Chapter 496

On the 25th of June, 1852, Austria sent troops to attack the Osman Empire again. Within a month, they moved to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and rescued more than a million people enslaved by the Osman Empire. They brought the dawn of civilization to the The Balkans.

The above was the annual work report of the Government of Austria.

In fact, the Austrian army only took over the local defense and maintained social order after the Osman army withdrew.

The Serbian region was easy to manage. The serfs in the countryside were well-behaved. Although there were mobs in the cities, they were still at the street level.

Under Austria's iron fist, the remnants of the Osman Empire were annihilated in an instant. The ones that remained were well-behaved children. Of course, this had something to do with the large number of young adults that the Osman Empire took with them when they withdrew.

This wasn't the good intentions of the Osman Empire, nor was it because they did something stupid. War required a large number of cannon fodder and civilian workers. If they kept these young adults, they would be supporting the enemy.

The two duchies of the Danube River were an example. The Russian Army recruited at least 150,000 civilian workers. When necessary, these civilian workers could be turned into soldiers.

Without the dedication of these people, the Russians could only transfer civilian workers from their own country. The Tsarist government wasn't a fool. They would naturally make such a choice.

Transferring too many young adults from their country would also affect production. However, it didn't matter if they transferred civilian workers from the two duchies. This was Austria's territory. No matter how heavy the losses were, the Russians wouldn't feel bad.

The Russians didn't care. Franz also didn't care. Without the atrocities of the Russian Army, how could the good of Austria be served as a foil?

These Romanians hadn't become Austrians yet. They weren't Austrians and didn't pay taxes to Austria. The Government of Austria naturally had no obligation to provide them with protection.

As for the economic losses caused, it wasn't even worth mentioning. These areas weren't developed at all. It was nothing more than a decrease in food production.

If these young men were to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield, the difficulty of Austria ruling the area in the future would be reduced by another level.

If they wanted to avoid recruitment by the Russians, becoming an Austrian citizen was the only option. The Russians wouldn't recruit Austrians.

Everyone took what they needed. The Russians obtained a large number of civilian workers. Austria also issued a lot of citizenship and received a group of supporters. Russia and Austria cooperated happily on this issue.

Although the Government of Austria didn't invest much in the Serbian invasion, it didn't mean they didn't take it seriously. On the contrary, Franz attached great importance to this future source of trouble.

In order to eliminate the source of war in Europe, the Government of Austria was also a part.

Military control was necessary, as was cleansing the local Ottoman influence. In order to deal with the aftermath, Franz specially ordered a large amount of flour and bean powder to be sent over as relief rations.

Belgrade was the geographical of the The Balkans. and the Balkans. and Bal.

It was located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain met the Balkan Peninsula. As the contact point between Europe and the Near East, it had always been known as the "Balkan Key."

But the commander of the Belgrade garrison, Azsharas Pasha, didn't think the Balkan Key was a good place.

The surrounding areas were abandoned, and he, the unlucky man, was left to guard this isolated city.

The idea of abandoning Belgrade and running away came to his mind more than once, but Azsharas Pasha didn't dare to take action.

Abdul Mejid I gave him a death order to defend the gateway of the The Balkans and lay the foundation for the Osman Empire's future counterattack.

Azsharas Pasha didn't like the idea of counterattacking Serbia. If the Osman Empire had this strength, the war wouldn't have reached this point.

The person who came up with this idea was obviously trying to trick him. As the loser of the political struggle, Azsharas Pasha was mentally prepared. As early as the beginning of the Near East, he submitted his resignation, but it was rejected.

Now, there were only two paths in front of him. Either he defended Belgrade or he died in battle. He didn't dare to choose the other path. It was better for him to die than for his whole family to die.

Unless the Osman Empire won the war, then finding someone to move around and send a few more gifts would solve the problem.

In Azsharas Pasha's view, the probability of this was infinitely zero. If they couldn't win the war, they needed a scapegoat, and he, the loser of the political struggle, was just right.

"Send someone to investigate what the enemy is doing. Why haven't they attacked for so long?" Azsharas Pasha ordered.

Three days ago, the Austrian army surrounded Belgrade. Apart from the daily routine of firing a few cannons, there were no other movements.

This unusual behavior naturally aroused Azsharas Pasha's vigilance. No matter how careful he was, the enemy didn't attack. His series of preparations were naturally in vain.

Azsharas was anxious, and Lieutenant General Fislav, who was outside the city, was even more anxious. It was fine to bring a group of reserves to the battlefield, since the enemy was even worse.

But the headquarters' order was for him to reduce the number of casualties to less than a thousand, which made things difficult for him. The Osman Army had retreated and taken over directly, so there were basically no casualties. It was impossible to attack Belgrade now without paying a price, right?

Lieutenant General Fislav, who had a bit of a political brain, knew that the government wasn't enthusiastic about this war. Even the order to attack Belgrade was only four words — play it by ear.

The higher-ups' actions were obviously related to politics. The Russo-Austrian Alliance was no longer a secret. There were many opinions about the contents of the alliance.

Fislav guessed that the country didn't want the Russians to conquer Constantinople, and they were limited by the alliance and had to support the Russians. Under these circumstances, it made sense that the Austrian army didn't do anything.

