Chapter 233 Return to Italy

The work of colonial expansion and colonial division formation was proceeding in an orderly manner, but Carlo's mood could not be improved at this time.

Because of the news from Rome, Carlo's father, Vittorio Emanuele II, was already terminally ill and his body could not hold on for much longer.

The private doctor of the Italian royal family inferred from the physical condition of Vittorio Emanuele II that the last life of the king who unified Italy was estimated to be no more than three months.

When it was learned that King Vittorio Emanuele II was critically ill, the reaction of the Italian people was still quite concerned.

There are even many newspapers and media that listed Vittorio Emanuele II as one of the ten most outstanding monarchs in Italy. From this aspect, it can be seen how great it is for the Italians to unify Italy.

Judging from the current attitude of the Italians, the Italians are still reluctant to part with the father of the motherland. This is also a blessing in disguise. At least the Savoy royal family in Italy can continue to be passed on, and the Italian government is temporarily stable.

At this time, the Savoy family is still relatively glorious in Europe. The House of Savoy has two kings, and Italy and Spain, which have the throne, are both serious European powers.

Although there is a gap with the five traditional European powers, don't treat the second-class powers as powers.

In addition to the five traditional European powers, any country of Spain and Italy alone is not afraid of any country in Europe.

It is precisely because of this that the critical illness of Vittorio Emanuele II has attracted the attention of many countries, and European monarchs have also sent telegrams of condolences to Italy.

According to history, Vittorio Emanuele II died early within a few days of the arrival of the new year.

In order to see his father for the last time, Carlo decided to go to Italy after spending Christmas 1877 in Spain to accompany his father for the last time.

Although Carlo came to this world, the father of this body, Vittorio Emanuele II, was very fond of Carlo.

It is necessary to accompany his father for the last time in terms of emotion and reason. No matter how the relationship between Italy and Spain develops in the future, it cannot change the fact that Italy and Spain are working closely together at this time.

It seems that seeing Carlo's slightly bad mood, Prince Juan Fernando and Princess Sofia are no longer so naughty, quietly accompanying Carlo and spending a slightly quiet Christmas with Carlo.

Of course, it was Prince Juan Fernando who was the main reason for the quietness. Princess Sofia was just one year old at this time and had no ability to make trouble.

It was Prince Juan Fernando, who was already two and a half years old, who was at the right time to be naughty. Queen Sofia often got upset because of Prince Juan Fernando's mischief, but fortunately the little guy also knew the limit and would apologize obediently if he made his mother angry.

Carlo saw Prince Juan Fernando's mischief in his heart, but he didn't want to care much.

The main reason was that the elite aristocratic education that Carlo prepared for Prince Juan Fernando was about to begin. Before the aristocratic education began, Carlo still wanted his child to have a good memory.

After all the courses were taught, it was impossible for Prince Juan Fernando to have enough free time to be naughty.

Because the courses were enough to keep him very busy, it was impossible to finish all the courses prepared by Carlo within the specified time without putting in some effort.

Just after Christmas, Carlo received a telegram from Manuel.

During this period, the two colonial garrison regiments mobilized by Carlo from the South Morocco Colony and the Guinea Colony had arrived in the Congo Territory, and Manuel officially started the formation of the colonial division.

At present, Manuel already has three colonial garrison regiments with nearly 7,000 troops, which is barely enough to guard the 70,000 indigenous laborers harvested in the last operation.

It is worth mentioning that Andrew, the deputy that Carlo found for Manuel, is still in the Philippine Colony at this time.

Because the Philippine Colony also needs to provide more than 5,000 soldiers to the Congo Territory, Andrew needs to recruit 5,000 soldiers first, and then take these soldiers to the Congo Territory.

The same is true for the South Morocco Colony. According to the current speed of organizing personnel in the two colonies, Manuel has the hope of obtaining these 10,000 soldiers in two months and officially completing the formation of the colonial division.

Of course, formation is formation, and it will take a long time for the 20,000-man colonial army to form combat effectiveness.

The reason why Carlo transferred two colonial garrison regiments to Manuel was not only to give him enough manpower to ensure the stability of the Congo territory, but also to let these veterans train new recruits so that the colonial division could have combat effectiveness faster.

With the formation of the colonial division, the army will also have many more vacancies for basic officers at the level of company commanders and platoon leaders. Including company commanders and higher-level officers, of course, they will still be held by Spanish officers.

It just so happens that the Royal Military Academy trains hundreds of outstanding graduates every year. Selecting some military academy graduates to go to various colonial armies for training can not only solve the problem of vacancies in grassroots officers in the colonial army, but also give these military academy graduates more room for advancement.

