Prim’s investigation ended quickly, and he also informed Victor Emmanuel II of the final choice for the king.
Yes, Carlo won the competition against Amedeo and was about to become the new King of Spain.
The reason Carlo was able to win this competition was actually more due to his support for reform, as well as Garibaldi’s praise for him.
When Juan Prim y Prats was drawing up the list of candidates for the Spanish throne, he had sighed and said: “Trying to find a king in Spain who supports democracy is like looking for an atheist in heaven.” Although a constitutional monarchy had nominally been established during Isabella’s era, Queen Isabella still controlled a massive amount of power, and the kingdom’s government was quite ignorant and feudal.
Prim was already tired of this intense absolutism.
When searching for a new king candidate for Spain, Prim repeatedly mentioned the necessity of reform and democratization.
A king could hold power, but absolutely could not monopolize it.
On this point, Carlo, who had interacted with the once-republic-supporting Garibaldi, clearly had the advantage.
Amedeo had no real flaws, and even possessed an age advantage.
If Spain were in a stable state, Amedeo would undoubtedly be the well-deserved choice for King of Spain.
But Spain was currently riddled with holes, and Amedeo was powerless to change its current situation.
If they were to conduct deep reforms in Spain, monarch and ministers had to be of one mind to jointly push forward comprehensive reforms.
On this point, Carlo possessed more advantages than Amedeo.
Even if Carlo’s support for reform wasn’t as resolute as imagined, Prim could completely force the reforms through by monopolizing military and political power.
After all, a 19-year-old king was easier to control than a 25-year-old king, which was crucial for Spain’s reforms.
Then there was Garibaldi’s evaluation of Carlo.
During his investigation into Carlo and Amedeo, Prim found that Carlo’s relationship with Garibaldi was closer than imagined.
Not only had Garibaldi published multiple articles in Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore, but his second son, Ricciotti, was also Carlo’s court military attaché.
Allowing his son to be close to Carlo meant that in Garibaldi’s heart, Carlo was at least not the kind of arrogant, blindly ignorant prince.
Coupled with the influence the Italian Sun newspaper previously had on Spain, one could basically conclude that Carlo had anticipated Spain’s king-selection long ago and had been making preparations in advance.
Prim himself also wanted to collaborate with a smart king.
If possible, replicating the close relationship between Prussian King Wilhelm I and Prime Minister Bismarck wouldn’t be out of the question.
Decades ago, Prussia was also a country arbitrarily invaded and bullied by France.
But after experiencing various reforms for decades, Prussia had leapt to become one of the most powerful countries on the European continent, and its war with France was also a focal point of Prim’s attention.
Prim didn’t extravagantly hope that a reformed Spain could be as powerful as Prussia.
For Prim, what he hoped for was to see Spain achieve a revival and return to the throne of Europe’s top-tier powers.
On this point, Prim was quite confident.
If they could welcome a monarch who supported his reforms, perhaps Spain’s revival wouldn’t be a dream, but a reality visible 20 years from now.
Carlo’s mood was complex.
Although winning this competition was what Carlo had always expected, upon suddenly learning that he was going to be the King of Spain, Carlo felt somewhat nervous and hesitant.
No joke, in 1869, attempting to achieve Spain’s revival was absolutely the most difficult undertaking among major European countries.
Spain started off in a massive pit.
Internally, there were republicans, reformists, conservatives, and Carlists constantly creating trouble for each other, causing endless chaos.
Externally, Britain and France would not allow Spain to become too powerful.
For Spain to revive, the first ones to bear the brunt would be Britain and France.
This was absolutely a “hell mode” start, no less difficult than Poland fighting back against Germany at the beginning of WWII.
After slightly adjusting his mindset, Carlo still firmly decided to go to Spain.
Since he had transmigrated to this world, if he didn’t boldly strive once, how could he be worthy of this transmigration opportunity?
Moreover, Britain and France weren’t absolutely invincible.
Spain’s mainland was at least still very safe.
Neither Britain nor France would allow the other to occupy Spanish land.
At most, they would just obstruct the expansion of the Spanish navy and colonies.
Anyway, Spain wasn’t the only country that needed colonies right now; Spain definitely wouldn’t be the one taking the lead to oppose Britain and France.
For Carlo’s first five or even ten years ruling Spain, the most important thing was to resolve Spain’s internal contradictions and implement reforms to increase Spain’s comprehensive national strength.
After this competition concluded, Carlo met with his brother Amedeo.
Setting the competition aside, Carlo and Amedeo’s relationship was decent.
Although not as close as Carlo’s relationship with the deceased Prince Oddone, they weren’t superficial brothers either.
Amedeo smilingly congratulated Carlo on becoming the King of Spain.
Although there was a trace of regret, he wasn’t too resentful.
Carlo naturally wouldn’t actively make an enemy of his brother.
During the crucial stage of Spain’s reforms, Italy would be an important ally.
Whether it was his old father ruling or the future Crown Prince Umberto inheriting the throne, Carlo wanted to maintain good relations with Italy.
After all, Italy could be considered a fallback.
If Spain was truly beyond saving, the worst-case scenario was acting like the historical Amedeo: fleeing back to Italy to be a carefree, unconstrained Duke.
Coming along to congratulate Carlo was also Carlo’s eldest brother, Crown Prince Umberto.
Crown Prince Umberto was the heir to the Italian throne; therefore, he hadn’t participated in this competition.
Because his status as Crown Prince was determined at birth, Umberto was quite friendly toward his younger brothers.
In his father’s office, Carlo saw the old King, who looked somewhat reluctant to let him go.
“Child, I really didn’t expect you could win the competition against Amedeo.
But no matter what, I still must congratulate you on becoming the King of Spain.” Victor Emmanuel II looked at Carlo with a complex expression, a trace of surprise and some reluctance on his face.
“Have you met with Prim?
When do you plan to go to Spain?” After expressing his blessings to Carlo, Victor Emmanuel II threw out two consecutive questions.
“Not yet, Father.
If possible, I want to go to Spain earlier, to understand everything about Spain earlier,” Carlo shook his head and replied.