Chapter 18 Winning

Primo's inspection was soon over, and he told Vittorio Emanuele II about the final candidate for the king.

Yes, Carlo won the competition with Amadeo and is about to become the new king of Spain.

The reason why Carlo won the competition was actually more because of Carlo's support for reform and Garibaldi's praise for Carlo.

When drawing up the list of candidates for the Spanish throne, Juan Primo Putras once said with emotion: "Looking for a king who supports democracy in Spain is like looking for an atheist in heaven."

Although the constitutional system was nominally established during the Isabel period, Queen Isabel still controlled a lot of power, and the royal government was quite ignorant and feudal.

Primo was tired of this strong despotism. When looking for a new king for Spain, Primo also mentioned the need for reform and democratization many times.

The king can hold power, but he must never monopolize it.

At this point, Carlo, who had contact with Garibaldi, who once supported the republic, is obviously more advantageous.

Amadeo has no shortcomings, and even has an advantage in age. If it is a stable Spain, Amadeo is definitely a well-deserved candidate for the King of Spain.

But now Spain is riddled with holes, and Amadeo is powerless to the current situation in Spain. If Spain is to carry out deep reforms, the monarch and his subjects must be united to jointly promote comprehensive reforms in Spain.

At this point, Carlo will have more advantages than Amadeo. Even if Carlo's support for reform is not as firm as imagined, Primo can completely force the reform through military and political monopoly.

After all, a 19-year-old king is easier to control than a 25-year-old king, which is very important for Spain's reform.

There is also Garibaldi's evaluation of Carlo.

In his investigation of Carlo and Amadeo, Primo found that Carlo and Garibaldi had a closer relationship than imagined.

Garibaldi not only published many articles in the Italian Sun, but his second son, Giotti, was also Carlo's palace guard.

Allowing his son to get close to Carlo also means that in Garibaldi's heart, Carlo is at least not the kind of arrogant prince who can't see the situation clearly.

Combined with the previous influence of the Italian Sun on Spain, it can be basically concluded that Carlo had long anticipated the election of the king of Spain and had been preparing in advance.

Primo himself still wants to cooperate with the smart king. If possible, it is not impossible to achieve a close relationship between King William I of Prussia and Prime Minister Bismarck.

Decades ago, Prussia was also a country that was arbitrarily occupied and humiliated by France. But after decades of reforms, Prussia has become one of the most powerful countries on the European continent, and the war with France is also the focus of Primo's attention.

Primo does not expect that the reformed Spain will be as powerful as Prussia. For Primo, what he hopes is to see Spain achieve a revival and return to the throne of a first-class power and a great power in Europe.

Primo was still very confident at this point. If a monarch who supported his reforms could be welcomed, perhaps the revival of Spain would not be a dream, but a reality that could be seen in 20 years.

Carlo's mood was complicated.

Although winning this competition was what Carlo had been looking forward to, he suddenly became nervous and hesitant after learning that he was going to become the King of Spain.

No kidding, wanting to revive Spain in 1869 was definitely the most difficult among the major European powers.

Spain started out as a tiankeng. Internally, there were republicans, reformists, conservatives, and carlists who made trouble for each other, which was a constant chaos.

Externally, Britain and France did not allow Spain to become too powerful. If Spain wanted to revive, Britain and France would be the first to bear the brunt.

This was definitely a hellish start, and the difficulty was no less than Poland's counterattack against Germany at the beginning of World War II.

After slightly adjusting his mentality, Carlo decided to go to Spain, and he was determined to go to Spain.

Since he had traveled to this world, how could he live up to this opportunity to travel if he didn't fight boldly once?

Moreover, Britain and France are not absolutely invincible, and Spain is at least safe.

Neither Britain nor France can allow the other to occupy Spanish land. At most, they can only block the expansion of the Spanish navy and colonies.

Anyway, it is not only Spain that needs colonies now, and it will definitely not be Spain that takes the lead in opposing Britain and France.

For the first five or even ten years of Carlo's rule in Spain, the most important thing is to resolve Spain's internal contradictions and implement reforms to improve Spain's comprehensive national strength.

After the competition ended, Carlo met with his brother Amadeo.

Putting aside this competition, Carlo and Amadeo's relationship is still okay. Although not as close as Carlo and the deceased Prince Odone, they are not superficial brothers.

Amadeo smiled and congratulated Carlo on becoming the king of Spain. Although there was a hint of regret, there was not much unwillingness.

Of course, Carlo would not take the initiative to make enemies with his brother. In the important stage of Spain's reform, Italy will be an important ally of Spain.

Whether his old father is in power or the future Crown Prince Umberto inherits the throne, Carlo wants to have a good relationship with Italy.

After all, Italy is a retreat. If Spain is really hopeless, the worst that can happen is that he can flee back to Italy and become a free and easy duke like Amadeo in history.

Carlo's elder brother, Crown Prince Umberto, also came to congratulate Carlo.

Crown Prince Umberto is the heir to the Italian throne, so he did not participate in this competition. Because he was determined to be the crown prince at birth, Crown Prince Umberto was friendly to his brothers.

In his father's office, Carlo met the old king who was reluctant to leave.

"My child, I didn't expect you to win the competition with Amadeo. But no matter what, I still want to congratulate you on becoming the king of Spain." Vittorio Emanuele II looked at Carlo with a complicated expression, with a hint of surprise and some reluctance on his face.

"Have you met Primo? When do you plan to go to Spain?" After expressing his blessings to Carlo, Vittorio Emanuele II asked two questions in succession.

"Not yet, father. If possible, I want to go to Spain earlier and learn everything about Spain earlier." Carlo shook his head and replied.

First update, please support! (The previous calculation error of the time between Rome and Madrid has been corrected)