The death of Archduke Ferdinand caused an uproar not only in Austria-Hungary, but also in Serbia. The Serbian people remembered the benefits of Archduke Ferdinand, of his graceful manners and the efforts he made to ensure Serbian reading and Slavic self-knowledge. At the same time, their anger against the monarch killer Dimitrievich reached its peak. The Serbian people took to the streets, chanting the slogan "Hang the king-killers" against the heavily armed army. Public facilities such as shops, schools, churches, libraries and other facilities on the streets of Sarajevo were destroyed, burned and looted. The streets are clogged with burning old clothes and furniture, the holy icon of Jesus is lying in the dirty heaps of coal, and the streets of Sarajevo have few places to stay. The Serbian Army, armed with rifles, searched the streets for rioters, and in Sarajevo alone, 200 people were hanged, and the death penalty lists and bulletin boards were plastered everywhere.

On July 4, 1914, the funerals of Archduke Ferdinand and Archduchess Sophie were held in Vienna. The love of the Austro-Hungarian people for the Grand Duke and his wife turned into a bitter hatred for Serbia. The Austro-Constitutional Empire[***] officials, who had long been eager to try it, sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding an immediate war against Serbia and the complete destruction of this rogue state ruled by monarchicides.

Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff Kondra. Sir Fung admittedly told the press: "The murder of the Grand Duke and his wife was not an individual crime committed by a single and accidental occurrence, but an act organized by the Army to murder the Crown Prince, or a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary, which the enemy had declared??? Gentlemen, now is not the time to discuss whether to declare war or not, but the clarion call for war has been sounded by Serbia! If we don't act immediately because of our cowardice, the empire will be destroyed by the storm of racial movements that have been set off everywhere! ”

Kondla. Sir von and Archduke Ferdinand were the two extremes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Chief of the General Staff had always wanted to annex Serbia, and he had lobbied the old Emperor Joseph more than twenty times to start a war against Serbia, but the Emperor refused. Behind Serbia, after all, stood a giant called Russia, and the emperor feared that in the event of a war, Russia would enter the war. At the same time, Archduke Ferdinand also strongly opposed the sending of troops to Serbia, and the chief of the General Staff could only secretly lament that he was born at the wrong time.

After the burial of the Grand Duke and his wife, the Chief of the General Staff, Condra. Sir Feng stepped into the palace for the twenty-first time, and this time, he was full of confidence.

"Your Majesty, the war with Serbia is already inevitable, if we don't start a war to teach that shameless monarch killer a lesson, then all races in the entire empire will follow suit, the edifice of the empire will fall, and the monarchy will disappear!" The Chief of the General Staff said sadly.

The old emperor, who was nearly eighty years old, had already planned to abdicate to retire, but he didn't expect his nephew to be assassinated, so he had to reluctantly come out again to support the crisis. Because Archduke Ferdinand's wife, Sophie, had no royal blood, Ferdinand's children had no right to inherit the throne, leaving his nephew Karl as crown prince. Before he could be sworn in at the Supreme Court of Vienna in accordance with the constitution, Joseph had to drag the heavy body of illness to support the present complex form.

"Exactly!" Joseph nodded: "But, can you guarantee that the Russians will not participate in the war?" ”

Kondla. Sir Feng said contemptuously: "Behind us is Germany!" ”

Emperor Joseph said with some concern: "Can you guarantee that the Germans will support us?" ”

Kondra nodded firmly, "Yes, my majesty!" ”

Joseph nodded: "Send a telegram to the German Emperor, asking him to make it clear that if he is resolute in supporting the Empire, then go to war!" ”

??? Dividing line ???

German Emperor Wilhelm II, at the moment on vacation on a yacht. He did not in the slightest believe that the killing of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince would provoke a large-scale war.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary has sent a telegram asking what our attitude is to the events that took place in Sarajevo?" German Chancellor Betsemann, who accompanied the emperor on a tour, asked after receiving a telegram.

"What is happening in Serbia, a grave condemnation must be given! We are a staunch supporter of the Viennese royal family! Wilhelm II said nonchalantly.

"Yes, my majesty, I will send a telegram to Vienna!" The Prime Minister replied.

"Slow, I would like to ask what our ambassador to Russia thinks about this matter, will Russia intervene?"

"Your Majesty, Your Excellency the Ambassador sent a secret telegram yesterday, saying that if Vienna sends troops, then Russia will definitely intervene, even at the risk of revolution in the country, Russia will take military action!"

"Oh, then it would be enough for us to support Vienna morally, and as for the matter between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, it would be better to settle it secretly between them! We need to be closer to the Envelope in Vienna, which is necessary to guarantee the security of Germany??? The Serbs would not risk war, at least not during my tenure as Emperor of Germany! Wilhelm II teased his puppy and said confidently.

??? Dividing line ???

