Chapter 108: On Marriage

The climate in Vienna, nearing April, was still quite comfortable; Gao Da had traveled to this world, and Austria was the third country Gao Da had visited.

Although the three countries were not far apart, there were distinct differences in their climates.

Spain and Italy both belonged to the Mediterranean climate, but Italy's climate was humid, while Spain's was dry.

As for Vienna, it belonged to a mountainous climate, which was colder compared to Madrid in Southern Europe and Italy.

But if one had to consider development potential and geographical location, Spain's location was actually more superior.

The entire Iberian Peninsula consisted of only two countries, Portugal and Spain; Portugal's strength could not pose a threat to Spain, and the land bordering France to the north was blocked by the Pyrenees, with only two small gaps in the east and west that could be traversed.

This also meant that Spain only needed to guard the two gaps east and west of the Pyrenees to turn the entire Iberian Peninsula into a strategic point that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it could also hold the Strait of Gibraltar, controlling this outlet from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

If it weren't for the poor land environment, and the fact that since the Empire on which the sun never sets, Spain had not attached importance to the development of its homeland, and the royal family and high-level government officials were greedy for pleasure, I am afraid that the one begging to cling to a powerful thigh now would be Austria.

Both Italy and Austria had major flaws in their geographical locations. Although the Apennine Peninsula where Italy was located also had mountains blocking the north, the south could be described as flat as a pancake.

What was even more fatal was that the Apennine Peninsula as a whole was relatively narrow and long, with no strategic depth. Whenever it encountered a country with a relatively strong navy like Britain, most of Italy's territory might face the threat of being bombed.

Coupled with the fact that all coastlines were located in the Mediterranean, it was difficult for the navy to pass from the two outlets of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic or the Indian Ocean, and overall development was too limited.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was no better. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire possessed greater strategic depth, it bordered three great powers: Germany, Russia, and Italy, and was also adjacent to the Balkan Peninsula, that famous powder keg.

Although the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was indeed powerful, being in such a place surrounded on all sides, even with monstrous strength, it was powerless to save the situation.

It was precisely because of this point that after the end of the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, the strategic policy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had undergone a tremendous shift.

The original Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust, a guy who famously hated Prussia and did his best to prevent the unification of North and South Germany.

Although Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust had vigorously facilitated the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and strengthened the influence of the Habsburg dynasty internationally.

But because his policy of hating Prussia could lead to a powerful conflict between the unified German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was eventually dismissed from the position of Prime Minister and replaced by the current Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, Gyula Andrássy.

The shift in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's attitude from hating Prussia to befriending Germany was also inseparable from the increasingly intense situation in the Balkan Peninsula.

Although most of the current Balkan Peninsula was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, it was not without reason that the Ottoman Empire was called the Sick Man of Western Asia.

The interior of this empire, which had been established for hundreds of years, had long since become rotten, and although it still possessed an extremely vast territory, its internal problems were becoming more and more serious.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia launched a fierce struggle in the Balkan Peninsula, and this contradiction also forced the Austro-Hungarian Empire to choose to befriend the German Empire to avoid being caught in a pincer attack by Germany and Russia.

Coupled with the need to appease the Hungarians, Gyula Andrássy's rise to power became inevitable. Before becoming the Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he served as the Prime Minister of Hungary and firmly supported the dual monarchy policy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was also the reason why he was finally able to successfully rise to power.

And after becoming the Foreign Minister and concurrently Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,

Gyula Andrássy also completely changed the policies left behind by the previous Prime Minister, Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust, summarizing the new foreign policy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into two major guidelines: leaning towards Germany and opposing Tsarist Russia.

In fact, long before Gao Da arrived in Vienna, Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife, Empress Sisi, had already discussed the marriage between Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie.

Political marriages did not have that much mutual affection; they were more about both sides' optimism about each other's cooperation and the importance they placed on each other's status.

As the King of Spain and a member of the House of Savoy, Gao Da naturally could earn the respect of Franz Joseph I.

Moreover, Gao Da had had no scandals since arriving in Spain until now, and apart from not currently controlling government power and being more like a figurehead king, he seemed to have no major shortcomings.

This point was actually acceptable. After all, Gao Da was not yet 20 years old, and his career as a king had just begun.

And Primo, who controlled the Spanish government, was already old, and he would not be able to hold onto absolute power for much longer.

