July 15, 1920, AD 2761, Vienna.
In the square in front of the parliament building, accompanied by the music of the Austro-Hungarian national anthem God Save the Emperor, the "double crown flag" slowly fell.
After the flag was taken down, it was handed over to Ferdinand V.
Everyone present noticed that Ferdinand V's expression was quite numb today.
Subsequently, a new "red, white and red" flag representing the Austrian Empire was raised.
Yes, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is gone and officially disintegrated today.
People's hearts were broken, the troops were difficult to lead, and even Ferdinand V tried his best to save the situation.
After more than a month of wrangling, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed.
On the basis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, three new countries emerged.
The first is the Republic of Hungary.
The Hungarians achieved independence as they wished.
Had it not been for the compromise of the Vienna authorities, they would have become independent after the Austro-Prussian War.
There is no Treaty of Trianon in this plane, so this Hungary is much larger than the original time and space.
It is "Greater Hungary" including Transylvania, half of Serbia and part of Croatia, with an area of 350,000 square kilometers.
There is also a part of the sea.
Hungary originally wanted to play a monarchy, but the funny thing is that they did not have a king who could convince the public.
Coupled with the intensification of social conflicts, the powerful people changed to a republic in order to reduce dissatisfaction.
The first president was Horty Miklós, the former Austro-Hungarian admiral.
The second is the Republic of Moravia.
The Czechs and Slovaks, a pair of good friends, have long wanted to separate from Austria-Hungary, and now they finally got their wish.
Although the country is less than 130,000 square kilometers, Czech industrial output accounts for 80% of the empire's total industrial output.
The third one is the "Austrian Empire".
Ferdinand V's political skills were finally good.
After the Hungarians and Czechs stopped causing trouble, he still had a way to solve the troubles in other places.
After some compromises, Slovenia and parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina remained.
But the new "Austrian Empire" also became a federal monarchy, with Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina all having a high degree of autonomy.
After such a setback, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was originally considered a second-rate power, became three third-rate countries that did not belong to each other.
And Austria has completely become Germany's younger brother, and no longer has the equal status it had before.
But the split of Austria-Hungary is not surprising at all, because in the eyes of most people, their split is nothing more than a matter of time.
Being able to separate the family only after the war was a feat of Ferdinand's skill.
The trouble of this division was laid long ago.
To be precise, this country has never been truly unified.
The predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the Holy Roman Empire, but this country was also quite strange.
Voltaire once complained that it was "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."
Because it has no orthodox roots or name in history, nor does it have any relationship with the former Roman Empire.
Moreover, its unity is only superficial.
In fact, its rule is completely medieval.
The emperor has no real power.
The actual power is in the hands of more than 300 large and small lords.
The rule is severely divided and the national strength is very poor.
In fact, it cannot be called an empire.
Beginning in the 13th century, the imperial throne was long occupied by the Habsburg family of the Principality of Austria.
However, this family did not achieve this status by strength, but by marriages of n consecutive generations.
Therefore, it is well-deserved that it is called the "Lower Body Castle" by people in the world.
According to China, this kind of country built entirely on Tintin and Oo is a typical example of "winning the country without justice", and no one is convinced.
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Europeans may not know this sentence, but it doesn't mean that they don't have the same idea.
Lao Fu's vomiting makes it clear.
In 1806, Austria was conquered by Napoleon, and the Habsburg family was forced to give up the title of Holy Roman Emperor and only retain the title of Emperor of Austria.
In this way, the underwear of the "Lower Body Fort" was torn off by Napoleon.
Coupled with the rise of nationalism in the 20th century, the territories within the empire began to become unstable.
The Germans, Austria's main ethnic group, accounted for only 23% of the entire empire's population, less than a quarter.
They were not dominant in either culture or strength, and naturally they could not hold the place.
Even though it was later changed to the dualist Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was of no use.
Because the two ethnic groups that played a dominant role in the two parts of the empire did not actually hold a dominant position: in the Austrian part, the Germans accounted for only 36, and in the Hungarian part, Hungarians accounted for less than half.
Austrian sections of Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Slovenians and Italians all tried to gain a greater say.
At the same time in Hungary, Romanians, Slovaks, Croats and Serbs also challenged Hungarian rule.
