Chapter 185 Valencia State Shipyard

It will take a long time to establish a plantation in Congo. Although crops and fruits in tropical areas can be harvested twice or even three times a year, the plantation system must be established, the land must be reclaimed and sowing must be completed.

According to the current progress, there will be no results in the next three months. However, Carlo is not in a hurry. After all, it takes a long time to use the Congolese agricultural development and the nobles to exchange Spanish land.

After the Congolese affairs were arranged, Carlo turned his attention back to Spain. The current royal family has enough assets, and more than 200 million available funds also mean that the royal family still has enough strength to invest in a certain industry.

It is not even just a simple 200 million available funds. Some diamond jewelry in the temple treasure can flow into the market over time, and their value is higher than the actual value.

There is also a small amount of gold, which can be exchanged for several times the cash in the hands of the currency issuance committee. In addition, with the continuous income from the royal industry, let alone investing in a certain industry, even if it invests in several industries a year, as long as the step is not too big, there will be no financial problems.

Because the private capital in Spain is not strong at this time, the investment of the royal family is very important for the development of all walks of life in Spain.

The investment of a large amount of funds can promote the rapid development of certain industries. If it is some key industries, it will play a vital role in the future of Spain.

It is precisely because of this that the royal family's money must be invested in key industries to play a more effective role and lay a solid foundation for the future strength of Spain.

In fact, there is no need to think about it. The first industry that the royal family needs to invest in is the shipbuilding industry.

Spain is a country facing the sea in many places and has colonies all over the continents. It must pay attention to the development of the navy and sea power.

Although the shipbuilding industry does not represent the ability to build warships, the shipbuilding industry bears the lower limit of military shipyards. If a country's shipbuilding industry is not well developed, it is difficult to build a world-class military shipyard through its own efforts.

On the contrary, if a country has a well-developed shipbuilding industry, even without the help of other countries, it can still transform an excellent military shipyard through its developed shipbuilding industry.

Although these processes are also difficult, countries with more developed shipbuilding industries will be more successful in the field of military shipbuilding.

Although Spain's shipbuilding industry is not bad, there are large and small state-owned and private shipyards. But except for the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard that Carlo invested in to save, other military shipyards currently have no ability to build ironclad ships.

In addition, most private shipyards have relatively backward technology and can only build wooden warships or old steamships. These ships are fine for civilian use, but if they are put into military use, they are completely live targets for the enemy to aim at.

Spain's future naval development must not only rely on the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard. If the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard is destroyed, doesn't it mean that Spain will completely lose the ability to build the latest ironclad ships?

Considering the above, Carlo decided to invest heavily in the development of Spain's shipbuilding industry, help state-owned and private civilian shipyards have more advanced experience in building civilian ships, and integrate some civilian shipyards to build a new medium-to-large military shipyard.

This shipyard does not need to have the ability to build 10,000-ton ironclad ships like the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard. As a main warship used to replace the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard in an emergency, and as the second largest military shipyard in Spain, the goal of this new shipyard is to have two docks capable of building warships over 7,500 tons.

The Royal Guarnizo Shipyard is located in the Bay of Santander in the Cantabria region, and the new shipyard must be located on the Mediterranean coast to ensure that the two shipyards will not be bombed and destroyed by the enemy at the same time.

After much deliberation, Carlo finally decided to locate the new shipyard in Valencia City in the Valencia region, which is also the largest port closest to Madrid in a straight line.

Why not in Barcelona, ​​where the port is larger? The main reason is that Barcelona already has an industrial zone. If there is another medium-sized or large shipyard, it will inevitably be bombed by the enemy during the war.

But then again, the development of the shipbuilding industry cannot rely solely on the efforts of the royal family. The Spanish government must also contribute.

The current Spanish government is not poor. After consideration, Carlo finally asked Butler Loren to formulate a "Spanish Shipbuilding Development Plan" and took this plan to the cabinet to meet Prime Minister Primo.

After meeting Prime Minister Primo for a long time, Carlo's first impression was that Prime Minister Primo looked older.

Prime Minister Primo was born in 1814 and is currently only 61 years old. Perhaps because the Spanish reform has spent too much energy, Prime Minister Primo looks older and more decadent when he is four years younger than Archduke Serrano.

If he didn't know Prime Minister Primo's age, Carlo would even think that the old man in front of him was an old man in his seventies and eighties.

But in fact, 61 years old is not that old. Although the average life expectancy in Europe is only 30 or 40 years old, this is, after all, statistics for ordinary people.

Except for those who died in childhood, the average life expectancy of high-ranking officials and nobles like Prime Minister Primo reached over 60 years old, and many of them even died of various diseases in their 70s and 80s.

The most obvious examples are Garibaldi and Serrano.

Garibaldi was born in 1807 and eventually died of illness in 1882 due to the sequelae of his early years in various countries and battlefields. He was about to turn 75 years old when he died, which was considered a long life in later generations.

Archduke Serrano was no different. Born in 1810 and died in 1885, he also lived for almost 75 years, almost experiencing the entire 19th century.

