Rise of Australia

Chapter 201 Mary Pavlovna

The venue for the welcome banquet for Arthur was at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.This is the palace of the Tsarist Russian Empire, and it is also the palace where the Russian tsars have lived the most since Catherine the Great.

Of course, as the emperor of Russia, one of the European powers, Nicholas II also owned a large number of palaces and manors.

The Winter Palace is the largest palace in Russia and one of the most official palaces, where the previous workers' petition took place.

But according to tradition, Nicholas II should spend his holidays at the Livadia Palace in Yalta, as it is now summer.

Yes, it is where the Yalta Conference will be held in the future.The Yalta Conference was a conference on the distribution of post-war interests among the victorious countries at that time, and it was also a conference that determined the world pattern after World War II.

Because of the need to negotiate a treaty with William II, Nicholas II did not go to the Livadia Palace this summer, but stayed in the Winter Palace, so that he could go to the place of conversation at any time, which is near Bjork Island.

The climate in St. Petersburg is relatively comfortable in summer. The temperature is always above 10 degrees Celsius during the day, and the highest can reach about 20 degrees Celsius.

But such good weather will not last long. After four consecutive months of summer, St. Petersburg will also usher in eight months of winter.

I also have to admire the rough skin and thick flesh of the Russians, such a cold winter is not something anyone can bear.

This is why the history includes the powerful Napoleon, and the reason why the mustache's Eastern Expedition to Russia failed.

In Russia, not only have to face thousands of kilometers of transportation lines, but also face the cold winter in Russia.

Although the climate of St. Petersburg is not very suitable as the capital, it makes up for this shortcoming in other aspects, allowing Russia to use it as the capital for more than 100 years.

St. Petersburg has access to the sea, and after the previous operation of Novgorod, it is a safe port with a high degree of development and belongs to the mainstream Russian culture.

If Russia wants to continue to develop into Europe, St. Petersburg is the best choice among all Russian cities.

Nicholas II gave Arthur a grand welcome and was greeted in person by Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich.

Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich was the uncle of the current Tsar Nicholas II and one of his most influential brain trusters.

At the same time, Grand Duke Sergey also served as the Governor of Moscow and the Commander-in-Chief of the Moscow Military District. He was one of the most important people in the Russian royal family to Nicholas II.

On the premise that Crown Prince Alexei is only one year old, Grand Duke Sergei is also the most powerful and status member of the royal family in Russia except Nicholas II.

I also have to complain about the chaotic relationship between European nobles. The most powerful monarchies in Europe, Britain, Germany and Russia are actually relatives, and they are not distant relatives.

That's why World War I was called the War of the Kinsmen of the European Royals.

Inside the Winter Palace, Nicholas II was already asking his guards to notify all members of the nobility near St. Petersburg that they were preparing to attend the welcome banquet in the evening.

No matter what the purpose is, it is not bad news that Russia is now befriending Australia.

At least in the Far East, Australia already has an influence that is not weaker than that of the second-power European countries, and can provide Russia with a large amount of weapons and equipment support and industrial products.

Even in terms of food, Australia can provide a lot to the Russian Far East army, which will greatly solve the logistical problems that have plagued Russia for a long time.

After learning that Arthur currently has no engagement, Nicholas II had some ideas.

Although Australia's comprehensive influence is completely inferior to that of Spain and the Netherlands, the second-strongest country, Australia also has an advantage, that is, it is far away in Oceania, so there is no need to worry about participating in European disputes.

Moreover, Russia is still paying more attention to the Far East issue. In the Far East, these two countries may not have as much influence as Australia.

If Australia can be tied to Russia's chariot and Australia can provide some logistical assistance to Russia's Far East, won't Russia have an advantage in the next Far East hegemony?

But Nicholas II's eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, is only ten years old now, so she is naturally not suitable for this banquet.

