Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 185: Chapter 144: The Economic Crisis Is Coming (Part 2)

At the same time, Spain, which has not suffered too much from the economic crisis, can also attract the attention of capital from other countries, thereby having more capital drive for domestic development.

However, development is one thing; in Spain’s construction, whether it is Carlo or Prime Minister Prim, they will always be aware of the influence of capital.

Spain certainly allows capital to exist domestically, but does not allow capital to have too much power, nor does it allow capital to influence the government through its strength.

In the future, the capital with greater influence will only come from the Royal Family and government capital. These two official capitals combined can easily control Spain’s domestic workers, making Spain a constitutional monarchy supported by the working and farming classes.

According to the current investigation by the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau in the United States, an economic crisis is bound to erupt sooner or later, possibly even within a year.

Since last year, the United States has already begun to slow down its railroad construction efforts, and the stock market in the railroad industry is no longer as profitable.

Since it is already certain that an economic crisis is coming, the most important thing at present, naturally, is to frantically expand one’s capital reserves.

Currently, many countries’ currency systems generally adopt the gold standard, so even if affected by an economic crisis, the devaluation of currency is not significant.

In some cases, currency might even appreciate because, after all, gold’s value tends to be very stable. In chaotic times like an economic crisis, it only appreciates, not depreciates.

There is only one reason to expand capital reserves: to prepare as much capital as possible to swoop in after the economic crisis and buy assets at rock-bottom prices.

The eruption of an economic crisis signifies that many companies and enterprises will go bankrupt, and this is when their value is at its lowest.

Carlo can easily acquire these companies with less capital, whether he chooses to keep them locally for further development or transport important equipment and production materials back to Spain, it’s a win-win situation.

In fact, Carlo considered alerting the Austro-Hungarian Empire Government and the Italian Government in advance to prepare for the economic crisis, but after much thought, he ultimately decided against it.

Alerting them in advance could trigger unforeseen events, which would not be advantageous for Carlo. Besides, the economic crisis is something that each country’s government has to bear, and it does not affect the Royal Family as much.

The Austro-Hungarian Imperial Family and the Italian Royal Family, compared to the Spanish Royal Family, are clearly more influential. They can handle this economic crisis more easily, so there’s no need to create additional trouble for himself.

Even if these two Royal Families suffer heavily in this economic crisis, Carlo can still help them in the future through interest-free or low-interest loans, with no need to take such a big risk.

Capital reserves and gold reserves are the two most important things in an economic crisis.

The former can be used to buy low-priced assets from other countries, obtaining a lot of industrial equipment and production materials.

The latter serves as the most valuable capital reserve, preventing bank runs and exacerbating the economic crisis within Spain.

“Keep monitoring the economic situations in various countries, and if there’s any possibility of an economic crisis erupting, report promptly.

Additionally, investigate the enterprises in the United States and various European countries. I need a detailed report,” Carlo instructed.

Once the economic crisis fully erupts, the most important task is to acquire enterprises and factories from countries in Europe and America.

However, the sum of these countries’ factories easily totals at least tens of thousands, even exceeding a hundred thousand.

In such a situation, without proper investigation, it’s very possible to purchase those shell companies that led to the economic crisis, rather than truly excellent companies with equipment, abundant production materials, and many skilled laborers.

Buying companies with real assets not only allows us to obtain plenty of equipment and production materials, but also poach a few skilled workers to Spain.

But if we purchase a shell company, aside from bankrupt railway projects, what we might get might just be a pile of IOUs.

Upon hearing Carlo’s instructions, Kadir, the Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, nodded very solemnly and said as if making a promise: “Yes, Your Majesty. I will investigate the factories and enterprises in Europe and America thoroughly and draft a report for you.”

Carlo is quite confident in the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau’s capabilities. Even the previous assassination attempt on Prime Minister Prim was only investigated thoroughly with their assistance; whether it’s domestic surveillance or foreign intelligence gathering, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau has considerable skills.

Under Carlo’s significant investment of funds and resources, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau has become Spain’s largest intelligence agency, with excellent intelligence capabilities.

Currently, the number of documented intelligence personnel already exceeds a thousand. They are scattered across Spain and various European and American countries, bringing copious intelligence reports and firsthand news to Spain.

These intelligence reports also assist Carlo in better understanding affairs and situations across countries to prepare for Spain’s response strategies.

Besides these thousand intelligence personnel, there are up to several thousand auxiliary intelligence personnel collaborating with the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau.

Combined, these people form a large intelligence network for the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, allowing Carlo to receive the latest news and policies from governments worldwide right from Madrid.