Chapter 375 The Contradictory Austro-Hungarian Empire

Any country has war factions and peace factions, but relatively speaking, there will be strong and weak factions, or someone who can make up his mind.

But for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the great powers, not only are the war factions and peace factions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire balanced, but even Emperor Franz I, the final decision maker, is actually very hesitant.

The lack of a final decision maker led to the fact that there was no unified decision within the Austro-Hungarian Empire to take military action in response to the assassination.

After several hours of intense discussions, the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally reached 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, people were sent to Berlin to seek the understanding and support of William II.

In the memorandum from Franz I to William II drafted by Berchtold, it was said that after the terrible events in Bosnia, it was impossible for the hostility between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia to be amicably eased. As long as the source of evil incitement such as Belgrade is not punished, the peace policy 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 attitude of other countries towards the Sarajevo assassination, first of all, they expressed care and concern in a unified manner.

Almost all monarchical countries condemned the assassination. As the initiator of the European Royal Joint Declaration, the Australasian government expressed its concern about this incident and stated that if this was an assassination of the European royal family at the national level, it would be an extremely terrible event that threatened the European monarchy.

Although Arthur had been prepared for the Sarajevo incident, he couldn't help sighing when this incident, which almost marked the outbreak of World War I, actually happened.

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

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

After all, Serbia and Russia are iron-clad allies. Supporting the enemy? Wait until the next life!

In Bosnia, the interrogation of several murderers was going on overnight. All officials, including Governor-General Botyrek, were waiting for the results of the interrogation with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, they hoped that the interrogation would end soon, so that they could atone for their crimes and avoid being hated by Franz.

On the other hand, they were afraid that the final interrogation result would be related to them. If they finally found out that the assassins were able to successfully assassinate Archduke Ferdinand because of their unintentional actions, they would probably be in big trouble.

Especially the mayor of Sarajevo. You know, this mayor revealed Archduke Ferdinand's itinerary in advance before Archduke Ferdinand set off.

Although the purpose was not to facilitate the assassination, if this unintentional act really accelerated the assassination, what was the difference between this and being an accomplice?

In the mixed waiting of the crowd, after two days of interrogation and several days of investigation, the assassination finally had some clues.

Although it is unknown what interrogation methods the Austro-Hungarian Empire used, for two 17-18-year-old patriotic young men, such interrogation methods could not last long.

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

July 3, 1914, Vienna.

The cabinet meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also held once a week. Because the assassin had confessed and the investigation of the incident had made progress, 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 a certain official controlled force in Serbia, and how he arrived and ambushed in Sarajevo with the help of this force called the Mafia. I can't imagine that this is an assassination plan that has been planned for several years. It's terrible. If the real murderer behind the scenes is not severely punished, where is the safe place?" At the cabinet meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Foreign Minister Berchtold said with a heavy face.

The Austrian Prime Minister, who once did not advocate war, has turned into a hawk like Archduke Ferdinand because of the assassination.

The Sarajevo assassination made Berchtold believe that it was necessary to show 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 revenge war against Serbia and destroy this damn country and those damn Serbs together.

The words of the Austrian Prime Minister and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister immediately aroused the approval of the war faction.

"Berchtold is right. If the mastermind is allowed to continue to go unpunished, it will undoubtedly be a slap in the face of the empire and everyone present. From the royal family to the government and all officials, no one will be ashamed of such a stupid act. The best way to avoid such consequences is to start a war and completely wipe that damn country off the map. Conrad, the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, stood up and said.

The two major war factions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were Archduke Ferdinand and Chief of Staff Conrad, who was promoted by Archduke Ferdinand.

After Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated and died, Conrad originally thought that he was the only one in the war camp. Unexpectedly, the Foreign Secretary who had not advocated war before suddenly became a war camp. This affected all the war campers and those who supported the war camp behind him. It's good news for officials.

Foreign Minister Berthold also serves as the Prime Minister of the Austrian government. Like Hungarian Prime Minister Ticza, he has a very high status within the Austro-Hungarian government.

If there is one person who can suppress Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza, then that person must be Berthold as Austrian Prime Minister.

"Chief of Staff Conrad is right. We should not let those behind the scenes go unpunished. We must punish them to demonstrate the majesty of our empire."

