Immediately after his return to Berlin, Jochen met with his father, Frederick III, and told him the contents of his secret conversation with Shoparry. Frederick III was furious when he heard that his son had agreed to such a conspiracy against the Hungarians, and for the first time in his life, Jochen was scolded by his own father.

Jochen could only keep his head down and wait for his father's anger to subside, and Frederick III's anger came and went quickly, and after scolding his son, he began to think about the feasibility of the Hungarian plan.

Frederick III thought about it carefully, and really felt that this could be tried, and his anger was more because of his son's audacity and self-assertion. But since it's feasible, then I've scolded it, so let's consider the actual operability.

Frederick III summoned Caprivi and Schlieffen urgently, and then told them about Jochen's secret conversation with Shopari in Budapest.

Caprivey's first reaction was that it was an adventure: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this matter is very dangerous, the annexation of Austria, we have to consider the reaction of other countries, neither Britain, France nor Russia will want to see our strength greatly increased." ”

"That is, if we annex Austria, Britain, France and Russia will join forces to stop this qiē, even at the expense of going to war with us?" Frederick III asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, whatever form we may take to establish a complete unified German Empire, a total war in Europe will break out, and we will have no allies in this war, and then we will repeat the defeat of Napoleon."

"Napoleon's defeat was due to the fact that he attacked Russia and was defeated by the harsh Russian winter. If we can keep the Russians neutral, then we may not be without a chance. Jochen interjected.

"Your Highness, why do the Russians guarantee neutrality? The strength of Germany has already made Russia wary, how can it be indifferent to our further expansion? ”

"But the disintegration of Austria-Hungary is also what the Russians want to see, isn't it?" Jochen said: "Russia would like to see no rivals in the Balkans, and they would equally like to see the collapse of Austria-Hungary." If we can give them some of the sweetness, the Russians may support our actions instead. So what are the odds of us winning a war with Britain and France if the Russians support it? ”

Historically, Tsarist Russia signed a defensive alliance agreement with the French on August 27, but now because of the rapprochement between Germany and Russia and good trade relations, the Russians have not fully accepted the olive branch of the French. This is also the confidence of Jochen to dare to start a war on the Western Front, without the defensive alliance agreement, even if Germany takes the initiative to attack France, Russia has no obligation to help France.

"Your Highness, even so, the initiative is in the hands of the Russians and not ours, and as soon as Austria-Hungary is dissolved, the purpose of the Russians will be achieved. The disintegrated Austria-Hungary could no longer be united, so the Russians could choose whether to go to war according to their own ideas, and we could not gamble on this risk. ”

"I think Your Excellency the Prime Minister seems to have taken the situation too seriously." Schlieffen on the side spoke: "Indeed, under normal circumstances, we have no chance of winning a war with Britain, France and Russia at the same time. But if, as His Highness says, the Russians remained neutral at the beginning, then Britain and France would not have dared to go to war with us. ”

"Your Excellency, don't forget, we have just demonstrated the combat capabilities of the Imperial Army in Chile, and the new weapons have shown their might. And now that Britain and France are in an economic crisis, the situation is much worse than ours, are they ready for war with us? The French are not afraid of repeating the outcome of the Battle of Sedang again without perfect preparation? Schlieffen said confidently.

The glory of the Battle of Sedan was always the greatest pride of the Army, and Schlieffen believed that the German Army would not mind teaching them another profound lesson if the French attacked rashly.

"Well, if the French don't act rashly, the British won't do it themselves to stop us. Still, I think it's too dangerous to put the initiative in someone else's hands. Caprivi reluctantly backed down.

"Then it is also said that if we can reach an agreement with Tsarist Russia to keep them neutral, and then use force to deter France from acting rashly, then the British will not be able to intervene because they have no help, and I think this is achievable." Frederick III was also very interested in this project.

For Frederick III, who had participated in the Austro-Prussian War, it was also a great temptation to be able to completely annex Austria. Confuse. Frederick III was one of the officers who approved of Wilhelm I's continued march to occupy northwestern Austria, but Bismarck, considering the possible French intervention and the disadvantage of becoming an outright enemy with Austria, eventually made the Prussian army abandon this plan.

