Rise of Empires: Spain

No matter what the result will be, in Carlo's view now, marriage with the Austro-Hungarian Empire is definitely one of the most correct options.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire is one of the traditional five major European powers (Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Russia), and has a very strong foundation in both economy and industry.

Although it was defeated by Prussia a few years ago, the powerful France was also defeated by Prussia's cannons. This comparison shows that the Austro-Hungarian Empire at this time was not as bad as imagined.

In fact, speaking of France, the several wars between Prussia and the Austrian Empire, the power of the Prussian Krupp cannon was not possessed at the beginning.

As early as 1859, the country with the most powerful artillery technology on the European continent was still France at that time. An Italian-French-Austrian war allowed the Austrian Empire to see the power of French artillery and to change its mind and build new and more powerful artillery.

The artillery replaced by the Austrian Empire played a role in the Austro-Prussian War a few years later, causing the Prussian army to suffer from Austrian artillery.

If it were not for the large gap between the Austrian army and the Prussian army in terms of rifles, I am afraid that this Austro-Prussian War would not end so easily.

At that time, the Prussian army had begun to equip breech-loading rifles with faster loading speed, while the Austrian army still used muzzle-loading rifles with paper-wrapped bullets.

In terms of shooting speed, for every shot fired by the Austrian musketeers, the Prussian army could counterattack with 4 to 5 shots.

Coupled with the old-fashioned tactics of queuing and shooting, Austria's failure was actually inevitable.

Because the tactics of queuing and shooting caused the Austrian Empire to suffer a large number of casualties, the French government did not even have time to intervene, and the Austrian government had already requested peace talks with Prussia.

It was precisely because of the pain of artillery in Austria that the Prussian army reformed artillery technology and armed new steel artillery on a large scale.

The result is also obvious. In the Franco-Prussian War last year, the newly manufactured Krupp steel cannon in Prussia dealt a fatal blow to the French army and instantly disintegrated the powerful Second French Empire.

From this period of history, it can be seen that the comprehensive strength gap between Germany, France and Austria in this era is not that large. The military industries of Germany, France and Austria are all at the top level of this era, which is a great help to Spain.

Since the marriage with Austria-Hungary had been decided, Carlo naturally had nothing to hesitate about.

No matter what Archduchess Sophie was like, as long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire behind her could provide help to Spain, Carlo's goal would have been achieved.

If Archduchess Sophie's personality was what he liked, then the result would of course be a happy ending. Even if he didn't like her, Carlo could keep a few lovers he liked and ensure that he would not be treated unfairly.

At least Archduchess Sophie's appearance was absolutely acceptable. Even if there was no emotional foundation, this marriage was at least acceptable to Carlo.

If the other party's appearance was not acceptable, Carlo might not be willing to accept this political marriage, after all, appearance would be inherited to the next generation.

On March 25, 1871, at the invitation of the Austro-Hungarian government, Carlo announced a diplomatic visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to promote economic cooperation between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this was just a normal diplomatic visit between the two countries. Although Spain is not a powerful country, it is at least an old colonial country, and it is definitely one of the best non-power countries in Europe.

The economic cooperation between two powerful countries is mutually beneficial, and there is no unusual reaction between the people of the two countries.

In the eyes of the royal families and senior government officials of other countries, this is not such a simple diplomatic visit.

Because ordinary diplomatic visits will not dispatch the king at all, this is more like a meeting between the royal families of the two countries.

Why meet? Of course, it is because of some cooperation between the royal families, such as Carlo's marriage, which has attracted the attention of the entire European royal family.

In fact, Carlo himself is not that important. The marriage of a king theoretically cannot attract the attention of all European royal families.

But if it is a country of Spain's level, it is not surprising to attract the attention of some powerful royal families.

It is no exaggeration to say that the royal families of Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia are all paying attention to Carlo's marriage. If Carlo's father Vittorio Emanuele II is added, it is equivalent to all the powerful countries in Europe paying attention to this matter.

The reason is certainly not because of Carlo, but because of the Kingdom of Spain behind Carlo.

The strength of the Kingdom of Spain is not weak, but its geographical location is too important. Britain naturally does not want Germany and Russia to marry Spain, because this is likely to destroy its strategic layout in the Mediterranean.

The French are also paying attention to this. After all, who wants to be attacked from both sides? If the royal families of Germany and Spain come together, France, which is sandwiched between Germany and Spain, will not be comfortable.

Although Russia does not have such a strong intention to marry Spain, if it can trip up the British, the Russians are willing to do it.

The only remaining Austro-Hungarian Empire is naturally willing to marry Spain. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is in the same situation as Italy, with all its coastlines on the Mediterranean coast.

This also means that if the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a powerful power, wants to develop its navy, it will definitely be constrained by Britain.

The Austro-Hungarian navy had to look at the attitude of the British if it wanted to leave the Mediterranean. How could the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was also a great power, tolerate this?

If Spain was on good terms, the Austro-Hungarian navy would have the hope of entering the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar if something major happened in the future.

The attitudes of various countries towards Carlo's diplomatic visit were obviously different. However, considering that there were also contradictions between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, this marriage was actually acceptable.

For the British Empire, the marriage between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was much better than that between Germany or Russia.

And for France, avoiding the situation of being attacked from both sides was also good news.

After several twists and turns by sea and land, Carlo and his party finally arrived at Vienna, the capital of Austria, the power center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is worth mentioning that although the last trip to the Kingdom of Italy was just Carlo's normal trip, it was more like a formal diplomatic visit.

