May 1870 was utterly ordinary, yet Carlo was in an exceptionally wonderful mood.
Following the successful establishment of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Carlo received another piece of good news: Duke Serrano had resolved the rebellion in Cuba, and the army was already on its way back to Spain.
This let Carlo breathe a sigh of relief. He no longer had to worry that Cuba might slip from Spain's control because of some unforeseen accident.
As one of Spain's few colonies with positive returns, Cuba was still extremely important. Besides providing a steady stream of funds and income during the early stages of Spain's reforms, it could also serve as a positive asset in the future, exchanged for colonies with greater potential.
In Carlo's plans for the future of Spain's colonies, the colonies in Africa were the most important, especially Morocco in the northwestern North African region.
Since it was separated from mainland Spain by only a narrow strait, if Spain could control Morocco, assimilating it into the homeland would be quite easy.
Only colonies that could be assimilated into the homeland were territories that could truly be held, after all; the colonial era would not last much longer.
Carlo did not harbor any great ambitions for colonies. What Spain truly wanted were colonies that could provide urgently needed resources and, in the future, become part of the homeland.
Spain was not yet large enough to control overly vast colonies. Otherwise, colonial rebellions alone would be enough to leave Spain run ragged.
When Serrano had gone to Cuba to suppress the rebellion, Carlo had also spoken with him and stated that, when necessary, Cuba could be granted certain powers in exchange for Spain's control over it.
One had to know that, in history, this Cuban War of Independence had lasted