As for George III, although Prussia agreed to the British terms this time and was willing to buy Hanover for half a million pounds, the previous military action against Hanover was a slap in the face to Britain.
Therefore, although the memorandum of understanding had been signed, the anger in George III's heart towards Prussia not only did not dissipate at all, but even reached its peak on the day when the engagement between the Duke of York and Charlotte was officially announced.
On November 25, 1793, on this Western Christmas day, the Duke of York and Charlotte officially announced their divorce in Westminster Abbey, England.
"Asshole, this is simply a disgrace to the British Empire! In the next six months, you will stay in your own home to reflect, and you will not be allowed to leave the mansion!"
The furious George III cursed at the Duke of York who came to the palace.
Hearing George III's yelling, the Duke of York felt a little aggrieved, but he did not dare to express any dissatisfaction. Now everyone knows that George III is in a bad mood. If he offends George III at this time, the consequences will obviously not be the Duke of York's.
bearable.
Under the arrangement of the Prussian ambassador, Princess Charlotte left London immediately after leaving Westminster Abbey and returned to Brandenburg. If anyone is looking forward to Charlotte's return to Prussia the most, it is probably
It belongs to Carlo.
After Du Li was assassinated, under the coercion of William, Ludwig, the mastermind behind the assassination, rushed to Parets in person to apologize to Du Li. Although Du Li was unwilling to forgive Ludwig because of the child in her belly
, but after all, Ludwig's attitude was already here. Coupled with the pressure from Louise, Du Li had to meet Ludwig, and ostensibly accepted Ludwig's sincere apology.
After Ludwig personally went to Parets to apologize to Du Li, William did not forgive Ludwig, and Ludwig's original title of prince was reduced to that of a duke.
At the same time, Ludwig's monthly royal salary was also reduced.
As compensation for the Hans family, William promoted Carlo to the high position of deputy chief of staff of the Prussian Royal Guards, and Carlo's military rank also jumped to major general.
This young man, who was only one year older than William, officially appeared in the Prussian high-level ranks.
In addition, Margrave Hans returned to the Ministry of Intelligence, which dispelled the previous rumors that Margrave Hans was about to leave the Prussian high-level. Because the Hans family who participated in the attack on Anna had been dormant for a period of time. Because of William's relationship with Du
Rei's apology returned to the Prussian high-level officials.
Carlo was full of admiration for Princess Charlotte, which started from the first time Carlo met Princess Charlotte in the Brandenburg Palace.
Carlo felt a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere in Charlotte. This feeling undoubtedly greatly affected Carlo, but because of Charlotte's identity, Carlo never dared to express his love.
But from then on, Carlo began to hate the British. Because the marriage contract between Princess Charlotte and the British Duke of York was made by the high-level officials of both countries when they were children.
Carlo, who originally thought he would never see Princess Charlotte again after she married away in England, was overjoyed for several days after learning that Charlotte had returned to Prussia. Previously, due to Du Li's serious injury and the family's trauma, Carlo took a turn for the worse.
My mood also improved again.
Looking at Carlo who was giggling on the side again, William shook his head and said with a smile:
"Carlo, your smile has never stopped these days. Is there any good news? Or do you have a sweetheart?"
Carlo can be said to be William's first true confidant, because Carlo has been by William's side since William was a few years old. Apart from Du Li's relationship, Carlo is also one of the few people William can honestly tell.
One of the people with thoughts in mind.
After William finished speaking, Carlo's face turned red for the rare occasion, and this scene made William even more curious.
Carlo is a traditional Prussian. After all, he has been under the strict control of Count Hans since he was a child. You must know that because of William's status as a prince, Hans was not easy to deal with when William made mistakes, but for his own
Son, Carlo, Margrave Hans, who made mistakes with William, has never been soft-hearted.
Under this circumstance, Carlo freely accepted the education of a traditional Prussian aristocrat, and the inherent rigidity and tough character of the Prussian aristocracy was naturally passed down to Carlo.
In the past, when William talked to Carlo, Carlo had never blushed, but today it was unexpected.
"Do you really have a sweetheart? I said, Carlo, you are too boring. You don't tell me such a big thing. Don't worry. As long as you like it, you are a princess. I will help you tell it.
!”
Seeing the embarrassment on Carlo's face, William teased and said generously.
You must know that Carlo's marriage has always been a pain in the heart of Marquis Hans. After all, Hans is now twenty-four years old. Prussian men at this age are basically married and have children. William is even younger than Carlo.
