Chapter 796

No one paid attention to the battle between the British and Montenegro. The difference in strength between the two sides was too great. It was not something that could be made up with passion. The outcome had been decided from the beginning.

Even Franz was not optimistic about Montenegro. Their foundation was too weak and could not afford to be exhausted. Even if they repelled the attack of the Anglo-Saxon coalition, they would still lose.

This was the tragedy of a small country. With such a small population, no matter how strong they were, there would always be deaths in war. Montenegro could not afford to die.

Up until now, the Balkans had lost more than a million people, possibly even more than two or three million people. The losses were especially heavy among the young.

The Osman caught strong men to fight, and the Hairy Bear did not hesitate. Including the current attack and defense of Constantinople, the Russians had caught many strong young men and sent them to the front line as cannon fodder.

No matter how worthless the gray animals were, they were still Tsar's soldiers. They were their own people, so they were more valuable than cannon fodder.

In the attack and defense of Constantinople, thousands of people were lost every day. Even if the Hairy Bear was a big family, he could not support it!

If they used cannon fodder, Menshikov would have no pressure. If they died, then so be it. The Government of Austria was very cooperative.

Before they obtained Austrian citizenship, the Government of Austria had no obligation to protect their safety. The two Danube Valley Principalities had been harmed by the Russians recently.

The guys who had resisted learning German at first were now crying too late. There was no other way. If they did not pass the language test, the political and ideological review, they could not obtain citizenship.

The two Danube Valley Principalities were still nominally vassals of the Osman Empire. The Austrians were only temporarily occupying them and had no obligation to protect their safety.

Franz could only express his regret for the atrocities of the Russian army. If they wanted to protest, they could go to St. Peter's Castle. The Russian Army was not under his control. He could not help the current situation.

Catching strong men was not a big deal. Those who knew Russia knew that most of the gray animals had no pay. Their only income came from robbing on the battlefield.

According to the news from the front line, at least half of the local people had been robbed by the Russian army. Except for the safer areas where the Austrian army was stationed, other areas were plundered by the Russians.

Because of the westward strategy, Austria withdrew a large number of troops. Naturally, they could not take care of all areas. Only Austrian soldiers were stationed in good areas, which provided opportunities for the Russians.

Franz could guarantee that Austria was not colluding with the Russians. These atrocities were organized by the Russian Army.

Everyone had a good time working together. The Russians had finished their robbery and needed to dispose of the stolen goods, and the Austrian-controlled safe zone was the best place to do so.

Almost every time the Russian Army passed, it was a mess. to the Russians. If they were lucky, they would only be robbed. If they were unlucky, their families would be ruined.

The world was cruel. When the news reached Franz, everything had happened. What was done could not be undone. It was unknown how many people had died there. They could only wait for the battle to end and slowly count.

It was not only the Russians and the Osman who were harming the The Balkans. The British, French, and Sardinian allied forces were not good either. In order to improve the quality of their meals, everyone had to personally prepare food and clothing.

After being attacked by so many armies in turn, the rich had long fled, including the nobles of the Ottoman Empire.

They were all smart people. They knew that it was impossible to reason with the soldiers. In times of chaos, human life was the least valuable.

Those who could run had run away. The rest were a bunch of poor people. If they were not at the bottom of the free people or serfs, they had nowhere to run.

Marshal Radski frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the front line sent an urgent message. The Serbian area was attacked by refugees and was suppressed by the army.

The atmosphere is very tense. It will not be long before chaos breaks out again. The new 9th division stationed at the front line requests for domestic support. "

There was no other way. Any war was unavoidable. There would be a large number of refugees. Because of the war, they had lost their livelihood. Other than going out to make a living, they had no other choice.

Franz asked with concern, "How many refugees are gathered at the border?"

Marshal Ladisky thought for a moment before replying, "At least a few hundred thousand, maybe even a million. The situation is too chaotic, so there's no way to make an effective count.

We took in tens of thousands of refugees. Later, because there were too many of them, we were worried that it would affect the local order, so the General Staff Headquarters ordered them to stop them.

This is a dereliction of duty on the part of the General Staff Headquarters. Some time ago, we were busy with the westward strategy and neglected to pay attention to the refugees.

