Chapter 211: Eldest Daughter Sofia

As time reached November 1876, Gao Da was about to welcome his second child.

Fortunately, with the experience of the previous childbirth, although the birth of the second child was also treated with importance, Gao Da was no longer as nervous.

Because she had recuperated for more than half a year before becoming pregnant, Lady Wang Hou was in very good health during her second pregnancy, and she did not face any danger during childbirth.

Just like that, in a quite smooth manner, Gao Da welcomed his second child, his eldest daughter, Sofia.

As early as when his first child was born, Gao Da had already thought of the names for his eldest son and eldest daughter.

The eldest son's name was Hu An Fernanduo, and the eldest daughter's name was Sofia. Of course, if the second child had still been a son, he would have been named Ma Ding.

Because he had already been blessed with an eldest son previously, Gao Da had no requirements regarding the gender of the second child. In fact, Gao Da even hoped for a daughter; after all, a "little cotton-padded jacket" is much more reassuring than a "little rascal."

Of course, Gao Da was not at all worried about his children being naughty. The strict, elite aristocratic education that Gao Da personally formulated would not give them time to be naughty.

Prince Hu An Fernanduo, who was only one and a half years old now, had already begun to be led to learn Spanish words and some simple phrases.

When he grew a little older, he would have to start learning more knowledge and truly begin his relatively busy times.

After all, as Gao Da's eldest son, the future Wang Weijicheng would most likely be passed on to Hu An Fernanduo.

Therefore, Gao Da was quite serious about the cultivation of Hu An Fernanduo. He not only had to learn the various types of education that traditional aristocrats received, but also had to learn much newly discovered knowledge, as well as the history, politics, and psychology courses essential for a monarch.

Later on, he would also have to serve in the military for 2 to 3 years to cultivate some confidants in the army, only then completing the entire cultivation plan for the heir to the throne.

After that, Hu An Fernanduo could gradually begin to come into contact with government affairs, waiting for the day when Gao Da would pass the throne to him.

As long as the entire cultivation process went relatively smoothly, then he would be the first in line for the Spanish throne. But if Hu An Fernanduo performed poorly during the cultivation process for the heir, Gao Da would also consider passing the throne to a more outstanding child.

The King of Spain certainly represented immense power, but at the same time, it also represented arduous responsibilities and obligations. Gao Da's attitude was very clear: if the ability was insufficient, even the eldest son could not inherit the throne.

Whether it was Hu An Fernanduo or other princes who would be born in the future, the first 20 years of their lives would be very hard.

But for a princess like Sofia, they would not have to suffer such hardships.

Daughters certainly also needed to be cultivated, but after all, they were not heirs to the throne, so the cultivation did not need to be that strict.

They only needed to learn some cultural knowledge and then choose a major they were more interested in to study. After they graduated from university, Gao Da would arrange what they would do in the future.

After Princess Sofia was born, Gao Da showed his doting love for his daughter. Not only did he take time every day to tease Princess Sofia, who was still in her swaddling clothes, but he also specially created a new title for Princess Sofia: Duke of Arganda.

Arganda was a small city in the southeast of Madrid with a population of only a few thousand. However, the scenery here was quite good, and Gao Da owned a vast manor here, which was just right as a reward for Princess Sofia.

Gao Da was quite affectionate toward his children. The eldest son, Hu An Fernanduo, was granted the title of Duke of Monteblanc as soon as he was born, and the eldest daughter, Sofia, also received the title of Duke of Arganda; both of them stood at the pinnacle of the Spanish aristocratic class the moment they were born.

This was not the end; when the two came of age, Gao Da would grant them even more rewards.

The royal family's assets had already reached hundreds of millions of pesetas, and Gao Da would not be stingy with his children at all. Whether it was the eldest son, the eldest daughter, or other children in the future, as long as they came of age, they would receive a large amount of property as a reward.

These rewards not only included some land, manors, gold, jewelry, and antiques, but also shares in some enterprises, and even the complete control of some companies, and so on.

