"Baden!"

"The British royal family seems to be prominent, but in fact it can bring very little help to Frederick, at most it is a face-saving situation.

The Duchy of Baden may seem inconspicuous, but its influence in the Federal Empire of Germany is not small. Austria wanted to unify Germany, and the Duchy of Baden was an important part of it. Franz explained

Parents love their children deeply, and they have far-reaching plans.

The marriage of the crown prince, which contributed to the unification of the empire, was bound to be embraced by the German nationalists, which would greatly increase Frederick's popularity among the people.

Queen Helen thought for a while: "Then give priority to Sophie Marie Victoria, her age is just right, and we can hold our grandson early." ”

Sure enough, the minds of men and women are not on the same channel. Franz prioritized political influence, while Empress Helen placed more emphasis on holding her grandson.

Of course, the early birth of the next generation can also help Frederick.

The Habsburgs were deeply entrenched, and marriages were just the icing on the cake. As long as he does not toss around, Frederick's position as heir will not be shaken.

For this marriage, Franz is still very relieved. The Baden royal family had no reason to refuse, Hanover wanted to integrate the German Federal Empire, and Baden could not do without the support of Austria.

Due to their size, the Kingdom of Hanover did not have an absolute advantage over the domestic states, and the number of domestic states was too large, which meant that it was impossible for them to learn from the Austrian model.

Otherwise, as it is now, the small states occupy the majority of the seats in the imperial parliament, and the power of the central government is confined to the cage by the parliament, and it will not be able to play the advantage of righteousness at all.

From the standpoint of the central government, it is only possible to centralize the country, which is intolerable to many small states.

Austria unified South Germany, and everyone retained all other powers, except for the loss of diplomatic power, the right to issue currency, and the sharing of legislative power and army command.

(Note: The legislature is the Imperial Parliament, which is represented by the governments of the states; Command of the army, as mentioned above, the army of the state is under the dual command of the central government and the monarch of the state)

For the vast majority of small states, diplomatic power and military command are both chicken ribs, and they simply do not have the ability to conduct international diplomacy, let alone raise an army.

The right to issue money may seem lucrative, but for small countries, the cost of issuing money is likely to exceed seigniorage revenues because the demand for money is so small.

At first, everyone was afraid that the Vienna government would turn its back and annex itself, so they united under the command of the British to form the Federal German Empire.

Now the situation is the opposite, Austria is not ready to annex everyone, but the central government dominated by Hanover wants to annex them.

The Duchy of Baden, as the second state in the German Federal Empire after Hanover, was naturally suppressed by the central government, and if it were not for Austria behind it, they would have been unable to withstand it.

In this respect, the Baden royal family needed this marriage more than the Habsburgs, and it was a matter of their own survival.

After a pause, Franz added: "Just take Peter, William, and George into account, and when Frederick's marriage is settled, I will also marry them by the way." ”

The marriage of the second son is much easier, although it is also a political marriage, but the requirements are undoubtedly a notch lower.

Queen Helen smiled slightly: "Okay, I think it's 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 princesses of the Oldenburg family, but unfortunately, the royal family was too terrible. ”

After a pause, Queen Helen said uncertainly: "Franz, either we will secretly poke out the news, otherwise if we continue to toss like this, our children and grandchildren will be in trouble in the future." ”

Franz's face changed, not a possible result but an inevitable result. He thought of more, let hemophilia continue to spread in the European royal family, and the European royal power may still follow in the footsteps of the original time and space.

It seems that the royal family is the heir, and you can also find the king of the distant branch, which seems to have little impact. In fact, the damage to the royal power was fatal.

How easy is it for outsiders to take control of power? The bourgeoisie of the original time and space was able to seize power, mostly in the process of changing the throne.

If there is no heir, the king is a veteran family that has been operating in the local area for hundreds of years, with a deep foundation, and it is not so simple for the government to want to overthrow the king.

The decline of European kingship was not a good thing for the Habsburgs.

Franz nodded: "Well, I'll arrange someone to do it, you don't have to worry." ”

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz had no choice but to be sorry for the princesses. Once the news spreads, they will be worried about getting married, and few families dare to take the risk of losing their heirs and marry them.

However, this will have to wait for the marriage of the sons to settle down. Otherwise, the situation of more monks and less porridge will be more serious, and suddenly a bunch of competitors will come out, who knows if there will be a change.

Political marriages are not only a matter for the royal family, but also for the state. Franz can decide his son's marriage, but he also has to inform the government.

If the marriage partner is not able to get government approval, it is also a problem. This kind of thing is not without precedent, and almost every few decades, European royal families make a joke.

……

While Franz was worried about the marriage of his sons, the African battlefield also changed, and the French succeeded in occupying Sudan.

This made the British who were in a bitter war very distressed, and Britain, France and Austria launched an African strategy at the same time, and the British, who were the first to do it, actually completed the strategic goal in the end.