From these examples, we can see that even if the average life expectancy of civilians is less than 40 years old due to various exploitation and security issues, the high-ranking officials and nobles are still not affected.

Let alone these famous dukes and nobles, even ordinary barons and earls, as long as they don't commit suicide, living to fifty or sixty years old is not a problem.

Moreover, many people in this era died of various chemical poisonings, not in the true sense of death.

Especially among the noble ladies, many of them use substances on the periodic table of chemical elements to make up. These are expressly prohibited in the palace, and any strange things and elements entering the palace must be examined.

Carlo doesn't want some strange things to be mixed in his normal food, which will not only affect his life span, but also the health of his family and the growth of his children.

"Your Majesty." Although Carlo took the initiative to meet Prime Minister Primo, Prime Minister Primo still saluted Carlo very actively.

"Prime Minister Primo." Carlo also stepped forward, stopped Prime Minister Primo's salute, and pulled Prime Minister Primo to sit on the sofa next to him, with a very gentle and respectful attitude.

For Carlo, Prime Minister Primo is definitely his benefactor. Without the support of Prime Minister Primo, he would never become the King of Spain.

After choosing a young foreign nobleman to become the King of Spain, Prime Minister Primo not only did not take the opportunity to fight for power, but also guaranteed Carlo a certain right to speak.

Although such a little right to speak has no effect on the government's decision-making, it is at least much better than openly sidelining Carlo.

Moreover, Prime Minister Primo gradually handed over more power to Carlo over time. Just the fact that he was not greedy for power was enough for Carlo to admire Prime Minister Primo from the bottom of his heart.

Not to mention Prime Minister Primo's contribution to Spain. Agricultural reform, land recovery, literacy education, industrial development and other achievements are enough to make Prime Minister Primo one of the greatest prime ministers in Spain in the past hundred years, and even the word "one" can be removed.

Especially since the rule of the irritable King Fernando VII and Queen Isabel II, Spain has been sinking and declining at a very fast speed.

Prime Minister Primo has made an absolute contribution to stopping such a decline and reversing it.

Again, in Carlo's heart, Prime Minister Primo is definitely a major contributor to Spain's renaissance, and can even be said to be the first major contributor.

As long as Prime Minister Primo does not do anything stupid next, he will become a representative official who is promoted and praised by Carlo throughout his reign. His ten-year reign with Carlo will also be promoted as a close cooperation similar to that between German King William I and Prime Minister Bismarck, and they will jointly write a good story and epic for people to read and admire.

This is a real name that will be passed down through the ages. Even if the Kingdom of Spain perishes in the future, this history will not be changed. For politicians, such a reputation may be more attractive than some actual benefits.

After all, although the benefits obtained are tempting, they are only temporary. This kind of famous story that will be passed down through the ages is not something you can have just by wanting it. It requires a certain timing, a certain opportunity, and the trust of the king.

"Prime Minister Primo, this is the shipbuilding development plan I made based on the backwardness of Spain's current shipbuilding industry. It requires close cooperation with the government, and the relevant matters also require your attitude, Prime Minister Primo." Carlo smiled and took out the shipbuilding development plan he had prepared long ago, handed it to Prime Minister Primo, and then explained with a smile.

Prime Minister Primo nodded, took the shipbuilding development plan, and read it carefully.

"Integrate some of the private and state-owned civilian shipyards that cannot be saved and transform them into medium-sized and large military shipyards?

Help other private and state-owned civilian shipyards that can be saved to develop better, and improve the Spanish shipbuilding system?" Prime Minister Primo read and looked at it, and sometimes nodded to himself, obviously taking this development plan very seriously.

Carlo's development plan actually only had a few sheets of paper, but Prime Minister Primo still read it for nearly half an hour.

Prime Minister Primo read out almost every word in the plan himself, and sometimes even thought about it seriously, obviously respecting Carlo's development plan.

After reading the last word in the plan, Primo's subordinates first closed their eyes, then suddenly opened them, nodded, looked at Carlo, and said with a smile: "From this plan alone, I can't find any problems, Your Majesty."

If you can't find a problem, you actually agree, but Prime Minister Primo doesn't speak too fully. The specific development of the shipbuilding industry still requires detailed consultation and joint funding between the government and the royal family. Prime Minister Primo will not do everything, which will only bring a huge financial burden to the government.

“My plan is for the royal family and the government to each invest 15 million pesetas to acquire certain state-owned and private civilian shipyards that can no longer be saved, and to fully integrate these shipyards, accommodate shipbuilding workers, and then build them in Valencia Build medium and large military shipyards to replace the Royal Guanizo Shipyard in certain emergencies.

The issue of land and shipyard construction is the responsibility of the government. The government holds 55% of the newly established military shipyard and the royal family holds 45%. We work together to build this shipyard.

What does Prime Minister Primo think? "Certainly more complicated things cannot be explained by a small plan and require Carlo to explain in more detail.

After hearing what Carlo said, Prime Minister Primo finally gave his answer after thinking: "15 million pesetas? This is not a lot of money. Your Majesty, what about the subsequent encouragement of other state-owned and private shipyards? How should we proceed?”

