Chapter 108: Engagement And Return Home
Two days before Carlo arrived in Vienna, no one notified him when the ball would be held.
However, Carlo was not in a hurry. After all, the Habsburg Family was the host, and everything could be left to their arrangements.
Among European nobles, men generally married relatively late. If they could find someone they admired and who matched their political interests, that was fine; otherwise, marriage might be delayed until after age
After all, they could freely find lovers before marriage, so male nobles were not in a hurry about marriage unless for some specific purpose.
For female nobles, however, marriage time had to be advanced before age If there was no specific engagement by age 20, they would generally be ridiculed by other nobles.
This was also why the average marriage age for European male nobles was over 25, while for European female nobles it was under 20, even under
If it was an older spinster over 25, unless her own conditions were quite good, no one would want her.
Finally, a day later, on the third day after arriving in Vienna, Carlo met his marriage alliance partner, the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I, Archduchess Sophie.
As the emperor’s eldest daughter, Archduchess Sophie had been receiving relatively strict noble education. Carlo’s first impression of her was that she had a pretty face and a gentle and elegant personality.
Unlike the bold and fiery impression of European girls, Carlo actually preferred this quiet personality.
The Austrian nobles who came by invitation also knew who the two protagonists of this ball were and very tacitly did not steal the show.
Of course, this was more due to their self-awareness. Among all the nobles attending the ball, Archduchess Sophie and Carlo were a matching social status pair. If they messed up this marriage alliance, Franz Joseph I probably would not let them off.
During interactions at the ball, Carlo gradually got to know Archduchess Sophie’s personality, and she was indeed the type he liked.
Although it did not reach the point of love at first sight, if Archduchess Sophie became his queen in the future, Carlo would be very willing to see that.
On Archduchess Sophie’s side, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sisi were also asking her about her attitude and feelings toward Carlo.
Due to the strict noble education she had received before, Archduchess Sophie had not interacted with many boys and was still quite reserved regarding matters of getting along with the opposite sex.
However, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sisi could clearly feel that Archduchess Sophie did not reject Carlo and even had some fondness for him.
Since both had mutual affection for each other, this marriage was straightforwardly settled.
Yes, it was that quick. For marriage alliances among European nobles of this era, there was no need for so much paving the way and waiting.
Basically, as long as both sides had mutual fondness and their families’ political interests aligned, the marriage was easily confirmed.
Franz Joseph I also formally began talks with Carlo. The purpose of the talks was to discuss the wedding date for Carlo and Archduchess Sophie, as well as cooperation matters between the two royal families after the wedding.
Considering that Archduchess Sophie was only 16 years old, Carlo suggested holding the wedding a year later, by which time he would also turn
Franz Joseph I naturally nodded in agreement. One year was enough time for the Austro-Hungarian Empire side to prepare, as they also needed to prepare a dowry.
Although the West had no concept of betrothal gifts, a marriage between two royal families definitely involved corresponding gifts to display the royal family’s noble status and abundant property.
As his eldest daughter, Franz Joseph I attached great importance to Archduchess Sophie’s wedding. Although the wedding had some political necessity, he had agreed only after confirming that Carlo’s character met the requirements.
However, before the actual wedding was held, another ceremony would take place in Vienna, namely the engagement ceremony for Carlo and Archduchess Sophie.
In the European noble marriage process, the engagement ceremony was to be held at the bride’s home. Considering the difficulty of travel between Spain and Austria, plus the urgency of time, the engagement ceremony was scheduled to be held a few days later.
Yes, it was that rapid.
And Carlo’s task these few days was to properly interact with Archduchess Sophie and cultivate some affection as much as possible.
After the engagement ceremony a few days later was completed, Archduchess Sophie would formally become Carlo’s fiancée and the future queen of the Kingdom of Spain.
The scale of the engagement ceremony was not large, and the participants were mostly just Austrian and Hungarian nobles.
Under the witness of many nobles and newspaper offices, Carlo and Archduchess Sophie formally concluded their engagement and became an engaged couple.
Holding Archduchess Sophie’s hand, Carlo was quite satisfied with this marriage. This trip to Vienna could be considered perfect. The Austro-Hungarian Empire would be able to provide help to Spain for a long time in the future, which was also what Carlo was most willing to see.
