At the beginning of 1916, an atmosphere of optimism and harmony reigned on the continent.

In the first three weeks of January, Germany withdrew 11 10,000-ton warships, including the Nassau-class battleships Nassau, Westphalia, and Rhineland, the large cruiser Blucher, and the battlecruiser von de Tann, from active naval service under the Washington Naval Treaty.

Another piece of good news for peace-loving people comes from Russia, a vast empire straddling across Eurasia, where the new empress has embarked on reforms that have been directed at bloated and inefficient armies.

Disarmament 300,000!

This was Empress Diana I's first order to the Russian Army, and regardless of whether disarmament would have raised the army's combat effectiveness to a higher level, the Russian Army still had a huge number of more than 1.5 million men, but in the eyes of ordinary people, it was undoubtedly a signal that Russia was far from the war.

Beneath the surface of such a phenomenon of peace and development, several European powers have invariably come to a crossroads with uncertain futures.

In Germany, the large-scale demobilization and demobilization of the army and navy has been completed, and the army has shrunk from a wartime peak of 3.5 million to 1.1 million, but military spending has only been reduced by less than 10 percent; The navy was reduced from a wartime high of 150,000 to 120,000, and the tonnage of warships was reduced by 150,000 tons, but the annual budget was reduced by only 20 percent; The Air Force has been reduced from a wartime peak of 50,000 to 42,000 at present, the number of aircraft has been reduced by 30 percent, and the annual budget has increased by 50 percent.

On January 5, the construction of the new battle cruiser "Thessaloniki" in the name of the Turkish Navy began at the Blomu Foss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, the new warship with a design tonnage of 32,000 tons will be designed with an all-oil boiler, the top speed will reach an astonishing murderous speed, the endurance will be close to 10,000 nautical miles, using eight 13.8-inch (350 mm) 45 times the diameter of the main gun, armor defense and internal structure will continue the German Navy's consistent style - emphasis on survivability. Small compartments are used, watertight doors are set up, and ammunition in the turret is separated. The ship is expected to be completed in 25 months, but due to the reduction of the German Navy's shipbuilding schedule and the abundance of labor, this time is expected to be shortened to 21-22 months, and the "Salonika" will become the strongest battle cruiser in Europe and the world.

Although the "Thessaloniki" is currently nominally built by Germany on behalf of Turkey, many people predict that this is just a small trick done by the Germans on the Washington Naval Treaty - Turkey has a limit of 5 capital ships for the next 10 years, but the strategy and economy of the Turks do not allow them to invest such a huge amount of money in naval construction, therefore. Most likely, the German-made Turkish battleships, represented by the "Thessaloniki", were just a cover for the construction of new warships for the German Navy.

In Russia, according to the annual plan of the Russian Army High Command, the money saved by the reduction of 300,000 people will not be transferred to internal construction, but to the establishment of an artillery factory, an aircraft research institute and an armored vehicle research institute. In addition, a new round of encirclement and suppression against the remnants of the revolution in the country is being actively prepared, and this will be an excellent opportunity for the newly reorganized Russian Guards to train their troops. Due to the close relationship between Empress Diana and the top echelons of the navy, only minor adjustments were made to the admiralty level, and in the new annual budget of the government departments, the investment in naval construction remained at the same level as during the war.

Turkey, both the army and the navy have made reductions of a certain size. As of January 1916. The Turkish Army is organized into 21 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, 33 separate infantry regiments, 17 separate cavalry regiments, 2 armored regiments and 7 flying squadrons. In addition, the Turkish government, with the assistance of the German government, has established "large and medium-sized munitions factories for the production of German-made firearms, ammunition and light artillery; The Turkish Navy is organized into two fleets, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, with a total of 10 battleships and 57 small and medium-sized warships, with more than 20,000 combat and non-combatants, and a medium-sized naval aviation force; The newly built Turkish Air Force's 45 aircraft are all imported from Germany, and instructors are also provided by the Luftwaffe, and currently have 120 pilots and 560 crew members.

