Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 194: Harsh Punishment

The matter of forming a temporary cabinet government was assigned to Grand Duke Serrano and Cánovas, while Carlo was more concerned with dealing with the rebel nobles.

There is nothing to say to these rebel nobles; the perfect process is to abolish their titles, confiscate all their property, execute the leaders, and imprison the accomplices.

However, since nearly a hundred nobles are being dealt with, including high-ranking nobles like Dukes and Marquises, it is still necessary to stabilize the emotions of other nobles.

At least, it must not cause panic throughout the aristocracy, as the aristocracy’s cooperation will still be needed to rule Spain.

It is worth mentioning that the reason the rebel nobles used to incite workers’ parades was the exploitation of workers by capital, which further deepened the conflict between the aristocracy and the capitalist class.

For Carlo, this is good news. Landowning nobility in Spain will eventually become history; future nobles will be more involved in finance and industry, forming new capital forces.

And it will be difficult for noble capital and private capital to unite after this rebellion. Making noble capital and private capital confront each other will not only effectively limit the strength of the capitalist class but also allow the Royal Family to act as a mediator between the two forces.

As long as the balance is maintained well, both future nobles and capitalists will become assets to the Royal Family. The Royal Family, as the mediator between the two capitals, can even further win over the workers.

A monarchical government supported by the working class and the farmer class, how can such a fight be lost?

At noon on November 7th, the Spanish government first sealed factories involved in exploiting workers and withholding their salaries, and then appropriated funds to pay all workers’ salaries in those factories in full. When distributing the salaries, government officials specifically mentioned that the full payment of salaries was an order from Carlo. This move immediately delighted the workers, who had been tense, and they were filled with gratitude towards their King, Carlo.

For those workers injured during the parades, Carlo also offered free medical assistance. Although ostensibly this money was to be paid by the Royal Family and the government, in reality, a fraction of the confiscated property from nobles and officials was sufficient.

The reason for covering the medical expenses of the injured workers was also to mend the rift between the government and the workers caused by the armed conflict during the parades.

Regardless of the initial purpose of the workers’ parades, once they clashed with the police, it was inevitable that a rift, even hatred, would form between them.

Carlo could only do his best to repair such rifts and redirect the workers’ hatred towards the government onto the capitalists and the Bourbon family that instigated the rebellion.

While Carlo appeased public sentiment through various means, the Sun Newspaper and the National Daily published news explaining the reasons for the internal strife, identifying the Bourbon family, which triggered the rebellion, and the capitalists who withheld workers’ salaries as the culprits.

The workers also desperately needed a reason to absolve themselves; regardless of their intentions, large-scale parades and armed conflicts were indeed caused by them.

In this way, the workers’ resentment was smoothly redirected towards the Bourbon family and the capitalists, with little blame cast upon the government.

Even if there was a considerable conflict between the police and the workers, it was due to the incitement of the Bourbon family and the withholding of salaries by capitalists.

If the capitalists had not withheld workers’ salaries, and if the Bourbon family had not incited this parade, none of this would have happened.

Under the guidance of this public opinion, the Bourbon family quickly became a figure of public outcry in Spain, completely shattering their hopes of a restoration.

For at least the next 50 years, the workers and farmers of Spain will firmly remember the damage caused by the Bourbon family’s incitement of internal strife to the Spanish government and public.

The casualties of nearly a thousand people from both the police and worker groups were largely redirected as hatred towards the Bourbon family.

Of course, some capitalists also ended up as scapegoats. Although they were not involved in this incident, due to the extreme anger of the workers, many factories were damaged by the workers, suffering significant losses.

For all of this, Carlo could only offer them an apology in his heart. However, even though they were innocent victims in this event, if they had never withheld workers’ salaries or exploited them, how could the workers’ outrage have been directed at them?

After resolving the impact of the workers’ parades, Carlo immediately began dealing with the rebel nobles and officials involved in the incident.

To avoid panic among the nobility, it is necessary to set a scope before purging these nobles and officials.

As soon as Carlo returned to Spain, he had informed Duke Jacopo to notify all nobles in the Royal Council to attend a meeting to discuss methods of dealing with the rebel nobles and to appease the other nobles.

Duke Jacopo obediently followed instructions, notifying almost all the nobles he could reach in the Royal Council and asking them to come to Spain for the meeting as soon as possible.

The meeting was scheduled for the morning of November 9th, and any noble on the Spanish Mainland would have had ample time to attend.

It was unnecessary to notify nobles who were overseas and far away; however, the outcome of the meeting would be made public to all nobles, so that those who did not participate in the rebellion could be completely reassured.

On the morning of November 9th, the meeting of the Royal Council officially began.

This meeting gathered the vast majority of Spanish nobles, including dozens of Grand Dukes of noble status, hundreds of nobles with long histories and distinguished positions, and a large number of Marquises and Counts.