As long as Gao Da was a little smarter, even if he could not control most of the power of the Spanish government in the future, he could avoid being sidelined by later prime ministers, and it would be no problem to control a certain amount of say and government influence.

Considering that autocratic monarchs were more easily opposed by the public, Franz Joseph I would rather see Gao Da only possess a certain amount of say, rather than implementing an absolute monarchy.

After all, after the public overthrew an absolute monarchy, they were very likely to execute the royal family. Even if they were not executed, they would lose all their noble titles.

Compared to taking such a big risk, it was better to become a king with little power; at least the safety of the entire royal family did not need to be worried about.

As for the issue of Gao Da possibly having a lover that had been investigated, it was naturally ignored by Franz Joseph I.

Having a lover was too normal for the current nobility, not to mention that Gao Da was the king of a country. If Gao Da had not had any lovers for such a long time, perhaps Franz Joseph I should have considered whether there was a problem with Gao Da's ability.

"Overall, it's not bad; he doesn't seem to have any major shortcomings." After reading the general information about Gao Da, Franz Joseph I's attitude was also relatively satisfied.

"When should we arrange for them to meet? I hope Sophie and Gao Da can like each other; it would be much better than a loveless political marriage." Empress Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, also known as Princess Sisi, had a look of slight reluctance on her face; after all, Archduchess Sophie was the eldest daughter of her and Franz Joseph I.

Experiencing the marriage of her daughter for the first time, this made Princess Sisi, who had accompanied Archduchess Sophie for 16 years, feel a bit unaccustomed for a while.

"Let's wait for the banquet in two days." At this time, the 40-year-old Franz Joseph I was still relatively young, had not experienced the grief of losing two crown princes, and the whole person looked quite confident and quite majestic.

Franz Joseph I and the Austro-Hungarian Empire he established were actually quite unlucky.

Historically, Franz Joseph had a total of four children, only one of whom was a son, which was the current Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Rudolf.

Archduke Rudolf was only 12 years old at this time, and everything was still normal. But when he married and the future relationship between husband and wife broke down, the nightmare of the Habsburg family was about to come.

Archduke Rudolf met Baroness Mary and became lovers, and even had the idea of divorcing the Crown Princess.

When such a request was learned by Franz Joseph, Franz Joseph I put forward a request for the two to break up.

But unexpectedly, the relationship between Archduke Rudolf and his mistress, Baroness Mary, seemed indestructible, and they eventually committed suicide together in the hunting lodge at Mayerling.

Giving up his right to inherit the throne and his life for love, one has to admit that Archduke Rudolf was also a noble who loved beauty more than the country, and he was even more outrageous, as he also gave up his own life.

After the death of his only son, the right to inherit the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally fell to Franz Joseph's younger brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig.

However, Archduke Karl Ludwig did not live long either. After drinking water from the Jordan River, he died on May 19, 1896, due to complications caused by infection, and the right to inherit the throne came to the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Speaking of Franz Ferdinand, apart from the famous Sarajevo incident, this person was also a master who put love above all else.

Because he and his wife Sophie Chotek belonged to a morganatic marriage, it resulted in Archduke Ferdinand's descendants having no right to inherit the throne.

After being assassinated in the Sarajevo incident, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire returned to the eldest son of the second son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, the father of Archduke Ferdinand, which was the son of the younger brother of Archduke Ferdinand.

Not to mention, the situation of morganatic marriages in the Habsburg family during this period was really quite common.

Another younger brother of Archduke Ferdinand, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, was also in a morganatic marriage. The constant replacement of heirs to the throne and frequent accidents also made the already elderly Franz Joseph I even more sorrowful, and he eventually passed away before the end of World War I.

In 1871, when everything had not yet happened, Franz Joseph I was still in a wonderful mood.

Gao Da basically met his requirements for a son-in-law, and the status and position of the two were also matched; it was simply a perfect marriage.

Regardless of whether Gao Da and Sophie could see eye to eye, it didn't matter for the marriage itself. Because this was originally a political marriage, the feelings between the two were not that important, as long as there were no subsequent troubles.

No matter how many lovers Gao Da had, as long as he always respected the status of Queen Sophie, it was acceptable to Franz Joseph I and Princess Sisi.

Three thousand words, the second update, please support!

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(End of this chapter)