Time soon arrived in 1869.
Although there was still no news from Spain, Carlo was already making full preparations for the possibility of taking the Spanish throne.
Carlo's public opinion power, which he had vigorously developed, had already achieved certain results.
The largest newspaper under Carlo's control, Il Sole 24 Ore, had become the largest newspaper in Northern Italy, with an average daily circulation exceeding 24,000 copies throughout 1868.
Along with Il Sole 24 Ore, Laurent, under Carlo's guidance, established several newspapers in both Northern and Southern Italy. The combined daily circulation of these small and medium-sized newspapers exceeded 10,000 copies.
Carlo could be said to have completed his initial deployment of public opinion power. The various newspapers combined had tens of thousands of loyal readers and could influence a group of at least hundreds of thousands of people.
As long as Carlo wished, he could ensure that hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Italians, learned a piece of news within a short period.
This was quite astonishing in an era where transportation was extremely inconvenient, and most people relied on animals like horses and ox carts for travel.
These various newspapers, big and small, also brought Carlo nearly 250,000 lire in income over two and a half years.
Garibaldi's fame helped Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper quickly enter the market; otherwise, earning over 200,000 lire would have been much more difficult.
As time entered February 1869, Spain's parliamentary elections officially arrived.
As in history, Prim, as the most powerful individual in the provisional government, coupled with his immense prestige within the revolutionary army, successfully controlled the majority of seats in the parliament.
This news made Carlo breathe a sigh of relief; it meant that Spain would move towards a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic, and Carlo still had a great chance of becoming the King of Spain.
As soon as the new Spanish parliament was established, it announced that it would not abolish the monarchy but would establish a state government under a constitutional monarchy to manage Spain's political affairs.
Since the Spanish throne was vacant, the parliament appointed Francisco Serrano Domínguez, the Prime Minister of the provisional government, as the Regent of the Kingdom of Spain, and the Minister of War, Prim, as the new Prime Minister.
These two were not only the most prestigious individuals in the provisional government but also the two most supported generals within the revolutionary army.
This was actually the real reason Spain continued to maintain the monarchy, as the two individuals with the power to decide both supported the monarchical system.
Thanks to the report promoting the advancement of the monarchical system, the news that Spain would continue to maintain the monarchy did not cause much of a stir.
As long as Spain was no longer ruled by an incompetent monarch like Queen Isabella II, the opposition from the Spanish people would at least not be so intense.
The parliamentary matters were temporarily concluded, and the most troublesome issue for the politically involved Serrano and Prime Minister Prim had become choosing a suitable king for Spain.
Although they could choose freely from European royal families, the chosen candidate also had to gain the approval of the people.
Those with too poor a reputation were unacceptable; the Spanish people could not believe that such a king could do better than Isabella. If it were just a new Queen Isabella ruling Spain, what would have been the purpose of the Spanish Revolution?
Those with controversial backgrounds were unacceptable. For Spain, only a king of noble birth with the support of major families could stabilize the order of the country.
If the new king's background was highly controversial, it would also be a new blow to the constitutional monarchy that Spain had finally established.
Coupled with various other conditions, there were actually only a few European princes left who were suitable to become the King of Spain.
After more than a month of screening, Serrano and Prim finally finalized a list of five candidates.
The first choice was Prince Leopold of the German royal family. Prince Leopold was born into the House of Hohenzollern and was backed by the Kingdom of Prussia, which had just won the Austro-Prussian War; his background and reputation met Spain's requirements.
The second choice was Ferdinand, who had served as Regent of Portugal. Ferdinand's wife and son were both monarchs of Portugal, and his performance during his time as King of Portugal (the Queen's husband) and Regent was above the passing line, and his reputation was also quite good.
The third choice was Prince Amadeus of the Italian House of Savoy. Unified Italy still influenced the Mediterranean coast, and the prestige of the House of Savoy among European royal families had seen a slight increase. For Spain, Amadeus might not be as reliable as the first two, but he was considered a qualified candidate.
The fourth choice also came from the Italian House of Savoy, Amadeus's younger brother, Carlo. Carlo's drawback was his relative youth, as he was still a few months shy of his 18th birthday. However, Carlo's reputation in Italy was no weaker than Amadeus's, and the Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper's promotion of Carlo had been quite effective.
Many Italians even greatly admired this youngest prince because he did not put on air when traveling and would greet the Italian people warmly.
Under the influence of public opinion, some Spaniards also heard about this friendly prince from Italy. This was also why Carlo was able to enter the list of candidates, as both Prim and Serrano believed that Spaniards would not reject a friendly king.
The last candidate was Queen Isabella's brother-in-law, the Duke of Ponte Ponche of Spain. However, considering the Spanish people's dislike for Queen Isabella and the potential for guilt by association, Prim placed the Duke of Ponte Ponche at the bottom of the candidate list and considered removing him from the list entirely.
Choosing the King of Spain was a very strict process; any minor flaw in a candidate would be amplified numerous times, and Serrano and Prim had to consider every potential impact.
To Prim's disappointment, as soon as the Spanish government sounded out Ferdinand, he directly refused the Spanish throne.
This theoretically also severed the possibility of Spain and Portugal uniting once again, as Ferdinand's son was the current King of Portugal.
If Ferdinand could obtain the Spanish throne, the future King of Portugal might inherit the Spanish throne, achieving the unification of the two Iberian countries.
Ferdinand's voluntary withdrawal reduced the candidate list from five to four. After extensive discussions with Serrano, Prim ultimately chose to remove the Duke of Ponte Ponche, leaving three candidates.
Although Spain's selection of a king was done relatively secretly, there was no impenetrable wall in the world.
At this time, Prim and Serrano were still unaware of the significant impact their work in selecting a king would have on the European situation, potentially even directly causing the European hegemon to be trampled underfoot by other countries.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to read 15 advanced chapters check out [email protected]/Dannycifer.