Now, there are more and more refugees at the border. The troops at the front line could not hold them any longer and sent a message for help. We only noticed it. "

Because of the war, the Serbian area, the Bosnia-Herzegovina area, and the two Danube River Duchies were all under military control. In addition, the Government of Austria did not have sovereignty over these areas, so there was no local government.

Since it was under military control, these problems naturally fell on the General Staff Headquarters. The result was obvious. A group of military officers could not be relied on to govern a place. To maintain the stability of a place, it depended on military force.

The Austrian General Staff Headquarters, including Marshal Radski, ignored the refugee problem and did not report it to Franz. It was only when the matter broke out that they paid attention.

Frankly speaking, the General Staff Headquarters' handling of the matter was not wrong. If so many refugees were to be released, it would be a tragedy for the human world.

The order that Austria had painstakingly established in the local area would soon collapse.

If social order could be maintained by increasing the number of troops, then there was really no way to solve the problem of food.

In this era, to solve the food problem for hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, how could Franz gather so many resources in a short period of time without making preparations in advance?

It was not that there were no resources, but there was not enough time to mobilize so many resources. In order to help the refugees, the Government of Austria had mobilized a large amount of food.

However, the food was barely enough to help the refugees in the Austrian-occupied area. Faced with the increase of foreign refugees, there was really nothing that could be done.

Franz asked doubtfully, "That's not right. With so many refugees, they should have attacked our blockade earlier. Why did this problem only occur after so many people gathered?"

Marshal Radski replied, "Your Majesty, most of these refugees are old, weak, women, and children. There is a lack of young men, so when they were intercepted by the army, many of them chose to retreat.

Now, there is a group of defeated soldiers among the refugees. Someone is leading them, so they started to attack our blockade. "

Franz nodded. With the end of the Second Bulgarian War, there was a large number of defeated soldiers in the The Balkans. These defeated soldiers wreaked havoc everywhere and created a large number of refugees.

By now, they probably couldn't even find a place to continue plundering. Left with no other choice, these people appeared among the refugees.

If there was no leader, no matter how many of them there were, they would not dare to attack the border. After all, there was no human rights in this era. As long as they dared to attack the blockade, the soldiers would open fire.

After understanding the situation, Franz also had a headache. He did not need to ask to know what kind of tragic scene it was. The image of people eating their children had already appeared in his mind.

However, it was even more impossible to let them in. Without enough food, these people would only create more refugees if they were to create chaos.

This was not the 21st century. As long as the government was willing, they could mobilize a large number of resources at any time. With the current situation of relying on ox-carts for transportation, how could Franz mobilize a large number of resources for them?

When people were extremely hungry, they would do anything. Franz did not dare to test the good and evil of human nature. Even in the future, this was still a problem that troubled the countries.

It could be said that this was a job that did not bring any benefits and could only be rewarded with complaints. Thinking of this, Franz could not help but grumble. Since you have ignored it, you should ignore it to the end. It would be better to learn from the British bureaucrats and do things according to the rules.

Now that the matter was out in the open, he could not just ignore it.

Franz asked, "Prime Minister, how do you think we should deal with this problem?"

This was kicking the ball. In any case, Franz could not think of a solution that could satisfy both sides. So, he could only let the cabinet do it. It would be better if there was a way, but if there was no way, the cabinet would be the one to take the blame.

Prime Minister Felix said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, first send troops to reinforce the frontline. No matter what, we can't let more people become refugees. Then, we can mobilize resources from the country to provide relief."

Franz understood what he meant. That was to guard the blockade and get it over with. After the resources were mobilized, they would then provide relief. By then, most of the refugees would have died and there would be enough food to eat.

Marshal Radski thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the other areas can be blocked, but I'm afraid it will be difficult in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are too many mountains and forests there. I'm afraid we won't be able to stop the flow of refugees."

Minister of Finance Carr asked doubtfully, "We're not the only ones facing this problem. Greece, Montenegro, the Osman, and Russia, how did they handle it?"

Metternich replied, "The situation in Greece was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That idiot Otto the First saw the refugees and thought that the opportunity to increase the population had come, so he ordered the government to provide relief.

