Now that he has a newspaper as a weapon of public opinion, the next most important step is to build a popular persona for myself.
If a persona is well-crafted, it can lead the public to automatically assume, without any action from Carlo, that he stands with the majority.
And as a member of the royal family, a friendly and people-loving character is bound to be popular.
The public certainly doesn't want the royal family above them to appear aloof, which is why monarchs, led by the British king in later generations, always project a friendly and benevolent image.
Rigid and conservative ideas are likely to be unpopular with both the Italian and European public.
Although there are many conservatives in monarchies, for Italy and Spain, where Carlo intends to go, reformers are what the public truly wants to see.
However, while Carlo wants to establish the impression of a reformer, he will not offer any opinions on Italian reforms.
Reform is one thing, but who leads this reform is the most important question. Supporting and being optimistic about reform is a weapon in Carlo's hands, but if he were to dictate the reforms, it would be a net loss.
No government would like a king who dictates every aspect of the country. If Carlo wants to become the King of Spain, he must first understand how to be a mascot and not interfere everywhere.
On February 21, 1866, the Italian newspaper 'Il Sole 24 Ore' published an article penned by Carlo titled 'We Want Bread, Pasta, and Milk,' successfully firing the first shot in establishing an image of care for the people.
In this completely feel-good article, Carlo repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Italian working class, especially the farmers in Southern Italy.
He also concluded in the article that whether in Italy or Europe, the demands of the people are not complicated, merely enough food and warm clothes.
If the government could focus more attention on the working class, perhaps their lives would be happier.
The entire article contained no grand principles and even portrayed Carlo as a prince with nothing better to do and an overflowing heart.
Although many members of the working class developed a favorable impression of Carlo because of this report, government officials were dismissive of it.
Taking care of the lives of the working class? That sounds nice, but doesn't the money still come from the government?
Leaving aside how much budget is needed to improve the lives of all Italian working-class people, isn't it better to invest that money where Italy needs it more, such as military construction and industrial development?
As for those commoners at the bottom of society, it's already quite good to ensure they don't starve. Which noble lord has the time to care whether commoners have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear?
Because Carlo had no one truly capable under him, this report only had a certain influence near Milan and didn't even spread to Florence.
But for Carlo's plan, the first step has been successfully taken. Regardless of the thoughts of the government and nobles, the first thing to do now is to make the people believe that Carlo is a prince who cares about the lower classes, even one with an overflowing heart.
A character like this will likely be popular among the public, as the majority of a country's population consists of lower classes, something that no political system or ideology can change.
Unfortunately, Carlo is too young now, and many plans cannot proceed smoothly. He still needs to spend a lot of time and energy completing the traditional elite noble education in Italy.
Although he is only a prince, his place in the line of succession to the throne is an almost impossible third.
But Victor Emmanuel II is still very concerned about Carlo's education and upbringing. As Victor Emmanuel II's youngest son, Carlo undoubtedly received the most favor and attention from his father.
Carlo is approaching 15 years old this year, having completed his early elite noble education.
According to Victor Emmanuel II's plan for Carlo's upbringing, Carlo has two options. One is to pursue in-depth studies in management and economics to properly handle his land and property in the future.
The other option is to attend a military academy, become a glorious Italian officer, and dedicate himself to the royal family and the country.
For Carlo, who already has a plan in mind, the most suitable option is naturally to attend a military academy to develop his military capabilities.
More importantly, he might also meet some officers who are not yet famous but have good military skills at the military academy, building his network.
It's a pity Carlo is not the first in line to the throne, the Crown Prince. Otherwise, he could completely use his status as Crown Prince to form a palace guard and build his armed forces from scratch.
Although unified Italy is now qualified to compete with the great powers, Italy's foundation is still too weak at this time, even in terms of military schools.
None of the world's ten most famous military academies in later generations are Italian, and even now, there are only a few military academies in Italy worth choosing.
The most reliable military academy option currently is the Turin Military Academy, located in the former capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
This military academy is located in Turin, the stronghold of the House of Savoy, and was an important institution for training military backbones in the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Victor Emmanuel II was supportive of Carlo's idea of attending a military academy.
This is common in Western monarchies. For the kings of these monarchies, the people they trust most are members of the royal family and the nobility.
The Royal Military Academy of Turin is mainly responsible for the training of infantry and artillery officers, while the Royal Military Academy of Milan is responsible for the training of cavalry officers.
This is also why Carlo directly chose the Royal Military Academy of Turin. Firstly, Carlo does not need to personally charge into battle, and secondly, cavalry will be phased out within the next few decades, and the terrain of both Spain and Italy is not suitable for large-scale cavalry charges.
In fact, compared to the instructors at the Royal Military Academy of Turin, Carlo admired a legendary Italian name even more, one of the three great contributors to the unification of Italy, a hero of two worlds - Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Purely discussing military capability, Garibaldi was the most outstanding military commander in Italy in modern times.
Even later historians describing the unification of Italy only mentioned three highly meritorious contributors, the so-called three founding fathers of Italy.
'The unification of Italy is attributed to Mazzini's thought, Garibaldi's sword, and Cavour's diplomacy.'
This description alone is enough to show how excellent Garibaldi's military talent was.
But unfortunately, among the three founding fathers of Italy, only Prime Minister Cavour belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia faction. Mazzini, who created the idea of Italian unification, was a complete republican and an enemy of the monarchy.
Garibaldi, whom Carlo greatly admired, although not explicitly opposing the monarchy, had repeatedly sided with the republican system and was not trusted by the monarchy.
Although Garibaldi was extremely selfless in the process of Italian unification, even after obtaining the territory of the entire Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, he resolutely handed it over to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
However, Garibaldi's high prestige within the army and his history of serving the republic still prevented him from entering the upper ranks of the new Italy.