“…… At 6 p.m. on the 23rd, Austria-Hungary sent a note to Serbia. Governments had been sent the note the previous morning.

The note first denounced the events of 28 June as a subversive activity to provoke the Austro-Hungarian territories to secede from imperial rule, and accused the Cypriot Government of conniving and accommodating various movements and associations and even terrorist and violent activities in its territory.

The note then strongly stated that the assassination was entirely planned by Belgrade and that the weapons and ammunition were provided by Serbian officers and government agents; The assassins were present at the scene with the assistance of Serbian border guards, and for this reason the Serbian Government is required to ensure that measures are taken to suppress this criminal terrorist and propaganda campaign, and to request the Serbian Government to state the following in the Official Gazette of 26 July:

"The Government of the Kingdom of Serbia condemns the propaganda against Austria-Hungary...... The Royal Government deeply regrets the unfortunate results of these criminal acts. ”

"The Royal Government deeply regrets that Serbian military officers and government officials have participated in the above-mentioned propaganda, thereby jeopardizing the good-neighbourly relations solemnly guaranteed by the Royal Government in the declaration of 31 March 1909."

"The Royal Government rejects and renounces all attempts to interfere or attempt to interfere with the future fate of the inhabitants of any part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, considering that it is their duty to warn the civil and military officials and the people as a whole, and thereafter to deal with those who intend to commit such crimes with the most severe measures, and they will do their utmost to suppress them."

At the same time, the following 10 guarantees must be published in the Army Gazette:

1. To prohibit the publication of any journal that incites hatred and contempt for Austria-Hungary and has a tendency to undermine the territorial integrity of the Empire;

2. To immediately dissolve the so-called 'National Defence Association', confiscate all its propaganda tools, and do the same with regard to other associations and their branches in Serbia that are engaged in opposition to Austria-Hungary. The Royal Government shall take necessary measures to prevent dissolved associations from continuing their activities under other names and forms;

3. Immediately ban all propaganda in Serbian educational circles that incites or may incite anti-Austria-Hungary;

4. All civil and military officials engaged in anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda shall be dismissed from their posts in military and government offices; The Austro-Hungarian Government reserves the right to propose to the Royal Government the names and actions of such officials;

5. Accept the cooperation of representatives of the Austro-Hungarian government in Serbia to ban subversive activities that endanger the territorial integrity of the empire;

6. Representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Government will take part in the investigation of the accomplices who took part in the events of 28 June in Serbian territory;

7. On the basis of the results of the impartial trial in Sarajevo, the immediate arrest of Foya, who is considered suspected? Major Conkosiki and the Serbian State Employed in Milan? Siganovik;

8. To take effective measures to prevent the cooperation of the Serbian authorities in the illegal transport of weapons and explosives across the border, and to dismiss and severely punish border officials who assisted the criminals in the events in Shabaz and Rosnika across the border;

9. To provide an explanation to the Reich Government of all kinds of unwarranted precepts against the Austro-Hungarian Government made by senior Serbian officials in their conversations at home and abroad since the crimes of 28 June, in spite of their own official position;

10. Promptly inform the Imperial Government of the implementation of the above-mentioned measures.

The deadline for the Government of Serbia to reply is 6 p.m. on Saturday, 25 July, which means that the above pledges must be replied to within 48 hours......

On the morning of Friday, 24 July, the Austro-Hungarian ambassadors informed the Governments of the host countries of the ultimatum delivered in Belgrade. These harsh demands and tough tones aroused unpleasant resentment and grave apprehension in all countries except Berlin.

British Foreign Secretary, Sir Grey, considered it "the most terrible document he had ever seen from one country to another." However, he did not comment on who was right and wrong between Austria, because the issue had nothing to do with Britain, and his only concern was peace in Europe. So after talking with the ambassadors of France and Germany, he put forward a series of proposals for maintaining peace in Europe.

French President Puengačar and Foreign Minister Viviani were visiting Russia at this time, and while the President and Foreign Minister were abroad, the French Acting Foreign Minister, former Minister of Justice, Binfenu Martin, was completely at a loss. He had no choice but to inform the President and Foreign Minister abroad of the new developments and to advise Serbia to proceed with caution.

As soon as the main contents of the ultimatum were informed, French Foreign Minister Viviani sent telegrams to St. Petersburg, London and Paris, arguing that Serbia should immediately meet the demands of the Austrian side in accordance with national dignity and independence; It should request an extension of the 48-hour period proposed by the Austrian side; Britain and Russia supported his demands; The Troika should seek to replace the Orsean investigation with an international inquiry. ,

…… The greatest panic caused by the ultimatum came from the Russian ......"

