Hearing Qingying's words, Hezendorff finally put away the light look on his face. Although the young man in front of him is very young, he points out the core problem of Austria-Hungary with a single needle: the Balkan problem is just a minor disease of scabies, and the Russian steamroller is the henchman. At the same time, as a result of the Franco-Russian Entente in 1892, Germany was bound to move a large number of new troops to the western frontier in the Great War in Europe triggered by Russia and Austria to defend Alsace and Lorraine, which they had acquired in 1870, and their support for Austro-Hungarian adventures in the Balkans was sharply reduced compared to during the Berlin Conference. Based on the current situation that the German-Austrian alliance and the German army were stronger than France, Germany would contain some of the Russian military strength in East Prussia, but it would definitely be Austria-Hungary that would take the lead on the Eastern Front.

"Frankly, it is difficult for the empire to defeat Russia on its own. After all, Russia has more than three times the population, more than three times the national income, and far more resources than the empire can reach. However, our war against Russia is not without any chance of victory. Seeing that Qingying had already pointed out the most core elements, Hezendorff had no need to hide it. He paused, and then added:

"The decisive factor in modern warfare is artillery, and the Empire has a superior artillery that is superior to yours. As long as we have another 5 years, then each division of the empire will have an independent heavy artillery regiment with 2 times the suppressive firepower of the field artillery regiment of your country's ordinary infantry division. The Skoda military industry is completely not inferior to Krupp in the field of artillery, and its superior technical strength is the fundamental core of realizing this element. Hezendorff smiled calmly and said confidently, "Plus after mobilization." The Empire will also have an army of no less than 2 million. With our absolute superiority over cannons. Enough to fight the Russians. “

After a corner, Qingying finally heard the word "mobilization" come out of the target's mouth. The corners of his mouth curled slightly, and he said, "I have no doubt about the power of your country's heavy artillery troops. However, according to the forecasts of our General Staff, the combat effectiveness of your country's mobilized army will be very worrying. ”

Hezendorff's gaze froze instantly, and a terrifying look erupted in his long narrow eyes. Qing Ying didn't have any reaction to this suddenly discolored face, but took care of himself to tell him what he thought in his heart.

"Your country is very different from other powers. Although the British, French, German, Russian, Italian and other powers all have ethnic minorities mixed in them, the number of ethnic groups in the ruling class accounts for the absolute majority; Even in Russia, where the national problem is most acute, Slavs account for more than two-thirds of it. The large percentage of mono-ethnic groups makes it possible for them to run through the army in one official language. There is no such thing as a language exchange. However, your country is very different. ”

Qing Ying spread her hands slightly and said, "The number of ethnic groups in your country may be the largest in this world, and the population of its dominant ethnic group may also be the least in this world. Excluding Germans and Hungarians, who make up 24 percent of the population, the remaining 10 major ethnic minorities account for nearly 50 percent of the population; They speak different languages and live in different parts of your country, which is the biggest problem for your country to mobilize. ”

"As far as I know, the operational part of your Wehrmacht is divided only into Austrian and Hungarian regiments. In the event of a war against Russia, it would not be possible to recruit only Germans and Hungarians, with a total population of only 22 million, but would have to mobilize another 30 million 'minority' nationalities. As a result, all soldiers recruited from non-Hungarian areas were incorporated into German-speaking Austrian regiments. It doesn't matter if he's bohemian, Italian, Croatian, or Czech; Soldiers recruited from Hungary were incorporated into the Hungarian regiment, regardless of whether they were Romanians, Poles, Slovenes, or Slovaks. Officers of your country. Obviously, it is impossible to use so many languages at will like the great Emperor Franz, right? At that point, how will this force respond? Qingying asked again.

Hezendorff's face stiffened suddenly. Prior to this, he had been busy with the formulation of military plans and the modernization of the armed forces with upgraded equipment, and was immersed in the results achieved and complacent, but he had never paid attention to the issue of the combat effectiveness of the armed forces from a humanistic perspective. As the young man in front of him said, the great pressure of the war against Russia will force Austria-Hungary to adopt a national mobilization; The influx of more than half of the ethnic minorities into the military will inevitably cause great inconvenience in language command. If the soldiers can't even understand the orders of their commanders, then this army is undoubtedly impossible to have combat effectiveness!

