Chapter 390: The Shaw Clan Produces Its First Emperor
Chapter 390: The Shaw Clan's First Emperor
"Where were you and your son when our guerrillas, led by Sophie, were bleeding and sacrificing their lives?"
"Where were you when the Lucia Volunteer Army, led by Shao, was fighting a bloody battle with the enemy?"
"Where were you when the Ottomans were slaughtering our people?!"
"Thieves who want to reap the fruits of victory for nothing, get out!"
As a young nobleman who was born and raised in privileged conditions, Alexander Joseph had never seen this before. He immediately hid behind his father.
Aren't the rulers of a country appointed by the nobles? When did the mob start to express their own will?
Old Alexander had seen a lot and sneered, "Hmph, I heard that the backbone of the Bulgarian Restoration Army and the guerrillas are of Irish descent from the Americans. This is bringing the American idea that there is no father or king to Bulgaria."
Europe is not a barbaric land like the New World. The Netherlands and France have restored their monarchies. Does Bulgaria still want a republic?
Old Alexander looked back at the leaders of the peacekeeping forces of the four powers and said, "You are the ones who invited my son, so you have to be responsible for him."
Well, two of the heads of the peacekeeping forces of the four great powers, Britain, Austria-Hungary, Qing Dynasty and Russia, were Qing people, Liu Jintang, the admiral of the Sinai Province of Qing Dynasty, and Xu Bangdao, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Crimea, Count of Kerch.
The leaders of the four armies immediately prepared to mobilize troops to suppress the rioters.
British Colonel Wells was the most impolite, "Come here, set up the Hotchkiss rapid-fire gun!"
The heads of the other three countries were about to follow suit when they suddenly saw the citizens of Sofia across the street raising the flag of the Sofia Guerrillas. On the flag was a large portrait of "Liberty Leading the Bulgarian People" fluttering in the wind.
In the portrait, isn’t the hero wearing a rose wreath on his head from the new tricolor flag that the rioters raised?
This male protagonist looks familiar, he is Shao Quanzhong’s younger brother Shao Quanxiao!
Liu Jintang and Xu Bangdao looked at each other and stopped suddenly.
The leader of the peacekeeping force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a staunch supporter of Emperor Franz I. He had accompanied Emperor Franz I on a visit to the Qing Dynasty. When he saw the flag, he immediately understood something and went to Colonel Ravils, "Don't you British support Shao's people taking the throne?"
Colonel Wells understood immediately, turned around and looked at Alexander and his son with a smile, "We can protect you in the church for the coronation, but - our peacekeeping force will withdraw eventually, you see -"
Old Alexander was a smart man. It seemed that the great powers no longer supported him. What was the point of doing anything?
He has no troops directly under his command. Once the peacekeeping forces leave, the rioters will most likely follow the example of the French and send their sons to the guillotine. This is not a good business.
Alexander and his son fled Sofia in disgrace under the escort of the peacekeeping force and returned to Germany with regret.
The whole city of Sofia cheered and elected a Bulgarian parliament composed of 700,000 guerrilla leaders.
Sophie, the Bulgarian national hero and the most prestigious female guerrilla leader, was elected Speaker with an absolute majority of votes.
The world is paying attention to Bulgaria, and a large number of reporters are rushing to Sofia to find news. Will this new country become another republic in Europe?
Three days later, the Parliament building in Sofia welcomed the main leaders of the Bulgarian Restoration Army, Lieutenant General Commander Potowski and Major General Chief of Staff Shao Quanxiao, who had arrived from the Pleven Fortress.
Bulgarian female speaker Sophie was so enthusiastic that she hugged Shao Quanxiao and refused to let go, "Shao, we finally meet again."
"Uncle Garibaldi has died, and I was almost captured by the Ottomans several times. Now that we have won, and luckily we are all still alive, you must go to my hometown in Rose Valley to marry me."
Uh, Shao Quanxiao has never experienced this, it's quite embarrassing. Which - when the eldest brother was taken up the mountain by Liu Niang and her sister-in-law, it seems that he has never experienced this scene, right?
