Holy Roman Empire

The Habsburg dynasty was a vested interest in the system of blood inheritance, and naturally opposed the heresy of the Bonaparte family.

Queen Helen asked: "Franz, which one do you think is the most suitable for Frederick?"

Franz: "Let's use the method of exclusion. All the granddaughters of Queen Victoria and their descendants are not considered."

No way, hemophilia can't be caused.The decline of the European kingship in the original time and space was not only because of the world war, but also because of hemophilia.

In this respect, Queen Victoria made an outstanding contribution to the cause of the European republic.If hemophilia hadn't wiped out the various royal heirs, the royal power would not have declined so quickly.

Queen Helen asked inexplicably, "Why?"

Franz explained patiently: "Royal disease, have you heard of it?"

Queen Helen nodded: "I heard that it is said that the royal curse is very scary."

Franz shook his head: "This is not a curse, I sent someone to carefully study the incidence of royal disease.

Interestingly, the patients were all men and descendants of Queen Victoria, daughters, and granddaughters.

According to experts, royal disease is a maternal genetic disorder.The virus is carried by women and breaks out in men.

According to statistics, the incidence of royal disease is very high.For the sake of Frederick's descendants, we're a little farther away. "

Queen Helen asked in disbelief: "How is this possible? Could it be the British..."

Franz: "No, it shouldn't be man-made. With British medical technology, it is impossible to control the spread of the virus at all.

Besides, what good is it for them?If all the royal families in Europe suffered, wouldn't they be afraid of the emergence of a common monarch to unify the European continent? "

The European royal family is one family, not a joke.The marriage between the royal families is intricate and has the right to inherit the throne of multiple countries. That is the basic operation.

The Habsburg dynasty is a ready-made example. If the European royal family were to die out on a large scale, Franz would probably pick up a few more crowns.

From the perspective of conspiracy theory, whoever benefits is the culprit, Franz feels that he is more suspicious than the British.

Looking at the panicked Queen Helen, Franz reassured: "Okay, Helen. Don't be surprised, isn't it a royal disease, just avoid it, it's not so scary."

After a while, Queen Helen recovered: "Does the British royal family know about this news?"

Franz shook his head: "I don't know that. However, even if they know about this kind of thing, I'm afraid no one will say it.

Well, don't worry about it so much.As long as it doesn't affect us, let them go!If the news is really leaked out, we will form a deadly feud with the British royal family. "

Queen Helen nodded, she knew the importance of the matter.If the lid is lifted, I am afraid that it is not only the British royal family who will offend, but even the several royal families of the victims of hemophilia will also resent them for not reminding them earlier. This is human nature.

Under the pressure of "royal disease", the number of candidates was reduced by a quarter in an instant. It has to be said that European grandmothers are amazing.

Franz: "Then kick out the ones that are not politically suitable. I am familiar with this aspect, so let me do it!"

Politics is the most important factor in royal marriages. If this aspect is not handled well, it will not be help, but trouble.

For example: the Bourbon family and the Orleans family have princesses of the right age, and they are the right family in Yemen, but it is politically determined that Frederick cannot marry.

If the direct heirs of the Habsburg dynasty marry the former French royal family, it is estimated that Napoleon IV will soon go crazy, which has threatened his rule.

Franz is not ready to support the restoration of the former French royal family, why bother?

After the political factors are considered, it is the turn of the identity.These materials were prepared not only for Frederick, but also for his three younger brothers.

Without Franz speaking, Queen Helen divided the rest into two categories according to their status.Frederick is the crown prince, and his wife must be the right match, and the choice is very small.

When Franz married Queen Helen, it was just after annexing the kingdom of Bavaria, to appease the Bavarian royal family in order not to make it look too ugly.

This kind of appeasement is also for the domestic princes and the Bavarian people, so that everyone can feel at ease.

The marriage proved to be a success.Everyone quickly felt at ease, the Bavarian royal family was confident and bold in running the Lombard Kingdom, and the people of Bavaria also accepted the fact of changing the monarch.

