Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 576 Asking about the Son
“Such an opportunity is very rare for you, but I don’t want you to make a hasty decision. Martin, Alexander, you still have at least a few months. I hope you can think it through and make a decision that you won’t regret in the future.” In the King’s office at the Royal Palace of Madrid, Carlo looked at his two sons, Martin and Alexander, with a serious expression and said very solemnly.

Prior to this, Carlo had already informed Martin and Alexander about the League of Nations' division of Russian territory and that Spain had taken control of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Kingdom of Estonia.

Carlo could support them to travel to either of the two countries and assume the position of monarch, if they so desired.

Although Finland and Estonia are not large countries, they are at least kingdoms recognized by European nations. Whether they go to Finland or Estonia, both men would at least be Grand Dukes, and both have the potential to become Kings in the future.

If they remain in Spain, even if Spain becomes an empire in the future, they will only ever be dukes of royal lineage, which is completely different from being the rulers of a country.

Of course, immense power also represents immense risk. Carlo did not want Martin and Alexander to act impulsively because of their titles of Grand Duke and King, but rather hoped they would make the choices they truly desired.

While Spain can offer them assistance to the best of its ability, this does not mean that Spain can guarantee that they will not lose their throne.

If they were invaded by foreign enemies, Spain would still have a chance to help them reclaim their territory and regain their throne.

However, if they were to abdicate due to public discontent, even if Spain were powerful, it would be impossible to allow them to return to the throne amidst the explicit opposition of millions of people and the risk of being opposed by the entire continent of Europe.

Becoming the king of a country is certainly tempting, but if one is not fully prepared and does not have the ability to govern a country, it is better to remain in Spain as a duke.

Although being a duke in Spain doesn't grant much power, the Spanish royal family's vast wealth is enough to ensure they live a life of comfort and security.

At Carlo's instruction, Martin and Alexander exchanged a glance, and then the youngest, Alexander, spoke up: "Father, I am ready."

Although I remain in Spain under your protection, I also wish to try different challenges. I will not forget your teachings and will strive to become a monarch like you.

If I ultimately find that I am incapable of governing a country well, I will not persist and will relinquish the position in a timely manner to avoid risks.

Alexander, born in 1884, was only 32 years old at the time. He was still young and had extraordinary ambitions.

More importantly, Alexander already has two older brothers, Prince Juan Fernando and Prince Martín. With the Spanish royal family expanding its branches, Prince Alexander is essentially out of the running for the Spanish throne.

This is similar to Carlo's situation in Italy at the time. Although Carlo was the third surviving son of Vittorio Emanuele II, his two older brothers and their descendants were ahead of him in the line of succession, and Carlo had no connection to the Italian throne.

This is also why Vittorio Emanuele II ultimately supported Carlo's journey to Spain and his becoming King of Spain.

Prince Alexander is now in a worse situation than Carlo was then.

In a way, this is also due to Carlo's constant proposals to encourage childbirth.

As role models for all Spaniards, and with the government strongly encouraging childbirth, the royal family naturally wants to have as many children as possible.

Under Carlo's strong insistence, his three sons, Prince Juan Fernando, Prince Martin, and Prince Alexander, have all accomplished the goals Carlo set for them.

Prince Juan Fernando has four sons and one daughter: his eldest daughter Ana, his eldest son Cristian, his second son Fernando, his third son Louis, and his fourth son Lucas.

Prince Martin has three sons and two daughters: William, Álvaro, Martinez, Maria, and Sofina.

Prince Alexander had four sons and one daughter: Lucia, Grant, Rodney, Marcus, and Miles.

Excluding her two married daughters, Sofia and Cristina, the Spanish royal family now has 21 members, a significant improvement compared to when Carlos first became King of Spain and there was only one member.

It is precisely because the Spanish royal family actively had more children that Spain indirectly gained acceptance of its birth policy.

Even the Crown Prince and other princes are having children like crazy, so what reason do people have to refuse to have children?
It's worth mentioning that Carlo may have inherited the gene for having many children. In any case, all three of Carlo's sons and two daughters had two or more children.

Princess Sofia and Princess Christina have only had two sons and one daughter and two sons respectively, because they do not meet the strict requirements for having children like Carlos.

Given her age, it's unlikely that Princess Sofia will have any more children. However, the youngest princess, Christina, is only 31 years old and still has a few years left in her prime childbearing years.

Unlike her three sons, Carlo doted on her two daughters. Although Princess Sofia's husband, Albert I, was the King of Belgium, he wasn't even the Crown Prince of Belgium when they fell in love.

Even so, Carlo did not stop the two from falling in love. Princess Cristina is even more extreme; her love interest is not even a member of the royal family, but a Spanish nobleman.

Princess Cristina's husband was named Evans, originally a marquis in Spain. After vetting Evans and confirming that his character, abilities, and family background met the requirements, Carlo did not prevent the two from falling in love.

After all, for Carlo, Spain doesn't need a marriage alliance to gain allies right now. More than the interests of the royal family, Carlo wants his daughter to be happy.

Although Evans was only a marquess, under Carlo's tutelage, he successively served as governor of the colony, mayor of a special city, and speaker of the House of Lords. Carlo also promoted him to the rank of duke, which was worthy of Princess Christina.

The couple currently has two sons, Ettore and Alex. The good news is that they are both still young, and Carlo has encouraged them to have more children in the future to continue their family line.

Carlo has never been stingy with his daughter and grandson.

Even as a Belgian prince with three children, he receives gifts from Carlo every year, the value of which is definitely no less than hundreds of thousands of peseta.

