Chapter 347: Chapter 197: Political Assessment Bureau and Anti-Corruption Bureau (Part 2)

The Duke Jacopo, upon receiving the orders, naturally had no hesitation, yet this also made him the butcher in the eyes of the Spanish officials, even earning the title Jacopo the Cruel.

In the following week or so, Duke Jacopo dealt with more than 20 regional-level officials, including high-ranking ones like the prefect of the La Rioja Region.

Officials who falsified assessment scores had their scores deemed poor for the year 1875, and they were barred from promotion or running for parliament for two years.

Those with serious corruption issues would be dismissed from their positions and required to return all embezzled funds within three months.

If unable to pay back all the embezzled amounts within three months, their assets would be confiscated, and they would be sentenced to at least ten years of imprisonment.

Duke Jacopo set a bottom line of 1500 pessetas. Amounts of corruption below 1500 pessetas could be considered for exemption from punishment.

Especially for officials with certain capabilities, if their corruption does not exceed 1500 pessetas, they could be given a second chance.

For those whose corruption exceeds 1500 pessetas but have had notable political achievements or possess certain skills, lighter penalties may be considered, such as a poor assessment score and recovery of embezzled funds, etc.

But if they have neither achievements nor abilities and their embezzlement exceeds 1500 pessetas, they can only be handled severely, as a warning to other Spanish officials harboring corrupt thoughts.

Indeed, within the governments of each major region in Spain, there are officials lacking capabilities yet involved in significant embezzlement.

In the Valencia Region, an official’s corruption reached an exaggerated amount of over 100,000 pessetas, the largest embezzler caught since the official performance assessment system was implemented.

Having caught this tiger, there was naturally nothing to say. After a few days of evidence gathering, the embezzler was publicly executed on the street in Valencia, and hung on a raised wooden pole.

Through confiscating the embezzler’s assets, Duke Jacopo actually recovered more than 120,000 pessetas. These funds will be reinvested into Valencia’s development to compensate for the impact caused by the presence of the embezzler.

Such extensive scrutiny of officials and public handling of embezzlers quickly solidified the temporary cabinet’s prestige and brought greater support for Carlo.

Duke Jacopo’s reputation among officials was not very favorable, but among the Spanish populace, he was compared to a Damocles’ sword hanging over the heads of officials, receiving much praise from the media.

Although much of this credit was directed by royal-controlled newspapers, indeed, the contemporary Spanish public expressed high approval and attention to Carlo’s anti-corruption campaign.

Duke Jacopo is a sharp blade, and the wielder is naturally King Carlo of Spain. While the public heaps praises on Duke Jacopo, they certainly do not forget the true protagonist behind the anti-corruption campaign—Carlo.

It’s unclear when it started, but Spanish newspapers and media have begun promoting the notion that Carlo is the wise ruler Spain has awaited for a hundred years.

Initially, the Spanish public did not deeply recognize this view. But more than six years after Carlo came to Spain, increasingly many Spaniards, even the majority, have come to embrace this perspective.

For Spaniards, whoever can lead Spain to greater heights is Spain’s true wise ruler.

Coincidentally, Carlo’s predecessors were infamously incompetent, so under these circumstances, Carlo, as a sagacious monarch, was quickly recognized by the Spaniards.

Individually, Carlo’s deeds might not amount to those of a wise ruler. However, in comparison to Isabella II and the volatile King Ferdinand VII, Carlo is exceedingly wise.

Why is this so?

The incompetence and debauchery of Isabella II is well-known; she incited a great revolution in Spain, ultimately resulting in the downfall of the Bourbon Dynasty.

Had it not been for Amadeo I, who lacked significant ability, coupled with the chaotic state of the Spanish Republic, perhaps Spain and the Bourbon family would have been completely estranged.

Such a ruinous monarch is naturally incompetent to the utmost.

Though his father, the volatile King Ferdinand VII, was not a ruinous monarch, he directly caused decades of chaos in Spain.

The incompetence of Ferdinand VII is beyond measure; he and his daughter Isabella II are directly responsible for Spain’s decline from a major power to a second-rate European nation.

When Napoleon invaded Spain, Ferdinand VII, then a prince, directly led the way for the French Army, forcing his father Carlos IV to abdicate and proclaiming himself the new King of Spain.

However, Napoleon, controlling France, ended Ferdinand VII’s dream by detaining him in France and appointing his own brother Joseph Bonaparte as the new King of Spain.

During the French invasion period, the Spanish populace spontaneously resisted the French incursion and unanimously supported the detained Prince Ferdinand.

But upon Ferdinand’s return to Spain, he promptly overthrew the liberal constitution adopted by Spain, instating cruel and bloody dictatorship, backstabbed the populace who supported him.