At one year old, the child was picked up.
How could the old-fashioned Marquis Hans accept this?
In fact, as early as after Carlo graduated from the Brandenburg Military Academy, Hans began to continuously bridge the gap for Carlo. Because of the power of the Hans family and the relationship between Carlo and William, many nobles were willing to transfer him to Carlo.
His daughter married Carlo. After all, the relationship between the Hans family and William is first-rate.
However, Carlo chose not to compromise with his father's arrangements. At one point, Carlo was even ready to run away from home. This made Marquis Hans, who was looking forward to Carlo's early marriage, wishing to kill his stubborn son.
.
But Carlo is the only son of Marquis Hans after all, and now Du Li has become William's mistress. Even if Du Li gives birth to offspring, it is impossible to inherit everything in the family. In this case, the future of the Hans family will only be
Everything is pinned on Carlo.
Under this situation, although Marquis Hans was full of anger, in the face of Carlo who would rather die than surrender, he had no choice but to compromise in the end.
As mentioned above, the power of the Hans family and Carlo's own advantages made countless nobles willing to marry their daughters to Carlo. Therefore, in Carlo's life, many girls appeared intentionally or unintentionally, but unfortunately, Carlo
Facing these temptations, he is like a stone-man and doesn't pay any attention to them.
It is reasonable that after a period of time, rumors that "Carlo was gay" and "Carlo was impotent" spread like wildfire among the major aristocratic families in Prussia.
Marquis Hans naturally knew the news, but he had no other option but to find the person who spread the rumor and punish him.
After listening to William's words, Carlo's face turned even redder, but it was obvious that the second half of William's words made him feel a little uneasy, and there was a trace of struggle on his face.
The struggle on Carlo's face was even more serious to William. This also made William wonder, did Carlo really fall in love with any princess?
Thinking of William, he thought of his sisters. If it was Christine, William would not be unable to accept it. Even if Carlo liked Christine, William would be very happy to marry Christine.
After all, he, Carlo and Du Li are the closest people to William. It is naturally the best thing for William to get married.
And if it's Wilhelmina, although Wilhelmina's philistineness makes William a little dissatisfied, if Carlo takes a fancy to Wilhelmina, then William will definitely agree.
But William was obviously going to be disappointed.
After struggling for a while, Carlo's expression gradually became firm. It was obvious that even for William, what he just said was just a joke, but for Carlo, William's words were related to his life's happiness.
So Carlo decided to confess, and he looked a little shy and said:
"Your Majesty... Well, I heard that Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte has divorced the Duke of York and has returned from London. If possible, this...
.”
Although Carlo didn't say everything, William still understood what Carlo wanted to express.
William did not expect that the person Carlo liked was actually Charlotte.
"Carlo, when did you fall in love with Charlotte? I remember you haven't seen Charlotte much?"
Carlo had not held a position in the Royal Guards for a long time. Before that, Carlo had been working in the Intelligence Department, and Charlotte had married to England before Carlo entered the Royal Guards.
In this case, the two of them had nothing to do with each other, so how could Carlo fall in love with Charlotte?
"Your Majesty,...well, didn't I come to the palace once before entering the military academy? At that time, I saw Princess Charlotte!"
I went, it was love at first sight!
William suddenly understood, but this time span was too long. Thinking about the previous rumors among the Brandenburg aristocratic circle, even William felt a little admiration for Carlo.
Love at first sight is not unheard of. It is said that in William's previous life, he also fell in love with his first girlfriend at first sight. He even went to great lengths to pry his girlfriend away who had a boyfriend at the time.
However, Carlo was able to maintain his love at first sight for several years and kept it airtight, which impressed William very much.
But a huge problem arises. If Princess Charlotte is not married to the Duke of York, then William is still very willing to marry Charlotte to Carlo.
But now Charlotte has just divorced the Duke of York. If William marries Charlotte to Carlo at this time, wouldn't it further irritate the British, and it will also make Charlotte and Carlo bear too much from the world?
criticism.
Looking at William who fell into silence, the hopeful look on Carlo's face gradually dimmed.
Doesn't Carlo know the current situation? Charlotte's marriage to the Duke of York has just ended, and although the relationship between Britain and Prussia has been eased to a certain extent due to the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the relationship between the two countries is still on the edge of a cliff.
At this time, anything related to Britain will cause great irritation to the British.
What's more, Charlotte has just divorced the Duke of York. At this time, if William ordered Charlotte to be betrothed to Carlo, what would the British think? Wouldn't this be a slap in the face of the British royal family again?