When these children come of age, Carlo will present them with generous gifts. The gifts Carlo gives to his sons and daughters when they reach adulthood are worth no less than 200 million pesetas.

Now that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren have come of age, Carlo will only be more generous, with each person's coming-of-age gift valued at no less than 500 million pesetas.

The significant change is due to two main reasons: firstly, the peseta has depreciated considerably over the years; secondly, the Spanish royal family is now much wealthier, and Carlo doesn't mind such a small expense. Of course, Carlo doesn't spoil his children excessively. Aside from annual gifts and coming-of-age presents, whether it's his sons, daughters, or grandchildren, they must earn pocket money either through their annual royal pension or through their own efforts.

To reiterate, the royal family is, after all, a role model for all Spaniards. If members of the royal family are all indulging in extravagance and debauchery, then a culture of extravagance will spread throughout Spanish society, which is not good news for Spain.

After questioning Alexander again and confirming that he truly wanted to go to Finland or Estonia to become a monarch, Carlo stopped asking questions.

Now that Alexander has made his choice, all Carlo can do is support him.

However, what puzzled Carlo was that his second son, Martin, seemed to have no interest in going to Finland or Estonia.

Is it because she doesn't want to compete with her younger brother? Or is it that she truly has no interest in becoming a duke or king of a country?

"Martin, what about you? If you're also interested in becoming the king of a country, I can arrange that for you too."

Finland and Estonia are under our control; you can each choose one. Finland has a larger land area and a larger population, but most of its land lies within the Arctic Circle, resulting in a rather cold climate.

Estonia has a small population, but its geographical environment is slightly better than that of Finland.

"If you are both interested in the throne, then don't be modest. Although the specific circumstances of the two countries are somewhat different, as your father, I will not let you suffer a loss." Carlo smiled and looked at Martin, inquiring about Martin's attitude.

“No, I won’t go, Father.” Martin shook his head, indicating that he was not interested in becoming the King of Finland or Estonia.

Perhaps fearing that his refusal would cause his younger brother Alexander to give up as well, Martin then said to Alexander, "Alexander, if you are truly ambitious, I support you."

Don't let my decision influence your thinking. Just as your father said, make the choice you won't regret.

It's not that I'm uninterested in the throne, it's just that I know I'm not very good at handling political affairs. Even if I did become the king of Finland or Estonia, what difference would it make?
It's still a constant struggle with those officials vying for power, which is a huge hassle. If you don't want to deal with these troubles, you'll inevitably be sidelined by local officials and nobles.

Rather than that, I'd rather stay in Spain. I'm more interested in managing my own company than being a king.

With the help of my father and brother, I don't need to worry about anything else; I can just focus on managing my company.

Hearing Martin say this, Carlo was not disappointed at all; instead, he looked at Martin with satisfaction.

It's not that Carlo didn't want his son to have great ambitions. It's just that ambition requires a prerequisite: having the corresponding ability.

Prince Juan Fernando, Prince Martin, and Prince Alexander were all personally trained by Carlo, and he knew their abilities and personalities very well.

All three men are certainly capable enough to be competent kings. However, when it comes to fighting against local officials and nobles in unfamiliar environments and accomplishing something significant, perhaps only Prince Juan Fernando and Prince Alexander are capable of doing so.

Prince Martin may be capable, but his personality is not suited to be a monarch. Don't underestimate the influence of a king's personality; sometimes it can affect national policy decisions and thus alter the fate of the royal family.

Carlo is quite satisfied that Martin is able to understand his own personality and make the most appropriate choices.

Of course, Carlo was satisfied with Prince Alexander's choice. Since his son was ambitious and had encountered such a suitable opportunity, Carlo naturally couldn't stop his son's ambition.

On the contrary, as Prince Alexander's father, what Carlo needed to do was to strongly support him, lay a solid foundation for him, and enable him to accomplish his great achievements more easily.

Of course, both Finland and Estonia have their limits in terms of national size. Their so-called great achievements are actually just about governing their respective countries well and enabling rapid industrial and economic development.

Take Finland, a country of much larger size, as an example. Even if Prince Alexander achieved something in Finland, Finland's ultimate potential is still only that of a medium-sized European country.

This is just the upper limit. Nowadays, Finland, in terms of both population and agricultural scale, can only be described as a mediocre country in Europe.

Small countries like the Netherlands and Belgium have much larger populations than Finland. Currently, the only countries in terms of population that Finland can surpass, besides the soon-to-be-established Baltic states, are small countries like Albania, which would lag behind Finland in population.

Of course, Finland is slightly larger than the Baltic states.

According to relevant intelligence, the Grand Duchy of Finland, which is about to be incorporated into the country, has a total area of ​​approximately 38.8 square kilometers and a population of about 310 million, which is quite a large territory.

Compared to Finland, the Baltic states are much smaller.

Estonia has an area of ​​approximately 4.5 square kilometers and a population of just over one million. Latvia has an area of ​​approximately 6.45 square kilometers and a total population estimated to be around 180 million.

Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic states, but its land area is only 6.53 square kilometers and its population is about 210 million.

Compared to these three countries, Finland is significantly larger in both land area and population.

More importantly, Finland not only has abundant forest timber resources, but also rich mineral resources, with a much higher economic value for development than the Baltic states.

Although Estonia has the smallest land area and population, it possesses abundant oil shale reserves, making it a country with high economic potential.

Carlo also envisioned his two sons going to Finland and Estonia, as the two countries occupied by Spain had the highest potential economic value.

Population is less important compared to these resources. After all, Spain already has a large enough population, and it could easily send hundreds of thousands of people to these countries for immigration.

(End of this chapter)