Seeing that Hezendorff's face was dull and he couldn't say a word for a long time, Qingying knew that his words just now had choked his death hole. The reason why the Austro-Hungarian army suffered huge losses on the battlefield on the Eastern Front during World War I was definitely due to its multi-ethnic mixed nature; Had it not been for the stubborn resistance of the Austro-Hungarian local garrison to the main Italian army, and the shift of the German offensive focus from the Western Front to the East to beat the Russians, Austria-Hungary would have collapsed as early as 1915!

"Therefore, the division of your Wehrmacht into only Austrian and Hungarian regiments is too sketchy. This can be maintained in peacetime, and in the event of war, at least 3 or 4 more ethnic groups should be formed to accommodate these guys who speak completely different languages. Qingying took the opportunity to throw out his thoughts to Herzendorf. In this way, the Austro-Hungarian Army's extremely painful language problem should be solved, right?

What made Qingying feel a little puzzled was that when he finished saying this, the expression on Hezendorff's face was still extremely complicated, without the slightest look of surprise or joy. After a while, seeing that the person in front of him was still sitting motionless, as if petrified, Qingying couldn't help but feel a little angry in his heart; Regardless of whether your proposal is successful or not, you still have to make a statement, what about that ghost-like reaction?

Hearing Qingying's slightly dissatisfied cough, Hezendorff's sloppy gaze finally refocused. However, unlike the calm and confident eyes that Qing Ying had just seen, his eyes had revealed a loss and sadness that could not be concealed.

"Thank you for the reminders and suggestions given by Your Highness, I have not been aware of the humanistic problems after the Empire's war mobilization." Hezendorf's grim face softened in an instant, which really made Qingying feel a little surprised. He smiled bitterly, and then added: "However, the problems that arise after the mobilization are by no means easy to solve by the establishment of the Czech and Polish regiments. I'll figure it out later. ”

Seeing that Hezendorff knew it well, but he was so close that he didn't want to elaborate in depth, Qingying couldn't help but pout. He spread his hands a little helplessly and said: "General, under the current international situation of the Franco-Russian Entente and the Anglo-French understanding, Germany and your country, which have irreconcilable conflicts of core interests with France and Russia respectively, have long been an iron alliance that shares weal and woe, and there is no possibility of parting ways. Is there anything else you have to hide from me? Only when the two of us understand each other's strengths and work closely together will it be possible to survive in this extremely harsh international environment. ”

Hezendorff sighed. He nodded slowly, and told Qingying everything he thought in his heart. And as Hetzendorff's narration continued, Qingying's face first flashed with surprise, and then his face became more and more solemn.

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It turned out that in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its national problem was far more acute than Qing Ying imagined. Although the empire under the Habsburgs had adopted a series of enlightened policies, minus the tyranny of the majority of the minorities who weighed down on the empire, and made them far more advantageous than the non-Slavs under Russian rule; However, the good wish of national autonomy still rings in their ears like a lullaby, and they still lack a sense of belonging and recognition for this dual monarchy that rules them.

At present, most of the more than 300,000 active Wehrmacht that Austria-Hungary has are selected from among the Germans and Hungarians who rule the empire. They were well-armed, well-trained, and, more importantly, had a fairly strong recognition and loyalty to the Habsburg Empire, which Austria-Hungary was able to use to maintain a stable and developing situation. However, once the full mobilization is implemented, the size of the army will suddenly swell to nearly 2 million, and these noble officers and rank-and-file soldiers who have long cultivated allegiance to the royal family will become isolated islands in this sudden influx of people; A large number of armed ethnic minority soldiers with separatist sentiments will be an extremely destabilizing factor, and if they are brought together in the form of a "single ethnic group", God knows whether they will mutiny, surrender or rebel outright!

The most embarrassing thing is that even if Austria-Hungary mobilized only between Germans and Hungarians, the military could not guarantee that these people would be completely used by them; Because not all of the two peoples supported the Habsburg dynasty, there were also many democrats who wanted to overthrow the empire and establish a republic. Because of the top-heavy nature of the Austro-Hungarian tendencies, its vigorous heavy industry was completely disproportionate to its weak and poor light industry and agriculture; A large number of people did not benefit from the development of the country, and food and consumables were relatively scarce, which further exacerbated the instability in the empire. This is a far cry from Germany, which has introduced $1.5 billion in low-interest loans to develop its economy.

After learning this, Qingying couldn't help but close her eyes in pain: this ally that Bismarck is looking for is simply the best in the outside, this is completely the legendary super pit teammate, Youmu! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward that floats in the hearts of book friends~~