Chapter 1570 Academician

Birds of a feather flock together. Adolf and Benito of Italy had a good relationship, or rather, the relationship between the leaders of the extreme nationalists was good. They all believed in the "superiority of their own nation", but this was obviously a contradiction.

However, even an East Asian country like Japan, which has a different skin color, was able to form an alliance with the two in the past life. This also shows to a certain extent that they can collude with each other under specific historical circumstances.

The common enemies that "united" them were the old world order that Britain and France tried to maintain, the bourgeois democratic system, the labor forces represented by the Soviet Union, and so on.

The old international order was essentially a global distribution of benefits. East Africa and the United States, due to their advantageous geographical locations, were able to break free from the constraints of the international order and steadily and slowly encroach on the global market, without rushing into anything. However, Germany and Italy's geopolitical circumstances prevented them from doing so. Both were locked into Europe, and if they didn't break the blockade, they risked being dragged down.

Bourgeois democracy is also the common enemy of extreme nationalists, or the enemy of people like Adolf, Benito, and the Japanese Emperor. This is also a connection point between Adolf and Benito's "friendship". Both sides are anti-democratic.

Finally, the Soviet Union and the Labor Party were mortal enemies of the two. After they came to power, the first step they took was to liquidate them.

…

June 2, 1934.

Vienna, Austria.

With the escape of the Habsburg royal family, the situation in Vienna gradually stabilized, the coalition government took sole power, and slogans and flags of the Labor Party could be seen everywhere in the city government and on the streets.

Soldiers from the coalition government patrol the streets, and the public security in Vienna is now unprecedentedly good.

The lives of ordinary people have not been greatly affected, and the lower levels of society, such as the unemployed, thieves and criminals, have disappeared.

With the establishment of the coalition government, the former either joined the army or went back to work in factories, while the latter were directly thrown into prison or arranged for reform. Those with serious crimes have been executed.

Vienna now seemed to have regained its vitality and prosperity, but beneath this temporary prosperity, undercurrents surged. From outside, there was the German invasion, and the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were poised for a counterattack. Internally, despite a round of purges, most of the enemies were merely dormant. And now, there was a more important issue that urgently needed to be resolved by the coalition government.

In the coalition government meeting room, Koplenich said solemnly: "Now, Vienna is facing a severe test, that is, the problem of food shortage."

"Vienna's population is nearly two million, but the land surrounding Vienna is very limited and can hardly support such a large food supply. Hungary, the most important grain-producing area of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is controlled by reactionary forces such as the Habsburgs."

"Therefore, to solve the food problem, we must launch an eastern expedition to seize the grain-producing areas in the east."

Vienna is undoubtedly a big city. Before 1934, its population was close to three million. In the previous life, at the same time, Vienna's population was less than two million.

The reason for this difference is that the Austro-Hungarian Empire survived for more than ten years and caught up with the economic prosperity of the 1920s, which accelerated the concentration of the empire's population in Vienna.

Even if a large number of people are fleeing now, there are still more than two million people, at least hundreds of thousands more than in the previous life.

This has both advantages and disadvantages for the coalition government. The advantage is that Vienna has a larger population and more concentrated industries, so they have more resources at their disposal.

Just like in Russia, the Labor Party relied on the resources of big cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow to gradually gain control of the country and eliminate the remnants of the Tsarist Russia and external interference forces.

Vienna now faced the same problem as Moscow: food shortages, and this problem was even more serious.

Vienna is located in a basin with limited arable land, but as the country's political center, it has a large population. Before the industrial age, the Vienna Basin would have no problem being self-sufficient. Now, most of Vienna's food depends on supplies from Hungary and other regions.

Not to mention, some rural areas around Vienna are not yet controlled by the coalition government, but are controlled by the nobles and landowners.

Therefore, the food problem in Vienna was particularly serious. As Rudolf re-established the government in Budapest, the problem was further exacerbated. Hungary had stopped food supplies to Austria and imposed a blockade on Vienna.