Barons were completely ignored in such a meeting venue; they could only sit in the farthest corners of the hall, only listen, and had no right to speak.

The number of nobles in Spain is extremely large. Even though nearly a hundred nobles rebelled this time, there were still nearly a thousand other nobles in Spain who were not affected.

The number of nobles attending this meeting totaled 600 people, and the land held by these 600 people was greater than the land held by all Spanish farmers.

It is no exaggeration to say that the property possessed by the people in the venue was greater than the property possessed by everyone else in Spain outside the meeting hall.

This is also the best manifestation of a country’s wealth being continuously concentrated in the hands of a few. The Spanish nobility, a class that numbered only in the thousands at its peak, controlled wealth that was immeasurable to ordinary people.

Even the inconspicuous Barons in the meeting, while their wealth might not be remarkable compared to other nobles, represented a lifetime of wealth that commoners could not earn.

Around 8:30 AM, as a contingent of guards lined up outside the meeting venue, Carlo officially arrived.

Accompanied by Grand Duke Serrano, Count Cánovas, Duke Jacopo, and others, Carlo walked directly to the center of the meeting hall.

Here, there was a podium raised nearly a meter above the ground, where the things Carlo would mention during the meeting had already been placed.

After stepping onto the podium, Carlo did not rush to speak. Instead, he scanned all the nobles with a calm gaze. After most of them nervously lowered their heads, Carlo slowly began to speak: “

Gentlemen, something shocking has happened in Spain recently. Some among the nobles I trusted have betrayed me and intended to collude with the Bourbon family to subvert my rule.

To oppose me, they did not hesitate to instigate worker parades involving tens of thousands of people and triggered conflicts between workers and the government.

This incident has caused immeasurable losses to Spain and has exacerbated the public’s suspicion and hostility towards the government.

It is truly unimaginable that there are such vermin and scoundrels among the aristocracy I trusted. If this incident had not occurred, how long would they have remained hidden among you?

Tell me, my trusted nobles, are you still loyal to me?”

“We are willing to spill our last drop of blood for Your Majesty,” Grand Duke Serrano stepped forward at the opportune moment and loudly proclaimed his oath.

The other nobles were not foolish and followed suit, shouting loudly along with Grand Duke Serrano.

Carlo nodded, a smile appearing on his face, and said, “Of course, I trust you all. Gentlemen, this incident was merely an accident, but it allowed us to discover some vermin and scoundrels within the aristocracy.

As long as we sweep them out, the aristocracy will remain trusted by me, and of course, an indispensable part of this country.

Now, let us discuss how to deal with these vermin and scoundrels. And how to prevent such vermin and scoundrels from reappearing and damaging the prestige and status of the entire aristocracy.”

Many of the proposed measures for dealing with these rebel nobles had already been decided. For instance, their titles would be stripped, and their property confiscated.

What the nobles were asked to discuss was how to deal with these rebel nobles. Whether to execute or imprison them, and whom to execute and whom to imprison, were all matters that these nobles had to vote on.

The reason for letting these nobles participate in the vote was to show them the consequences of resisting Carlo’s rule. Carlo did believe in the aristocracy and was willing to utilize them.

However, all of this was contingent upon the Spanish nobles being willing to submit to Carlo’s rule and remain loyal to him.

Many nobles understood this, and thus in the subsequent vote, they overwhelmingly chose to deal with the rebel nobles harshly.

After all, Carlo had set the tone before the meeting began: these rebel nobles were merely vermin and nuisances within the aristocracy, and they did not represent the aristocracy itself.

This also implied that the purge of the rebel nobles would not extend to other nobles. As long as the nobles did not participate in this rebellion, they were safe and would not be affected in the slightest.

The final voting results satisfied Carlo.

More than 600 nobles participated in this meeting, and the vast majority of them agreed to severe punishment. Most of the remaining people also abandoned their right to vote, as the relationships among nobles were complex, and it was quite normal for them to be relatives of each other.

After receiving the final voting results, Carlo’s face showed no change in expression. He said as if he didn’t care, “Alright, according to everyone’s votes, the punishment for these rebel nobles will be handled severely.”

Since that is the case, I, as the King of Spain, declare the abolition of nobility titles for all nobles who participated in the rebellion and their families, the confiscation of all property belonging to the rebel nobles and their families, and the imprisonment of all rebel nobles and their families.

Nobles who personally participate in this rebellion will all be executed by death penalty, and will be executed by different methods of death penalty. Their families will be permanently imprisoned, and their nobility titles will not be restored, nor will they be released, unless they have made significant contributions to the country and the royal family.

I hope everyone will remember this lesson, this lesson that severely damaged the hopes and status of the aristocracy.

