Chapter 109: Engagement and Returning Home

Two days before Gao Da arrived in Vienna, no one had notified him when the ball would be held.

However, Gao Da was not in a hurry; after all, the Habsburg family were the hosts, and he would simply follow their arrangements.

Among European nobility, men generally married relatively late. It was fine if they could find a partner they were fond of who also met their political interests, but once they could not, the major life event of marriage would very likely be delayed until after the age of 30.

After all, they could freely seek out lovers before marriage, so male nobles were in no rush to marry unless they had a specific purpose.

As for female nobles, the age of marriage was brought forward to before 20. If they reached 20 without a concrete engagement, they would generally be ridiculed by other nobles.

This is also the reason why the average marriage age for European male nobles was currently over 25, while for European female nobles it was under 20, or even under 18.

If they were "leftover women" over 25, unless their own conditions were quite good, they would otherwise be unwanted.

Finally, after another day had passed, on the third day of his arrival in Vienna, Gao Da met his marriage partner, the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I, Archduchess Sophie.

As the Emperor's eldest daughter, Archduchess Sophie had always received a relatively strict aristocratic education. Gao Da's first impression of her was that she possessed a beautiful face and a gentle, refined personality.

Unlike the bold and spicy European girls in his impression, Gao Da actually preferred this kind of quiet personality.

The Austrian nobles who had been invited also knew who the two protagonists of this ball were, and with great tacit understanding, they did not steal the spotlight.

Of course, this was also largely due to their own self-awareness. Among all the nobles attending the ball, Archduchess Sophie and Gao Da were a perfect match in status; if they messed up this marriage alliance, it was feared that Franz Joseph I would not let them off.

While interacting at the ball, Gao Da also gradually came into contact with and understood Archduchess Sophie's personality; she was indeed the type he liked.

Although it did not reach the point of love at first sight, if Archduchess Sophie were to become his Queen in the days to come, Gao Da would still be very happy to see it.

On Archduchess Sophie's side, Franz Joseph I and Empress Sisi were also inquiring about her attitude and feelings toward Gao Da.

Because of the strict aristocratic education she had received previously, Archduchess Sophie had not come into contact with many boys and was still in a relatively reserved state regarding how to interact with the opposite sex.

However, Franz Joseph I and Empress Sisi could also clearly feel that Archduchess Sophie did not reject Gao Da, and even had a certain degree of affection for him.

Since both parties had mutual affection for each other, this marriage was determined simply and cleanly.

Yes, it was just that fast. For the European aristocratic marriages of this era, there was no need for so much foreshadowing and waiting.

Basically, as long as both sides could have mutual affection, plus the political interests between their families aligned, the marriage was easily determined.

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

Considering that Archduchess Sophie was only 16 years old, Gao Da suggested postponing the wedding for a year, by which time he would also be 20 years old.

Franz Joseph I naturally nodded in agreement; one year was enough for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to make preparations, as they also had to prepare a dowry.

Although there was no such thing as a "bride price" in the West, a marriage between two royal families would certainly involve corresponding gifts to show the nobility of their royal status and their abundant wealth.

As his eldest daughter, Franz Joseph I attached great importance to Archduchess Sophie's wedding. Although this wedding had certain political needs, it was also something Franz Joseph I agreed to only after confirming that Gao Da's character met his requirements.

However, before the actual wedding took place, another ceremony had to be held in Vienna: the engagement ceremony for Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie.

In the marriage process of European nobility, the engagement ceremony was to be held at the woman's home. Considering that travel between Spain and Austria was not easy, and coupled with the tight schedule, the engagement ceremony was set to be held a few days later.

Yes, it was just that swift.

And Gao Da's task for these few days was to properly interact with Archduchess Sophie and cultivate some feelings as much as possible.

After the engagement ceremony was completed a few days later, Archduchess Sophie would officially become Gao Da's fiancée and the future Queen of the Kingdom of Spain.

The scale of the engagement ceremony was not large, and most of those who participated were only Austrian and Hungarian nobles.

Under the witness of many nobles and the press, Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie were officially betrothed and became an engaged couple.

Holding Archduchess Sophie's hand, Gao Da 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 to come, which was what Gao Da most wanted to see.

