Chapter 108 Engagement and Returning Home

Two days before Carlo arrived in Vienna, no one informed Carlo when the ball would be held.

But Carlo was not in a hurry, after all, the Habsburg family was the host, and everything could be arranged by them.

Among European nobles, men generally get married relatively late. If they can find a marriage partner that they like and is in line with political interests, it's fine. If they can't find one, the marriage event is likely to be delayed until after the age of 30.

After all, they can freely find their lovers before getting married, and male nobles are not in a hurry to get married unless they have a certain purpose.

For female nobles, the time of marriage must be advanced before the age of 20. If there is no specific engagement at the age of 20, they will generally be ridiculed by other nobles.

This is also the reason why the average marriage age of European male nobles is over 25 years old, while the marriage age of European female nobles is under 20 years old, or even under 18 years old.

If you are an older leftover woman over 25 years old, no one wants her unless you have good conditions.

Finally, after another day, Carlo met his marriage partner, Archduchess Sophie, the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I, on the third day after arriving in Vienna.

As the eldest daughter of the emperor, Archduchess Sophie has always received a relatively strict aristocratic education. Carlo's first impression of her was that she had a beautiful face and a gentle personality.

Unlike the bold and sassy impression of European girls, Carlo actually prefers such a quiet personality.

The Austrian nobles who were invited also knew who the two protagonists of the ball were, and they tacitly did not steal the show.

Of course, this is more because of their self-knowledge. Among all the nobles who participated in the ball, Archduchess Sophie and Carlo were well matched. If they messed up this marriage, Franz Joseph I would probably not let them go.

During the ball, Carlo gradually came into contact with and understood Archduchess Sophie's personality, which was indeed the type he liked.

Although it was not love at first sight, Carlo would still be happy to see Archduchess Sophie become his queen in the future.

On Archduchess Sophie's side, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sissi were also asking Archduchess Sophie about her attitude and feelings towards Carlo.

Because of the strict aristocratic education she had received before, Archduchess Sophie had not been in contact with too many boys, and was still in a relatively restrained state about getting along with the opposite sex.

However, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sissi could clearly feel that Archduchess Sophie was not repulsive to Carlo, and even had a certain liking for him.

Since both of them had a good impression of each other, the marriage was simply and straightforwardly determined.

Yes, it was that fast. For the marriage of European nobles in this era, there was no need for so much preparation and waiting.

Basically, as long as both parties had a good impression of each other, and the political interests of their families were in line, the marriage was easily determined.

Franz Joseph I also formally held talks with Carlo, the purpose of which was to discuss the wedding time of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie, as well as the cooperation between the two royal families after the wedding.

Considering that Archduchess Sophie was only 16 years old, Carlo suggested that the wedding be postponed for a year, when he would be 20 years old.

Franz Joseph I naturally nodded in agreement. One year was enough time for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to prepare, after all, it was necessary to prepare a dowry.

Although there is no such thing as a dowry in the West, the marriage between the royal families of the two countries must have corresponding gifts to show the nobility and wealth of the royal status.

As his eldest daughter, Franz Joseph I attached great importance to the wedding of Archduchess Sophie. Although this wedding had certain political needs, Franz Joseph I agreed only after he was sure that Carlo's character met the requirements.

However, before the real wedding, another ceremony will be held in Vienna, which is the engagement ceremony of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie.

In the marriage process of European nobles, the engagement ceremony is held at the woman's home. Considering the difficulty of communication between Spain and Austria, and the time pressure, the engagement ceremony was scheduled to be held in a few days.

Yes, it was that quick.

And Carlo's task in the past few days is to get in touch with Archduchess Sophie and cultivate some feelings as much as possible.

After the engagement ceremony in a few days, Archduchess Sophie will officially become Carlo's fiancée and the future queen of the Kingdom of Spain.

The scale of the engagement ceremony was not large, and most of the participants were only nobles from Austria and Hungary.

Under the witness of many nobles and newspapers, Carlo and Archduchess Sophie also formally concluded an engagement and became an engaged couple.

Holding Archduchess Sophie's hand, Carlo was quite satisfied with the marriage. This trip to Vienna was also perfect. The Austro-Hungarian Empire will be able to provide help to Spain for a long time in the future, which is what Carlo most wants to see.