The German-Turkish coalition was still under the command of the Kaiser's confidant, Lieutenant General Oli Kahn, and the size of the coalition had not diminished since Africa stabilized. At present, including the German Expeditionary Force composed of 35,000 combatants and 6,000 non-combatants, as well as five integrated infantry divisions and cavalry with a total of more than 70,000 Turkish troops, these more than 100,000 soldiers are currently assembled in the southern part of Turkish Iran, and after resting and preparing sufficient supplies, the coalition forces will go south to attack the colonies of Pakistan and India that are still controlled by the British government in exile, while the Japanese Navy and Army are also preparing to attack the British colonies of Burma and India from north to south, and are eyeing and delaying the Dutch colony of Indonesia.

While the German-Turkish forces were ready to go, the German Mediterranean fleet was not idle. The planned construction of the Tunisian military port and fortress has been completed, from the manpower, material resources and funds invested in the construction to the scale and equipment of the port and fortress. This new base is the first in the Mediterranean. At present, there are only two warships in southern Spain, Moltke and Goeben, and the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet has been transferred from the port of Gibraltar, where it was previously stationed, to the port of Tunis. According to the Washington Naval Treaty, several warships in the Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Admiral Sheppel also had to be dismantled, but they are still in service because they were included in the second batch of delisting and dismantling sequences, including the former Italian battleships Leonardo da Vinci and Julius Caesar, which were recently repaired and refitted, and the heavy cruiser Brunetti, which are now renamed "Wilhelm II", "Heinrich" and "Thomas", of which "Wilhelm II" and " The "Thomas" had already crossed the Red Sea into the Arabian Sea with the "Oldenburg" and "Hindenburg", and they were to cooperate with the land offensive of the German-Turkish forces from the sea.

After the defeat of Italy, it lost the sovereignty of a large part of its territory, the capital ships of the navy, the army had to be reduced to a very low level, and it had to pay a large amount of reparations to Austria-Hungary every year, the national strength was declining, and from time to time it was invaded and oppressed by the Austro-Hungarian garrison, and in the second half of the fifth year of the continent, a total of thirteen workers' strikes and seven peasant revolts broke out in the whole of Italy. In the northern regions occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, more than 30 partisan detachments were engaged in underground resistance.

France has since the artificial division into a southern and northern government. Both governments have always claimed to be the legitimate French government. After entering 1916, the puppet government in the north began to act with the support of Germany, and their regular troops trained by German instructors had reached 150,000 people, outnumbering the French ** team in the south in number and equipment, but the combat effectiveness and loyalty of this unit, which the French called the "puppet army", were not reassuring, so so far only small-scale harassment activities were carried out near the north-south demarcation line.

The prestige of the Spanish royal family and government plummeted after the Gibraltar incident, and the revolutionary atmosphere in the country intensified, and even the military began to waver. Alfonso XIII had to begin to seek help from foreign powers, but both Germany and Austria-Hungary reacted more lukewarmly.

According to the analysis of politicians, the poor health of the Austrian emperor and the disagreement between Austria and Hungary on the future development of the army had a lot to do with the poor health of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The annual budget of the Austro-Hungarian army did not change much compared to 1915, and the number of troops remained at about 1.2 million.

On January 22, 1916, the focus of the whole of Europe was on Vienna, and the election of the Austro-Hungarian successor today, which was largely related to the development of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Europe.

At 10 a.m., the Imperial Council presided over by Franz Joseph I was held in the hall of the Vienna Royal Palace as scheduled.

Judging by the atmosphere in the hall. Many people have already learned about last night's events. In particular, the Grand Duke of Bohemia and the Hungarian nobleman Damen Ferenc, the two noble heads of the family had rather ugly faces. As for those who are ignorant of the current situation, there is only apprehension at this time.

