1890 King of Southeast Asia

December 8, Vienna.

This is the capital of music, the former capital of the Austrian Empire, and the center of the European continent after the anti-French war.

However, with the rise of North Germany, the defeat of the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War, and Franz Joseph being forced to reorganize the empire into a dual empire, the importance of this place has been greatly reduced.

The reason is that with the weakening of the empire and the decline of its influence, more and more people began to ignore Vienna's attitude.

By the beginning of the 20th century, although Vienna was still a world-renowned city, it was still slightly inferior to London, Paris, Berlin, etc.

However, recent events have brought Vienna back into people's vision.

Creak~

A car stopped outside the palace, and the Habsburg army used it. As soon as Archduke Friedrich got out of the car, a group of flies flew over.

"Respected Archduke Friedrich, is it true that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is about to annex the Bosnia-Herzegovina region?"

"Respected Duke, will the Empire go to war against the Kingdom of Serbia?"

"Sir, we want to know what the Austro-Hungarian Empire's attitude is?"

"The Hungarian people want to know whether they will be involved in an unprovoked war. Please respond..."

Friedrich waved his hand in disgust, and his men hurried up to separate a path from the crowd.

"I don't know where your news comes from. What I can tell you is that I know nothing about what you said. These are all rumors!"

Friedrich said this with a frown, and walked into the palace without looking back.

"Has Marshal Franz arrived?" On the way to meet the emperor, Friedrich asked the waiter beside him.

Site: Tower^Read novels, welcome to download-^

Franz, Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army, is theoretically Friedrich's subordinate.

"I arrived thirty minutes ago and am discussing with His Majesty. His Majesty is quite happy." The waiter said softly without turning his head.

That voice was because the palace was relatively quiet. If there was any disturbance, it would be covered up by this sentence.

"I know." Friedrich nodded.

After a while, Friedrich came to the meeting hall. The waiter stopped here and Friedrich strode in.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Franz, I'm sorry, I'm late. The roads in Vienna should be repaired. My car was almost damaged." Friedrich shouted with a smile.

"Karl, you are finally here. Don't worry about the damn road. It's the city hall's business. Come and sit down." Franz Joseph I greeted him happily.

"As you say, Your Majesty, what are you talking about?" Friedrich sat on the sofa.

Friedrich was born in the Habsburg royal family. He has three prince titles, a total of duke titles, and a grand duke title.

Although he is not the crown prince of the Habsburg royal family, he is also a legitimate royal aristocrat, a descendant of Franz Joseph, and his style of doing things is not so concerned - except for power.

"Oh! We are talking about the situation in the Balkans. You know, Ferdinand has proposed a plan to expand the influence of the empire again." Franz Joseph said.

This Ferdinand refers to Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who was once the fuse.

But now Serbia is in a weak position and has not ignited this fuse.

"Your Majesty, are we going to start a war in the Balkans? The Russians and the British will probably not watch us act." Friedrich glanced at the Chief of Staff Franz and said to Franz Joseph.

"If it were us, of course it wouldn't work, but it's not." Franz Joseph took out a letter.

Friedrich hesitated, took the envelope, opened it and read it.

"It's hard to imagine that His Majesty Ferdinand I actually has this courage." Friedrich was surprised after reading the letter.

Tsar Ferdinand I was also born into a German aristocracy and was the nephew of Franz Joseph. Unfortunately, the uncle-nephew relationship deteriorated after he converted his son to Orthodoxy.

So here, Frederick was addressed in a very formal way, not as a name to express intimacy between noble relatives.

"Yes, I didn't expect that before Maria became a monarch, no one was optimistic about him. She was cowardly and weird... But now, he is already a qualified monarch." Franz Joseph said happily.

Site: Tower^Read novels, welcome to download-^

"So, when will we annex Bosnia and Herzegovina? Is the army ready? How to cooperate with Bulgaria?" Friedrich asked a series of questions.

"Karl, you should focus more on your work. You should know more about the army." Franz Joseph said pretentiously.

The nominal supreme commander of the national army is the distinguished prince/grandduke Friedrich.

But Friedrich was not stupid. He never got involved in military power. After all, he had the titles of Archduke of Austria and Prince of Hungary. If he stretched his hands too far, he would be disliked.

And because Archduke Ferdinand, the crown prince, married Sophie, the Duchess of Hornberg, it was a marriage between the noble and the common. Under the coercion of Franz Joseph, his children had no right to inherit the throne.

Friedrich, who grew up in the palace, did not want to die inexplicably.

Royal disputes were not limited to the Eastern powers.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Friedrich did not refute, but took the initiative to put on an obedient attitude.

