Chapter 235: Visit To Austria |
Besides simple reminiscing, Carlo and Garibaldi also chatted about his two sons Menotti and Giuseppe.
It had to be admitted that Garibaldi’s resume was quite rich, and his two sons had followed him far and wide, honing quite impressive abilities.
Carlo planned to have Garibaldi’s eldest son Menotti serve as the Minister of Royal Affairs in the Spanish Cabinet, which was Carlo’s trusted confidant on the Cabinet’s surface. In cases where Carlo did not attend Cabinet meetings, the Minister of Royal Affairs would directly represent Carlo.
This already fully demonstrated Carlo’s heavy reliance on Menotti. Although the Minister of Royal Affairs did not have much real power, in terms of status and influence, it was no less than any Cabinet Minister.
Garibaldi’s second son Giuseppe currently held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Royal Guard, and also concurrently served as Commander of the Guard Division.
Although the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Guard was just a nominal position that Carlo had established to control the Spanish Military Committee, no one could be sure whether the Guard would expand in the future.
As the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard, Giuseppe was absolutely Carlo’s most trusted confidant among confidants. Before native officers trusted by Carlo were cultivated to the level of Division Commander, Giuseppe would continue to serve as Commander of the Guard Division.
But it could be certain that once Spain’s native officers possessed sufficient seniority in the future, the candidate for Commander of the Guard Division would definitely be replaced.
Although Carlo trusted Giuseppe enough, it was not a good thing for an officer to stay too long in a single position.
Even if Giuseppe had to step down from the positions of Commander of the Guard Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Guard, his new position would certainly be at a higher level, such as Chief of Staff of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Minister of Defense, or similar roles.
Garibaldi was still quite concerned about his two sons, and after learning that both had performed quite well, Garibaldi was also greatly relieved.
As early as his retirement period, Garibaldi had known that he would never receive heavy reliance from the Italian Royal Family. Besides Garibaldi’s early resume of supporting the Republic, his high prestige in Italy was also a major important reason.
No ruler would like a figure whose merit overshadowed the ruler; it had always been this way from ancient times to the present.
And in Spain, Garibaldi was just an ordinary foreigner, so his two sons naturally would not gain any prestige bonus.
Added to Garibaldi’s favorable impression of Carlo, this was the real reason he was willing to let his two sons go far to Spain instead of staying in Italy to serve domestically.
For now, his choice seemed very correct; the two sons had both received heavy reliance in Spain, and they could also allow the Garibaldi family to gain new life in Spain.
On Caprera Island, Carlo and Garibaldi had a quite pleasant conversation, after which they boarded a warship to return to Rome.
Because King Umberto’s coronation ceremony was to be held in half a year, Carlo also did not plan to continue staying in Italy wasting time.
Before departing, Carlo had already formulated a complete plan, deciding to visit some European countries.
Besides Italy as the first destination, the countries Carlo would visit also included the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, and France.
Actually, given the current cooperative relationship between Spain and Russia, Russia could also be added to the visit list.
But considering that his father-in-law Franz Joseph I did not have a good relationship with the Russians, Carlo ultimately removed the Russians from the list.
Anyway, the Russians were currently at war, and Tsar Alexander II was personally leading the campaign, so there really was no need to visit Russia.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was Spain’s allied country, so visiting the Austro-Hungarian Empire was very necessary. As for why Germany and France were included, it was mainly to make France feel a sense of crisis through visiting Germany, thereby obtaining more benefits from France.
For the current situation in Europe, Carlo saw it quite clearly. In principle, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were allies, and similarly allies with Italy; following the principle that a friend’s friend is also a friend, Spain and Germany should also conclude an alliance.
But in reality, at this time, the alliance between Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy was more of a diplomatic policy, while closeness to Russia was Germany’s active choice.
This was not World War I now; France and Russia had not united, and Germany was more about pulling Russia in.
More importantly, although Germany’s industry had achieved rapid development during this period, Germany, like Spain at this time, was a great power country with little money.
Even if Spain and Germany signed an alliance, the support Germany could give to Spain was really limited, far less attractive than the francs leaking from the fingers of the wealthy French.
Spain was a straw for France to escape Germany’s isolation policy; while the straw was still there, the French would definitely desperately grasp this straw.
But if the straw broke, how crazy the French could get was unpredictable. After all, France was once the European Hegemon, with comprehensive strength that crushed Spain.
Carlo did not want Spain to face France’s military might head-on; it was better to adopt a stance leaning toward neutrality and obtain more benefits from France.
Of course, if the French gave a lot, signing an alliance with the French was not impossible. Anyway, the Germans could not beat them over; even if France and Spain signed an alliance, it would still be France directly confronting Germany.
For this visit to France, Carlo’s demands were not much; getting another loan of five or ten billion francs from France would be ideal.
