My Italy

Don't blame Carlo for being so surprised, because this is not a literal invitation to Mafalda to the ball, but a marriage proposal for Prince Ferdinand as usual. The ball is just a cover-up.

Faced with the sudden news, Carlo had to return to the office to discuss with Bacona.

"What's going on with Prince Ferdinand?"

Carlo, who was confused about this, first asked the other party what the situation was.

Facing Carlo's inquiry, Bacona had obviously done his homework before and saw him introduce it. Carlo only learned about this basic situation during the introduction by the Foreign Secretary.

Prince Ferdinand was born on August 24, 1865, in Sigmaringen, southwest Germany. Ferdinand's father was Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, and his mother was Princess Antonia of Portugal, daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and Fernando II.

As his father Leopold and brother William declared in 1880 and 1886 respectively that they renounced their right to inherit the Romanian throne, the young Prince Ferdinand became the heir to his childless uncle, King Carol I of Romania. Presumptive heir.

The reason why Prince Ferdinand delayed getting married until he was 31 years old was because he maintained a close relationship with Elena Vokorescu, a maid in the palace. As his aunt, Queen Elizabeth knew about this, but she still encouraged the two to date. (According to the 1866 Romanian Constitution, the presumptive heir to the Romanian throne is prohibited from marrying a Romanian citizen).

In 1891, the affair triggered a dynastic crisis, and Queen Elisabeth and Elena were exiled to Neuvede and Paris respectively.

Such a blow made Prince Ferdinand somewhat resistant to emotional matters. In addition, Bulgaria took over a large area of ​​Macedonia in one fell swoop at that time, making the situation in the Balkans somewhat unpredictable, so the marriage of Prince Ferdinand will also be far away.

This marriage proposal to Italy must also be the result of Romania's careful consideration. In fact, Romania is relatively unique in the Balkans in terms of language and writing. Unlike other countries, Romanian language and writing belong to the Latin family. Grammar and colloquialism are very similar to Italy, but it retains some Latin words lost to other Romance languages.

Of course, just being similar in language and writing will not bring about major exchanges between the two countries. In fact, in the Balkan Peninsula, apart from Bulgaria, Romania is the most friendly country to Italy. Of course, this is not just based on similar languages ​​and characters, but is caused by the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.

Needless to say, Romania's food exports are very strong due to the fertile flood plains of the lower Danube River. It is the second largest grain exporter in Europe, second only to Russia. Of course, in addition to grain, Romania also produces oil and gold. Yes, Romania is also the second largest gold producer in Europe, producing nearly twenty tons of gold every year.

As for oil, it goes without saying. Europe is the second largest oil exporter and was the largest oil exporter before the development of Baku.

Such rich output created trade between Italy and Romania. Italy is Romania's largest food importer and second largest oil importer. (After the oil exploration in Balikpapan, it has been reduced to fourth place)

Romania not only exports, but also imports a lot. Although Italian industrial products cannot compete with those of other countries in terms of quality, the lowest prices have made many cash-strapped Romanians take out their wallets.

In addition, in view of the performance of the Italian army in recent years, Romania has also purchased a lot of Italian ordnance. Of course, this has a lot to do with the low price of Italian arms. Italy is currently Romania's third largest import and export country, and trade between the two countries reached 34.91 million lire last year.

Of course, the cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries cannot be proof that the relationship between the two countries is destined to be good.

What Romania values ​​​​is Italy's influence in the Balkans. In particular, Italy's territory in the Balkans is not far from Romania. It is only separated by one country, so it can be regarded as Romania's neighbor.

As we all know, Romania's independence depended on the Tenth Russo-Turkish War. However, after Romania became independent, it was very afraid of Russia. It was afraid that Russia would annex it. For this reason, it had a close relationship with Austria-Hungary.

Of course, the tigers in the east want to eat people, and the tigers in the west are not bad either. Soon Romania will feel the penetration from Austria-Hungary.

For this reason, finding a friend who can help has become an urgent need for Romanians. Coincidentally, the Italian-Turkish War allowed him to see the strength of Italy, and he also obtained Albania from the Ottoman Empire.

This naturally makes Romania place its hopes on Italy, and its own prince happens to not be married yet. This can be regarded as asking for advice.

Facing this invitation from Romania, Carlo looked at the foreign minister in front of him and asked. "Bacona, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I think we cannot refuse Romania's invitation. Strengthening our ties with Romania will bring no harm to our country."

Having said this, Bacona continued enthusiastically. "First of all, our influence in the Balkans has waned over the years as countries continue to exert influence."

There are reasons why Bacona said this. First of all, Bulgaria, which has the best relationship with Italy in the Balkans, has no longer been so close to Italy in the past two years. According to the news they received, Bulgaria's relations with Russia are slowly recovering, and its relations with Greece are also improving.

Of course, this is understandable. Bulgaria is obsessed with the remaining half of Macedonia, and even Constantinople is not without ideas.

Italy has no way to support it in this regard. Italy can no longer expand in the Balkans, otherwise it will attract dissatisfaction or even excessive behavior from Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Russia is doing better, but Austria-Hungary is not. The Alliance of Three Emperors is still the cornerstone of Italian diplomacy, so any diplomatic strategy that affects it needs to be thought through twice.

"In addition, having good relations with Romania is also very beneficial to our country."

As he spoke, he drew a line on the map from Albania in Italy to Bulgaria and Romania, which made Carlo's eyes light up.

"So, our country must accept Romania's goodwill."

"Pretty much, I can't think of a reason not to accept it."

There seems to be something missing from the discussion between these two people. Didn't they ask the person involved, Princess Mafalda, if she was willing?

Sorry, as a princess of a country, you basically have no right to choose freely.

That's right, the marriage of princesses and mortals in movies is simply a lie. Princesses and princes are the reality. Regardless of whether the princess loves the prince or not, she must accept it. This is one of the reasons why the European royal family has so many lovers. Two strangers were forced together for the benefit of the country. They are all princesses and princes held in the palm of their hands. It is strange how good their relationship can be.

However, the fact that they have received good clothing, good food, good education and other benefits since childhood has determined that the fate of their future wedding is rarely directly determined.

After the two reached an agreement, Carlo informed Princess Mafalda of the result.

To his sister, he could only say sorry.

Of course, for Romania, it was natural to be ecstatic after receiving Italy's reply. A grand ball was immediately prepared for the arrival of the Italian princess.

After Christmas, Carlo's youngest sister, Princess Mafalda, boarded a cruise ship to Romania, led by Carlo's brother Emanuele.