The future heir to the throne would certainly inherit most of Gao Da's property, but for the remaining children, Gao Da would also ensure that they would have no worries about food or clothing for the rest of their lives, and even if they had no particular ability, they could live a prosperous life.

For the entire month after Princess Sofia was born, Gao Da would set aside time every day to accompany Lady Wang Hou and Princess Sofia.

Although the infant mortality rate was relatively high in this era, for now, it seemed that both the eldest son, Hu An Fernanduo, and the eldest daughter, Sofia, were relatively healthy.

Not long after Princess Sofia's full-month celebration, the time also reached Christmas in 1876.

The Wang Gong was even more lively this Christmas; the royal family was growing at a rate of almost one person per year, which was definitely good news for the Spanish royal family.

The royal family now looked like it should. Gao Da, Lady Wang Hou, Prince Hu An Fernanduo, and Princess Sofia spent Christmas happily together; although Princess Sofia just obediently watched for a while in her crib and then fell asleep, it was, after all, a family of four staying together, looking even more lively and warm.

The news of Princess Sofia's birth ignited Spain once again, but it did not cause a sensation like Prince Hu An Fernanduo had.

This was also normal; after all, Hu An Fernanduo was Gao Da's eldest son and also the future heir to the Spanish throne, so it was normal for foreign governments and high-level officials to pay attention.

And although Sofia's status was equally noble, she was, after all, only a princess, and only the royal families of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a few countries with blood relations to Spain sent their congratulations.

Compared to the birth of the Spanish Princess Sofia, European countries were clearly more concerned about Queen Victoria being crowned Empress of India.

As early as May 1876, the British side had already achieved this fact, and Queen Victoria officially became the Empress of India, possessing her own imperial title.

Becoming an emperor certainly required a coronation ceremony, and because it was the imperial throne of India, the coronation ceremony could only be held in India.

The British were originally still worried about the Balkan Peninsula issue, but after waiting for several months, Russia had no intention of going to war, which allowed the British to completely set their minds at ease.

The British government decided to hold Queen Victoria's coronation ceremony in India on the first day of the new year, placing the crown of the Indian Empire on the Queen of England.

Although the imperial throne of India was somewhat self-indulgent, the person being self-indulgent was, after all, the ruler of England, Queen Victoria, so various countries still had to give some face.

However, within England, the public clearly had two diametrically opposed attitudes toward this Indian crown.

A small picture book titled "The Stain on the Queen's Head" had a circulation of over 90, 00 in a short period, and this small picture book used a comic format to attack Prime Minister Disraeli, mocking him as a Jew with strong Orientalist ideas.

In the comic, Disraeli, appearing in the image of Aladdin, was inciting Queen Victoria to accept the crown of the Empress of India.

The attitude of this picture book was also very clear, which was that Queen Victoria did not need an extra Empress crown, because the word "Empress" easily made people think of despotic monarchism, rather than the constitutional monarchy system that the British government currently maintained.

Another pamphlet also had such a conclusion; members of parliament and British citizens who supported such ideas generally believed: the crown and the result of the bill would damage the principles of the British monarchy, and the Indian imperial title was a lie.

The title of Empress of India was imperial in nature, was opposed to the British monarchy system, and was an extremely wrong decision that was despotic and arbitrary, where personal rights were above the public, and personal will could be put into law at any time and at will.

The opposition party even used the Empress's ascension to oppose the ruling Conservative Party, believing that the Conservative Party completely ignored the public's needs and was stuck in the ghosts of its own political propaganda. Some extreme opponents even called the ruling Conservative Party a dictatorial party that advocated absolutism.

Even the famous British newspaper, *The Times*, also expressed its opposition and criticism, believing that being crowned Empress of India was a manifestation of Queen Victoria's arrogance and conceit, and a betrayal of the principles of the British Constitution.

John F. Dickinson publicly stated that the Titles Bill was entirely a damage to the collective will by Queen Victoria's personal will, and the Empress title legally confirmed India's subordinate relationship to England, which would aggravate the contradictions between India and England.

