Chapter 285 Drought and Disaster Relief

Carlo was quite satisfied with the test results of the new car and decided to officially start the commercialization of the car.

Although current cars still have some shortcomings, taking all factors into consideration, current cars can replace horse-drawn carriages in certain situations and are more efficient than horse-drawn carriages.

And with the promotion of assembly line production, the cost of cars will be reduced step by step. At present, cars are not affordable for ordinary people, but in the next ten years, who can guarantee that the price of cars will not drop to a level that ordinary people can accept?

After all, the price of the Model T before and after its release was very different. The fact that more than 1500 million units were sold also proves that the Model T was not a vehicle that only aristocrats and capitalists could afford.

Although it is out of reach for most civilians, some people with higher incomes can still save up money to buy one.

Especially for those people who are engaged in transportation and soliciting passengers, they can theoretically make more money by using cars to transport passengers and goods than by using horse-drawn carriages to transport people and goods.

Although cars consume a lot of oil, horse-drawn carriages also consume a lot of fodder. Moreover, the price of oil was not high in this era, and the main lighting method used by the public was oil lamps, which used kerosene refined from petroleum.

However, before selling cars, car companies need to make more thorough preparations.

Carlo’s goal is to sell cars simultaneously in the capitals or important cities of major European countries, which also means that car companies’ production must keep up.

Based on the current cost of the car of 1.26 pesetas, the final selling price of the car will be at least 1.5 pesetas.

Even if the cost of a car is reduced to less than 1 pesetas through assembly line production, the final selling price of the car will not be lower than 1.2 pesetas.

This way of calculating the selling price only takes into account the domestic costs in Spain and does not take into account the freight costs and tariff costs brought about by cross-border transportation.

A car that costs 1.5 pesetas in Spain may cost 1.8 or even 2 pesetas abroad.

After all, car manufacturers need to make money, and the cost increases caused by various transportation costs and tariffs can only be spread over every car and borne by every user.

Anyway, the users who can afford cars at this time are either rich or noble. For these people, an additional cost of several thousand pesetas for each car is nothing and is completely acceptable.

As long as Spanish cars can demonstrate their excellence in speed, safety and stability, they will be able to easily occupy half of the current automobile market.

Other automobile companies without government support that rely on hand-built cars cannot be compared with Spanish automobile companies, not to mention that Spain’s engine laboratories are still developing newer engines every year to improve engine stability and efficiency.

According to the current car prices and profits, as long as Benz’s car company can sell 1 cars, it can earn a net profit of tens of millions of pesetas.

As the largest shareholder of the automobile company, Carlo will also receive tens of millions of pesetas in return.

You should know that so far, Carlo has invested less than 1500 million pesetas in the automobile company, and the average annual R&D funds invested in the automobile company and engine laboratory are just over 100 million pesetas.

As long as he could sell 10,000 cars, Carlo could guarantee that he could get back all the money he invested in the cars and engines and make a small profit.

On this basis, the more cars he sells, the more money Carlo can make.

This is why it is so easy to make money in this era. There are many industries like automobiles that can get huge returns with just some capital investment. As long as the capital is strong, such investment will basically not lose money.

As a time traveler, Carlo certainly knows which industries are suitable for investment. Coupled with the enormous power he holds as a king, Carlo’s investment becomes very simple. Every investment can bring huge income to the royal family in return.

Although the current wealth of the Spanish royal family is not as great as those royal families that have accumulated wealth for hundreds of years, considering that Carlo has only been the King of Spain for about ten years, it is quite amazing that he can own such a huge asset.

If Carlo is given another ten years to develop, the Spanish royal family may become the richest royal family in Europe, or even the richest family in the world.

Carlo, who watched the entire car testing process, walked out of the car factory quite satisfied. Before leaving, he did not forget to give Benz a few words, asking him not to forget to ensure quality and quantity while promoting assembly line production, as the quality and stability of the car are the key.

In order to increase the popularity of cars and let people know that there is a means of transportation called cars that has surpassed horse-drawn carriages in terms of efficiency and speed, Carlo decided to hold an automobile expo in Spain, just like the previous tram expo, to promote cars as products.

Of course, how to better showcase its products at the Auto Expo is something Benz should consider.

Carlo basically doesn’t ask about the subsequent sales of cars. He only looks at the sales reports reported by the car company every once in a while to find out how much money his company has made.

Carlo had not had a few days of leisure time after returning to the palace when Prime Minister Canovas came to him with an urgent report that a serious drought had occurred in inland Spain, which might even affect the agricultural harvest in some inland areas.

The interior of Spain is mostly mountainous, and grapes and other crops are generally grown rather than grain.