And now that an opportunity to annex Austria without war is in front of him, Frederick III feels that he must give it a try no matter what, not to mention that the feasibility is very high, isn't it, if he misses the present, where can he find such a good environment and opportunity?

However, the premise of this was that after Hungary declared its independence from Austria-Hungary, Vienna could not make any strong moves, and could only watch the disintegration of the empire. If Vienna overreacts, we cannot intervene by force, which would provoke war. So we need a chance, an opportunity that will keep Vienna from struggling. ”

If it was to be done, then it was necessary to make the plan more perfect, and Frederick III would not really let Germany sit on the sidelines and watch the Hungarians tinker with themselves.

"If His Majesty really decides to make Vienna powerless to resist and to create better external conditions for the Empire, I don't think the Hungarians alone will be enough. If the Czechs, Croats, and Germans were no longer afraid of the Habsburg monarchy, and all demanded the collapse of Austria-Hungary, then we could diplomatically force the countries to recognize the fact that Austria was annexed to the German Empire. "Since His Majesty the Emperor is determined to do it, Caprivi has to help with his advice.

"If that's the case, it's not enough for Austria-Hungary to face the collapse of their economic system, and perhaps a defeat in a war will not only make their economy worse but also minimize the prestige of the royal family." Schlieffen built yì to.

"So who is the opponent? It can't be the Russians, in which case we have to fulfill the German-Austrian Treaty. Caprivi asked.

"How about letting Serbia play this enemy? Serbian Interior Minister Ilya in 1844? Didn't Galashanen draw up a long-term Serbian program, Sketch Map, to establish a Greater Serbian state and restore the glory of the Dušan Empire? In addition, there are many large Serbian nationalists who are secretly engaged in activities in the Balkan countries to establish a unified southern state centered on Serbia. ”

There is no affection for the Serbs, Jochen, and these fanatical nationalists are the main culprits who have caused the Balkans to become a miasma. Moreover, after the assassination of Soferdinand, the trigger of World War I, look at a series of measures taken by the Serbian government, and you can see that these people are absolutely inextricably linked.

Princip is a member of the Mafia, and this is led by fanatical Grand Serbian nationalist Dimitrievich? Appis established the secret order with the aim of declaring that Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Vojvodina, and Dalmatia should all be Serbian provinces under Serbia's command, many of which were Austro-Hungarian provinces.

Moreover, the reasonable request of Austria-Hungary to participate in the investigation of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was also rejected by Serbia. You must know that when someone tried to assassinate Prince Mihr of Serbia before, Austria-Hungary fully cooperated and allowed Serbia to send officials to Austria-Hungary to investigate. In the end, it is just the Serbs who are thieves.

The so-called struggle of the Serbs for freedom and independence is simply nonsense, but only to remove obstacles to the establishment of the Greater Serbian Empire. Because Ferdinand supported the Serbs in Austria-Hungary in their quest for power, if he ascended the throne and the Serbs who had gained power had a stronger sense of identity, the attempt to divide Austria-Hungary and annex the Serb regions in Austria-Hungary to their Greater Serbian Empire would have been shattered.

Prior to the signing of the Dayton Accords in 1995, Holbrooke, then Special Representative of the President of the United States for the Balkans, referred to Princip as a terrorist for the first time at the site of Ferdinand's assassination.

Even Tito, the former president of the Republic of Yugoslavia, who served in the Austro-Hungarian army, wrote in his memoirs: "Serbia's 'patriotic' behavior is shameful. ”

After the First World War, the Serbs reaped the benefits, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia can be said to be the fulfillment of the dream of a great Serbian empire, although ironically this short-lived kingdom lasted only 11 years.

Tito, the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia established after World War II, was a Croat, and during his tenure he used an iron fist to suppress Greater Serbianism.

After Tito's death, Greater Serbianism reared its head again, and finally led to the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 90s of the 20th century, and then to the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Kosovo War. The shattering of the imperial dreams of the Great Serbs and the misery of the Serbs can be seen as the punishment of history.

But now that these Balkan-stirrers were the best pawns to achieve the Austro-Hungarian split, Jochen decided to put them to good use. And once Austria-Hungary is divided and Germany and Austria merge, then there will be time to turn the gun and clean up these guys, even if Austria-Hungary is divided, there will be no chance for you Serbs to turn over.