Although in its own plane, Austria-Hungary followed Germany and released satellites, including Ukraine and Poland, which improved the unstable domestic situation to a certain extent.
But this cannot fundamentally solve the problem.
If it is normal, there may be a way to slowly integrate it.
But Austria-Hungary did not have this opportunity.
Because of several years of European war and plague, the social conflicts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire had intensified to the limit.
Forget it for the Germans, but other ethnic groups are not very willing to work for the "Lower Body Fort".
Well, it would be fine if it was a smooth battle or a short time, but this European war is a tug-of-war and a war of attrition, and it will be unbearable even if it lasts for several years.
Coupled with the terrible Spanish flu, the situation was even worse.
The most important thing is that the "Lower Body Fort" has exhausted their prestige accumulated over hundreds of years in the war, and a large amount of national wealth has been consumed in the war, without indemnity or compensation.
Austria-Hungary's economy declined sharply after the war, which resulted in a series of internal problems, which in particular began to become unprecedentedly intense.
First, Hungary started to break up, then Bohemia also started to make trouble, and other ethnic groups also started to make trouble.
Emperor Ferdinand is now one of the top three emperors.
He knows very well that if this matter cannot be handled, the empire may be completely divided and disintegrated.
But he is unable to solve it now.
Austria-Hungary is originally only a second-class power with limited national strength.
It has been exhausted by war and plague.
Where is the energy and funds to solve this kind of thing now?
So the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally couldn't hold on any longer, and everyone broke up.
However, now all countries can't care less about Austria's jokes.
There are still a lot of troubles in their homes.
First of all, the Spanish Flu pandemic is still ongoing.
Although the situation has improved compared to the outbreak period from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, we are still not taking it lightly.
God knows whether it will come back.
The second is post-war reconstruction.
All participating countries suffered heavy losses, especially the two leading brothers, Britain and France, and Italy, the unlucky guy who was on the wrong side.
The losses in both the colonies and the mainland far exceeded the same period of history in the original time and space.
Leaving aside Russia for the moment, the three countries of Britain, France and Italy suffered the worst losses on their home soil.
They were all occupied by their enemies in their respective elite areas.
The great capital areas of Britain and France were in ruins.
Erdezi moved away all valuable and useful things from London, Paris and nearby areas.
Even the factories were not spared.
The shipyards in Portsmouth and London were completely dismantled by the Germans and packed away.
Although the capital of Italy was saved, their most important northern industrial area fell into the hands of the Japanese locust army.
This is a veritable locust army.
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The Germans still have some dignity.
They only steal valuable things and do not care about the food, clothing and daily necessities of civilians.
But the Japanese who are crazy about poverty will rob everything, whether it is the means of production of the country and enterprises, or the clothes, food, and furniture of civilians, as long as they can move away, they will rob everything.
Wherever the Japanese locust army passed by, it was as clean as water.
Apart from anything else, the reconstruction work in these areas, as well as the resettlement and return of refugees, are extremely big tasks.
These are not dozens or hundreds of people, but millions and millions.
Moreover, the troops recruited from the colonies and the American and Japanese expeditionary forces also have to be sent away quickly.
These are millions more. long distance transportation.
Countries such as Germany, the United States, and Japan that have not been invaded by the enemy are relatively easy, but they are not much better.
After several consecutive years of war, the domestic economic situation has extremely deteriorated.
At the same time, the long-term emphasis on military industry has also caused a serious imbalance in the domestic industry, which requires a lot of energy to adjust.
The pensions for the many fallen soldiers and the placement of disabled officers and soldiers are very troublesome matters, and there must be no problems at this juncture.
You know, the dissatisfaction among the people has accumulated to the extreme now, and if you are not careful, it may explode.
But when it comes to headaches, it’s the British who have the biggest headaches right now.
The number of casualties brought by the war to the mainland was close to 10 million, which was a real loss of a generation.
And this is not over yet.
The plague has not stopped yet.
God knows how long it will continue.
There is also the colonial issue.
Although the indigenous monkeys have temporarily stopped, it is all because of the plague.
Once the plague is over, there will definitely be scenes of fires everywhere again.
Now for the first time, the British felt that they had grabbed too much territory.
