[Infrastructure] Rose kissed Barcelona

In 1868, the Glorious Revolution broke out in Spain.

In the following six years, the Spanish throne changed several times, and the longest ruler failed to survive a year.

The flames of war in Carlos are burning in the four corners of the country, and the political situation in Madrid is turbulent. In six years, the situation in the capital has hardly been completely stable for a day.

And on this day in the summer of 1874, the name of the newly enthroned king of Spain rushed to the world at high speed along with the radio waves and the footsteps of the postman.

"The King of Spain? My God..."

In the venue of the Saint-Louis Hotel in Paris, San Francisco representative Alex couldn't help exclaiming, "Is that just now?"

"Actually, it was this morning." Baron Coubertin corrected seriously.

No one understands better than this group of people what this means to them.

The Englishman Brown, who had just finished his presentation, immediately turned ugly.

He clenched his fist, released it, and said darkly: "It's really good news for our Spanish colleagues."

He paused for a moment, then continued: "But the "Convention" clearly states that what the Executive Committee needs is an officially certified bid document."

The words were cryptic, but everyone at the scene immediately reacted.

Spain has been in chaos for so long, and the little prince who is only a teenager has just become the head of state this morning.

Need to have paperwork certified and sent to Paris in a day?

Then they have to send Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to deliver the letter.

"Oh, that's right." The girl's slightly smiling voice came from behind them, "Thank you for your reminder, I almost forgot to submit it. Fortunately, it's not too late yet."

She handed the document in Baron de Coubertin's hand with brisk steps.

On the top of the document, the Spanish logo intertwined in gold and red shines brightly.

The faces of everyone changed immediately. "This, this is impossible..."

It's really impossible.

Not just the impossibility of distance.

Many of the people present are senior diplomats, and they have always been aware of the undercurrents between the north and the south of Spain.

With a re-established country in disarray, it is unlikely that Madrid will make Barcelona a priority.

Then the only possibility is - this document is fake!

Someone immediately coughed lightly, "Miss Fernandez, given the limitations of physical distance that we can all understand, perhaps the authenticity of this document requires..."

"Everyone, I think you might be interested in reading this newspaper." Considering the occasion, Baron Coubertin resolutely did not let anything more rude happen.

If the guests are rude, they will not have a good reputation as the organizer.

By the time the newspaper was silently circulated in the hands of everyone, Joey had happily finished eating the whole macaron with black tea.

Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, the texture of crispy and soft is irresistible.

Well, the sugar content is too high today.

Looking up again, the faces of the representatives of Britain and the United States were brilliant.

"What did you write, can you let me see it?" She gracefully wiped off the crumbs on her fingertips, and took the newspaper.

Newspapers published the enthronement speech of Spain's new king, Alfonso XII.

"Constitutional monarchy is the only form that can save Spain."

"Together let us build a peaceful and stable society and defend the blood and gold, our immortal banner."*

All kinds of editorials have emphasized these parts.

They pointed out the future direction of Spain, and made everyone realize that this country, which has been in chaos for many years, seems to be really about to open a new chapter.

But for everyone in the venue at this moment, there is one more sentence—just one sentence, which seems insignificant in the whole speech, but it is enough to make experienced politicians smell different.

"Our city of Barcelona is bidding to host the World Expo. The Spanish royal family will give it their full support."

By the time the Paris papers had reached the delegates, the same news had spread through Barcelona.

There were ten thousand guesses in the minds of the people at the site of the World Expo bid, but in the seaside city a thousand kilometers away, the citizens who got the news were already boiling.

"Have you heard, Madrid has a new king!"

"Am I not mistaken? The king actually mentioned Barcelona in his enthronement speech, saying that he would support our bid to host the World Expo?"

This is an unprecedented situation.

Since Barcelona's defeat in the War of the Succession more than 100 years ago, the victorious Madrid regime has maintained a repressive policy against the dishonest northern city -- but even then it could not rein in its thriving commerce and industry.

In the diamond-shaped office of the city hall, Mayor Alva and Speaker Manolo stood in front of the window and looked at each other: "Is this some kind of solicitation policy in Madrid?"

Supporting Barcelona's bid to host the World Expo may not be big news in itself, as a country naturally wants its cities to develop rapidly.

But as the king's first speech, the new government's first big move - the political meaning is completely different.

For the first time in history, the wind blowing from Madrid changed direction.

Alva frowned and pondered: "Is it because Madrid's policy towards Catalonia has changed, or is it just because of the World Expo..."

Manolo snorted: "Perhaps the royal family urgently needs this opportunity to boost the economy, so they came to show their favor. After all, the south has been fighting wars and engaging in politics these years, and only we are developing industry."

"When you need money, you think of Barcelona?"

……

It only took a few minutes for Barcelona to go from being a doomed runner to the most dramatic dark horse.

