The Berlin conference is over, and everyone has lost and gained.

Germany got its wish and annexed 11 Austro-Hungarian provinces, increasing its land area by nearly 200,000 square kilometers, increasing its population by nearly 20 million, and incorporating all the industrial areas in the northwest, making Germany the second largest country in Europe in terms of territorial area.

However, with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, although the Kingdom of Croatia-Slovenia and Hungary would remain allies of Germany, the overall sphere of influence was actually damaged by the cession of Galicia and Budavico, the withdrawal of spheres of influence from Bulgaria, and the surrender of the Black Sea coast to Russia.

Italy was recognized by the four major European powers as the new fifth power, and its international status was improved, but it also completely lost the possibility of returning to the Tyrolean region with the Germans.

Although the British didn't get anything this time, the British appeared as a peacemaker at the beginning, so the Germans held a meeting to let the British brush up on the sense of saving face, and the British ate this and satisfied the pride of the British Empire.

The French were the biggest losers, screaming the loudest at the beginning, but they were also the hardest to be slapped in the face. At best, this meeting gave the French a fig leaf: you see that so many people have agreed, and I can't help it alone.

And the biggest winners were the Russians, who got Galicia and Bukovina, much to the great satisfaction of the Russians, who had always been angry with everyone in Poland. And with the support of the Germans, the rights of the Russians on the Black Sea coast did not require the consent of Britain and France at all.

But on the surface, behind the scenes, Rio Heng doesn't see it that way. The biggest winner is still Germany, first of all, after the acquisition of the Primorsky Province, the important port of Pula belongs to Germany, after Germany becomes a Mediterranean country, the shipping line in the Far East trade will be shortened by nearly 4,000 nautical miles, which will have a huge effect on the German economy.

And the increase in land area and population represents a larger domestic market, and if you want to occupy this market, both German and original Austrian companies have to go through a fight, and the strength of the survival of the fittest is not intended to be the strongest. This is a stimulus for German companies, and a screening for Austrian companies that are less capable themselves.

The entire Austro-Hungarian industrial zone is basically incorporated into Germany, if after screening, weak and small enterprises are eliminated, the integration of resources to improve the efficiency of emerging enterprises is also more conducive to enhance the overall economic strength of Germany, seize the trade market.

Before World War I, Germany had the highest population growth rate in Europe, and if the 20 million people who joined Germany could maintain a high growth rate, it would greatly alleviate the problem of labor shortage.

As for whether a unified German Empire would be able to cope with the two-front battle and ultimately win, Jochen did not know, but given the humble performance of the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I, Jochen believed that it would not be worse than in history, at least.

The low level of the Russian army made the inexplicable offensive of Brusilov's tactics a mess, but in this way, the Austro-Hungarian army was beaten to the point of crying, losing 1.5 million troops, and the battle loss ratio was as high as 1:3, forcing the German army to draw troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front to support.

The Germans said that if there were 1.5 million German troops, then I would be able to beat Maozi 1:3. So the Austro-Hungarian disintegration had no military effect at all, and Jochen could even look forward to the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army under the German military system.

Moreover, the disappearance of Austria-Hungary also eliminated the gap between Germany and Italy, and at worst, the Italians would not have rebelled so simply in 1915.

The territorial dispute between the Italians and northwestern Austria-Hungary has been one of the biggest obstacles to the Triple Alliance. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I, Italy became even more greedy for the whole of southern Austria, and even sent four divisions to the Brenner Pass in 1934 to make Hitler abandon his attempt to annex Austria.

However, after Austria was annexed to the Third Reich, Italy quickly moved closer to Germany with the contradictions disappearing, and eventually became one of the axis of evil.

Therefore, the disintegration of Austria-Hungary and the strong intervention of Germany will also dispel some unnecessary ideas in Italy.

So no matter how you look at it, the Austro-Hungarian disintegration will be more beneficial than harmful for Germany.

Britain doesn't seem to have lost anything, but the great expansion of the Russians' power and the skyrocketing power of Germany have completely bankrupted his continental equilibrium policy, and if they want to continue to play the balance, the British will have to pay a greater price in the future.

Not only did France lose face diplomatically, but Italy's rising status weakened its influence in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the Russians put the French together this time, and the establishment of the Franco-Russian alliance is estimated to be delayed for a short time, and the Germans will not have to have a headache for the Franco-Russian alliance for at least 10 years

And outside the meeting, there are people who rejoice and some who cry.

The Kingdom of Croatia and Slovenia unexpectedly received a "trusteeship" of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also 50,000 square kilometers of land.

And the Serbs were naturally on the side of the cry, they lost nearly 40,000 people, and the capital Belgrade was bombed to tatters, not only did not go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but was also tacitly approved by the Russians for the right to garrison.

The Polish nobles of Galicia and Bulgaria were in mourning when they learned that they had been sold to Maozi by the Germans.

However, this qiē has nothing to do with the Germans, and the Russians will naturally have to work hard to really control these areas, while the Germans are beginning to digest what they have eaten with all their might.

As the Reichsbank brought gold into Austria, began to stabilize the economy in these regions, and gradually replaced the creditless kroner with the mark, the daily life of the Austrian inhabitants began to return to normal, and the factories and shops gradually returned to normal operations, and most people welcomed the arrival of the Germans.

