Chapter 1583 Karl I
Ernst consoled him, saying, "Even God can't help the Austro-Hungarian Empire in its current state. You've managed to hold on for so many years, and you've done a great job."
"Even if it doesn't happen this time, there will be another. There are too many ethnic conflicts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and people are not united. Even if there are no ethnic issues, class issues are not easy to resolve. With the expansion of the Soviet Union, this kind of thing will happen again in Europe."
"Now you've finally escaped the quagmire, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Of course, if you still want to take a gamble, you still have a chance."
Rudolf was not interested in the opportunity Ernst mentioned, but he still asked curiously, "What opportunity?"
Ernst said bluntly: "The Kingdom of Dalmatia is now seeking independence. They hope to find a monarch from the Habsburgs. Of course, if you want to go, you can definitely go."
Rudolf lay in bed, shook his head, and said, "So this is just your East African pawn. The Kingdom of Dalmatia is something you've painstakingly built up, and you're just going to give it to us so easily?"
The Habsburgs were well aware of the origins of the current Kingdom of Dalmatia, but the mixed-race Germans in the Kingdom of Dalmatia were also beneficial to their rule, so the Habsburgs turned a blind eye in the past.
Ernst didn't act hypocritical, but said frankly: "The Kingdom of Dalmatia was indeed a pawn I placed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In order to place hundreds of thousands of immigrants there, it cost me a lot of energy and financial resources."
"However, this pawn was not originally intended to target the Habsburgs. It can even be of some help to your rule."
"However, East Africa's friendship with the Habsburgs does not fully represent its relationship with Austria-Hungary, and Dalmatia is designed to deal with the current situation in Austria-Hungary."
Rudolf nodded. "If I were in your position, I would probably do the same. Of course, without the cooperation of the Habsburgs, it would be impossible to change the demographic structure of the Kingdom of Dalmatia."
"But now it seems that our Habsburg acquiescence to your atrocities in Dalmatia was a good outcome. At least it won't benefit Yugoslavia today."
Yugoslavia was a traitor in Rudolf's eyes, and this traitor was more hateful than any other region. Austria betrayed the Habsburgs, which meant that the Habsburgs' rule was unpopular, which was understandable. Hungary opposed the Habsburgs, which was also fine. After all, Hungary had been finding fault since its founding.
Not to mention that on the eve of the collapse of the empire, Hungary showed full loyalty.
The unrest in Bohemia broke out from the very beginning, but Yugoslavia did not intervene until the Austro-Hungarian Empire completely lost its power before it jumped out to annoy Rudolf.
Ernst asked, "Then what are your thoughts on the throne of Dalmatia? Although Dalmatia is only part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is also a good place for the current Habsburg royal family to gain a foothold."
Rudolf sighed and said, "I don't want to go back to that troubled place in Europe. Of course, if anyone from the royal family is interested, I won't stop them."
"They are all in East Africa now. Let them choose someone willing to go to Dalmatia to inherit the throne! I will issue the edict."
This is the role of Rudolf. Although he is now the king of a fallen country, his status as emperor still remains and he controls the legal system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Therefore, Rudolf issued an edict and appointed the King of Dalmatia, which would bring legitimacy to Dalmatian independence.
In fact, Rudolf himself was now the King of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, a title previously inherited jointly with the Emperor of Austria-Hungary.
Therefore, there was absolutely no problem in his appointment of the King of Dalmatia. If possible, he could also appoint the monarchs of Austria and Hungary, but that would be meaningless. After all, Austria and Hungary were no longer under the control of the Habsburg royal family, and the people's hearts were not with the Habsburgs.
…
Rudolf himself was not interested in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, nor did he want his son, Crown Prince Charles, to get involved in this mess, so he left the matter to other members of the Habsburg royal family.
This instantly made the Habsburg family members exiled in East Africa ready to take action.
Most members of the Habsburg family were very unwilling to lose the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now that the Kingdom of Dalmatia intends to invite one of them to take up the post, most members of the Habsburg family support it.
