Holy Roman Empire

"Baden!"

"The British Royal Family may seem prestigious, but in reality, they can offer Friedrich very limited help, giving mostly just superficial glamour.

Baden Duchy may seem insignificant, but its influence within the German Federation Empire is not small. If Austria wants to unify the Germany Region, Baden Duchy is an essential part."

A parent’s deep love for their child results in far-reaching plans.

The Crown Prince’s marriage will contribute to the imperial unification efforts and is bound to be endorsed by German nationalists. This will greatly enhance Friedrich’s prestige among the public.

After pondering, Queen Helen said, "Then let’s prioritize Sophie Marie Victoria. Her age is just right, and we could embrace grandchildren sooner."

Indeed, men and women think on different wavelengths. Franz gave priority to political influence, whereas Queen Helen was more concerned with grandchildren.

Of course, producing the next generation sooner will also be of help to Friedrich.

The Habsburg dynasty is deeply entrenched, and a marriage alliance is just the icing on the cake. As long as there is no foolish mismanagement, Friedrich’s position as heir will be unshakable.

Franz was quite confident in this marriage alliance. The Baden royal family had no reason to refuse, as Hanover, which was looking to integrate the German Federation Empire, could not do without Austria’s support.

Constrained by its size, the Kingdom of Hanover does not have absolute dominance over the domestic sub-states, which are too numerous. This means they cannot adopt the Austrian model.

Otherwise, just like the current situation, the imperial parliament is occupied by a majority of small sub-states, and the central government’s authority is caged in by the parliament, unable to utilize the advantages of patriotism.

From the central government’s standpoint, only through centralization can the country possibly be integrated, which is intolerable to many small sub-states.

When Austria unified the South German Region, everyone, except for losing diplomatic and currency issuance rights and sharing legislative and military command rights, managed to preserve all other powers.

(Note: The legislative body is the Imperial Parliament, with representatives from each sub-state government; as mentioned earlier about military command rights, the state army accepts dual command from both the central government and the monarch of the state.)

For the majority of small sub-states, diplomatic and military command rights are superfluous; they simply do not have the capacity for international diplomacy, let alone maintain an army.

Currency issuance rights may seem lucrative, but for a small state, the demand for currency is so low that the cost of issuing banknotes could well exceed the income from the "coincage tax."

Initially, everyone was afraid that the Vienna Government would turn against them and annex their territories, which led to the unification under the British guidance to form the German Federation Empire.

The current situation, however, is quite the opposite; Austria has no intentions of annexing them but rather it is the Hanover-led central government that wants to absorb them.

As a sub-state second only to Hanover within the German Federation Empire, Baden Duchy naturally faces suppression from the central government. If not for Austria’s support from behind, they would have been unable to withstand it.

From this perspective, the Baden royal family needs this marriage alliance even more than the Habsburg Family, as it relates to their very survival.

After a pause, Franz added, "Might as well include Peter, Wilhelm, and George in the considerations, and once Friedrich’s wedding is settled, we can arrange their betrothals in passing."

The marriages for the second son are much easier. Although still political, the requirements are unquestionably a notch lower.

Queen Helen smiled slightly, "Good, I think it would be wise to make contact with the British Royal Family, Montenegrin Royal Family, and Belgian Royal Family first.

I had high hopes for the princesses of the Hesse and Oldenburg Families, but it’s a shame that the royal diseases are too frightening."

After a pause, Queen Helen said uncertainly, "Franz, should we secretly leak the news? Otherwise, if we keep this up, it could become a problem for our descendants."

Franz’s expression changed; it was not a possibility but an inevitability. He thought of even more; if hemophilia continued to spread amongst the European Royal Family, European monarchy might well follow the same path as in the original timeline.

Monarchs seemed replaceable by distant royals, which appeared to have minimal impact. In reality, though, the damage to regal authority was fatal.

It’s not easy for outsiders to grasp control of power. The bourgeoisie were able to seize power mainly during the transition of monarchs in the original timeline.

If uninterrupted succession was apparent, kings were old families who had been local fixtures for hundreds of years, with substantial local support, so sidelining kings by the government was no easy feat.

The decline of European royal power was not a favorable situation for the Habsburg Family.

Franz nodded, "Mhm, I will arrange for it. There’s no need for you to worry."

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz had no choice but to feel sorry for these princesses. Once the news spread, their marriage prospects would be dim, as few families would risk an extinct lineage to enter into marriage alliances with them.

However, this must wait until the dust settles on his sons’ marriages. Otherwise, with too few brides for too many grooms, the sudden increase in competitors might risk unexpected turns of events.

A political marriage is not only a matter for the royal family but also for the nation. Franz could decide his sons’ marriages, but the government had to be informed as well.

If the government could not approve of the match, it would be troublesome. There’s no lack of such precedents, with almost every few decades, the European Royal Family making a joke of themselves.

...

While Franz was busy with his sons’ marriages, the African Battlefield was also undergoing changes, with the French successfully occupying the Sudan area.

This posed a great annoyance to the British struggle, as England, France, and Austria all launched campaigns in Africa, and the British, who moved first, ended up completing their strategic objective last.

