Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 113

In 1871, the two most important things for the Spanish government were the development of national industry and Carlo's marriage preparations.

Carlo was surprised to find that the government attached far more importance to this marriage than he did, and that Prime Minister Primo personally oversaw the process and scale of the political wedding.

But it is normal to think about it. This marriage not only concerns the royal family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spanish royal family, but also the Austro-Hungarian government and the Spanish government.

The reform that Prime Minister Primo had been dreaming of finally received strong support. How could he not be excited?

In order to maintain good relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the original scale of the wedding was changed repeatedly by Prime Minister Primo to an ultra-large-scale wedding, with the funds mobilized even reaching more than 500 million pesetas.

Don't underestimate 500 million pesetas, the total value is close to 20 pounds. This amount of money can be used to order a battleship-level ironclad ship in this era. It is too extravagant to invest all this money in the wedding.

Of course, this is before many hidden costs are taken into account. If all costs are taken into account, the cost of this wedding may be as high as 10 million pesetas.

The reason why the government attached so much importance to this wedding was, of course, because of the status of Sophie, the future Queen of Spain, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Of the four children of Franz Joseph I, the first three had a relatively good relationship. Archduchess Sophie, her sister Archduchess Gisela, and her brother Archduke Rudolf were all raised by their grandmother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria.

Because they grew up together, the three siblings have a very good relationship, one can even say that they are close.

Archduchess Sophie and Archduchess Gisela loved their younger brother Archduke Rudolf very much, and Archduke Rudolf was the future heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

For the Spanish government, nothing is more important than building a good relationship with Archduchess Sophie. If they can please Archduchess Sophie, they can get more support from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the future through the relationship between Archduchess Sophie and Archduke Rudolf.

The current emperor and the next emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are both very close relatives of the Queen of Spain. Doesn't this mean that the close relationship between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire can last for a long time?
Speaking of the wedding process, Carlo actually planned to go from Spain to France, then to Italy, then to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then return to pick up the bride.

But after thinking about it, the French might not be willing for Carlo to lead his troops to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to pick up the bride, unless he only led a small number of troops.

But if he was so ostentatious and led only a small number of troops, he would inevitably treat his own safety as a game. If some extremists were willing to risk their own lives to assassinate Carlo, or just wanted to disrupt the wedding, then Carlo would suffer a great loss.

After all, this marriage between Spain and Austria-Hungary will attract the attention of many countries. If some trouble occurs during the wedding, it will inevitably cause ridicule from other countries.

After careful consideration, it was finally decided to use the navy to pick up the bride. After arriving in Spain, they took a train from Valencia and then all the way to Madrid.

In order to highlight the grandeur of a royal wedding, the royal train that Carlo usually rides will also undergo certain modifications to ensure comfort while ensuring safety.

Carlo's marriage is also a good thing for Prime Minister Primo. After all, Prime Minister Primo's reforms cannot be separated from the support of the king, and also from the stability of Spain.

Carlo is still alone. If something unexpected happens, it will cause immeasurable shock to Spain.

If Spain, which has finally stabilized, falls into civil war again, Prime Minister Primo will have nowhere to cry. For Prime Minister Primo, the more stable the situation in Spain is, the better. No matter who Carlo marries, as long as it can expand the current royal family, it is a good thing.

What's more, Archduchess Sophie's identity and status are also helpful to the development of Spain, which is even more a good thing.

Carlo was surprised to find that apart from preparing for the wedding, there seemed to be nothing else he could do.

The whole of Spain was doing its best to prepare for this wedding, and the people were also 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 of the whole of Spain.

Time passed quietly, 1871 became history, and 1872 came in a flash.

On January 1872, 1, Carlo handed a letter he had already written to his subordinates and asked them to send it to Archduchess Sophie in Vienna. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

Time flies, and there is only one month left until the wedding of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie.

In February 1872, the wedding of Carlo and Archduchess Sophie will be held in Madrid, which also marks the coming together of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain to become new allies after this wedding.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire also attached great importance to this wedding.

The Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I even waved his hand and dispatched the army and navy to provide protection.

An army of up to 5000 people will escort Archduchess Sophie and her entourage from Schönbrunn Palace to the southern port, and then leave on a Spanish warship.

This is not the end. When the fleet returns to Spain, the Austro-Hungarian navy will accompany it for protection, which will also demonstrate the national prestige of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to other countries.

Franz Joseph I did this for a purpose. The Austrian Empire had indeed lost a lot of national prestige since it was defeated by Prussia last time.

Although the French were subsequently defeated by Prussia, this still could not change the view of some that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had weakened.

The reason why Franz Joseph I did this was to demonstrate the military power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to other small countries in Europe.

Let them deeply understand that although the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not defeat the German Empire, it was still an unattainable superpower compared to them.

The five major powers in Europe are not just talk. Compared with the remaining inferior powers, the Austro-Hungarian Empire still has strength and is still that unattainable world power.

Of course, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had to ask Spain's attitude in advance. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not intend to show off its power to Spain, and Spain would still be an important ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the future.

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(End of this chapter)