A slap!
After a while, William said:
"Carlo, I understand your thoughts, but you also know the current situation. If you ask me to agree to your marriage to Charlotte now, then it is impossible. After all, I also have to consider the British side.
Arrived.
But don’t worry, what is our relationship? After Charlotte returns to Brandenburg, I will allow you to pursue it generously. After all, this matter cannot be solved overnight. After some time, things about Charlotte will
After the influence is gradually eliminated, I will definitely hold a grand wedding for you!
But the ugly words are ahead. If you can’t get Charlotte’s heart and Charlotte doesn’t agree to your words, then there’s nothing I can do!”
When William said the first half of the sentence, Carlo's mood sank to the bottom. He thought William would reject him. But after William finished the second half of the sentence, Carlo's mood suddenly experienced a big ups and downs.
Although William also said that if Charlotte disagreed, William would not force it, but Carlo still had some confidence in his heart.
After all, there are only so many young nobles in Prussia at present, and he currently holds a high position in the royal guard. He is considered young and promising. The convenience of his position allows him to have more time to get close to Princess Charlotte.
What's more, with William's promise, Carlo believed that any other person's pursuit of Charlotte would be opposed by William.
So now Carlo has the right time, right place and the right people to help him. If under this situation, he still can't win Charlotte's favor, then obviously he is destined to miss Charlotte.
Then William joked with Carlo for a while and then returned to his office.
Carlo's secret love for Charlotte certainly made William secretly surprised, but for William, this is a good thing. If Charlotte and Carlo can get together, both for William and the Hans family
It's a blessing for everyone.
But just after William returned to the office, Hornde found William with a document.
"Your Majesty, this is the soldier named Neville that you asked me to investigate some time ago. His detailed information is here!"
After hearing Hornde's words, William remembered that when he and Christine were in Western Lithuania, he learned that Christine had a crush on her, and that a dignified Prussian princess liked a man named Neville.
After that, William arranged for Hornd to investigate Neville.
It's just that during these days, William had too many things to do, so he almost forgot about this matter. If Hornde hadn't sent Neville's information today, I'm afraid William wouldn't have been able to remember this matter.
matter.
But Hornder was different. William's inability to remember it did not mean that he could forget the matter. After all, William had told him personally. If he forgot the matter, the consequences would obviously be very serious.
After receiving this information, William frowned and read it carefully.
Hornde's investigation is still very detailed. After all, the Royal Intelligence Department can be said to have very wide reach in Prussia.
Neville was born in 1772 in the Hasker neighborhood of Brandenburg. His father was once a junior officer in the Prussian army and later retired due to injury. However, Neville died of his injuries when he was ten years old.
.And Neville's mother is currently a seamstress in the Hasker neighborhood.
Neville himself completed Prussian junior high school when he was sixteen years old. He did not continue his education after that, but joined the Prussian army like his father.
However, because he had no connections and his unit did not participate in Prussia's foreign wars, Neville was never promoted. However, after five years of military career, he was promoted to
A monitor.
In the army, Neville's talents are not outstanding, and like most people, he can even be called mediocre.
And this idea of Neville and Christine was also very accidental. Once, after Christine left the Brandenburg Palace in disguise, she happened to encounter two gangsters teasing her on the street, and Neville who happened to be passing by at that time happened to be teased by them.
After seeing this scene, Weir stepped forward to save his life like a hero in all fairy tales.
After that time, Christine often left the palace in disguise to find Neville, and Neville even took Christine to meet his mother.
It can be said that Neville's family is a real lower-class Prussian people, and his acquaintance and subsequent development with Christine also have all the elements of a fairy tale, but this kind of cause and effect obviously makes William feel very dissatisfied.
Christine is his doted sister, and according to the investigation of the Royal Intelligence Department, Neville's talents are only mediocre. If Neville's family is poor, then William does not care at all. After all, with the Hohenzollern family's reputation,
Wealth, William doesn't care whether Christine likes a powerful man or a poor man.
What he couldn't tolerate was this evaluation of mediocre materials.
The evaluation of the Royal Intelligence Department is basically unerring, because within the Royal Intelligence Department, there is a special organization that compiles and evaluates the information on Prussian ministers that has been investigated.
This institution was established on William's initiative. After all, there were so many Prussian officials, and William couldn't spend time getting to know everyone. In this case, how to review the officials and ensure that they were competent became the question.