Although the third sister-in-law was born a bandit, she is actually quite feudal. The enthusiasm of this beautiful Mao girl is really hard for her to bear.
Potowski laughed, "Love finally gets married. I must stay and drink your wedding wine before I leave."
Sophie let go of Shao Quanxiao and said, "Commander, you have made great contributions to the restoration of Bulgaria. You will definitely be able to hold an important position in the new Bulgarian government. Why do you want to go back?"
Potowski shook his head. "Sophie, we are comrades with the same ideals. You should understand me." "Uncle Garibaldi is my idol. He is an Italian who came all the way to Bulgaria. Did he do this to become an official? He is one of the founding fathers of Italy. Couldn't he become a high-ranking official if he stayed in Italy?"
"Bulgaria is independent, but my motherland is Russia. I want to learn from my predecessor Garibaldi, retire after success, and return to Russia to serve my country, even if I can only be a soldier."
Sophie understood Potowski's thoughts and did not try to persuade him to stay. She turned around and looked at Quan Xiao, "Shao, you must stay. The parliament has discussed and is planning to invite you to be the Tsar of Bulgaria."
This was a shocking statement that made Shao Quanxiao feel terrified. "Tsar? Are you kidding? I am the Prime Minister of the Crimean Principality. I have to go back——"
"No, Shao! You can't go back. I need you, and Bulgaria needs you too. As a new country, we cannot survive in the chaotic Balkan Peninsula without a strong backer. The Shao family is our most reliable backer."
"Then there's no need to be emperor - isn't Alexander going to be the Grand Duke of Bulgaria?"
Sophie's eyes were full of firm belief. "All of us Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula share a common ideal, to build a strong Slavic country. Currently, only the position of Tsar can unite all the southern Slavs."
Sophie opened the door to the balcony, "Listen to the voice of the people!"
Sophie pulled Shao Quanxiao to the balcony of the parliament, and the gathered people immediately cheered like thunder and waves, "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
"Do you see the flags that the people are waving? The rose wreath I gave you has been added to the Bulgarian tricolor flag. You commanded the Restoration Army, fought hard for the restoration of Bulgaria, and dealt a heavy blow to the Ottoman devils. Your contributions are remembered by the people."
"No one is more worthy to wear the Bulgarian crown than you, my hero, my love!"
When the news came out that the Bulgarian people had nominated Shao Quanxiao to be Tsar, the great powers were relieved.
Bulgaria did not become a republic without a father or a king, did not destroy the European imperial tradition, and returned to the circle of friends of the emperor and the king. Various countries immediately sent congratulatory messages of support.
Even Alexander II in St. Petersburg sent a congratulatory message. Bulgaria and Russia already had two tsars, and the Slavs had no idea that they couldn't have two emperors.
Shao Quanzhong was a member of the Romanov family, and so was Shao Quanxiao. With him as the leader of the southern Slavs, the Slavs suddenly became powerful in Europe.
Generally speaking, they have the power to compete with the Latin and Germanic peoples for hegemony over Europe.
Anyway, the Southern Slavs cannot be incorporated into Russia for the time being, so the stronger the Slavs are, the better. Alexander II viewed this issue from the strategic perspective of the Slav patriarch.
The Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul, Antiochus VI, expressed his willingness to crown Shao Quanxiao as Tsar, but was rejected by the Bulgarian Parliament.
The Bulgarian Parliament publicly declared that "the Tsar of Bulgaria was elected by the Bulgarian people and cannot accept the coronation of the Patriarch who is controlled by the reactionary forces of the Ottoman Empire, nor does it need it."
"The Bulgarian people have the right to choose their own tsar."
On August 1872, 8, Sophia Square was crowded with people and filled with rose-crowned tricolor flags.
Sofia's skilled craftsmen specially made a rose wreath inlaid with rubies as the crown for the new tsar.
The Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Sophie, dressed in her best clothes, personally placed the rose crown on Shao Quanxiao's head.
Amid the cheers of hundreds of thousands of people at the scene, the spotlights of reporters from all over the world flashed non-stop.
Shao Quanxiao was crowned the Tsar of Bulgaria, and the Shao family produced the first emperor.
(End of this chapter)