Ernst naturally did not know the conversation of the children of Nicholas II, and when he woke up, it was already 7 o'clock in the evening, and at this time he remembered that he had not yet met Nicholas II when he came here, after all, it would be rude if he did not take the initiative to visit the host.

Cosimo came to Ensen's room on time, and served Ernst for ten years, during which Cosimo was now a father of two children, and his wife was a typical Czech beauty Moravian native, and she was a nobleman for three generations.

Cosimo was not dissatisfied with his current life, and the status of the valet was very high in Europe, especially since his master was not just a count.

Looking at the black stubble on Cosimo's face who helped him dress, Ernst couldn't help but smile: "I still remember you when you were in Italy, and your life is not as ...... as you imagined."

"I am very satisfied with my life now, Lord Earl, the children are lovely, I don't want them to lose their father's care, maybe I should ask God to forgive me for my selfishness."

Cosimo was very serious when he said this, the soldiers who had left Moravia again and again over the years had unfamiliar faces every time they returned, and at the same time, there were many familiar faces that could no longer be seen, and Cosimo could see the things between life and death clearly.

"The selfish one is me, but I will not ask God for forgiveness."

More than 30,000 young Moravians have died in the Balkans in the past eight years, and it is unrealistic to say that Ernst does not feel a little guilty in his heart, after all, it is because of him that these young men have fallen victim to the competition of Austria-Hungary for the Balkans.

But at this moment, Ernst was empty-eyed, and in the face of this situation, Cosimo might have been a little nervous at the beginning, but how did Cosimo not know that his master was an atheist after all these years? Or that he only believes in himself, and such a guy generally either becomes a great monarch, or disappears into history and becomes a representative of his own power.

No one knows which one Ernst belongs to until the ending is really out, but in Moravia, I believe that most people will think that Ernst is a promising lord and a promising ruler.

"Education in Moravia will get better and better, and in the future lawyers and judges are a good career, and I look forward to the day when they graduate from university."

After thanking him, Ernst walked out, the Winter Palace, the place where the centuries-old royal family of the Russian Empire lived, and Ernst was naturally entitled to live here as a distinguished guest from afar and the fiancé of the Grand Duchess Maria.

There was a guard waiting at the door for a long time, as if Nicholas II also knew that Ernst would see him when he woke up, so he arranged for the guard to wait here early in the morning, but no one expected that Ernst would sleep until the time of dinner.

The Hermitage was originally the private museum of Queen Catherine II, who in 1764 purchased 250 paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and others from Berlin. During her 34-year reign, Catherine II acquired a large number of works of art, including 16,000 coins and medals. In the first decade of her reign, she acquired about 2,000 paintings.

Queen Catherine II was a lover of reading, she liked Voltaire as much as she liked Rousseau, and she kept a correspondence with Voltaire before her death.

This is a sea of books, but since it was converted into a royal palace, it is also a lot more magnificent, the corridors, halls are very apt, the gold leaf depicts the pattern makes the Winter Palace luxury also add three points of literature and art, which is worthy of the title of the largest museum in Russia.

There are a lot of oriental elements that can be seen in the Winter Palace, after all, this is the country closest to that ancient empire in the West, but at the same time, he is also in the forefront of European countries in terms of harm to that country.

Nicholas II was on official business, and when he heard that Ernst was coming, he quickly pushed the matter aside, and Ernst was probably a little confused by Ernst himself.

"Still used to everything?"

Nicholas II's first sentence actually seems to come from the concern of the elders, although Nicholas II is indeed Ernst's elder, but the plot should not develop like this.

"I'm a little tired on the road, the Winter Palace is beautiful."

Ernst didn't have much to say, after all, he didn't know what attitude he should use to face Nicholas II, his future enemy and the father of his future wife, and for several years Ernst had not thought about how to treat Russia as a country, and how to treat Nicholas II, a prospective father-in-law.

Both of them had nothing to say, and the hall fell silent for a moment, and Ernst looked at Nicholas II, who was much older than the last time they had met, and whose interests with England in the Far East had made his relationship with England very bad, and if it weren't for Edward VII's funeral, he would not have arranged for only one of his younger brothers.