In order to break this deadlock, the coalition government must send troops eastward out of Hungary to occupy more grain-producing areas. As for Bohemia north of Vienna, although most areas are controlled by the Labor Party, food production has been seriously affected due to the war.

At the same time, it was not easy to transport food from Bohemia. Because of the German invasion, many reactionary forces in Bohemia revived and launched sabotage activities in the rear, among which cutting off food supply routes was the most common sabotage activity.

In response to the question raised by Koplenich, Horner, the military commander-in-chief of the coalition government, frowned and said, "Mobilizing forces to launch an eastern expedition now is a very difficult decision for us."

"The Germans have launched attacks from the west and north and have occupied many areas. We are in urgent need of troops on the western and northern fronts to deal with the German offensive."

"As for Hungary, the Habsburg army should not be underestimated either. Because of the previous Hungarian incident, some elite troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were stationed in Hungary. Now these troops are being used by Rudolf to deal with us."

"Their combat effectiveness isn't necessarily much weaker than the German army. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also a European power, and it was a steel division that fought alongside Germany in World War I."

"This means that if we want to march eastward to Hungary, we can't just send ordinary troops. This will inevitably disperse our forces and easily put us in a dilemma."

On one side is the powerful German army, and on the other side is the powerful Austro-Hungarian army. If the coalition government only deals with the Austro-Hungarian army, the coalition government will not only win, but will also be invincible.

But now, after the German invasion from the west and north, the situation of the coalition government forces has become very difficult. Just dealing with the German army is already very difficult for the coalition government. If some troops are withdrawn to the Hungarian battlefield, it may cause the collapse of the western and northern fronts.

This is not the worst case scenario. The worse case scenario is that if the coalition government forces are also delayed on the Hungarian battlefield and Vienna’s food problem is not solved, internal unrest may break out in Vienna first.

Koplenich said with a headache: "In this case, we can only take a gamble. The troops on the Western and Northern Fronts cannot be reduced. The German army is our formidable enemy and we must not take it lightly."

"We also need to make progress on the Eastern Front. Therefore, Vienna must fully mobilize, recruit soldiers, and form troops to see if we can break through."

"At the same time, we must strictly limit the food rations of Vienna's citizens, put an end to waste, strictly supply them according to the daily quantity, and give priority to ensuring the food rations of soldiers and workers."

There is no other way. The difficulties Vienna is facing now can only be compensated through these means. The fact that the Russian Labor Party was able to break the food blockade in the past does not mean that the coalition government can do it easily.

After all, there are open plains around Moscow, which means that there is a large amount of arable land and grain output around Moscow. At the same time, there are no strategic locations to defend around Moscow, which is conducive to the Russian Labor Party occupying Moscow to take the initiative to collect grain in the countryside and fight against reactionary forces.

However, the food production around Vienna is limited, and the mountains block external communications within the Vienna Basin. At the same time, it also makes it easier for reactionary forces to use the surrounding terrain to disrupt the coalition government.

Thus, as time went on and the coalition government took decisions to deal with the current difficult situation, Vienna's problems began to emerge.

The shortage of materials caused the living standards of Vienna citizens to begin to decline. Not only was there a problem with food supply, but there was also a problem with the raw materials needed for Vienna's industry. Naturally, the output of industrial goods would also decrease.

In this situation, agencies in Vienna, such as the East African Immigration Agency, embassies and security departments, have also begun to become more active.

Vienna's East Side.

Keyasov, an employee of the East African Immigration Agency, took a list and, according to the address on it, went to a private house in Dongcheng District and knocked on the door.

"Who is this?" a voice came from the door.

"Mr. Craster, I'm Keyasov from the East African Immigration Agency. I wonder if you still remember me?" Keyasov replied.

After hearing Kyasov's voice, there was finally movement inside. The door lock was opened and a pair of eyes peeked out from the crack of the door.

Those eyes stared at Kyasov for a moment, then carefully glanced behind him. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, they relaxed and said, "It's you. I remember you came here two months ago."

Kyasov smiled and said, "Mr. Craster, you have a really good memory. I wonder if I can come in and sit for a while?"

