Chapter 662 Participants
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Prince Karl could only express his gratitude, but there was nothing he could do about it since Sigmaringen was the weakest.
Of course, in addition to Germany, Sigmaringen also has Romania as its backer. The German government also knows what to do just to win over Romania. For Germany, Romania's geographical location is very important. It is an important link for Germany to connect with Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire.
"It's all for Hohenzollern!" Constantine accepted Prince Karl's thanks with peace of mind.
"We, the royal family, will not attend the Berlin Conference this time. Let's pick a minister with outstanding abilities and send him to Berlin to attend this international conference," Ernst said to his father.
There are only a few members of the Hechingen royal family, so they naturally cannot run around at will. This is not only responsible for themselves, but also for the country. Even when Ernst visited Europe last time, he was actually not very willing to do so.
If Friedrich grows up in the future, Ernst may consider it. Now what Ernst fears most is that his foundation will die suddenly with the demise of the Hechingen royal family.
Therefore, Ernst would not be careless when it came to the safety of the royal family members. For example, during this Berlin Conference, they would have to take a ship first and then transfer to a train.
Moreover, the meeting has time requirements, which is very different from his last visit to Europe. In addition, the current world transportation experience is too poor, and Ernst does not want to go through it again and again.
Constantine also thought so. The last time Ernst visited Europe, although he was escorted by the navy, Constantine was still frightened.
There are a lot of relatives among other European nobles, of course, there are also many relatives of the Hechingen royal family. However, Sigmaringen, which has the closest relationship with the Hechingen royal family, is already beyond the five generations of relatives, which means that everyone has the title of Hohenzollern.
In short, the small number of members of the Hechingen royal family greatly restricted its activities, which is why Ernst has been working hard to expand the royal population.
"Well, this kind of international conference should be the first time for East Africa to participate, and we are participating as a powerful country. Therefore, the participants must not be careless. At least they must be familiar with European aristocratic etiquette to avoid mistakes." Constantine said.
Most officials in East Africa are certainly lacking in this regard. After all, aristocratic etiquette is not a compulsory course for East African officials.
Only many officials who have joined the ranks of the nobility will put more effort into European etiquette. After all, in this era, the center of civilization is Europe, and the cultural discourse power in Europe is in the hands of the nobility.
"Let's let Siwei Te go! Siwei Te is young. Going overseas is a hassle after all. Being young means having a strong endurance. Siwei Te's business capabilities are also up to standard. Most importantly, he has rich relevant experience."
Siwei Te has indeed visited many countries, but those countries no longer exist. Those were the indigenous countries that had dealings with East Africa in the past. Except for those who fled to West Africa, not even a remnant of them is left.
Moreover, the chiefs' visits to Africa are naturally different from those who go to Europe for meetings. East Africa can act however it wants in front of the African natives. After all, the natives have no civilization, and East Africa is the dominant party, so there is no need to be polite to the natives.
But this trip to Berlin is different. East Africa must also take sides, or at least make many exchanges of interests.
The countries participating in the conference are basically world powers recognized by the mainstream consciousness of European society. Only three countries are not in Europe, namely the Ottoman Empire, the United States and East Africa.
Others, such as Norway, Denmark... are all considered world powers, which is indeed a bit unreasonable. For example, in Ernst's impression, Norway has always been a country with little presence, and there is nothing special about it except for some resources.
As for Norway’s welfare in the past, it was quite attractive, which is a common feature of Nordic countries, but it was based on the large European market and a small population.
In fact, in Norway's icy environment, it is impossible for the population to increase naturally.
In the 19th century, Norway had nothing and could not be called a "powerful country" in any indicator. Its only advantage might be that it was a "traditional independent European country."
Of course, excluding those countries that are included to make up the numbers, the strength of countries such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, Tsarist Russia, Britain, and France is still worthy of respect.
As for the United States, it is too far away from East Africa. The Ottoman Empire was the one that had its flesh cut off in the past. The Ottoman Empire's territory in North Africa over the years was only short of local autonomy, which was considered good. Most of them directly broke away from the Ottoman Empire and became independent, or were occupied by other powers.
The Ottoman Empire, which has a strong influence in North Africa, will definitely not be well served at this Berlin Conference. After all, the purpose of the Berlin Conference is to divide the African continent.
In fact, if East Africa had not risen in central and southern Africa, the whole of Africa would have been a piece of fat on the European plate.
The most important point about the rise of East Africa is that it makes this Berlin Conference more worthy of its name. After all, there was not even an African country in the previous life. This time, with the participation of East Africa, East Africa can be regarded as the master of half of Africa.
"Our attitude at this Berlin Conference is still mainly to support the German state, but I do not recommend expressing our attitude too clearly. It is best to be consistent with the Austro-Hungarian Empire on this matter, because our two countries are actually just extraterritorial countries." Ernst said.
Like its previous life, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not enthusiastic about its colonies, or rather, it was powerless. The main reason was that its geographical disadvantage was too obvious, and with the interference of East Africa, the current form of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also very different from that of its previous life.
Take the last Russo-Turkish War for example. In the previous life, the last Russo-Turkish War was an important reason for the rapid breakdown of relations between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia. After all, the Ottoman Empire was defeated too quickly in the previous life, and Tsarist Russia fought all the way to Constantinople, which caused panic in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, fearing that Russia would monopolize the interests of the Balkan Peninsula.
In this life, not to mention the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had annexed part of the Italian territory, it was more confident in its own strength. With the help of countries around the world, the Tsarist Russia did not fight very well in the Russo-Turkish War, which eventually turned into a stalemate, making the Austro-Hungarian Empire more secure.
The rational Austro-Hungarian Empire would naturally not overreact as it did in its previous life, angering Tsarist Russia and leading to the disintegration of the Triple Alliance.
Of course, the current relationship between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia cannot be said to be very good. During the Russo-Turkish War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire still made some small moves, such as the incorporation of the Bosnia region into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, overall the relationship between the two countries has been much more relaxed than in the past, and with Germany's mediation, the Three Emperors' Alliance can still be maintained.
Of course, this is also partly related to Italy. The unification of Italy in this life has become a bubble, and Europe has lost a "great power". Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will naturally not choose Italy as an ally as they did in previous lives.
This is actually a good thing for the two countries. After all, Italy's joining may often cause more disadvantages than advantages. In the previous life, Italy defected before the First World War even started, which was an important reason for the failure of the Allies.
(End of this chapter)
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