The rebellion incited by the capitalists ended anticlimactically.
While the entire process was somewhat unexpected, upon closer reflection, it seemed perfectly logical.
Such incidents even occur frequently in later generations. A parade seemingly composed entirely of workers may not have been initiated voluntarily by the workers, but rather by factory owners colluding to oppress, brainwash, and threaten the workers.
Because capitalists are a minority group in any country, they can only rely on the majority groups like workers and farmers, to achieve their goals.
But in Spain today, it is not so easy for capitalists to incite a large number of workers and farmers.
Farmers are the most supportive of autocracy and monarchy, and this is true of farmers in any country. Because farmers' demands are very low, as long as they are fed and not hungry, they will be satisfied with their current lives.
The agricultural tax reduction policy enacted by Spain is the best way to win over farmers. For farmers who already support the monarchy, they are naturally willing to follow the orders of Carlo and the Spanish government.
Compared to farmers, the composition of factory workers is more complex. Worker parades are an important means for capitalists to achieve their goals, and capitalists naturally will not let go of the oppression and brainwashing of workers.
This is also why a considerable portion of the capitalist rebel forces were workers, because not everyone can see the domestic situation clearly, and not everyone can ignore the capitalists' tactics of sugar-coated bullets combined with intimidation.
However, a parade and rebellion of this scale no longer threatened Carlo and the Spanish government. For Carlo, the biggest internal threat to Spain was not the underdeveloped capital of Spain, but the independence movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country, as well as the Carlists who had gained the support of Catalan separatists.
Although this parade and rebellion were easily resolved, the army under the control of the Spanish government was still stationed around Madrid, waiting for news from Catalonia and the Basque Country at any time.
For Carlo, he actually hoped that the Carlists and those regional independence factions would take this opportunity to stir up some trouble.
Only if they actively jump out will Carlo have the opportunity to solve them once and for all.
Otherwise, allowing these opposition factions to continue to develop silently in Catalonia and the Basque Country will only constantly exacerbate the sense of division between the two regions and Spain.
This is also why in later generations, Catalonia and the Basque Country have always been agitating for independence.
The Catalan Parliament even held an independence referendum and declared independence from Spain based on the results of the vote. If the Spanish government had not deemed the Catalan regional referendum unconstitutional and suppressed it forcefully, the world map might have had one more country.
The Basque Country was no less assertive. Although it did not go as far as holding a direct referendum to declare independence, the independence sentiment in the Basque Country was more radical than in Catalonia.
After the death of Spanish dictator Franco, a terrorist organization called ETA was born in the Basque Country, and it even assassinated the King of Spain multiple times.
If the problem of independence in these two regions cannot be solved once and for all, the future of Spain is bound to be unstable, and more opposition parties will oppose the Spanish government by supporting the independence of Catalonia and the Basque Country.
The good news is that at this time, the population of Catalonia and the Basque Country has not reached the point where it can threaten Spain.
Spain has a population of about 16.6 million, with the majority being ethnic Spaniards. Catalonia has a population of only about 1.3 million, and the Basque Country has a population of just over 300,000.
The combined population of the two regions is only 1.6 million, less than one-tenth of Spain's total population, which is why Carlo is confident of solving the independence problem in these two regions once and for all.
The Carlists ultimately did not disappoint Carlo.
On January 25, 1870, the self-proclaimed ambitious "Carlos VII" decided to take the initiative while the Madrid government was still in chaos.
The Carlists extensively published news in Barcelona newspapers stating that Carlos VII was the legitimate King of Spain and that the current Spanish government's policies would severely damage Barcelona's economy, setting it back at least 20 years.
The Carlists also greatly exaggerated the harm of the labor law to various factories and enterprises in Catalonia in the news, even claiming that it would cause Spain to lose all its industry and factories, leaving all Catalan workers jobless.
Under the influence of extensive news coverage, many Catalans believed it and expressed their willingness to join the legitimate government of Carlos VII and resist the rule of the Spanish government.
After organizing an army of tens of thousands in just a few days, Carlos VII publicly delivered a speech in Barcelona, stating that he would expel King Carlo and restart the rule of the Bourbon dynasty.
In the midst of the chaos, the new Carlist War officially broke out.
Although the combatants had changed from Queen Isabella II to Carlo, the goal of the Carlists was the same: to put their ruler, Carlos VII, on the throne of Spain.
When news of the war outbreak reached Madrid, Carlo actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Hearing that tens of thousands of troops had been assembled in the Catalan region, he neither panicked nor worried. Instead, his disdain for the so-called Carlos VII only deepened.
Why?
Because although Catalan independence has long been one of Spain's most stubborn issues, for now, most Catalans still hold Spain in high regard.
And more importantly, the current Prime Minister, Prim, is Catalan himself—and it was Prim who led the last revolution in the Catalan region.
There are also a significant number of Catalan soldiers in the Spanish army today. Given this reality, how could Carlos VII possibly muster an army of tens of thousands? It's simply unimaginable.
Catalonia is one of Spain's most economically and industrially advanced regions, with a large working-class population. Perhaps the Carlists and Catalan separatists have indeed coerced, brainwashed, or threatened some of these workers into joining their so-called army of tens of thousands.
This is exactly why Carlo found the whole situation laughable. The Carlists blame Prim's reforms for costing Catalan workers their jobs—yet isn't it their own rebellion that's actually causing the job losses?
Excluding these workers, the Carlists have at most a little over ten thousand soldiers. To think that they could invade Madrid with this army of ten thousand is to treat Carlo like Queen Isabella II two years ago?.
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