time came to the end of December 1873. Because the new cabinet government election will be held next year, the ministers of various departments still attach great importance to the annual report meeting of this year.

If Prime Minister Primo chooses to continue to run for election, they can only focus on the seat of cabinet minister. But if Prime Minister Primo gives up the election, they have the hope of relying on their political achievements and reports to strive for the position of Spanish Prime Minister, which is above ten thousand people.

Even for the current Spain, the actual power of the prime minister is much greater than that of the king. As long as the prime minister is willing, he can even easily override the king and control the entire parliament.

At the annual summary report meeting, each department prepared detailed report materials, and even the slightest political achievements were summarized in the report.

Carlo would naturally not miss such an important meeting. The annual summary report meeting was held in the parliament. Carlo sat calmly in the main seat of the parliament amid the different attitudes of the parliamentarians.

A few minutes later, the entire report meeting officially began.

It was still Prime Minister Primo who set the tone for a large range of areas.

"Your Majesty, members of parliament. 1873 is a very important year for us. Thanks to the efforts of the government, the industrial environment in Spain has grown significantly.

According to the estimates of the cabinet government, as of today, our total population has officially exceeded 17.75 million, an increase of at least 300,000 people compared to last year.

Our annual GDP is about 7.861 billion pesetas, an increase of more than 9% compared to last year.

Although the economic crisis broke out throughout Europe in May, Spain was not seriously affected. In order to cope with the possible reduction in imports and exports caused by the economic crisis, we have formulated various plans and achieved relatively good results.

It can also be seen from the economic growth rate that the government's plan is very successful. We are also the only country in the world that has a positive economic growth during the economic crisis, and the growth rate is higher than before the economic crisis."

Speaking of the positive economic growth, Prime Minister Primo's report received applause from all members of parliament.

Carlo was the one who took the initiative to applaud. After Carlo took the initiative to applaud, other members had to take action to cooperate even if they did not intend to applaud.

After waiting for more than a minute, when the applause died down, Prime Minister Primo continued to summarize and report: "

Thanks to our positive economic growth, our government's total fiscal revenue has also increased significantly this year.

According to the total of the financial department, our country's total fiscal revenue in 1873 was 545.1 million pesetas, an increase of 19.2 million pesetas compared to last year.

However, in order to cope with the impact of the fiscal crisis on Spain, the government's various construction projects have also greatly increased the proportion of fiscal expenditure.

In 1873, our total fiscal expenditure reached 743.3 million pesetas. Among them, regular fiscal expenditure was 6.1 2.7 billion pesetas, and 130.6 million pesetas for foreign operations.

Although the fiscal loss for the whole year is close to 200 million pesetas, the foreign factories and enterprises purchased by the government through foreign operations can greatly help our industrial growth.

It is expected that in the next few years, Spain's industry and economy will ignore the impact of the economic crisis and achieve greater development at a very fast speed.

The government will then formulate a detailed new five-year development plan, dedicated to the comprehensive development and industrial construction of Spain in the next five years.

At present, our first five-year construction launched in 1869 has achieved great success. In these nearly five years , our industry, agriculture, railways, education and economic construction have all been a complete success.

Since the launch of the Five-Year Plan, our total population has increased by about 1.15 million, the total steel production has increased by more than 400,000 tons, and the total economic output has increased by more than 2 billion pesetas.

Our fiscal revenue has increased from less than 300 million pesetas in 1868 to nearly 550 million pesetas in 1873, a difference of more than 250 million pesetas, close to the total fiscal revenue in 1868.

We have increased investment in railways. As of now, the total railway mileage in Spain has exceeded 7,400 kilometers, and we are only 10 kilometers away from the original goal of 7,500 kilometers. Less than 100 kilometers away.

Before the start of the five-year plan, our total railway mileage was less than 5,400 kilometers. In five years, we have built a total railway mileage of more than 2,000 kilometers, and we will continue to increase investment in railways in the future.

In the next five-year plan, Spain will usher in a total railway scale of tens of thousands of kilometers. Perhaps after the completion of the next five-year plan, we can proudly declare that Spain has built a strong industry and economy, and we are a strong country! "

Because the Spanish cabinet election will be held in February, it also means that there are less than two months left before the cabinet change.

Because of this, this year's annual summary report meeting is not just a report meeting for 1873, but also includes the contributions made by the Spanish cabinet government in the five years from February 1869 to February 1874.

It is worth mentioning that Prime Minister Primo mentioned the government's next five-year plan many times at the five-year plan report meeting, which actually represents one thing, that is, Prime Minister Primo decided to continue to run for the cabinet prime minister.

If he decides to give up running for election, Prime Minister Primo will not talk about the next five-year plan at all. After all, the five-year plan is formulated by the cabinet government. If he does not run for the cabinet prime minister, whether the second five-year plan is implemented and the specific content of the second five-year plan have nothing to do with Prime Minister Primo.

Upon learning that Prime Minister Primo will continue to run for election, many members of parliament showed disappointed expressions, but they quickly hid them.

It is normal for Prime Minister Primo to continue to run for election. After all, Spain has been on the right track under Prime Minister Primo's reforms, and the second five-year plan will only be simpler than the first five-year plan.

Primo, as the biggest contributor to the reform, suddenly gave up the position of Prime Minister at this moment, which is the strangest.

It is foreseeable that it is easy for Prime Minister Primo to get the majority of votes and serve as the Prime Minister of the next cabinet government with the huge reputation of the successful reform and the rapid expansion of the Progressive Party in the past five years.

But there is also a question worth thinking about, that is, Carlo's growth in the past five years.

Carlo just came to Spain in 1869, and it is normal that he cannot take power because he is still a teenager.

But five years have passed, and Carlo has turned 22 this year. Does a young king in his 20s really have no need for power?

Prime Minister Primo, who is still in power, and Carlo, who is firmly on the throne in Spain and may make more demands for his own power, have made the eyes of many parliamentarians more complicated. They kept wandering between Prime Minister Primo, who was passionately talking about the plan, and Carlo, who was sitting firmly in the main seat of the meeting, smiling and without any other expression.

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