Emperor Hua and his entourage arrived in Sofia, the capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Sofia was known as Sedica, Sredets, etc., and was finally named Sofia in the 14th century because of the Hagia Sophia Church.

In 1879 Sofia was made the capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Sofia is a beautiful city with little difference in temperature between the four seasons, not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer, and even more pleasant in spring at this time.

"It's beautiful here." Geig looked at the beautiful scenery outside the train window and praised softly.

Hua Huang's mind was not on the scenery, so he hummed casually, vigilantly watching if there was any change.

The train has entered the city and is about to arrive!

The ancient Europeans in the city looked normal, which also made Emperor Hua feel a little relieved.

Wang Zhankui was even more nervous than Emperor Hua, and Princess Katrina Kafu had already told Wang Zhankui that this trip to the Kingdom of Bulgaria would definitely be more dangerous than going to the Kingdom of Greece.

"Will Zeng Jize come to Sophia to meet us?" Emperor Hua knew that Zeng Jize was coming, so he confirmed with Wang Zhankui.

Wang Zhankui nodded and said: "Before we set off, Zeng Jize had already rushed over from Vienna, and he should have arrived earlier than us, and I also contacted the local statistical bureau in Sophia, there was nothing abnormal, and there was no sudden transfer of the Bulgarian army." ”

Emperor Hua sighed, waved his hand, and signaled that Wang Zhankui could leave.

Wang Zhankui nodded silently to Emperor Hua and returned to his place.

Although Hua Huang did not show nervousness, Zhao Qingluo, Lee Tae-hee, Catherine and others, as well as a group of people from the President's Secretariat, all had a sense of politics and had already smelled the tense air.

However, Timothy Lee and several senior engineers of the visiting group were not very sensitive to politics, and they were still chatting quietly on the sidelines, and everyone was interested in the greenery here, pointing fingers.

Sophia also sat cross-legged in a long row of seats by herself, leaning on the window and looking out.

Sophia wants to play with Huahuang, but it seems that Huahuang no longer belongs to her age, especially Catherine told Sophia, if Huahuang doesn't look for Sophia first, don't let Sophia disturb Huahuang casually, Sophia is a very sensible little girl, so she is used to playing alone on the trip.

"Sophia, the city is also called Sophia." In order to ease his nervousness, Hua Huang joked with Sophia.

Sophia blinked silly, "Is this city also called Sophia?" Same name as me? Why? ”

"I'll have to ask your parents." Hua Huang smiled.

Catherine laughed when she heard this: "I have to ask his father, his father didn't know that there was such a city as Sophia." ”

Timothy Lee scratched her head embarrassedly, "There are many girls in Britain who are called Sophia, and I think it sounds good, so I named Sophia without thinking too much." ”

Sophia sat up straight and pouted, "Why did you give me a place name?" ”

Sophia's words caused everyone to laugh, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed a little.

The train travels through a lush greenery, lined with linden trees, arabic rubber trees, plane trees, Canadian poplar trees, etc., neatly lined up on both sides of the road.

When the train entered the station, Hua Huang became even more nervous, but remained silent.

It turned out that Sophia was loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and the city looked calm on the surface, and it was not any different from usual because of the arrival of such a big figure as Emperor Hua, but there were obviously many sergeants in the station.

The number of sergeants lined up on the platforms on both sides was at least a thousand!

President Meng frowned, what are you doing with so many soldiers coming over? And like the Ottoman Turkish Empire, let's get off the horse? Show you how many soldiers you have?

In addition to Tsarist Russia, China really doesn't pay attention to the number of troops.

As expected, neither Prince Alexander I of the Bulgarian principality, nor Konstantinov, the general who controlled the parliament, came to greet the emperor in person, but by a general of the Guards.