If he could also get some support in the industrial aspect, plus the cooperation reached with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, etc., Spain would definitely achieve rapid development in the next decade.
Thinking of these, Carlo became even more expectant of the journey for the visits.
Although this trip to Italy was quite hasty, Carlo had also brought several Foreign Secretaries and many important government officials; their purpose for coming was precisely to help Carlo conclude agreements with other European countries.
On January 15, 1878, after staying in Rome for a few days, Carlo took a group of diplomatic officials from Italy by train to Austria.
Before departing, the Spanish Government had already sent telegrams to these countries that needed to be visited, and these countries had also formally sent visit invitation letters to Carlo.
It was precisely because of this that the journey from Italy to Austria went quite smoothly. Besides changing trains midway, nothing else caused any trouble.
The train proceeded all the way and finally arrived at the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna.
At Vienna Train Station, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already organized a grand welcome ceremony.
The visitors included not only Spanish Government officials, but also Carlo as King of Spain, which was enough to make the Austro-Hungarian Empire take it seriously.
Moreover, Carlo was the son-in-law of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so he could be considered half one of their own.
At the train station responsible for receiving Carlo, besides the main officials of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there was also Crown Prince Rudolf, who had previously attended Vittorio Emanuele II’s funeral.
Crown Prince Rudolf was already an adult and in recent years had begun frequently substituting for Franz Joseph I in various diplomatic activities.
After all, Franz Joseph, as Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, could not personally participate in every diplomatic activity.
Although Crown Prince Rudolf was somewhat young, not even 20 years old at most, considering that Carlo was only 7 years older than Rudolf, having young people receive young people was also very appropriate.
Carlo, as Crown Prince Rudolf’s brother-in-law, had a fairly good relationship with Rudolf. When Carlo first met Rudolf, the other was just a teenager in his teens.
More importantly, Queen Sophie, Grand Duchess Gisela, Crown Prince Rudolf, and others had grown up together, and the three had deep affections, which also made Rudolf even closer to Carlo, his brother-in-law.
Seeing Carlo step out of the train carriage, Crown Prince Rudolf took the lead to walk forward, smiling at Carlo and saying: “Welcome to Vienna, Your Majesty Carlo.”
“Alright, Rudolf. There’s no need to be too formal between us; you can just call me brother-in-law.” Carlo smiled and shook hands with Rudolf; he still wanted to maintain a good relationship with his brother-in-law.
The old Emperor Franz Joseph I was still quite capable, but regrettably, his only son Rudolf died young, causing the Austro-Hungarian Empire to lose its heir early.
In the end, Franz Joseph I could only make his nephew serve as Crown Prince, namely the famous Crown Prince Ferdinand.
Even more regrettable was that Rudolf’s death was not due to an unknown illness, but a suicide pact with his mistress.
It was worth mentioning that before Maria Alexandrina von Vetsera became Crown Prince Rudolf’s mistress, Maria’s mother Helena had once suggested to Crown Prince Rudolf that they should have an affair, but Crown Prince Rudolf politely refused.
Unexpectedly, in the end, Helena’s daughter Maria was still taken by Crown Prince Rudolf, but Crown Prince Rudolf also lost the chance to have both mother and daughter.
It had to be admitted that younger girls were more attractive to Crown Prince Rudolf. Before the two became lovers, Crown Prince Rudolf was already 30 years old, while his mistress Baroness Mary was only
Of course, there was still a long time before Crown Prince Rudolf’s suicide pact, and the story might not develop into that ending.
Hearing what Carlo said, Rudolf naturally was no longer polite, nodded with a smile and said: “Welcome to Vienna, brother-in-law. Father is already waiting for you at Schönbrunn Palace and has personally prepared a welcome banquet for you this evening.”
Carlo smiled and nodded, opening his mouth with a smiling face: “Let’s go, first pay a visit to His Majesty Franz Joseph; political matters can be discussed another day.”
Although diplomatic visits inevitably involved negotiations on cooperation between the two countries, these were obviously not for Carlo to handle. At most, Carlo would only confirm some broad aspects of cooperation with Franz Joseph I; as for the small details of negotiations, the officials of the two countries would need to deepen discussions based on the interests of their respective countries.
Although there were many people who came to the train station to receive Carlo, the real welcome ceremony was the one held at Schönbrunn Palace.
After all, he was the ruler of a great power country, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire took this very seriously. Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire currently also needed Spain’s diplomatic support, which was one of the reasons they overemphasized Carlo.
Of course, Carlo had been to Schönbrunn Palace before, but every time he came, he greatly admired its vastness and luxury.
Of course, Spain’s Madrid Royal Palace was no less inferior. But after all, having lived in the Madrid Royal Palace for several years, compared to the infrequently visited Schönbrunn Palace, the Madrid Royal Palace had long become familiar to Carlo.
