"Congratulations, Your Majesty. The Royal United Bank's establishment has been a tremendous success. Perhaps this year, Spain will see the birth of a colossal bank with over a million depositors." Duke Jacopo of Alba smiled as he flattered Carlo.
"You are also a shareholder of the United Bank. When the bank achieves success, every shareholder shares in it." Carlo nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with the Royal United Bank's results.
Just moments ago, the butler Loren had reported that the Royal United Bank had attracted as many as 684 depositors on its opening day, with total deposits exceeding 18 million Pesetas and an average deposit of 26,870 Pesetas per person.
Of course, those figures contained a great deal of padding.
Of the 684 depositors, the overwhelming majority were nobles who had received the news. Three had deposited more than one million: Duke Jacopo of Alba, Duke Fernando of Albuquerque, and Carlo himself.
The true number of commoner depositors was only one or two hundred. That was why the average deposit had been dragged so absurdly high.
This also showed just how immense the Spanish nobility's assets were. The deposits they had produced as a token of sincerity were but a drop in the bucket compared to their wealth, yet to Carlo, they were already highly important seed capital.
Eighteen million Pesetas was already more than half the assets Carlo had brought to Spain, and this was merely the total savings the Royal United Bank had received on its first day of operation.
If the Royal United Bank could earn the people's trust and draw vast numbers of Spaniards to deposit their money, the funds Carlo could mobilize would flow without end.
With sufficient funds, Carlo could continuously lay out and expand into industry and finance, earning even more money.
Making money in this era was still easy, especially as a king. With the enormous capital brought by the Royal United Bank, Carlo could easily monopolize an industry, maximize its profits, and swiftly fill his own pockets.
"Your Majesty, please do not miss tomorrow night's banquet. A great many nobles will attend, and it is time for Your Majesty to meet these people." Jacopo said with a smile.
Ever since Primo had suppressed the Carlist Wars, Jacopo had not held the slightest contempt for Carlo. He knew that from then on, Carlo's throne would become exceedingly secure, and Carlo's fate would be bound together with Spain's nobles.
If they looked down on Carlo as king at such a time, they were in truth also looking down on themselves as the king's subjects.
The nobles possessed their lofty status entirely because the people obeyed and supported the monarchy. If the people no longer supported the king, then when the monarchy was overthrown, the nobles' sense of superiority would vanish as well.
Although Carlo was an outsider, had the Bourbon Dynasty not also come from elsewhere? The House of Savoy still controlled Italy's throne, while the Bourbon Dynasty currently controlled no country at all.
"Of course." Carlo nodded with a smile.
"It is a banquet you personally invited me to, Jacopo. What reason would I have not to attend?" Carlo said with a laugh.
Jacopo nodded, took his leave from Carlo's Royal Palace, and returned to prepare the banquet he had long been planning.
This banquet was being held in Jacopo's personal name. Its greatest purpose was to show Carlo his loyalty and, at the same time, help Carlo completely win over Spain's nobles during the banquet.
Carlo was, after all, an outsider. To gain recognition from the entire noble class, the support of long-established mainland Spain nobles like Duke Jacopo was extremely important.
Naturally, Jacopo also understood that offering charcoal in the snow was far more valuable than adding flowers to brocade. If he waited until Carlo had already won over some nobles before stepping forward, becoming Carlo's trusted confidant would not be so easy.
One had to know that although nobles possessed an exalted status, their families did not flourish forever.
To ensure a family's enduring prosperity, the first requirement was to gain the king's support and trust. The second was to form political marriages with other nobles and cooperate with one another.
And Jacopo had some private intentions of his own for this banquet as well.
His daughter Anna had been born in 1855 and would soon turn sixteen. Carlo had been born in June 1851 and had not yet reached nineteen, so the difference in their ages was not great.
If Anna and Carlo happened to take a fancy to each other during the banquet, perhaps the de Toledo family's standing in Spain would rise another level.
Even if she could not become Spain's queen, if Carlo took a liking to her and she became one of his mistresses, the de Toledo family would not be losing out.
After all, for a European monarch to keep a mistress was perfectly normal, and the disorderly lives among nobles were beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Time swiftly arrived at the day of the banquet.
The banquet was held in Duke Jacopo's castle. The castle stood on the Madrid outskirts, and Toledo was not far away to the south.
