Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 108 Engagement and Return Home

Two days before Carlo arrived in Vienna, no one informed Carlo when the ball would be held.

But Carlo was not in a hurry. After all, the Habsburg family was the host and he just had to follow their arrangements.

Among European nobles, men generally married relatively late. If they could find a marriage partner they liked and who was in line with their political interests, it would be fine. If they couldn't find one, marriage would most likely be delayed until after the age of 30.

After all, they can freely find their lovers before getting married, and male nobles are not in a hurry to get married unless they have some purpose.

For female nobles, the time to get married is before the age of 20. If they are 20 years old and still have no specific marriage contract, they will generally be ridiculed by other nobles.

This is also the reason why the average marriage age of European male aristocrats is over 25 years old, while the marriage age of European female aristocrats is under 20 years old, or even under 18 years old.

If a woman is over 25 years old and left alone, no one will want her unless she has good conditions.

Finally, after another day, Carlo met his marriage partner, Archduchess Sophie, the eldest daughter of Franz Joseph I, on the third day after arriving in Vienna.

As the emperor's eldest daughter, Archduchess Sophie had received a relatively strict aristocratic education. Carlo's first impression of her was that she had a beautiful face and a gentle personality.

Different from the impression of bold and aggressive European girls, Carlo actually prefers such a quiet personality.

The Austrian nobles who were invited also knew who the two protagonists of the ball were, and they tacitly avoided stealing the spotlight.

Of course, this was more because of their self-awareness. Among all the nobles attending the ball, Archduchess Sophie and Carlo were a perfect match. If they messed up this marriage, Franz Joseph I would probably not let them go.

During the dance, Carlo gradually came into contact with and understood Archduchess Sophie's personality, and found that she was indeed her type.

Although it didn't reach the point of love at first sight, Carlo would still be happy to see Archduchess Sophie become his queen in the future.

On Archduchess Sophie's side, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sissi were also asking Archduchess Sophie about her attitude and feelings towards Carlo.

Because of the strict aristocratic education she received, Archduchess Sophie had not come into contact with many boys and was still rather reserved about getting along with the opposite sex.

However, Franz Joseph I and Princess Sissi could clearly feel that Archduchess Sophie was not averse to Carlo, and even had a certain liking for him.

Since both of them had a good impression of each other, the marriage was decided simply and straightforwardly.

Yes, it was that fast. For European noble marriages of this era, there was no need for so much preparation and waiting.

Basically, as long as both parties have a good impression of each other and the political interests of their families are in line, the marriage can be easily determined.

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

Considering that Archduchess Sophie was only 16 years old, Carlo suggested postponing the wedding to a year later, when he would be 20 years old.

Franz Joseph I naturally nodded in agreement. One year was enough time for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to make preparations, after all, they also had to prepare a dowry.

Although there is no concept of bride price in the West, there must be corresponding gifts in the marriage between the royal families of the two countries to show the noble status and abundant wealth of the royal family.

As his eldest daughter, Franz Joseph I attached great importance to the wedding of Archduchess Sophie. Although there were certain political needs for this wedding, Franz Joseph I agreed to it only after he was sure that Carlo's character met the requirements.

However, before the actual wedding took place, another ceremony was to take place in Vienna, the engagement ceremony of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie.

In the marriage process of European nobles, the engagement ceremony is held at the woman's home. Considering the difficulty of communication between Spain and Austria, and the tight time schedule, the engagement ceremony was scheduled to be held a few days later.

Yes, it's that quick.

Carlo's task in the next few days is to get along well with Archduchess Sophie and cultivate some feelings as much as possible.

After the engagement ceremony in a few days, Archduchess Sophie will officially become Carlo's fiancée and the future Queen of the Kingdom of Spain.

The engagement ceremony was not large in scale, and most of the participants were nobles from Austria and Hungary. With the witness of many nobles and newspapers, Carlo and Archduchess Sophie officially concluded their engagement and became an engaged couple.

Holding the hand of Archduchess Sophie, Carlo was quite satisfied with the marriage. This trip to Vienna was also perfect. The Austro-Hungarian Empire would be able to provide assistance to Spain for a long time in the future, which was what Carlo wanted to see most.