Weekly Diplomatic Briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Great Chinese Empire, July 76

At 7 o'clock in the morning of the 24th, Russian Foreign Minister Shazonov was awakened from his sleep and saw a telegram sent by the Russian Embassy in Cyprus about Austria's ultimatum to Cyprus. Because Austria-Hungary has been silent for some time, just a few days ago, Austrian Ambassador to Russia Chabali said that his government would use some peaceful rhetoric to convince people that Austria-Hungary had no intention of straining Austro-Serbian relations.

For Shazonov, his biggest fear was a sudden blow to Serbia. Because it is Serbia that is directly humiliated in this way, but it is Russia that is indirectly humiliated. He was also concerned that Germany, as an Austro-Hungarian ally, would do something that would disgrace Russia in Balyu or Europe.

Therefore, when he received the telegram, he felt that the matter was serious, and immediately returned to the Foreign Ministry to call the Tsar to report the news. The Tsar, after listening to the report, was also anxious and said:

"It's a disturbing thing, keep a close eye on the situation and keep me informed."

At about 10 o'clock in the morning, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Russia, Chabali, arrived. His task was to read out the full text of the ultimatum and to explain the reasons for such actions by Austria-Hungary.

Shazonov has not consulted with the other ministers, and he does not know how far Britain will support them. Therefore, it is difficult for him to grasp the position and attitude that Russia will adopt in this regard at this time. However, he was somewhat annoyed by the Austro-Hungarian approach, and of course more from the position of the Slavs.

“…… Kingdom of Serbia ......"

Chabali began to read the ultimatum aloud. In the course of Chabali's reading, Shazonov often raised questions and rebuttals.

When referring to the "compilation of documents" as all the evidence that Austria-Hungary had brought against Serbia against the Powers, Shazonov opened his mouth and asked:

"Since Austria-Hungary has made an ultimatum, it shows that it is seeking war, not a fair investigation, so why bother?"

Then Shazonov said:

"As it stands, I have little interest in looking at the 'compilation' after the ultimatum has been presented. Because you are in pursuit of war, you have burned your own bridges. ”

Shazonov's unceremoniality made Chabali argue.

"Austria-Hungary was peace-loving, it was only defending against the incitement of foreign revolutions in order to maintain the security of its own territory; Defend against bombs to keep the royal family safe. ”

Shazonov, on the other hand, spoke directly in a sarcastic tone.

"You know how peace-loving you are, because you are now igniting the flames of war in Europe."

After reading the book, Chabali held an hour-and-a-half-hour meeting with Shazonov. During the talks, Shazonov repeated again and again.

"I know what's going on. You are going to war against Serbia! I see what is going on, and Germany is encouraging you to move forward. You are burning the flames of war in Europe. You have a very serious responsibility. ”

Anyone could see that the Russian foreign minister was very unhappy, and Chabali could certainly see his emotions, so he could speak very carefully, trying not to say irritating words, so as not to affect Russia's future actions, and in fact, neither Chabali nor Vienna could not be sure of Russia's attitude, could not judge what kind of action they would make, and they even took chances, hoping that Russia would first protest and then accept the result gloomily, as it had done in the Balkans a few years ago.

However, Shazonov was not only unhappy, he could be said to be in a state of extreme anger, the fiasco of 1905, the weakness of Russia during the Balkan crisis a few years earlier, all of which stimulated the self-esteem of the Slavs, and at this time the humiliation was once again disgraced, which had put Shazonov on the verge of exploding, and the short deadline for the Austro-Hungarian note, the delay in the issuance of the "compilation of documents", and the humiliating conditions of Serbia, made him feel that Austria-Hungary's intention was to wage war against Serbia quickly.

In particular, the Austrian side has used deception, threatened over the past three weeks that the conditions put forward would be moderate and acceptable to Serbia, and then suddenly presented an ultimatum to the Slavic kingdom, apparently aimed at war, as if it was about to cross the border and invade Serbia.

Moreover, the incident took place only a few hours after the French president and foreign minister left Russia. They are now on the Baltic Sea, and he has no contact with them. In addition, he also suspected that many of what Chabali said was not true. Therefore, Russia must prepare for war, or at least a strong diplomatic threat, and he must first be sure that it will have the support of Britain and Romania.

Thinking of this, he told Baron Schilling to immediately inform the Ministers of Defence, Navy, and Finance of the development of the situation, and to summon them to a cabinet meeting at 3 p.m. At the same time, he told Izvorsky and Shibiko to immediately return to Paris and Vienna, and asked Rylatov, Prince Truberzko, and other advisers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cancel their vacations and return to the Foreign Office. He also reminded the Minister of Finance of the need to recover as soon as possible all State deposits in Germany.

In short, Russia must be ready!