The Russian Foreign Minister urgently summoned the British Ambassador, and he said with a solemn expression: "Your Excellency, if Vienna had not received the support of Germany, they would not have been so aggressive, and if war broke out!" I want Britain to be on the side of the Franco-Russian alliance! ”

The British ambassador did not dare to slack off, and immediately sent an urgent telegram to Foreign Secretary Gray.

An urgent meeting between the British Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary resulted in a dismal result, and the matter was no longer confined to Austria-Hungary and Serbia, but to the war between the two great military blocs in Europe. France and Russia versus Germany and Austria-Hungary will be a war on a larger scale than the six "anti-French alliances" against Napoleon that year, and it will also exceed the "Crimean War" in which the four countries besieged Russia.

The British Prime Minister reluctantly stated: "The British Empire cannot push its allies France and Russia to the hostile side, the Empire has too many overseas colonies to protect, and if Britain offends France and Russia, then our overseas colonies will be very dangerous!" Tell the Russians that we will side with the Franco-Russian alliance??? The Germans do need to be taught a lesson! ”

Foreign Secretary Gray said worriedly: "So, how big will the war be?" ”

The prime minister thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it will take six weeks, maybe three months, who knows!" But a war on the European continent might have been a good thing for the British Empire! Germany is now too much like Napoleonic France, it is already powerful enough to threaten the British Empire's domination of the world! ”

??? Dividing line ???

Schönbrunn Palace, also known as the Champeren Palace or Summer Palace. Legend has it that in 1617 Emperor Matthias hunted here and discovered a spring. It is said that if you drink this spring water often, you will grow beautifully. Later, the palace got its name. In 1696, Emperor Leopard I commissioned Fischer, the most famous Austrian architect at the time? Feng? Sir Erlach designed an emperor's pleasure palace. The architect's design was quickly completed. The palace is as large and luxurious as the Palace of Versailles in France. However, due to the limited financial resources of the emperor, the architect's plan for great success did not come true. When Schönbrunn Palace was inaugurated in 1730, although it could not be compared with the Palace of Versailles, its 1,441 rooms and two square kilometers of gardens were enough to show the grandeur of the Habsburgs. In 1774, Maria? Empress Theresia instructed Nicolaus? Patya converted the palace into a summer palace. Since then, Schönbrunn Palace has become a witness to the Habsburg history of honor and disgrace.

Here, Habsburg emperors received envoys from all over the world, held numerous grand feasts, and the first public performance of the six-year-old prodigy Mozart was held at Schönbrunn Palace. At the same time, it was also once occupied by the enemy, and Napoleon was in Maria? Stayed in Empress Theresia's bedchambers.

The eighty-year-old Emperor Joseph sat in his chair with a heavy heart, looking at the two-square-kilometer garden in front of him, and his mind returned to his youth, when he met the beautiful Princess Sisi, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Bavaria, and had a romantic love story. He took Sissi on a tour of every corner of the empire and was warmly welcomed by the people, even in the Italian territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The princess's beauty was more powerful than the sword of the emperor, and her smile conquered all of Europe.

But glory was often fleeting, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire losing to Prussia, which it had once disdained, and Princess Sisi assassinated by the Assassins.

The vast territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was home to a large number of ethnic groups, who believed in different religions and had different living customs, and the cries for reading power were rising higher and higher, which made Joseph feel very troubled.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the German Emperor calls back that he will fully support our actions, he says that the alliance of Berlin and Vienna is indestructible!" Kondla. Baron Feng ran over happily.

However, his words and expressions were exaggerated, and in fact, the German Emperor Wilhelm II was only expressing his anger at Serbia and moral support for Austria-Hungary.

Joseph thought for a moment: "Then it's decided, you can prepare for war!" ”

With the Emperor's permission, the Austro-Hungarian [***] officials, who had already been itching their hands, immediately swallowed up troops on the outskirts of Belgrade, and groups of soldiers were recruited from the corners of the empire, and small gunboats nicknamed "Listening" cruised around the Belgrade River.

On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Late that night, the Serbian officer Tankušić, who had given the pistols, poisons, and bombs needed for the assassination, gave the order to attack, and Serbian artillery, which had been prepared long on the banks of the Belgrade River, bombed the Austrian army's Zemun fortress, and at the same time blew up the only Austro-Hungarian railway bridge to Belgrade.

The Austro-Hungarian artillery opened fire at once, and the war had begun!

Europe, which has not had a major war for 40 years, has inevitably been drawn into the quagmire of a protracted war!

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for emerging countries far from Europe!

Washington, Tokyo, and Yenching are all paying close attention to every move in the Old World, and they are all silently making preparations, trying to reap the maximum benefits in this chaotic form.

Whoever can rise and who will be completely suppressed will depend on whose preparation is better and whose luck is better!

(To be continued)