Empire Rise: Spain-Chapter 31: Undercurrents Surge

Primó, who received Carlo’s full support, was brimming with confidence, and that very night he stayed up late working overtime to revise his reform plan.
Since capitalists and the Church were destined to be enemies of the Spanish Government, there was absolutely no need to consider their opinions during the reforms.
On January 3, 1870, the Spanish Government applied to Parliament for additional military expenses, which were successively approved by Parliament and Carlo.
At this time, Primó still controlled the majority of seats in Parliament, so this process was really just a simple formality.
After obtaining this additional military funding, Primó immediately dispatched a diplomatic mission abroad to purchase weapons and equipment and cannons.
In Primó’s plan, the Krupp cannons, which had been tested in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, were the top choice for the Spanish Army.
However, considering that Prussia was engaged in a war with France, Primó also had a backup plan: the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Italy.
Although the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army was not impressive, Italy still had some research and development capabilities in weapons and equipment.
If it was impossible to purchase the most advanced cannons from Krupp, buying a batch of substitutes from Italy would barely suffice.
On January 11, 1870, the Spanish Sun Newspaper ed a story about a certain factory that had been exploiting workers’ labor for a long time and deducting workers’ salaries.
Such s were very common in contemporary Spanish society and initially did not attract the attention of Spaniards.
But soon after, a large number of newspaper offices in Madrid also published similar stories, and most of the s came from that initial factory.
Soon, the continuous s attracted the attention of Madrid citizens.
The workers who had suffered greatly also began to speak out, demanding that the government guarantee timely payment of salaries to all workers in Spain.
After successfully attracting the attention of Spaniards, on January 15, a certain House of Representatives member of Parliament from the Liberal Party submitted a《Spanish Labor Law draft》 document to Parliament, demanding that Parliament enact relevant legislation to guarantee that workers receive their due salaries and treatment.
This document stirred up a thousand waves with a single stone, immediately sparking intense discussion in Parliament.
Of course, because Primó controlled the majority of seats in Parliament, this《Spanish Labor Law draft》 ultimately received the majority of approval votes.
On January 16, 1870, the Spanish Government issued a document on the《Spanish Enterprise Management Regulations》, announcing preliminary control over all enterprises and factories in Spain in accordance with the labor law.
This decree elicited cheers from all workers and laborers around Madrid, also signifying that the government valued their opinions.
But for factory owners and capitalists in Madrid and even throughout Spain, it was not so pleasant. According to the decree issued by the government, they had to pay salaries to workers and laborers weekly, and those who withheld salaries would be penalized by the Spanish Government.
This was something that had never happened before in Spain. Although paying full salaries would not cause these enterprises and factories to lose money, for capitalists, earning a little more was certainly better than earning a little less.
Wasn’t this decree from the government just taking money from their pockets? And giving it to those useless workers.
The capitalists, whose paths to wealth were blocked, were all unhappy and intended to incite workers to launch parades demanding that the government repeal the newly promulgated decree.
But the workers were not fools. The government’s decree was clearly for their benefit, so how could they possibly stand up and oppose the government that supported them?
Seeing that they could not incite workers to launch parades, the capitalists finally panicked. They gathered one after another, trying to salvage the situation with other methods.
On January 18, inside a certain factory in Madrid.
“Daniel, what are we going to do? If we really pay salaries weekly as the government says, my factory will go bankrupt!” The factory owner Giron was sitting in the office with a pained expression, next to him was his friend, also a factory owner, Daniel.
“Don’t worry, buddy. It’s not just you and me who have to pay salaries.” Daniel smiled, appearing not panicked at all.
“Damn it, do you have any good ideas? Daniel. I don’t want to pay those damn workers every week, that’s my money, my money!” Giron turned his gaze to his friend, who usually had quite a few tricks up his sleeve.
“I told you not to worry, buddy.” The smile on Daniel’s face did not fade at all, exuding confidence: “Think about it carefully, are we the only ones who need to pay salaries? No, it’s all factory owners in Spain, how many people is that?
You don’t want to pay salaries, I don’t want to pay salaries, do you think they want to pay salaries for those workers?
Just watch, if our Majesty Carlo forgets who put him on the throne, we won’t mind letting Spain change owners.”
“Oh, damn, your idea is to rebel?” Giron was stunned for a moment, looking at Daniel in disbelief.
“Why not, my friend? We made Isabella step down from the throne, and we can do the same to Carlo. Spain should be ruled by capital, we are the real masters of this country, aren’t we?” Daniel smiled and nodded, completely unconcerned by his friend’s surprised look.
“Damn right.” Thinking about having to pay those workers weekly, Giron’s last vestiges of rational thought turned completely mad, and he nodded in agreement with Daniel, then said angrily: “No matter who wants to take money from my wallet, he will be my enemy, God included.”
“Well done, buddy.” Daniel’s laughter grew louder: “Just watch, Primó and Carlo will both regret it, because they have offended the true masters of this country.”
The surging undercurrents were not limited to Madrid; the Catalan region and Basque Country were also affected.
The Carlist faction, which had plagued Spain for decades, was hidden in the Catalan region and ready at any moment to march into Madrid and ascend to the throne of Spain.
The current leader of the Carlist faction, who claimed to be the King of Spain “Carlos VII,” smiled with a hint of impatience: “Thank God, I finally got my chance. That damn Primó abandoned support for the Bourbon family, he and that fake king Carlo both deserve to be sent to the guillotine!”
“Your Majesty, the army in Catalonia is ready at any time to march to Madrid for you. Spain has only one king, and that is the great King Carlos VII of the Bourbon family!” The subordinate beside him flattered him timely, speaking to “Carlos VII” with a fawning expression.
Second update, seeking support!