Built on a hill on the left bank of the Mansales River, Spain's royal palace is second only to Versailles in France and Hofburg in Austria, and is one of the most exquisite palaces in the world. The www.biquge.info palace is home to a myriad of gold and silver vessels, precious paintings, porcelain, leather goods, tapestries, musical instruments, and more, as well as the embroidered frescoes on the interior walls and the paintings on the ceiling.

This is one of the treasures that history has left to Spain.

Returning to the banquet hall where he was invited to lunch with Alfonso XIII many years ago, Natsuki couldn't help but sigh with emotion, he couldn't remember how much sweat he had put in, and how many good ideas he had excited himself to, and it was because of his dedication that he was able to reap the beautiful things he had imagined in his daydreams......

Returning to his thoughts, Alfonso XIII, the thin and gloomy King of Spain, stretched out his hand to invite Natsuki to sit in the VIP seat, and then sat down in his own exclusive seat, with a rare smile on the corner of his mouth: "Your Majesty still remembers this place?" ”

"Of course, of course I remember!" Natsuki looked around, the various furnishings were still the same as in his impression, the difference was that the last time they met, he and Alfonso XIII enjoyed a calm lunch alone, and now, the entourage of both sides is like a carp crossing the river, making this huge banquet hall full and lively.

As soon as the banquet begins, the well-dressed court attendants are like an industrial assembly line, putting the exquisite appearance and pure taste of food on the table, and the wine and delicacies are overflowing, no matter from which point of view, the banquet is flawless. So here's the problem...... How much did the Spanish royal family have to pay to prepare such a feast?

It is an indisputable fact that Spain is empty and politically turbulent, but it is only the common people who live in poverty, and the Spanish princes and nobles, landlords, chaebols, and monks of various monasteries are still extravagant and chic. During the war, Spain's neutral status allowed it to supply supplies to both sides of the war, and even in the later stages of the war, Spain's trade routes with England, France, Italy, and Ireland were still busy, which created a short-term economic boom in Spain - the biggest beneficiaries were still the hoarding and privileged upper class, and it is not surprising that the class gap between the rich and the poor was increasing rather than decreasing, and social contradictions were becoming more and more prominent!

Alfonso XIII seemed to see Natsuki's strangeness, and he took the opportunity to clink glasses to complain: "It is rare for His Majesty to visit, and our court chefs have the opportunity to show their skills, and if this continues, these people will have to find another way out sooner or later." ”

Xia Shu smiled coldly in his heart, and said with relief on the surface: "Your Majesty doesn't have to be so pessimistic, every country will go through a low tide period, just like a person is sick, as long as you can recognize the pathogen and find the right prescription, you will definitely be able to cure the disease and return to health." ”

Alfonso XIII took a deep sip of wine in his glass: "The truth is indeed very simple, but it is more difficult to do it than to fight a big battle." If we swap identities, Your Majesty will be able to deeply understand the sorrow in my heart. ”

The complexity of the other party's speech and demeanor makes it difficult for Natsuki to grasp what he really thinks in his heart, the so-called serious illness needs strong medicine, the Kingdom of Spain is in economic chaos and high debts, and only a radical reform can make it a dead wood spring, otherwise it will be like history, after the collapse of the regime, civil war, and dictatorship, it will take decades to find a suitable path for its own development.

Seeing that Natsuki was silent, Alfonso XIII said: "But with Your Majesty's outstanding resourcefulness, you may be able to help us point us to a fruitful path of revival." ”

Natsuki looked up at the King of Spain, his expression at this time was intriguing. There is both expectation and self-perceived hopelessness, and there seems to be an element of banter.

Spain's glory days date back to the 16th century, when Spanish colonists discovered rich silver deposits in the Americas, and silver exports from the Americas boosted Spain's economy, allowing it to import luxury goods and grains, and became an important source of finance for the Spanish Habsburgs to maintain their military power in a series of wars in Europe and North Africa. At that time, the Spanish Empire relied on its experienced navy to cross the oceans, its famous, fearsome and well-trained infantry, and the Spanish phalanx to dominate the European theater.

At its peak, the Spanish Empire claimed to be invincible, but in fact it was already plagued by internal and external troubles, such as royal power struggles, regional judgments, and lost wars, and under the influence of these unfavorable factors, Spain fell into a long period of decline. High inflation, the undesirable consequences of the expulsion of Jews and Moors from Spain, and Spain's growing dependence on gold and silver led to several bankruptcies of the Spanish government and the resulting economic crises, and the two great plagues of the 16th and 17th centuries caused Spain to lose a large number of people, and Spain gradually lost its leading position in Europe, and finally became a second-rate country.

