"What? Prime Minister Prim was assassinated?" Hearing Laurent's report, Carlo instantly lost his sleepiness and quickly asked:
"Is the Prime Minister alright? What's the situation?"
For Spain at the moment, it absolutely cannot afford the loss of Prime Minister Prim.
It is no exaggeration to say that Prim's importance to Spain at this time far exceeds that of Carlo, who is the King.
Carlo is still too young to command the obedience of all forces in Spain.
Only Prim, who came from the military and possesses immense prestige in both military and political circles, can currently suppress those forces with ulterior motives.
In this regard, Serrano is far less capable.
Although Serrano also came from the military and has a certain reputation in politics.
But Serrano leans towards the conservative faction and has not gained the support of the reformists and the Progressive Party.
Perhaps Serrano's personal loyalty to Carlo is higher than Prim's, but he is not suitable to be the Prime Minister of Spain; he is more suited for a military position like Minister of War.
Prim and Serrano, one civilian and one military, are the best configuration for Spain at present.
An accident happening to either of them is something Carlo does not want to see.
"Prime Minister Prim was not injured, but when the guards went to pursue the assassins, they only found two bodies," Butler Laurent said with a somewhat strange expression.
"Two bodies?" Carlo was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "So they were silenced? Are there any specific clues?"
"Not yet," Butler Laurent shook his head and said helplessly: "The people behind this were clearly well-prepared. Besides the bodies of two assassins whose identities cannot be determined, even the weapons used for the assassination were taken away."
Carlo nodded. Since Prime Minister Prim was unharmed, the subsequent matters would be easier to handle.
"Investigate thoroughly. Not a single corner of Madrid should be missed. I want to know who exactly tried to assassinate our Prime Minister, and who wants to destroy our reforms and Spain," Carlo said expressionlessly.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Laurent nodded and went to convey Carlo's order.
Although there were no clues, Carlo already had a rough idea in his mind about who might have assassinated Prim.
The reason for assassinating Prim is likely due to his reforms. Currently, the reforms violate the interests of factory owners, the Church, and the nobility, so the most likely groups capable of sending killers to assassinate Prime Minister Prim are these three forces.
However, it is unlikely that the factory owner class has this capability. Being able to send killers and plan for their silencing means they must have sufficiently loyal subordinates.
Currently, the factory owners in Madrid who have not been purged are basically small-scale factories; it is impossible for them to have the strength to cultivate loyal killers.
This also means that the most likely forces to assassinate Prime Minister Prim are either the nobility or the Church.
Although Carlo has gained the support of most nobles through the Royal Council, this does not mean that some nobles have no objections to the government's reforms.
What is the best way to stop a reform? Of course, it is to directly eliminate the person who initiated the reform.
Regardless of who planned this assassination, it is a serious provocation to the current Spanish government. Whether it is the nobility or the Church, it is a good thing for Carlo.
As long as he can obtain certain evidence, Carlo can openly purge the nobility or the Church.
If Carlo was previously worried that purging some nobles would lead to the opposition of the entire noble class, now that he has gained the support of most nobles through the Royal Council, as long as he ensures the interests of the nobles who support him are not harmed, he can basically deal with those who oppose him with confidence.
There is no need to say more about the Church. The Church's power is an obstacle to Carlo and the Spanish government; the sooner it is purged, the more beneficial it is to Spain.
The large amount of land controlled by the Church also makes Carlo quite envious. Whether it is rented out to commoners at a low price, granted to soldiers through military merit, or purchased to establish large royal farms, it is much better than continuing to be controlled by the Church.
As a Catholic country, the influence of the Church in Spain is quite significant.
Only by controlling the entire Church can Carlo's influence be effectively increased, and Spain's stability be improved.
The Church's ability to indoctrinate is stronger than the government's. Using the Church to extensively promote the idea of a unified Spain and make the commoners in Catalonia and the Basque Country accept the concept of being Spanish is also one of Carlo's plans.
Church schools can also strengthen the promotion of the Spanish language. Many newspapers and businesses in Catalonia and the Basque Country still use local languages, which is why separatists in these two regions continue to exist.
Only by using the same language, Spanish, can the probability of separatists emerging in these two regions be reduced and assimilation be maximized.
Late at night, in a certain manor.
"What? The plan failed?" The Duke of Osuna looked at the man called Shadow with some disbelief and asked in surprise.
"Prim's carriage was reinforced with steel plates, and the weapons of those two assassins were not enough for the bullets to penetrate the steel plates," Shadow shook his head and said helplessly.
"Damn it, this is what you call thorough preparation?" Hearing that the assassins only used two ordinary rifles, the Duke of Osuna was almost laughing out of anger.
If that butler hadn't already been silenced, the Duke of Osuna would even have considered torturing him himself.
"How was it handled? Will it be discovered?" The Duke of Osuna looked at Shadow and quickly asked.
"It's all taken care of. I also disassembled those two rifles and discarded them in various places, so no one would find them," Shadow said.
"That's good. Damn Torres, he ruined my plan. It seems Prim will have to live a little longer," the Duke of Osuna was still regretting the failed assassination and had no sympathy for his butler who was eliminated.
In fact, this is normal. As one of the nobles with the most land, how could the Duke of Osuna have only one butler?
Torres was just the manager of some properties in Madrid, and he had only been the butler of this manor for a few years, so he naturally had not gained the Duke of Osuna's complete trust.
Since he was not trusted, it was only natural that he was silenced after the assassination.
"The government will likely thoroughly investigate this assassination soon. Your Grace, should you go into hiding?" Shadow suggested.
The assassination of the Prime Minister is not a small matter, and the government's investigation is expected to be very thorough. Especially with Prim unharmed, it is estimated that both the nobility and the Church will be screened.
"Not necessary for now. Shadow, you should trust your ability to clean up," the Duke of Osuna said with a smile, without the slightest panic: "Let Prim investigate. Two Italians, what can he find out?
Oh, perhaps when Prim discovers the assassins are Italians, we'll have a good show to watch.
Don't forget that the King above us is Italian. Will Prim suspect the King? It's truly something to look forward to, haha."
The Duke of Osuna had meticulously prepared for this assassination.
The two assassins were both Italians who entered Spain as laborers, and their information before the assassination showed them as ordinary people.
This manor is one of the Duke of Osuna's many properties; very few people knew who the butler was.
Especially since Torres only became the butler of this manor a few years ago, even fewer people knew about it.
Perhaps Prim could turn Madrid upside down and still not find any useful information. At that time, would Carlo, also an Italian, really not be suspected by Prim?
Even if the assassination of Prim is not successful, the worst-case scenario is to sow discord between Carlo and Prim, and this is the Duke of Osuna's plan.
As long as the relationship between Carlo and Prim is damaged, Carlo cannot strongly support Prim's reforms, because this would greatly increase Prim's personal prestige.
In this way, the Duke of Osuna's goal can also be achieved, which is to prevent Prim's reforms from happening and ensure that his own interests do not suffer too great a loss.
Even if all plans fail, the Duke of Osuna has no suspicion whatsoever and can wait for another opportunity to assassinate Prim; this is the so-called foolproof plan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please support my work and gain access to 15 advanced chapters at p@treon.com/Dannycifer.