Chapter 99 Future Plans for Agriculture

The good news is that most of the cabinet ministers know that Carlo does not interfere much in government affairs, so few ministers come to the palace to meet Carlo at the beginning of each year to seek more departmental budgets.

The bad news is that every time they compete for the budget at the beginning of the year, the ministers seem to have forgotten Carlo on their own initiative. This is a huge blow to Carlo's influence in the government, and it also means that many ministers in the cabinet government are not so loyal to Carlo.

Everyone seems to be serving Prime Minister Primo, but it is only because Prime Minister Primo supports Carlo's monarchical rule that they also support the Spanish monarchy in disguise.

Fortunately, Antonio Canovas del Castillo, the Minister of Agriculture who has just taken office, still knows the limits. With the arrival of 1871, Antonio Canovas del Castillo came to the palace on time to meet Carlo, firstly to report to Carlo the achievements of the agricultural department last year, and to express his loyalty to Carlo.

Secondly, he sought more financial budgets for the agricultural department through Carlo. Regardless of whether it will succeed or not, this trip is definitely going to happen.

Because Antonio Canovas del Castillo's position as Minister of Agriculture was recommended by Carlo himself, he was labeled as a member of Carlo's faction from the beginning.

If he tries to please Prime Minister Primo at this time, not only will there be no good results, but he will offend both Prime Minister Primo and Carlo.

It is better to be loyal to Carlo wholeheartedly. As the Minister of Agriculture appointed by Carlo himself, Prime Minister Primo will not make things difficult for him unless he decides to turn against Carlo.

What's more, Antonio Canovas del Castillo himself is ambitious. He served as a cabinet minister during the reign of Queen Isabel, and naturally he is not satisfied with being a small Minister of Agriculture at this time.

To be honest, his position had already exceeded that of Minister of Agriculture seven years ago. At this time, Antonio Canovas del Castillo was thinking more about how to take a step further and become the Prime Minister of Spain.

To be honest, this is completely achievable. First of all, Canovas is more than ten years younger than Primo and Serrano, so even if he survives, he can still survive until the time when Primo and Serrano retire.

Through the last contact with Carlo, Canovas has long understood that Carlo will not be willing to become a constitutional king without any power.

It will not end well for a powerful prime minister like Primo and a young and ambitious king like Carlo to get together. Even if Carlo will not eventually liquidate Prime Minister Primo, it is certain that he will gradually control the government's voice after Prime Minister Primo.

As the first chess piece that Carlo has planted in the government, Antonio Canovas del Castillo knows his importance to Carlo.

As long as he does not betray Carlo, he will definitely be reused in the future. After all, Antonio Canovas del Castillo represents not only himself, but also many old ministers who have entered the political arena during the reign of Queen Isabel.

The loyalty of these old ministers to the monarchy is beyond doubt. Carlo had doubted their loyalty to him before, but as long as Canovas kept expressing his loyalty and used his influence to make these old ministers return to Carlo's rule, he could become Carlo's confidant.

These old ministers who once served Queen Isabel also had considerable influence in the political arena. By uniting them, Antonio Canovas del Castillo could also achieve his goal, which was to run for the position of Prime Minister of Spain after Prime Minister Primo and become the head of the national government of Spain above one person and below ten thousand people.

Although Carlo did not show it on the surface, he was quite satisfied with Canovas's understanding in his heart. If Canovas did not even figure out the candidate he really needed to be loyal to, then Carlo would have to start reconsidering the candidate for Minister of Agriculture.

Don't doubt people when you employ them, and don't employ people if you doubt them. Once you doubt someone's loyalty, the best choice is to abandon him directly.

If you doubt and reuse him at the same time, unless this person holds real power and is not easy to abandon, otherwise you are dancing on the edge of a knife, and if you are not good at it, it will be a situation where both sides will suffer.

"Minister Canovas, are you used to being the Minister of Agriculture?" Carlo asked with a smile as he looked at Canovas, whose face was full of loyalty.

"I am used to it, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern. Under the leadership of you and Prime Minister Primo, the current Spanish government is developing steadily, and the same is true for the agricultural sector.

So far, there are no too difficult problems in the agricultural sector. Farmers' income is growing steadily, and our grain production is also growing on a small scale." Antonio Canovas del Castillo replied quickly.

Although Carlo only asked whether he was used to the agricultural sector, he still answered the current situation of the agricultural sector.

Although Carlo did not take the initiative to ask about some things, the best way is to report the situation of the agricultural sector truthfully on time.

