Empire Rising: Spain

After chatting with his father Vittorio Emanuele II for a while, Carlo’s two brothers, Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo, also arrived at the estate.

Before Vittorio Emanuele II fell critically ill, Prince Amadeo had always lived in Turin. But due to his father’s serious illness, Prince Amadeo also came to Rome.

Speaking of Carlo’s two brothers, Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo are two entirely different personalities.

Crown Prince Umberto’s desire for power is visually apparent, whereas Prince Amadeo, after missing the opportunity to become King of Spain, completely lost his desire for power.

Especially after the death of Prince Amadeo’s wife, Duchess Maria, Prince Amadeo became Italy’s notoriously famous playboy, caring only for pleasure each day, showing no concern for Italy’s political affairs.

Of course, perhaps such a Prince Amadeo is the least threatening brother to Crown Prince Umberto.

Precisely because Prince Amadeo does not show any threats, the relationship between Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo remains quite friendly.

The two of them came together, and Carlo also stood up to greet his two brothers.

"Carlo, long time no see." Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo approached, first exchanging greetings with Carlo, then greeting Carlo’s wife, Queen Sophie.

Although Crown Prince Umberto and Prince Amadeo are just princes, while Carlo holds the higher position of king.

But after all, they are Carlo’s brothers, and coupled with the current occasion being a private meeting, formal courtesies are naturally not required.

Vittorio Emanuele II watched the harmonious brothers, nodding in satisfaction.

Although many of his children passed away prematurely, Vittorio Emanuele II was satisfied that the relationship between his three surviving sons remained good.

Brotherly harmony is also an important assurance for family inheritance; internal strife only benefits others.

Through conversations with Crown Prince Umberto, Carlo came to understand Vittorio Emanuele II’s physical condition.

This era lacked advanced examination means, and doctors, judging Vittorio Emanuele II’s physical condition, could only provide a prognosis of looming demise.

As for when the end would arrive, the doctors were completely unaware.

Carlo could only nod helplessly; this was the backward state of medical technology in that era.

Regardless of whether one is an ordinary citizen or the king of a country, at the end stage of life, doctors are powerless.

Of course, if any methods must be mentioned, perhaps some doctors might suggest trying bloodletting therapy. But bloodletting only accelerates the speed of death, a lesson learned from countless Europeans who died after bloodletting therapy.

Carlo’s family was arranged to stay at a nearby estate. Although it was relatively far from the city center of Rome, the advantage was its proximity to Vittorio Emanuele II’s residence, and the scenery was more beautiful without many disturbances.

This would be Carlo’s family’s residence during their brief stay in Italy, with the Italian Government dispatching hundreds of soldiers for patrol and security in the vicinity, and most of Carlo’s guards were also arranged near the estate.

In addition, whether Carlo or Queen Sophie went out, several guards would accompany them for protection, ensuring safety.

This was to prevent assassination actions from some assassins. Although Europe is the most developed region of this era, the lives of the majority of its people are not very pleasant.

This also led to a very frequent occurrence of assassinations in the European Region, and Carlo is very concerned about his personal safety.

The good news is that, compared to other countries, Italy tends to be more stable. The newly unified Italy does not have so many issues, and the dissatisfaction of its people with this new nation has not reached a peak.

Moreover, with Italian Government’s protection, as long as Carlo does not engage in reckless behavior, he absolutely does not need to worry about his life being in danger.

Besides Giotto, Garibaldi’s second son, accompanying Carlo to Italy were some officials from the Spanish Government.

The purpose of these officials’ visit to Italy was to finalize the upcoming cooperation with the Italian Government.

In previous cooperation between Spain and the Italian Government, there was mainly part of the financial loan, mutual industrial assistance, and collaborative research and development in military manufacturing.

With Italy’s help, Spain acquired the Vitali M1872 Rifle, which is currently the standard-issue rifle of the Spanish Army, and it is quite important for Spain.

Italy has quite a decent research capability in the industrial and military manufacturing fields, and Spain can further deepen cooperation with Italy, where both sides can engage in closer collaboration in the design and research of rifles, cannons, and warships, jointly developing and manufacturing even more powerful weapons.

From historical experience, Italy indeed has this capability. Although Italy’s Navy was not particularly powerful at the time, in the following decades, Italy managed to build a considerably strong Navy.

It is worth mentioning that the significant expansions of Italy’s Army and Navy occurred during Umberto’s reign.

After Umberto became king, he spurred Italy to participate in the arms race, expanding Italy’s Army from 10 divisions to 12 divisions with a total of 420,000 troops and increasing the size of the Italian Navy at an extremely fast pace.