After spending a few years in the colonial army, you will definitely be promoted when you are transferred back to Spain. This is definitely a good opportunity for those military academy graduates who have no background and can only rely on their own efforts to get promoted.

Moreover, compared with Spain's mainland, the Spanish colonies are more likely to face war. Even if it is just a small-scale war at the level of indigenous rebellion, as long as you can win, you will still have the credit.

As long as you have merit, whether it is promotion of military rank or acquisition of land and title, it is very promising, which is why Carlo is not worried about the opposition of those military academy graduates.

The conditions in the colonies are of course very difficult, but it depends on who they are. For the Spaniards, the biggest disadvantage of the colonies is the lack of medical conditions, but this is not much different in Spain.

The medical technology of this era is just like this. If there are any more serious diseases, basically you can only leave it to fate.

In addition to the major problem of poor medical environment, the only disadvantage of the colonies is the lack of supplies. However, the government will still guarantee the supply of supplies for the army. In addition to these problems, the preferential treatment that the Spaniards receive in the colonies is still quite generous.

After handling some government affairs and properly arranging domestic affairs in Spain, Carlo took a warship to Italy again.

Unlike the last time, Carlo did not bring any family members with him this time. Both Queen Sophie and the two little ones had to stay in the Royal Palace of Madrid.

The reason for not bringing them was that they had been there last time, and Carlo also considered the itinerary after returning from Italy.

In the past few years since he became the King of Spain, Carlo has made very few foreign diplomatic visits. Taking this opportunity, Carlo decided to take a trip to Europe to deepen his ties with several allies, and at the same time, try to reach cooperation with powerful countries such as Britain, France and Germany to get some benefits from them.

At present, there are two major competitive confrontations on the European continent, namely the confrontation between Britain and Russia and the confrontation between Germany and France.

Not to mention Britain and Russia, the confrontation between these two powers is concentrated in the Balkan Peninsula and Central Asia, and has nothing to do with Spain.

The confrontation between Germany and France is mainly reflected in the policy of isolating France formulated by German Prime Minister Bismarck. There are four great powers around France. Except for Spain, the other three powers do not have such a good relationship with France.

Needless to say, the relationship between France and Germany is natural. The establishment of Germany was completed by stepping on the heads of the French.

The relationship between France and Italy is not good either. Previously, France firmly controlled Rome, the current capital of Italy, by supporting the Papal States.

If it were not for the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Italy would have to wait longer to complete its unification. Even so, Vittorio Emanuele II reluctantly ceded the Savoy region, the ancestral home of the Savoy family, for the unification of Italy. This also made the European people have a joke about the Italian royal family, the Savoy family, that is, the origin of the name of the Savoy family-the Savoy region does not belong to Savoy.

Because of this, the relationship between France and Italy is not good. France wants to break through the encirclement created by Germany for it, and Spain, its neighbor to the south, has become a very important link.

If Spain also joins in the isolation of France, France will be completely blocked by Germany.

You know, although the main contradictions in Europe are reflected in the contradictions between Britain and Russia and between Germany and France, there are many contradictions between Britain and France.

Let’s not talk about the Hundred Years’ War, which is quite old. In the Napoleonic era, when the French were proud of it, Britain and France were fierce enemies.

Even several times, the anti-French alliance was formed by the British. The most intense contradiction during this period was the contradiction between Britain and France.

That is, France failed in the Franco-Prussian War, otherwise Britain’s biggest enemy would not be Russia, but France.

At this time, Germany had not shown enough threats to Britain, which also led to the fact that Germany, France and Russia were all on the British defense list.

The British character and foreign policy have always been like this. They advocate suppressing whoever is strong and winning over whoever is weak.

At present, neither side of the competition between Germany and France has shown an overwhelming advantage, so the British will naturally not attack rashly.

The reason why Britain and France formed an alliance against Germany in history was that Germany’s rapid development after unification allowed its comprehensive strength to quickly surpass France.

At this time, Germany’s comprehensive strength had not yet reached a point far exceeding France. Germany and France are still superpowers of the same level. Even Bismarck tried his best to isolate France because he was afraid of the French retaliation.

If France wants to break Bismarck's diplomatic isolation policy, it can only do so by winning over Spain. As long as Spain does not lean towards Germany, France's southern border will be safe.

The reason why Spain's application for a loan of 500 million francs from France was quickly approved was that the French saw the importance of Spain.

Carlo certainly understood this. Although Carlo did not intend to conclude an alliance with the French, it was still necessary to continue to maintain the cooperation.