However, not everyone was happy that they were able to join the German family, and the Austrian industrial capitalists rose up to oppose the German-Austrian merger because their markets would be contested and seized by their German counterparts.

However, even if these people were making trouble, they were only ringworm, and Marie's authority as queen of Austria was unquestionable, and the industrial capitalists themselves were severely damaged by the economic crisis, so their protests were not at all to be feared.

And Archduke Albrecht, who became the regent of Austria, was born in the army, and the German-Austrian merger he promoted single-handedly would not allow anyone to destroy it, and if things really got serious, he would definitely not blink an eye when he sent troops to suppress the archduke.

However, in order to maintain stability, Caprivi still gave these people a way to live, and gave 5 years of preferential policies to companies in Austria, and if they could not develop and grow, and were forced to die by their German counterparts, then you deserved it.

However, the problem of Bohemia and Moravia is more troublesome, the Czechs here have no sense of identity with the German Empire, and the Czechs have their own history and culture, from the Duchy of Tsamo to the Kingdom of the Czech Republic, in Bohemia and Moravia, the Czechs have been autonomous for more than 700 years, and there have been uprisings after being annexed by the Holy Roman Empire.

Originally, things were not so bad, after all, in the early feudal era, the distinction between nationalities was not so obvious, everyone was more obedient to the lord and king, and religion was higher than the standard of one qiē. However, in 1836 the Czech historian Frankishek Palacki wrote an authoritative book on Czech history, The History of the Bohemian Peoples, which chronicled the history of the constant conflict between the Czechs and the Germanic peoples, as well as the development of the independent kingdom of the Czech Republic.

The book awakened the national consciousness of the Czechs, and the growing contradictions between the Czechs and the Germans also gave the Czechs the idea of independence.

Now, after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Croats, who lacked national consciousness, became independent, and they themselves were annexed by Germany, which was unacceptable to the Czechs. Although the Bohemian and Moravian German nobility was stronger and contributed to the decision to join Germany, it does not mean that the Czech nobility will not cause you trouble.

Therefore, with the exception of the Sudetenland, a German-dominated region, which quickly accepted the leadership of the German Empire, all other regions began to rebel against the acceptance of the leadership of the German Empire.

And the region that was the epitome of Austro-Hungarian heavy industry, the fourth largest arms producer in Europe before World War II, had a military power greater than the Third Reich before 1938, nothing can make a fuss about it.

In response to this, Jochen proposed a tough attitude at the Imperial Council to crush the czechs' delusions.

"Now that the Russians are powerless and the French dare not meddle with our affairs, we have no need to be too polite to Bohemia and Moravia. Let the army enter, immediately impose martial law and military control in any area that is in serious trouble, arrest all opponents, and kill those who resist, be sure to eliminate all organized resistance forces, and the remaining unfashionable guys, the empire can slowly clean up. ”

"Your Highness, will this cause a backlash from the Czechs?" Caprivi was a little frightened, this was the first time that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had shown such a murderous spirit.

"Bounce? With the Imperial Army pressing the formation, where can they bounce back? Your Excellency, Prime Minister, you have been careful. Schlieffen said lightly: "Your Highness is right, we are not a relaxed Austria-Hungary, and the German Empire has never been polite to the enemy. ”

"But high-pressure terror only makes the situation worse, and we don't want a ruined Bohemia." Caprivi is in a hurry, if he really does this, Bohemia will be in chaos for at least ten years.

"Then put the social security and wage system we now have in place in our own country and put it to use in Bohemia, give the Czechs twice as much income, and don't send them to war, I believe they will become followers of the empire, and then put twice as much effort into the factories and make it their sacred duty."

After all, the majority of people care about their stomachs, and Jochen believes that this method will make the majority of the Czech people at the bottom make a wise choice. Without a mass base, the remaining ones, the hard labor camp will be their best home.

"The German factories in Bohemia and Moravia also gave some preferential policies to help them get through the difficult period in the early stage of the treatment improvement, so that they could crush many Czech enterprises, and without social strength, what capital did they have to make trouble? In addition, enterprises in the empire were sent to Bohemia and Moravia to recruit workers, the population of the Czechs was transferred outward, and the immigration to Bohemia and Moravia was accelerated, diluting the number of Czechs there. ”

Jochen continued to draw salaries, and it was impossible to kill all the Czechs, so he had to assimilate them, and the Germans' numerical superiority would have to be used, but that wasn't the end of it.

"In addition, the forced implementation of bilingual education, German must be learned by Czechs from an early age, and in the future, knowing German is also one of the criteria for German companies to recruit workers, and not knowing German means that they lack social competitiveness, then Czechs will also be divided internally, and if they want to get a good life, then German is a necessary skill for them, and over time, how many people can stick to their traditions?"

"If that were the case, we would not have allowed them to continue to govern as part of the Kingdom of Austria, and such a high-handed policy would not be appropriate in the Kingdom of Austria." Frederick III thought about it for a moment and said.

His Majesty the Emperor approved of this plan, but there were some opinions on the details, and Caprivi could only comply: "Then it might be more appropriate for Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia to be separated from the Kingdom of Austria and administered as provinces under the direct jurisdiction of the Empire." ”

"So let's do it." With the words of Frederick III, the three provinces were brought under the direct jurisdiction of the German Empire, and the German Army began to advance into the three provinces, a policy that Jochen called Candy and the Whip began with the bloody suppression of the Czechs.