Chapter 377

Constantinople

A negotiation that would decide the fate of the three empires began. Russia's representative Alexander Menshikov, Austria's representative Mestse, and the Osman Empire's Heldegre Pasha.

The three of them were at daggers drawn, and the negotiations that were full of gunpowder began.

In fact, this was not the case. In diplomatic occasions, everyone tried to restrain themselves, and the negotiations were very harmonious at the beginning.

Except for Heldegre Pasha's gloomy face, the atmosphere of the negotiations was quite harmonious. The negotiations between Menshikov and Mestse went very smoothly.

The contents of the secret treaty between the two countries had been agreed upon, and now that it was brought up on the scene, it was hard not to be harmonious.

The Osman's strategic goal of using the conflict of interests between Russia and Austria in the Balkans to divide the two countries failed.

The representatives of Britain and France who participated in the mediation were dumbfounded. Bullshit three-party talks, the Russians and Austrians had clearly discussed and agreed to slaughter the Osman Empire together.

In less than a morning, Russia's representative Menshikov and Austria's representative Mestse reached a consensus, and the two countries openly divided the Balkans' sphere of influence.

The Osman representative was furious, but they were all civilized people. Even if they were dividing the Osman Empire, they couldn't just say it out loud, right?

Now Russia and Austria's statement was: divide the commercial trade circle, avoid vicious competition, and help the Osman Empire join the civilized world as soon as possible.

Indeed, join the civilized world, but not as the Osman Empire, but after being annexed by the two countries, become a member of the civilized world.

Heldegre Pasha said with a gloomy face, "You two, we appreciate your kindness, but the Osman Empire does not need this kind of help!"

Menshikov replied with a sneer, "It doesn't matter, your country does not need this kind of help now, and it will soon be needed.

For the peace and stability of the world, as the leader of the civilized world, the Russian Empire is obliged to help the Osman Empire progress. "

Weak countries had no diplomacy, and this was vividly reflected here. Even if Britain and France were inclined to the Osman Empire, on the The Balkans, Russia and Austria still had a greater say.

"You, you …" Heldegre was so angry that he couldn't speak.

It was not the first time that the Russians had been pestering endlessly. It was hard to accept that they were being so blatant in a diplomatic setting.

In particular, the phrase "leader of a civilized society" infuriated the British representative, Joseph Edwards. He asked tit-for-tat,

He asked, "When did your country become the leader of the civilized world? How come I didn't know? Do you know? "

Everyone present wanted to laugh, but due to diplomatic etiquette, it was painful to hold it in.

How could it be possible to admit that the Russians were the leaders of the civilized world? No one in Europe, except the Russians themselves, has ever acknowledged it.

If he put it in another way, such as "as a member of the civilized world," perhaps everyone would still be able to accept it.

Forget about the leader of the civilized world. Even if they were allies with the Russians, it was impossible for Mestse to support the Russians on this issue.

Diplomacy had never been the strength of the Russians. The Russians had made a lot of jokes in diplomacy, and they didn't care about one more.

Menshikov's face instantly turned ugly. Didn't everyone say the same thing when they made political announcements?

Whether it was the British or the French, when they colonized overseas, they claimed to be the leader of the civilized world. Of course, the Russians kept up with the times.

Unfortunately, it didn't matter if these words were said in private, but it would be a problem if they were said in a formal diplomatic occasion.

Since he had already spoken, Menshikov had no choice but to press on with it. He bit the bullet and said, "As the strongest country in the European continent, we are naturally the leader of the civilized world."

The British representative Joseph Edwards sneered, "Your Excellency, you forgot to add the word 'army'. By the way, let me remind you that the standard of judgment in the civilized world is not force. That is the practice of barbarians. "

Menshikov said angrily, "Who are you calling barbarians? I want to duel with you!"

…

Looking at Menshikov, who was tricked, Mestse shook his head helplessly. He really couldn't complain about the Russians sending a representative who believed in force.

However, he had to help deal with the aftermath. Otherwise, they would have to fight.

"If you two want to duel, let's change the time and place. Otherwise, we'll be the laughingstock of diplomatic history and go down in history forever. "

Considering the gap in force, Joseph Edwards decisively chose to give up and snorted, "Humph!"

Menshikov was also not a fool. He was just forced into a corner by the British, so he simply went all out. Anyway, there were more than one Russian diplomat dueling with someone.

Of course, dueling in formal diplomatic occasions was rare in this century. A duel at the duke level had never happened. Menshikov didn't want to be the first.

However, the tradition of dueling was still prevalent in Russia. Even the father of Russian literature, Pushkin, died in a duel. It was worth mentioning that Pushkin was also a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

With such a strong smell of gunpowder, the negotiations naturally couldn't continue. Anyway, no one was in a hurry. The expectation of resolving the conflict through negotiations was not high. They would rest for a few days to cool down and then continue the negotiations.

…

Vienna

The farce that happened in Constantinople was naturally unknown to Franz. At this time, he was busy greeting the guests.