Temporarily unable to think of a suitable candidate, Nicholas II had to call his beloved queen Alexandra Feodorovna, and let the women do their most professional things.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna didn't take it seriously at first, but after hearing that she was looking for a marriage partner for her cousin Arthur, she concentrated on searching her memory. , looking for the right person.

Yes, Princess Hesse-Darmstadt, Empress Alexandrola Feodorovna's mother was Princess Alice, Queen Victoria's second daughter.

But less fortunately, Queen Alexandrola Feodorovna, as a descendant of Queen Victoria, carried the gene of Queen Victoria's hemophilia.

This is why Kaiser Wilhelm II strongly supported Empress Feodorovna to marry Nicholas, who was still the crown prince at the time, so that hemophilia could enter the Russian royal family, and no one should think about it.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of Mary?" Queen Feodorovna thought for a long time before slowly uttering a name.

"Mary? You mean Mary who is now adopted by Grand Duke Sergei?" Nicholas II asked.

Mary, whose full name is Mary Pavlovna, is the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II and the legitimate daughter of Grand Duke Paul.

But Grand Duchess Alexandra died when Grand Duchess Mary was one year old, and her father, Grand Duke Paul, was unable to take care of young Mary and her newborn brother because of grief, so they had to send their sister His younger brother was adopted by Grand Duke Sergei, the elder brother of Grand Duke Paul.

But because Grand Duke Paul later married a divorced woman, the former Tsar Alexander III was very angry and did not allow Grand Duke Paul to return to Russia again. Grand Duke Sergey and his wife also officially became the guardians of Mary's siblings.

In a practical sense, Grand Duke Sergey raised Mary's siblings since childhood. Although there is no nominal father-daughter relationship, the actual relationship is not much different.

Mary, as a direct descendant of the Russian royal family and the same generation as Nicholas II, is indeed a suitable candidate for this marriage.

However, Grand Duchess Mary is only 17 years old (two years more than the original history, a small modification, according to the setting of this book), is there a big gap in age between Arthur and Arthur?

Queen Alexandra doesn't have this problem.For the actual European royal marriage, the rank and prestige between the two families is far more important than the age gap between the two people.

The Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family that Arthur belongs to is even more prosperous than the Romanov family of the Russian royal family in terms of prosperity, so naturally there will be no misfits.

After finalizing the candidate, Nicholas II asked Empress Alexandra to remind Grand Duchess Sergei to ask Mary to prepare for the evening banquet.

In fact, in addition to the Grand Duchess Mary, who was personally selected by Nicholas II, dozens of Russian nobles and their daughters attended the banquet.

If the Grand Duchess Mary is the main candidate for this Russian marriage, then the other noble ladies are the foils.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that these noble ladies will be chosen by Arthur and become Arthur's lover.

After all, the current European royal marriages also have to consider the attitudes of both parties. For a monarch like Arthur who already has real power, his own attitude is far more important than the interests of the family.

In a certain room of Grand Duke Sergei's mansion.

Inside the house, a beautifully dressed, young and beautiful girl is sitting on the dresser and looking at herself carefully.There is also a girl dressed as a maid standing beside her, helping her comb her long hair carefully.

"Lolita, how is it? Does it look good?" The girl looked at her own face, and looked at the maid next to her expectantly.

Although it is said to be a maid, in fact, girls' feelings are also very easy to cultivate.For Grand Duchess Mary, Lolita is more like her friend.

"Of course it looks good, Your Highness. If you wear this pearl necklace again, then your Highness will be the most beautiful swan at the banquet!" Lolita replied with a smile while combing Mary's shoulder-length hair.

Scenes like this took place at various locations in St. Petersburg this afternoon.For the Russian nobles, Arthur, who owns an independent territory and holds real power, is considered a wealthy son-in-law. Although it is a bit remote, the interests of the family are more important than everything else, right?

Coupled with the relationship established between Russia and Australia during the war, if these nobles could have a relationship with the real monarch Arthur, even if it was just as a lover, it would at least allow their family to obtain strong support from abroad.

