Chapter 1349 Sacrifice
Minister Freer's speech was unanimously recognized by everyone. There were various crises hidden under the European war. The war could not solve these problems, but instead aggravated the accumulation of contradictions.
Of course, if you can become the final winner of the war, you will definitely be able to reap certain benefits to delay the outbreak of the crisis, just like Britain in the past.
The result of the previous war was that Britain's hegemony continued. As for France, although it looked good on the surface, it did not gain any real benefits. War reparations were almost impossible to obtain due to the German economic crisis, and the goal of completely suppressing Germany was not achieved due to obstruction from Britain and the United States.
It is no wonder that France chose to surrender directly during World War II. I am afraid they did not believe that their allies would protect their post-war interests. After all, World War I was a lesson for them.
"Mr. Freer is right. We should reflect on the lessons that the war has brought to our countries. Now is the time to end this damn war."
After Freer's speech, the Austro-Hungarian diplomatic representative Mauterndorf was the first to jump out in support.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire can be said to be the country with the least desire for war at present. After all, the current war is concentrated on the Western Front and the Southern Front, and neither of these two places is the main target of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
To a certain extent, Austria-Hungary did not want its two allies to gain too much benefit, especially the Ottoman Empire.
It can be said that the Ottoman Empire was a complete competitor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two were able to temporarily unite entirely because they had a common powerful enemy, namely Tsarist Russia.
However, when the threat from Russia disappears, the basis for cooperation between the two countries will naturally no longer exist. Although Russia is still very large and has become more ideologically dangerous because of the Labor Party, that is something the two governments should worry about in the future.
Now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only does not want to continue cooperating with the Ottoman Empire, but also wants to break up this century-old feud like Tsarist Russia. It is estimated that if the Ottoman Empire had the strength, it would have the same idea. Moreover, the national conditions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are also very suitable for being split up.
Not only can the two sides not reach an agreement on the issue of the Balkan Peninsula, but it is also an obstacle to the expansion of both sides.
The Ottoman Empire was better off, after all, it was located at the crossroads of three continents, occupying the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, and had more roads to choose from.
However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's geopolitical situation was too bad. Its only way to break through the limitations of markets and raw material production areas and become a world superpower was to expand into the Middle East.
The area and economic size of the Italian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula are too small to meet the needs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Besides, the Italian Peninsula is not easy to break through.
In other directions, the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced competition from Germany, but it did not have the ability to compete with Germany. Whether in military or industry, it was far behind Germany.
The only ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the Ottoman Empire, which was not only militarily weak but also huge in size. No matter how you look at it, the future expansion direction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire should be placed on the Ottoman Empire.
Therefore, what the Austro-Hungarian Empire wants most now is to end the war, digest the results of this war, and then wait for the opportunity.
Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was already very satisfied with its current gains. Even if it conquered more land and population, it would be a bad thing for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have the ability to digest it.
This is also the reason why Mauterndorf was the first to jump out and support Minister Freer's peace proposal.
Minister Freer gave Representative Mauterndorf an appreciative look. After all, the two countries had a good relationship, and with the Austro-Hungarian Empire taking the lead, this set a good example for the conference.
However, some people were obviously not impressed by the words of Mauterndorf, a common man from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and said sarcastically: "Haha, Representative Mauterndorf is quite comfortable, but no one knows which country was the first to provoke the war, which led to the current situation in Europe."
"If you hadn't attacked Serbia, it would have been impossible to trigger a chain reaction in Europe and lead to the outbreak of a world war."
"So, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the culprit of the war, but now it is saying that it supports ending the war. This is simply an insult to the word peace. This hypocritical show is really disgusting."
These words made Mauterndorf very angry. He turned his eyes to the British seat. The person who spoke was the British representative Fromm.
Mauterndorf said: "Humph, Mr. Fromm, our Austro-Hungarian Empire did make some mistakes, but it is much more upright than the United Kingdom. We have a lot of evidence showing that Serbia had your support behind it."
"So your country is the most hypocritical. Without your support, how could the Serbian fanatics have the confidence to challenge the dignity and sovereignty of a great power?"