Jacopo attached immense importance to this banquet and invited a large number of nobles from within Spain. However, due to the limitations of the venue, the lowest-ranking nobles eligible to attend were Counts. Viscounts and Barons, unless they possessed considerable prestige or status, were basically unqualified to attend.
There was nothing to be done about that. After all, Spain alone had several hundred Dukes, Marquises, and Counts. Though fewer than a hundred could attend because of distance.
But once the nobles' female companions and family members were included, several hundred attendees at this banquet would not be a problem.
That was more or less the limit for a private banquet. With any more people, the venue would become exceedingly chaotic, and the safety of the attending nobles could not be guaranteed.
Especially since Carlo would also attend, security had to be tightly managed. If some accident caused the banquet to end on a sour note, then all of Jacopo's preparations would go down the drain.
Carlo was also greatly looking forward to this banquet.
Although Carlo had already met many of Spain's nobles during his coronation ceremony last time, the nobles' attitudes toward him then had not been so sincere.
Now, with Jacopo's support and Carlo's throne already quite secure, the nobles had only one choice: submit to Carlo's rule.
Tonight's banquet would mark the beginning of Carlo completely gaining the noble class's allegiance, becoming Spain's king in name and fact, and exerting his own influence over the government through the noble class.
After tonight, Carlo would gain a large group of trustworthy subordinates. At the very least, when it came to defending the monarchy, these nobles would absolutely stand with Carlo.
When Carlo faced the Republicans, he would no longer be alone and weak. These nobles would be his finest helpers, and besides Carlo himself, they were the group in all Spain most opposed to a republic.
To gain Carlo's sufficient trust and ensure the banquet proceeded smoothly without any accidents, Duke Jacopo had specifically requested that Carlo dispatch part of the Royal Guard to help maintain order at the venue.
This included conducting simple body searches on those attending the banquet, ensuring that no one carried weapons.
This had also been discussed in advance with the nobles attending the banquet. After all, Carlo had no desire for someone carrying a weapon to slip into the banquet and deliver him a fatal blow when his guard was lowest.
His own life had to remain in his own hands. When necessary, no one could be trusted.
It was not that Carlo was unwilling to trust others. The main reason was that assassinations of kings across Europe had become too numerous to count, and Carlo was no fool.
Even if he could trust Jacopo, could he trust every noble attending the banquet? Even if none of the nobles posed a problem, could they ensure that no rebels had slipped in among the female companions they brought?
Screening them one by one would waste time and be inefficient. The best method was to ensure that no one carried weapons, turning the castle hosting the banquet into a safe zone without weapons.
At around six in the evening, Carlo boarded a carriage and slowly headed toward Jacopo's castle under the Guard Army's escort.
This carriage had also been specially modified. Even the windows had steel plates that could be pulled down to prevent bullets from penetrating.
Because the carriage was extremely heavy from the steel plates embedded in it, it was pulled by four horses to ensure its speed.
To guarantee Carlo's safety, two identical carriages departed from the Royal Palace at the same time, ensuring that even if assassins were present, they would not be able to determine in a short time which carriage Carlo was riding in.
A little after seven in the evening, Carlo's carriage finally arrived at Jacopo's castle.
Outside the castle, a great crowd of nobles had already been waiting for a long time.
The nobles' positions also reflected their status. At the very front stood Dukes like Jacopo, followed by Marquises, while Counts and a small number of Viscounts and Barons stood at the rear.
Beside the nobles stood their female companions and family members. Several hundred people waited outside the castle to welcome Carlo's arrival, making for quite a lively scene.
"His Majesty is here!"
Seeing the carriage slowly approach, Duke Jacopo hurriedly called out, signaling for the nobles to straighten their attire and not lose their manners before the king.
As Carlo stepped down from the carriage with a maid's support, all the nobles performed a standard noble's bow together, welcoming the king's arrival with the highest courtesy.
"Good evening, my nobles." Carlo smiled and waved, displaying his friendly attitude toward these nobles.
Jacopo hurried forward and said with great respect, "Everything has been prepared, Your Majesty. At your command, the banquet may begin at any time."
"Well done, Jacopo. All right, gentlemen, let us go inside and enjoy this banquet." Carlo said with a smile, without the slightest kingly airs.
Surrounded by a great crowd of nobles, Carlo slowly walked into the castle and began to experience a private noble banquet with distinctive Spanish character.
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