As a neighbor, the Bavarian government had always been very wary of Austria. Seeing that Austria had expanded its army, the Bavarian government was worried.

Even if they thought that Austria had designs on the Balkans, they also wanted to repair the relationship between the two countries as soon as possible and remove the possible threat.

Empress Sophie advocated the marriage between the two countries. After Franz delayed time with political needs, she did not refuse the proposal of the Bavarian royalty. Instead, she gave the answer of waiting for a few years.

Worried that the Bavarian Royal Family would have many problems, he simply sent Princess Helen to visit this aunt. Of course, she was not the only one who came. The younger generation of the royal family, including the famous Princess Cecilia in the future.

As the protagonist, Franz naturally had to give face to his mother and personally hosted the welcome banquet.

Europeans matured earlier. Frankly speaking, these two girls were very good-looking. Judging from their words and actions, Princess Helen should have received a good palace education, while Princess Cecilia's performance was much worse.

Don't think that just because they have the title of princess, they are real princesses. If they were in the Eastern monarchies, they could at most be regarded as the daughters of the royal family.

Their father was the Duke of a branch of the royal family, and they were related by blood for more than three generations. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for them to marry Franz, and the Bavarian royalty would not have this idea.

The reason for all this was Empress Dowager Sophie. She and Princess Helen's mother were biological sisters, and their relationship was very good since childhood. Long before Franz succeeded the throne, there was a proposal of marriage.

In contrast, Princess Cecilia was a tragedy. She was born in the countryside and had few opportunities to socialize outside. She had no contact with Empress Dowager Sophie, so naturally, there was no relationship.

This was also one of the reasons for Princess Cecilia's tragedy in history. Her sister, Princess Helen, was raised by Empress Dowager Sophie, so she was naturally favored. She, who intercepted them halfway, obviously couldn't count on Empress Dowager Sophie to have a good face.

This was not all. The Austrian court also had rules, and the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could not actually affect the position of the queen.

But the problem was that Princess Cecilia was the rebellious type and was incompatible with the rules of the court. She often did things beyond her status, which caused the royal family to be criticized.

As time went by, Empress Dowager Sophie naturally intervened to discipline her, and the conflict between the two sides gradually accumulated.

Later on, the voices of criticism became louder and louder. The court of Vienna thought that Princess Cecilia was not qualified to educate the next generation, and Empress Dowager Sophie deprived her of the right to educate her children. The conflict completely intensified.

On these issues, the original owner naturally made decisions that she thought were correct, but in fact, it did not play any role.

Of course, even if it was anyone else, they would not be able to solve this problem. Unless Princess Cecilia's character was completely changed, tragedy was inevitable.

If the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could still be mediated, the problem of children's education could also be handled by the father. Then the political pot would be very fatal.

Especially on the issue of the birth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, she, the queen, was supported by the Hungarian people, but also stood on the opposite side of the Austrian people.

For a time, the voice of the queen's expulsion became the mainstream in Vienna, which showed how difficult the situation she was facing was.

History and movies were completely different concepts. The protagonist's tragedy was not so much caused by the court, but also by herself.

The rules of the court of Vienna bound her and protected her at the same time. If these rules did not exist, she would probably be the first queen of Austria to be deposed.

Looking back at history, Franz did not make any comments. While enjoying the convenience brought by her birth, she also had to pay for it.

Before this political marriage, Princess Cecilia's parents did not hold any positions and had been far away from the center of power.

On the surface, the rural life seemed beautiful, but in fact, Duke Maximilian was forced by economic difficulties and had to stay away from the big city.

In other words, the family could not afford to hire a private tutor, so they could only go to public school with others. Naturally, skipping classes was convenient.

Just look at Franz. A student being watched by dozens of teachers, want to skip classes? Dream on! Do you know that if you skip classes, the teachers will have a collective holiday?

Don't think that the nobles were very rich. For people like them, who were far away from the center of power for a long time and did not engage in production, how could they maintain the expenses of the great nobles?

This could be seen from Princess Qian Qian's shabby dowry. The dowry she received as a queen when she married was not even enough for the expenses of a large banquet held by Franz.

Empress Dowager Sophie asked with a smile, "Franz, what are you thinking about? Are you fascinated? "

Franz casually found an excuse and said, "No, I was just thinking about the negotiations with Constantinople."

Empress Dowager Sophie said with a smile, "Is that so? There are guests today, please leave these questions for after the banquet! "

In any case, she was very satisfied with Princess Helen's performance. Her only regret was that her birth was a little low, but it was her niece, so she did not care about this.

"Yes, mother!" Franz said with a smile.

No matter what, he still had to give his mother face. Franz invited the two little cousins for a dance and asked them out to talk about life.

In fact, he did not do anything. Franz simply did not like to participate in this kind of noble banquet. Being surrounded and flattered every day, he would get tired after a long time.

Next, there were two more little lolis in the palace of Vienna.