Capitalist Uprising

"Excellent." Carlos VII nodded with considerable satisfaction, the eagerness in his eyes nearly spilling over. "Now we just wait for those discontented factory owners to jump out on their own and deliver the fatal blow to Primo, that man who disrespects the Bourbon dynasty.

Only the Bourbon family are the masters of Spain. The House of Savoy should stay in Italy—they are unworthy of setting foot in Iberia."

The situation in Spain was now very clear. Everyone believed that those capitalists who valued money above all else would never give up resistance; they would stop at nothing to protect their wealth.

And indeed, that was the case.

The factory owners and capitalists struck back quickly.

On January 19, 1870, the Madrid Workers' Gazette published an article condemning the government.

The article made no mention of the labor law's purpose of guaranteeing workers' income. Instead, it denounced the government for disregarding the revenues of factories and enterprises, blindly forcing them to bear additional expenses.

At the end of the article, it warned that if the government did not promptly repeal this misguided decree, it could lead to the bankruptcy of countless factories and enterprises across Spain, resulting in massive unemployment and ultimately harming workers' incomes.

The article seemed reasonable on the surface, but it could not withstand scrutiny.

The so-called "additional expenses" for factories and enterprises were, in fact, the wages they should have been paying their workers all along.

If paying workers their due wages would drive a factory or enterprise to bankruptcy, then what reason was there for such a factory or enterprise to exist?

Before Carlo's propaganda machine could counterattack, the capitalists launched their second move.

On January 20, the rising Spanish Sun newspaper came under attack.

The assailants first smashed the newspaper's windows with hard objects like stones, then broke inside and destroyed some of the printing equipment.

The capitalists' utter fearlessness toward the government and the crown irritated Carlo, and he resolved to exclude big capital from Spain's ruling class.

On January 21, the Spanish government swiftly passed the "Spanish Labor Law" bill and announced its immediate and strict enforcement. All factories and enterprises within Spain were required to pay workers on a weekly or monthly basis. Late payments would incur a tenfold fine, and severe cases would result in the seizure of the factory or enterprise.

As soon as the decree was announced, it caused an uproar among the capitalist class.

The capitalists had assumed Primo and Carlo would back down, but instead, they chose to stand firm against capitalism.

Determined to protect their wallets, the capitalists united. They sought to emulate Primo's earlier actions and push for a new revolution in the Kingdom of Spain.

On January 22, factory owners and business leaders around Madrid banded together, inciting a portion of the workers and radical Republicans to stage a large-scale protest on the streets of Madrid.

One had to admit that the capitalists' brainwashing of the workers had some effect. After hearing from the newspapers that factories would go bankrupt from bearing additional expenses, some workers began to worry about losing their jobs.

Though most workers remained rational, a small minority, driven by such fears, chose to side with the capitalists.

Once the protest erupted, Primo ordered the military to suppress it while secretly mobilizing troops to control order in Madrid.

The capitalists' goal certainly wasn't limited to a protest, and Primo's attention wasn't entirely absorbed by these marching crowds.

For a military expert like Primo, these petty maneuvers by the capitalists could not escape his notice.

Sure enough, as the protest was being suppressed, another, smaller group of rioters, armed with various weapons, marched in force toward the Madrid Palace and the Parliament.

In the eyes of these capitalists, who had participated in the Spanish Revolution, revolution seemed simple enough. All they needed to do was seize the Spanish royal palace and government in the chaos, and the king and government officials would surrender without a fight.

They didn't even need to act themselves—the palace guards and the Spanish army would willingly defect to their side.

But when this motley crew approached the palace, they were utterly dumbfounded.

The palace was not in the chaos of the previous revolution, nor were they greeted by defecting Spanish troops.

Staring at the palace guards standing ready in the distance, many in the riotous crowd swallowed hard, as if finally grasping the situation.

"By His Majesty's command, if you lay down your weapons now, His Majesty will only pursue the instigators of this rebellion. If anyone dares to take a single step forward, you will be deemed rebels against His Majesty and Spain, and executed on the spot!" The captain of the palace guard, Giotto, sat astride a black steed, holding an Italian-made rifle, and shouted at the rebel crowd not far away.

"Don't be fooled by him! No one will forgive us—not even God. Our only choice is to storm the palace and make Spain a true republic. God will protect us!" The leader of the rebel crowd, sensing the situation turning unfavorable, quickly stirred up emotions to salvage the crumbling morale.

"The labor law is meant to protect your interests. Those greedy factory owners will not go bankrupt just by paying your wages. Wake up, my subjects! Look behind you—those avaricious capitalists are the true enemies of all Spaniards!

I swear to you, in the name of God and as the King of Spain, that you will not lose your jobs, nor will you be held accountable for what has happened today.

You have been deceived—your eyes blinded by evil capitalists. But now is not the time to confess to God. We must join forces to defeat all of Spain's enemies, that pack of insatiable capitalists, and then we can speak of other matters.

Trust me, for the sake of Spain, lay down your weapons." Seeing the rebel morale beginning to waver, Carlo naturally seized the opportunity and called out to the crowd.

Hearing Carlo's words, many in the rebel ranks were visibly moved.

Few in the rebel crowd were truly willing to die for the capitalists. The workers were worried about losing their jobs. If their jobs were guaranteed, why would they stand against the government and the king?

As for the radical Republicans, they would not switch sides just because of a few words from Carlo.

But that suited Carlo just fine. Those who refused to lay down their arms would be sent to meet God immediately.

After a moment of careful thought, many workers chose to trust their king. After all, the new king's actions since taking the throne had been beneficial to them—far more trustworthy than those wage-cutting capitalists.

With that in mind, many of the deceived workers laid down their weapons and instinctively distanced themselves from the capitalists' lackeys and the radical Republicans.

"Excellent, my subjects. Those who have laid down their weapons may come forward. I swear to God, you are still Spain's subjects, and this matter has nothing to do with you." Seeing that many on the opposite side had already disarmed, Carlo nodded with satisfaction and spoke to the crowd with a smile.

Hearing this, the workers on the other side quickly moved toward the palace guards. Some of the capitalists' lackeys, seeing no hope of victory, also abandoned their weapons and pretended to be ordinary workers surrendering to the palace guard.

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