In the Royal Palace of Vienna, the aging Austrian Emperor met with the Minister of War Conrad. As a minister of war who rose from the civilian ranks, Conrad always had the ideal ambition to revive the glory of the Habsburg royal family. War and glory were the two things he pursued throughout his life.

The assassination of Ferdinand in his eyes was an opportunity to revive the Austrian Empire by conquering Serbia.

"Your Majesty, the diplomat just called back and has received the full support of the Kaiser." Condra concealed his joy and reported to Joseph I in a serious tone, "The assassination of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must not be ignored.

.We must make the Serbs pay the price."

"Yes!" Joseph I nodded dully, "Cherish the days of peace. Maybe in the future when we look back on 1914, we will cherish the peace we have now. There will be no turning back."

The old Austrian Emperor is obviously not in high spirits. At this age, he has become somewhat numb over the long years. The crown prince committed suicide, his wife was assassinated, and now even the second crown prince has been assassinated as well.

Under the empire, the ethnic composition was extremely complex. 24% Germans and 21% Hungarians were the main forces, followed by Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, and Croats.

, Slovaks, Serbs, etc. Such a complex ethnic composition made the Austro-Hungarian Empire full of internal contradictions. It can be said that the Austro-Hungarian Empire used various means to force them together.

In order to maintain the stability of the country, the Germans and Hungarians represented by Austria formed an alliance. The population of the two ethnic groups accounted for nearly half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this way, the Austro-Hungarian Empire stabilized its national foundation. The Austro-Hungarian Empire therefore

A dualist state system dominated by Austrians and Hungarians was established.

Although the Austrians control the state power, the Hungarians have a special status within the empire. The two ethnic groups strengthen their strength through union to govern other ethnic groups. But even so, the two major ethnic groups still do not account for the absolute population of the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Most, other ethnic groups are always ready to take action.

Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Slovenes and Italians all tried to gain a greater say in the empire.

In peacetime, it is possible to use strong military force and internal adjustment to stabilize the country. But can this be done once a war breaks out? The Austro-Hungarian Empire is somewhat different now than when Joseph I first came to the throne. Europe at that time

, far from being as strong as today’s European nationalist atmosphere.

Joseph I remained silent for a long time like a statue, and he did not even know when the Minister of War left.

As the Minister of War walked out of the palace, he happened to meet the Foreign Minister Bertholdt, who had just returned from Germany. The two chatted outside the palace, "I believe that after this battle, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will regain its ancient glory."

"I believe so too!" Bertholdt acknowledged. After receiving the guarantee from the Germans, he suddenly became emboldened and instantly became a hawk. He believed that with the help of Germany, the Austrian army would be able to crush Serbia and move on to the next step.

The pinnacle of glory.

"I will make the Serbs pay the price." Conrad was already preparing to list the terms that the Serbs would never accept. Once the Serbs refused, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could immediately attack Serbia.

After entering July, due to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the temperature in the eyes of citizens of various countries has cooled down a bit, but in fact the temperature has only increased because the citizens have not seen it. Not only diplomats who can be reported by newspapers, but also

Monarchs from various countries, including William II, also began to use personal relationships and special channels between the royal family to communicate about the assassination of Ferdinand.

Wilhelm II, who believed that the war was a good opportunity, fell into conflict again. While approving the military generals' preparations for war, he and Emperor Nicholas II exchanged letters to discuss how to prevent the war.

At this time, French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani visited St. Petersburg, which was interpreted as the French-Russian alliance, the core of the Allied Powers, showing strength against the Allies at a critical moment. The simultaneous visit of the French President and Prime Minister to a country is enough to show that the French

Attention to the Russian Empire.

Similarly, the Russians also expressed a warm welcome to the arrival of the two French leaders. The popularity of the Franco-Russian alliance among the people is rapidly increasing. Almost everyone believes that the two countries' navy and army forces, which are as close as brothers, are the most important factor in protecting peace.

.

Nicholas II met with French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani in the palace and talked about the progress of the Sarajevo incident. French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani first spoke to Nicholas II

Shi expressed his greetings and said that the assassination incident was something that no one wanted to see. The current attitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was obviously to prepare for the outbreak of war.

France has always respected the special interests of Imperial Russia in the Balkans and is willing to work with Imperial Russia to safeguard these interests. The precious friendship between the two countries deserves to be protected by both parties.