Now, there are more than one hundred Habsburg family members who have fled to East Africa alone.
Most of them are concentrated in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. As for why there are the most in Bagamoyo, it is because Archduke Franz Ferdinand of East Africa retired there.
It was in Bagamoyo that Archduke Ferdinand founded the East African Navy.
Therefore, after Emperor Rudolf handed over the throne of the Kingdom of Dalmatia to his family, members of the Habsburg family gathered in Bagamoyo and decided to select suitable personnel through a family meeting to go to Dalmatia to take office.
Archduke Ferdinand presided over the family meeting at Ferdinand's estate on the banks of the Bagamoyo River.
"Now that the Kingdom of Dalmatia is preparing for independence and supporting family members to continue ruling Dalmatia, I know this is an irresistible temptation for some of you."
"But you must first think clearly. Securing the throne of King of Dalmatia is not an easy task. To become its king, you must withstand pressure, especially from Germany, Italy, and Yugoslavia. They may all have ideas about Dalmatia."
"At the same time, Dalmatia itself is not a wealthy place. Its area is less than 20,000 square kilometers, and most of it is mountainous."
The area of the Kingdom of Dalmatia is slightly larger than in the previous life, but it is only about 15,000 square kilometers, which is about the same size as Shijiazhuang in the Far East Empire in the previous life, which is the size of a prefecture-level city in East Africa.
At the same time, the Dalmatian Kingdom consists of mountains and hills accounting for more than 90%, and the plain area is very scarce.
Even so, the Kingdom of Dalmatia had great appeal to members of the Habsburg family. As long as they were chosen, they would at least be a king and would have a say in Europe.
Therefore, regarding the throne, members of the Habsburg family expressed their opinions and nominated their favorite family members.
In the end, there were two people with the most supporters, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and Archduke Karl.
This Archduke Ferdinand was the one who was assassinated in Sarajevo. He was elected first of all because of his prominent status in the Habsburg family. After all, after Rudolf's death in his previous life, he became the new crown prince of the empire. His status was not low and he also had the ability.
As for Archduke Karl, he was even more extraordinary. In his previous life, Archduke Karl was the last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Charles I. However, in this time and space, he did not have that opportunity. Archdukes Rudolf and Ferdinand were both alive, and the fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had also undergone major changes.
However, this is not a bad thing. After all, when he took over the Austro-Hungarian Empire in his previous life, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already become an unmanageable mess. After World War I, the last emperor could only end up in disgrace.
Now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was an even worse mess, but the throne of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was real.
There was a heated dispute in the manor over who would become the new king of the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
At this time, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary took the initiative to step forward and said, "As for the Dalmatian throne, I think it would be better for Charles to take it. On the one hand, going to Dalmatia will require a lot of work. On the other hand, Charles is younger than me and can better handle the many issues concerning Dalmatian independence."
"After all, if Dalmatia wants independence, it must reach agreements with neighboring countries and obtain recognition from the international community. There are too many links to jump through."
"On the other hand, I've been injured before, and my body can't stand the constant traveling. I don't want to travel all over Europe again."
Since Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary withdrew from the election, the throne of the Kingdom of Dalmatia finally fell to Archduke Charles, who was still very interested in becoming the King of the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
After the candidate was confirmed, Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa said, "In that case, Carl, you will be the new monarch of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. However, I have a few things to say."
"Don't be too ambitious when you go to the Kingdom of Dalmatia this time, and try to restore the Habsburgs' past glory. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is a thing of the past. No matter how much our family invests, it will only be a bottomless pit. Countries like Germany are unlikely to allow us to rule the Austro-Hungarian Empire again."
"As for the future development of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, it is best to maintain neutrality and try not to conflict with neighboring countries."
"The Balkans are a troubled place, so you must be careful politically, especially with Yugoslavia, which has territorial disputes with you."
