Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 229

Chapter 229: Chapter 116, Marriage Alliance

Translator: 549690339

Otto I’s fantasy did not last long before it was shattered; he did not need anyone to remind him of its impossibility.

Leaving domestic public sentiment aside, their surprise attack on the Ottoman Empire had undeniably contributed to the defeat of the Allied Forces in the Second Bulgarian Battle.

The British Army suffered substantial losses in this battle, and Downing Street even saw a change in leadership. If they were to let them off the hook, what would become of British honor?

Not defeating the Russians was something the London Government could accept since the British had always had low expectations for their army, so a defeat at the hands of the Russians wasn’t too disgraceful.

But having participated in a war, the British couldn’t just watch France show its prowess and become mere spectators, could they?

Anyway, the British Army desperately needed a victory they could be proud of to prove their strength. Unfortunately, Greece was the soft target they had chosen.

If this were not the case, the Greece Government would not have left London empty-handed after such prolonged lobbying efforts.

Otto I, out of options, said, “Can’t our army fight at all? Even if we only achieve a draw, we would have some capital to negotiate with!”

The War Minister answered indirectly, “Your Majesty, ever since our failure against the British, all morale has been lost, with desertions happening every day. If not for military law, no one knows how many soldiers would still be at the front.”

There was no other way; this army had been hastily cobbled together, sustained solely by nationalist patriotic sentiments. Once this drive was deflated, their true inadequacies were laid bare.

Expecting this rabble to defeat the enemy was nothing but a pipe dream.

“Deserters?”

A spark of an idea seemed to light up Otto I’s eyes, but he could not quite grasp it, repeatedly muttering to himself: “Deserters,” “Deserters”…

Seeing their king engulfed in his own thoughts, everyone tacitly chose to remain silent.

After a long while, Otto I spoke in a low voice, “What if we were to break up the army into smaller units and scatter, breaking through the encirclement? As long as the British do not capture any evidence, they won’t be able to do anything to us!”

It had to be said, Otto I was still a clever man, not foolishly allying with the Russians outright.

Greece’s geographic position dictated its strategic choices; even if the Russians won this war, they could not escape the influence of England and France.

If they threw themselves into the Russians’ arms now, they probably wouldn’t last until the end of the war before meeting their demise.

The Prime Minister reminded, “Your Majesty, such an action would result in considerable losses. Once these soldiers fall into the hands of the Ottomans, it’s feared that few will survive.”

Since they were civilian militias, their military discipline could not be relied upon. With scores to settle and grievances to air, seeds of hatred had already taken root and sprouted on both sides of the conflict.

At this point, the so-called scattering and breakout were in fact an admission of defeat, a signal for everyone to run for their lives! And they couldn’t directly flee back to the Kingdom of Greece, lest the enemy would follow and kill them. They had to scatter and take detours back to their homeland through other regions.

Given the state of the Greek Army, an orderly retreat was out of the question. It’s likely that the moment orders were given, it would turn into a rout, and not many could be expected to survive the trek back.

The Kingdom of Greece did not have deep pockets, and this army comprised a significant portion of their young and able-bodied men. Suffering heavy casualties would inevitably lead to a situation where “every household mourns, everyone weeps”.

“Do we have a choice? We can’t win on the battlefield, and the Russians are unwilling to send reinforcements. Surely we can’t expect the Montenegro Duchy next door to come to our rescue?” countered Otto I.

They could not afford to bring this war to the negotiating table; the British retributions would be more than they could handle. Nationalistic sentiments within the country were also not to be trifled with. These people not only refused to accept defeat until they saw the coffin, but they were also the sort to never concede to a loss.

Since they were destined for defeat anyway, Otto I naturally sought a way out for himself.

If the front lines couldn’t win, everyone would scatter and break out, regardless of the losses. Officially, it would have nothing to do with the king, sparing him at least from bearing the political responsibility for the failure.

Vienna

Empress Sophie issued an ultimatum to Franz. No matter what, the marriage had to be arranged immediately; even if it was not with her niece, he still had to find someone of equal status.

This was not just her personal will, but it also represented the will of the Habsburg Family and the Empire’s populace. They could no longer tolerate the Emperor continuing his bachelorhood.

Free love? Franz regretfully stated that he hadn’t even had the chance to experience love.

Given the circumstances, he might as well become engaged to someone he was familiar with. That was better than marrying a completely unknown woman, with the risk of being cuckolded, right?

On the day after Christmas in 1853, Franz became engaged to Princess Helen of the Wittelsbach Dynasty. Empress Sophie had arranged everything single-handedly, and Franz had simply gone through the motions.

Given the buy-one-get-one situation, Franz was still quite pleased, considering beauty as justice.

How promiscuous were the European nobility? That was a question difficult to answer. Aside from keeping the bloodline pure, a slew of messy affairs and a lax attitude toward chastity were the terrifying norm.

This marriage alliance may not be an equal match, but they were childhood sweethearts, and Franz’s fiancée entered the Vienna Palace early to ensure she was, indeed, untainted.

After the engagement, Franz and Princess Helen were restricted by Empress Sophie from being too intimate, absolutely no chance of premarital pregnancy was permitted.

Faced with a crisis of trust, Franz felt extremely helpless; he repeatedly assured them that he was not one to disregard propriety.