Subsequently, France and Russia jointly issued a joint communique. Later during the Winter Palace dinner, Poincare specifically talked with the Austrian-Hungarian ambassador and asked the ambassador to tell the Austrian-Hungarian government that it should handle its relations with Serbia with special caution. He emphasized:

"Serbia is a very close friend among the Russian people, and Russia has an ally in France. I really don't know how many terrible disputes there are on this issue."

This was obviously a warning to the Austro-Hungarian Empire not to start a war easily, indicating that France and Russia were ready for war. After the communiqué was issued that could be seen by the whole world, I counted it in Sheffield, New York, and felt that

It is basically impossible to expect European royal families to use personal relationships to prevent war.

Now let's look at the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire. As important members of the two major groups, when did Serbia break up and a world war is already on the way?

At this time, Sheffield felt that he should show a touch of warmth to the pre-war world before the world war. The main reason was to allow Nicholas II to travel lightly and devote himself to the war with a good attitude.

Sheffield dialed Arlington's number, and the person who answered the phone was naturally Arlington's hostess, "Dear, we can announce to the public that we have found the daughter of Nicholas II."

"Don't you want to hold these two girls hostage for a while?" Anne was a little confused, but she also accepted the reality. Her husband always changed his position three times a day, and maybe he thought of something else.

"Changed my mind!" The slave owner said something that would not surprise Anne. "Maybe this good news can make the emperor of the Russian Empire happy and no longer want to aggravate the current tense situation in Europe. I heard that your country

Both the president and the prime minister visited St. Petersburg. If I was just talking casually before, the current situation seems to be really dangerous."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sheffield removed himself from the suspect list, and his wife doubted his role in it.

"Okay, it will be announced soon." Anne nodded, "As for how to make up a story, you can make up the things you come up with yourself. I don't have such a rich imagination."

"That's not a problem, dear!" Sheffield chuckled, said a few words of love to his wife and then hung up the phone.

On July 22, while the two French leaders were still visiting St. Petersburg, Sheffield United announced that it had finally found the two men who had been missing after the attack deep in a dense forest in Texas.

Grand Duchess.

The newspapers of the entire League of Nations system immediately turned their guns and began to shift their focus to the two daughters of Nicholas II. Anne gave the photos of the two female archduchess to the Russian envoys who were still stranded in Texas.

, it can be said to be a miracle that the emperor's daughter, who had been missing for nearly a month, was found.

This even alarmed the Russian ambassador in Washington. After hearing the news, the Russian ambassador quickly spread the news back to the country. At the same time, he immediately set off south to see with his own eyes whether the two girls he found were the daughters of His Majesty the Emperor.

Fake news about the adventures of the princess has begun to be serialized in newspapers, "The two daughters of Nicholas II, through extraordinary royal wisdom, found an opportunity to escape, and have been hiding deep in the dense forests of San Antonio. We must not

It’s not surprising that as the daughters of the Emperor of the Russian Empire, these two noble Grand Duchess have such rich life experience, which shows the good education and thrifty character of the Russian royal family.”

"The writing in these newspapers is too disgusting." Alice Roosevelt also saw the report about Nicholas II's daughter, and said with some disbelief, "This is making up a story."

"You don't understand. The citizens of our country just like this kind of report. It doesn't matter whether it is true or not!" Sheffield has already understood the citizens of the United States thoroughly. First, they worship Europe and foreign countries, and then they believe in conspiracy theories.

Many newspapers have speculated about who is behind this attack. Anyway, it must be to damage the relationship between the United States and the European powers. The suspects range from the British to the Republican Party and even Sheffield himself.

Slave owners must say that what these small newspapers weaving conspiracy theories are not completely unreasonable.

The daughter of Nicholas II, who disappeared after a month, has been found. There are even rumors that members of the Imperial Russian mission have met the Grand Duchess herself. Her disappearance for a month and her reappearance are enough to be called a legend.

The news that his daughter was recovered traveled across the ocean and reached the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Nicholas II, who had just sent away French dignitaries, was overjoyed. "Your Majesty, the Americans said they would conduct necessary examinations on the Grand Duchess to ensure her health.

A ship will be sent back to the country in a month."

Sheffield felt that the war must have broken out in a month, and Nicholas II's daughter would not be able to go back at all. She could pretend to be a law-abiding citizen now, but she couldn't do it anyway.
Chapter completed!