After Wang Zhankui and the general negotiated the details of Emperor Hua's itinerary, Wang Zhankui came back and reported, "Your Majesty, they have arranged the official post, which is a garden villa outside Sophia. ”

Emperor Hua said unhappily: "What are you kidding, I have never heard of arranging guests outside the city, what do they mean?" ”

"I asked, and the man said he didn't know, and he was acting on orders." Wang Zhankui said helplessly.

Princess Katrina Kafu came over and took Hua Huang's arm and said softly: "Your Majesty, forget it, if it really doesn't work, let their foreign affairs personnel meet with the people below tomorrow, the other party is not enthusiastic, we will leave, they are obviously driving people." ”

Hua Huang held his breath and nodded, "Okay." ”

Wang Zhankui saw that Emperor Hua no longer had any opinions, so he went down to arrange negotiations.

Hua Huang and his entourage arrived at this garden villa in the suburbs, the accommodation provided for Hua Huang is okay, it is a holiday villa of Konstantinov himself, the environment is elegant, the key is relatively remote, you can avoid contact between Hua Huang and people.

Zeng Jize didn't pick up Huahuang at the train station, so he followed him all the way to the villa, and then met Huahuang.

Zeng Siping has not seen Emperor Hua for a long time, Zeng Siping and Sophia are the same year, also 11 years old, but they want to look more like a European girl than Sophia.

Mainly because Zeng Jize has been in charge of foreign affairs in Europe all the year round, Zeng Siping went to China in elementary school, and later received European education, so his personality is the same as that of a little foreign devil.

"Your Majesty." Zeng Siping generously performed the squatting etiquette of a European aristocratic girl.

President Meng secretly laughed: "Siping, you have grown up." ”

Zeng Siping smiled, secretly funny, although he and Huahuang are almost the same, and Huahuang has also grown taller, but he is bigger than Huahuang, but Zeng Siping didn't talk much.

Zeng Jize was satisfied with his daughter's performance, especially when he saw Hua Huang's eyes appreciating his daughter, he was even more pleased, he knew that Hua Huang was by no means a teenager on the outside, he thought more comprehensively than himself, and he was already like an adult.

After a few simple greetings, Zeng Jize took Zeng Siping and entered the garden villa with Huahuang and his party.

It is like a semi-artificial and semi-natural park, and it is beautiful and charming.

Bright flower beds, neat lawns, but also throughout every corner of the city, every house in front of the door and window, in front of the house, behind the house, are planted with vibrant flowers and plants.

You can smell the fragrance of flowers almost everywhere, the whole villa is like a blooming flower, and the white or pale yellow houses make the suburbs of Sofia look particularly beautiful and elegant.

With a population of more than a million, Sofia is crisscrossed by straight and wide roads, and residential areas of old and new are intertwined. A striking feature of Sofia's urban layout is that each residential area is self-contained, like a small town on its own.

There are already schools, kindergartens, medical stations, shops, libraries, restaurants, casinos and other facilities.

There are more than 100 street parks, street parks, and large and small parks in the city, where many intricately carved statues and monuments stand among the pioneers of the Bulgarian national liberation movement, talented writers and poets, as well as unknown soldiers who died in the war for the independence and freedom of the motherland.

Many of Sofia's gardens are home to beautiful fountains, and jets of water shoot into the air from the water pipes that are shaped like jumping fish and shrimp mouths, and the water mist is reflected in the sunlight, showing a rainbow, which is really dazzling.

There are also many hot springs in the city and suburbs, which are crystal clear, do not contain any sediment, and have a faint sweetness to drink, which many residents of Sofia drink for many years, and these hot spring waters, known as "longevity water", are also loved by tourists.

The garden villa where the Emperor temporarily resides has a hot spring.

The only thing that President Meng is not satisfied with about this temporary residence is that it is in the suburbs.

"What is the situation on the Austro-Hungarian side?" The Emperor had a lot of problems, and his visit to the Balkans was a routine affair, but his attention was more focused on Austria-Hungary, which for now was still the emperor's first choice for an alliance.