In fact, Carlo also had the idea of building other palaces in the outskirts of Madrid. Although the Madrid Royal Palace was one of Europe’s three great palaces, because it was located in Madrid City Center, travel in and out had some inconveniences.
Building a new palace in the suburbs of Madrid City would also allow him to gift it to his children in the future. A king would absolutely not mind having too many palaces in hand; after all, for European nobles, the number of palaces, castles, and manors was also a way to prove their heritage and family assets.
These dukes and grand dukes of Spain had countless castles and manors in their hands. Even a random duke had several or even more than a dozen castles and manors, most of which were ancient castles with long historical heritage.
The only proper palace Carlo currently possessed was the Madrid Royal Palace.
He did have several castles and manors, but they were all recovered from rebel nobles, and few were large in scale.
On the square of Schönbrunn Palace, Franz Joseph I had long prepared a grand welcome ceremony for Carlo. Carlo, already accustomed to grand occasions, naturally remained calm and smilingly participated in the entire welcome ceremony.
Afterward, the accompanying officials were received by officials of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Government, while Carlo directly crossed the square of Schönbrunn Palace to pay a visit to Franz Joseph I in his office.
Seeing Franz Joseph I again, he was still that amiable appearance with a smiling face. Franz Joseph I was only 48 years old this year, and from a politician’s perspective, he was still in the golden age of his political career.
In fact, that was indeed the case. Politicians who were too young would always be considered to lack experience, and youth also represented recklessness and rashness.
As the saying goes, no hair on the mouth means unreliable in handling affairs. Politicians serving as Prime Minister in European countries were around 40 to 50 years old, and some older ones even reached 60 to 70 years old.
“Carlo, long time no see.” Franz Joseph I first exchanged pleasantries with Carlo, then directly changed the topic, inquiring about his granddaughter he had not yet met: “Why didn’t you bring Sophia too?”
“This trip was too hasty, and plus Sophia is too young, so I left her with Sophie and the two little ones in Madrid.” Carlo explained.
Carlo understood Franz Joseph I’s desire to see his granddaughter, but this trip was too hasty, and plus the need to visit various European countries, so Carlo did not bring them.
Moreover, Franz Joseph I was indeed still young, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future for the grandfather and grandchildren to meet.
Hearing Carlo’s explanation, Franz Joseph I nodded regretfully but did not say anything.
His two daughters Sophie and Grand Duchess Gisela had both married, and his only son Rudolf was currently unmarried, so the royal palace naturally had few people.
Fortunately, Franz Joseph I himself was not too old; otherwise, his main daily activity might become urging Crown Prince Rudolf to marry.
“The matter of King Vittorio Emanuele is indeed regrettable; God will lead him to Heaven.
Carlo, do not grieve excessively; Spain’s affairs still need you to return and handle. People are always like this, inevitably facing birth, aging, illness, and death; we can only wish them to go to Heaven early and cherish the relatives we can still see.” Franz Joseph I comforted Carlo.
Carlo nodded. His father Vittorio Emanuele II’s death did make him somewhat saddened, but excessive grief was absolutely impossible.
But for such things, Carlo could not refute; he could not just say directly that he was not too saddened, right?
“Since you have come to Vienna, this is a good opportunity to talk to you about our plans on the Balkan Peninsula.” Franz Joseph I said with a smile: “Although the Russians achieved victory in the war, they also made the British firm in their attitude, determined to go to war with them if necessary to prevent Russian expansion on the Balkan Peninsula.
This is actually a good thing for us; perhaps through diplomatic means we can prevent Russia from overexpanding on the Balkan Peninsula, and there are also the British blocking in front of us.”
With the support of the British and Spain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could at least ensure its annexation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, which was also the reason for Franz Joseph I’s smiling face.
As long as they took the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would already be in an invincible position. If they could ensure that Russia gained little from this war, it would simply be doubly good.
Hearing what Franz Joseph I said, Carlo smiled and nodded in response.
The situation on the Balkan Peninsula had little relation to Spain; even if there was to be a fight, it would be the United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire joining forces against Russia.
Even for Carlo, he hoped the Balkan Peninsula would become chaotic. If the three great powers had a major clash on the Balkan Peninsula, how many arms trade orders could Spain sign?
The contest between great powers was not like the Russo-Turkish War with poor firepower, but a shocking scene of millions of soldiers and thousands of cannons bombarding each other.
Even if Spain could only choose to cooperate with one side like the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Russia, the money earned from arms trade would absolutely not be comparable to what was earned in the Russo-Turkish War.
If the Balkan Peninsula really erupted into a war at the great power level, it could also attract the British’ attention. This would be very beneficial for Spain’s expansion of African colonies, at least ensuring that the British would not arbitrarily intervene.
The British meddling nature was something Carlo found quite annoying. If the British really targeted Spain, even a country like Portugal could become a pawn, constantly obstructing Spain’s advance.
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