After staying in Vienna for a few days to develop his relationship with Archduchess Sophie, Carlo embarked on his journey back to Madrid.

As for negotiating industrial technological assistance and loans with the Austro-Hungarian government, that is something the Spanish government should be concerned about.

As the king of Spain, Carlo naturally could not go to negotiate with the Austro-Hungarian government in person for a loan. Anyway, the royal families of the two countries had already signed a marriage contract, and the government naturally could not prevent the two countries from getting closer.

It is certain that Austria-Hungary and Spain will conclude an alliance in the future, after all, there is no conflict of interest between the two countries. If Spain can take advantage of the relationship with Austria-Hungary to catch the express train of the Three Emperors' Alliance, it will also be very helpful to Spain in the future.

At least Spain does not have to worry about threats from Britain and France in its colonial expansion in Africa, and Germany and Russia are still very influential.

Even if Italy were allowed to join the Triple Alliance, the four major powers of Germany, Austria, Russia and Italy, plus Spain, the strongest country among the powers, would have to consider the consequences of offending these five countries even if Britain and France joined forces.

However, such a thing is probably just a thought. First of all, there is a fierce conflict between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia. In order to prevent the five countries from coming together, Britain and France will definitely try every means to provoke conflicts between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia and undermine the establishment of the Three Emperors' Alliance from the root.

In addition to the conflict between Austria and Russia, there was also a conflict between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Italy wanted to expand in continental Europe, there were actually only three directions.

The first direction was to go west and recover the regions of Savoy and Nice that had been ceded to France. But this was a bit difficult, after all, they had to face France, the former hegemon of Europe.

The second direction was to expand northeastwards. However, the northeast of Italy was the seaport of Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire was naturally unwilling to give in.

The third direction is the Balkans across the Adriatic Sea. However, Slovenia and Croatia in the north are under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Serbia is also within the sphere of influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Serbia wants to expand, it will inevitably offend the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This is actually the reason why Italy finally chose to join Britain and France in World War I and abandoned its alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

If Italy was allied with Austria-Hungary, it could only expand towards France on the European continent. The combat performance of the Italian army had already doomed them to be unable to defeat the French head-on, and the benefits of staying in the German-Austrian alliance would definitely be the least.

But then again, the course of world history has changed to a certain extent today, and the outcome of the First World War, which broke out more than 40 years later, would certainly have been different.

Spain will definitely play a more important role in World War I, and may even have the ability to change the final outcome of the war.

Not to mention Spain after decades of reform and development, even Spain today can have a certain impact on the European situation.

If we could form a four-nation alliance of Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, we might not be unable to fight against Britain, France and Russia.

After all, France was the only country that really made a great contribution in World War I. Russia ran into problems halfway through the war, and Britain, because its homeland was very safe, had always wanted to let Germany and France consume each other.

If World War I could really lead to the formation of the four major alliances of Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, France would be doomed to not be able to hold out for long under the siege of these four countries.

It is better to expect France to win a one-on-four battle than to expect the British Army to defeat the Germans. Although it is impossible to completely defeat Britain and France, it is still possible to change the course of World War I in history.

After coming to this world, Carlo never thought about following the development of history. Although no changes in the historical line would allow him to have more foresight about the future, sometimes changes in the historical line would bring more benefits.

For example, the alliance with Austria-Hungary will make Spain's future development smoother. Although the industry of Austria-Hungary is not as large as that of Britain, France and Germany, its overall economic scale and industrial strength are still greater than that of Russia.

Relying on the early layout on the African continent, even if Spain could not restore the powerful force it had during the British Empire, it could still become a colonial power comparable to France.

Under the chaotic situation, the division of Africa by various countries may not necessarily proceed as in history. As long as it is good for Spain, Carlo does not mind making Europe more chaotic, so that Spain can fish in troubled waters and reap more benefits.

If we look at it from the perspective of future generations, these European powers were indeed powerful, but they all had internal problems of one kind or another.

This era is an era of comparison. The winning country may not be perfect, but it is not as bad as other worse countries.

With all the countries making such moves, Spain may not be unable to achieve a revival. Even if it cannot become the world hegemon, it will definitely become one of the top three superpowers in the world in the future, and sit on the Iberian Peninsula and watch the disputes in Europe.

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(End of this chapter)