The great monarchy of Austria-Hungary was an ancient supranational monarchy in the midst of the torrent of nationalism in the nineteenth century, which had most of the shortcomings of modern powers, but also many of the aesthetics that modern powers did not have.

"Your Majesty, when you listen to the waltzes of the Austro-Hungarian court, when you stand on the Ring Road and look at the Church of Thanksgiving in the sunset, you can feel the warmth of this vanishing empire." Zeng Jize said with a smile.

Seeing Zeng Jize laughing, Emperor Hua was a little annoyed, but he didn't show it, his eyebrows are burning here, okay? You're still there and you're not in a hurry?

However, Emperor Hua knew that Zeng Jize was such a personality.

Princess Katrina Kaaf saw that the Emperor wanted to inquire about the situation in the Austro-Constitutional Empire, and asked the Emperor for instructions, should the two of them go to a separate room and talk slowly?

Hua Huang nodded and agreed to Princess Katrina Kaf's suggestion.

"I want to stay, Your Majesty, okay?" Zeng Siping combed the girl's bangs, jet-black hair, white dress, and smiled brightly.

Hua Huang nodded and said, "Okay." However, haven't you and Sophia seen each other in a long time? Would you like to talk to Sophia more? ”

Zeng Siping looked at Sophia and exclaimed softly, "I didn't even notice, Sophia, you're here too?" ”

Sophia was also happy, everyone didn't have time to introduce each other just now, especially adults, who would introduce the two little girls?

Zeng Siping and Sophia both studied with Huahuang for half a year when they were young, and they were enlightened together.

"Siping." Sophia smiled.

Zeng Siping smiled and winked at Sophia, and said to Emperor Hua: "Your Majesty, then I'll go and play with Sophia, right?" ”

Zeng Jize was secretly funny, secretly praising his daughter's cleverness, originally these things, her daughter asked herself, saw Emperor Hua, knew to take the initiative to talk to Emperor Hua, and took the initiative to ask Emperor Hua for instructions.

Hua Huang smiled slightly, "Of course you can." ”

After that, Emperor Hua and Zeng Jize talked about the current political situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The internal contradictions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all the quarrels and all the struggles were within the imperial system, and the minorities fought for equal status within the empire, and even demanded a little more on the basis of equality. And not to destroy the empire.

Emperor Franz Joseph saw better than the young but frail Crown Prince Franz-Ferdinand.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1879 was a large Central European country that was rapidly industrializing and progressing.

Its people were in a state of excitement and unease at the same time, and this period was a time when the empire was politically democratized, at least in "Neletania", economically industrialized, and culturally unprecedentedly developed.

The empire had more than a dozen peoples, spoke more languages, but they were merging, and although there were deep-seated contradictions between them, the democratic reforms of the empire, at least in Neletania, opened a window to the new future of the multi-ethnic grand monarchy.

In Vienna at the end of the Empire, you don't see the breath of death that the Empire is about to fall.

On the contrary, it flourished, with the Czech, Germanic, Hungarian, Catholic, new Jewish nobility who had converted to Catholicism and been knighted, the Germanic bourgeoisie, the Czech bourgeoisie, the Jewish bourgeoisie, intellectuals, artists, the emerging middle class, gathered on the new Vienna Ringway.

Everyone in the city speaks a word or two of "kitchen Czech" because the cooks are all Czech, and they also speak a word or two of Polish when ordering and tipping in cafes, because most of the café waiters are Polish.

The desperate Imperial Government imposed an unpopular "café tip tax", which seriously stimulated the national sentiment of the Poles, but from another point of view, it can also be seen that the Polish waiters in Vienna worked in Vienna until the last years of the Empire, and their dissatisfaction was not due to the fact that they could not return to the Polish nation-state, but rather because their income in the imperial capital was taxed.