But for soldiers like them, it was a tragedy. Without war, there would be no military merits. This kind of not letting go and accepting the merits of the territory could only be regarded as hard work. It wasn't enough to promote them.

Fislav asked, "The topographic map of Belgrade is here. The enemy isn't a fool, and the defense is quite tight.

Who has a way to take down this city without incurring heavy casualties? "

A young officer said eagerly, "Your Excellency, I don't have any good ideas, but I do have two stupid ones. Do you want to try?"

Fislav revealed a happy smile. "Vasim, as long as we can take Belgrade while reducing casualties, that's a good idea!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Belgrade is located at the junction of the Tisa and Danube tributaries. We just need to build a dam upstream to store water and use a water attack to take the city.

But Belgrade is located in the Pannonian Plains, so it's hard to estimate how much damage a water attack would cause.

The second method is to drive the people into the city. There are many locals in the Belgrade garrison. We can drive the soldiers' families and people who are inclined to the Osman Empire to the city.

If the garrison lets them in, these people will increase their food consumption. If the garrison refuses to let them in, then drive them to attack the city with wooden sticks and waste the enemy's ammunition.

But this will cause too much trouble, and we must seal their mouths after the battle, "Vasim said.

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. It was a good idea, but it was a bit too cruel.

Using a water attack would affect a large area, and the damage would be uncontrollable. Driving the people into the city and sealing their mouths after the battle was actually killing them. Only when the people involved were all dead could the impact be minimized.

After hesitating for a long time, Fislav said slowly, "Ask for help from the government and ask them to send water experts over. We want to flood Belgrade.

Driving the people to attack the city is one thing, but the country has also mobilized a large amount of disaster relief food. If we kill all the people, who will the food be used for? "

Fislav dared to flood the city, but he couldn't bear to drive the people to attack the city. The disaster relief food was just an excuse.

Now that the young and strong people in the Serbian region had been taken away by the Osman Empire, it was impossible to arm the cannon fodder to attack the city.

Using the old, weak, sick, and disabled, who had no value in arming them, to attack the city with wooden sticks. Wasn't this asking them to die? As Vasim said, it could only waste the enemy's ammunition.

God knew how many people would have to die to exhaust the enemy's ammunition. If they really did it, there would be a large number of uninhabited villages and towns in the Serbian region after the war.

After conquering Belgrade, they would have to carry out a massacre. It would be difficult to end this if they didn't kill the Danube River.

There would definitely be no living people in Belgrade, and none of the cannon fodder they captured would be able to survive. Fislav wasn't a butcher, and he couldn't do such a thing.

Vasim's suggestion seemed normal in this era. The Americans were massacring the Native Americans, the British were killing people in Australia and New Zealand, and the Qing government in the Far East was having a killing competition with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The protagonists of this war, the Hairy Bear and the Osman, were also people who killed without batting an eye. Killing innocent people and taking credit was one of the main sources of their military achievements.

When their armies passed through, there would often be some uninhabited villages. The Osman Empire had such a large territory, and they were able to control the population growth very well. The Osman army had also made outstanding contributions.

In the era when the world was as black as a crow, the purged Austrian army was like a clear stream. In the Near Eastern War, they were known for their military discipline.

There were pros and cons. Fislav didn't drive his people to attack the city, and the Government of Austria shipped a large amount of relief food. The Serbian region was quickly stabilized.

Although the number of young adults was scarce, the Government of Austria adopted work as a form of relief. They recruited the local old and weak to repair roads and restore transportation.

Those who performed well during the construction process were eligible to apply for Austrian citizenship. Only after obtaining Austrian citizenship would they be qualified to be officials.

At this time, the Osman fled, and the original ruling class was finished. The social order was reshuffled, and the local government still needed a large number of officials.

Speculators naturally rushed to apply for Austrian citizenship. After all, this was the best opportunity to change the social class.

Not to mention now, even those who had Austrian citizenship in the past were more respected here. The officials of the Osman government were also afraid of causing diplomatic disputes.

People followed blindly, and when they saw others joining, they naturally followed suit.

No one knew when it started, but the news spread that serfs could obtain the status of free people by becoming Austrian citizens, and then it went crazy.

From Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia, and then to the two Danube Valley duchies, many people rushed to become Austrian citizens, most of whom were serfs.

But at this time, the restrictions also came out. To become an Austrian citizen, one must first learn the Austrian language.

This didn't scare them. Anyway, as long as they applied, the Government of Austria would send a language teacher to teach them. After learning the daily language, they could become a member of Austria.

The local officials copied Austria's land purchase policy. They didn't care about the owner's opinion and forcefully bought the land.

Even if they had opinions, it was useless. Their land ownership was certified by the Osman Empire, and it had nothing to do with Austria. If the people were not there, it would be an ownerless land.

As for whether the Government of Austria's approach was legal or not, no one thought so much about this issue. Anyway, the Austrians had the final say here.

Interests were always the best weapon. Austria didn't gain sovereignty over these lands, but first turned the local people into Austrians.

If Austria could rule for two or three years, and the local mainstream population became Austrian citizens, then the following things would be interesting.

One day, the Government of Sudan negotiated to recover these lands and sent officials to take over. Then, they suddenly found that their own land was actually filled with foreigners, and they didn't know what they would think.