Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 73: Visiting Italy

After confirming that the Electricity Laboratory and Engine Research Office were both operating in an orderly manner, Carlo finally breathed a sigh of relief and decided to personally go abroad to attract some talent to join Spain.

Speaking of which, since Carlo became King of Spain, he had not left Spain until now.

The current situation in Spain had stabilized, and with Primó and Serrano, the two big shots, in charge domestically, there was naturally no need to worry about any accidents in Spain.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Carlo decided to return to Italy, on one hand to conduct a diplomatic visit to the Italian Government, and on the other hand to attract a group of Italian technical talents and scientists to Spain.

The reason for choosing Italy first was that the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, was Carlo’s father, who would to some extent help Carlo’s talent attraction plan.

Although Italy’s overall illiteracy rate was very high, most of what dragged down the level were the farmers in Southern Italy.

If looking only at the industry, economy, and education in the Northern Italy region, it could only be said that the original reforms of the Kingdom of Sardinia were very successful, which was also the reason why the Kingdom of Sardinia ultimately unified Italy.

Compared to the corrupt and tyrannical Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the more enlightened and powerful Kingdom of Sardinia also received more support from those who supported Italian unification, including Italy’s true God of War, Garibaldi.

Yes, another purpose of Carlo going to Italy was to poach some military talents from Garibaldi.

The current Giuseppe had been promoted to Regimental Commander of the Royal Guard, and his military abilities also satisfied Carlo greatly. In fact, many talents had emerged from the Red Army formed by Garibaldi, and many of them later in Italy became Members of Parliament or even Cabinet Ministers, with some even becoming Prime Minister.

If he could attract a few talents to pledge loyalty to Carlo, the people available to Carlo would be more sufficient.

Considering the successful reforms of the Kingdom of Sardinia, when Primó heard that Carlo was going to visit Italy, not only did he not refuse, but he also requested that Carlo bring some officials to learn advanced experience in Italian reforms.

Italy was, after all, a Great Power, so there must be places worth learning from for Spain. Moreover, Italy was actually not weak in industry and economy; it was just that after integration, the per capita was pulled down.

Even in military industry, Italy was quite powerful, and the research and development and manufacturing capabilities of the Italian Navy were also top-notch in Europe, far surpassing Spain’s current level.

In this way, Carlo’s original visit delegation expanded rapidly from a scale of less than 200 people to over

To protect the safety of Carlo and the entire visit delegation, the accompanying army also expanded from a Guard of about 100 people to an army of over

After all, it was the king leading a large group of officials on a formal diplomatic visit, and the Spanish Government attached great importance to it.

Most of Spain’s originally small navy was dispatched to escort the steamship carrying the king and a large number of officials.

On the other side in Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II also received the news of Carlo’s request for a diplomatic visit.

There was no reason to refuse such a request, so Vittorio Emanuele II decisively had the government approve Spain’s diplomatic request and ordered the government to prepare for receiving Carlo.

Carlo was originally a Prince of Italy and was now King of Spain, so the etiquette for receiving him naturally could not be low.

Looking at the smile on the king’s face upon hearing the news of Spain’s diplomatic visit, the current Italian Prime Minister Giovanni immediately understood the etiquette for receiving Carlo.

Was there even a need to ask? Everything should be done to the highest standard.

It was another familiar yet uncomfortable sea voyage. The sailing speed of ships in this era was not slow by any means, but the bumpy and swaying feeling at sea made Carlo somewhat irritable.

The good news was that Spain and Italy were not far apart, so this uncomfortable sea journey wouldn’t take long.

Rome.

The port of Rome on this day was extraordinarily lively. Italian Prime Minister Giovanni and Crown Prince Umberto personally waited at the port for Carlo’s arrival, giving full respect to Carlo and Spain.

Watching a steamship slowly approach the port under the escort of Spanish warships, Crown Prince Umberto’s mood was slightly complex.

He hadn’t expected that his younger brother, who had been sickly since childhood, would become a king even earlier than him, while he still had to wait who knows how much longer to become king.

However, as the eldest son and Crown Prince, Umberto’s future throne was still quite secure. His mood was complex, but he didn’t have too much jealousy toward Carlo.

Once the steamship was steady, the Royal Guard came down first, forming ranks to await Carlo respectfully.

Under everyone’s gaze, Carlo slowly stepped onto the port, followed by several Spanish officials.

Prime Minister Giovanni and Crown Prince Umberto quickly stepped forward, showing the etiquette of hosts: “Your Majesty Carlo!” “Carlo!”

“Crown Prince Umberto! Prime Minister Giovanni!” Carlo also smiled and walked forward, exchanging greetings with the two.

“Prime Minister Giovanni, there’s no need to be so formal. For me, returning to Italy is like coming home.” Carlo said with a smile.

The several Italian officials following behind Prime Minister Giovanni demonstrated the Italian Government’s attitude of importance toward Carlo, which made Carlo quite happy.

If he recruited some talents in Italy, the Italian Government probably wouldn’t mind too much, right?

After all, Italy’s population was much larger than Spain’s, and the education in Northern Italy was much better than Spain’s. Some ordinary talents shouldn’t be too valued.

Moreover, besides being King of Spain, Carlo was also the noble Duke of Cabray of Italy.

This was also a characteristic of European nobles: although a king’s nobility title far exceeded that of a duke, a king could also concurrently hold the title of duke.

Before Spain completed its reforms, the titles of the King of Spain were also quite complex.

Carlo’s predecessor, Queen Isabella, had an extremely long list of noble titles, including not only multiple kingly titles such as Castile, Leon, Aragon, etc., but also many ducal and comital titles.

However, after Queen Isabella, the rulers of Spain only had the title of King of Spain, with all other titles integrated into it.

Prime Minister Giovanni did not claim credit for preparing the grand welcome ceremony himself, but instead attributed all the merit to King Emanuele and Crown Prince Umberto: “This was all instructed by His Majesty the King and Your Highness the Crown Prince; I merely carried it out.

But I still want to say, respected Your Majesty Carlo, welcome back to Italy.”

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