The discontent of the various ethnic groups of the empire was also true, at least in Neiletania, as we all know that the Imperial Diet has no official language, that representatives of all ethnic groups have the right to express their opinions in their own language, and that the Imperial Diet does not provide translation services.

So the Reichstag was in chaos, with the Reichstag Chancellor announcing policy in German, Czech nationalist parliamentarians angrily denounced the Chancellor in Czech, and Czech conservative parliamentarians whistling when he spoke.

The Hungarian parliamentarians indicated in Hungarian that the financial provisions related to the Austro-Hungarian agreement were not within the competence of the Reichstag, the rare Croatian parliamentarians angrily denounced the Hungarian deputies in Croatian, the Galician Polish parliamentarians answered all the dissenting opinions with a patriotic poem in Polish, and the Galician Ukrainian deputies took the opportunity to sing a song with affection.

But everyone was in the concrete edifice of the Reichstag, and no one chose to answer their hometown.

Austria-Hungary provided a framework under which every nation and every stratum wanted to fight for more for themselves, rather than tear it down.

This was reflected in the Austro-Hungarian Parliament, which served as a barometer of the will of the Empire, which had more than a dozen nationalities, but not only a dozen parties, but rather more parties for their own interests, Bohemian radical nationalists, Bohemian moderate nationalists, Bohemian conservatives, Bohemian socialists.

There were also the Imperial Catholic Socialist Party, the Germanic Nationalist Party, and the Magyalian Liberals, and the various nationalities were not strictly divided into factions according to ethnicity, but on the contrary, although they often shouted independence, independence at that time was similar to divorce when husband and wife quarreled, and it was a threat rather than an ideal.

In the time of Emperor Franz Joseph, the Austro-Hungarian Empire theoretically recognized universal suffrage for adult males in the late 19th century because of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's ongoing reforms in suffrage, although Waileitania firmly resisted the Emperor's decree.

The Czechs hated the Empire, and the Czechs, Germans, and German-speaking Jews in Prague fought and even caused bloodshed, but why did the Czechs hate the Empire?

Because the Czechs demanded that the official language of the Bohemian government be changed from German to German plus Czech, this demand was initially partially compromised, that is, both Czech and German speakers could be civil servants, but the Czechs were not satisfied, and the Czechs demanded that Bohemian civil servants must know both German and Czech, and this demand was resisted by Germanic and German-speaking Jews, because once the Reich accepted this demand, then those who did not know Czech faced unemployment.

Austria-Hungary did have problems, but they were not enough to tear the empire apart, on the contrary, these problems were exacerbated by the progress of industrialization in some areas, and alleviated with industrialization in others.

There was only one "chronic disease" in the empire, and that was the Austro-Hungarian Entente.

The Austro-Hungarian Entente gave the Hungarians the right to rule freely over "Transleitania", which meant that the Magyars, who made up only 19 percent of the empire's population, now had a free disposition over 40 percent of the empire's territory and 50 percent of the say in foreign and military tariffs.

And what's worse is that these Magyalian liberals are also ethnochauvinistic.

They openly discriminate against and oppress minorities in the territories they rule.

The brutal Magyarization of the Hungarians and the oppression of the foreign Leitanian minority were the reasons for the mass exodus of the Austro-Hungarian subjects and the acute contradictions with the Balkan Slavic peoples.

The Yugoslav nations in the original empire did not have a strong intention of merging with foreign countries, on the contrary, in 1848, the Yugoslav nations such as Croatia were still on the side of the emperor, but when the Austro-Crarian Entente abandoned them all to the brutal Hungarian government, they realized that they were abandoned by the emperor, and began to either flee or began to reach out to neighboring foreign countries, and the empire was torn apart by the brutal nationalist policy of the Hungarians.

The Croats defended the Habsburgs in 1848, but now they are people on the other side of the Leta River, or in the territory of St. Stephen's Crown.

The Croats, Slovenes, Romanians, now oppressed by the Magyars, had no choice but to become independent or merge with their brother Slavic states.