Chapter 120： The reaction of the great powers

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Franz Joseph I is holding a cabinet meeting to discuss how Austria-Hungary will deal with the war between Serbia and Bulgaria!

"Your Majesty, the Serbs already know that they are anxious, it seems they are not sure about this war!" Foreign Minister Roman Haubenstock-Ramati said gleefully

"This is normal. It has only been nine years since the last Serbian War, and Serbia has not yet recovered its vitality; Bulgaria has become even stronger, and the gap between the strengths of the two sides is too great. This battle cannot be fought at all!" The Minister of Army laughed. Say

"You mean, if we don't intervene, Serbia will be defeated this time?" the prime minister asked with interest

"Judged purely from a military standpoint, I can't think of how Serbia could win. Of course, if there are other countries participating in the cooperation, it might be possible!" The Secretary of the Army said positively

"This may hardly exist! The major powers contain each other, even if they support Serbia, but other countries except us have limited power in the Balkans and do not have the strength to intervene!" The Minister of Foreign Affairs added

The Prime Minister asked in confusion: "What about the Ottoman Empire? Their strength in the Balkans is not small. If they want to intervene, it is still possible?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs thought for a while and said: "The Ottoman Empire is now overwhelmed by the issue of their massacre of Armenians some time ago, and the Sudan has rejected our'goodwill'! Now it is overwhelming, and international pressure has prevented them from acting rashly. !

The Russians previously invited all countries to join forces to intervene, but we refused! Even if Osman wants to support Serbia, he must also consider whether the Russian Empire will join in!

In fact, besides us, basically no other countries will directly take action!

It seems that Romania has some ideas, but Carol I is too courageous, unless we are willing to come out and contain the Russians, otherwise they dare not intervene! "

Franz Joseph I seemed to be interested in what the Minister of Foreign Affairs said, and asked: "If we contain the Russian Empire and Romania enters the war, what will happen?"

The Secretary of the Army thought for a while and said: "If Romania can fully unite with Serbia, then this war has to be fought!"

Franz Joseph I was surprised and asked: "Oh, Bulgaria has grown to this point?"

"In fact, Serbia is now half disabled. The country is in a mess. The rebellion has just been put down. It is acceptable to defend, and it has no ability to take the initiative! If Romania enters the war now, it will basically be heads-up against Bulgaria. Serbia can help at best. Contain two to thirty thousand troops!" The Secretary of the Army explained

The Minister of Foreign Affairs asked in disbelief: "Has Serbia expanded its army? It is said that it is a national mobilization. They plan to mobilize 300,000 people? Even if there is not much combat power, the number of Bulgarian troops cannot be blocked by two to three thousand, right?"

The Secretary of the Army shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Roman! If it is only used for defense, they may still have some fighting capacity under the call of defending their homes and the country; if they are proactively attacked, they may collapse in battle!

An army that doesn't even have one gun for every soldier, maybe it doesn't even have enough ammunition to support a big battle, and the combat effectiveness can be imagined! "

At this time, the Minister of Finance said: "The Secretary of the Army is right! The Serbian government's finances are terrible, and now it has no money! The 300,000 army, whether it is weapons or equipment, or military expenses, they can't afford it!"

Franz Joseph I felt puzzled, the situation in Serbia is much worse than he thought! That being the case, why are you still so arrogant to establish "Greater Serbia"?

Don’t you know that Bosnia-Herzegovina is already the meat in the boss’s mouth.

He thought for a while and said, "Forget it! Since the Serbs are so reckless, let Bulgaria teach them a lesson!

Tell the Bulgarians, follow the agreement! The army should also be prepared, and the play should be a complete set, so that no one can see the flaws! "

……

The Russian Empire, Alexander III, who is patrolling around, is very bad now!

The "Near East crisis" has not yet been resolved, and the Ottoman Turkey does not see the slightest meaning of surrender; the "Japanese War" broke out in the Far East and attracted his attention again; now the Bulgarian boy seems to be planning to do something again!

Alexander III asked unhappily: "What do you think of the conflict between Bulgaria and Serbia?"

The Prime Minister said with a smile: "The Bulgarians did not ask us for help this time, but hoped that we would support them internationally. It seems that they are confident!

Of course, this is related to the rapid development of Bulgaria in recent years. They can't bear it anymore and want to show their strength!

Bulgaria and Serbia have a long history of contradictions, UU reading www. uukanshu. The two sides of com have long been incompatible with fire and water, and a war between them is expected! I just didn't expect it to be so early? "

Alexander III looked at the confident crown prince and asked: "What do you think of Nicholas?"

Crown Prince Nicholas smiled and said: "Ferdinand still has such a vicious vision! Serbia is now at its weakest time. He took the opportunity to fall to the ground. He intends to abolish this opponent!"

Alexander III smiled and nodded, motioning for him to continue.

The future Nicholas II was slightly surprised and continued: "The current international situation is very beneficial to Bulgaria!

The Austro-Hungarian Empire has just passed the financial crisis, and it is unlikely to directly send troops to intervene; the Ottoman Empire is trapped in the “Near Eastern Crisis” and is seen to death by the major powers; Britain, France and Germany have limited power in the Balkans. Said that it is impossible for them to come forward for irrelevant Serbia!

After eliminating external interference, Serbia is no opponent at all, but once Bulgaria wins, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will definitely interfere. Have they reached an agreement? "

Alexander III smiled and said: "Yes! Although Serbia is the younger brother of Austria-Hungary, it does not mean that there is no contradiction between the two sides. The young king of Serbia used the establishment of the ‘Greater Serbia’ as a slogan all day long, and Vienna would certainly not be satisfied!

If possible, Vienna would not mind to teach Serbia a lesson and let them know that the sky is great!

Ferdinand should have reached a tacit understanding with them, and even this war may be secretly planned by the old fox of Joseph!

The political methods of the Hardenberg family are the best in the world. Presumably, Serbia will be completely forced to the Austro-Hungarian Empire soon! "