The current situation is obviously different. Several states in the country are very peaceful, and Franz has not prepared any monarch to transfer the title. Naturally, there is no need for Frederick to marry a collateral princess to appease him.

If it's a direct princess, it's almost the same. Not only is the status of the distant branch line inferior, but more importantly, the political bonus is too low to make any sense.

After all, there is not much left.Among them, the British royal family accounted for half, and the three daughters of Crown Prince Edward were all included in the selection range.

Princess Louise was born in 1867, Princess Victoria was born in 1868 and Princess Maud was born in 1869.

Looking at the information, Franz has to admire that the efficiency of one child a year is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In addition to being a little younger, everything else meets the requirements.Politically, Britain and Austria are in the honeymoon period. Although they have stabbed each other, they are still allies.

Not bad is Princess Sophie Marie Victoria of the Royal Family of Baden, born in 1862 and now 15 years old.

Not only is it very suitable for age, but also politically, it is conducive to enhancing Austria's influence in the German Federal Empire.

It is almost certain that Frederick's wife will be between Princess Sophie Marie Victoria of Baden and Princess Louis of England.

Of course, there are several candidates, for example: the daughter group of the European father-in-law Nicholas I.It's just that the Principality of Montenegro has too little influence and has no marriage value.

Queen Helen: "There are only two left. Who does Franz think is more suitable?"

Chapter 2 and One Trouble

"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 is just to save face.

The Principality of Baden may seem inconspicuous, but its influence in the German Federal Empire is not small.Austria wants to unify the German region, and the Duchy of Baden is an important part. ’ explained Franz.

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

The marriage of the crown prince, which contributed to the cause of the unification of the empire, is bound to be supported by German nationalists, which will greatly enhance Frederick's popularity among the people.

Queen Helen thought for a while: "Then give priority to Sophie Mary Victoria, her age is just right, and we can hug our grandson earlier."

Sure enough, the minds of men and women are not on the same channel.While Franz prioritized political influence, Queen Helen placed more emphasis on having grandchildren.

Of course, giving birth to the next generation earlier could also help Frederick.

The Habsburg dynasty was deeply rooted, and the marriage was just the icing on the cake.As long as he doesn't mess around, Frederick's heir position will not be shaken.

For this marriage, Franz is still very relieved.There is no reason for the Baden royal family to refuse. Hanover wants to integrate the German Federal Empire, and Baden cannot do without the support of Austria.

Due to the problem of size, the Kingdom of Hanover has no absolute advantage over the domestic states, and the number of domestic states is too large, which means that it is impossible for them to learn the Austrian model.

Otherwise, just like now, the small and medium-sized states in the imperial parliament occupy most of the seats, and the power of the central government is restricted by the parliament in a cage, and it is impossible to exert the advantage of righteousness at all.

From the standpoint of the central government, it is only possible to integrate the country through centralization, which is intolerable for many small states.

Austria unified the southern German region. Except for the loss of diplomatic power, currency issuance power, and shared legislative power and military command power, all other powers were preserved.

(Remarks: The legislature is the imperial parliament, and the governments of all states are represented; the command of the army, as mentioned above, the army of the state is under the dual command of the emperor and the monarch of the state)

For the vast majority of small states, diplomatic power and military command power are useless, and they simply have no ability to conduct international diplomacy, let alone raise an army.

The right to issue currency seems lucrative, but for small countries, because the demand for currency is too small, the cost of issuing banknotes is likely to exceed seigniorage revenue.

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

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

The Principality of Baden, as the second state in the German Federal Empire after Hannover, was naturally suppressed by the central government. If it were not for Austria to support it, they would have been unable to withstand it.

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

After a pause, Franz added: "Just consider Peter, William, and George, and when Frederick's marriage is settled, we will also get married for them by the way."

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

Queen Helen smiled slightly: "Okay, I think it's better to get in touch with 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 disease is too terrible. "

After a pause, Queen Helen said uncertainly: "Franz, why don't we secretly stab the news out, or if we continue to toss like this, our children and grandchildren will be in trouble in the future."

