Chapter 104: Labor policy

As time entered 1871, there was one thing that was paid attention to by Spanish people and many European royal families, and that was the marriage of King Gao Da of Spain.

Now Gao Da has sat firmly on the throne in Spain, plus he is about to turn 20, and it is also the age for European nobles to talk about marriage.

As the King of Spain and a member of the Savoy dynasty, there are not a few European royal families who want to conclude a marriage alliance with the Spanish royal family, and there is no lack of Great Power royal families among them.

One is that Spain's geographical location is indeed important, and the other is that Spain's comprehensive national strength is not bad, which can be considered the first echelon below the Great Powers.

What's more, Gao Da is also the son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy. Concluding a marriage alliance with the Spanish royal family is actually concluding a marriage alliance with the Italian royal family.

Because Gao Da's mother, Adelaide, has passed away, the royal families of Europe took the initiative to find Gao Da, as well as Gao Da's father, Vittorio Emanuele II.

Seeing letters from different European royal families, and several photos sandwiched in the letters, Gao Da's head was simply about to explode.

It is fine for some princesses of suitable age here, but why are there even little girls who have just turned ten? Looking at the letters sent to him by his sister, Princess Maria Pia, she is actually recommending the Portuguese princess.

Gao Da rubbed his temples and wrote a letter back to his sister, indicating in the letter that he had no intention of marrying Portugal for the time being.

Let alone anything else, it is impossible for Portugal and Spain to marry at this time. The British will absolutely not want to see Portugal and Spain unite. A unified Iberian Peninsula will be a powerful enemy for the British in the western Mediterranean.

As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers, and the relationship between the Portuguese and the Spanish has not been that friendly either. During the 60 years from 1580 to 1640, Portugal was briefly ruled jointly by Spain, and the two sides also established the Iberian Alliance.

But this union was obviously not as smooth as the union of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon more than 100 years ago. The Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon united to create the powerful Kingdom of Spain, while the union of Spain and Portugal instead made the public of the two countries begin to hate each other.

Besides, marrying a Portuguese princess and Gao Da's own interests are not the same. Even if they can form an alliance with Portugal, the disadvantages brought to Spain are far greater than the benefits.

The British will absolutely nail the alliance between Portugal and Spain, which will not only let the Spanish government miss the golden period of development in vain, but the Portuguese and the Spanish will also become more contradictory under the constant trouble-making of the British.

Because of Queen Victoria's hemophilia, Gao Da excluded the British royal family from the candidates for marriage alliance from the beginning.

And among all European Great Power countries, the royal families that can marry Gao Da at present are only the three countries of Germany, Austria, and Russia.

If Gao Da has to choose, Gao Da is more willing to choose Germany for marriage alliance. Germany itself has no big problems, and its performance in World War I is also very powerful.

On the contrary, the problems within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia are countless, and basically they cannot be saved.

However, after the end of World War I, these three countries of Germany, Austria, and Russia all banned the monarchical system, so the shortcomings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia were not that big.

Among these three countries, Gao Da will definitely prioritize choosing Germany, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a backup, and Russia as the last.

Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be more powerful in industry, and their military technology can also help Spain obtain actual and effective improvement, which is also the marriage alliance condition Gao Da personally proposed to Vittorio Emanuele II.

Not expecting that after turning around, the suitable candidate is still in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Vittorio Emanuele II was somewhat helpless, but for the sake of his son's lifelong event, he still let his new wife, Rosa, personally go to the three countries of Germany, Austria, and Russia to find a suitable marriage alliance object for Gao Da.

Although the relationship between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not very wonderful, Emanuele II still chose to include the Austro-Hungarian Empire as one of the countries to be investigated, only hoping to find a marriage alliance object for Gao Da that not only meets the needs of political interests but also satisfies Gao Da.

Although the relationship between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not very wonderful, Queen Rosa was still welcomed by the Habsburg family when she arrived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although Queen Rosa is a queen of noble-commoner marriage, the royal families of Europe have long known the purpose of her trip, which is not for Italy, but for the King of Spain.

Reasonably and legally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not refuse the marriage alliance with Spain. What's more, Gao Da's mother, Adelaide, is also from the Austrian nobility, and Gao Da also has half of the Austrian noble bloodline.

Unlike the German and Russian royal families, the royal family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only has suitable marriage alliance objects but also two, both of whom are daughters of Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The eldest daughter, Archduchess Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha, was born on March 5, 1855, and is 16 years old this year, which is just a good age for marriage.

The second daughter, Gisela Louise Marie, is one year younger than her sister Sophie, and is also about 15 years old this year, and the age is also very consistent.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire also meets Gao Da's requirements. Austria's industrial strength is still very powerful, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a whole can help Spain, which is also the marriage alliance condition Gao Da personally proposed to Vittorio Emanuele II.