Nicholas II is honestly a very handsome middle-aged handsome man, although he is still slightly short of Ernst's uncle Archduke Otto, but it is really unclear which of the two different types of middle-aged handsome men is very attractive.

The emperor, who had become the monarch of the world's largest territorial country at a young age, had been under extraordinary pressure every day of his succession over the years, perhaps only with his children could relax a little, the only regret was that he had a slightly more daughter, even if the only son was born in 1904.

Probably because of his early succession, Nicholas II, who did not have enough time to enrich his experience, was not a powerful and great monarch, and he was somewhat mediocre compared to his ancestors.

"I didn't expect you to agree to Maria's request, but I'm glad you were able to come ......"

"I'm Maria's fiancé, and there's no reason I shouldn't come to her birthday party."

Ernst replied to Nicholas II's words in the affirmative, both of them were well aware of the situation in Europe at this time, in fact, not only Nicholas II, but everyone who knew the situation at this time was very surprised by Ernst's visit to Russia at this time.

The arguments of the Allies and the Entente have appeared for a long time, but they do not directly put the contradictions on the surface. The basic contradictions in Europe are mainly Russian-Austrian, Anglo-German, Franco-German, and Franco-German contradictions, and Russia and Austria have been arguing over the Balkan issue for decades.

For many years, under the banner of Great Slavism, Russia expanded into the areas inhabited by the southern Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, located in Central Europe, also expanded to the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula, mainly fearing that the southern Slavs under its rule would become independent from the rule of Austria-Hungary.

The contradictions between France and Germany were also very acute, and the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War made France lose its original hegemony in Western and Central Europe, and all strata in the country unanimously demanded revenge. In order to prevent a resurgence of France, Germany greatly expanded its armaments. Britain, on the other hand, proceeded from its traditional foreign policy and tried to maintain the balance of power on the European continent, neither wanting Germany to be too strong, nor wanting to see Russia's power too large in the Balkans, and with the intensification of the conflict over the colonial issue, the Anglo-German contradictions began to intensify, which was the root cause of World War I.

In 1879, at the urging of Bismarck, Germany and Austria signed the "Treaty of Alliance", which made it clear what was directed against Russia at a glance. Subsequently, as Italy lost the struggle with France for Tunisia, Bismarck seized the opportunity to win over Italy against France. In 1882, Germany, Austria and Italy signed the "Treaty of Alliance", and the Triple Alliance was formally established, and Germany became the core of the Triple Alliance.

In order to deal with the "Triple Alliance", France and Russia reached a military agreement in 1892, which stipulated that in the event of an attack by France by Germany or Italy, which was supported by Germany, Russia would attack Germany with all its military forces, and if Russia was attacked by Germany or Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, France should attack Germany with all its military forces. After the formation of the Russian-French alliance, a confrontation between the two major military blocs began to emerge in Europe. It was also the first step in the direction of the Triple Entente. As the Anglo-German contradiction developed into the main contradiction between imperialism, Britain adjusted its relations with France and Russia, signing the Anglo-French Entente in 1904 and the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907.

Before Edward VII's death, his influence and the little warmth between his relatives were still there, but with Edward VII's death, the two major military powers (the main allies) began to show their fangs, and they were only one chance away, a chance to bite off each other.

The situation was so tense and the countries were preparing for war, and at this time, Ernst actually came to the Russian Empire to attend the banquet of his fiancée, which was beyond most people's expectations. Most? Those who are familiar with Ernst are not surprised, because this is Ernst Franz.

Ernst's answer left Nicholas II speechless, he could only nod, it was originally just a political marriage, but now it ...... He was glad that Nicholas II had the blood from his father, because he knew that in the future, Ernst would not let Archduchess Maria be too wronged, even if the war was about to begin!

At this time, it is estimated that Nicholas II did not empathize, he did not know what it was like to be caught in the middle, so he did not know that Archduchess Maria was far more sad than happy.