The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1511 Marriage
Hofburg Palace, Courtyard of Mirrors.

To be honest, Franz was a little disappointed with Alexander Kolona Walewski's appearance. It was difficult for the latter to associate the former with the word handsome man.

Alexander Kolona Walewski's appearance is neither feminine nor masculine, but somewhere in between the two. If he had to use a word to describe him, Franz thought the word "round" was more appropriate.

That’s right, Alexander Kolona Walewski is very round, with round eyes, face and body.

He looks very similar to the portrait of Napoleon, and at first glance he looks like a fatter and taller version of Napoleon.

Although he was not of noble birth, he was very familiar with court etiquette, which was impeccable even in Franz's eyes.

While Franz was observing Alexander Kolona Walewski, the latter was also observing the former.

The Franz Joseph I in front of him looked taller and more muscular than in the photo, and not as rude and barbaric as rumored.

After the routine greetings, Alexander Kolona Walewski presented his credentials to Franz and explained his purpose.

"By the grace of God and the will of the French nation, His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III, who inherited the great cause of the empire, wishes to marry the Habsburg family and wish that France and Austria will be forever united"

"Please forgive me for refusing."

Alexander Kolona Walewski was interrupted by Franz before he could finish his words, which surprised him a little. After all, according to his idea, the Austrian Empire should be in urgent need of an ally at this time.

Britain and Austria have always been at odds. If Austria turns against Russia again and stops being on good terms with France, does it want to confront the whole of Europe?

"Your Majesty, please don't rush to refuse. France and Austria have had some unpleasantness in the past, but I think your country will definitely need a firm ally in the future."

Franz said nothing, and Alexander Korona Walewski continued.

“Your Majesty, I believe you must be aware that Russia has been sending more troops to the Balkans. It is said that the total number of Russian troops in the Balkans has exceeded 150,000.

Don't you think it's a bit of an overreaction to defend a country that is on the decline?"

Franz had heard similar remarks countless times within the Austrian Empire, and he had also summed up a set of experience in dealing with them.

"I think no amount of effort is too much to prevent the pagans from making a comeback."

Franz's words made Alexander Kolona Walewski want to hit someone, but he couldn't refute it given his position.

“We all know that the Austrian Empire is very powerful. But no matter how powerful a country is, if its power is divided into several parts, it will be difficult to maintain sufficient deterrence.

Our Emperor, Napoleon III, has the noble blood of the Napoleonic family, and he sincerely hopes for peace between the two countries."

Alexander Kolona Walewski was almost ready to pull out his gun, but Franz remained unmoved.

Franz never opposed a marriage with France, but he was firmly opposed to a marriage with Napoleon's family.

A marriage with Napoleon III would do more harm than good to the Austrian Empire. The most direct result of the marriage between the two parties was that Franz implicitly recognized the legitimacy of the Napoleon family's rule over France.

The Austrian Empire could support the Second French Empire in regaining Guatemala and El Salvador for its own interests. This was not unacceptable to the House of Orleans and the House of Bourbon. After all, it was understandable to change positions for the sake of one's own national interests.

But if Franz married into the Napoleon family and recognized the legitimacy of the Second French Empire, it would challenge the bottom line of the Orleans family and the Bourbon family. More importantly, the core interests of the Austrian Empire and the Second French Empire conflicted, and the contradictions between the two sides could not be resolved at all. Making a friend who could rebel at any time and had the strength to rebel was more terrible than making an enemy.

"The Austrian Empire is not afraid of any enemy, and the Habsburg family does not need to marry into the Napoleon family to prove the nobility of their bloodline."

Franz's response was also quite tough, which was completely beyond the expectations of Alexander Korona Walewski and Napoleon III.

In their eyes, Franz should be a very cunning and pragmatic monarch, who should not be so unwilling to spend even this little money. After all, a girl is really not worth mentioning to the country and the family.

Although marriage with the Austrian Empire was the best solution for France to break the impasse, Alexander Colonna Walewski was not the kind of person who would accept things passively. He was always proud of the fact that he had the blood of Napoleon's family.

"Then your majesty, I wish you good luck."

Alexander Kolona Walewski turned around and left the Hall of Mirrors. Such decisiveness was somewhat beyond Franz's expectations.

However, Franz was not very worried. After all, Russia was still struggling with the rebellions that were breaking out everywhere.

To be honest, the rebellion in the Balkans at this time was largely caused by the Russians themselves. Predatory taxation and overly harsh laws drove many people to revolt, and a large number of people fled to the mountains.

The Russians' three main tactics were burning down cities and destroying villages, bloody massacres, and relocation and exile.

Such an approach directly destroyed the ties between the various ethnic groups in the Balkans and Russia. Coupled with the habitual practice of killing the donkey after it has done its job, the Russians could not even find a guide at this time.

The Balkans are by no means a good place. All the ethnic groups living here who had no blood in their veins had long been wiped out, so the local people's resistance to the Russian butcher's knife was extremely fierce.

In fact, the Russians have encountered many ethnic groups that resist fiercely, such as Chechnya, but Chechnya has a sparse population and lacks weapons.

But the Balkan region at that time was different. There were millions of Slavs and millions of Muslims here. A large number of weapons were left in the civilian population from previous wars. The Austrian Empire even helped train a group of anti-Ottoman guerrillas.

Now all these people and weapons are used against the Russians.
In fact, there are moderates within Russia, but their numbers are too small to resist the surging public opinion and traditions.

Moreover, most of the Russian high-ranking officials had no idea what was happening in the Balkans. They only knew that there were rebellions, so they sent troops to suppress them, which resulted in more rebels.

The cause was naturally that the locals refused to pay taxes, deliberately concealed their population, and even beat and killed tax collectors.

In the eyes of most Russian high-ranking officials, the entire Balkan region is made up of a group of unruly people who are not only ungrateful for Russia's rescue of them from the Ottomans, but also repay Russia with hatred.

He is simply the most unruly of the unruly people!

If the ministers were like this, it would be even more impossible for Nicholas I, who was even further away from the truth, to make the right judgment.

A few months ago
Nicholas I felt an unusual tightness in his chest, and he felt that all his passion had been poured into the dog.

"The blood of Russian soldiers must not be shed in vain. We must let those uncivilized barbarians know how powerful we are!"

Marshal Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich, who had just recovered, stepped forward without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, leave it to me. I will teach them how to be good Russians, otherwise they will stop being human!"