Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 4 Italian Sun
The first task Carlo assigned to Lauren was to own a regular newspaper.

Whether buying an existing newspaper or starting one from scratch, Carlo wanted only one result.

In order to show Carlo his abilities, Lauren took this mission very seriously.

It took only two days to investigate the existing newspaper organizations in Italy and screen out those with potential that could be acquired.

Il Sole 24 Ore (Twenty-Four Hours Sun), this is the list of newspapers that Laurent finally gave.

This is a newspaper founded last year and currently has only a certain degree of popularity in Milan's business community.

But this newspaper has persisted to later generations and even became one of the top ten newspaper media in Italy.

To be able to achieve such results shows that the potential of this newspaper is beyond doubt.

This also means that Lauren, who chose this newspaper, has an absolutely unique and excellent vision.

After determining the acquisition target, the next task Carlo gave to Lauren was to properly acquire the newspaper called The Sun.

This also reflects the advantage of having someone to command you. At least Carlo doesn't have to do some things personally despite his status as a prince.

The acquisition process was relatively smooth.

At that time, The Sun was ultimately just a tabloid, and its founder could not resist Carlo's temptation to buy it at a higher price.

It took Carlo less than four days from proposing to acquire the newspaper to obtaining all the shares of The Sun.

Unfortunately, because The Sun is still a tabloid, the number of newspapers sold every day is only about 1500, and this sales volume is barely enough to support the newspaper itself.

However, Carlo's goal was not to make the newspaper profitable immediately. The purpose of a newspaper was not just to make a little money. Carlo's goal was to fill the streets of Italy with cheaper and more popular newspapers to increase Carlo's control over Italian public opinion.

Whether he continues to stay in Italy or seeks the opportunity to become the King of Spain in the future, Carlo's experience in newspapers will enable him to build his empire of public opinion more smoothly.

After controlling public opinion, it will be easier to do what you want. At least when the public supports it, Carlo will take the initiative.

But then again, compared to other small and medium-sized private newspapers, the Sun controlled by Carlo still has many advantages.

At least with his status as an Italian prince, Carlo can publish some content that is not easy to pass review, such as current political news that the public is more concerned about.

This is not the era of later generations when newspapers had no sales at all. If there is good news and content, it is still easy for newspapers to expand sales and achieve profitability.

As Carlo's only subordinate at present, Loren naturally took charge of the Italian Sun and was fully responsible for the expansion of the Sun.

Carlo made several plans for Lauren.

First, the Sun's daily circulation should be increased from 1500 to at least 7500 over the next two years.

Considering that the Sun is based in Milan, a prosperous city in northern Italy, and can also radiate to Turin and Genoa, which are relatively close, such sales requirements are actually not high.

The second requirement is that The Sun must become one of the well-known newspaper media in northern Italy and have a certain degree of credibility among the people.

If the content published in newspapers cannot convince the public, then there is no need for the newspaper to exist.

After all, the primary purpose of manipulating public opinion is to make the public believe in public opinion, which is also one of Carlo's expectations for Lauren. Another thing is to make The Sun profitable within two years and control as many newspapers as possible.

Although Carlo's original intention was not to make money through the newspaper, since the newspaper industry is able to be self-sufficient, Carlo would definitely use the funds in more important areas.

As for establishing or acquiring more newspapers, it is naturally to strengthen the power of public opinion in Carlo's hands.

In Carlo's plan, The Sun will focus on reporting on current affairs and international events in the future, and some tabloids will be able to fill the gaps in entertainment news and various gossips.

After all, if a credible newspaper were to report tidbits and gossip, it would definitely undermine the credibility of the newspaper.

While Loren was diligently carrying out Carlo's task, Carlo, on his side, was already looking at the existing map of the Kingdom of Italy in deep thought.

Although the fragmented Apennine Peninsula has been basically unified into a complete Italian Kingdom, there are still two places that have not returned to the embrace of Italy.

The Venetian region in the north was still controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Rome, the most important city in Italy, still belonged to the Papal States.

Although the Papal States seemed to be the weak link, France was behind it.

France at this time was no longer the capitulator that was ridiculed in World War II, but the French Empire bathed in the afterglow of Napoleon.

Because Germany had not yet been unified, France at that time could be said to be the overlord of Western Europe and the strongest military power in Europe.

With the support of France, the Papal States were able to continue to control Rome, which meant that the capital of Italy could only be Florence.

But Carlo is not in a hurry.

Historically, the process of the Sardinian Kingdom unifying Italy can be said to be an easy victory, without going through any difficult battles at all.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the largest country in southern Italy, was corrupt and was easily destroyed by a thousand-man regiment led by Garibaldi.

The size of the states in Central Italy was completely disproportionate to that of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and they had no right to resist the trend of unification.

The two really tough bones to chew were completely dependent on Prussia. In the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia attracted the attention of the Austrian Empire and recovered the Venetian region.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the French took over Rome smoothly thanks to their defense against the Prussian army.

Two bones that seemed very tough to chew were broken so easily. Although it was the Prussian army that broke the two bones, it was indeed the Kingdom of Italy that gained the benefits.

Carlo had some understanding of the period of Prussia's rise.

What a coincidence! This year is 1866, the year when the Austro-Prussian War broke out.

If we follow the historical trend, the Austro-Prussian War should break out in half a year. Prussia will accelerate the unification of Germany, and Italy will recover the Venetian region in the north.

Faced with such an important historical node, Carlo naturally could not let the opportunity slip away. Although it was impossible to directly interfere in the Austro-Prussian War, as the Kingdom of Italy was a participant in the war, it was not a problem for Carlo to change the course of history a little bit.

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(End of this chapter)