After staying in Vienna to cultivate affection with Archduchess Sophie for a few days, Carlo embarked on the journey back to Madrid.
As for negotiating aid and loans regarding industrial technology with the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Government, that was a matter for the Spanish Government to handle.
As the king of Spain, Carlo naturally could not personally negotiate loans with the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Government. Anyway, the two countries’ royal families had already concluded an engagement, so the governments naturally could not prevent the two countries from drawing closer.
It was certain that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain would conclude an alliance in the future, as the two countries had no conflict of interest. If they could leverage the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s relationship to board the Three Emperors Alliance express, it would also be very beneficial for Spain’s future.
At least Spain’s colonial expansion in Africa would not need to worry about threats from Britain and France; Germany and Russia currently still had considerable influence.
Even if Italy could be brought into the Three Emperors Alliance, with the four great powers of Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy, plus Spain as the strongest country below the great powers, even if Britain and France joined hands, they would have to consider the consequences of offending these five countries.
However, such things were probably just wishful thinking. First, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia had intense conflicts, and Britain and France, to prevent the five countries from uniting, would definitely try every means to provoke conflicts between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, sabotaging the establishment of the Three Emperors Alliance from the root.
Moreover, besides the conflicts between Austria and Russia, there were also conflicts between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For Italy to achieve expansion on the European Continent, there were actually only three directions.
The first direction was westward, to recapture regions like Savoy and Nice ceded to France. But the difficulty of doing so was quite high, as they would face France, the former European hegemon.
The second direction was northeastward expansion. But Italy’s northeast was Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s estuary, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally would not yield.
The third direction was the Balkan Region across the Adriatic Sea. But Slovenia and Croatia to the north were under the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s control, and Serbia was also within the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s sphere of influence. Expansion there would inevitably offend the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This was actually why in World War I, Italy ultimately chose to join the Britain and France side, abandoning the alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
If allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy could only expand toward France on the European Continent. And the Italian Army’s combat performance had already doomed them to being unable to defeat the French head-on. Staying in the German-Austrian Alliance would yield the absolute least profit.
But that said, the world’s historical process had already undergone some changes. For World War I, which would erupt more than 40 years later, the outcome would certainly also change.
Spain would definitely play a more important role in World War I, even possessing 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 could exert some influence on the European situation.
If the four-way alliance of Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain could be promoted, it might not be impossible to confront the three countries of Britain, France, and Russia.
After all, in World War I, only France truly exerted great effort. Russia had problems domestically halfway through the war, and Britain, because its homeland was very safe, always held the idea of letting Germany and France mutually consume each other.
If World War I could really promote the four-way alliance of Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain, France would not last long under the siege of these four countries.
It would be better to hope for the British Army to defeat the Germans than to hope for France to achieve victory against four. Although it might not be possible to thoroughly defeat Britain and France, changing the course of World War I in history would still be no problem.
Having come to this world, Carlo had never thought of following the development of history. Although no change in the historical line would give him more foresight into the future, sometimes changes in the historical line could bring even more benefits.
For example, the current alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire could make Spain’s subsequent development smoother. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s industry was not as massive as that of Britain, France, and Germany, its overall economic scale and industrial strength still surpassed Russia’s.
By laying out in advance on the African Continent, even if Spain could not restore the prosperous power of the Spanish Empire’s sun-never-sets period, it could become a colonial power comparable to France.
Under the chaotic situation, the partition of Africa by various countries might not proceed exactly as in history. As long as it benefited Spain, Carlo did not mind making Europe even more chaotic, so that Spain could fish in troubled waters and gain more benefits.
From the perspective of posterity, these European Powers were certainly powerful, but internally they all had various problems.
This era itself was an era of comparing who was worse. The victorious countries were not necessarily perfect; they were just not as rotten as the others.
Amid the constant foolish operations of various countries, Spain might not be unable to achieve revival. Even if it could not become the world hegemon, in the future it would absolutely become a superpower among the top three in the world, and entrenched on the Iberian Peninsula, watching Europe’s conflicts.
3100 words, first update, seeking support!
