Western Bosnia.

There are 150,000 Croats in Western Bosnia, or 35 per cent of the population, but after the departure of large numbers of Bosnians and Serbs, they became the largest ethnic group in the region.

As for East Bosnia, there are almost no Croats living there, so they don't have to suffer from migration, let alone unlimited chicken contests.

These people used to be called "raiya", meaning livestock, the so-called third class, the first class was obviously Bosnian, the second class was the more numerous Serbs, and the third class was the Croats.

Historically, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not Austrianize the region in order to maintain the stability of its rule, but instead tried to maintain the status quo ante, and even strengthened the authority of local traditions (religious and patriarchal).

This led directly to Bosnia becoming the poorest and most chaotic province in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was preceded by Dalmatia.

Naturally, the Croats welcomed the entry into the Austrian Empire.

After all, they had become "first-class people", and it was a Croatian general who had been sent to rule them.

Now the local Croats were literally turned serfs and sang, and their compatriots in the Austrian Empire began to support them.

Croatia had always been one of the poorer provinces of Austria, but they still scraped together a large amount of food, weapons, and livestock to support their newly returned brothers.

The Bosnians were worse off, either converting to Croats, going to East Bosnia for an unlimited chicken contest, or staying where they were and being beaten by the Croats who had been supported.

The local Serbs were similar, either choosing to be obedient citizens of the Austrian Empire, or going to New Serbia, wanting to continue the confrontation with the country, and Austria had many troops skilled in mountain warfare waiting for them.

In the Belgrade region, Austria has sent heavy troops to defend it, preparing to make it a truly impregnable city.

As for the Austrian newspapers, there is no mention of the deal between the Austrian Empire and Serbia, only about the recapture of Belgrade by the Archduke Franz.

The Hungarians have always considered the Croats to be a great threat to them, because their territory is too large, and like Hungary, they have a military tradition and an elite army.

Hungary has never given up on suppressing Croatia, which is second only to Hungary in terms of land area in the territory of St. Stephen's Crown.

However, the population of the latter is only about one-third of that of the Hungarians, and the rate of population growth is ridiculously slow, from 2.4 million at the beginning of the 19th century to just over 3 million by the end of the 19th century.

The 19th century was a period of explosive population growth in Europe, and the population of Germany doubled during the same period.

If Western Bosnia were to be included in the Kingdom of Croatia, it would have further strengthened its power. As a result, it was even more difficult for Hungary, which was already weak, to rule Croatia.

Of course, the Hungarians will not agree, and will even obstruct it in every possible way, which will further increase the contradiction between Croatia and Hungary.

Merging with Western Bosnia, in the eyes of the Croats, was to save their own compatriots, and the Hungarians had no reason at all to intervene.

Hungary's old three ways of dealing with Croatia are to suppress ethnic Croat officials, raise land rents and taxes, and at the same time pour dirt on Croatia, saying that they are ready for independence, and then take the opportunity to arrest some Croatian officers.

In fact, in Croatia, a large amount of arable land and pasture are in the hands of Hungarians, but the people in charge of farming and grazing are Croats.

It is also true that there are many people in Croatia who are Hungarian officials, after all, they belong to the Crown of St. Stephen. And for ordinary Croatian officials, this is the only way for them to get promoted.

At the same time, on the military side, with the exception of a few local defense forces, most of them were also controlled by Hungary.

And they really don't have the heart to rebel, so they can be taken by Hungary every time.

However, at this time, under the opposition of Hungary, Western Bosnia became a royal domain, and General Jelačić, as the governor, could transfer food and other supplies from Vojvodina Province through Croatia for various justifications.

At the same time, civil officials do not have to look at the face of Hungary anymore, they can enter the royal domain, and then be directly promoted to Neletania as an official like Count Korolav.

The registration office of the Imperial Army in Western Bosnia was almost overcrowded, after all, it was only 43 florins to join the champion team of King St. Stephen in Croatia, and 100 florins for joining the Imperial Army.

The partition of East and West was the best way to transform Western Bosnia into Austrian territory in a short period of time.

One of Croatia's shortcomings is its poverty, its poor land, its lack of produce, its lack of vital resources, and its chronic inability to be self-sufficient in food.

Almost all Croatian men during this period had joined the armies of the Austrian Empire, because they could provide a stable income to support their families and receive a pension if they died in battle.

It is precisely because of this that the Croats never thought of independence from the Empire.

There is no need to worry about the Hungarians taking advantage of the food problem, because the rich Vojvodina can definitely feed the whole of Croatia, and if it can't, it can continue to be transported through the Danube waterway.

And with the intensification of Hungarian sanctions and the weakening of the Croats' dependence on Hungary, the contradictions between the two sides will become bigger and bigger.

As for the importance of Belgrade, it has been said many times before, so I will not repeat it, and one of the more significant effects is that the center of gravity of Austria's southeastern defense will be transferred from Novi Sad to Belgrade.

Eastern Bosnia.

The massacre of foreigners by native Serbs came to an abrupt end with the arrival of an emissary from Belgrade.

This messenger was none other than Miloš.

He was not resigned to defeat, and the Serbs in East Bosnia were not willing to accept a new government. The two hit it off, but the Serbian army was not a rotten and incompetent army like the Ottomans.

The Serbs are best at guerrilla warfare, and for this they need allies to fight together against the powerful Serbian army.

At first Bosnians saw this as a trap, but as soon as the Serbian army entered eastern Bosnia, a fierce conflict broke out.

On the frontal battlefield, the Bosnians were no match for the Serbs, so they went around grabbing strong men from Western Bosnia, and on the other hand, they also threw olive branches to Milos.

But the coalition forces in eastern Bosnia are still no match for the Serbian army. The coalition forces can only turn to underground guerrilla warfare, and at the same time catch the strong men more frantically.

The Serbian army, which had suffered losses, also needed to be replenished by strong men, and although their nominal monarch was the son of Milos, it was the Seventeen Parliament that actually held power.

Naturally, the Council of Seventeen would not let Miloš succeed, because it was not only about their rights, but also about their lives.

As the ultimate victim of this unlimited chicken eating contest, the West Bosnians are not willing to be slaughtered, and have formed their own teams to fight back.

In fact, the Seventeen-member Assembly was also forced to have no choice, because after giving up Belgrade, Serbia's original land was not in danger.

Sarajevo in East Bosnia, on the other hand, was not only a Serb settlement, but also a fortified city that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Miloš fled there.

The Seventeen Parliament had to take it even more, and Eastern Bosnia, nominally Ottoman territory, was not recognized by the natives of the region, despite the trade between Austria and Serbia.

At first, the Seventeen Parliament thought that the local Serbs would be more than willing to accept the local Bosnians as long as they were exterminated.

Unexpectedly, it backfired, and the Serbs and Bosnians of Eastern Bosnia joined forces to defend Sarajevo. This time Serbia became the aggressor, but they could not help but fight.

Wanting to leave the Austrian Empire with a blank slate, the Council of Seventeen removed as many of Belgrade's local people as possible, promising them a better life.

The unlimited chicken contest means that men, women, the elderly, and even children can become your enemies on the side of the road, in the rice fields, in the alleys of the city, day and night, and this kind of battle is a heavy blow to the morale of the army, but also a kind of mental torture.

However, the long-dormant Vučić once again raised the anti-flag, this time to bring down Miloš and the Council of Seventeen.

(Vučić was an agent of the Russians, but he had previously misjudged the situation, which led to failure.) ）

(End of chapter)