Chapter 645: Trouble
Chapter 631 Trouble
“Baden!”
“The British royal family seems to be prominent, but in reality, the help it can bring to Frederick is very limited, and at most, it’s just a face-saving splendor.
The Duchy of Baden may seem insignificant, but its influence in the German Federal Empire is not small. If Austria wants to unify the German region, the Duchy of Baden is an important part.” Franz explained
When parents love their children deeply, they plan far and wide for them.
The marriage of the Crown Prince, which contributed to the cause of Imperial unification, was bound to be embraced by German nationalists, which would greatly increase Frederick’s popularity in the civil world.
Empress Helen after thinking about it, “Then let’s prioritize Sophie Marie Victoria, her yearling is just right, we can still hold grandchildren earlier.”
As expected, men and women’s thinking were not on the same channel. While Franz prioritized political influence, Empress Helen placed more importance on holding grandchildren.
Of course, giving birth to the next generation earlier would also be able to help Frederick.
The Habsburg dynasty was deeply entrenched, and the marriage was just the icing on the cake. As long as there was no fuss, Frederick’s position as heir apparent would not be shaken.
Franz was still very comfortable with this marriage. The royal family of Baden had no reason to refuse. Hanover wanted to integrate the German Federal Empire, and Baden could not do without Austria’s support.
Limited by the problem of volume, the Kingdom of Hanover did not have an absolute advantage over the domestic states, and the number of domestic states was simply too large, which meant that it was impossible for them to learn the Austrian model.
Otherwise it would be the same as now, with the small and medium-sized states occupying most of the seats in the Reichstag, and the power of the central government being limited to a cage by the parliament, which would not be able to utilize the advantages of the Great Righteousness at all.
Standing in the position of the central government, the only way to integrate this country is to carry out centralization of power, which is something that the many small states cannot tolerate.
When Austria united the South German region, everyone preserved their power except for the loss of diplomatic power, the right to issue currency, and the sharing of legislative power and the command of the army.
(Remarks: the legislature was the Reichstag, in which the governments of the states were represented; and the command of the army, which, as previously mentioned, was under the dual command of the emperor and the monarch of the state.)
For the vast majority of small states, diplomatic power and army command are chicken feed; they are simply incapable of conducting international diplomacy, let alone raising an army.
The right to issue currency may seem lucrative, but for small states, because the demand for currency is so small, the cost of issuing money is likely to exceed the revenue from minting taxes.
Initially, people were afraid that the Vienna government would turn its back on them and annex them before they joined together under the command of the British to form the German Federal Empire.
Now the situation was the opposite, Austria was not prepared to annex everyone, instead the central government dominated by Hanover wanted to annex them.
The Duchy of Baden, as a state second only to Hanover in the German Federal Empire, was naturally suppressed by the central government, and if it weren’t for Austria’s support behind them, they would not have been able to hold out much longer.
In this respect, the Baden royal family needed this marriage more than the Habsburgs, which was a matter of their own survival.
After a pause, Franz added: “Why don’t we consider Peter, William, and George as well, and when Frederick’s marriage is finalized, we will also betroth them.”
The marriage of the second son was much easier, and although it was also a political union, the requirements were undoubtedly a notch lower.
Empress Helen smiled faintly, “Good, I think it would be better to contact the British royal family, the Montenegrin royal family, and the Belgian royal family first.
Originally, I was optimistic about the Hessian royal family and the Princess of the Oldenburg family, but unfortunately, the royal family disease is too horrible.”
After a pause, Empress Helen said uncertainly, “Franz, why don’t we secretly poke the news out, or else if we keep tossing it around like this, our children and grandchildren will be in trouble in the future.”
Franz blushed, not as a possibility but as a foregone conclusion. He thought of even more, letting hemophilia continue to proliferate in the European royal family, the European kingship was afraid that it would still step into the dust of the original time and space.
Seemingly, if the royal family is extinct, they can still find a distant king, so it seems to have little impact. The actual damage done to the royal family is fatal.
How can it be so easy for outsiders to control the power? Most of the time when the bourgeoisie was able to seize power in the original time period, it happened during the change of the throne.
If there is no heir, the king is an old family that has been operating in the area for hundreds of years, and has a deep mass base, so it’s not that easy for the government to overthrow the king.
The decline of European kingship is not a good thing for the Habsburgs.
Franz nodded, “Well, I will arrange for someone to do it, you don’t have to worry.”
After weighing the pros and cons, Franz could only choose to apologize to these princesses. Once the news got out, they were going to be worried about their marriages, and not many families dared to risk extinction and make a marriage with them.
However, this must wait for the dust to settle on the marriage of several sons. Otherwise, the situation of too many monks and not enough gruel would be even worse, suddenly adding a bunch of rivals out, who knows if there would be a change of heart.
Political marriages were not just a matter for the royal family, but also a matter for the country. Franz can make his own decisions about his son’s marriage, but he also needs to inform the government.
If the marriage partner could not obtain the government’s approval, that would also be a problem. This kind of thing is not without precedent, almost every few decades, the European royal family will make a joke out.
……
Just when Franz worried about the marriage of his sons, the African battlefield also changed, the French successfully occupied the Sudan region.
