Chapter 10: Spanish Revolution
The Austro-Prussian War could be said to be the only major event before the Spanish Revolution.
Carlo’s advice achieved very good effectiveness. The harvest was that Vittorio Emanuele II paid even more attention to Carlo’s ideas next, and also allowed Carlo to have greater autonomy.
For Carlo, the most important thing right now was still to find some capable subordinates for himself, at least so that he wouldn’t have to do everything personally.
Although the royal palace also had servants he could command, these were after all his father Vittorio Emanuele II’s servants, and their loyalty might not pass muster.
It wasn’t quite appropriate for Carlo, given his identity, to get to know some senior military officials and generals, but it was no problem to get to know some fellow students from the same class at the military academy.
Besides Giuseppe, who went to the Turin Military Academy to study with Carlo, the only other fellow students from the same class whom Carlo could consider familiar right now were Andrew Rosso, who majored in infantry, and Camann Esposito, who majored in artillery.
These two guys were about the same age as Carlo, and they were also Carlo’s best companions among the entire military academy.
Andrew Rosso was a short, chubby little guy. Although he appeared honest and straightforward on the outside, this fellow had no shortage of crooked ideas. Carlo valued his quick wit, and his ideas could be described as wildly imaginative.
Camann Esposito, on the other hand, was the complete opposite—tall and skinny, with a malnourished look.
If Carlo hadn’t known that Camann’s background was such that he wouldn’t go hungry, he might even suspect that this guy had starved himself thin day after day.
The two guys, one fat and one thin, plus Giuseppe who was already in his twenties, were the assistants Carlo could temporarily rely on in his plan.
The backgrounds of the Fat and Skinny Two Heavenly Kings were reliable. Both were Savoyards, and after the Savoy region was ceded to France, their families had moved to Turin.
Whether Savoy or Turin, both were major bases of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was also the reason the two of them could enter the Turin Military Academy.
Carlo’s attire and demeanor were worlds apart from the ordinary students at the military academy. Perhaps the two had noticed some clues, but they had the tacit understanding not to mention it.
After all, if Carlo wanted them to know, he would naturally tell them proactively. Since he hadn’t told them now, it naturally wasn’t yet time for them to know.
After the Austro-Prussian War ended, Carlo’s daily schedule became very simple. Apart from occasionally asking Loren about the newspaper office’s layout and development, Carlo spent most of his time traveling between the military academy and the Turin Royal Palace, occasionally inviting Andrew, Camann, and Giuseppe to hold gatherings. The days were not exciting, but they were still flavorful enough.
And in the constant military academy studies, Carlo also discovered the only possible change in himself from crossing over until now—that was, his physical fitness had greatly improved.
This body before had been a sickly weakling, with frequent major illnesses and constant minor ones.
But ever since Carlo came to this world, not only had his body completely recovered, but he had even become somewhat more robust through the military academy’s exercises.
Carlo’s three meals a day had never been meager, and with no lack of nutrition, although he was only 15 years old, his height had already reached 7 meters, which counted as a standard tall guy.
Combined with his handsome appearance, as well as the noble temperament of a royal family member and his vast wealth from many talents, Carlo became the object of admiration for a host of Italian noble young ladies.
It was just that this body’s age was still too young; otherwise, Carlo wouldn’t be able to hold back against these noble young ladies’ flirtatious glances.
However, flirtation was flirtation; for the candidate of his future wife, Carlo still wanted to consider it carefully.
Although the West didn’t engage in sky-high betrothal gifts, it was undeniable that a good wife could indeed bring him enormous benefits.
The country behind the wife would similarly be Carlo’s boost, and Carlo hoped even more to choose a princess from two even more powerful countries, Germany and Russia, for marriage.
As for the current European hegemon France, it was not within Carlo’s consideration. If the Franco-Prussian War developed as in history, the French royal family wouldn’t exist for a few more years.
The study period at the Turin Military Academy was 3 years, after which one could basically enter the Italian army as a junior officer.
Of course, if entering the Turin Military Academy for further study as an active-duty officer or soldier, it only took two years to graduate, and one’s military rank would be promoted by at least one level.
Carlo was of course the first type. If enrolling in 1866, he would have to wait until 1869 to graduate.
However, this didn’t conflict with Carlo’s plan. After all, the Spanish Revolution broke out in 1868, and only after the First Spanish Republic fell would the monarchy be restored in Spain.
After graduating from the military academy in 1869, Carlo would still have one year left. By the time Amadeo historically became King of Spain, Carlo would also turn 19, fitting within Spain’s range for selecting a king.
In the busy military academy life, time passed quickly as well.
On May 30, 1867, Carlo attended his brother Amadeo’s wedding to Maria Vitoria Porzopozzo and gave them gifts.
The marriage alliances between European royal families in this era were still very chaotic. If Carlo remembered correctly, his brother Amadeo’s second wife was his own sister’s daughter, Marie Letizia Bonaparte.
There were no major events in 1867, but 1868 internationally was very lively.
First, US President Andrew Johnson became the first president in US history to be impeached by Congress, but he was lucky to escape impeachment by one vote and continued to remain in the presidential seat.
Compared to this lucky US president, Spanish Queen Isabel II was not so fortunate.
As the first-generation sun-never-sets empire that had already exited the historical stage, Spain’s decadent kingdom rule had already developed an extremely serious polarized situation.
The aristocracy lived extravagantly and wastefully, making fortunes in railway investment and real estate investment. Merely a guard from Andalusia had his residence in Madrid mocked by the public as being covered in embedded diamonds, which was enough to prove the luxurious lifestyle of the Spanish aristocracy.
But in stark contrast was the hard life of the Spanish peasant class and worker class. Farmers had only land use rights without ownership, and the poor economy caused Spanish factories to constantly go bankrupt.
Impoverished farmers and workers erupted in one parade and uprising after another, which were brutally suppressed by the Spanish government, but the public’s outrage kept accumulating.
Finally, the outrage was ignited.
In September 1868, Francisco Serrano, leading exiled soldiers and Juan Bautista Topete, who had once been elected to parliament, led their supporters in launching a larger-scale uprising.
Because it broke out in September, this revolution was also called the September Revolution by the Spanish people.
The decadent kingdom government was fundamentally unable to suppress the explosive revolution. Farmers and workers actively and enthusiastically joined this uprising, sweeping through most of Spain in a short time.
Even more fatal was that Spanish Queen Isabel II’s control over the army was not so perfect.
For this absurd, luxurious, and promiscuous queen, the soldiers had no favorable impressions. The large-scale defection of government army troops on the battlefield accelerated the Spanish revolutionary process, and the Kingdom of Spain fell.
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