In the end, because the influx of refugees was too large, it exceeded their limit. In addition, the British army entered and destroyed the local order. The local area is already in a mess. The new Greek government is suppressing the refugees.

The situation is still not optimistic. It won't be long before they ask for help from the three governments. I suspect that the British saw this situation, which was why they gave in so easily at the Paris Conference. "

Needless to say, everyone knew about the remaining countries. The areas controlled by the Osman Empire were definitely in a mess. The Government of Sudan did not have the ability to help the refugees. The British and French were not philanthropists and would not help for free.

The Montenegro Principality was poor. They were still fighting against the allied forces. As long as the refugees were not idiots, they would not go there. If it was an idiot who went there, then they would not have a good ending.

At this moment, Franz began to envy the bad reputation of the Russians. Because of the atrocities of the Russian Army, the refugees could not wait to hide from them. How could they go to the front?

Thanks to this, even the two Danube Principalities controlled by Austria were not attacked by the The Balkans because of the Russians blocking in front.

They were a classic example of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Their reputation was not bad enough, and their methods were not ruthless enough. However, Austria, which seemed to be relatively rich, became the unlucky one.

Let Franz kill the refugees without caring about his reputation? This was impossible! If it was the Tsarist government, it might be possible to give this order.

Franz said ruthlessly, "If Bosnia and Herzegovina can't be defended, then there is no need to defend it. Tell the refugees to go to the sea. Only when they reach the sea can we mobilize enough food to carry out rescue. "

This was the truth. It was too difficult to transport inland. Even if they had the Danube River, the river's transport capacity was not unlimited. They had to ensure that the garrison and Russia's supplies were consumed first.

From Serbia to the port, there was still a few hundred kilometers to travel. Along the way, they had to cross mountains and ridges. There were not many people who could make it there alive.

Don't say it was cruel. Having hope was better than having no hope. Bosnia was mostly mountainous and Austria had just taken control of it. The local assimilation was not going well, so Franz did not feel bad about giving up on Franz.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marshal Radski replied in a low voice.

He knew that this matter made the Emperor very dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do. The General Staff did not react in advance and missed the best time to deal with it.

With so many people gathered together, the bark and roots of the local trees were probably eaten up. It was inevitable that people would attack the blockade line when they were hungry. Marshal Radski could not bear to kill the refugees, so he could only let Franz handle it.

Prime Minister Felix frowned and said, "Your Majesty, now that we have rescued these refugees, how to settle them in the future is also a problem. If we let them continue to stay in the The Balkans, I'm afraid it will also be a hidden danger. "

He was opposed to this kind of relief. Apart from spending a lot of money and resources, they would not receive a word of gratitude in the end.

Those who could survive under such circumstances were mostly people who had lost their morals. Those who were not ruthless enough would not survive to the end.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Of course, all of them will be sent back to the Osman Empire. When these people arrive, immediately send them on the ships and pack up the people in the Bosnian region.

If the Osman Empire refuses to accept them, then send them all to the African continent as the first batch of immigrants for us to develop the African continent.

The navy immediately chose a suitable place to land and occupy a few strongholds in the African continent. The Austrian colonial era had begun in advance.

Organize the ships as soon as possible. This time, it will not be easy to transport so many people. Everyone must be mentally prepared in advance. "

If they were just simple refugees, it would not be a problem to settle them in the The Balkans. At most, they would slowly assimilate. Unfortunately, there were a lot of defeated soldiers mixed in and would become a disaster in an instant.

Since that was the case, they could only change a place to live. The people were forced to leave their homes and in addition to the scattered resettlement, once they reached the African continent, Franz was not afraid that these people would dare to cause trouble.

They could also solve the hidden danger in the Bosnia-Herzegovina region at the same time. The Government of Austria had spent so much effort, money, and manpower, and it would not be in vain.

Using this labor force to develop the African continent was just like recycling waste. Slowly reforming overseas for a few years, time could dilute everything, and then send more priests to educate them.

Let them repent of their sins, slowly return to normal life, and finally integrate into the Austrian system. With this thought, Franz's thoughts were clear.