May 1870 was an ordinary month, but for Carlo, it was a wonderful one.
Following the successful establishment of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Carlo received another piece of good news: the Duke of Serrano had quelled the rebellion in Cuba, and the troops were already on their way back to Spain.
This brought a sigh of relief to Carlo, who no longer had to worry about Cuba breaking away from Spanish control due to some unexpected event.
As one of Spain's few profitable colonies, Cuba was of significant importance. Besides providing a continuous stream of funds and income during the early stages of Spain's reforms, it could also serve as a positive asset in the future to exchange for colonies with greater potential.
In Carlo's future plans for Spain's colonies, African colonies were the most important, especially Morocco in the northwestern African region.
Because it was separated from mainland Spain by only a small strait, if Morocco could be controlled, achieving its localization would be quite easy.
Only colonies that could be localized were truly territories that could be held onto, as the colonial era would not last much longer.
Carlo did not have excessive ambitions for colonies; what Spain truly wanted were colonies that could provide much-needed resources and serve as extensions of the mainland in the future.
Spain's current size could not control overly large colonies, otherwise, colonial rebellions would be enough to keep Spain busy.
When Serrano went to Cuba to suppress the rebellion, Carlo also had a conversation with him and indicated that, if necessary, certain powers in Cuba could be allowed in exchange for Spain maintaining control.
It's important to note that this Cuban War of Independence historically lasted for nearly a decade and cost the Spanish government nearly 700 million pesos.
Carlo did not want to see the current Spanish government spend so much money entirely on suppressing the rebellion in Cuba. The best approach was to make certain compromises with the Cuban government, delaying the inevitable as long as possible.
Carlo's goal was simply to ensure that Cuba would not pose a problem for the next ten years or so.
As for whether Cuba would launch another war of independence after more than ten years, that would be a matter for the country that takes over Cuba at that time to consider.
Serrano indeed acted accordingly. Having previously served as the Governor of Cuba, the Duke of Serrano was intimately familiar with the situation there.
Which factions could be won over and which needed to be dealt with first required little investigation for the Duke of Serrano, naturally doubling the efficiency of the suppression.
By employing a strategy of winning over one faction while suppressing another, the Duke of Serrano quickly brought stability to the chaos in Cuba, and this large-scale Cuban rebellion finally ended.
Of course, the troops who went to Cuba with Serrano also played a crucial role. Without these more than 5,000 soldiers, some factions in Cuba might not have been so cooperative with Serrano's actions.
In short, after agreeing to political reforms in Cuba and granting more power to certain factions, the Cuban War of Independence officially ended, and Serrano led his troops on the journey back to Spain.
For Carlo, it was finally time to begin preparing for large-scale awards for the army and cultivating a new group of nobles loyal to him.
After Prim suppressed the Carlist rebellion, Carlo had wanted to elevate Prim to a ducal title, and the corresponding celebration ceremony was already being prepared.
However, due to various delays, it was postponed until May, and it coincidentally aligned with the end of Serrano's suppression of the rebellion.
Carlo immediately decided to combine the two celebration ceremonies into one event and simultaneously elevate both Serrano and Prim.
Since Serrano was already a duke, Carlo decided to elevate him to Grand Duke to secure Serrano's loyalty.
And Prim would also be elevated to Duke, becoming a significant figure among the Spanish nobility.
Elevating Serrano to Grand Duke was a decision Carlo had considered for a long time. Compared to Prim, Serrano leaned more towards the conservative faction, and his stance was within the royalist camp.
To put it more simply, while Serrano and Prim could be considered Carlo's right-hand men, Prim's loyalty was more towards Spain, and he chose to be loyal to Carlo only because Carlo was the King of Spain.
Serrano was different. Serrano's political stance leaned more towards the royalist faction; his loyalty to Carlo was not necessarily less than his loyalty to Spain.
Furthermore, Serrano's prestige within the army was no less than Prim's. If Carlo could secure Serrano's absolute loyalty, his position in Spain would be completely solidified.
Even if he were to lose Prim's support later, Carlo would not have to worry about the instability of his throne; at least he would be in a position to engage in political struggles with Prim or the next prime minister.
Otherwise, relying solely on his status as an outsider and the two thousand-plus Royal Guards, how could he compete for power with the next prime minister?
Carlo was not naive enough to think that all prime ministers would be like Prim, who held great respect for the monarchy. Moreover, part of Prim's respect for Carlo was because he wanted to push for reforms in Spain, and reforms required the King's support.
Therefore, regardless of the current relationship with Prim, it was very necessary to plan for the future and prepare for gradually taking more power into his own hands.
Carlo did not come to Spain to be a figurehead. To realize the ideals and ambitions in Carlo's heart, he had to establish a certain influence within the government, at least being able to interfere with government decisions at certain times.
Serrano's fleet departed on May 22nd, and it would take at least until June to reach Spain.
This was good; Carlo would have more time to prepare for the elevation of Serrano and Prim, as well as the awarding of honors to the many meritorious officials who had contributed to suppressing the rebellion.
The good news was that while the Spanish nobility still held considerable privileges, the lowest ranks of Baron and Viscount, in practice, had no special rights.
Aside from the title being hereditary, these two titles were more honorary in nature and held no jurisdiction over the land they received.
Granting such new-style nobility did not cause much harm to the state; it simply required giving up some land.
But Spain, compared to other European countries, was not short on land, and furthermore, there were vast areas in Africa that had not been partitioned by the great powers. These lands could be used to grant to the new-style nobility.
In the future, whether these new-style nobles established large farms or invested in other industries, it would benefit Spain's economic development.
Moreover, compared to the traditional Spanish nobility, the loyalty of these nobles personally granted by Carlo would clearly be higher, and they would be more supportive of the system of awarding titles for military merit.
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