The Rise of the Empire

"Ruprecht, Ferdinand went to Bosnia and Herzegovia again. He really couldn't forget Serbia. It seems that the future war is likely to start from Serbia. And this time it seems that he I will not return to Vienna in a short time." In the Prague Palace, the former official residence of the King of Bohemia, Princess Mary handed Ruprecht the latest updates on the empire. Then he said.

"Really? Are there any new developments in Vienna?" Ruprecht turned around and asked.

"Conrad will be in charge of the front in Galicia and the Garpatian Mountains to the east. You will be in charge of the Bohemian and Moravia front, and Crown Prince Ferdinand seems to be in charge of the Balkan front." Princess Mary thought about it Want to say.

"Now, Fritz is still preparing to start a war on two fronts?" Ruprecht couldn't help but shook his head and said. It is already 1911, although the Austro-Hungarian Army has been well prepared for war in the past few years. For example, 2 of the Navy's 4 Combined Forces-class battleships have already been commissioned, and the remaining one will also be commissioned in 1911. It joined the navy at the end of the year, and the Austro-Hungarian fleet and the Turkish navy also reached a cooperation agreement. The maritime situation in the Mediterranean is much better.

In terms of the army, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also activated its own armament system in advance. At least on the Austrian side, the equipment level of the Austro-Hungarian Army was generally better than in history, so that after the outbreak of World War I, bronze artillery would not be needed. Pushing things to the front line, although the number of heavy artillery is still scarce, at least the three-inch rapid-fire artillery and machine guns at the division level are already superfluous to the Russians. As for the Hungarian side, although their equipment has not changed much, their military strength has increased to a certain extent.

But even so, Ruprecht is still not optimistic about the situation of the Austro-Hungarian Army, because while the Austro-Hungarian Army is stronger than in history, the Russian Army opposite has also become stronger. The Russians' move to relocate a large number of Poles could not be hidden from anyone. The increase in border troops was also seen by the Allies. Looking at the long strings of numbers and numbers on the intelligence, even Moltke felt Some heads are numb.

He mentioned the issue of Russia's military strength in Poland more than once in his letters to Ruprecht. While asking whether the Bavarian Army could complete its scheduled mission, he also requested that when the East Prussian Army was in crisis, Ruprecht Special can first help his German colleagues, and then take care of the Austro-Hungarian Empire... After all, in Moltke's plan, the Eighth Army had to face two Russian armies. The former was about the same size as in history, but the size of the latter seemed to have increased a lot. The number of infantry divisions was expected to exceed 20!

And just when the Russians were massively increasing their troops, and even Moltke felt that the Eastern Front was not so stable, the Austro-Hungarian Empire still wanted to deal with it together, which was a bit suspected of committing suicide. As Fritz's good son-in-law, Ruprecht had repeatedly mentioned that the Austro-Hungarian legions should be concentrated to block the first wave of Russian attacks, but none of them succeeded, which made the prince wonder. Where do you get so much confidence?

"This is actually more of a political purpose. Ferdinand wants to gain enough political capital to come to power in this war, and what capital can be better than destroying a country on the battlefield? William II has spent time Set in September 1912. Ferdinand might want to get rid of Serbia before the war breaks out." Princess Mary thought for a while and said.

"It's all fantasy. If Austria-Hungary takes action against Serbia, then Russia will inevitably join the war, and Russia's participation in the war will inevitably lead to a full-scale confrontation between the Allies and the Central Powers. Even if the Russians are not ready,

They will still fight this war! "Ruprecht sighed. It seems that everything needs to be prepared in advance. Perhaps, the war will break out before September next year.

"Do you think Ferdinand can defeat Serbia in the Balkans?" Princess Mary asked.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid it won't work. Although his troops have two armies on paper, the equipment integrity rate and manpower full rate are always far from ideal. Of course, more importantly, I have never had any doubts about the Austro-Hungarian Army. I have too much hope, really, I am not joking, nor do I mean to make you angry." Looking at Her Royal Highness the Princess, who had already pouted her mouth to express her dissatisfaction, Ruprecht could only express his apology again and again. But even so, it was impossible for him to say how strong the Austro-Hungarian Army was against his will.

In fact, Fritz really wanted to start the war in advance and solve the thorn in Serbia's side before the war broke out. In his letter to the Austrian Emperor and the Kaiser, he wrote: "The Russians have not yet completed the final war. Be prepared, if it is just a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the Russians may not dare to intervene. In this case, why don’t we get rid of an important enemy before the war starts?”

If you ask whether this makes sense, it certainly makes sense. After all, it has only been five years since the end of the Russo-Japanese War, and the Russians have indeed not fully recovered their energy. Even the entire Allied Powers delayed the outbreak of the war. In the eyes of the Allies, the Russians were 80% sure that they would not go to war with Germany and Austria at the same time because of the Serbian issue. But how can I put it, not starting a war does not mean that the Russians have not thought about it. Countermeasures.

In a house on the outskirts of Belgrade, the windows are covered with gray curtains. The table in the middle of the room is covered with a black tablecloth, and there is a book on the left side of the tablecloth, and a handful of filled books on the right side. Bullets for pistol.

"For the national independence and unity of Yugoslavia! We will dedicate everything we have!" members sitting around the table shouted. The person sitting in the front seat, always hiding himself in the shadows, raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Now, the Yugoslav nation has reached its most critical moment. The devil from the north wants to calm our motherland and launch a war while it is still weak, while our allies to the east are hesitant to take the German saber, so , we need to take action to nip the enemy's war behavior in the cradle in the north!" the leader said firmly.

"Fritz must die. He is the commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian Army. As long as he dies, the entire Austro-Hungarian Army will be leaderless. All the crises facing Serbia will be solved. In a few years, there will be allies in the east. With our support, the establishment of a Greater Serbia is just around the corner! History will prove that everything we do is worth it!" So, an assassination plot began to brew in Belgrade, and this conspiracy even turned into a storm that swept the entire Balkans and even the world!

The third update is here~~~! War is about to break out! ! !