No mistakes in one song, one post, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

Although France failed in the Franco-Prussian War, who can deny that France is an extremely powerful superpower?

Compared to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was somewhat at the bottom of the five traditional powers, France is undoubtedly ranked in the top three among the five traditional powers.

Whether in terms of industry or economy, the French have a much deeper foundation than the Austro-Hungarian Empire. France can borrow 500 million francs from Spain while paying 5 billion francs in compensation to Germany, which shows how exaggerated the scale of France's economy is.

Not to mention the former Spain, even the current Spain, it is absolutely impossible for Carlo to come up with 5 billion francs in a short period of time.

It will take at least ten years for Spain to gather 5 billion francs of funds, and it will also have to significantly reduce the fiscal budgets of various departments.

This will definitely have a huge impact on the country's development, and it may even cause Spain to never recover from it.

On the other hand, after paying back the German compensation, France's economy is still booming, which is quite exaggerated.

Shaking off the complicated thoughts in his mind, waiting for the warship to gradually dock, Carlo saw Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo waiting at the port.

Carlo smiled, walked up quickly, and started to greet his two brothers.

When he came back to the suburban estate where Vittorio Emanuele II lived, it was still the same as when he arrived a few months ago.

However, Vittorio Emanuele II, who was lying in bed, looked even weaker, and was even in a coma most of the time.

The old king was skinny, and his originally strong arms were now only skin and bones, which was enough to show the torture of the disease on him.

Alas!

Carlo sighed slightly, but he could do nothing about it.

The medical environment of this era is too bad. Unless you can travel to the future now, symptoms like Vittorio Emanuele II cannot be saved at all.

Even the current medical means cannot find out what disease the old king suffers from. You can only watch him being tortured by the disease helplessly, and then leave the world at a time node that is near or far.

God is fair to people. No matter what your identity is, you will eventually face death at the end of your life.

Vittorio Emanuele II was so high-spirited when he unified Italy, but now he had to face the end of death.

What's worse is that this is a death that was tortured by illness and eventually died. Such a death is the worst for anyone, and Carlo doesn't want his final ending to be like this.

"Is there no way to relieve my father's pain?" Carlo asked.

Crown Prince Umberto shook his head and sighed, saying: "The doctor tried all the methods he could try, but they didn't work.

Maybe this is God's test for my father. After the illness, my father will eventually be led to heaven by God."

After an unknown period of time, Vittorio Emanuele II's turbid eyes opened a little, and he said in a hoarse and trembling voice: "Is Carlo here?"

"I'm here, father." Carlo walked up quickly and sat by Vittorio Emanuele II's bed.

"I thought death was far away from me, but I didn't expect it to be so close. But this is something everyone will experience eventually, and I am not afraid of it.

Odone (Carlo's brother who died young) has experienced this before me, and he may be waiting for me in heaven." Vittorio Emanuele II said with difficulty.

"Father, your body will get better. If there is no expert in Europe who can cure you, I will look for it all over the world. There will always be undiscovered expert doctors who can cure your disease." Carlo comforted.

Vittorio Emanuele II shook his head. At this time, Europe was the most civilized and developed region in the world. If European medical technology could not cure his disease, he did not think that medical technology in other parts of the world could cure his disease.

Vittorio Emanuele II reluctantly sat up and looked at his three sons in front of him, with a satisfied look in his eyes.

Before he inherited the throne of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Savoy family was just an ordinary royal family in northern Italy, and its foundation and status in the European royal family were insufficient.

But as he unified Italy, his son Carlo was elected king of Spain, and all this changed.

The House of Savoy became a huge dynasty with the thrones of two powerful countries, and the House of Savoy also became a powerful existence in the European royal family.

Vittorio Emanuele II was quite satisfied to be able to do this. He only hoped that after his death, the glory of the House of Savoy would continue to be passed on.

As long as the thrones of the two powerful countries of Italy and Spain can be retained, the House of Savoy will always be among the top ten in the European royal family.

The reason why it is in the top ten is mainly because some of the royal families with a long history in Europe are too scary. The noble families such as Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Romanov, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha are still prominent, and the House of Savoy can only be inferior to these families.

In particular, the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will usher in real glory after the death of Queen Victoria.

According to the rule that sons take their father's surname among European aristocrats, although Queen Victoria belonged to the Hanoverian dynasty, her son Edward would create a new dynasty after inheriting the throne in the future, which would be derived from his father's surname, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

The reason why it is said that there will be glory after the death of Queen Victoria is that in addition to ruling the most powerful power, the British Empire, in the future, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family also ruled Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria and the origin of the family name - the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

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