Empire Rising: Spain

The facts have proven that the plan for Madrid’s Nocturnal City proposed by Carlo has been highly effective.

The news of Madrid’s Nocturnal City not only shocked many Europeans but also many European countries.

Not only England and France, but also major powers such as Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy expressed concern, and the citizens of these countries demanded that their governments build their own cities of no sleep to demonstrate the strength of their nations.

While the United Kingdom and France still hesitated, Germany became the first country to take action. As a promoter of the Second Industrial Revolution, Germany’s sensitivity to the electricity industry was unmatched by other countries.

The only one that could rival Germany’s emphasis on electricity might be the United States across the ocean. However, due to being separated by the Atlantic Ocean, news spread more slowly there than in other European countries.

Other European countries could receive news by the second day after Christmas, but the earliest the United States could receive relevant news reports was by the third day.

December 26, 1879, Berlin, German Empire.

At this time, the German Government was holding a meeting mainly to discuss the cost of transforming Berlin into a city of no sleep.

Germany also had involvement in electric technology, with some German scientists having developed generators and light bulbs, theoretically allowing the construction of a city of no sleep.

Even if the effectiveness couldn’t match Spain’s no-sleep city for the time being, at least they had to build something similar to declare to the public that Germany remained a powerful, advanced nation in the emerging electricity sector.

"Has the fiscal budget required to build a city of no sleep been calculated?" Prime Minister Bismarck directed his gaze toward the Minister of Finance and inquired.

The Minister of Finance, with a serious expression, gave a response that immediately changed Bismarck’s face: "Currently, if streetlights are to be constructed on Berlin’s main streets, we need to invest at least 60 million Marks. If streetlights are to be installed in most large cities, a minimum investment of 500 million Marks is required."

Taking into account the different geographical environments and varying local electricity demands of each city, the funds required may be even more.

Overall, this is a wholly unprofitable trade, at least for us at the moment. Even just the streetlight system in Berlin would require the joint efforts of several dozen power stations.

The labor costs for these dozens of power stations alone would require thousands of people. Manufacturing the generators may take several months, and once everything is completed, the earliest would be in half a year."

Bismarck rubbed his eyebrows, feeling somewhat helpless with the bad news. According to the Minister of Finance, constructing a city of no sleep would be a significant financial outlay that would take a long time to complete.

"Damn, if the expense is so high, why was Spain able to build the first city of no sleep before all other countries?

Even if the population of Madrid was relatively small, it must have at least 500,000 people! Berlin requires 60 million Marks, so Madrid would at least need 30 million Pesseta.

Would the Spaniards grit their teeth to bear an expenditure of up to 30 million Pesseta just for the small face value brought by the no-sleep city?

It’s simply unbelievable; this amount of money would be enough to build two of the most powerful ironclads. Wouldn’t it be better to use it for building the navy?" Prime Minister Bismarck said with some disbelief.

For European countries, if the budget is abundant, the first choice is certainly to develop industry or develop the navy.

The size of the navy also measures the power of a major power, and those countries with only strong armies in Europe are not given much attention unless they are neighbors to these powerful armies.

No matter how strong the army is, it cannot bypass other countries to attack, but a navy can. This has also led European countries to often view the navy as the most important branch when measuring the comprehensive strength of a country, while the army is considered secondary.

Prime Minister Bismarck completely failed to understand the Spaniards’ operation. If constructing a city of no sleep requires such a large expenditure, what exactly are the Spaniards building their city of no sleep for?

"This is a very frightening outcome. Perhaps in the electricity industry, the Spaniards have already gone ahead of all countries. Only when this is the case can the cost of building power stations and using electricity be reduced, allowing Spain to unabashedly build a city of no sleep to attract our attention," German Emperor William I spoke at this time.

European countries are not stupid; Spain’s ability to be the first to build a city of no sleep also signifies that Spain must have taken the lead in the electricity industry in Europe.

Judgment was simple. If Germany can quickly build a city of no sleep itself, it proves that Spain’s achievements in the electricity industry are not remarkable.

But if a strong country like Germany cannot quickly build a city of no sleep, it proves that Spain’s achievements in the electricity industry have already surpassed Germany and maintained a significant lead.

Germany’s Foreign Secretary nodded, explaining to German Emperor William I and Prime Minister Bismarck: "According to the message from the embassy in Spain, the Spaniards used unknown high-power generators, and there are fewer than ten power stations around Madrid, yet the electricity generated provides lighting for the entire Madrid City Center."

It is reported that Madrid’s electricity costs have already been halved, and many factories are considering installing bulbs to provide lighting at night.