Carlo was aware that Spain was considerably underdeveloped at this time, but he was surprised by how far behind the country was in all aspects. At the beginning of the year, Spain's estimated population was 16.6 million. This round figure resulted from the Spanish government's inability to conduct detailed population statistics; it was merely a rough estimate based on birth and death registration data collected from various regions.
What was alarming was that Spain's illiteracy rate exceeded 70%. This meant that out of 16.6 million people, at least 11.6 million were illiterate. The combination of low education levels and the chaotic situation in recent years contributed to Spain having the lowest per capita annual income in Western Europe, which was only 87 pesetas—slightly over 3 British pounds.
Although the lower classes in all European countries weren't having an easy time in this era, exploitation by factory owners and oppression by capitalists were common occurrences.
But an annual income of just over 3 pounds was an extremely unhealthy level; Britain's per capita annual income exceeded 9 pounds, and other European countries also maintained levels above 6 to 7 pounds.
Spaniards on average could only earn half or even one-third of the income of citizens in other countries; this was also why the people rebelled against Queen Isabella II, because Spaniards genuinely couldn't survive anymore.
Looking at such data, Carlo couldn't help but feel a severe headache.
Carlo had initially thought Italy's situation was already quite bad, but he didn't expect it to be completely insignificant compared to Spain.
Except for the illiteracy rate, where Italy and Spain were on par, Italy could completely overwhelm Spain in all other aspects.
Now Carlo had only one thought, which was to quickly push for Prim's reforms and improve Spain's terrible situation first.
As for Spain now, let alone achieving revival, whether the kingdom could continue to exist was a question. Although Queen Isabella II had been driven away, she had left Carlo with an extremely terrible Spain.
Confronted with a fundamentally corrupt Spain, the situation could no longer be repaired merely by concentrating on development. At the cabinet meeting a few days later, Carlo took his place at the head of the table, patiently awaiting Prim's proposal concerning the reforms.
Prim was well-prepared for this reform. The cabinet he assembled consisted entirely of reformers. The only two members who were not reformers, Serrano and Carlo, had also stated their support for the reforms.
Secondly, Prim had been preparing for the reforms since becoming prime minister. He combined Spain's current situation, referenced a large number of successful reform experiences from abroad, and finally formulated a comprehensive Spanish reform plan.
He handed the plan to Carlo and said to Carlo very solemnly and seriously, "Your Majesty, this is the Spanish reform plan that I and dozens of officials finally wrote after long-term investigation and research.
The following is the initial plan for the reforms. Please take a look."
The initial plan for the reforms was very simple. There were only four categories in total, namely, agricultural, educational, industrial, and military reforms.
"Prime Minister Prim, please elaborate on your reform plan." Although he supported the reforms inwardly, this did not prevent Carlo from wanting to hear Prim's detailed plan for the reforms.
Prim nodded, stood up, and introduced to all cabinet officials, "Our initial reforms have only four aspects in total, namely, agricultural, industrial, educational, and military reforms.
In terms of agriculture, I plan to promote the reduction of agricultural taxes to increase the income of the agricultural population. At the same time, promote the export of grain so that the agricultural population's grain has sufficient sales channels.
In terms of industry, I believe we should restore Spain's industrial construction in a short time, and invest in new factories to build our own industrial zones.
Building factories can provide more jobs, which will also help us further increase per capita income.
In terms of education reform, I plan to build more literacy classes to reduce our illiterate population. However, this requires huge financial investment, therefore, it is the third choice for reform.
Finally, there is the military reform. I hope to expand our army to around 100,000 and equip our army with more cannons.
Sufficient artillery has proven its effectiveness on the battlefield. Whether it is to defend against foreign enemies or stabilize Spain's order, improving the army's combat effectiveness is necessary."
Hearing Prim's reform plan, Carlo had not yet had time to express any opinions, but the Minister of the Army, Serrano, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but speak up.
Serrano stood up, looked at Prim with a look of disbelief, and asked in surprise, "Prime Minister Prim, don't you know how many pesetas are left in Spain's treasury?
Each of your reforms requires tens of millions of pesetas, and our government has no money at all. With all due respect, if we cannot prepare enough pesetas before implementing the reforms, this reform is destined to end in failure."
"Don't we still have plenty of land?" Prim asked, looking calmly at Serrano, who had voiced his objections.
In a monarchical country, the largest landowner is typically the monarch. Queen Isabella, known for her debauchery and greed, was no exception. It was not surprising that the Bourbon dynasty owned the most cultivated land in Spain.
After Queen Isabella was driven away, the Spanish interim government confiscated the cultivated land that originally belonged to the Bourbon dynasty. This land was essential for Prim to implement his reforms. Even though this land once belonged to the monarch, it would not be inherited by Carlo along with the throne. Carlo naturally understood this point, and he also had no intention of being a landlord, let alone ruin his reputation for this bit of land.
On the contrary, if Carlo supported using this land to exchange for enough funds for the government, this could instead become one of the topics for promoting Carlo.
Seeing that Carlo had no thoughts on that land, Prim finally breathed a sigh of relief and explained to Carlo and Serrano, "The Bourbon family owns vast amounts of land. This land is enough to provide sufficient funds for our reforms.
I plan to divide this land into three parts. One part will be distributed free of charge to Spanish farmers so that farmers have enough cultivated land to grow grain.
Another part will be sold to capitalists and farm owners to accumulate enough funds for our reforms.
The remaining part will be nationalized and can be rented out to farmers at a low price for cultivation."
"I support your idea, Prime Minister Prim." Carlo nodded, having no objection to the proposal of dividing the land into three parts.
Furthermore, I have another suggestion that can raise funds for the reforms. Why don't we try issuing national bonds?"
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