Rise of Australia

Chapter 375 Contradictory Austro-Hungarian Empire

Any country has its main war faction and main peace faction, but relatively speaking, there will always be strong and weak, or there will be someone who makes up his mind.

But for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the great powers, not only the main war faction and the main peace faction in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were balanced, but even Emperor Franz I, who was the final decision-maker, was actually very hesitant.

There was no final decision maker, resulting in no unified decision within the Austro-Hungarian Empire to take military action in response to the assassination.

After several hours of tense discussions, the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally negotiated a decision to investigate the truth of the matter first and negotiate with the Serbian government at the same time.On the basis of completing these things, send people to Berlin to seek the understanding and support of William II.

Berchtold drafted a memorandum from Franz I to Wilhelm II stating that an amicable de-escalation of hostilities between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was impossible after the terrible events in Bosnia.As long as this source of criminal demagogy in Belgrade goes unpunished, the policy of peace of all European monarchies will be threatened.

The old emperor was very angry, but he was unwilling to make any direct decision to get involved in the war, so he decided to go to the hot spring villa to recuperate.

As for the attitudes of other countries regarding the Sarajevo assassination incident, first of all, they expressed their care and concern in a unified way.

Almost all monarchies condemned the assassination.Australasia is the initiator of the joint declaration of the European royal family. The Australasian government expressed concern about this incident and stated that if this is an assassination of the European royal family at the national level, it will be an extremely terrible and threatening event. to the events of European kingship.

Although Arthur had been prepared for the occurrence of the Sarajevo incident, after the incident that almost marked the outbreak of World War I actually happened, Arthur still couldn't help sighing.

A super war involving more than half of the earth and the whole of Europe, involving dozens of countries and tens of millions of troops is about to break out.

Britain and Russia also expressed concern about this incident, but Russia did not mean to support the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After all, Serbia and Russia are hardcore allies, supporting the enemy?Wait until the next life to go!

In Bosnia, the interrogation of several murderers was going on overnight.All the officials, including Governor Botierek, were waiting for the result of the interrogation with mixed emotions.

On the one hand, they look forward to the early conclusion of the interrogation, which will also allow them to atone for their crimes, so that they will not be hated by Franz.

Secondly, they are afraid that the final interrogation result will have something to do with them.If it is finally discovered that the assassins were able to successfully assassinate Archduke Ferdinand because of their unintentional actions, I am afraid they will really be in trouble.

Especially the mayor of Sarajevo, you must know that the mayor revealed Archduke Ferdinand's itinerary in advance before he set off.

Although the purpose is not to facilitate the assassination, if this unintentional act really speeds up the progress of the assassin's assassination, what is the difference between this and an accomplice?
While everyone was waiting with complicated emotions, after two days of interrogation and several days of investigation, the assassination incident finally had some clues.

Although I don't know what kind of interrogation methods the Austro-Hungarian Empire used, but for the two patriotic youths who are seventeen or eighteen years old, such interrogation methods cannot last long.

Soon, the assassins, including Princip, all explained their motives and all the processes behind them.

Vienna, July 1914, 7.

The cabinet meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also once a week. Because the assassin had already confessed and the investigation of the incident had progressed, this cabinet meeting was held two days in advance.

"Everyone, take a look. This is the latest testimony of several assassins. It describes in detail how the murderer received training in Serbia, how he obtained weapons from an officially controlled force in Serbia, and in this black hand With the help of the party's forces, the whole process of arriving and ambush in Sarajevo. I can't imagine that this is an assassination plan that has been planned for several years. It is really terrible. If the real murderer behind the scenes is not severely punished, where will it be? Is it safe?" During the cabinet meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Foreign Minister Berchtold said with a heavy face.

The prime minister of the Austrian government, who did not advocate war, has turned into a hawk like Archduke Ferdinand because of the assassination.

The assassination in Sarajevo made Berchtold think that it is necessary to demonstrate the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the outside world to deal with the extremely despicable means against the Austro-Hungarian Empire this time.

And the best way to show strength is to launch a war of revenge against Serbia and let this damn country be destroyed along with those damn Serbs.

The words of the Austrian Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire immediately aroused the approval of the main combat faction.

"Berchtold is right. If the black hand behind the scenes continues to get away with it, it is undoubtedly a slap in the face of the empire and everyone present here. From the royal family to the government and all officials, it will not be because of this. The best way to avoid such consequences is to launch a war and completely wipe that damned country off the map." Konrad, Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, stood up and said.

The two main war factions before the Austro-Hungarian Empire were Archduke Ferdinand and Chief of Staff Conrad promoted by Archduke Ferdinand.

After Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated and died, Conrad originally thought that he was the only one in the main war faction. Unexpectedly, the foreign minister who did not advocate war before suddenly became the main war faction. Good news for officials.

Foreign Minister Berchtold also serves as the Prime Minister of the Austrian government. Like the Hungarian Prime Minister Ticha, he has a very high status in the Austro-Hungarian government.

If there is one person who can suppress the Hungarian Prime Minister Ticha, then this person must be Berchtold as the Austrian Prime Minister.

"Chief of Staff Conrad is right. We shouldn't let the black hands behind the scenes get away with it. We must be punished in order to demonstrate the majesty of our empire."

"Wipe this damned country off the map and Austria-Hungary will trample on all enemies."

Behind the main combat faction is the hawk faction composed of Minister of War Krobatine, some nobles and the army.

Soldiers and aristocrats are active in launching wars, because wars can bring them a lot of military exploits, obtain titles or advance further in titles.

Most of the peacemakers are politicians, especially in the case of the division of Austria and Hungary within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ideas of Austria and Hungary are not so consistent.