Before this, teams in London and San Francisco had studied various competitors, but never seriously considered the possibility of Barcelona being selected.

The reason is simple, no city can exist without its country.

The development of a city is like a crystal ship. It may be able to sail fast on a gust of wind, but if there is no guarantee of social stability, waves may come anytime and anywhere, smashing the ship to pieces.

So, while Barcelona were brilliant, a day of instability in Spain meant they could rest easy knowing the city would never overtake them.

As a result, they were caught off guard by the news and suddenly turned around, only to realize that Barcelona had done so many things under their noses.

The city perched on the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea has long been the darling of the gods of art and trade, but in the past year it seems to have suddenly found favor with God.

To be precise, suddenly there was an incredible young girl who became one of the most influential rich men in the Iberian Peninsula in just one year, and the city also flourished with the industry she promoted.

It's no surprise that every era has its lucky ones.

However, when the people present discovered that the girl actually got the bid document signed by the new king in advance-this is the only possibility for Barcelona to meet the final deadline-this luck began to become meaningful.

The sharpest politicians could not help but cast meaningful glances at the maiden.

Who is she?

"Gentlemen, er, ladies, the tea break is over." The protocol officer rang the bell.

All the people present had no choice but to put aside this question for the time being and file into the arena.

However, even if they continued to listen to the meeting, many people could not help but return to the big news they just learned.

Had Moscow not withdrawn, their delegation would have presented its bid on the theme "Energy Drives the World" in the second.

Now that they're away, go straight to San Francisco's theme statement "Century of Change", Barcelona being the last.

The purpose of the statement is to give the Executive Committee a reason for choosing the city.Therefore, each country will highlight the advantages of the bidding city and the preparations for the bidding, among which the venue construction plan is the most important thing.

In 1851, London held the first International Industrial Exposition, and the Crystal Palace Pavilion won the attention of the world.

For this bid, London once again launched a magnificent venue design, while San Francisco imitated the architectural style of ancient Roman ruins, preparing to build pavilions with different themes such as education, science, and art near the San Francisco Bay.

After the San Francisco representative Alex gave an enthusiastic introduction, Philip walked up to Joey and asked in a low voice, "Miss Gordy, may I take the liberty to ask, how did you get this document?"

Joey smiled slightly and blinked meaningfully: "Mr. Philip, there are some things, maybe it's better not to ask too clearly."

This is euphemistic enough, but also straightforward enough.

Combined with the 180-degree turn of Mr. Fernandez Jr.'s attitude before, Philip already had a faint guess in his heart.

...it's unbelievable.

But as a senior official, he certainly understands the stakes.Since Joey said so, he obviously didn't want to reveal his identity.

Philip was silent for a few seconds with shocking respect, and then spoke after much deliberation: "By the way, please forgive me, there is something I haven't had time to tell you."

After experiencing the impact of the scene just now, his mood is almost a bit tragic at this moment: "As you know, the introduction of urban planning and venues will be in charge of experts from the Construction Committee."

Please don't blame him.He doesn't know anything, just a messenger.

"After discussion, in order to maximize the publicity effect, the city hall...uh, it is a great honor to invite Mr. Antonio Gaudí to come in person."

thump.

Joey almost fell out like his frightened heart.

An inexplicable premonition suddenly rose in her heart.

Little by little, he turned his head stiffly.

Philip's rambling voice dissipated in the air: "Please forgive me, Mr. Gaudi said that you probably don't want him to come, so we don't let us tell you in advance..."

The applause in the venue blurred into a noisy background sound, the sparkling Seine River shattered the clouds, the pale golden sunlight scattered in all directions, and there were layers of transparent ripples in the air.

In the bright field of vision, everything is illuminated into blurred spots.

Only the man in the white shirt slowly walked into the venue from the direction of the crowd, as if the whole world was lit up for him.

"If I want to love you and want you to love me, how would you respond?"

At this moment, the libretto of the bullfighter flirting with Carmen in a red dress sounded, as if a little devil was whispering in Joey's ear.

He ran away without saying hello.

Say goodbye to someone and meet again.

... Is there anything more embarrassing in this world than this?

She held her heart, breathed, and took a deep breath.

One cannot be suffocated to death by oneself.

Remember, love is like a free bird.

……

Then she, a little bird, is probably not far away from being killed by one head.

The author has something to say: *Refer to the content of Prince Alfonso’s statement in 1874 and the lyrics of the Spanish national anthem (the old version, the current version has no lyrics)

Alfonso XII in history was a progressive and enlightened monarch, and his younger brother worked hard to be a good king.

Drizzle wet streamer little angel's landmine~Thanks to Jin, Zuiluo., Gardenia, Amomo, and Tristan for their nutrient solution!