Spain needs the strength of the aristocracy, but not its vermin and scourges. I hope the Royal Council can strengthen supervision over all nobles, preventing such cases from continuing to appear among the aristocracy in the future.

“Additionally, I intend to reorganize the Royal Council and merge it with the Spanish Senate to form a Royal Senate, which, along with the House of Representatives, will serve as the upper and lower houses of Spain. What are your thoughts on this?”

If the severe punishment of the rebel nobles was a heavy blow to the aristocracy, then the reorganization of the Royal Council and its incorporation into the Senate was a sugar-coated pill for the aristocracy.

The previous Royal Council did not belong to the Spanish Parliament, but was an organizational institution established by Carlo to supervise the aristocracy.

Besides regulating the aristocracy, the Royal Council had no power, and nobles who joined the Royal Council were instead supervised, with no other benefits beyond that.

And after being incorporated into the Senate, these nobles who joined the Royal Council will become members of the Royal Senate.

Although it is impossible for all these more than 600 nobles to become members of the Senate, it also means that a considerable portion of the nobles will join the Senate.

Although the Senate’s power in the upper and lower houses was not as great, that was also relative.

The Spanish Senate, after its merger with the Royal Council, will certainly have more power than the previous Senate. Carlo merged the Senate and the Royal Council for a reason, which was precisely to counterbalance the House of Representatives through the Royal Senate.

The Prime Minister of Spain is elected by the House of Representatives, and most members of the cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister. The cabinet government is responsible to the House of Representatives, which allows the House of Representatives’ power to grow infinitely, and the political party controlling the House of Representatives can even influence the cabinet government to an unlimited extent.

This was something Carlo was unwilling to see. Not everyone who wielded power was as unattached to it as Prime Minister Primó; many were blinded by self-interest and ultimately headed down the path of sidelining the King or even establishing a dictatorship.

To prevent this situation from occurring, using the Senate to check the House of Representatives is a good method.

The House of Representatives has legislative power, but the Senate can veto the House of Representatives’ legislative power. Furthermore, the Senate has the power to supervise officials, including the Prime Minister, who are all under the supervision of the House of Representatives.

Even the power to impeach officials and the Prime Minister belongs to the Senate, greatly ensuring that the Senate can check and balance the House of Representatives.

After the merger of the Senate and the Royal Council, the nobles will become the majority in the Senate. Since the nobles are also under Carlo’s command, this means Carlo will directly control the Spanish Senate.

Based on Spain’s regulations for prime ministerial elections, if no one can obtain the majority of votes, the Senate will participate in the election of the prime minister.

This also means that Carlo will have a significant right to speak in future elections for the Prime Minister of Spain. Combined with certain military power, this can ensure that the Spanish monarchy is passed down for many generations on a foundation of considerable power.

As Carlo had predicted, upon hearing that Carlo wished to merge the Senate and the Royal Council, many nobles showed expressions of delight.

If some nobles can become Senators, this also represents that the power of the aristocracy will be strengthened. Although such power is far inferior to the period of noble privileges, it is still a considerable improvement compared to before.

More importantly, once the nobles entered the Senate, they could reject proposals that harmed the interests of the nobility by forming alliances, rather than being powerless to resist after the government proposed some policies as before.

This was also the true intention behind Carlo giving this candy. The Senate had no legislative power, and the nobles were unable to propose legislation that would benefit themselves.

However, because they possess the power to reject legislation, they can reject proposals that are harmful to them. This ensures that the entire aristocracy retains a certain influence that can be utilized by the monarchy, while also ensuring that the nobles do not gain too much influence, thereby threatening royal authority.

It could even form a natural antagonism between the nobles and the House of Representatives, leading the nobles to actively oppose and check the House of Representatives, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

Seeing that some nobles were tempted, Carlo then said, “The matter of merging the Senate and the Royal Council is just an idea of mine.

The parliament has now been dissolved, so there is enough time to think about this issue. If any of you have relevant thoughts and suggestions regarding the merger of the Senate and the Royal Council, you can also submit them to me.

All right, the main objectives of today’s meeting have been completed. I hope everyone can carefully consider the lessons learned from this incident to prevent it from happening again.

Everyone, the stability of the country requires the support of all of you. I hope all Nobles can contribute, for the stability and peace of Spain, for the dream of making Spain great again, let’s all work hard together.

If there are any further clues about the rebel nobles, they can also be submitted to Director Cadillac. After this incident, Spain will enter a new chapter, and I do not wish for any further accidents to occur.

“Alright, everyone, the meeting is over, you can all disperse.”

After Carlo finished speaking, he was the first to walk out of the venue, followed closely by Grand Duke Serrano and Count Canovas.

At the end was a squadron of guards, respectfully following their King back to the Royal Palace, leaving only the nobles with various expressions in the hall still discussing in hushed tones.

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