Chapter 52 002 Archduke Joseph is in a state of uncertainty

Chapter 52 002 Archduke Joseph is in a state of uncertainty
As for the last batch of Russian troops going to Vienna, Paul actually didn't know who to send except for the few regiments that had been confirmed.

Of the four large regiments of the Guards and the Guards Chasseur Battalion, he finally only sent the Izmailov Regiment to the border, but did not issue an order to continue marching into the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, so they remained on standby at the border.

The rest of the troops have already entered the Hungarian region one after another. They are very busy now and are always on the road.

At the same time, there were relatively few cavalry troops among the troops that set out. The troops operating in the Mediterranean and the Netherlands did not have cavalry units due to problems with horse transportation. On the battlefield in the middle of South Germany-Switzerland-Northern Italy, the journey itself was very difficult, and the cavalry mainly relied on the Austrians.

Except for the Petersburg Lancers Regiment following Korsakov, many of the cavalry units dispatched by the Russian army were temporary teams or small squads, and the majority were infantry.

A few old guys who had served in the military for more than 20 years and were about to retire started talking about it.

"Alas, when we were fighting the Turks on the Danube, we didn't have many cavalry. I was a rookie at the time, but I heard from the veterans! Guess what? Old guys like me who had served in the army for 22 years said that when they were young, they would set up positions and wait for the Turks to come and die! Now, there are no cavalry anymore, and I don't know if those Germans can understand us!"

"So what, old man? We'll still have to fight the French soldiers when the time comes!"

"Although the emperor is impatient, he is very kind to us soldiers! We old men have been serving since the time of the empress, and we were not allowed to retire back then! Now that we have a good emperor, I don't know how much more effort I can give him!"

"Don't talk too much while marching!"

These soldiers continued to move forward and could only stop and rest when they found a village.

According to the agreement reached between the Russian and Austrian emperors through the Russian Diplomatic Academy and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austrian towns and villages along the way must provide supplies and transportation to the Russian army, so that they can speed up their march.

In some places, Russian soldiers and their artillery were simply pulled forward on Austrian roads by horse-drawn carriages.

However, in order to advance lightly, the Russian army rarely brought out the heavy artillery that it had previously attached great importance to at home. The main guns were 6-pound guns and half-Unicorn guns, but the number of the latter was also limited.

The equipment was brand new, and the military uniforms were also new uniforms issued before the expedition. Each regiment marched very quickly. Prince Bagration, who received the order to march first, reached the Russian border first because the Chasseur Regiment he commanded was in St. Petersburg, and had now advanced to the vicinity of Vienna.

Some of the troops in the rear were still in Russian territory. The Russian emperor's 100,000-strong army was dispatched in three routes, which gave the Austrian court great confidence.

However, Grand Duke Joseph, who came to St. Petersburg, was now confused.

There is no problem with the Russian army sending troops, as these are the terms of the alliance that the two countries have previously confirmed. However, as for the marriage, it actually requires a blind date in Russia, which gives him a headache.

The Habsburg court also knew that Archduchess Alexandra was a little afraid of marriage because of the King of Sweden. From the perspective of "blind date", these Austrian girls are very attractive and men like them as soon as they see them, but men...
Solovyov had seen the appearance of the Austrian emperor. Franz II looked like the old prince who had recently ascended the throne in England, and the men in their family had the same faces. Only Archduke Karl and Archduke Johann were better, but one of them was unhappy and the other was stupid.

In addition, there is the Habsburg's big chin. I guess asking Madame Le Brun to "beautify" the then Holy Roman Emperor Charles V would have dislocated the hands of both her and Julie. It is not a job that ordinary people can take on!
Now it has been passed to the Habsburg-Lorraine lineage. After years of genetic repair through intermarriage, the Austrian girls are all radiant, but the pit dug before was too big. The problem with men was not completely corrected until Franz Joseph. You see, the modern Habsburgs look much more normal.

Archduke Joseph is now worried and looks in the mirror every day, fearing that Alexandra might see something that would make her uncomfortable.