No, they haven’t achieved their strategic objectives yet. The Ethiopians continue to resist; the British Army has only gained the upper hand, but the end of the war is still a long way off.

Undoubtedly, in this round of competition, the British have lost face.

The Austrians took over three months to occupy the Somalia Peninsula; the French took five months to settle the Sudan area; the British have been fighting Ethiopia for over half a year without a conclusion.

Of course, this "occupation" is only nominal rule. They truly occupy only the cities; the native tribes in the jungles are beyond their control.

The Ethiopia area is somewhat larger, and the indigenous forces somewhat stronger—that’s the main reason for the British actions.

Unfortunately, this "strength" is a concept not understood by the European world. In this era, Europeans are arrogant; how powerful could the natives be?

Even the London Government is embarrassed to propagate how powerful Ethiopia is, given that they claimed victory in the last Anglo-Ethiopian war.

If they did promote that idea, the public would see it as government incompetence rather than "Ethiopian strength."

On Downing Street, Prime Minister Benjamin slammed the war report on the table and questioned, "What kind of war is this being fought?

The war has been ongoing for so long, and the front line has only advanced two hundred kilometers. Based on the current progress, is the military preparing for a Hundred Years’ War on the African Continent?"

A Hundred Years’ War might be an exaggeration, but a two to three-year delay is possible. They’ve encountered Africa’s toughest nut to crack—how could it be easily resolved?

You must know that we are currently in the golden age of Ethiopia. The reigning Emperor, Menelik II, is even acknowledged by posterity as one of the greatest and most accomplished rulers in African history.

Still, that’s beside the point. No matter what, Ethiopia remains a backward agricultural country that cannot support a prolonged war. With some effort, the British should still be able to handle it.

The trouble is the stabbing in the back by France and Austria. Without their support, Ethiopia might not have achieved unification by now, let alone trained an almost-modernized army.

The war has progressed to the point where Menelik II has mobilized one hundred and fifty thousand troops, all equipped with rifles and over seven hundred pieces of artillery.

Army Minister Fox said, "Your Excellency Prime Minister, we underestimated the determination of France and Austria to create trouble. Nobody knew they would support Ethiopia to such an extensive degree.

After analyzing the data from the front line, we can confirm that the Ethiopian army is now commanded by officers from France and Austria."

When Fox spoke, he was as full of political art as ever. What was essentially an underestimation of Ethiopian strength became an underestimation of the extent of French and Austrian support for Ethiopia once in his mouth.

By switching the concept, everyone finds it a bit more palatable. As for French and Austrian officers commanding the Ethiopian army, that’s complete nonsense.

At this time, Ethiopia trusts no European country; who would dare entrust the military that their survival depends on to a bunch of people they don’t trust?

The support from France and Austria is indeed one reason Ethiopia can confront the British Army, but it’s a secondary one.

Since the outbreak of the war, both countries have scaled back their actions. Other than continuing to sell strategic materials to Ethiopia, there haven’t been any significant moves.

However, this does not stop Fox from shifting the blame to France and Austria; the presence of French and Austrian equipment in the Ethiopian military is evidence of their support for the Ethiopians.

Prime Minister Benjamin glared at him harshly, "I don’t want analysis or conjecture. If France and Austria are supporting the Ethiopians, then please present concrete evidence.

Merely some military equipment doesn’t hold any persuasive power. At most, it can prove the business capabilities of French and Austrian arms dealers, not that their governments are supporting Ethiopia."

England, France, and Austria are still allies; on the London Government’s diplomatic front, they belong to the first tier. Even if they were to be smeared, tangible evidence is required.

The military equipment is clearly not convincing enough; the Ethiopian army also has British equipment. If the London Government were to make an issue of this, wouldn’t it prove that they are supporting Ethiopia as well?

Such reasoning might work for domestic arguments, but using it in diplomacy would only attract ridicule.

Unless the British Government could suppress France and Vienna, Paris and Vienna wouldn’t take their complaints seriously.

Fox felt slightly embarrassed before quickly regaining his composure, "Understood, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We will find evidence as soon as possible, but it will take time.

Now the most important thing is to cut off Ethiopia’s supply of arms; otherwise, this war will become very troublesome."

That’s a big problem; arms dealers of that era were fearless. As long as there was sufficient profit to be made, there was no business they wouldn’t dare undertake.

"The best arms dealers are those who sell weapons to their own enemies."

It’s not a joke—the British arms dealers are actually doing it. With the involvement of powerful figures from within the country, without enough evidence, Fox naturally would not tear through the veil.

Prime Minister Benjamin also felt the headache—it was indeed difficult to cut off Ethiopia’s arms supply. They could block the coastal trade routes, but not the inland areas.

The colonies of France and Austria bordered Ethiopia; neither would listen to their commands. As long as the Ethiopians can afford it, such trade wouldn’t stop.

"Communicate with the foreign ministries of France and Austria. We must find a way to sever the Ethiopian trade routes, and we may even consider an exchange of interests if necessary."

…