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

It seems that the royal family is extinct, and you can also find a distant king, which seems to have little impact.In fact, the damage to the kingship was fatal.

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

If there is no extinction, the king is an old-fashioned family that has been operating locally for hundreds of years, and has a solid mass base. It is not that simple for the government to want to replace the king.

The decline of European kingship 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 could only choose to be sorry for the princesses.Once the news spreads, they will worry about getting married, and few families dare to take the risk of extinction and marry them.

However, this has to wait for the marriage of several sons to settle.Otherwise, the situation of more monks and less porridge will be more serious, and a bunch of competitors will suddenly appear. Who knows if there will be a change.

Political marriage is not only a matter of the royal family, but also a matter of the country.Franz can make his own decisions about his son's marriage, but he must also notify the government.

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

……

Just as Franz was worried about his sons' marriage, the battlefield in Africa also changed, and the French successfully occupied Sudan.

This made the British, who were fighting hard, very distressed. The three countries of Britain, France and Austria launched the African strategy at the same time.

No, they haven't achieved their strategic goals yet.The Ethiopians continued to resist, the British simply had the upper hand, and the end of the war was still a long way off.

Needless to say, in this round of competition, the British lost face.

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

Of course, this "occupation" only establishes a nominal domination.The real occupation is only the city, and the indigenous tribes in the jungle are not within the scope of their rule.

The Ethiopian area is larger and the indigenous forces are stronger, which is the main reason for the British action.

It is a pity that this "powerful" has no concept in the European world.European people are arrogant in this era, where can the indigenous people be so powerful?

Even the London government is embarrassed to publicize how powerful Ethiopia is, knowing that they won the last Anglo-Egyptian war.

If such propaganda is made, in the eyes of the public, it is the government's incompetence, not "Ethiopia is strong".

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

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 conduct 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.The biggest hard bones in Africa have all been encountered by them. How can they be easily solved?

You must know that Ethiopia is at its most prosperous period. The current emperor Menelik II is also recognized by later generations as the greatest and most accomplished ruler in African history.

This is nothing. In any case, Ethiopia is just a backward agricultural country, and its national strength cannot support the war.With a little effort, the British can still solve it.

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

The war has progressed to the present, Menelik II has mobilized 15 troops, all equipped with rifles, and has more than [-] artillery pieces.

War Secretary Fox: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, we underestimated the determination of the French and Austrian countries to cause trouble, and no one knew that their support for Ethiopia was so strong.

After analyzing the data on the front line, we have been able to determine that the Ethiopian army is now commanded by French and Austrian officers. "

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

After secretly changing the concept, it sounds less difficult for everyone to accept.As for Officer Fao commanding the Ethiopian army, that's complete bullshit.

In this era, Ethiopia does not trust European countries. Who dares to hand over the army that it relies on to survive under the command of a group of people who do not trust it?

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 blaming the two countries, the French and Austrian military equipment in the Ethiopian military are evidence of the French and Austrian support for the Ethiopians.

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

It's just some arms and equipment, without any convincing.At most, it can only prove that the Fao arms dealers have strong business capabilities, and it does not mean that the Fao government is supporting Ethiopia. "

Britain, France and Austria are still allies, and they belong to the first class in the London government's diplomacy.

The persuasiveness of the arms and equipment is obviously insufficient. There are also British equipment in the Ethiopian army. If the London government talks about this issue, doesn't it prove that they are also supporting Ethiopia?

This kind of reason can be used by the people to fight mouth-to-mouth wars, but if it is used in diplomacy, it can only lead to jokes.

Unless the British government can suppress the French and Austrian countries, Paris and Vienna will ignore their protests.

Fox was slightly embarrassed, and then reacted: "Okay, Your Excellency. We will find 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. Arms dealers these days are daring masters.As long as there are enough interests, there is no business 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 participation of domestic powers and dignitaries behind this. Without sufficient evidence, Fox will naturally not pierce the window paper.