The more he did this, the more he revealed his strong lack of confidence. Although he was the Vice King of Hungary, it was just a status, and the focus still depended on performance. Especially the five sisters in the Winter Palace, the older ones were a bit sharp-tongued and their words were sharp.

This small group of girls in the Winter Palace had a new guest, the unfortunate eldest princess Marie Therese of France.

As soon as Anna saw her, she wanted to hug her. There was no other reason. Her two sisters-in-law were slim, but not as slim and spectacular as her. Although they had hardly been touched by men, it was already a very strong maternal signal. Considering that Anna was the youngest among the sisters, it was not strange for her to ask a strange sister for a hug.

Therese, who was a little arrogant when she was a child in Versailles, received such a warm welcome in the Winter Palace after living a nightmare life for her in the past few years. After all the ups and downs, she was actually very moved.

She was invited by Alexandra because she had met Archduke Joseph and was asked to give an evaluation of the Austrian archdukes.

Although she had to call Archduke Joseph her cousin, after all, her mother was Emperor Leopold's sister, but her impression of Joseph was that he was a good person in all aspects.

Indeed, these people from the Hungarian Habsburg branch, their small court and Teschen's court will be good in the future and can be considered loved by the locals, but that is the result of long-term accumulation. If it only looks good at the first glance, it may not work.

I personally had a particularly bad experience with the French princess during her stay in Vienna.

Of these cousins, the one she had the best impression of was Archduke Karl, who was in the military camp all day and whom she rarely met. After all, he was the one who led the army to fight against the "rebels" in her eyes. If the Bourbon monarchy was to be restored, judging by the performance of her relatives, it was this Archduke who was both civil and military but in poor health who had to make the most efforts. It was hard to describe the others.

As for Joseph, he handles government affairs on behalf of his elder brother in Budapest on a daily basis. Although he is a good worker, he is indeed a bit awkward when it comes to women.

These chattering princesses, of course, did not know that Joseph was one of the few men in the Habsburg court who cared more about his wife, and it was impossible for anyone to know that he was a wife-killer.

However, the boredom written all over one's face, the lack of humor, and the lack of talent in other areas except language talent are indeed likely to cause points to be deducted.

After hearing this, Alexandra wished she could find a monastery to become a nun and give up on getting married.

I'm afraid there is always Paul's psychological suggestion involved in this. He is indeed afraid of losing his eldest daughter.

“Pourquoi toujours moi?” (Why is it always me?)

Recently, she seemed to have borrowed her sister-in-law's tear glands. She held a fan in one hand and a collection of poems in the other, and just kept crying.

"Alexandra Que s'est-il passé?" (What happened to Alexandra?)

Elena also needs to explain to Therese the diplomatic incident of the marriage between Alexandra and the King of Sweden.

The eldest princess of France was also careless. She was locked up in the castle during that time. Her parents and sister-in-law were all beheaded, and she knew almost nothing about the outside world.

Even at 17 Nevsky Prospekt, with the Count and his wife giving her extra lessons, she couldn't remember everything at once. I have to apologize here repeatedly, but I don't blame her, I'm telling the truth.

While these people were chatting, Louisa also entered the room. She didn't bring a nanny today and was holding the child in her arms.

Speaking of poor Therese, the Russian Crown Princess had heard of her. This kind of misfortune of losing a loved one is easy to gain sympathy within the royal family.

And as she sat there holding her daughter, obviously noticing her niece who had already gone to sleep, the chattering sisters-in-law were now silent again, and it was Alexandra who was wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

"There is a banquet tonight, Marie-Thérèse, you are our honored guest, and everyone should forget the unpleasant things." (There is a banquet tonight, Marie-Thérèse, you are our honored guest, and everyone should forget the unpleasant things.)
That being said, she also wanted the French princess to try to hug her.

Moving from her mother's arms to a larger and softer environment, little Donnia slept very soundly.

As for why I say this, just think about the height and body shape of the recent generations of the Bourbon royal family.

However, due to the environment in recent years, this eldest princess probably won’t have a double-door figure like her aunt, but more like her mother.

