Alfonso's conversation with Campos had only set a preliminary direction, and the concrete reform programme and personnel redeployments would have to be carefully arranged, so it would take some more time for them to be implemented.

Correspondingly, it will take some time for the cigarette restriction bill to be introduced.

And even if it does, Alfonso doesn't plan to be as strict as later generations.

In the future, tobacco restrictions will be mainly due to high taxes and a ban on advertising.

Taxes can certainly be as high as they can be collected, and even if advertising is restricted, people below will not understand, at most, shops are prohibited from selling cigarettes to children under the age of 14.

After talking to Campos, Alfonso set out on a journey to Paris, where he would attend Henry's coronation and then Prussia to celebrate the birth of the Empire.

……

At this time, in distant equatorial Guinea,

Robert and his party had just heard about the changes that had taken place in the country.

For these colonists, it was a rare and joyful thing for them to receive a newspaper, and it was only when they listened to it that they could feel connected to the civilized world.

Due to the inconvenience of transportation, newspapers were brought in by cargo ships carrying medicines or ammunition, so they were usually issued together.

Robert: They were thus able to understand what had happened to the aristocracy and the church in one fell swoop.

After listening to the announcer's dictation, the group was very emotional.

Whether in Italy or Spain, the nobility and the clergy were sacrosanct to them, and they did not expect that thousands of people would die at a moment's notice.

"Alas, things are impermanent...... Ricardo sighed.

This is not only lamenting those nobles, but also lamenting themselves.

At the beginning, two of the original team of 8 people had already died of the disease.

In Africa, this is the commonplace way to die, and there is nothing strange about it, but they can only be blamed for their bad luck.

And they have been on the island of Fernandopo for 4 months, and the sacrifice of the two has not been exchanged for anything worthy of praise.

In the middle of the island, there are indeed some small black tribes...... Or maybe a small family is more suitable.

In the first two months, Robert and the others had encountered the Pygmies a total of three times while drawing maps and surveying the terrain, the first time being a newcomer who missed out on vigilance.

The second time was to strike without hesitation, with the help of weapons from the civilized world, they exterminated this "small tribe" of 7 people without much effort.

Unfortunately, in the other party's settlement, Robert and the others found only a few unripe berries, a few tattered animal skins, and the bones and teeth of some small animals.

It can't be said that it is useless, it can only be said that it is useless.

These things are everywhere in this place, and they can't get rid of them, and even if they are shipped back to Spain, they won't be able to make up for their bullet money, let alone the high shipping costs.

The third time he encountered, Robert attacked again without believing it, but the result was the same.

Now, they have come to their senses.

Fernandopo was only returned to Spanish control in the 50s, and for nearly 20 years the island was nominally owned by Spain, but in fact used as a British naval base.

What good things are there, the Portuguese, British, and Spaniards before them have long been robbed, and it is impossible to leave them with them.

The reason why the Pygmies on the island live in a very small family diaspora is not by nature, nor is it for guerrilla warfare, but simply to escape from hunting.

That is, the natives did not have any mature means of navigation, otherwise they would have run away long ago.

Robert's entourage, who came to his senses, no longer thought about the slaughter of the tribe, and honestly did their job of surveying the terrain.

Many of the people who came with them gave up their dreams of making a fortune and resigned themselves to working on the estate.

What's better than Spain is that they still have "servants" to drive here, and although many places are not competent, it is better than doing it all yourself.

Of course, there are also some unwilling people who left the serene St. Isabel and sailed for the infinite expanse of the continent.

It's just that Robert and they don't agree internally, so there are no relevant plans for the time being.

Anyway, with the investigation and exploration speed of Liao Liao's teams, they can eat this bowl of rice for many years.

The main means of income after work has also been changed to kidnapping pygmies to sell, but unfortunately it is difficult to meet little blacks, and it is even more difficult to catch, so it can really only be regarded as a foreign currency.

However, with the delivery of these newspapers, things seem to have taken a turn for the better.

Along with the newspapers, there were several official documents from the government, which clearly stated that if the assets in the colony could meet the requirements, or if any precious mineral deposits were explored, or even just a large "white land" was cleared, there was a chance to be knighted, up to a baron.

If it was before, the big guy would just scoff at it, because the "chance" of becoming a baron could be very small.

Knights are not considered very popular by everyone, and generally speaking, knights are not even considered nobles.

And the baron is too high to climb.

But with the news in the newspapers as corroboration, it seems that there is a shortage of nobles in the country? Reliability seems to be a little stronger......

Robert: They argued about it.

"This is the Baron! Baron! We will go back to Spain with the title, and this title alone will be enough for us to live a decent life! Ricardo said loudly.

Robert also took a rare choice of a relatively risky path, and expressed his support for Ricardo in a clear manner:

"The opportunity to be a baron is too rare, this is an opportunity, staying in St. Isabel is barely sustaining himself from starvation, it is better to go out for a walk.

If you keep staying, you might die of illness like George and the others one day. ”

Others disagree:

"Even if a group of us are lucky enough to obtain the title of baron, there is only one title, Robert, you have become a baron, will we give you a servant?"

"If you go to the mainland, you will die faster."

……

Having said that, it's almost unsustainable.

Three days later, the team split unsurprisingly, with Robert, Ricardo, David, and Casaappa choosing to sail to the mainland, while the other two chose to stay in Santa Isabel.

In a sense, the two people who choose to stay are Alfonso's preferred development path.

He must have hoped to develop the colonial industry, and it was enough to take some risks, but too much was not beautiful.

Moreover, there was no shortage of aristocracy as Robert had imagined, and Spain still ranked first in Western Europe in terms of aristocratic ratio.

Especially the barons, there are so many that there are so many that there is no empty baron title can not sit on the empty mountain as Ricardo thinks, they should work or work, and there are not a few people who are so depressed that they sell their titles.

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