Such a drought will not affect Spain’s grain harvest too much, but it will have a relatively serious impact on Spain’s main exported agricultural products, especially grapes.

After learning about the severe drought in the inland, Carlo did not hesitate and ordered the government to do its utmost to save the affected areas. Now was the time for the water conservancy facilities built by Spain before to come into play.

Because of Spain’s geographical location and geographical environment, Spain is one of the countries with the least rainfall on the European continent.

Droughts are quite common in Spain, but they are never as severe as this year.

Especially inland Spain, it is as dry as a desert every summer, which is also the biggest flaw and limitation of Spain’s geographical environment.

Carlo also understood the characteristic of Spain’s low rainfall, and ordered the government to vigorously build relevant water conservancy facilities a few years ago.

Especially in areas with less rainfall, large-scale water conservancy facilities must be built to ensure people’s living and agricultural water supply in drought conditions.

The good news is that the population in these drought-stricken areas is not large, and generally several towns share one water conservancy facility, which can basically ensure local water supply.

The agricultural harvest in drought-stricken areas is related to the income of local farmers, so it is necessary to save the crops. Even if the government has to pay a higher price for this, it is better than letting these people suffer heavy losses and go bankrupt.

Under Carlo’s order, the government took quick action and issued decrees to areas where the drought was most severe.

The morning at the end of midsummer was a little cool, but Anthony was not happy at all.

He and his wife had breakfast early and went out. A few hundred meters east of their home was the farmland they had managed for generations. Now it was planted with grape vines all over the hillside, which looked spectacular.

Looking at the grapes hanging on the vines, Anthony’s face did not show any joy, but instead looked a little heavy.

For a grape grower like him, the grape vines covering the mountains are more important than his own life. Looking at the sun rising gradually above his head and feeling the warm wind blowing in his face, Anthony felt a trace of despair in his heart.

“When will this drought end? It hasn’t rained for more than three months. How can my grape vines survive?” Anthony murmured to himself, holding the yellowing and withered grape leaves in his hands, with tears flashing in his eyes.

“Water the grape vines first, Anthony. Let’s ensure this year’s harvest first, at least we won’t starve.” Anthony’s wife reminded Anthony who was already in despair in time.

Anthony stood up numbly, nodded belatedly, carried the load and went with his wife to the water source one kilometer away.

The so-called water source used to be a lake. Although it was not large in area, it was able to guarantee water supply for surrounding farmers because of sufficient rainfall.

But since the drought, the area of ​​the lake has become smaller and smaller, eventually evolving into the current oval-shaped lake that is less than 20 meters long and less than 10 meters wide.

Although it looks quite large, you have to know that there are at least hundreds of farmers within a few kilometers, and the domestic water consumption of each household is an astronomical figure.

Not to mention that all these residents are farmers, and the irrigation water needed for planting cannot be provided by this small lake in front of them.

Anthony, who was walking towards the lake with his head down, was suddenly grabbed by his wife’s hand. He looked up and saw his wife’s terrified eyes.

“What’s wrong, Sandy?” Anthony looked at his wife.

“Look! There are two groups of people over there. Oh my God, they are fighting!” As Sandy exclaimed, the two groups of people gathered beside the lake and started fighting. You held a sickle and I held a hoe. It was very lively for a while.

“Damn it, how am I supposed to get water?” Anthony didn’t care about the two groups fighting. He was more concerned about how he could get water in the chaotic situation. This was related to whether he could harvest his grapes and whether the grape vines could survive in this dry environment.

There were many farmers who had the same idea as Anthony. Gradually, many people gathered around the lake. Some joined the fight between the two sides, some watched the excitement from a hundred or two hundred meters away, and more were people carrying buckets and anxiously trying to fetch water.

As more and more people gathered, the abnormality here soon attracted the attention of patrolling police.

Carlo has very high requirements for public security in Spain. In remote rural areas like this, town police will patrol on horseback.

Of course, in order to ensure the safety of the police, all police officers are equipped with guns, but they are all low-powered pistols.

clap clap!

Two consecutive gunshots silenced the crowd instantly, and the two groups of people fighting stopped at the same time and looked towards the source of the gunshots.

“What’s going on? Damn it, can anyone tell me what’s going on here? Are you damn guys going to start a war here? Are you going to make me lose my job? Assholes!” Patrolman Blake walked forward angrily and went straight to the leaders of the two fighting groups.

As a senior patrolman in the town, Blake was familiar with the people in the surrounding villages. The two groups fighting in front of him came from two different villages, and the reason for their fight was precisely because of the fight over water sources.

