"Baden!"

"The British royal family seems to be prominent, but in fact the help it can bring to Frederick is very limited, and at most it will be awesome to the face.

The Principality of Baden seems inconspicuous, but it has a great influence in the German Federal Empire. If Austria wants to unify the German region, the Principality of Baden is an important part of the matter.” Franz explained

If parents love their children deeply, they will have far-reaching plans for them.

The crown prince's marriage made contributions to the cause of imperial unification and would inevitably be supported by German nationalists, which would greatly increase Frederick's reputation among the people.

Queen Helen thought about it and said, "Then give priority to Sophie Mary Victoria. Her year is just right, so we can hold our grandchildren early."

Sure enough, men and women's thinking is not on the same channel. Franz prioritizes political influence, but Queen Helen attaches more importance to holding her grandson.

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

The Habsburg dynasty was deeply rooted, and marriage was just the icing on the cake. As long as there was no turmoil, Frederick's position as the heir would not be shaken.

Franz was still very relieved about this marriage. The Baden royal family had no reason to refuse. Hannover wanted to integrate the German Federal Empire, and Baden could not do without Austria's support.

Due to the size issue, the Kingdom of Hanover has no absolute advantage over the domestic states, and the number of domestic states is too large, which means that they cannot learn from the Austrian model.

Otherwise, as now, small and medium states in the Imperial Parliament occupied most of the seats, and the power of the central government was limited to the cage by the Parliament, and it was impossible to give full play to the advantages of justice.

From the standpoint of the central government, only by centralization can it be possible to integrate this country, which is something that many small states cannot tolerate.

Austria unified the Southern German region, and except for losing diplomatic rights, currency issuance rights, and sharing legislative powers and military command rights, all other powers were preserved.

(Note: The legislative body is the Imperial Parliament, and representatives of all state governments participate; the military command power, as mentioned above, the state army accepts the dual command of the central government and the state monarch)

For most small states, diplomatic power and military command are useless, and they have no ability to engage in international diplomacy, let alone maintain an army.

The right to issue currency seems to be profitable, but for small countries, because the demand for money is too small, the cost of issuing money is likely to exceed the seigniorship income.

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

The situation is just the opposite. Austria is not going to annex everyone, but the central government led by Hannover wants to annex them.

As the second only state among the German Federal Empire after Hannover, the Principality of Baden was naturally suppressed by the central government. If Austria had not supported it behind it, they would have been unable to withstand it.

From this perspective, the Baden royal family needs this marriage more than the Habsburg family, which is related to its own survival problems.

After pausing, Franz added: "Just consider Peter, William and George, and after Frederick's marriage is settled, they will also get engaged to them."

The marriage of the second son is much easier. Although it is also a political marriage, the requirements are undoubtedly lower than the level.

Queen Helen smiled slightly: "Okay, I think it's better to get in touch with the British royal family, Montenegro royal family, and Belgian royal family first.

I was originally optimistic about the Hesse royal family and the Oldenburg princess, but unfortunately, the royal family disease is so terrible."

After pausing, Queen Helen said uncertainly: "Franz, why don't we secretly expose the news, or if we continue to do this, our descendants will be in trouble in the future."

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

It seems that the royal family has been extinct, but it can still be found in the king of the remote branch, but it seems that the impact is not great. In fact, the harm it brings to the royal power is fatal.

Isn't it so easy for foreigners to control power? The original space-time bourgeoisie was able to seize power, mostly in the process of changing the throne.

If there is no extinction, the king will be a veteran family that has been operating for hundreds of years in the local area and has a deep foundation of heroes. It is not that simple for the government to undermine the king.

The decline of European royal power is not a good thing for the Habsburg family.

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

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz had no choice but to choose to be sorry for these princesses. Once the news spread, they would be worried about marrying, and few families dared to take the risk of extinction and marry them.

However, this has to wait until the marriage of several sons is settled. Otherwise, the situation of too much monks and too little porridge will become more serious, and a bunch of competitors will suddenly appear. Who knows if something will happen?

Political marriage is not only a matter of the royal family, but also a matter of the country. Franz can make the decision on his son's marriage, but he also needs to notify the government.

If the marriage partner cannot be recognized by the government, it will be a problem. This kind of thing is not without precedent. Almost every few decades, the European royal family will make a joke.

...

Just as Franz was worried about his sons' marriage, there was also a change in the African battlefield, and the French successfully occupied the Sudan area.

This made the British who were in a tough battle very distressed. Britain, France and the Austrians launched African strategies at the same time. The British, who were the first to take action, finally achieved their strategic goals.