The goal of a nobleman's marriage is first of all to look at the other party's family and the relationship between the heir and concubine. Arthur was born in one of the most prominent families in Europe, the current royal family of the British Empire, Saxe-Coburg Gotha, and is also a member of the heir.

These two points alone are enough to attract the vast majority of nobles, not to mention the [-] million pounds of property that Queen Victoria bestowed on Arthur, which was a sensation in Europe at the time.

After eight o'clock in the evening, the grand welcome banquet finally began.

Arthur, as the protagonist, also attracted a lot of attention and attention in this banquet.

Wearing a custom-made dress, Arthur is already a handsome young man with extraordinary appearance after simple attire.

Although it is not as earth-shattering as handsome, but it can be considered to be based on the aesthetics of Westerners, coupled with top background and wealth, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is fascinating.

The delicacies at the banquet were dazzling, but Arthur was not in the mood to look at those delicacies at this time.

There is no other reason, as the protagonist of this banquet, people come to invite Arthur to dance every once in a while, and all of them are teenage noble girls.

Arthur didn't know it at first, but he soon understood the real purpose of Nicholas II holding this banquet.

Just these noble girls one after another, this is not a blind date, what is this?
However, Arthur does not reject it. After all, he is already 22 years old. The Confederation of Australia and New Zealand does not have a legal heir. This is what all federal citizens and officials are looking forward to.

Only when there are successors in the country and there is a legal crown prince will the more unstable factors in the country be stabilized.

Coupled with the fact that Arthur's mother, Princess Louise, urged her every once in a while, Arthur was really dumbfounded.

The best way to get rid of this situation is to find a qualified duchess for the Commonwealth of Australia?
Speaking of this, I have to praise the beauty of Russian girls.No matter what happens afterwards, the beauty of teenage Russian girls is indeed at its peak, which Arthur can confidently affirm whether it is in later generations or now.

Before finding the duchess for Australia, one more question has to be carefully considered, that is, whether marriage with Russia is beneficial to Australia.

From a historical point of view, the Russian royal family will be wiped out in more than ten years, and marriage with the Russian royal family will not be of any help at that time.

But there is a big difference between now and history.Russia's disastrous defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in history also led to even higher public anger in the country.

But it is different now. Russia's failure is more of a temporary compromise with domestic and foreign troubles, rather than being defeated by the army of the island country.

Although there are still many domestic worries in Russia, Russia, which is not plagued by German problems, can have more than ten years of development and recuperation time.

Coupled with the aid and loans from Germany, at least the rotten country of the Tsarist Russian Empire can persist for a while.

It is even hard to say whether Russia will participate in the First World War in the future. Will Russia, which does not mobilize its troops, really be overthrown by a revolution that breaks out in the future?

No one can be sure about this matter, but the probability of being overthrown has been greatly reduced.

Moreover, as far as the current situation is concerned, there are still many advantages to marrying Russia.

First of all, Russia is currently the fourth power in the world. Except for the British Empire, the German Empire, France and the United States have sufficient advantages, other countries are not necessarily Russia's opponents.

Secondly, Russia has a large population, a considerable part of which is inclined to immigrate.

If it can marry with Russia, Australia can also accept some of these Russian immigrants.Of course, this has to be done after excluding revolutionaries and dangerous elements.

Russia is still thinking about the Far East Policy. If they want to realize the Far East Policy, they must also rely on Australia's support.

This also means that Australia can obtain more resources and benefits from Russia, and can also cultivate Russia's Far East strength, so that Russia's military in the Far East can always remain above the strength of the island country, suppressing the rise and expansion of the island country in disguise.

You must know that it took only a few decades for the island country to transform from a backward feudal country into a great power country recognized by the whole world.

It even expanded the ambitions of the island nation to the entire Pacific Rim in the future, even Australia and New Zealand.

This also means that the island country is likely to grow into one of Australia's powerful enemies. It is necessary to prepare in advance and use Russia's power to suppress the island country.