In the middle of the 18th century, there was a period of economic prosperity in Spain - under the rule of King Carlos III and his minister, Leo Portopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Isquilac, Spain began to implement enlightened autocracy, and introduced many reform policies, and the creators also favored Spain during this period, so that they took the opportunity of the American Revolutionary War to regain most of the territory they had lost before, and their international standing improved. Unfortunately, the spirit of reform of Los III was lost during the reign of his son, Carlos IV, and the brief prosperity seemed to be a reflection of the dying. After that, the country was tormented by wars, revolutions, and the struggle between the Spaniards and the political parties in Spain, becoming increasingly weakened and even terminally ill like Ottoman Turkey......

Spain under Alfonso XIII is such a sigh.

Natsuki put down the dishes, wiped his lips with a napkin, straightened his body, and said in a very serious manner, "Either carry out a radical change, or wait for a ruthless revolution." ”

The audience was silent.

Every word and word that Natsuki said seemed to echo in people's ears over and over again.

Radical change, or ruthless revolution, what a striking and shocking word, the Spanish aristocracy and government officials present here were simply stunned!

Alfonso XIII may not have been unaware of this medicine, but the rule of the Pampo dynasty relied on the support of traditional power, whether it was change or revolution, as long as it touched the interests of princes, nobles, landlords and chaebols, it would cause strong resistance and even a terrible backlash, and even his throne might be in danger at that time.

And Natsuki knew that the historical Alfonso XIII buried the last hope of the Pampo dynasty to rule Spain in hesitation, hesitation and wrong decisions, and he also ended up dying in a foreign land.

Natsuki, who had long been accustomed to seeing big scenes, was indifferent to the hot gaze projected from all around, and he said to Alfonso XIII as if no one was around: "Some diseases can be cured by taking a few pills, and some diseases must require major surgery, otherwise you can only wait for death." This should belong to basic medical common sense! ”

Alfonso XIII shrugged his shoulders and laughed twice, and said noncommittally: "I didn't expect Your Majesty to have research in the field of medicine. ”

Although the conversation between the two kings did not make the pages of any newspapers, the rumors spread like a cold virus and quickly became a hot topic. The Spanish community, which had been cautious about the visit of the King of Ireland, was now divided into two factions, the clear-cut but frustrated reformers, and the revolutionaries who waited in the shadows for their time, and they felt that since the people who said this had amazing wisdom and had personally created the remarkable Irish miracle, they would be able to see the direction of Spain's revival.

The Spaniards who were disgusted and resistant to this were not only princes, nobles and landlords, but many ordinary people felt that the Irish king's comments on Spain's internal affairs were ill-intentioned, and that there was a suspicion of deliberately stirring up internal contradictions and creating chaos in Spain, and that there might be even more sinister conspiracy behind this.

Two days later, an international friendly match between Ireland and Spain was played at the stadium of the Madrid football team. Despite the unsatisfactory economic situation in Spain, the enthusiasm for football is relatively high throughout Europe, especially in the relatively affluent region of Castile, where there are two professional football teams in Madrid, but ironically, the Spanish national team is a patchwork of amateurs from the aristocracy and military class, who are more interested in showing their appearance than winning.

By half-time, the number on the scoreboard had become 9 to 4, and the overall contrast between the two countries was not yet as contrasting - Spain was still above Ireland in terms of overall national power.

Many viewers applauded.

Alfonso XIII was not the slightest bit agitated about the passive scene of the game and the large deficit in the score, but this did not seem to be a relationship with his psychological quality, but a reasonable reflection of his long-term pessimistic disappointment and depressed gloom.

"I heard that His Majesty's football skills are among the best in Germany, why don't you go to the stadium and show your heroism?" The King of Spain said in a sour tone.

"After becoming His Majesty, playing football as I used to have become almost a luxury." Natsuki replied, "When I'm on the field, everyone feels uncomfortable, and what was originally happy becomes unhappy because of it. Come to think of it, let's just be a loyal viewer! ”

Alfonso XIII sneered.

Natsuki didn't say anything more, instead focusing on the match in front of him. As the four elements of the King of Spain said, the Spanish team is like a rabble of spirited people, and the Irish national team is simply bullying children with the power of adults. Before gaining independence, although the Irish were exposed to modern football and had some local competitions, football was still only a sport that a few people paid attention to and participated in, and there were very few athletes with real football skills. Today, most of the Irish team is dominated by Germans who choose to play for Ireland, that is, players of foreign origin. These people have been trained in cups and leagues in Germany, and they belong to a group of people with better basic football quality, and many of them have cooperated or competed with Natsuki on the field. In fact, Natsuki will sweat for an hour or two at the national team's training ground from time to time, not only to exercise his body, but also to stimulate and activate his thinking through competition.

(End of chapter)