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

"Your Majesty, the Serbs already know that they are in a hurry, it seems that they are not sure about this war!" Foreign Minister Roman Haubenstock-Rama gloated

"This is normal, only nine years have passed since the last Bulgarian war, and Serbia has not yet recovered; Bulgaria is even stronger, the difference in strength between the two sides is too big, and this battle cannot be fought at all! The Secretary of War said with a scoff

"You're saying that if we don't intervene, Serbia will lose this time?" The Prime Minister asked with interest

"Judging purely militarily, I can't think of how Serbia can win, and of course if other countries participate!" The Secretary of War affirmed

"This one may be almost non-existent! The great powers contain each other, even if they support Serbia, but except for our other countries, the forces put into the Balkans are limited, and they do not have the strength to intervene! The Foreign Secretary added

The prime minister asked suspiciously: "What about the Ottoman Empire?" Their strength in the Balkans is not small, if they want to intervene is still possible? ”

The Foreign Minister thought for a moment and said: "The Ottoman Empire is now taking care of itself, the problem of their massacre of Armenians some time ago has not been resolved, and the Sultan has rejected our 'good intentions'!" Now they are too busy to take care of themselves, and the international pressure makes them dare not act rashly!

The Russians had previously invited countries to intervene with a joint force, but we refused! Even if the Ottomans wanted to support Serbia, they had to consider whether the Russian Empire would join in!

In fact, apart from us, there is basically no other country that will directly take action!

By the way, Romania seems to have some ideas, but Carol I is too cowardly, unless we are willing to intervene to contain the Russians, otherwise they will not dare to intervene! ”

Franz Joseph I seemed to be interested in the Foreign Minister's words and asked: "What would have happened if we had pinned down the Russian Empire and Romania entered the war?" ”

The Minister of War thought for a moment and said: "If Romania can fully unite with Serbia, then this war will still have to be fought!" ”

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

"In fact, Serbia is now half-crippled, the country is in a mess, the rebellion has just been quelled, and it is okay to let go, and there is no ability to take the initiative at all! If Romania enters the war now, it will basically be a one-on-one confrontation with Bulgaria, and Serbia can help contain 20,000 or 30,000 troops at most! The Secretary of War explained

The Foreign Minister asked incredulously: "Isn't Serbia already expanding its army?" Supposedly a national mobilization, they plan to mobilize 300,000 people? Even if you don't have much combat power, you can't stop it with 20,000 or 30,000 Bulgarian troops by numbers, right? ”

The War Chancellor shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Roman! If it is only used to guard, under the righteous call to defend the country, they may still have some combat effectiveness; If they take the initiative, maybe they will collapse if they start a war!

An army that can't even get together a gun for every soldier, artillery ammunition or can't support a big battle, combat effectiveness can be imagined! ”

Then the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke: "The Secretary of War is right! The Serbian government has a terrible finances and is now out of money! 300,000 troops, whether it is weapons and equipment, or military salaries, they can't afford it! ”

Franz Joseph I wondered how much worse the situation in Serbia was than he thought! In that case, why are you still so arrogant and build a "Greater Serbia"?

Don't you know that the Bosnia and Herzegovina region is already the meat in the mouth of the boss, and it is not looking for death to publicly declare that it will take food from the tiger's mouth?

He thought for a moment and said, "Forget it! Since the Serbs are so ignorant of life and death, let Bulgaria teach them a bloody lesson!

Tell the Bulgarians, do as promised! The army must also be prepared, and the drama must be done in a full set, so as not to let people see the flaws! ”

……

The Russian Empire, Alexander III, who was making his rounds around, is not good now!

The "Near Eastern crisis" has not yet been resolved, and Ottoman Turkey does not see the slightest hint of submission; The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in the Far East again attracted his attention; Now this little brother of Bulgaria seems to be planning to do things again!

Alexander III was unhappy and asked: "What do you think of this conflict between Bulgaria and Serbia?" ”

The Prime Minister smiled and said: "The Bulgarians did not ask us for help this time, they just wanted us to show solidarity internationally, it seems that they are full of confidence!"

Of course, this is related to the rapid development of Bulgaria in recent years, they have been impatient and want to show their strength!

Bulgaria and Serbia have been in conflict for a long time, and the two sides have long been incompatible, and it is not surprising that there will be a war between them! Just didn't expect it to be so early? ”

Alexander III looked at the confident crown prince and asked: "What do you think, Nikolai?" ”

Crown Prince Nikolai smiled and said, "Ferdinand's eyes are still so vicious!" Serbia is now the weakest time, taking the opportunity to fall to the ground, he is planning to abolish this opponent! ”

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

The future Nicholas II was slightly startled and continued: "The current international situation is very favorable for Bulgaria!

Austria-Hungary had just survived the financial crisis, and it was unlikely that it would intervene directly; The Ottoman Empire was trapped in the 'Near East Crisis' and was watched to death by the great powers, and the British, French and German forces in the Balkans were limited, and it was impossible for them to stand out for the unrelated Serbia!

After excluding external interference, Serbia was not an opponent at all, but once Bulgaria won, Austria-Hungary would definitely intervene, had they already reached an agreement? ”

Alexander III smiled and said: "Not bad! Although Serbia is the younger brother of Austria-Hungary, it does not mean that there are no contradictions between the two sides, and the young king of Serbia has been using the establishment of 'Greater Serbia' as a slogan all day long, and the Austro-Hungarian government will certainly not be satisfied!

If it could, Austria-Hungary wouldn't mind teaching Serbia a lesson, letting them know that the sky is high and the sky is thick!

Ferdinand should have reached a tacit understanding with them, and even this war may have been secretly planned by Joseph's old fox!

The political methods of the Hardenenburg family are the best in the world, and it will not be long before Serbia will be forced to completely surrender to Austria-Hungary! ”