"Moreover, Serbia's problems are entirely its own fault. They are trying to split off the empire's inherent territory. If you support the Serbs so much, you should set an example yourself."
"First show how to make the Scottish and Irish independent. Unless Mr. Fromm admits that Scotland, Ireland, and even Wales are not your territory, then we will admit that the lesson to Serbia was a mistake."
Well said, looking at the fight between the representatives of Austria-Hungary and Britain, people from various countries in the conference hall cheered in their hearts. After all, it is human nature to watch the fun, no matter how big the event.
And Fromm was also very angry about what Mauterndorf said. After all, this "bastard" actually brought up the British territorial issue, which happened to be Britain's weak point.
However, there was nothing wrong with what Mauterndorf said. After all, the territorial issue of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was essentially no different from that of the United Kingdom.
The dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was nothing more than the two regions of Bosnia and Croatia, and these two places were no different to Austria-Hungary than Scotland and Ireland were to Britain.
Everyone has stolen the land, so who can say whose territory is illegal? If this is true, then the territorial issues of all European countries will be a mess.
"Ahem, please don't discuss unnecessary topics. After all, the core of this meeting is to seek common ground while reserving differences and resolve disagreements. Only in this way can we truly strive for the final peace." Dutch Prime Minister Kuyper hurriedly persuaded.
Freer changed the subject at this time and said, "Since we are talking about Serbia, let me say something fair from the perspective of an outsider. There is no doubt that the outbreak of the world war started from this small European country."
"If we want to trace the source and find the culprit, then Serbia cannot escape responsibility. We can even say that the cause of the outbreak of the world war was the fault of the former Serbian government."
"Serbia itself is a militaristic country. Before the World War, Serbia had very sharp conflicts with various countries in the Balkan Peninsula. Whether it was the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, or Greece, they all had conflicts with this country to varying degrees."
"But I think this is entirely Serbia's fault, because if you know history, you know that Serbia was able to gain independence from the Ottoman Empire with the help of European countries."
"This is the reason why they were able to restore their country, so Serbia should be grateful to the European society that helped Serbia restore its country."
"However, in response to the Great Slavism originally promoted by Russia, Serbia also came up with the so-called Great Serbianism for its own ambitions, pointing the spearhead at its comrades in the same trench. This behavior is too despicable. After all, the destruction of the ancient Serbian Kingdom was not caused by its neighboring countries."
"Instead, they used nationalism to deceive their own people, and also used the Serbian people who were originally taken in by other countries to oppose their host countries."
"Could it be that because the ancient Serbs took in some poor Serbian refugees after their country was destroyed, they can now justifiably turn the tables?"
"Obviously, this is an act that is not in line with common sense and international morality. In the words of the Far Eastern Empire, it is repaying kindness with enmity and usurping the magpie's nest."
Freer put all the blame on the Serbs. After all, Serbia was the easiest to bully, and Serbia had indeed been courting death before.
Now that the Serbian government has gone into exile and its land has been divided up, Freer is not afraid of Serbia's retaliation. Of course, even if Serbia had not been destroyed, Freer, as an official of a major country, would not be afraid of offending Serbia.
Of course, in addition to these reasons, Freer also had another consideration, that is, the conflict between Serbia and the Kingdom of Dalmatia made it impossible for Freer to speak for Serbia, but would instead add insult to injury.
The so-called Dalmatian Kingdom refers to the "Rhine" people, or mixed-race Germans, supported by East Africa in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Dalmatian Kingdom established its province by attacking Serbia, so Freer also planned to help Dalmatia, East Africa, to become an important influence zone in Southeast Europe in the future.
Freer went on to say: "What Representatives Mauterndorf and Fromm said just now is actually biased."
"Because we all know that the supporter behind the Serbs is the Tsar, but now the Tsar has been persecuted by the Labour Party, so we will not discuss the issue of Tsar Nicholas II."
"However, in addition to the help from Nicholas II, Serbia itself also had big problems. Its government's ambition was also one factor. Since Serbia's restoration, it has been expanding its military every year and embarked on the path of militarism, so its failure was inevitable."