A large number of officials arrived in Italy with Carlo, and Spain and Italy also reached a certain cooperation agreement.

However, this nominal diplomatic visit did not bring so many officials. In addition to the guards of several hundred people to protect Carlo's safety, there were only some servants and a small number of diplomatic officials.

Carlo was warmly welcomed by the Austro-Hungarian government as soon as he arrived at the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. An Austro-Hungarian army followed Carlo and his party to provide protection to ensure that Carlo's visit would not cause any problems in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After all, there are still some more radical people in this era, and various assassinations occur from time to time, mainly targeting senior government officials and royal family members.

Carlo is the king of Spain after all. If there is a problem on the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it will have a huge impact on both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain.

Therefore, Carlo's safety is definitely one of the most important topics for the Austro-Hungarian government, and it is also the reason why the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly mobilized part of the army for protection.

The train arrived all the way in Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Carlo also met with senior government officials and royal family members of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As a relatively special dual monarchy on the European continent, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also has a relatively special imperial government.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire can be seen as two parts, one part is composed of the original Austrian Empire, and the other part is composed of the Kingdom of Hungary with a high degree of autonomy.

As the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Joseph I is the emperor of the Austrian Empire and the king of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Although it looks like a whole country, the government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is divided into two parts, namely the government of the Austrian Empire and the government of the Kingdom of Hungary.

One country, two governments, which also represents the biggest problem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at present, that is, the contradiction between the Austrians as the main body of the empire and the Hungarians who desire higher autonomy.

As the main body of the empire, the Austrians, coupled with the Austrian Empire's stronger industry and economy, naturally look down on the Hungarians.

The Kingdom of Hungary has a strong agriculture, and a considerable part of these agricultures are transported to the Austrian Empire to supply the Austrians.

This also leads to the Hungarians not being so balanced. The grain they grow here is transported to Austria, and the large farmers don't even get much compensation. Isn't this too much?

The various conflicts between the Hungarian Kingdom Government and the Austrian Empire Government also led to the direct disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after its defeat. It was divided into several small countries including Austria and Hungary, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the five major powers in Europe, became history.

In fact, the decline of the Austrian Empire can be seen from the Austro-Prussian War. The legal system of the Austrian Empire came from the Holy Roman Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire once commanded the entire German region and most of Italy.

The Habsburg family has always been in charge of the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Duchy of Austria at that time was also one of the most powerful states in the Holy Roman Empire.

But with the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, Austria's rule over the Holy Roman Empire has gradually faced more severe challenges.

Under the threat of the powerful enemy France, the then Holy Roman Emperor had to give up the throne of the Holy Roman Empire and change his name to the Emperor of the Austrians. This is also the origin of the establishment of the Austrian Empire.

The history after that is more familiar. The Austrian Empire completely failed in the competition with Prussia, and they were completely excluded from Germany, watching Prussia, the competitor, become the master of Germany.

Although it formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire together with Hungary, it still maintained its strength as a great power. However, there were not many Germans, the main ethnic group in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but there were a large number of Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, etc.

This problem has always troubled the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If it cannot be solved, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is like a time bomb buried in its body, which may explode at any time and cause the disintegration of the entire empire.

The current Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is Gyula Andrassy. His previous position was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary. It is said that he was also the lover of Princess Sissi.

Of course, let’s not talk about such rumors whose source is unknown. The fact that the Prime Minister of Hungary served as the Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire already meant that the Austrian Empire had to pay attention to the opinions of the Hungarians. They could no longer dominate the Hungarians before the formation.

After a brief meeting with officials of the Austro-Hungarian government, Carlo went to one of the largest palaces in Europe, the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, led by members of the Austro-Hungarian royal family.

The history of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna can be traced back to 1743, when Queen Marie Theresa ordered the construction of a palace in the southwest of Vienna.

Because there is a spring near the palace, drinking the spring water makes the mind refreshed, so the palace here is also named Schönbrunn Palace. It is the summer palace of the Habsburg royal family of the Austrian Empire and one of the residences of the royal family.

The entire Schönbrunn Palace is very large and deserves to be one of the largest palaces in Europe. The entire palace has about 1,400 rooms. Because of its long history, it also has a variety of architectural styles, even including oriental classical architecture, and is dominated by a luxurious atmosphere.

In the Schönbrunn Palace, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I held a grand welcome ceremony for Carlo.

No matter what the purpose of Carlo's trip was, as the king of Spain, he was eligible to enjoy the grand welcome banquet held by the Austro-Hungarian government and the royal family.

Although Spain has weakened, that was also compared to the period when the sun never sets in Spain. The current Kingdom of Spain is still one of the more powerful countries in Europe. Compared with small and medium-sized countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain is obviously more worthy of the respect of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is no exaggeration to say that among all the countries in Europe, except for the six countries of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria and Italy, Spain should be ranked seventh in Europe, at least in the eyes of all European countries.

Of course, one of the reasons why Carlo was warmly welcomed was his half blood from the Austrian nobility.

Although Carlo's mother, Archduchess Adelheid, is no longer with us, the blood from the Austrian nobility cannot be faked.

The European nobility is originally a family of broken bones and tendons. Whether it is the King of Spain, the members of the Savoy Dynasty, or the blood of the Austrian nobility, it is enough to attract the attention of the Habsburg family.

Franz Joseph also appeared at the welcome banquet for Carlo, but he only had a brief conversation with Carlo and then left on the grounds of busy government affairs.

Carlo was also happy and relaxed. He enjoyed a dinner accompanied by the Habsburg royal family, and then went to the room that had been arranged to rest.

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