Arriving in Madrid

On August 17, 1869, Carlo boarded a ship bound for Spain with his three confidants, Giotto, Caman Esposito, and Dru Rosso. He was accompanied by dozens of servants, cooks, tailors, and physicians personally selected by his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, as well as a court guard of about 500 men.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the court guard his father had assigned him. At Carlo's strong request, most of the soldiers in this guard had participated in the Italian Unification Wars, with many having served under Garibaldi.

The combat effectiveness of these soldiers was guaranteed, and with Giotto, Garibaldi's second son, in command, there was no need to worry about their loyalty.

Furthermore, the families of these soldiers would also be traveling to Spain with Carlo, which served as another means of ensuring their loyalty.

Simply put, from this point forward, these soldiers would answer only to Carlo. Carlo would also need to provide them with military funds and equipment in exchange for their absolute loyalty.

With these 500 men as a foundation, it would be much easier for Carlo to expand his own Royal Guard in the future. After all, when forming an army, just as the commanders at the top need to be carefully selected, it is also necessary to have lower-ranking officers who have truly experienced war to speed up the army's establishment and shape the soul of an elite force.

On the largest ship in the fleet, Caman Esposito and Dru Rosso gazed excitedly at the vast Mediterranean Sea, their hearts filled with emotion.

When they learned that Carlo was the Prince of Italy, both men were incredibly excited. They had initially thought Carlo was merely the son of a noble, but they never imagined his status was higher than they had imagined.

And a few days prior, upon hearing from Carlo that he was about to go to Spain to be crowned King, they were utterly speechless with shock.

This led them to express their enthusiastic agreement when Carlo invited them to accompany him to Spain.

After all, remaining in Italy offered them few avenues for advancement due to their commoner status, making promotion very difficult.

There were not a few excellent graduates like them, and Italy did not have much room for them to freely hone their skills.

However, things would be completely different if they went to Spain. Carlo did not have many trusted subordinates at his disposal, and as his most trusted confidants, they would naturally receive ample opportunities for development.

Although they would initially only be Vice-Captains of Carlo's Royal Guard, Carlo had promised that this guard would soon be expanded to the size of a brigade.

Both Caman Esposito and Dru Rosso would be able to serve as Regimental Commanders in the expanded Royal Brigade. This prospect was far better than their future prospects in Italy, where their officer ranks would only allow them to command company-level units.

At this moment, both men were wholeheartedly devoted to Carlo's cause and had persuaded their families to accompany them to Spain.

These two, one stout and one thin, were not foolish. They knew they had to do something to demonstrate their loyalty to gain Carlo's favor.

Carlo, of course, saw their commitment. If these two proved to be truly capable, Carlo would not hesitate to groom them into figures who could independently lead aspects of the Spanish army.

If their abilities were more mediocre, they would still serve as examples of Carlo's willingness to invest in talent—a gesture akin to "spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a fine horse's skeleton"—by taking on important positions in departments such as the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff.

After several days of sailing, the fleet finally approached Barcelona in the Catalonia region.

The port of Barcelona appeared to be teeming with people, with crowds gathered all around, seemingly to welcome Carlo's arrival.

"Your Majesty, Regent Serrano is already waiting for you at the port," Primo said with a smile as he approached Carlo, noticing his slight confusion.

Hearing Primo's words, Carlo immediately understood that these crowds had been arranged by Serrano in advance to ensure Carlo's arrival in Spain was not awkward.

If no one had welcomed Carlo upon his arrival in Spain, or if the public had shown indifference, it would have been an embarrassing situation for Carlo and the government that had chosen him as King.

Carlo nodded, his smile unchanged. "Where is Mr. Serrano?"

Following Primo's guidance, Carlo and his entourage, escorted by the guard, slowly proceeded onto the port and headed towards the seat of the Spanish government.

The moment Carlo stepped onto the port, a waiting band struck up the Spanish national anthem, the "Royal March."

The song was perfectly suited for the occasion, not only demonstrating the importance placed on welcoming the new King but also emphasizing Spain's monarchism and giving Carlo ample face.

"Your Highness!" The members of the Spanish government bowed to Carlo.

As Carlo had not yet sworn his oath to the constitution to be crowned King of Spain, his current status was still that of Duke of Italy.

However, the oath could be administered at any time, unlike the coronation ceremony, so no one showed any slackness towards Carlo.

Primo and Serrano smiled as they introduced the Spanish government officials to Carlo. Under the welcome of numerous officials, Carlo entered Barcelona.

This was merely a place to rest. After a brief respite, Carlo would embark on the journey back to Madrid with the officials.

The good news was that although Spain did not have extensive railway mileage, it had nearly 5,000 kilometers of track. And Barcelona, being a major city on the east coast, naturally had a railway line connecting to Madrid.

The bad news, however, was that the trains of this era ran extremely slowly, and the travel experience was far inferior to what would come later.

For Carlo, the journey from Barcelona to Madrid might be even worse than the rough days spent on the Mediterranean.

On the bright side, once he returned to Madrid, Carlo would be able to reside in the magnificent Royal Palace of Madrid.

This palace was renowned as the third-largest royal palace in Europe, a luxurious residence second only to the Palace of Versailles and Schönbrunn Palace. This grandeur also reflected the opulence of Spain's Bourbon Dynasty; at least in terms of royal spending on food, clothing, and daily necessities, the Spanish Kings of the Bourbon Dynasty had never been stingy.

On August 23, 1869, Carlo finally arrived in Madrid, and Primo once again returned to Spain's political center after many days.

Although Carlo wished to tour Madrid in 1869, after several days of arduous travel, he lacked the energy to think about anything else.

The accompanying officials and soldiers felt the same.

On their first day in Madrid, Carlo simply took his confidants and servants to the Royal Palace of Madrid and enjoyed a comfortable night's sleep in the clean royal chambers that had been prepared for him.

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