When the Ao Emperor appeared in everyone's sight. People were surprised to find that the old emperor's face was so pale that there was no blood, even his walking steps were trembling, and his physical condition was much worse than a week ago.

The people watched in horror as the Emperor walked, took his seat, and spoke, and his voice was so weak that his attendants had to repeat his words on the spot, so that those below could understand what he meant.

"For 68 years since I ascended the throne, I have been diligent, and as God-blessed Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slovenia, Galicia and Rhodomoria, Illyria, Lombardy and Venice, I have been conscientious and have not dared to slack off, both inside and out. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed in my hands. This is the greatest pride of my life, yet God favors my children and calls them to heaven early. Now, I feel that time is running out, that Austria-Hungary will be the continuation of my life, and therefore I will not allow anyone to betray it or divide it! ”

After that, the old emperor's eyes were fixed on the people closest to him—the noble leaders of several large families such as Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, although he was the nominal king of these states. But local affairs, big and small, are largely in their hands.

Seeing the gleam in Emperor Ao's almost dry eyes, none of the several noble leaders dared to look at him.

After a while, Emperor Ao's eyes returned to their previous gloom, as if they had just experienced a return to light. His lips pressed together, and the attendant pressed his ear closer, and then continued to convey paragraph by paragraph:

"The empire is thriving, and this is a fact that some Gentiles do not want to accept. So, at every opportunity, former allies and enemies alike want to divide the empire, weaken it, or even perish it. Temptation, co-optation, discord, all kinds of shady means are all around us! Just one vote for the crown prince candidate has made me see the world clearly, who is loyal, who has bad intentions, who is in touch with foreign countries, I know it clearly in my heart! ”

In the hall, anyone who has one or more of the acts mentioned by the Emperor is all panicked. Not to mention this palace, even Vienna and even the entire empire are in the hands of the army loyal to the Austrian Emperor, the Austrian Emperor's benevolence and tolerance do not mean that he will tolerate everything, in such an extraordinary period as the election of the crown prince, it is not impossible to make an example of a hundred.

Looking at the people below who did not dare to look directly at him, Emperor Franz Joseph I felt a sour feeling in his heart.

"There are some things that are irrefutable, but who can be infallible? In the past, I don't want to and I don't want to pursue it anymore, but you must understand that only by uniting together can you survive in this world as a truly awe-inspiring powerhouse, and can your people get real stability and peace! From today onwards, I hope that you will be loyal to me, to my heirs, and to this empire! ”

As he spoke, Emperor Ao stood up with difficulty but very resolutely, "I declare that my heir will be a great ......"

The moment of anticipation, everyone's heart hangs in the air. The so-called crown prince vote turned out to be just a smokescreen for the old emperor, and in this situation, there is no room for anyone to oppose his decision.

"Linda Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Maria von Habsburg Lorraine!"

Everyone was shocked, the answer was actually her! The new Empress Diana I of Tsarist Russia.

After weighing the pros and cons a little, the vast majority of the nobles and ministers present immediately declared their support for the decision of Emperor Franz Joseph I. After three long live calls, people found that the attendants were hurriedly carrying the Emperor out of the hall. For a while, the situation that had just suddenly opened up became confusing again.

An hour later, Empress Diana I of Russia telegraphed her willingness to accept the appointment of the Austrian Emperor and become the Empress of Tsarist Russia and Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with immediate effect.

That night, news of the Emperor's critical illness came from the Viennese court, and this painstaking establishment seemed to have exhausted the last of his energy.

In this case, the nobles of the states had to stay in Vienna and wait and see the situation, after all, it was up to them to decide whether to return to the realm at this moment.

After accepting the appointment of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, Linda did not leave for Vienna as expected, and even though the Austrian emperor was critically ill, she was still busy with her own affairs in the Winter Palace.

At 2:17 a.m. on January 25, 1916, after 86 years, Emperor Franz Joseph I finally decided to end this legendary life.

The bells of the Vienna Cathedral are ringing in the wind.