After staying in Vienna for a few days to cultivate feelings with Archduchess Sophie, Gao Da embarked on the journey back to Madrid.

As for the matters of discussing industrial technology assistance and loans with the Austro-Hungarian government, that was something for the Spanish government to worry about.

Gao Da, as the King of Spain, naturally could not personally go to discuss loans with the Austro-Hungarian government. In any case, the two royal families had already concluded a marriage contract, and the government naturally could not stop the two countries from drawing closer.

It was certain that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain would conclude an alliance in the future; after all, the two countries had no conflict of interest. If they could catch the express train of the League of the Three Emperors through the relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it would also be very beneficial for Spain's future.

At the very least, Spain would not have to worry about the threat of Britain and France in its colonial expansion in Africa; currently, Germany and Russia were still very influential.

Even if Italy were allowed to join the League of the Three Emperors, the four major powers of Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy, plus Spain—the strongest country below the level of a great power—would make even Britain and France, if they joined forces, have to consider the consequences of offending these five countries.

However, such a thing was likely just a thought. First of all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia had intense contradictions; to prevent the five countries from coming together, Britain and France would certainly try every means to sow discord between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, destroying the establishment of the League of the Three Emperors at the root.

Furthermore, besides the contradictions between Austria and Russia, there were also contradictions between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy wanted to achieve expansion on the European continent, but there were actually only three directions.

The first direction was westward, to recover regions like Savoy and Nice that had been ceded to France. But the difficulty of doing so was a bit high; after all, they would be facing France, the former hegemon of Europe.

The second direction was to expand to the northeast. But to the northeast of Italy were Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's outlets to the sea, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was naturally unwilling to concede.

The third direction was the Balkan region across the Adriatic Sea. But Slovenia and Croatia to the north were both under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Serbia was also within the sphere of influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; wanting to expand would inevitably offend the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This was actually the reason why Italy eventually chose to join the British and French side in World War I, abandoning its alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If they were in an alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy could only expand toward France on the European continent. And the combat performance of the Italian army had already destined them to be unable to defeat the French head-on; the gains obtained from remaining in the German-Austrian alliance would definitely be the least.

But then again, the world's historical process had already undergone certain changes, and for the First World War, which would only break out more than 40 years later, the outcome would certainly change as well.

Spain would definitely play a more important role in World War I, and might 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 could have a certain impact on the European situation.

If they could facilitate the four-power alliance of Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain, it might not be impossible to confront the three countries of Britain, France, and Russia.

After all, in World War I, only France was the country that truly exerted great effort. Russia had domestic problems halfway through the war, and Britain, because its home territory was very safe, had always held the idea of letting Germany and France consume each other.

If World War I could really facilitate the four-power alliance of Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain, France would be destined not to last long under the siege of these four countries.

Relying on the British army to defeat the Germans was better than relying on France to take on four and still win. Although it was impossible to completely defeat Britain and France, changing the direction of World War I in history was no problem.

Having come to this world, Gao Da had never thought about following the development of history. Although the historical line not changing would allow him to have more foresight about the future, sometimes changes in the historical line would bring more benefits instead.

Just like the current alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it could make Spain's subsequent development go more smoothly. Although the industry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not as massive as that of Britain, France, and Germany, its overall economic scale and industrial strength still exceeded that of Russia.

Relying on the layout in the African continent in advance, even if Spain could not restore the powerful influence of the era of the Empire on which the sun never sets, it could still become a colonial power comparable to France.

Under the chaotic situation, the partitioning of Africa by various countries might not necessarily proceed as it did in history. As long as it was beneficial to Spain, Gao Da did not mind making Europe even more chaotic, so that Spain could fish in troubled waters and reap more benefits.

If viewed from the perspective of later generations, these European powers were indeed powerful, but there were problems of one kind or another within them.

This era itself was an era of comparing who was worse. The winning country was not necessarily perfect; it was just not as bad as other even worse countries.

With various countries constantly making foolish moves, it was not impossible for Spain to achieve a revival. Even if it could not become the world hegemon, it would definitely be able to become a superpower at the level of the world's top three in the future, and sit on the Iberian Peninsula watching the disputes of Europe.

3, 00 words, first update, please support!

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(End of this chapter)