Empire Rising: Spain - Chapter 332 - 192: Severe Punishment (Part 3)

All nobles who participated in this rebellion will be sentenced to death, and the death penalty will be carried out in different ways. Their family members will face permanent imprisonment, and unless they make significant contributions to the country and the Royal Family, their titles will not be restored, nor will they be released.

I hope you all remember this lesson, a lesson that has seriously damaged the hopes and status of the noble class.

Spain needs the strength of the noble class, but not its parasites and scourges. I hope the Royal Council can strengthen oversight of all nobles to prevent similar cases from occurring in the noble class in the future.

Furthermore, I plan to reorganize the Royal Council and merge it with the Spanish Senate to form the Royal Senate, making it the upper house along with the House of Representatives as the lower house of Spain. What are your thoughts?”

If the severe punishment of the rebellious nobles is a heavy blow to the noble class, then the choice to reorganize the Royal Council and merge it into the Senate is a sweet reward for the nobles.

The previous Royal Council did not belong to Spain’s parliament but was established by Carlo as an organizational body to oversee the noble class.

Apart from overseeing the noble class, the Royal Council had no other powers. Nobles who joined the Royal Council were subject to oversight, with no other benefits.

Once merged with the Senate, these nobles in the Royal Council will become members of the Royal Senate.

While it is unlikely that all over 600 nobles will become members of the Senate, it does mean that a significant number of nobles will join the Senate.

Although the power of the Senate in the two houses is not that great, it depends on who you compare it to.

Once merged with the Royal Council, the power of the Spanish Senate will certainly be greater than before. Carlo’s reason for merging the Senate and the Royal Council is precisely to use the Royal Senate to balance the House of Representatives.

In Spain, the Prime Minister is elected by the House of Representatives, and most members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Government is accountable to the House of Representatives, making the power of the House of Representatives grow indefinitely, allowing the party controlling it to influence the Cabinet Government to an unlimited extent.

This is something Carlo does not want to see. Not everyone who holds power is like Prime Minister Prim, who is not greedy for power; many are blinded by benefits and eventually end up undermining the King or even becoming dictators.

To prevent this from happening, using the Senate to balance the House of Representatives is a good solution.

While the House of Representatives has legislative power, the Senate can veto the legislative power of the House of Representatives. The Senate also has the power to oversee officials, including the Prime Minister.

Even the power to impeach officials and the Prime Minister belongs to the Senate, which can significantly ensure the Senate’s ability to balance the House of Representatives.

Once the Senate and the Royal Council are merged, nobles will become the majority of the Senate. And since the nobles obey Carlo, this means Carlo will directly control Spain’s Senate.

Based on Spain’s regulations for Prime Minister elections, if no one can gain a majority of votes, the Senate will participate in the Prime Minister’s election.

This also means that Carlo will have a significant say in the future election of Spain’s Prime Minister. Combined with certain military powers, it ensures that the Spanish monarchy can continue for many generations with certain authority.

As Carlo expected, upon hearing his plan to merge the Senate and Royal Council, many nobles showed expressions of delight.

If some nobles can become senators, it also means the power of the noble class will be enhanced. Although this power is far less than during the period of noble privilege, it is still a considerable improvement compared to before.

More importantly, once nobles enter the Senate, they will be able to reject proposals that harm noble interests through collective action, rather than being helpless when such policies are introduced by the government.

This is the true intention behind Carlo’s offer of a sweet reward. The Senate lacks legislative power, so the nobles cannot propose measures that benefit themselves.

However, possessing the authority to veto bills, they can reject proposals that are harmful to them. This approach ensures that the noble class retains a certain influence, which the Royal Family can utilize, while also preventing the nobles from gaining too much influence that could threaten the monarchy.

It even creates a natural opposition between the nobles and the House of Representatives, provoking the nobles to actively counter and balance the House of Representatives, achieving a dual purpose.

Seeing some nobles showing interest, Carlo then said, “The merger of the Senate and Royal Council is just my idea.

The parliament has now been dissolved, so there is ample time to consider this matter. If any of you have thoughts or suggestions related to the merger of the Senate and Royal Council, feel free to submit them to me.

Well, the main objectives of today’s meeting have been accomplished. I hope everyone will thoroughly consider the lessons brought by this event to prevent a recurrence.

Gentlemen, the stability of the country requires the support of all of you. I hope all the nobles can contribute to Spain’s stability and peace, and strive to achieve the dream of making Spain great again.

If there are any additional clues about the rebellious nobles, please submit them to Director Kadir. After this event, Spain will enter a new Chapter, and I hope there will be no more surprises.

Well, everyone, the meeting is over, you may all leave.”

After finishing his speech, Carlo was the first to leave the venue, with Duke Serrano and Canovas quickly following behind.

At the end, a row of guards respectfully followed their King back to the Royal Palace, leaving the nobles inside the venue to continue their whispered discussions, each with different expressions.