Alas, Empress Sophie did not trust his character and bluntly pointed out his past deeds, which he had thought were secret, making it clear that in this palace very few things could be hidden from this mistress.

Previously, in order to cheat Franz into engagement with his niece, she did not mind these small matters. Now that the bigger picture had been secured, it was imperative to be vigilant and avoid any blunders.

Franz even began to suspect that his mother had schemed against him, but after repeated confirmations, he had to admit that it was his own lack of willpower that had made him susceptible to temptation.

He was certain this was not his own fault but rather a side effect of his visit to St. Petersburg, having been led astray by the Russian Aristocracy and thus weakened in resolve.

These were minor issues; Franz took full responsibility without flinching. Even if he had not been responsible, he would not have been timid, as a son’s status was always higher than that of a niece.

Against the grand backdrop of the two families’ union, all disharmonious elements had to be nipped in the bud. Franz had no worries about any chaos ensuing.

This union was of much greater importance to the Wittelsbach Dynasty than to the Habsburg dynasty. Maximilian II, who had just arrived in Milan City to consolidate his throne, could not do so without the support of the Habsburg Family.

Franz agreed to this marriage not only because of his good relationship with Princess Helen but also due to political considerations.

The annexation of the Kingdom of Bavaria had caused some worry among the newly joined Saxon, Hesse, and Württemberg royal houses. Even with the Wittelsbach Dynasty’s ascent to the throne of Lombardy, it was not enough to put them at ease.

If these royal houses hadn’t lacked age-appropriate princesses, perhaps the bride chosen for this marriage alliance would have been different. Don’t doubt Franz’s integrity; one is often helpless in the face of politics.

Being unable to win them over through marriage, an alliance with the Wittelsbach Dynasty also served a purpose. The political influence of the Kingdom of Lombardy might have decreased, but nominally, it was still a level transfer.

Negotiations had largely resolved this issue; there were no feuds between the Habsburg Family and the Wittelsbach Dynasty, and smoothing over the unpleasantness through marriage was naturally feasible.

United by common interests, once more they became allies. This also reassured the Saxon, Hesse, and Württemberg royal houses that the Habsburg Family had eating manners—they wouldn’t gobble them up in one mouthful.

Franz could confidently say that they were overthinking it. Not annexing these Sub-States was not only about reducing the difficulty of unification but also because military unification would lead to indigestion.

National unification, unlike external expansion, could not deploy many extreme measures. If the government could not win over the hearts of the people without a major purge, local stability would be unattainable for the next ten or twenty years.

The overthrown royal family and interest groups would want to restore their rule. If unable to do so, they could transform into the Revolutionary Party, flipping the table over, leaving everyone in a poor state.

The French February Revolution is a specific reference. The fact that Napoleon III could be elected president shows the role the Bonaparte party played in this uprising.

The so-called usurpation of the fruits of revolution is not entirely accurate. The Bonapartes had been leaders of the revolution from the start, merely orchestrating from behind the scenes, emerging only at the final moment. How else could Napoleon III have seized power so easily?

As an Emperor, Franz did not wish to leave hidden dangers in his rule. The primary concern had to be stability.

History bears out that Bismarck’s policy for the Second Empire to leave so many Sub-States was not just due to insufficient strength to swallow them but for long-term peace and security.

This approach proved highly effective. No matter how many contradictions existed between local governments and the Central Government, they fell within the rules, and there were never reports of any Sub-State rebelling.

The greatest benefit of annexing these German Confederation states was not resources, strategic advantage, or political gain, but population—specifically, high-quality population.

According to the census two years ago, the population of the Austrian Empire had surpassed thirty-seven million, second only to the Russians on the European Continent, yet the main ethnic group numbered just over eight million seven hundred thousand.

To make the statistics appear better, under Franz’s directive, the Austrian Government deliberately classified some mixed individuals of German descent as German.

Then the size of the main ethnic group inflated rapidly to over ten million three hundred thousand, raising its portion from 23.5% to 27.8%.

Well, that was rather far-fetched. Many individuals with as little as a quarter or an eighth of German blood became classified as German. Franz was not so rigid; a little flexibility made the data look much better.

This issue had finally reached a satisfactory resolution. The proportion of the main ethnic group had at last breached forty percent.

With economic development and the acceleration of population mobility, such cross-ethnic marriages were set to greatly increase in the future.

One must admit, this oldest method of ethnic integration is actually the most effective and least problematic way of achieving it.

The current social backdrop, especially the imbalance in the gender ratio within the Germany Region, with more men than women, creates a pressing social reality. This situation persisted until after WWII before it started to reverse.

The Hungarian Region, on the other hand, had the opposite situation, with more women than men. Aside from the civil war contributing to the reduced number of young males, geographical factors also played a role.

Of course, the situation was even more severe in Serbia and the Two Principalities of the Danube Basin, where, due to war, the number of able-bodied men had drastically decreased.

If nothing was done, Franz was sure these areas would experience negative population growth over the next twenty years, especially in the Serbia region.

All these social conditions created favorable circumstances for ethnic integration. How could Franz possibly pass up such an opportunity?

The current issue was how to get everyone involved in these matrimonial unions, a headache-inducing problem. In this regard, Franz had no successful experience to draw upon.