King Karl XIV sat in his dinner room, with his advisers and friends. He seemed concerned. This new war between Russia and England was worrying him. He knew that the lands of Sweden-Norway were right in between the two waring nations, and so he had called this meeting to discuss the possibility of Sweden-Norway entering the war.
"Absolutely, sir, we must join this war!" one adviser exclaimed, through a mouthful of roast lamb. "Sir, this could be a chance to prove ourselves to the world! Don't mess with Scandinavians!" some of the guests nodded and mumbled in agreement, while others sat trying to politely hide the looks of disgust that crossed their faces at the thought of what he had just said.
"But sir," another man spoke, "No one has yet bothered us. No one has asked us to join the war on their side. What could we possibly hope to accomplish by going to war? I don't see anything coming out on our side. No matter what nation we ally with, Sweden-Norway can only be hurt by the outcome."
There was more agreement around the table, as well as some vocal calls of disagreement. The first man slammed his fist down on the table angrily and proclaimed, "No, if we get involved on the English side, we have the chance of gaining land from the Russians. We can liberate our fellow Scandinavians in Finland, and add glory to your kingdom." More agreement, as well as some boos. The man stood and smiled at all of his supporters seated around the table.
"Ah, yes," the second man started in again, "but what example do we want to set here? By turning against our Russian allies, we would be sending a clear message to the rest of the world: Do not trust the backstabbing Scandinavians." Cheers and jeers rang out through the hall.
The whole time the King sat there, taking it all in. True, adding Finland to the kingdom would help in the long term, but at the same time, turning against their allies, both in England and Russia, could hurt them, in the long term. It was now up to the king to decide whether it was worth while to sacrifice the lives of so many young men, when the best possible outcome could be a bit more land to call their own, and the worst, complete annihilation of of the kingdom he was now in charge of.
After a few hours of bickering and arguing, King Karl XIV finally stood up at the head of the table. "My friends," he started, waving his arms out to all that were seated. Everyone at the table stopped talking immediately to give the king their attention, "I have reached my decision. The Kingdom of Sweden-Norway shall not join the war, unless our safety is completely at risk. Until then, we shall stay neutral, and try to improve our own citizen's way of life before we worry about expanding through war."