Chapter 439 African Chief Marriage

On the day of the wedding, Prince Carl, who came from Sigmaringen, took over the work of Archduke Ferdinand, who was about to return to his daughter Karina.

November 3, 1873.

The wedding time is at 10 a.m. at the St. Augustine Abbey Church. St. Augustine Abbey Church is the place where members of the Habsburg family were baptized and married. Historically, Empress Theresa was married here.

Because the Hechingen royal family moved to East Africa, the wedding cannot completely follow the European process. After all, the Hechingen royal family cannot really invite so many distinguished guests to East Africa. It is not that they have no reception capacity, but that the two countries in Africa Just one word is enough to scare a group of people away.

The wedding car made Ernst complain a little. This kind of wedding car looked like the pumpkin car in the illustrations of Grimm's fairy tales he saw in his previous life. Although Ernst knew that this was normal in the West, his aesthetics naturally maintained the same as his previous life according to inertia. style.

"Karina!" Gentleman Ernst invited Karina to get into the wedding car, and then the wedding car started slowly.

Although she is still a little young, Karina has some opinions and is generally satisfied with Ernst. This is in line with the actual situation. Political marriages do not rely on emotions. If you are familiar with the marriage partner, that is also a plus. The reporter said that Ernst was not ugly, his appearance was a bit ordinary and there was nothing wrong with it.

The honor guard is composed of East African and Austrian soldiers. Due to traditional restrictions, the East African soldiers are also particularly flashy. The bright red uniforms do not bring out the appearance of the East African soldiers at all.

However, they still have the opportunity to perform alone in the afternoon. Then they will all change into East African military uniforms and give the citizens of Vienna a little "head of state" style shock. You can say that "the head of state" doesn't work this way or that doesn't work. The head of state's aesthetic view of the military is definitely in line with the public's stereotype of serious soldiers.

As the wedding car passed through the city, people on both sides surged and cheered. This wedding really aroused the enthusiasm of the citizens.

Afterwards, the carriage arrived at St. Augustine's Abbey Church. As the guests arrived, accompanied by classical and elegant music, the wedding officially began. The couple began to complete the complicated ceremony under the watchful eyes of everyone. Although after many rehearsals, Ernst was still a little nervous. He was so nervous that he appeared to be a bit dull and at the mercy of the Catholic bishop.

In theory, Ernst was also a Catholic, but this was only theoretical. In fact, Ernst was an atheist.

However, he was getting married today, so to give face to "God the old man", Ernst followed the Austrian aristocratic wedding procedure and made a complete set of prayer gestures (making a cross on his chest).

Princess Charlotte then handed her daughter's hand to Ernst. The 23-year-old Ernst and the 16-year-old Karina looked quite matched standing together, at least there was not much difference in appearance.

Ernst was not the only one who was nervous, but Karina was also nervous. The two of them said their wedding vows with some stumbling: "I sincerely beg God to let me not leave you, or let me follow you, because where can I go?" Wherever I go, I stay because you stay. The one you love will become the one I love, and your Lord will become my Lord. Wherever you die, I will be buried with you. Buried, maybe the Lord asked me to do more, but no matter what happens, you will always be by my side..."

"His Royal Highness Ernst, please put the ring on Princess Karina's hand," the cardinal said.

As an African chief, Ernst was most indispensable for low-grade gemstones such as diamonds. When Ernst took out the "blue diamond ring", all the women in the room focused their attention on it. It is so vulgar and the highlight of an aristocratic wedding. , is nothing more than comparison, competition for financial resources and power.

As early as the fifteenth century, Archduke Maximilian of Austria made an unwavering declaration of love to Mary with a diamond wedding ring. This was the advice given to him by his cronies at the time, and Maximilian also listened to it, so this ceremony was created, which is said to have been passed down for hundreds of years.

Ernst's diamond ring is entirely made of natural diamonds carved in one piece. The ring surface maintains its basic shape and is simply trimmed and rounded, so it looks natural. It weighs 21 carats and shines with dazzling blue light under the light.

This blue diamond was discovered in a diamond mine in the southeastern Great Lakes region. The designer of the diamond ring called it the "Blue Heart."

Princess Charlotte said to her husband, Archduke Ferdinand: “My dear, when you return to East Africa, ask Ernst if he still has this kind of blue diamond. It looks so beautiful, especially the dazzling blue halo. , I want one too!”

Archduke Ferdinand: "..."

…

In the afternoon, after the banquet, the military parade that the straight man Ernst loved finally began. He excitedly said to Karina: "Karina, believe me, the East African army will definitely be different. experience.”

Karina: "..."

"Brother Ernst! It seems you like the army very much?" Karina suspected that her husband was a war madman.

"No, Karina, I just think that's cool."

"..."

Of course Ernst likes the army, but this was doomed in his previous life when Ernst was a child. He has almost no resistance to the well-disciplined army. This is a hobby, just like a businessman who likes money. He cannot extricate himself. .

Soon after the float parade ended, the East African honor guard appeared.

The main color of East African military uniforms is black, supplemented by gold and red as decorations. If it is pure black, it will not look refreshing enough (refer to the Soviet army and German army).

Three thousand men were divided into ten phalanxes, the first three of which were cavalry, with horses leased from the Austrian Army.

"Ta...ta...ta!" The cavalry horses walked briskly through the narrow streets of Vienna. The infantry phalanx followed closely behind, and their military boots fell to the ground rhythmically, making a rhythmic sound.

As soon as the East African Army appeared, it attracted everyone's attention, not only the citizens of Vienna, but also the nobles from various European countries. Among them, Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia was particularly interested in the East African Army.

"The attire looks completely different from that of the armies of other European countries. I have seen the attire of the Hechingen Military Academy before during the German (Prussian) French War. It is indeed somewhat different from that of Prussia. However, the East African Army is obviously different from the Hechingen Military Academy. The clothes are different.”

Everyone in Prussia knew that in order to colonize Africa, the Hechingen royal family had set up a military academy in Hechingen to train military talents, so Frederick thought that the uniforms of the East African army would be somewhat similar to the Hechingen Military Academy!

Alexander III said: "But this design is really eye-catching. You can see that their military uniforms also have obvious waist designs, which can make soldiers look more upright."

As for Rudolph, he didn't say anything, but seeing the East African Army being so popular made him feel proud.

Unlike the young people, Franz said to Carol I: "It is unconventional. This kind of clothing must be uncomfortable to wear, and the color is not bright enough."

"This design is very distinctive, but I am more interested in their military steps. It is as if they were measured with a ruler. They are neat and uniform. There is also an unruly head-raising movement. Is it an African characteristic?" Carroll I said with a smile on the side.

From the perspective of the citizens of Vienna, they feel that the army in front of them is a bit oppressive. First of all, the black instinct gives people this impression. Secondly, every step of the East African Army makes a heavy sound on the stone street, which gives people an impact. force. The people who had been cheering fell into silence because of the appearance of the East African Army, and the scene was a bit depressed.

But the surprise was yet to come, as the phalanx passed by the stands where Ernst and Karina were.

The East African soldier with a Dreiser rifle on his shoulder made a shaking movement with the bright bayonet stuck to his chest.

"one two three four!"

"Crown Prince, long live Your Royal Highness the Princess!"

"Machete style! This feels right!" Ernst said to Karina with a smile.

Karina: "..." Now she just wants to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.