Empire Rising: Spain - Chapter 328 - 190: Prime Minister for One Day (2)

At this moment, Ruiz was also feeling extremely troubled. Having just become interim Prime Minister, the power in his hands had not been enjoyed for long before his reputation was tarnished in such a manner.

However, the most pressing matter now was to end this worker’s march that affected most of Madrid, otherwise the government wouldn’t be able to handle other matters.

To ensure the stability of Madrid, Ruiz issued a new order, allowing the police responsible for maintaining security to use firearms under dangerous conditions to prevent the worker’s march from escalating into an armed conflict.

But unexpectedly, this order instantly ignited the situation of the worker’s march.

Initially, the police did not intend to proactively open fire on the worker groups, but they couldn’t resist the malevolent guidance and provocation from the rebellious nobility among the worker’s ranks.

When someone in the chaotic crowd fired at the police, even if the police were reluctant to shoot at civilians, they had to use their firearms to ensure their own safety.

The deadly consequence of this was that within a short period, several sites of the march were ignited, with cumulative casualties among workers and police quickly reaching hundreds.

“What?” Ruiz, who had just learned of the casualties, showed a shocked expression and incredulously asked, “Who allowed them to shoot first? Didn’t I say to wait until the most dangerous moment to use firearms?”

“Your Excellency Prime Minister, it wasn’t our police who shot first, but someone in the crowd attacked them with gunfire first,” the Minister of Public Security explained with a wry smile. “After the shooting, the crowd fell into chaos, and our police suffered heavy casualties.

To maintain stability, we had no choice but to fire warning shots at the crowd to push them back.”

“Damn it.” Ruiz pounded the table twice, his mood at the moment far from pleasant.

The situation had escalated to a more critical state, and if the worker’s march wasn’t handled properly, it was very likely to evolve into an internal rebellion against the government.

“Where is our army? How much longer until they arrive in Madrid?” Ruiz asked.

Currently, only with the army under control could the stability of Madrid be ensured, and thus secure his position as interim Prime Minister.

As for whether deploying the army to suppress the march would provoke fierce resistance from the workers, that was no longer Ruiz’s concern.

After all, only by resolving the current worker’s march could the Spanish Government have a chance to address other issues. If the worker’s march in Madrid couldn’t even be resolved, then there was no need to consider anything else; the workers would overthrow the government themselves.

“This morning, news from the Toledo troops indicated they have set out. Considering the distance between Madrid and Toledo, they should arrive in Madrid in no more than half a day,” the Minister of Public Security replied.

Ruiz was not daring enough to trouble Duke Serrano with deploying the military, but instead directly contacted the garrison in Toledo acting in his capacity as interim Prime Minister.

Although acting as interim Prime Minister, he held the powers of a Prime Minister, including the authority to mobilize the military in emergencies.

Hearing the news that the military was about to arrive, Ruiz finally nodded in relief and then instructed, “Once the army arrives in Madrid, immediately suppress the worker’s march.

I don’t want to see any marching groups on the streets by tomorrow; Spain should enter a stable situation tonight.”

“I understand,” the Minister of Public Security nodded in agreement.

On the other side, in the Madrid military camp, Duke Serrano was communicating with Carlo through telegraph.

Duke Serrano detailed the current situation in Madrid and the fact that Ruiz, the Minister of Transportation, became interim Prime Minister with the support of the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party in the parliament.

Carlo’s response was that since the Spanish Government had an interim Prime Minister, there was naturally no rush for Duke Serrano to step in.

Originally, Carlo intended to use the chaos to deal with the rebellious nobility and Bourbon remnants, but since the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party were both involved, it would be more amusing to let them fight among themselves.

As long as Carlo did not wish it, Ruiz would not be able to suppress the worker’s march. This is because military power in Spain was entirely in Duke Serrano’s hands, and Duke Serrano took orders from Carlo.

Prime Minister Prim originally also had significant influence over the military, but after he was gravely injured and fell into a coma, no one in the military could rival the influence of Duke Serrano.

Despite Ruiz’s little clever trick in mobilizing the Toledo troops, the commander of the Toledo garrison had already sent a telegraph to consult Duke Serrano’s opinion.

If Duke Serrano had refused, the Toledo troops would not have acted at all, let alone openly comply with Ruiz’s orders.

On the evening of November 5th, the rebellious nobility led a small number of troops to attack the Madrid police and seized a batch of weapons and equipment.

With these weapons and equipment, the number of the rebel army quickly expanded to several hundred. Hundreds of them, along with thousands of workers, stormed the Spanish Government and Parliament, and even attacked several armories set up by the security department in Madrid.

During this period, some forces attacked the Royal Palace, but at the moment the worker’s march began, the Guard Division had already stationed around the Royal Palace.

Let alone armed forces of several hundred, even armed forces of tens of thousands couldn’t conquer the Royal Palace in a short time.

The rebellious nobility returned in vain, turning their attention to other significant locations, such as the Spanish Government building, Parliament building, and the residences of government officials.

Due to being caught off guard, the Spanish Parliament building was quickly seized, and fierce battles ensued outside the government building between parts of the police and the rebel army.

The Spanish Government, conversely, was retreating in the face of the rebel army’s advance, while the Toledo troops that Ruiz was yearning for were still leisurely advancing south of Madrid.

Carlo’s aim was to further muddy the waters in Madrid, thus when Duke Serrano replied to the telegraph from the Toledo troops, he didn’t explicitly say so but implied a delay in their advance.

The distance between Madrid and Toledo is only 70 kilometers, and the Toledo troops were stationed in the northern part of Toledo City, just over 50 kilometers away from Madrid City.

Yet, this distance of just over 50 kilometers took the Toledo troops from morning until evening, with still a dozen or twenty kilometers left to cover.

The deliberate slow pace of the Toledo troops left the Spanish Government with no means of resistance against the rebel army. Even though there were quite a few police in Madrid, they were all scattered across the city to maintain order and prevent disorder from the marching groups.

Altogether, there were only a few dozen police protecting the government and parliament buildings, and in the face of hundreds of armed men and thousands of workers united together, a few dozen police seemed rather insufficient.

“Damn it!” Inside the government building, Ruiz’s face turned pale, knowing he was finished.

The worker’s march had turned into a rebellion, meaning a small-scale civil war had erupted in his hands in Spain. Regardless of the outcome of this war, given Prime Minister Prim’s coma from his severe injuries, he was sure to be the main scapegoat.

Being responsible for Spain’s civil war, forget about running for re-election as Spain’s next Prime Minister, not being held accountable would already be a good result.

Moreover, with the rebel army having reached outside the government building, Ruiz now had no chance of escape even if he wanted to.

The pallid Ruiz still wanted to make a final resistance, hoarsely asking, “Where are the Toledo troops? Have they reached Madrid?”

The Minister of Public Security first shook his head and then a telegraph message was received inside the government building.

After reading the complete content of the telegraph, the Minister of Public Security approached with a strange expression, handing Ruiz the telegraph content.

“Your Excellency Interim Prime Minister, you better take a look yourself. The Toledo troops have arrived, but they’ve gone to the south of Madrid to report to Duke Serrano.”

Ruiz’s pupils instantly dilated, and then he collapsed onto his chair, face pale: “Finished!”