[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-114":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2365042,4632,"Chapter 114","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-114",114,"\u003Cp>For the Spanish government in 1871, there were only two most important matters: the development of national industry and the preparations for the marriage of Gao Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da was surprised to discover that the government attached far more importance to this marriage than he did himself, and that the procedures and scale of the political wedding were even personally overseen by Prime Minister Primo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But thinking about it, it was also normal. This marriage alliance concerned not only the Austro-Hungarian royal family and the Spanish royal family, but also the Austro-Hungarian government and the Spanish government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prime Minister Primo’s long-cherished reform finally had powerful support; how could this not move Prime Minister Primo?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to maintain good relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the original scale of this wedding was changed again and again by Prime Minister Primo into a super-large-scale wedding, with the funds used reaching as high as over 5 million pesetas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do not underestimate 5 million pesetas; the total value was already close to 200,000 pounds. This amount of capital could order a capital-ship-class ironclad in this era, and investing this entire sum into a wedding was truly too extravagant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this was still under the condition that many hidden expenses were not included. If all expenses were fully calculated, the cost of this wedding might reach around 10 million pesetas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason the government valued this wedding so highly was, of course, because of the status of the future Queen of Spain, Sophie, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the four children of Franz Joseph I, the relationship between the first three was relatively good. Archduchess Sophie, her younger sister Archduchess Gisela, and her younger brother Archduke Rudolf were all raised by their grandmother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they grew up together, the relationship between the three siblings was very good, and could even be called inseparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archduchess Sophie and Archduchess Gisela loved their younger brother Archduke Rudolf very much, and Archduke Rudolf was the future heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Spanish government, there was nothing more important than building a good relationship with Archduchess Sophie. If Archduchess Sophie were pleased, they could gain more support from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the future through the relationship between Archduchess Sophie and Archduke Rudolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current emperor and the next emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were both very close relatives of the Queen of Spain; did this not mean that the intimate relationship between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire could be maintained for a long time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of the wedding process, Gao Da had actually planned a route to pick up the bride that went from Spain to France, then to Italy, then arrived at the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after thinking about it, the French might not necessarily be willing to let Gao Da lead an army to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to pick up the bride, unless he only led a small number of troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if he were to lead only a small number of troops while being so ostentatious, it would inevitably be a bit like treating his own life as a game. If some extremists were to risk their own lives to assassinate Gao Da, or simply held the idea of causing some trouble for the wedding, then Gao Da would suffer a huge loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this marriage alliance between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire would attract the attention of many countries; if some chaos occurred during the wedding process, it would inevitably invite ridicule from other countries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, after careful consideration, it was decided to use the navy to go and pick up the bride, and after arriving in Spain, to switch to a train from Valencia, then travel all the way to Ma Deli.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to highlight the grandeur of the royal wedding, the royal special train that Gao Da usually took would also undergo certain modifications to ensure comfort while guaranteeing safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da getting married was also a good thing for Prime Minister Primo. After all, Prime Minister Primo’s reforms could not do without the support of the King, nor could they do without a stable situation in Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da was currently still in a solitary state. If some accident were to happen suddenly, it would cause immeasurable turmoil for the current Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the hard-won stable Spain were to fall into civil war again, then Prime Minister Primo would have nowhere to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the current Prime Minister Primo, the more stable the situation in Spain, the better. No matter who Gao Da’s marriage partner was, as long as she could branch out and spread leaves for the current royal family, it was a good thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s more, the identity and status of Archduchess Sophie were also helpful to the development of Spain, which made it an even better thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Da was surprised to find that, apart from preparing for this wedding, he seemed to have nothing else to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole of Spain was trying its best to prepare for this wedding, and the public was also very much looking forward to the marriage between the royal family and the Austro-Hungarian royal family, as if this wedding had become the focus of attention for the entire Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed quietly like this; 1871 became history, and 1872 arrived in a flash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On January 1, 1872, Gao Da handed the letters he had already written to his subordinates, and after instructing them to send them to Archduchess Sophie in Vienna, he felt a sense of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed quickly, and there was only one month left until the wedding of Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In February 1872, the wedding of Gao Da and Archduchess Sophie would be held in Ma Deli, which also marked that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain would come together after this wedding and become new allies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Austro-Hungarian Empire also attached great importance to this wedding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Joseph I, even waved his hand and dispatched the army and navy to accompany and protect them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There would be an army of up to 5,000 people who would escort Archduchess Sophie and her party all the way from Meiquangong to the port in the south, and then they would leave on a Spanish warship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not the end; during the process of the fleet returning to Spain, the Austro-Hungarian navy would also accompany and protect them, which was also a way to show the national prestige of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to other countries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Franz Joseph I did not do this without a purpose. Since the Austrian Empire was defeated by Prussia last time, the national prestige had indeed suffered a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the French were subsequently defeated by Prussia, this still could not change the view of some who believed that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had weakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason Franz Joseph I did this was to demonstrate the military power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to other small countries in Europe in this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To let them deeply understand that although the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not beat the German Empire, it was still an unreachable super power compared to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five great powers of Europe were not just talk; compared to the remaining minor powers, the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire still existed, and it was still that unreachable world power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to do this, it also had to ask for Spain’s attitude in advance. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not intend to show off its power to Spain, and in the future, Spain would still be an important ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Supplementing yesterday’s second update, please support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1291,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","d2a58d323cb13255b9398de685482df34698caf573904b2b6fdc9923faa0b1f0","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-115","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-113",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]