"Of course," Craster opened the door and let him in. "Mr. Kjasov, I didn't expect you to have not left Vienna yet."

As Kjasov walked into the house, he responded, "Of course. Although Vienna has changed its owner, it won't be greatly affected by us foreign citizens."

Of course, foreigners in Vienna could not have been unaffected, but the coalition government now had no time to focus more on them, especially after Germany declared war on the coalition government.

Craster closed the door and put the bolt on it. The room seemed rather dim. The curtains covered the windows, so the light transmittance was not very good, and the lights were not on.

Of course, this is easy to understand. The electricity bill in Vienna is not cheap to begin with. Only some civilians in East Africa would indulge in such a luxury as turning on the lights during the day. Not to mention that the electricity supply in Vienna is even tighter now, and the coal needed by power plants is in short supply.

Craster asked him to sit on the sofa, poured him a cup of water, and then said, "Two months ago, I could have treated you to tea, but now I don't have the conditions to do so. I can only inconvenience Mr. Kyasov."

Kjasov didn't care at all. He said: "Boiled water is good. Drinking hot water is very common in East Africa. Now, it's good enough to have a sip of hot water in Vienna."

Boiling water also requires energy. This was not difficult in Austria in the early 20th century, but now is a special period, so being able to boil water to entertain guests is considered good.

Sitting across from him, Craster said, "I'm glad you understand. No one could have imagined so much would happen in Vienna in just a few months. Now, I can't even buy a coffee."

Just like when the Russian Labor Party first seized power, Vienna is now subject to international blockade because it has become the capital of the Greater Austrian coalition government.

Vienna and its surrounding areas obviously do not produce coffee and tea, so supply naturally becomes a problem. As for the inventory, most of it is supplied to the front-line soldiers by the coalition government first.

Kyasov jokingly said, "Mr. Craster, remember what I said two months ago? Now, you still have a chance. If you go to East Africa, among other things, you will definitely have enough coffee to satisfy your taste."

Craster asked, "It's easy to leave Vienna, but do you have a safe channel?"

Kjasov nodded and said, "After our negotiations with the Greater Austrian Coalition Government, they have allowed East African aircraft to continue operating at the airport. Therefore, we can first leave Vienna by plane and then transfer to other places to reach East Africa."

The Greater Austrian coalition government naturally has connections with East Africa. This is not surprising. After all, so many years have passed since the Soviet Union was founded, and other countries have not been calling for war and destruction just because it is a labor party country. Now it has even normalized relations with the United States.

Of course, the fact that the coalition government allows East African airlines to fly in and out of Vienna, rather than countries like Germany, is naturally due to the special characteristics of East Africa.

First, East Africa was not a European country, let alone a neighbor of Austria-Hungary, and therefore posed no significant threat to the coalition government. Second, East Africa was considered relatively "honest" by the coalition government. It was simply recruiting people from Vienna and showed no hostility towards it.

Of course, these are not the main reasons. More importantly, East African Airlines also does some business with the coalition government. Therefore, it is necessary for the coalition government to continue operating East African Airlines in Vienna.

As for those who were taken away by East Africa, the United Government saw them as not on the same page anyway, so they just left.

Craster is also one of the talents introduced to East Africa. Craster is not very famous, but he has a relatively important identity, that is, an academician of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Now that Vienna is occupied by the Labor Party, most people in former government institutions such as the Austrian Academy of Sciences have lost their jobs. This is not because the coalition government does not value talents, but because they do not have the time to value talents.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences needs funds to operate, but the former government that paid their salaries has now fled to Hungary, so it is naturally impossible to continue paying them salaries and allowances.

The coalition government is now facing financial difficulties, and its limited financial resources must be used to supply the army and purchase food and supplies, so it cannot take care of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Craster didn't really care about being unemployed. After all, compared to his colleagues who were arrested by the Labour Party, he was lucky to be alive.

Of course, it would be better if we could leave this troubled place. After all, everyone now knows that as the German army moves south, war may break out in Vienna in the future.

(End of this chapter)