Although Carlo is not yet 20 years old (birthday on June 2, 1851), Canovas will not simply regard Carlo as a young man under 20 years old.

Although Carlo's political means are still immature, he is definitely a smart man. Since you have decided to be loyal to Carlo in exchange for the opportunity to move to a higher position, don't have any other thoughts. This is also the experience that Canovas' long political career has brought him.

Don't treat others as fools, even if it's just a young king like Carlo who is under 20 years old.

Some political means may deceive Carlo in a short time, but once Carlo finds out, he may face the king's anger and the pursuit of royal power.

Never underestimate the power of a king, even if it is just a king without real power under a constitutional monarchy. It may be troublesome to target a force, but if it is just a person, there are too many means available, and you don't even need to use your own means, you can do it with the help of external forces.

Carlo nodded, very satisfied with his choice of Canovas as Minister of Agriculture. Regardless of other things, Canovas's knowledge has made Carlo quite satisfied.

As for those ministers who despise him, although Carlo will not directly express his attitude, when Prime Minister Primo leaves the center of power, what awaits them will be Carlo's liquidation.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Agriculture does not have many plans for the new year. They are mainly focused on the popularization and promotion of chemical fertilizers and the establishment of a state-owned grain company.

If chemical fertilizers are widely popularized, it is expected that our crop yields can be effectively increased without much change in the total cultivated land area, and the expected growth rate is at least more than 5%.

The state-owned grain company will take over the bulk grain trade, such as being responsible for the import and export of grain. After the tax on farmers is reduced, the next period of time will be a golden development stage for agriculture.

It is expected that my country's total grain output and total cultivated land area will increase in the next three years. We can fully achieve self-sufficiency in grain and seek a certain degree of grain export." Seeing that Carlo was satisfied with his attitude, Antonio Canovas del Castillo began to report the agricultural department's plan for the next year and seek Carlo's attitude.

Due to funding constraints, the agricultural department will not make much progress in the next year. Generally speaking, it will promote the use of chemical fertilizers and develop new fertilizer technologies.

Although the technology of fertilizers has been born for nearly 30 years, the real full commercial use of fertilizers will have to wait until nearly a hundred years later.

At the beginning of the century, Europeans didn't even know how plants grew. It was impossible to popularize the use of chemical fertilizers in just 70 years.

The current mainstream chemical fertilizers are superphosphate and potassium salt. The former was born less than 30 years ago, and the latter was born less than 10 years ago. The relevant technology is still very primitive.

But Spain had no choice at this time. Compared with Britain, France and Germany, which have many plains, Spain has a large land area, but most of the land is plateaus and mountains. The only areas suitable for planting are a small number of mixed mountain plains in the eastern and southern coastal areas.

The barren land has already lagged behind other powerful countries in terms of food production. Although it occupies a larger land, Spain's per capita food production is not much better than that of the powerful countries.

If Spain's climate was not suitable for growing vegetables and fruits, it would be a problem whether it could achieve food self-sufficiency.

At present, the output of vegetables and fruits accounts for 25.7% of the total output of crops in Spain. It is precisely because of such abundant output of vegetables and fruits that the Spanish can seek to eat more abundantly while having enough food to eat.

In addition, because Spain has a large number of coastlines, it can also harvest many seafood products every year.

At this time, there is no need to worry about the impact of nuclear radiation on fish in the ocean. Seafood can basically be eaten with confidence.

Because the train lines around Spain have been fully built, Carlo can also enjoy various seafood products from the seaside.

This also makes Carlo fortunate to be in Spain. If it is in a food desert like the UK, even if there is seafood, it is estimated that it will not be delicious.

Hearing the plan of the agricultural department reported by Canovas for next year, Carlo nodded and had no objection: "I agree with your plan, Minister Canovas.

I hope that Spain's agriculture can achieve continuous growth under your leadership. This is a good thing for Spain and you."

Canovas nodded respectfully. He certainly understood what Carlo was talking about. As the Minister of Agriculture, the stable growth of Spain's agricultural situation is definitely a political achievement for him.

Only after accumulating achievements and reputation in the government can Canovas seek a higher cabinet position, or even compete for the seat of prime minister.

After all, if there is no achievement and reputation, whether it is the vote of the people or the election of the House of Representatives, there is no advantage in competing with others.

To become the prime minister, you must be capable and have the support of the people and the members of the House of Representatives.

If you are not popular, even with the strong support of Carlo, you are destined not to sit on the throne of the Spanish Prime Minister.

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