There will inevitably be disputes over the territory of Yugoslavia and Dalmatia. After all, most of the territory of the Kingdom of Dalmatia borders Yugoslavia, and in the past the mainstream population of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was Yugoslav ethnic groups such as Croatia. The two sides have real disputes over interests and historical grievances.
Therefore, Archduke Ferdinand emphasized: "With regard to Yugoslavia, you must be vigilant and even make military preparations. Of course, if you can make friends with Germany, you can also cooperate with Germany. If you really can't do that, there is no need to force it."
The relationship between the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Germany is complicated. After all, both countries are German countries, but Dalmatia may not necessarily gain recognition from Germany.
Archduke Karl said, "Adolf of Germany may not like mixed-blood Germans, but I believe that with us mediating, we can at least achieve peace between the two countries."
Archduke Karl had the confidence to say this, after all, it was an objective fact that Adolf hated mixed-race Germans. However, as a member of the Habsburg royal family, Archduke Karl was of pure German descent. It was impossible for Adolf to completely ignore him as a pure-blooded German king.
Furthermore, no matter how much Adolf disliked Dalmatia, a mixed-German country, it was obviously better than non-German countries such as Yugoslavia and Italy. After all, Dalmatia had one-third German blood.
…
At the end of 1934, after a family meeting, Archduke Karl officially went to Dalmatia to take up his post. The Kingdom of Dalmatia expressed a warm welcome to Archduke Karl.
Moreover, under the joint resolution of the government of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Archduke Charles, it was decided that the coronation ceremony would officially begin at the beginning of next year.
At the same time, the flag, capital and other matters of Dalmatia after independence will be clarified. The capital of Dalmatia after independence will be determined as Split.
In the past, during the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the political center of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was Zadar, but after Dalmatia's independence, Zadar was obviously no longer a suitable location for the capital.
Because Zadar is at the northern end of Dalmatia, facing the Adriatic Sea, it is conducive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire's control over Dalmatia.
Now, in order to gain independence, it is obvious that Split can better guarantee the security of Dalmatia after independence. At the same time, it is located in the central part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and is the hub of transportation between the north and the south of Dalmatia, which is conducive to strengthening the connection between the country.
Economically, Split has a relatively good foundation. It has long been a relatively economically developed region in Dalmatia, and is even comparable to the old political center Zadar. Moreover, Split is also a port city, and the upper limit of its economic development is no worse than that of Zadar.
In addition, although both are port cities, the western waters of Split are protected by island chains, which can limit the threat of maritime enemies to Split. As long as it is in key straits, such as the Brač Strait between Šolta Island and Brač Island, the width is less than one thousand meters and it is very dangerous. The widest of other straits is only five or six kilometers.
As long as these straits can be tightly controlled, it will be basically impossible for the enemy to capture Split from the sea.
In short, Split is impeccable compared with other cities in terms of economy, transportation and defense, and it is very suitable to be the capital of Dalmatia after independence.
After Archduke Charles succeeded to the Kingdom of Dalmatia, he became Charles I. Emperor Rudolf personally issued him an edict, handing him the throne, which increased the legitimacy of his rule.
This also caught Germany and other countries off guard, especially Yugoslavia. Their declaration of independence lacked legal basis. It was not obvious before Dalmatia, so Yugoslavia felt a little uncomfortable in comparison. Of course, it was impossible for Yugoslavia to obtain recognition from the Habsburgs.
As for the independence of Dalmatia, Britain and France were also very positive. They quickly brought this new country into the meeting to discuss the division of the spoils of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, the location of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was very important, and they did not want it to become the sphere of future German Mediterranean naval power.
In addition, the independence of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was naturally recognized by East Africa. It will replace Austria in the past and become the spokesperson for East Africa's interests in Europe, and an important transit point for trade between East Africa and the Adriatic countries and the Balkan Peninsula.
Charles I of the Kingdom of Dalmatia also signed some agreements with East Africa, including the Lease Treaty of Dubrovnik Port reached between East Africa and Rudolf. This actually clarified the quasi-military alliance between Dalmatia and East Africa after independence.
(End of this chapter)
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