"Small countries should put themselves in the right place so as not to face disasters, but it is too late to say anything now. We can only bite the bullet and deal with the mess left by the Serbian government."
"If Serbia had not expanded its military in the Balkans, the world war might not have happened, so Serbia must have been punished after the war."
Fromm also said at this time: "There is naturally no problem with punishing Serbia, but we in the UK believe that Serbia must be retained. After all, Serbia has already received corresponding punishment."
Freer did not say that Serbia should be completely destroyed. This was a signal to the British. After all, the British needed Serbia to continue to exist so that it could become a pawn for Britain to control the Balkan countries.
However, this caused dissatisfaction in Mauterndorf, who asked: "What about the damage caused by Serbia to the empire?"
Fromm said: "Serbia has become a battlefield and lost a large number of people. Representative Mauterndorf should not be too harsh on Serbia. To a certain extent, they are also victims."
"As for the losses of Austria-Hungary, haven't you already obtained the Bosnia region? This time, we in Britain can promise to support your country's legitimate rights and interests in Bosnia, and Serbia will pay Austria-Hungary a war reparations."
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had de facto controlled and occupied Bosnia and placed it under its formal rule before World War I, its sovereignty over the region has never been confirmed by the international community.
This is also the legal basis for Serbia to continue to provoke the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now the British intend to confirm the legal basis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's rule over Bosnia in exchange for the Austro-Hungarian Empire's concessions and compromises on the issue of liquidation with Serbia.
However, Mauterndorf was obviously dissatisfied with this. He said: "Deputy Fromm, Bosnia was the territory of the Empire before the war. You are just using our original territory to protect Serbia, a war criminal. Are you letting us raise a tiger to harm ourselves?"
Fromm said: "Hmph, don't worry, we in the UK can guarantee that Serbia will no longer promote and insist on the so-called Greater Serbia. If they do so, then we in the UK will be the first to teach them a lesson."
Representative Mauterndorf said: "This is not enough. After all, Serbia caused great damage to the empire's economy. At the same time, a large number of innocent citizens of the empire were persecuted by Serbia during the war, so Serbia must pay the price for this."
Fromm said: "That's no problem. Serbia can cede some territory to compensate your country for its losses, and hand over some war criminals to appease your anger. In addition, it can make certain compensation to your country's war victims, which will also be included in the reparations."
At this time, Fromm no longer cared about Serbia's losses. After all, as long as Britain ensured Serbia's continued existence, it had done its best.
Moreover, in Fromm's view, the Serbs should be grateful to Britain. After all, Serbia now only has a government in exile, which has no bargaining power and is even of little use.
If Britain had no one else to use in the Balkans, it would not have gone to such great lengths to preserve Serbia.
Mauterndorf added: "And one for Bulgaria."
Fromm: "This is natural. Since Serbia is the loser, it must bear the consequences. Bulgaria can take back the land it lost in the last Balkan War."
Through Fromm's series of arrangements, Serbia can be said to have returned to the pre-liberation era overnight. Not only did it have to spit out the land it had previously swallowed, but its original territory also had to shrink significantly. But there was no way. Britain simply could not waste too much energy on Serbia.
After all, in the Balkan Peninsula, Britain's main focus is still Greece. Greece has already fallen before, and the most important thing now is to preserve Greece's power and prevent it from being divided up by the Allies.
Compared with Serbia and Greece, it is not worth mentioning at all. After all, as mentioned before, Serbia’s biggest supporter was actually Tsarist Russia. It was only later due to war considerations and the collapse of the Russian regime that the British had to take over the mess in Serbia themselves.
Greece is completely different. Greece itself is a region controlled by British capital. Coupled with its unique geographical location, it has always been a helper for Britain to control the Balkan countries and block the Black Sea.
After all, Britain is a maritime power, and Greece is also a maritime country. At the same time, Greece's location can not only influence the Balkan Peninsula, but also pose a threat and influence to the countries around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Therefore, the most important thing for Britain now is to rescue Greece, its little brother, from the hands of its allies. Sacrificing Serbia’s interests for this is completely acceptable.
(End of this chapter)
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