The bribery problem of General Shuvalov was solved, but another bigger trouble was in front of the three of them, that is, General Shuvalov wanted Princess Elizabeth to marry to Russia, which was actually to marry the princess to Grand Duke Sergei.

General Shuvalov also admitted to the crown prince and the old prime minister in private that he hoped that a German princess would marry in Russia, and the purpose was to hope that Germany could increase its influence in the Russian court.

For General Shuvalov's starting point, both the crown prince and the old prime minister agreed, but Joey was not interested. But if Princess Elizabeth was asked to marry Russia, Crown Prince Frederick and Joy were unwilling to agree anyway.

The reason why Crown Prince Frederick could not agree is very simple, he already regards Princess Elizabeth as his eldest daughter-in-law, and it is impossible to sacrifice his son's happiness for the so-called national interests. Just like in history, for the love of his daughter Princess Victoria and the Grand Duke of Bulgaria, he did not hesitate to turn his face with the entire German court.

As for Joey, it's even simpler, he tried his best to change history, especially if he wanted to change the fate of Princess Elizabeth, if he let history repeat himself again, wouldn't this be a slap in the face of Joey? For the sake of the dignity of a traverser, Joy would never have accepted such a thing.

What's more, the Germans in history, whether men or women, as long as they were converted to Orthodox Christianity, all regarded Prussia as an enemy, and Peter III, the only Tsar in history who loved Prussia, was finally destroyed by Catherine, who was also from Germany and converted to Orthodox Christianity.

Married far away from Moscow, far away from the land of European civilization, it is estimated that there is no German aristocratic girl who is grateful to her motherland, Germany, and Joey thinks that this kind of stupidity should be left to the British, Danes, and even Belgians to do.

Compared with history, Joey's life is much more low-key.

You must know that in the original history, the old prime minister was an active promoter of Princess Elizabeth's marriage to Russia and preventing Princess Victoria's love. And in Joey's time and space, because of the early comeback of the crown prince and the early oath of allegiance by the old prime minister to the crown prince, the old prime minister is more neutral in these two things.

Even if he is biased towards neutrality, the old chancellor, from the perspective of the so-called national interest, still can't help but remind that between Germany's national interests and Princess Elisabeth's personal happiness, personal happiness is a small matter, and the national matter is a big matter.

Crown Prince Frederick, a liberal and nationalist believer, was visibly upset when he heard this suggestion, and after a hint of obvious anger crossed his face, he exclaimed, "Your Royal Highness, the relationship between Germany and the Germans is equal, and there is no question of who is superior to whom and who is subordinate to whom. ”

"The first article of the constitution of the empire is that the king is under the law. In the laws of the empire, no matter who is equal before the law, from the monarch to the poor, whether it is Germany or the empire, everyone is equal in legal status, and there has never been a law that says that individuals must sacrifice everything for the monarch and for the country! ”

"Today, in the name of Germany, to sacrifice the happiness of Princess Elizabeth means that tomorrow there can be someone in the name of Germany, in the name of Germany, at the expense of His Royal Highness, at the expense of me, at the expense of anyone, as long as he is in the name of Germany, in the name of the Empire."

"Your Royal Highness, remember that the original meaning of the word German is the people. The German Empire was established to protect every German from oppression and enslavement, to enjoy freedom and happiness, not to sacrifice the happiness and freedom of a German in the name of the German state. ”

"To force Princess Elisabeth to sacrifice her own happiness would be contrary to the original intention of all those who were committed to the establishment of the German nation-state."

When Joey heard his father talk about the relationship between the collective and the individual, he couldn't help but think of Leonard Trelawney Hobhouse, the great liberal, who famously spoke about the state and the individual in the book "Liberalism".

"Society is made up entirely of individuals, but it does not possess a unique personality separate from the personality of its members and superior to the person of each member."

"The state is a unity, but this unity is made up of certain ties that unite all the people, these ties are ideas, patriotism, fellow manship, common pride, and countless other subtle and delicate emotions that unite people who speak the same language, share a common history, and understand each other."

"The state is not a mysterious entity beyond all the people who live together and who obey the common laws. The life of a country is the life of every citizen, and the happiness or misfortune of a country is the happiness or misfortune of every citizen. ”

"Therefore, the common good to which every man's rights are subordinate is a good that every man can share. This sharing consists in giving full play to his faculties of perception and love, of his mental and physical powers, and in the process of giving full play to these faculties and powers, he has done his duty in social life, that is, in the common good I have come to my own interests"

"When the freedom of the individual is safeguarded, it means that the public interest is safeguarded."

When his father spoke of Article 1 of the Imperial Constitution and the king's law, Joey's mind came up with Hobhouse's discussion of the "contract society" in his book "The Metaphysical Theory of the State".

"All human beings are born free, but in real life. Freedom, however, is subject to social and political constraints, and in order to ensure that everyone fully enjoys freedom, the rule of law in the state and society is the only basis for the realization of individual freedom. ”

"Liberty should be based on equality, and liberty based on inequality can only lead to privilege. All persons are equal before the law, and in the same way should be equal before opportunities. ”

Mr. Hobhouse's whole life was devoted to fighting with a great teacher of his time, and this great teacher liked to attack Mr. Hobhouse's point of view, that is, Mr. Hobhouse's view: "The amount of private property of an individual determines the degree of freedom enjoyed by an individual, and the right to private property is an important basis for individual freedom. ”

The Great Teacher, on the other hand, believed that individuals should not own private property, but should have no property, and then communize together, and that the middle class with private property is the main obstacle to the capitalist society's march to paradise on earth, and that the elimination of the middle class will lead to world harmony.

As long as everyone's property is shared, the issue of equal political and legal status will also be solved.

As an egoist, Joey, who likes to emphasize individual struggle and teamwork, and likes liberal ideas, is naturally close to Mr. Hobhouse, who has similar ideas, so he resonates with his father, who also advocates liberalism.

Looking at the somewhat embarrassed old prime minister, Joy smiled and said, "My lord, the purpose of the existence of the German Empire is to seek happiness and interests for each of its members, and the collective interests are the sum of the individual interests of each member. Therefore, there was no situation in the German Reich that demanded the sacrifice of personal interests to satisfy national interests. ”

"As soon as it is discovered that the existence of the empire exists at the expense of his personal interests, our empire will immediately cease to exist! It's human nature! Join a collective, or be part of a country, because it's good for you. No one is going to join a country or a group that can sacrifice you at any time. ”

After a pause, Joey's mind drifted to Germany after Kristallnacht, and he thought sadly, "If it really becomes like that, a Catholic will destroy the soul of Prussia." ”

"So I agree with my father that the misfortune of the empire is the misfortune of the individual, and in the same way, the misfortune of the individual is the misfortune of the empire, and only if the empire never gives up on everyone, everyone will be willing to give everything for the country. If the country gives up its own people, then how can the people voluntarily sacrifice for the country? ”

"Germany is a society that respects contracts and laws, and both empires and individuals have their own rights and obligations."

"So whether my cousin's happiness is related to the happiness of the country."

Facing the pair in front of him, the father and son who firmly believe in liberalism and nationalism, the old prime minister could only shake his head helplessly, although he was a little helpless, but there was a trace of indescribable ease in his heart, "As long as the father and son in front of him are there, it seems that no one will be the one who can be easily sacrificed." ”

"It's better to live freely than to let you die."

"General Shuvalov's two additional requests, one was changed and the other was killed, it seems that tomorrow's night banquet in the Taiwo is destined to be unpeaceful." The old prime minister thought silently in his heart.