Not expecting that after turning around, the suitable candidate is still in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Vittorio Emanuele II was somewhat helpless, but for the sake of his son's lifelong event, he still let Queen Rosa prepare a few photos of Archduchess Sophie and Archduchess Gisela, together with a brief identity introduction of the two Archduchesses, and mailed them to the Madrid Wang Gong in Spain.

If the progress is relatively smooth, basically the engagement can be completed this year, and the wedding will be held next year or the year after.

Thinking that Gao Da's lifelong event can finally be solved, the face of Vittorio Emanuele II, who had not seen a smile for several days, finally showed a little smile, and he looked relaxed.

By the time the letter attached with photos was mailed to the Madrid Wang Gong, it was already several days later.

Although Vittorio Emanuele II arranged for special personnel to escort this letter, this era does not have such convenient logistics conditions as later generations. From Vienna to Madrid, it takes at least several days.

When Gao Da received this letter, he also had a little helplessness. He did not expect that after traveling to this world, he could still enjoy the treatment of being urged to marry. Who would believe that the dignified King of Spain was troubled by the candidate for Queen?

However, speaking of which, this situation is also related to the relatively strict bloodline ideology in Europe.

Marriage alliance between nobles attaches great importance to bloodline and being well-matched in social and economic status. Noble-commoner marriage is feasible, but one must pay a huge price for it.

If Gao Da marries a girl with a relatively low status, then the offspring born will not possess the inheritance right of the Spanish throne.

This point alone is fatal, making the range of Gao Da's Queen candidates directly shrink to a very small range, basically only princesses of various European royal families and daughters of some Grand Dukes.

Gao Da also has to consider the help of the marriage alliance object to Spain, which makes this already small range shrink again, and even only a few people are left.

Considering the age aspect, and whether the personality is suitable, finding a suitable marriage is simply difficult.

Although somewhat helpless, Gao Da still decided to look at this letter. After all, it was mailed in the name of Vittorio Emanuele II, and Gao Da had long told his father about the conditions for marriage alliance, so he thought Vittorio Emanuele II could not easily send a letter.

Opening this letter, what came into view were a few photos and a piece of white paper with a brief introduction written on it.

In fact, there is no need for too much introduction, because the members of the royal families of various countries are not too big a secret, and relevant information can be obtained by investigating a little.

The important thing is the photos. There are four photos in total, two for each of the two heroines. In terms of appearance, both princesses are quite beautiful.

And when seeing their identity introduction, Gao Da was a bit confused.

Gao Da still has an impression of Archduchess Gisela. This princess married Prince Leopold of Bavaria, which is a ruthless person.

Prince Leopold received a Grand Iron Cross, and this medal was only issued five times during World War I, which were Kaiser Wilhelm II, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Mackensen, and Prince Leopold.

These five people are all famous, and except for Wilhelm II, the other few all have outstanding talents in military command, and they are also extremely excellent military generals during the German Empire in World War I.

The love story between Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Sisi, is still very famous in later generations. Gao Da, as a senior lover of foreign history, naturally has also understood it.

This couple only had four children. Gao Da of course knows who this so-called Archduchess Sophie is; she is the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph.

However, Gao Da's blurred memory vaguely remembers that this Archduchess seemed to have died of typhoid fever at the age of two, so why is she still alive and well now?

Could it be that his arrival caused the world line to change? Gao Da is a bit confused, but thinking that his original body also died young, and had some similarities with the fate of this Archduchess Sophie, he suddenly became a little interested.

Although marrying the Austro-Hungarian Empire was only Gao Da's backup plan, it seems that it can only be the only choice at present.

This letter also mentioned the current status of the German and Russian royal families. Unless choosing the collateral branches of the Hohenzollern and Romanov families, there are no suitable princesses to marry Gao Da.

Looking at the photos carefully, Gao Da made a decision in his heart.

Compared to the 15-year-old Archduchess Gisela, Gao Da is more willing to choose Archduchess Sophie who is already 16 years old. Besides the age factor, there is another point, which is that Archduchess Sophie's appearance is higher than Archduchess Gisela's.

Since the identities of the two are the same, Gao Da is naturally willing to choose the better-looking one, at least it looks more comfortable, right?

However, choosing is choosing, and the specific arrangement still has to be completed by Queen Rosa. At least one or two banquets are needed to meet and talk about the relevant marriage alliance matters.

After writing a reply to Vittorio Emanuele II, Gao Da also began to prepare for the visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Whether the marriage alliance is suitable or not must be seen in person to be clear, and Gao Da will not rashly decide his lifelong event because he has seen photos.