Franz Joseph only needed a mascot, and Friedrich was the mascot.

"Marshal Franz, please explain to Karl the deployment of the army." Franz Joseph may be tired, and gave the stage to the Chief of the Army General Staff Franz.

"Your Excellency the Archduke, let me tell you about the specific deployment of our army." Franz stood up with a smile and walked to the map.

Franz Joseph sat aside with a smile, holding the letter in his hand.

"First of all, we have spread the word that we will annex the Bosnia and Herzegovina region according to the Berlin Treaty of 1878, which is allowed by Britain and Russia." Franz pointed to a small piece of red between the yellow and blue on the map.

"Berlin Treaty?" Friedrich asked puzzledly.

"It's like this. In 1877, we supported the Russians in waging war against the Ottoman Empire and signed the Treaty of San Stefano."

"In return, in 1878, during the Berlin negotiations, we obtained the qualification to trustee the Bosnia and Herzegovina region and reserved the right to annex the Bosnia and Herzegovina region at any time."

"This is a secret treaty. It's normal that you don't know. I just told Franz."

Franz Joseph explained on the side.

Friedrich nodded and motioned for Marshal Franz to continue.

"Serbia may not necessarily launch a military operation, but there will definitely be resistance in the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, and the rebels will be related to the Serbs. This is our excuse for action."

"Serbia has a total military force of 300,000. After annexing the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, I plan to mobilize 500,000 people, use the Bosnia and Herzegovina region as a forward base, and launch an attack on Serbia in two routes."

Franz gestured on the map to indicate the direction of the attack.

"Please wait a moment, do we need to mobilize so many people? What about Bulgaria? How to ensure the defense of the border?" Friedrich asked.

Bulgaria has not recovered from the damage in the war, which Friedrich knows, but he can't just do nothing, right?

This time it was Bulgaria that proposed it, not Austria-Hungary. How much benefit can Austria-Hungary get if it makes such a big effort?

You know, Bulgaria only needs to defend the Romanian direction, while Austria-Hungary is directly bordering Tsarist Russia.

It is inevitable that the front line will be empty if such a large-scale army is mobilized. If there is a chance, will Tsarist Russia sit back and watch Austria-Hungary attack Serbia?

You know, the standing army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is only 500,000.

"Mobilize, issue a mobilization order, and expand the total number of troops to 1.2 million to deal with possible military actions by Tsarist Russia."

"In terms of diplomacy, Bulgaria will take the lead in launching an attack. If Tsarist Russia launches an attack, the reason is not sufficient."

Site: Tower^Read novels, welcome to download-^

As Franz said, Franz Joseph nodded in agreement.

Friedrich just felt that something was wrong, but he didn't delve into it.

It was just Serbia, and it was initiated by Bulgaria. The Allies had no reason to fight to the death. At most, they would send some mercenaries.

Even if the Russians wanted to fight to the death, would Britain and France accompany them? It's hard to say!

After all, Bulgaria was not overly weakened, and the Balkan coalition forces such as Serbia were not overly strengthened. The balance of power has changed.

Bulgaria cooperated with the Austro-Hungarian Empire to deal with Serbia. In terms of power balance, Tsarist Russia did not have an advantage.

"Bulgaria is already mobilizing and will send 200,000 troops to attack from southeastern Serbia."

"The day after Bulgaria's attack, we will launch an attack from the north..."

Franz explained, and the waiter hurried in with documents.

"What happened?" Franz Joseph frowned and asked.

"A telegram from the East. The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the South China Navy and the Chinese Navy yesterday afternoon. This morning, the South China Empire and the Chinese Navy declared war on the Imperial Japanese Empire."

"Great! Is there any news from the box?" Franz Joseph was overjoyed.

"This is the news sent back by the embassies in Japan, South Korea, and China." The waiter took out the telegram.

"At 3 pm on December 7, the Japanese Navy attacked the First Battleship Division of the South China Empire Navy and the Chinese Navy Fleet off the coast of China."

"The Japanese Empire dispatched four battleships and 15 cruisers to fight against the South China Empire and the Chinese battleships, and 24 destroyers."

"The battle lasted for four hours and ended at night. One battleship of the Japanese Empire sank, two battleships were seriously damaged, and one was slightly damaged."

"One battleship of the South China Empire sank, and one battleship was slightly damaged."

"Two battleships of the Chinese Navy were slightly damaged..."

"Great, in this way, the energy of Britain and Russia will be tied up by the Far East. Franz, let go and do what you want!" Franz Joseph said with a flushed face.