To be honest, several Russian princesses with poor figures are now beginning to envy this body shape. Although the eldest princess of France is an adult, it is obviously different when she holds her niece and when she holds her niece.

Especially Ekaterina, her ribs are angular, and she will cry if you hold her in your arms. This is because she is too young. Holding a niece is different from holding a baby.

The scene today was the same. When Maria came to hold Tonya, she woke up and cried for a while. Then she was put back into the arms of the French princess and fell asleep with her thumb sucked after a while.

Children always like soft places.

They also wished the French princess to find a suitable husband, and the ladies present were highly unanimous in this regard.

Archduke Joseph is attending the banquet today. His talent for languages ​​is truly extraordinary. Even Hungarian, a language that may be difficult to learn in Europe, he has mastered it very fluently.

And considering the image issue and the fact that he had always represented Hungary in the Habsburg royal family, since he was elected Vice King of Hungary in 1796, he generally wore Hungarian costumes in public except for royal dress.

The most famous Hungarian costume is probably the one worn by the Hussars. Archduke Joseph himself also has the advantage of being a good rider, although these are just basic equipment.

However, it seems that except for Catherine, the other Russian grand duchesses do not have a good impression of the Hussars' uniform.

The hussar officers who were always causing trouble on the riverbank, no matter which regiment they were from, did not have a very good reputation.

Joseph did perform well in terms of interests, but he didn't know that although he represented Hungary behind him, he would have another deduction from Alexandra.

Although ignorance is not a crime, this can only mean that he was unlucky on this blind date.

There will be some opportunities to remedy the situation later, but how the situation will develop is beyond his control.

But another major task of his trip was to personally hand over a handwritten letter inviting Marshal Suvorov to join the expedition to Tsar Paul on behalf of his brother Joseph.

On the issue of the overall situation, Tsar Paul has verbally informed Grand Duke Joseph that he will soon issue an order that in addition to Marshal Suvorov's expedition, there may be subsequent reinforcements.

Although the Tsar himself would not lead the army in person, the troops sent out were the elite of the Russian Army except for the Guards. Many veterans with rich combat experience were distributed among the troops named "Musketeers".

However, when it came to the important matter of his life, Archduke Joseph did not receive any evaluation from Paul.

It seemed that only the Russian Queen was very satisfied with him. When Paul himself looked at this clothes, the scene of the Hungarian Hussars chasing the Prussian army would emerge in his mind. As a veteran Prussian and French cavalryman, he did not like this scene.

But he also gave Joseph some time. At least this Grand Duke had good character. If it were any other prince or duke, this matter would probably have been blown off on the spot.

At the same time, Alexandra was also planning her own future. She thought of her cousin in Württemberg, but the question was whether her mother would agree, especially since her uncles were the matchmakers. If she showed the Austrians how the Swede broke off the engagement in front of her and married her sister-in-law's sister instead, how would the Austrians accept it?

Thinking about how bad her own future would be, she hid in her bedroom and cried again.

At the same time, the envoy from St. Petersburg was rushing to the Konchanskoye Manor, carrying a handwritten letter from Paul to Alexander Vasilyevich.

After completing his mission, Joseph returned to his residence. He knew that the woman did not like him, so he just sighed to himself. But his brother's mission had been completed, Paul's messenger had set off, and the mission at the national level had been completed.

He thought about what problems would arise if a princess of the Russian royal family married into his Hungarian court.

To be honest, if he was an ordinary prince of a small German court, the pressure might not be so great.

Elena's marriage to Mecklenburg went relatively smoothly. After getting acquainted with her future brother-in-law who stood guard in the palace all day long with a heroic look on his face, she actually thought that her sister could also marry a prince from a smaller court, as a marriage with the Habsburgs was indeed too much of a burden.

Of course, the key to the problem lies with the Tsar himself. Although Louisa's childbirth was safe, he has been cautious since then and was reluctant to marry the Habsburgs, so he brought out additional diplomatic clauses to impose restrictions.

I hope nothing goes wrong during this expedition.

Even postponing my daughter's wedding date until things become clear is a feasible solution.

(End of this chapter)