After staying in Vienna and cultivating the relationship with Archduchess Sophie for a few days, Carlo embarked on the journey back to Madrid.

As for negotiating industrial technological assistance and loans with the Austro-Hungarian government, this is something the Spanish government should worry about.

Carlo is the king of Spain, so it is impossible for him to go to the Austro-Hungarian government in person to negotiate for a loan. Anyway, the royal families of the two countries have already signed an engagement, and the government naturally cannot prevent the two countries from getting closer.

It is certain that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain will sign an alliance in the future. After all, there is no conflict of interest between the two countries. If Spain can get on the express train of the Three Emperors' Alliance with the relationship of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it will also be very helpful to Spain in the future.

At least Spain's colonial expansion in Africa does not have to worry about the threat of Britain and France. At present, Germany and Russia are still very influential.

Even if Italy is allowed to join the Three Emperors' Alliance, the four major powers of Germany, Austria, Russia and Italy plus Spain, the strongest country under the powers, even if Britain and France join forces, they have to consider the consequences of offending these five countries.

However, such things are probably just a thought. First of all, there is a fierce conflict between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia. In order to prevent the five countries from coming together, Britain and France will definitely try every means to provoke the conflict between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, and destroy the establishment of the Three Emperors' Alliance from the root.

What's more, in addition to the conflict between Austria and Russia, there is also a conflict between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy wants to expand in the European continent, in fact, there are only three directions.

The first direction is to the west, to recover Savoy and Nice and other regions ceded to France. But it is a bit difficult to do so, after all, it has to face France, the former European hegemon.

The second direction is to expand to the northeast. But the northeast of Italy is the outlet of Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is naturally unwilling to give in.

The third direction is the Balkans across the Adriatic Sea. But Slovenia and Croatia in the north are under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Serbia is also within the sphere of influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If it wants to expand, it will inevitably offend the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This is actually the reason why Italy finally chose to join the British and French side in World War I and abandoned the alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If it is an alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy can only expand in the direction of France on the European continent. The combat performance of the Italian army has already doomed them to be unable to defeat the French head-on, and the benefits of staying in the German-Austrian alliance are absolutely the least.

But then again, the course of world history has changed to a certain extent. For the First World War, which broke out more than 40 years later, the outcome will definitely change.

Spain will definitely play a more important role in World War I, and even have the ability to change the final outcome of World War I.

Not to mention Spain after decades of reform and development, even the current Spain can have a certain impact on the European situation.

If the four major alliances of Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain can be promoted, it may not be impossible to fight against Britain, France and Russia.

After all, only France was the only country that really made great efforts in World War I. Russia had problems halfway through the war. Because Britain was very safe on its homeland, it had always been thinking of letting Germany and France consume each other.

If World War I could really promote the four major alliances of Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, France would not be able to hold out for long under the siege of these four countries.

It is better to expect France to win the victory by fighting four against one than to expect the British Army to defeat the Germans. Although it is impossible to completely defeat Britain and France, it is still no problem to change the direction of World War I in history.

After coming to this world, Carlo never thought about following the development of history. Although no changes in the historical line will give you more foresight about the future, sometimes changes in the historical line will bring more benefits.

For example, the current alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire will make Spain's future development smoother. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire's industry is not as large as that of Britain, France and Germany, its overall economic scale and industrial strength are still greater than those of Russia.

With its early layout on the African continent, even if Spain cannot restore its powerful power during the British Empire, it can become a colonial power comparable to France.

Under the chaotic situation, the division of Africa by various countries may not be carried out as history. As long as it is good for Spain, Carlo does not mind making Europe more chaotic, so that Spain can fish in troubled waters and get more benefits.

If we look at it from the perspective of future generations, these European powers are indeed powerful, but there are problems of one kind or another inside.

This era itself is an era of comparison. The winning country may not be perfect, but it is not as bad as other worse countries.

With the continuous operations of various countries, Spain may not be unable to achieve revival. Even if it cannot become the world hegemon, it will definitely become a top three superpower in the world in the future, and sit on the Iberian Peninsula and watch the disputes in Europe.

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