Empire Rise: Spain-Chapter 45: Winning Over The Nobles

Carlo didn’t have time to appreciate the bustle of Paris.
For Carlo, the most important industry in the future layout had not yet been established, and this had to be put on the agenda.
What industry?
Of course, it was a bank related to finance.
Since the Industrial Revolution, industry and finance had replaced agriculture, becoming the two most profitable industries.
Carlo currently already had more than ten factories, and now it was time to establish his own financial institution to expand his money-making channels.
To establish his own bank, Carlo had been preparing for a long time.
The most important thing for a bank is to guarantee credibility. With credibility, the public will spontaneously deposit money in the bank. Only with money can the bank make money, then achieve a virtuous cycle of money generating money and continuously producing income.
Carlo had gained some good impressions among the Madrid public through several tax reduction policies, but this bit of favor was not enough.
To make the public feel at ease with the newly established bank, Carlo planned to bring in the Spanish noble lords to join his bank.
As the three most powerful classes in Spain（ nobles, landlords, and church）, the Spanish nobles were still quite extravagant.
Previously, because Carlo was an outsider, he had not received strong support from the entire aristocracy. Even some of them chose to support the Carlist faction; they were still loyal to the Bourbon family that had dominated Spain for over a hundred years.
After defeating the Carlist faction, Carlo faced no obstacles in exerting influence over the aristocracy.
To get the aristocracy to establish a bank together, first, the aristocracy had more funds in their hands, which could help Carlo’s bank gain greater advantages in the early stage, facilitating faster expansion.
Second, it was to make the aristocracy get rich together, making it clear to the aristocracy who their king really was.
Most nobles were believed to be quite wise; after all, Carlo was already the king recognized by the Spanish Constitution and the public—this was a fact they could not change.
Only by mastering sufficient influence and right to speak within the Spanish aristocracy could Carlo ensure that his status and power as king remained unshaken.
Spain’s monarchy had a very long history, and the strength of the monarchists could not be ignored. After gaining the full support of the monarchists, the republicans, who posed a major threat to royal power, were no longer so fatal.
For the nobles, they of course also needed a capable monarch to lead them forward. The status of nobles came from the king, which was also why Carlo was confident in gaining the support of the aristocracy.
After all, if the biggest noble head, the king, was gone, how could the remaining dukes and marquises exist?
Carlo set his first target for solicitation in Toledo, south of Madrid. In Toledo, there was a noble with considerable influence in the Spanish aristocracy, that was the Duke of Alba.
The Alba family was one of the families with the longest history, the most titles, and the most land among all Spanish nobles; their property was naturally among the most in the aristocracy.
To be honest, Carlo was somewhat envious of the Alba family’s wealth.
As an outsider king, Carlo’s current property was pathetically small. Apart from some castles left by the Bourbon family, the symbol of great nobles—vast lands—Carlo had none at all.
It is said that the king is the biggest landlord in a country, but in Spain, the scale of land owned by Carlo was even inferior to some Spanish dukes.
The current Duke of Alba, Jacopo Louis Fitz-James Stuart Fuentés de Bentimiglia, was born in Notably, his wife and Napoleon III’s wife were sisters, making him and Napoleon III brothers-in-law.
What pleased Carlo was that Duke Jacopo of Alba was very respectful toward him, and his words subtly expressed intentions to please Carlo.
When Carlo proposed jointly establishing a bank with the nobles, Duke Jacopo of Alba immediately pledged solemnly that he would invest in Carlo’s bank and become the first depositor of the bank.
Although the chat with Duke Jacopo lasted only a little over an hour, Carlo and Duke Jacopo quickly reached a consensus on the establishment of the bank and improved their relationship.
Duke Jacopo also invited Carlo to his private banquet, with his intention to pledge loyalty already self-evident.
Carlo naturally nodded repeatedly. Through the introduction of Duke Jacopo of Alba, Carlo could easily gather this group of nobles familiar with Duke Alba and exert his influence over the nobility.
Only when most nobles pledged loyalty to him could the Spanish Royal Family truly undergo a complete transformation, and Spain could truly enter the era of Savoy.
Interestingly, whether it was Queen Isabella or Carlos VII of the Carlist faction, after their defeat, they both chose to flee north to France.
But current France had already entered the republican era, and these nobles fleeing to France for refuge might also be affected.
At least, life in refuge in France would no longer be so comfortable. Previously, they had the protection of French Emperor Napoleon III, but now the French nobles were in trouble themselves, and these Bourbon family refugees from Spain would have an even more awkward status in France.
Facts proved that most of these Spanish nobles were not fools.
After Primo suppressed the Carlist faction rebellion, these nobles had long intended to contact Carlo and pledge loyalty.
The nobles whom Carlo met all agreed to Carlo’s proposal to jointly establish a bank, and they all expressed that they would become depositors of the bank, saving a portion of their funds.
Even Primo finally nodded and agreed to join the United Bank after Carlo’s repeated invitations, which also filled Carlo with confidence in the bank’s development.
Of course, Duke Serrano, who was far away in Cuba suppressing the rebellion, was also in Carlo’s invitation plan. However, Serrano’s joining the bank would have to wait until he returned to Madrid; there was no rush for now.
With the support of the nobles, the bank’s preparations went very smoothly.
On April 9, 1870, Madrid’s first Royal United Bank officially opened, attracting a great deal of attention.
On the very first day of opening, a large number of nobles came to the Royal United Bank to make deposits. Such a grand scene also sparked heated discussion among the public, making the Royal United Bank the hottest bank in Madrid in a short time.
On the first day of its establishment, the bank welcomed hundreds of depositors, most of whom were nobles wanting to show support for Carlo.
Especially those dukes, their deposit units were calculated in hundreds of thousands of pesetas, and some even deposited over a million pesetas directly.
Although a million pesetas was worth less than 40,000 pounds sterling, this amount of funds was absolutely considered a large savings for any bank in Spain.
Second update, seeking support!