This lake is the public water source for the entire town, but because the water level in the lake is constantly decreasing, some people want to take the lake for themselves and only allow people in their own village to fetch water.

This obviously angered the public, and was the reason why the two groups gathered together to fight. Under Carlo’s deliberate promotion of bullfighting, the Spanish people also more or less acquired some aggressive character.

Especially in such a hot climate, the violent nature of people’s character will be infinitely magnified.

Sheriff Blake looked at the two groups of people who had stopped fighting. Everyone had bruises on their faces to varying degrees. Some of the more seriously injured guys were only feeling the pain at this time, and their bones might have been broken.

“Damn you, you idiots!” This is not the civilized era of later generations. Naturally, the temper of a patrolman would not be very good.

Sheriff Black is well-known in several surrounding towns. Not only is he a good fighter, but his marksmanship is also superb.

More than ten years ago, a group of robbers came to the town and specialized in robbing farmers in remote areas.

Sheriff Blake chased the gang of robbers for several days, and finally shot all the robbers at the cost of being seriously injured.

This also led to Sheriff Blake being promoted to sheriff by the city government, responsible for managing the security and public safety of the town.

Upon learning that the two groups were fighting over water, Sheriff Black was furious, but he still explained to everyone watching: “From today on, you don’t have to worry about the water problem.

His Majesty the King has learned of the drought and ordered the government to deal with the drought at all costs. The city government has approved the proposal to open the gates and release water, and the town’s irrigation canals will have water tomorrow. “

“Sheriff Black, are you telling the truth? Will there be water in the canal tomorrow?” After hearing what Sheriff Black said that the floodgates would be opened to release water tomorrow, the onlookers no longer cared about gossip and walked forward excitedly to surround Sheriff Black.

“Damn it! Would I lie to you? This is an order from His Majesty the King himself, passed on by the Cabinet Government to the regional governments, and then by the regional governments to the municipal governments.

Who dares to pass on a false order at such a critical moment? Guys, His Majesty the King cares about us, and we have to reduce His Majesty’s troubles, right?
From now on, I don’t want any competition for water. Everyone must queue up according to their needs. If anyone cuts in line or competes for water, I will consider whether to cancel his qualification to draw water.

His Majesty the King will not abandon us, provided that we are good citizens who abide by the law, right?” Sheriff Black looked at the crowd that was gradually approaching, first took a step back to get himself out of the encirclement, and then slowly explained.

Although he knew that the guys in front of him were all nearby residents, he couldn’t guarantee whether there were people with ulterior motives who would take advantage of the chaos to snatch his pistol.

Although firearms are not banned in Spain, they are not widely circulated. In addition to small-caliber pistols, the only rifles available to civilians are hunting rifles, which are only approved for use in the wild.

You need to surrender your firearms when entering the city. After all, the Spanish government does not want to see people engaging in violence in its own city.

Generally, you can buy small-caliber pistols or shotguns in official weapons stores as long as you are a legal Spanish citizen and have no criminal record.

However, when purchasing bullets, not only is there a limit on the quantity, but each time you purchase a bullet, you are also required to report the purpose of the last purchase.

The purpose of doing so is to reduce the occurrence of shootings. Normal hunting or self-defense is permitted, but if a gun is used to attack others maliciously, under such weapons control, it is also possible to quickly identify the store that sells the gun.

Except for official weapons stores, any private weapons stores are prohibited, at least not allowed to exist openly.

This is linked to the performance of officials in various regions and cities. Once a shooting occurs in a city or region and it is found that the guns were purchased from unofficial weapons stores, the officials of this region will be severely punished.

Doing so will also effectively reduce the circulation of weapons and reduce the occurrence of shootings in Spain.

Back to the scene, when it was confirmed that there would be enough water tomorrow, everyone present cheered immediately.

The reason for their quarrel was precisely because of the reduction of water resources. Now that they have confirmed that there is enough water, they will naturally stop fighting.

“Long live His Majesty the King!”

Because the order to ensure water supply to drought-stricken areas at all costs was issued by Carlo, the people present cheered for a while and then immediately shouted slogans such as “Long live His Majesty the King”.

These farmers were truly grateful to Carlo, as it was Carlo’s orders that ensured that their year’s hard work would not be in vain.

Sufficient water is needed to ensure the ripening of grapes and the survival of grapevines. The harvest of grapes is related to their income this year, and the survival of grapevines is related to their hard work over the years.

It was Carlo who ensured that their income would not suffer too much loss. How could they not be grateful to Carlo?
After letting everyone cheer for a while and vent their emotions over the past few months of drought, Sheriff Blake lowered his hand and began to resolve the conflict.

“Since the water problem has been solved, this gang fight is not a big deal.

