Austria-Hungary, which got the results it wanted from Germany and Italy, was naturally full of confidence, and then Austria-Hungary began some preparations for war.

Measures such as the start of ammunition stockpiling, the mobilization of troops, the control of public opinion, and the development of battle plans were all secondary, but for Vienna, these preparations were secondary, and the first and foremost was the need to formulate a diplomatic strategy against Serbia.

Therefore, a month after the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, public opinion in Austria-Hungary immediately changed dramatically, from mourning the murdered crown prince to the need to punish the murderer and the forces behind it.

Then the major Austro-Hungarian newspapers received detailed information about the murderer Princip, focusing on the situation of the Serbian terrorist organization Mafia. With the government's push and the hype of the Austro-Hungarian newspapers, Serbia and its mafia with its military and intelligence backgrounds became infamous in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Public opinion in Austria-Hungary has also become irritable, and the punishment of Serbia has become the mainstream in its country.

Austria-Hungary, with the help of public opinion at home, took the opportunity to submit an ultimatum to Serbia.

The main contents of this ultimatum are as follows:

Article 1: Immediately ban the national self-defense organizations and other organizations that carry out anti-Austrian-Hungarian propaganda.

Article 2: Immediately remove from educational bodies and teaching methods any teaching content that is or may incite anti-Austrian-Hungarian propaganda.

Article 3: Dismissal of officials in the military or administrative departments accused of anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda, the list of which shall be provided by the Austro-Hungarian Government.

Article 4: Acceptance of cooperation with the relevant departments of the Austro-Hungarian Government in the suppression of activities in Serbia aimed at subverting the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Article 5: Legal action shall be taken to punish those who planned, participated in or carried out the assassination, with the assistance and direction of the relevant authorities designated by the Austrian Government.

Article 6: Arrest of anti-Austrian persons under investigation by the Austro-Hungarian Government.

Article 7: Maintain cooperation and take effective measures to curb arms smuggling within their borders.

Article 8: Explain to Austria-Hungary the statements of high-ranking Serbian officials who are hostile to them and who are in or outside Serbia.

Article 9: Seize any publication that arouses hatred and contempt for the Austro-Hungarian royal family.

Article 10: Take the above measures immediately and inform Austria-Hungary.

These ten points were the demands of Austria-Hungary on Serbia, and Austria-Hungary only gave Serbia three days to reply.

This ultimatum was personally handed over to Prime Minister Pašić by the Austro-Hungarian minister to Serbia, Gisr. For this ultimatum in his hand, the Serbian prime minister was also bitter in his heart, because when he asked Archduke Ferdinand to visit Sarajevo, the Serbian government got some rumors.

Of course, compared with the military and intelligence services, the Cypriot government is much more rational. They knew that such an assassination of a political leader in a neighboring country would add fuel to the already tense Austro-Serbian relationship. Therefore, the Cypriot government ordered the border between the two countries to be closed, in order to prevent those hot-blooded young people in the country from really not knowing what to do and engage in such a dirty thing as assassinating political leaders.

However, it is a pity that Belgrade's orders also need to be carried out by lower-level officials, so Princip and others can easily cross the border.

Then the murderer of the Grand Duke and his wife was caught red-handed, which made the Serbian government sit on pins and needles, and at that time it felt that Vienna did not make any big moves, but I did not expect that a month later, Austria-Hungary's actions finally came, and it was an unacceptable condition for Serbia.

A closer look reveals that the conditions on the ultimatum are in fact interference in Serbia's internal affairs, and of course this is a matter of course, with Articles 5 and 6 being the most serious, since they directly interfere with Serbia's judicial power.

The Serbian Government is not willing to accept these two terms, but is willing to accept the other conditions. In fact, Serbia did not want to accept any of these conditions, but because of the serious consequences and the already angry Austro-Hungarian government, Serbia's small body could not resist alone.

So after Austria-Hungary submitted an ultimatum to it, Serbia immediately reported it to the Russian Empire, which had been supporting him behind it.

Of course, Russia was furious at the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum handed over by Serbia, and Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov spoke publicly. By making such harsh demands on Serbia, Austria-Hungary was in complete disregard for Russia's special interests in Serbia.

Speaking of which, Russia has been good enough for Serbia over the years. In the previous Serbian war, as well as in the wars of the Balkan countries, Russia has always stood firmly behind Serbia. Not even the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which had always considered it a protectorate, did not even care.

Of course, this is also related to Russia's own needs (Serbia can block Austria-Hungary's expansion into the Balkans, so Russia will die), but it also shows how much Russia values Serbia.

Since Serbia is so important, it is natural to express something. Even if Russia has a headache for assassination, it is in its own interests, and it needs to speak according to its own needs.

Therefore, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov summoned the Austro-Hungarian ambassador Szapari and told him that Russia firmly opposed the two clauses of the ultimatum, that the Serbs would never disband the National Self-Defense Forces, and that Austria-Hungary would not allow Austria-Hungary to investigate the assassination of Sarajevo on Serbian territory.

In response to the words of the Russian Foreign Minister, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador Szapari immediately explained, "Austria-Hungary is only suppressing terrorist movements and riots, which is beneficial to all civilized countries." ”

In response to the words of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador, Sazonov immediately showed the tough side of Russia. "This is a mistake, you are provoking a war in Europe."

It is clear that Russia has sensed some movements, so it is impossible to make a retreat. Of course, it is not easy to get Russia to back down, and the greedy woolly bear has always had a good appetite. If you don't hurt it, you won't listen to other people's opinions at all.

Later, the Russian foreign minister made it even clearer that if Austria-Hungary made a move to attack Serbia, then Russia would carry out a general mobilization, and there should be no doubt about Russia's determination to defend Serbia.

Russia, of course, was determined to defend Serbia, and after receiving the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum from Serbia, the Russian military began to order a secret mobilization.

Moreover, the government, under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Sazonov, convened a cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for war.

As for why it was convened by the Foreign Minister, because Prime Minister Goremykin was a nominal person, and His Majesty the Tsar was on vacation with his family and could not return to St. Petersburg at the moment, so the Foreign Minister presided over the meeting.

Although Russia showed a very tough attitude, how could Austria-Hungary retract this time. You know, this time, they have the full support of both allies.

Therefore, Austria-Hungary was a great sharpening of the knife against Serbia, and it was not afraid of Russia, which provided protection for it.

------Off topic------

I'm sorry everyone, the old man of the steamed bun was diagnosed with cancer today, and his wife cried to death, and the steamed bun can only appease the family first, and he also needs to help, so only one chapter has been updated today.