No, they have not achieved their strategic goals yet. The Ethiopians are still resisting, and the British army has just gained the upper hand, and it is still far from the end of the war.

It’s hard to say that in this round of competition, the British are embarrassed.

The Austrians took more than three months to occupy the Somalia Peninsula; the French took five months to settle the Sudan area; the British fought with Ethiopia for more than half a year, but there was no result yet.

Of course, this "occupation" is just a nominal rule. What is really occupied is only the city, and the indigenous tribes in the jungle are not within the scope of their rule.

The Ethiopia region is larger and the indigenous forces are stronger, which is the main reason for the British's actions.

Unfortunately, this "powerful" has no concept of the European world. In this era, European people were arrogant. How powerful can the indigenous people be?

Even the London government was embarrassed to promote how powerful Ethiopia was, and they both won the last Anglo-Egypt war.

If this is the case, it will be the incompetence of the government, not the “strongest Ethiopia”.

On Downing Street, Prime Minister Benjamin threw the battle report directly on the table and asked: "What kind of battle are these all fighting?"

The war has been going on for so long, and the front has only advanced two hundred kilometers. According to the current progress, is the military preparing to engage in a Hundred Years' War on the African continent?"

The Hundred Years' War is not the case, and it is still possible to delay for two or three years. They have encountered the biggest hard bones in Africa, so how can it be easily solved?

You should know that it is now at the heyday of Ethiopia. The current emperor, Menelik II, was recognized by later generations as the greatest and most accomplished ruler in African history.

This is nothing. Ethiopia is just a backward agricultural country, and its national strength cannot support the war. As long as some effort is spent, the British can still solve it.

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

Since the war has been underway, Menelik II has mobilized 150,000 troops, all equipped with rifles, and more than 700 artillery pieces.

Army Secretary Fox: "His Excellency Prime Minister, we underestimate the determination of France and Austria to make trouble, and no one knows that they have such great support for Ethiopia.

After the frontline data analysis, we can already confirm that the officers of France and Austria are now commanding the Ethiopian army."

Fox's speech was still full of political art as always. He had underestimated Ethiopia's strength, but when he said that it became underestimated the strength of France and Austria's support for Ethiopia.

After changing the concept, it doesn't sound that hard for everyone to accept. As for the French and Austrian officers commanding the Ethiopian army, it's completely nonsense.

In this era, Ethiopia did not trust European countries. Who dared to hand over its army that could survive to a group of distrustful people to command?

The support of France and Austria is indeed one of the reasons why Ethiopia can fight against the British army, but it is only a secondary reason.

Since the outbreak of the war, France and Austria have restrained their actions. Apart from still selling strategic materials to Ethiopia, there has been no major move.

However, this does not affect Fox's placing the blame on France and Austria. French and Austria equipment in the Ethiopian army are evidence that France and Austria support the Ethiopians.

Prime Minister Benjamin glared at him fiercely: "I don't want any analysis. I guess if France and Austria support the Ethiopians, then please provide specific evidence.

Just some arms equipment is not convincing. At most, it can only prove that the business capabilities of the French and Austrian arms dealers are strong, and it does not mean that the French and Austrian government is supporting Ethiopia."

Britain, France and the Austrians are still allies, and they are the first level in the diplomacy of the London government. Even if they are shit, there must be tangible evidence.

The persuasiveness of arms equipment is obviously insufficient, and British equipment is also included in the Ethiopian army. If the London government makes a case on this issue, wouldn’t it prove that they are also supporting Ethiopia?

Such a reason can be used by the people to fight verbal wars, but it can only bring jokes when used in diplomacy.

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

Fox was a little embarrassed and then reacted: "Okay, 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 the source of arms in Ethiopia, otherwise this war would be very troublesome."

This is a big problem. The arms dealers these days are bold. As long as they have enough benefits, there is no business they dare not do.

"The best arms dealers are selling weapons to their enemies."

It's not a joke. British arms dealers are really doing it. Behind this is the participation of domestic powerful people. Without enough evidence, Fox will naturally not break the window paper.

Prime Minister Benjamin also had a headache. It was too difficult to cut off the source of arms in Ethiopia. They were able to block coastal transportation lines but could not block the inland areas.

Both the colonies of France and Austria border Ethiopia, and these two families will not obey their commands. As long as the Ethiopians still pay for the money, this kind of trade will not stop.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and France and Austria communicate with each other, and we must find ways to cut off the Ethiopian trade line and exchange of interests when necessary."

...
Chapter completed!