At the same time, this would also legally confirm that the British Empire was heading toward a new round of expansion, which was something most British people did not want to see. The personal demands caused by the bill being higher than public interests would destroy the British Empire.

He believed that the fewer and simpler the principles of British rule in India, the better the effect would be. The more prosperous the empire was, the more it should tighten its policy toward India.

The "New Crown, Old Queen" comic also became a topic of heated discussion among the British government and the public, and the sensation it caused even overshadowed the event of Queen Victoria's coronation as Empress of India itself.

The reason why it caused opposition from a large number of officials and democratic figures was, at the most fundamental level, the public's focus on the word "authority."

The British Empire possessed colonies on a scale far exceeding other countries, but the relationship between the colonies and the British Empire was not one of complete obedience and loyalty.

The United States was once a colony of England, but later chose independence. This also represented one thing: the people in the colonies were not completely loyal to the British Empire, and they also had their own considerations regarding the British Empire.

Under such circumstances, whether Queen Victoria's coronation as Empress of India would cause dissatisfaction in multiple colonies, including the Indian colony, was a problem that some British officials and members of parliament needed to consider.

Was the authority of the British Empire and Queen Victoria above the colonies? Did the British Empire have complete control over the colonies? Should the control over the colonies be increased?

These questions were also the key points discussed by the two major British political parties and a large number of members of parliament, and were also the reason for the sensation within England.

But it was clear that these discussions alone could not shake Queen Victoria herself.

From the fact that these opposing members of parliament could not stop the passage of the bill, it could be seen that Prime Minister Disraeli and Queen Victoria were both willing to see the British Empire control the Indian imperial throne.

On January 1, 1877, the ceremony for Queen Victoria's coronation as Empress of India was officially held in India.

Although there were many voices of opposition at home, the British government still attached great importance to this coronation ceremony.

Prime Minister Disraeli even went to the coronation site in person, and the Indian colonial government also prepared a grand ceremony site and a large number of extras for the Queen.

Regardless of what the Indians' reaction to Queen Victoria's coronation was, in short, on the day of Queen Victoria's coronation, more than 100, 00 Indians enthusiastically celebrated Queen Victoria's coronation and even shouted, "Long live Her Majesty the Empress!"

Queen Victoria was more than satisfied with the lively scene prepared by the Indian colonial government. Being crowned Empress also fulfilled one of her wishes, and the look she gave the Viceroy of India was quite satisfied and appreciative.

Gao Da did not attach too much importance to Queen Victoria's coronation. This imperial throne was instead a stain for Queen Victoria, and having or not having the imperial throne did not add anything to Queen Victoria.

Without the Indian imperial throne, Queen Victoria was one of the greatest monarchs in British history, having created the most glorious Victorian era of the British Empire, which was also the golden age when the British Empire dominated the world.

Fortunately, this stain was not too serious, and it would not affect Queen Victoria's reputation within England.

Compared to Queen Victoria's imperial throne, Gao Da was more interested in the development of the situation in the Balkans.

The reason why the British government felt at ease holding the coronation ceremony was precisely because Russia did not have any major actions on the Balkan Peninsula.

The war on the Balkan Peninsula was still a war between the Ottoman Empire and several nations striving for independence, and Russia was currently still in the stage of secret support.

Through telegram exchanges with Franz Joseph I, Gao Da also confirmed one thing: that England and the Austro-Hungarian Empire underestimated Russia's ambition in this Balkan war.

The British Empire arrogantly believed that Russia would not launch a war against the Ottoman Empire under the circumstances where the British Empire clearly supported the Ottoman Empire, which was also the reason why England reduced its attention to the Balkan Peninsula.

After all, the Ottoman Empire had already gained the upper hand in the current war, and Serbia and Montenegro were clearly no match for the Ottoman Empire.

This was also the reason why Russia, after launching the war in history, defeated the Ottoman Empire in a crushing manner and achieved victory in the war.

Because the British Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have much preparation, they could only use diplomatic means after the war to threaten Russia to spit out a portion of the war results, ensuring that they would not suffer too much of a loss.

(End of chapter)