Although this may lead to Russia dominating the Far East and occupying more areas of the Qing Dynasty in the south.

But in fact, the major powers have considerable interests in these areas, and naturally they will not allow Russia to expand wantonly in this area.

If Russia wants to ask for more, I am afraid that European countries headed by the United Kingdom will not agree, and the island countries will desperately resist and hold their last chance to become a great power.

At that time, the Far East will turn into a hegemony between Russia and island countries, and Australia's military industry will usher in new opportunities.

After thinking about all this, Arthur did not reject the possible marriage with Russia, and even actively chose it.

Under the premise of being well-matched, Arthur naturally wanted to find a qualified girl for Australia, at least smart and understanding, but who would not interfere in Australia's political affairs and would be a duchess with peace of mind.

Of course, appearance is also one of the important indicators when Arthur chooses.Although they don't pay much attention to appearance, who doesn't want the people around them to have beautiful faces.

After a while, Nicholas II also brought Queen Alexandra to the banquet, but he only greeted Arthur a few times before leaving.

The host of this banquet was Arthur. Nicholas II knew that if he stayed at the banquet, he would attract some attention, so he left wisely.

After Nicholas II left, the banquet gradually reached its climax as the beautiful music sounded again.

Many people have already entered the dancing area, dancing to the sound of music, enhancing the atmosphere of the banquet.

Arthur had been invited no less than ten times so far, and had danced three or four times.

Even though I made preparations in advance, I was still a little tired, so I found a position near the corner and did it.

Next to Arthur, Mary, who hadn't figured out what reason to invite Arthur to dance, suddenly widened her eyes. She didn't expect Arthur to come to the door by herself.

Arthur also saw Mary next to him at this time, and smiled and nodded as a greeting.

Gudong!

Mary swallowed quietly, cheering herself up, picked up a glass of red wine and stood up, wanting to talk to Arthur.

It's just a coincidence, maybe because of being too nervous, Mary's feet slipped when she stood up, and she accidentally tripped over the stool.

The weight of the stool was not light, and Mary lost her center of gravity all of a sudden, she fell on Arthur's lap, and her head hit Arthur's vitals directly.

"what!"

Fortunately, Arthur had prepared in advance, and blocked Mary's head with his hands before the danger came.

Mary's cherry lips touched her vitals lightly, like a dragonfly touching water, and was then helped up by Arthur.

"Are you all right, miss?" Arthur asked politely.

This accident caught Arthur off guard, and the sudden contact made Arthur stagger even more.

"I'm fine, Your Highness." At this moment, Mary's cheeks were like ripe apples, so red that they could even drip blood.

Although Mary still doesn't know more complicated things, she also knows that such intimate contact should not be done.

"Sorry, Your Highness. I accidentally tripped just now." Mary quickly explained.

Although the accident caused her to have contact with Arthur, Mary didn't want to be considered deliberate, and she didn't want to make a bad impression on Arthur.

"It's okay, miss. May I know your name?" Arthur shook his head with a smile, not paying attention to what just happened.

In fact, it was only now that Arthur noticed the girl's appearance in front of him. Even at a banquet full of beauties, the girl's appearance was so outstanding and lovely.

"Mary, Mary Pavlovna, Your Highness." Mary nodded slightly and replied.

What happened in the corner attracted everyone's attention, after all, where Arthur was also represented the attention of the audience.

But when everyone saw that the protagonists of the matter were Arthur and the Grand Duchess Mary, everyone waited for the result with great interest.

"Mary? Very good, can I invite you to dance?" Arthur nodded, and made an invitation to the girl in front of him.

Mary nodded slightly again, put her white hand on Arthur's, and followed Arthur to the center of the dance floor.

　[-] words in two chapters, please support!The heroine is hard to find, and I have searched all kinds of information for a long time, a chapter that is overdue, please support!There is also an easter egg chapter, don't miss it later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)