No, they haven't accomplished their strategic goals yet. The Ethiopians continued to resist, but the British only had the upper hand, and the end of the war was still far away.

Needless to say, in this round of competition, the British are disgraced.

The Austrians occupied the Somali Peninsula in more than three months; The French took five months to conquer the Sudanese region; The British and Ethiopia fought for more than half a year, but there was no result.

Of course, this "occupation" was only to establish a nominal rule. The real occupation is only the city, the indigenous tribes of the jungle, not under the scope of the rule.

Ethiopia was a larger area and more native, which was the main reason for the British movement.

It is a pity that this "powerful", the European world has no concept. In this era, the European people were arrogant, how strong could the natives be?

Even the government in London is embarrassed to advertise how strong Ethiopia is, knowing that in the last Anglo-Egyptian war, they were victorious.

If it is so promoted, it will be seen by the public as the government is incompetent, not "Ethiopia is strong".

On Downing Street, Prime Minister Benjamin threw the war report directly on the table and asked, "What kind of battle is this?"

The war went on for so long that the front advanced only two hundred kilometers. At the current pace, is the military preparing for a Hundred Years War on the African continent? ”

The Hundred Years' War is not enough, it is still possible to drag on for two or three years. Africa's biggest bones have all been encountered by them, how can they be easily solved?

You must know that Ethiopia is at its peak, and the current emperor, Menelik II, is also recognized by later generations as the greatest and most accomplished ruler in the history of Africa.

This is nothing, in any case, Ethiopia is only a backward agricultural country, and its national strength cannot support a big war. With some effort, the British can still solve it.

The trouble is that France and Austria are stabbing in the back, and without the support of France and Austria, Ethiopia may not be unified now, let alone train a quasi-modern army.

By the time the war had progressed, Menelik II had mobilized 150,000 troops, all armed with rifles and more than 700 artillery pieces.

War Secretary Fox: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we underestimated the determination of France and Austria to cause trouble, and no one knew how much support they would have for Ethiopia.

After analyzing the data from the front, we can already establish that it is now Franco-Austrian officers who are in command of the Ethiopian army. ”

Fox speaks, as always, full of political art. Originally, he underestimated Ethiopia's strength, but in his mouth, it became an underestimation of the strength of France and Austria to support Ethiopia.

After a little change of concept, it doesn't sound so difficult for everyone to accept. As for the Fao officer commanding the Ethiopian army, that is complete nonsense.

In this era, Ethiopia did not trust all European countries, who would dare to put their surviving army under the command of a group of distrustful people?

The support of France and Austria was indeed one reason why Ethiopia was able to stand up to the British, but it was only a secondary reason.

Since the outbreak of the war, France and Austria have reined in their actions. Apart from the continued sale of strategic goods to Ethiopia, there has been no major move.

However, this does not affect Fox to shift the responsibility to France and Austria, and the French and Austrian equipment in the Ethiopian army is evidence that France and Austria support the Ethiopians.

Prime Minister Benjamin glared at him fiercely: "I don't want any analysis or speculation, if France and Austria are supporting the Ethiopians, then please come up with concrete evidence."

It's just some munitions and equipment, and it's not convincing. At most, it only proves that the Franco-Austrian arms dealers have strong business capabilities, and it does not mean that the Franco-Austrian government is supporting Ethiopia. ”

Britain, France and Austria are still allies, and they belong to the first level in the diplomacy of the London government, even if it is a basin, there must be tangible evidence.

The convincing power of the arms and equipment is obviously insufficient, and the Ethiopian army is still British and equipped, and if the London government talks about this issue, will it not prove that they are also supporting Ethiopia?

Such a reason can be used by the people to fight a war of words, but it can be used in diplomacy, and it can only attract jokes.

Unless the British government can suppress France and Austria, Paris and Vienna will not heed their protests.

Fox was slightly embarrassed, and then reacted: "Okay, Your Excellency, Prime Minister. We'll find evidence as soon as we can, but it will take time.

The most important thing now is to cut off Ethiopia's arms sources, otherwise this war will be very troublesome. ”

This is a big problem, and the arms dealers of these years are bold and daring. As long as there are enough benefits, there is no business that they dare not do.

"The best arms dealers sell weapons to their enemies."

It's not a joke, the British arms dealers are really doing it. There is also the involvement of domestic elites behind this, and without enough evidence, Fox naturally will not pierce the window paper.

Prime Minister Benjamin also had a headache because it was too difficult to cut off Ethiopia's arms sources, and they were able to block the coastal lines of communication, but not the interior.

Both Franco-Austrian colonies share a border with Ethiopia, and they will not be under their command. As long as the Ethiopians pay back, this trade will not stop.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicates with France and Austria that they must find a way to cut off the trade routes of the Ethiopians, and if necessary, they can exchange interests."

……

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