The disadvantages can be seen from the division of the cabinet government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire not only had a cabinet government, but also had an Austrian prime minister and a Hungarian prime minister.

The finances between Austria and Hungary are divided, and it is only natural that such countries have different ideas.

The peace faction was not weaker than the war faction. After the military spoke out, Ticha and the peace faction also refuted one after another, telling the old emperor Franz I the terrible consequences of launching a war.

At present, the main reasons for the peace faction’s reluctance to start a war are that Serbia has Russia behind it, and starting a war means going to war with Russia.

The second is that Germany, the ally behind the Austro-Hungarian Empire, did not express its position. If the Germans launched a war privately regardless of the opinions of the Germans, the Germans might ignore the alliance and let the Austro-Hungarian Empire face the war alone.

Seeing that this meeting was going to be evenly matched, Foreign Minister Berchtold said quickly: "If I remember correctly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once told me that during his visit to Germany, His Majesty Wilhelm II had promised about The Serbian issue has given our support to our country. If our country launches an attack on Serbia, Germany will definitely express its support and fulfill its covenant.”

Bechtold's words almost turned the situation of the conference into a reversal.

The main peace faction and the main war faction, which were originally fairly balanced, have completely disappeared at present.

"Berchtold, why didn't you mention the promise made by His Majesty William II to His Highness earlier? Besides, why didn't His Highness mention it in person, but after His Highness was assassinated, you brought it up?" In order to reverse the main The disadvantage of the peace faction, Hungarian Prime Minister Tiza questioned.

Austria and Hungary are not so united, at least the wealthy Hungarians are not willing to launch a senseless war for the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

It would be fine if it was just a war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia, but it is very likely to evolve into a full-scale war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, and the Hungarians will never agree.

Facing Prime Minister Ticha's questioning, Berchtold chuckled, glanced at his old enemy, and then looked at the old emperor Franz I, explaining: "His Royal Highness once said that Germany There is no need to publicize His Majesty's verbal promise. What's more, if there is no accident, His Majesty's promise should also be conveyed by the Grand Duke."

"Even if this is true, what if His Majesty the Kaiser changes his mind now? We can't bet on the fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the verbal promise made by His Majesty a few years ago!" Prime Minister Ticha Still trying to make the final rebuttal to stop this war.

"That's enough. Since you are all deadlocked, why don't you just ask the Germans for their opinions." The old emperor Franz I waved his hand to stop the quarrel among his subordinates, and said.

Seeing that the quarrel between Berchtold and Ticha is likely to rise to a trend between Hungary and Austria, even the old emperor Franz I, who had been sitting firmly on Mount Tai, had to stop it quickly .

For a dual empire like Austria-Hungary, national unity is the most important thing.

Because the Austrian government and the Hungarian government each have greater power, if this quarrel does not have a good result, it may turn into a conflict between the Hungarian Kingdom government and the Austrian imperial government.

You must know that although the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Austrian Empire are the leaders, the Hungarian Kingdom government has independent finance and administration, and its power is still very large in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If the Hungarians feel that they have suffered a disadvantage and thus instigate independence, then the old emperor will really vomit blood.

It took Franz I a lot of effort to maintain this empire, and any behavior that might undermine the unity and unity of the country could not be accepted by Franz I.

Fortunately, the old emperor still has a high prestige in this country.As long as Franz is there, the internal problems of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will never swell.

Seeing that the old emperor had spoken, neither the Austrian Prime Minister Berchtold nor the Hungarian Prime Minister Ticha dared to continue speaking to refute.

Asking the opinions of the Germans is also the best result for the two of them. Bechtold can prove that what he said is true, Prime Minister Ticha can also temporarily delay the war, and even the Germans may really change their minds , thus extinguishing the hope of waging this war.

After the quarrel ended, the old emperor looked at the slightly unwilling Hungarian Prime Minister Ticha, and ordered: "Prime Minister Ticha, no matter whether the Germans fulfill their promises or not, no matter what measures the empire takes against Serbia, I hope this will be between you and Serbia." With the consent of the Hungarian people. If you really don’t want to see the war happen, then I promise you that you will not use this as an excuse to launch a war against Serbia.”

As the monarch of this dual system empire, the old emperor who has maintained national unity and stability for decades, Franz I's political methods are very clever.

The old emperor knew very well that maintaining the rule with Hungary was the most important thing compared to annexing Serbia to prove that the empire had not declined.

If this incident caused the Kingdom of Hungary and the Austrian Empire to fall apart, then even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire could annex Serbia, it would be split into two or even three parts.

Seeing the old emperor speak so sincerely, Prime Minister Ticha also knew that he had to make a decision.

Although Prime Minister Ticha and the Kingdom of Hungary have great power, if they turn against the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary alone will not be able to maintain its status as a great power, and it will even be directly reduced to a second-tier or even third-tier country in Europe.

A weak country can never protect itself. This is the first truth that Prime Minister Tiza, a senior politician, became the Prime Minister of Hungary.

Without too much hesitation, Prime Minister Ticha responded: "I understand, Your Majesty the Emperor. Please rest assured that the Hungarian people will always be the people of the Empire no matter what. If the Germans are really willing to support us, then I ask you I assure you that the Hungarian government and people will support this war."

Prime Minister Ticha is very smart. He knows that although this seems to be the old emperor's concession to Hungary, if Hungary really insists on opposing this war, it will not do any good to Hungary itself.

Unless the strength of the Kingdom of Hungary has far surpassed that of the Austrian Empire, Austria will always have the final say in this country.

　Just 4000 words today, and you will be compensated every day tomorrow!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)