Since you are two groups fighting, just take care of the injured on your side. Fortunately, the injuries of you guys are not serious, and I can protect you.

If someone dies in a fight, I won’t be able to protect you.

Okay, let’s just go. We are all neighbors in the same town, there is no need to make such a big fuss.

If you are really angry, why don’t you join the army and vent your anger on others? What’s the point of showing off by punching your compatriots? We should punch the enemies of our country, so that we can repay your majesty’s kindness.

I am too old, otherwise I would join the army. I heard that the army earns more than patrolmen. If the young men in your family want to join the army, don’t stop them. “Sheriff Black first defined the responsibilities of the two groups of people fighting, and then he smiled and mediated the conflict between the two groups of people fighting.

In fact, there is no contradiction. Since there is no conflict of interests, the two groups can naturally shake hands and make peace.

After Sheriff Blake’s few words, the anger between the two groups turned into gratitude towards Carlo, and even some longing for becoming a soldier.

On the one hand, they really wanted to join the army to repay Carlo’s kindness. On the other hand, the welfare benefits of the Spanish army were indeed very high.

Carlo is well aware that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Since becoming the King of Spain, he has increased the income and welfare benefits of the Spanish army many times.

Why did Prime Minister Primo’s revolution succeed? In addition to the fact that Queen Isabel and her government were too corrupt and chaotic, the huge amount of wealth that Spain extracted from its colonies and homeland flowed into the pockets of the nobility and clergy, and had nothing to do with the common people.

The middle and high-level positions in the army were firmly controlled by the nobles, who in turn withheld the soldiers’ income in various ways.

Under such circumstances, it was normal for the army to turn to the revolutionary army. This was also the reason why Queen Isabel’s government quickly collapsed and was eventually driven out of Spain by Prime Minister Primo.

This was also a lesson that made Carlo realize how important it was to ensure the soldiers’ income.

Needless to say, the Guards, as an army directly under the royal family, have always had the highest welfare benefits among all the Spanish armies, and their loyalty is also extremely high.

It is no exaggeration to say that they will execute all the orders issued by Carlo without hesitation, even if they are asked to perform a suicide mission, they will not hesitate at all.

Thanks to Carlo’s efforts over the years, the Guards had long since become an army completely loyal to the royal family, and an army in which Carlo could completely trust.

Although Carlo’s direct troops only included the Guards, because the military academy had trained a large number of officers over the years, Carlo also had a considerable influence on the Spanish Royal Army.

The reason why soldiers’ income has been growing continuously is, on the one hand, because of the increase in per capita income in Spain, and on the other hand, because Carlo has repeatedly asked the government and parliament to increase soldiers’ income.

This had long been publicized to the whole country through newspaper media, and the soldiers of the Royal Army were also well aware of it.

Although Carlo has not yet gained control of the army, with Carlo’s influence in the army, it is no problem for him to directly issue orders to the Royal Army under special circumstances.

It is precisely because of the high income and high treatment of the Spanish army that most Spaniards are not averse to joining the army, and some even hope that they can join the army and get more opportunities to serve the country.

When hearing Sheriff Black’s request not to stop his son from joining the army, a group of farmers all smiled and said, “How could that be, Sheriff Black? If that boy is willing to join the army, we would be so happy.”

Seeing that everyone’s emotions had been mobilized by him, Sheriff Black nodded with satisfaction, and finally said: “Okay, you guys, line up to get water.

When the sluice gates are officially opened tomorrow, there will be no need for everyone to line up to get water. Remember what I said, I don’t want to see a fight happen again.

After all, I also want political achievements, don’t I? “

Amidst everyone’s laughter, Sheriff Black and a police officer rode away on horseback. Everyone followed Sheriff Black’s instructions and lined up in an orderly manner to get water.

“Anthony, what do you think about letting little Anthony join the army in a few years?” Anthony’s wife Sandy naturally also heard what Sheriff Blake said just now. It was obvious that Sandy was very willing to let her son join the army.

“No, Sandy.” Anthony shook his head, and then said: “I hope he can enter the military academy and become a glorious officer.

Your Majesty values ​​us so much, how can we not try our best to repay your kindness?

I have no chance to join the army, but little Anthony still has hope. If he can be admitted to a military academy, he can become an officer in the future and escape the situation of being farmers for generations.

I heard that graduates from military academies are promoted to company commanders right after graduation, and they are in charge of dozens of people. Little Anthony has inherited my intelligence and wisdom, and I believe he will definitely be able to enter the military academy and become a senior officer in the future. “

The couple talked and laughed, sweeping away their previous despair and seemed full of hope for life.

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(End of this chapter)