Chapter 50

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Chapter 50: About the Marriage Arrangement

Schleswig and Holstein, these two places have many conflicts because of historical problems.

Half of the people are from Denmark, half are from Germany, half are Protestant, half are Catholic, and even some are Eastern Orthodox. There are Danish nobles and German landowners. The excellent agriculture environment has led to a strong farming industry, but industrial capitalists are trying to take land from the farmers.

In theory, these two places belong to German traditional influence, but they are controlled by the Kingdom of Denmark. The clash between German and Danish cultures has made the Kingdom of Denmark try to absorb these two places for hundreds of years, pressuring and oppressing the German people in an attempt to drive them away.

The first Schleswig War started when the German people in the two places awakened to their national identity and began to resist Danish rule with the encouragement of Prussia, but they faced brutal suppression from Denmark.

This event caused great anger in the German region, and the people demanded that the German Confederation declare war on Denmark. The enthusiasm for war among the people was spreading, but the German princes chose to remain silent and tried to divert attention to defuse the war frenzy.

The Kingdom of Denmark is currently in a semi-puppet state of the Russian Empire, as Russia seeks to meddle in Central European affairs through Denmark.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Denmark served Napoleon as a vassal. After Napoleon’s defeat, Denmark naturally distanced itself, but in recent years, France has sought to regain influence over Denmark.

The Danish navy once ranked among the top three in the world but suffered heavy losses at the hands of the ruthless tactics of the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark harbors a deep enmity towards England, as England seeks to contain Russia and France and continually tries to influence Denmark.

Russia, France, and England all want Denmark to serve their interests. Denmark, situated between Central and Northern Europe, is a crucial strategic point influencing Prussia and the United Kingdom of Sweden-Norway.

Austria didn’t want the dog, but Austria hoped that Denmark could make Prussia upset. Just like the other three countries, they didn’t want Prussia to be powerful and didn’t want Prussia to attack Denmark.

The international situation was complicated. Prussia couldn’t attack Denmark, even if Denmark harmed German people in Schleswig and Holstein. There were plenty of reasons for war, but Prussia couldn’t act. The worst scenario could lead to a joint attack from Russia, France, England, and Austria. No one in Europe wanted Prussia to become stronger.

To start a full-scale war against Denmark, the timing, location, and people had to be just right. Without the perfect timing, even the peak period Iron Chancellor in the Earth’s history would have no solutions, let alone the young Anna from the Blue Star.

That’s why Leader One chose proxy war, providing some weapons, sending a small number of secret military advisors, and supporting the German people in Schleswig and Holstein to resist Danish rule.

The first Schleswig War was only a limited proxy war for Prussia. They couldn’t disrupt their precious rapid development period or engage in war forcefully when the international situation was unfavorable.

By the second Schleswig War, Prussia would become powerful enough, and Leader One’s little Anna would grow to her peak. Then, they could demand Denmark to surrender.

The German princes had started all sorts of colorful activities. The newspapers were filled with bizarre news to distract the public’s attention.

Meanwhile, Prussia chose to have the prince regent get married, diverting people’s focus from the thoughts of war.

Cabinet Secretary Schultz presented three candidates for political marriages.

The second princess of Russia. However, although Leader One’s older sister is currently the queen of the czar, Russia has allied with another country before and still doesn’t like Prussia. Lately, Russia has been trying to get closer to the South German states, and has been acting friendly towards France.

The younger sister of the queen of Portugal is also not a suitable match. Portugal is having a civil war with England and France, and Austria is getting involved too, causing trouble for the royal family.

Baron Schultz, "If you don’t like the first two options, there’s also…"

Leader One, "Of course not, I think you never intended for me to choose."

"There’s also the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg is located between two parts of Prussia’s land, with its capital city of Schwerin forming a quadrilateral with Berlin, Hamburg, and Hannover."

"Mecklenburg used to be friendly with Russia, but now wants to get closer to Prussia. If you marry this female duke, there’s a good chance Prussia can directly annex the country and gain around 14,000 square kilometers of land, along with a large agricultural population. The surplus of agricultural workers can help improve Prussia’s agriculture."

"Your Highness, how do you plan to choose?"

Cabinet Secretary Schultz’s strategy is clear, despite offering three options, only one is suitable for the prince regent to choose. The option he hopes the prince regent will choose is the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, which would be beneficial for Prussia. In theory, Leader One should choose this option.

However, Leader One said, "I don’t want any of these three."

Mecklenburg didn’t want to marry because it was stuck between two powerful places, East Prussia and West Prussia, and seemed like it would be taken over. It mainly had small towns and counties without a strong central government, so it was just waiting to be taken over by Prussia. There was no need for it to marry anyone.

Baron Schultz looked shocked and said, "The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg is a big fan of yours. The nobles in Germany all think you will marry her. If you choose to marry someone else, the Grand Duchess might turn against Prussia."

"Let’s go to war then. I can’t defeat Denmark alone right now, but I can easily conquer Mecklenburg without having to mobilize for war," Leader One said carelessly.

"Well, Your Highness, there’s another option."

Schultz sighed. The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg promised him the title of a count. But seeing the Regent’s lack of interest, that title was unlikely. He could only choose to obtain the position of an English viscount from a different candidate.

In Earth’s history, Queen Victoria’s father passed away when she was one year old, and she became the ruling queen at 18 years old.

In an alternate history on Blue Star, Queen Victoria became the queen at 14, with both parents still alive. This year, at 19, she was being overshadowed by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and also had a younger brother and sister.

Queen Victoria wanted to marry off her sister, Princess Elizabeth, to Leader One, hoping that Prussia would help her gain power back from the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Baron Schultz was to arrange this marriage, and in return, he would become an English viscount.

At first, Leader One hesitated about this marriage proposal, but after seeing Princess Elizabeth’s portrait, he found her to be very beautiful and suitable to be a gentle queen. She seemed more beautiful than her sister, Queen Victoria.

Baron Schultz asked, "Your Highness, do you really plan to marry and help Queen Victoria take the throne?"

"I’ve always been a freeloader, can we hurry up and get married?" Leader One said with a happy face.

Schultz looked at Leader One with a beastly look and said, "Princess Elizabeth is only fifteen years old, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Let’s finalize an engagement this time and get married when the people need some entertainment next time."

"Oh, by the way," Baron Schultz left the office but then popped his head back in, "Your Highness, please enhance the security measures recently. I sense that the grudges of two women have reached a dangerous level, you might be in danger of an assassination."

Leader One (scared), "Catherine might want to kill me and my future descendants."

Leader One (even more scared), "I have no idea what Anna might do to me…"