This makes the British in the bitter war is very bitter, Britain, France and Austria at the same time to launch the African Raiders, the first to strike the British, actually last to complete the strategic objectives.
No, they have not yet accomplished their strategic objectives. The Ethiopians are still continuing to resist, the British army only occupied the upper hand, from the end of the war is still far away.
Needless to say, the British were disgraced in this round of competition.
The Austrians took more than three months to occupy the Somali Peninsula; the French took five months to take care of the Sudanese region; and the British have been fighting Ethiopia for the better part of a year with no results yet.
Of course, this “occupation” is only to establish nominal rule. It is only the cities that are really occupied, and the indigenous tribes in the jungle are not under their rule.
The Ethiopian region was larger and the indigenous forces were stronger, which was the main reason for the British to take action.
Unfortunately, the European world had no concept of this “power”. The European population was arrogant in this era. How powerful could the natives be?
Even the government in London was ashamed to publicize how powerful Ethiopia was, knowing that they had won the last Anglo-Ethiopian war.
If they publicized it, it would be seen by the public as government incompetence, not as “Ethiopia is strong”.
In Downing Street, Prime Minister Benjamin threw the war report on the table and asked: “What kind of war is this?
The war has been going on for so long, and the front line has only advanced two hundred kilometers. According to the current progress, is the military preparing for a Hundred Years War on the African continent?”
A hundred year war was not so bad, dragging it out for two or three years was still possible. Africa’s biggest hardcore was met by them, so how could it be easily solved?
You have to know that it is now in Ethiopia’s most prosperous period, the current Emperor Menelik II, also recognized by later generations as the greatest and most accomplished ruler in African history.
This is nothing, no matter how Ethiopia is just a backward agricultural country, the national strength can not support the big war. With some effort, the British could still fix it.
The trouble was that France and Austria were stabbing them in the back, and without the support of France and Austria, Ethiopia might not even be united now, let alone train a quasi-modern army.
As the war progressed, Menelik II had mobilized one hundred and fifty thousand troops, all equipped with rifles, and also had more than seven hundred pieces of artillery.
Secretary of State for War Fox: “Your Excellency the Prime Minister, we underestimated the determination of France and Austria to disrupt the war, and no one knew that their support for Ethiopia was so strong.
After analyzing the information from the front line, we have been able to determine that it is the French and Austrian officers who are now in command of the Ethiopian army.”
Fox spoke, as usual, with political artistry. What had been an underestimation of Ethiopia’s strength became an underestimation of the strength of French and Austrian support for Ethiopia in his mouth.
Stealing the concept, it sounded less unacceptable to everyone. As for French and Austrian officers commanding the Ethiopian army, that is total bullshit.
In this day and age, Ethiopia doesn’t trust any of the European countries, so who would dare to give their army, on which they depend for their survival, to be commanded by a bunch of people they don’t trust?
The support of France and Austria was indeed a reason why Ethiopia was able to fight the British, but only a secondary reason.
Since the outbreak of the war, France and Austria have reined in their maneuvers. Apart from still peddling strategic goods to Ethiopia, there have been no major moves.
However, this does not affect Fox’s ability to put the blame on the French and Austrians. The French and Austrian equipment in the Ethiopian army is evidence that the French and Austrians are supporting the Ethiopians.
Prime Minister Benjamin glared at him fiercely, ”I don’t want any analysis or speculation, if it is the French and Austrian countries that are supporting the Ethiopians, then please come up with concrete evidence.
Just some arms and equipment is not convincing. At most, it can only prove that the French and Austrian arms dealers are good at their business, it doesn’t mean that the French and Austrian governments are supporting Ethiopia.”
Britain, France and Austria are still allies and are in the first rank of the London government’s diplomacy, even if they are withholding shit, then there should be tangible evidence.
Arms and equipment is obviously not convincing enough, there is still British ordnance equipment in the Ethiopian army, if the London government takes this issue, won’t it prove that they are also supporting Ethiopia?
This kind of reasoning can be used by civil society to fight a war of words, but if it is used in diplomacy, it will only lead to jokes.
Unless the British government can suppress the French and Austrians, Paris and Vienna will not pay any attention to their protests.
Fox was slightly embarrassed, then responded, “Yes, Mr. Prime Minister. We will find the evidence as soon as possible, but it will take time.
The most important thing now is to cut off Ethiopia’s source of arms, otherwise this war will be very troublesome.”
This is a big problem, these days arms dealers are bold masters. As long as there is enough profit, there is no business they dare not do.
“The best arms dealers sell weapons to their enemies.”
It’s no joke. British arms dealers are really doing it. There are still powerful people in the country involved behind this, and without enough evidence, Fox naturally won’t poke through the windowpaper.
Prime Minister Benjamin also had a headache, to cut off the source of arms in Ethiopia is too difficult, they can blockade the coastal lines of communication, but can not block the inland areas.
The French and Austrian colonies all bordered Ethiopia, and those two wouldn’t listen to them. As long as the Ethiopians can afford to pay, this trade will not stop.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicates with the French and Austrians, there must be a way to cut off the Ethiopians’ trade routes, and if necessary there can be an exchange of benefits.”
……
(End of chapter)