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

Behind the main war faction is the hawkish force composed of Army Minister Crobatin, some nobles and the army.

Soldiers and nobles are active in waging wars, because wars can earn them a large amount of military merit, obtain titles, or advance to higher ranks.

Most of the peace factions were politicians, especially when Austria and Hungary were divided within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ideas of Austria and Hungary were not so consistent.

The disadvantages can be seen from the division of cabinet government in 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 normal for such countries to have different ideas.

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

The main reasons why the peace faction is currently unwilling to launch a war are: First, Serbia has Russia behind it, and launching a war means going to war with Russia.

Second, Germany, the ally behind the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has not expressed its position. If the war is launched privately regardless of the opinions of the Germans, the Germans may also 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 Berthold quickly said: "If I remember correctly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once told me that during his visit to Germany, His Majesty Wilhelm II once promised to The Serbian issue gives our country support. If our country launches an attack on Serbia, Germany will definitely express its support and fulfill its alliance.”

Berthold's words almost reversed the situation of the meeting.

The peace faction and the war faction were originally relatively balanced, but now the peace faction has completely lost its voice.

"Berchtold, why didn't you tell us earlier about the promise His Majesty Wilhelm II made to His Highness? Moreover, why didn't His Highness mention it in person, but why did you bring it up after His Highness was assassinated?" In order to reverse the situation. Hungarian Prime Minister Tica questioned the disadvantages of the peace faction.

Austria and Hungary were not so united. At least the wealthy Hungarians were not willing to start a unnecessary war over the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

It would be fine if it were just a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, but this would most likely evolve into a full-scale war between Austria-Hungary and Russia, and the Hungarians would never agree.

Facing Prime Minister Ticha's question, Berthold chuckled, glanced at his old enemy, and then looked at the old emperor Franz I, explaining: "His Royal Highness the Grand Duke once said, Germany There is no need to publicize His Majesty’s verbal promise. What’s more, if there are no surprises, His Majesty the Kaiser’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 His Majesty the Kaiser's verbal promise a few years ago!" Prime Minister Ticha Still trying to make a final rebuttal to stop this war.

"That's enough. Since you are all deadlocked, why not ask the Germans directly for their opinions." The old emperor Franz I said, waving his hand to stop the quarrel among his men.

Seeing that the quarrel between Berthold and Ticha was likely to escalate into a dispute between Hungary and Austria, even the old emperor Franz I, who had previously been firmly in power, had to quickly stop it. .

For a dualist empire like Austria-Hungary, national unity was the most important thing.

Because the Austrian government and the Hungarian government each have greater power, if this quarrel does not have a good outcome, I am afraid it will evolve into a conflict between the government of the Kingdom of Hungary and the government of the Austrian Empire.

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

If the Hungarians felt that they had suffered a loss and instigated independence, the old emperor would really vomit blood.

Maintaining this empire took a lot of effort from Franz I. Any behavior that might undermine the unity and unity of the country would not be accepted by Franz I.

Fortunately, the old emperor still has high prestige in this country. As long as Franz I was around, the internal problems of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would never expand.

Seeing that the old emperor had spoken, neither Austrian Prime Minister Berthold nor Hungarian Prime Minister Ticza dared to speak any more to refute.

Asking the Germans for their opinions is also the best result for both of them. Berchtold can prove that what he said is true, and Prime Minister Tiša can temporarily delay the war. It is even possible that the Germans will change their minds, thus extinguishing the hope of launching this war.

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

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

The old emperor knew very well that compared with annexing Serbia and proving that the empire has not declined, maintaining the rule with Hungary is the most important thing.

If this incident leads to the disintegration of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Austrian Empire, then even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire can annex Serbia, it will be divided into two or even three parts.

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

Although Prime Minister Tiša and the Kingdom of Hungary have great power, if they become enemies with the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary alone cannot maintain its status as a great power, and may even fall directly to a second-rate or even third-rate country in Europe.

Weak countries can never protect themselves. This is the first truth that the veteran politician Prime Minister Tiša understood after becoming the Prime Minister of Hungary.

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

Prime Minister Tiša 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 be of any benefit to Hungary itself.

Unless the strength of the Kingdom of Hungary has far exceeded that of the Austrian Empire, otherwise, this country will always be ruled by Austria.

4,000 words today, and tomorrow's compensation!