After experiencing such a cruel war, all the opium cows of a generation have been killed, but they no longer have the confidence to suppress the world as before.
Although British Somaliland and British East Africa Kenya and Uganda were captured by the Allies during the war, most of them have been recaptured by the Chinese.
But now there is a problem.
As for the territory that originally belonged to the British, the Chinese are willing to return it to the British as agreed.
Of course, the British will also allow China to explore minerals and mine locally and pay taxes according to regulations.
But when Italy belongs to Somaliland, China refuses to give it.
They claimed that they had fulfilled their obligations as members of the Allied Powers, repelled the Allied forces, and helped Britain recover its occupied colonies.
These things were enough to fulfill their obligations as members of the Entente, so Italian Somaliland was naturally China's prize.
Of course, China has a prior agreement not to expand its territory in Africa, but it can make Italian Somaliland independent.
Of course the British will not do it.
Although the Chinese are very reasonable, Italian Somaliland has a large territory and the British are absolutely unwilling to hand it over to China.
China has already expanded a lot.
If it expands further, Italian Somaliland will become independent.
It’s a lie.
Even if it becomes independent, it is still not a satellite state.
How could such a trick be hidden from Niu Niu?
Moreover, Niu Niu also wanted this territory.
So the two sides were arguing about this matter.
China's subsequent condition was: We can give Italian Somaliland to you, but it must be exchanged for other territories.
It is not okay not to expand in Africa, but there must be other places to compensate, otherwise we will never hand over the spoils of war.
"Your Excellency Balfour, it is absolutely impossible that this matter is meant to belong to Somaliland.
It is a trophy that we have made many sacrifices to obtain.
Do you want to take it away with just one sentence?"
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Chinese Foreign Minister Kafur said unceremoniously.
"Your Excellency, we can exchange the Andaman and Nicobar Islands," said British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour.
"The Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be replaced by Italian Somalia.
You are too good at doing business," Kafur said sarcastically: "The condition we can accept is the Malay Peninsula."
Balfour shook his head and said: "Mr.
Minister, you know this is impossible.
The British Empire will never give up the Malay Peninsula and the Andaman Islands.
This is the bottom line of the empire."
"That won't work.
The Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands are definitely not enough.
We must add something else."
Kafur was not so easily fooled.
“Add Cocos Islands and Seychelles at most” "That's ridiculous, it's impossible" Then the two sides began intense bargaining.
The British used the Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, Cocos Islands, Seychelles Islands, Amirante Islands, Chagos Islands, and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, as well as the Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu Islands, and Fiji in the Pacific.
Islands, Tonga Islands, in exchange for Chinese-occupied Italian Somalia.
At this time, countries around the world paid far less attention to islands than later generations.
Although they would not have too many, if they had the choice of mainland sites, they would never choose islands.
Even during World War II in the original time and space, the British exchanged 50 islands for the same number of old destroyers from the United States.
Although this transaction was intended to drag the United States into the water, they did not use an inch of mainland land to trade it. , this shows that in the eyes of the British, the importance and value of mainland land is much higher than that of islands.
Islands and other things are useless and can be exchanged.
This is the limitation of history.
Of course, this island cannot be too big.
For example, New Zealand will not take it out anyway.
What the British have brought out now are small islands, which together are not even one-tenth the size of Somaliland.
Besides, the post-war Britain does not have the energy to take care of these useless islands.
In fact, if you think about it, you can understand what the British think.
These islands are scattered across the two oceans.
It would be too tiring to develop them, and there is nothing to develop.
In the past, it could have been used as a stopover and supply point for long-distance voyages, but today's ship technology no longer requires it.
The most important thing is that Britain believes that it has mainland bases near these islands, and the absence of these islands will not affect the overall situation at all.
So, the deal was done.
Both sides were happy.
The British finally blocked China's tentacles from the African continent.
Although they paid the price of a bunch of islands, they got the long-coveted territory of Italian Somalia.
In this way, their territory in East Africa was completely Connected together.
And Wen Desi also felt that it was a good deal.
After China obtained these islands, it would have a stronger control over the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
As for places like Somalia, let’s leave them to the British first.
Places like Africa are not that easy to develop, otherwise there would not have been much development here until the beginning of the 21st century
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