Seeing that Prime Minister Primo did not reject the establishment of the second largest military shipyard, Carlo breathed a sigh of relief and began to answer Prime Minister Primo's new question: "The current preliminary plan is to issue certain tax reduction policies for the civilian shipbuilding industry. , and the government takes the lead in organizing the training and training of some shipbuilding industry employees.

There is also the problem of orders from civilian shipyards. A multi-pronged approach can completely solve the current situation of gradual backwardness and decline in our shipbuilding industry and return Spain's shipbuilding industry to the forefront of the world. "

There are many reasons for the decline of civilian shipyards, the most important of which can be divided into three major aspects: backward technology, reduced orders, and insufficient employees.

These three aspects also influence each other. Because backward technology leads to a decrease in shipyard orders, the decrease in orders affects the shipyard's income, eventually leading to layoffs.

The fewer employees there are in a shipyard, the less likely it is to make technological progress. This will make the relevant technologies of the shipyard unable to advance even an inch, and eventually lead to a vicious circle.

To solve this problem, external forces need to solve these three major problems at the same time in an extremely tough way.

If the government and the royal family cooperate, these three problems can indeed be easily solved. If there are insufficient employees, they can be quickly trained, and if the technology is lagging, they can be provided with technical support. As for the lack of orders from private shipyards, they can compete with foreign shipyards for orders once they have enough employees and excellent technology.

Spain still has a certain reputation in the civilian shipbuilding industry. Although it had been in decline for a period of time, with the strong rise of military shipyards, civilian shipyards have also restored a certain reputation.

As long as we can strike while the iron is hot and accelerate the support and construction of civilian shipyards, we will have no problem competing for some international orders.

The cost of ships in civilian shipyards is not high. After all, the tonnage of these ships is not like the main battleships, which are often several thousand tons or nearly ten thousand tons.

There is no need for excellent armor protection capabilities and large-caliber artillery, which has saved a lot in terms of cost.

Low cost also means low selling price. As long as the selling price is low, more ship orders can be found from all over the world to meet the needs of shipyards.

In the past, I was unable to find a buyer for the Fuxing-class ironclad ships all over the world. Now when it comes to civilian ships, it is relatively easy to find a few buyers.

For example, those former Spanish colonies in the Americas may not have enough funds to build ironclads, but they still have enough money to build civilian ships.

In addition to these countries in the Americas, some European countries with underdeveloped shipbuilding industries can also become potential customers of Spanish private shipyards.

In addition, these Spanish colonies also need some civilian ships to enhance their transportation capabilities. Sea transportation has been an extremely advantageous mode of transportation in any era, even in later generations.

Although the aircraft is faster, it does not carry much cargo, and there are quite strict cargo restrictions.

The speed of trains is also higher than that of transport ships, but trains must run on land, making cross-border transportation more troublesome.

Large transport ships are different. To go from one port to another, you only need to pass through the ocean and replenish supplies at coastal ports.

A super-large transport ship in later generations can carry up to 10,000 tons or even tens of thousands of tons of cargo. If it is transported by airplane, it will be somewhat inadequate.

After hearing Carlo's introduction, Prime Minister Primo nodded, secretly estimating the cost that the government would bear in doing so.

In one field of shipbuilding alone, the investment required is at least more than 50 million pesetas. If this money is provided by the royal family or the government alone, although it is not a big deal, it will obviously affect the development of other aspects.

If the royal family and the government each contribute half, the problem can be easily solved. Half of 50 million pesetas is 25 million pesetas, which is less than one-third of the royal family's annual corporate profits, and less than one-twentieth of the government's annual fiscal revenue.

Taking out this money is not a big burden for the royal family and the government. If it can effectively promote the development of military and civilian shipbuilding, that is definitely a good thing.

After thinking for a while, Prime Minister Primo said: "Your Majesty, I agree with your shipbuilding development plan. I will notify the relevant departments to closely cooperate with the actions of the royal family, and I will also let the industrial department come up with a specific plan and time period for the construction of the shipyard.

Let the ministers of various departments and Butler Loren discuss some specific matters. This is beneficial to Spain and will promote the development of Spain.

Your Majesty, do you have any naming suggestions for this medium-sized and large military shipyard built after the integration?"

The naming of the shipyard? Carlo shook his head. It is better not to participate in the naming fee of the shipyard.

Seeing Carlo shaking his head, Prime Minister Primo continued: "Since it is located in Valencia, why not call it the Valencia State-owned Military Shipyard."

For a monarchy, enterprises controlled by the royal government are state-owned, and enterprises controlled by the royal family are also state-owned. Enterprises jointly controlled by the royal government and the royal family are naturally state-owned among state-owned enterprises, and there is nothing wrong with calling it a state-owned shipyard.

Carlo also nodded, and had no objection to the naming of such a shipyard.

The naming of a military shipyard does not need to be too fancy. Simple and clear naming can improve the recognition of the military shipyard.

Just like the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard, the largest military shipyard in Spain, it is actually a military shipyard established by the royal family in Guarnizo, and the naming is also simple.

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