Empire Rising: Spain

From a historical perspective or considering the current situation in Europe, the past few years have been a relatively peaceful and stable period for Europe.

Since the establishment of the German Empire, the European powers have tended towards stability. Although there are fierce conflicts among nations, such conflicts are insufficient to trigger a major war between the powers.

This is fortunate for Spain, as it lacks a peaceful and stable environment for development. But it is also unfortunate, as the overly stable peaceful development environment leads to slow growth in the military industry, making it difficult to find opportunities to export weapons as massively as in World War I or II.

The Tenth Russian-Turkish War is a historically validated large-scale war and the first significant opportunity for the Royal Military Factory to export weaponry since its establishment.

Of course, it’s uncertain whether Spain can gain a share in this war. After all, the situation in the Balkan Peninsula attracts attention not only from Russia but also from other European powers, primarily the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary.

That’s why, when Carlo instructed the Royal Military Factory to expand production, he set a storage target of 150,000 rifles, 1,200 cannons, and corresponding bullets and shells.

Even if Spain cannot sell weapons during the Russian-Turkish War, these accumulated rifles and cannons could still be sold in small orders to other countries or used domestically.

After all, training the army also leads to weapon and ammunition losses, so stockpiling more isn’t a big problem.

In this era, standard firearms, primarily rifles, and cannons as significant firepower outputs, were the main weaponry. The manufacturing costs of these weapons and corresponding bullets and shells were not too high, which is why Carlo confidently commanded the Royal Military Factory to start production without inspection.

Notably, the Royal Spanish Armory, while expanding, recruited numerous child laborers as workers.

This wasn’t due to Carlo intentionally exploiting child labor but aligned with the prevailing background of the era. The presence of child labor was extensive across Europe, including in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Austria, the traditional powers.

One major reason for the low life expectancy of only thirty to forty years in Europe at this time was the massive influx of children into factories as child laborers, exploited brutally by factory owners and capitalists, leading to numerous health issues and premature death in their twenties or thirties.

Even reaching their twenties or thirties was quite an achievement. Many child laborers perished directly on the production lines under the exploitation of factory owners, which was the bloody and harsh reality of the time.

Of course, the Royal Military Factory’s significant recruitment of child labor was not due to Carlo wanting to exploit them but to provide them with better welfare to the extent possible.

While Spain’s labor law and minimum income law also stipulated the working hours and income for child labor, these could only alleviate part of the suffering faced by the child labor group.

These children represent Spain’s future, so even if considering just for Spain’s future, Carlo tries to accommodate more child laborers, allowing them to grow healthier.

Currently, the Royal Military Factory is absolutely the leading enterprise in Spain’s military industry, a benchmark and representative enterprise in Spain’s military industry.

Currently, child laborers make up over 30% of the workforce in the military factory, which is quite an exaggerated figure. Every day, you could see thousands of child laborers at the Royal Military Factory heading to their production lines, contributing their modest efforts to Spain’s military industry.

Carlo wouldn’t excessively raise child labor income as that would be unfair to adult workers. Of course, appropriate welfare for child labor is provided, even exceeding what the labor law stipulates.

All child laborers from the Royal Family’s enterprises enjoy at least one day off per week, with monthly holidays exceeding four days. Moreover, factories and businesses provide milk or bone soup at least once a week to child laborers, helping them to strengthen their bodies.

Child laborers are also not allowed to work overtime. When the factory’s off-duty time comes, child laborers may leave first.

This is Carlo’s modest way of helping these child laborers, allowing them to feel a tiny bit of warmth in this dark era.

To change the current situation, Carlo alone cannot achieve it. A significant economic leap across the country is needed, allowing Spaniards more savings and income, so they would send their children to school instead of factories for hard labor.

During the literacy and education campaign, Carlo had the Royal Family’s businesses organize child laborers to participate in literacy education classes during holidays. The progress is relatively good, with most child laborers in royal factories and businesses completing literacy education, shedding their illiteracy.

Going forward, Carlo plans to establish schools for child laborers within some larger factories, allowing these child laborers to receive compulsory primary education while working.

Such schools for child laborers can not only teach the knowledge of compulsory primary education but also allow them to learn some basic skills, transforming from a child laborer into a skilled worker.