Chapter 319: Chapter 187: Southern Tour of Southern Morocco (Part 2)
After the meeting concluded, Carlo’s plan to lure the snake out of its hole was successfully formulated.
For the safety of Queen Sophie and Prince Juan Fernando, the Guard Army will continue to be stationed on the outskirts of Madrid, safeguarding Spain’s political center.
The Madrid Royal Palace will also enhance its defense forces, and with the coordination between insiders and the Guard Army outside, not even a regular army can threaten the safety of the Madrid Royal Palace.
After arranging all the defenses of the palace, Carlo, under the watchful eye of Prime Minister Prim and the complex gazes of many government officials, amid the farewell of the Spanish people, embarked on a grand journey with a large entourage of more than a thousand people, aboard a fleet, beginning his colonial tour to South Morocco.
To make his trip to South Morocco less abrupt, a piece of news was released half a month ago about the discovery of a large gold mine in the Moroccan Colony.
As for whether the gold mine news is true or not, it no longer matters; Carlo has already left the Madrid Royal Palace for South Morocco, which is the most important aspect for Queen Isabel and the Carlos Faction rebels.
The stability of Spain’s situation relies on the efforts of three individuals, specifically the current political triangle of Spain: Prime Minister Prim, Duke Serrano, and Carlo.
After Carlo’s departure from Madrid, only the two old men, Prim and Duke Serrano, remain to guard the city.
Although it is extremely difficult to overthrow the current Spanish Government, for Queen Isabel and the Carlos Faction, this might be the best opportunity.
Even though Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano can jointly manage Spain’s politics, they cannot control every corner of Spain’s political arena.
The general direction of the Spanish Government is under the leadership of Prime Minister Prim, but some officials are not satisfied with the current governmental system.
The previously implemented official performance evaluation system was a fatal blow to some apathetic officials. Receiving a poor evaluation not only makes it incredibly difficult to stay in their current position, but also makes further advancement impossible.
The Spanish populace also pays significant attention to the government-published officials’ evaluation scores, and generally, any official who receives a poor score will no longer gain the trust and support of the people.
Since the implementation of the performance evaluation system, most Spanish officials have been meticulously completing their tasks.
This feeling of having one’s fate in someone else’s hands is like a Damocles’ sword hanging over these officials, potentially ending their careers with the slightest slip.
Once everyone boarded the fleet, it began its journey southward down the Mediterranean, passing through the Gibraltar Strait and into the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Although they could continue south along the eastern coast of the Atlantic to reach the South Morocco Colony, Carlo felt no rush to visit South Morocco just yet.
Carlo first ordered the fleet to head west into the vast Atlantic Ocean, and then had the fleet focus on a hypothetical target, concentrating fire to test the reaction capability and combat strength of the warships.
Once everything was completed, Carlo then ordered the fleet to head south to South Morocco.
Although Carlo arrived at the Agadir Port in South Morocco several hours later than expected, the Governor of the Colony, Earl Antony, did not dare express any dissatisfaction, and very respectfully led the colony’s officials and garrison officers to welcome Carlo’s arrival at the Agadir Port.
After the fleet approached the port, over a thousand soldiers in Royal Guard uniforms disembarked from the transport ships first. After they formed neat lines at the port, only then did Carlo and his entourage disembark from the warships of the fleet.
The officer leading this small-scale Guard Army is Alessandro Ref Valon, one of the first excellent graduates of the Royal Military Academy. He was awarded a captain’s rank on his graduation day and was subsequently selected in the Guard Army’s officer selection.
Due to his excellent performance in the Guard Army and the expansion of the Guard Army, Alessandro Ref Valon was initially promoted to deputy commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Guard Infantry Regiment and then exceptionally promoted to commander of the 14th Infantry Battalion of the 4th Guard Regiment.
The main component of the thousand-strong Guard Army soldiers responsible for Carlo’s safety is composed of Alessandro Ref Valon’s 14th Infantry Battalion.
The reason Alessandro Ref Valon was able to achieve such a rapid rise in the Guard Army is primarily due to his outstanding abilities combined with his identity as a Spaniard.
At the beginning of Carlo’s accession to the throne of the King of Spain, he wasn’t sure who could be trusted, so he mainly used subordinates brought with him from Italy.
However, Carlo has since cultivated a group of trusted Spaniards through various means, naturally focusing on using those Spanish subordinates.
After all, this is Spain, and while a few Italians can rise quickly thanks to Carlo’s favor, most of those Carlo heavily uses must be Spaniards.
As Carlo set foot on the land of South Morocco, the Governor of the South Morocco Colony, Earl Antony, leading a group of officials and the colony garrison’s officers, swiftly came forward, very respectfully addressing Carlo: "Your Majesty, on behalf of the officials and the colony garrison’s officers of the South Morocco Colony, I offer you our greetings!"
