Chapter 1606 The Beginning of Change 2
The only good news is that of the Ukrainians. To be honest, whether it is Ukraine in this dimension or Ukraine in history, the tendency of Ukrainians to national independence is the weakest during this period, and the entire system is also the most chaotic. There are Ukrainian aristocrats, There were anarchists, and there were Bolsheviks and so on. For this chaotic and ununited Western Ukraine, the prince can bribe most of the middle and lower-level Ukrainians as long as they can guarantee their living standards and basic rights. As for the top brass? Well, after seeing the slaughter of nobles by the Bolsheviks in other parts of Russia, they should know how to choose. The princes only want money, while the Bolsheviks want their lives!
But no matter what, with the addition of tens of millions of people, this will inevitably lead to the collapse of the dual government system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Simply looking at Austria, the population is only more than 20 million, of which less than half are Germans. The number of obedient Czechs was only equal to the increase in population. Moreover, there are many nationalities seeking independence. In this case, simply granting independence to a certain nation and then working with this nation to oppress other nations will not work. It is also the source of the weakness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire!
In fact, historically speaking, Fritz was also aware of this problem late in his reign. Even Archduke Ferdinand realized it. And other ethnic groups have never given up their demands for national autonomy! In order to change the ethnic issues within the empire, the Austro-Hungarian rulers had already begun to consider countermeasures since the time of Crown Prince Ferdinand. The most famous among them is undoubtedly the three-dimensional empire system proposed by Crown Prince Ferdinand - Austria, Hungary and Bohemia! However, this plan was opposed not only by the Germans in Bohemia and the Hungarians, but also by Germany and Russia, because the latter worried that granting independence to these nations would bring consequences to ethnic minorities in neighboring countries. A very bad example!
In addition to this plan, someone within the Austro-Hungarian Empire also proposed a plan that was easier to solve domestic ethnic problems. This plan was proposed by a professor named Aurel Popovich in 1906. He plans to imitate Switzerland’s federal government mechanism. (Switzerland is also a typical multi-ethnic country. It can be seen from its official language. This neutral country actually uses French, German, Italian and Romansh as its official languages... ….) The entire Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided into 15 federal states and autonomous regions according to ethnicity and language. Each state has its own government and laws, and the state only has leadership in national areas such as finance, national defense, customs, and transportation.
What about this plan? In fact, in the prince's opinion, it is almost the best plan for the Austro-Hungarian Empire at this stage. It is true that if this plan is implemented, the German-dominated areas of Austria will also be divided. But it doesn’t matter. The basic base of the German region is inclined towards the imperial government. It doesn’t matter whether it is divided or not. What’s more, in this way, it can be divided from the German-controlled areas of Bohemia and Moravia, and the central government The base market has actually expanded.
Hungary, the other pole of the empire, will also be divided according to this plan. Slovakia in the north of Hungary will become an independent state, Transylvania in the southeast and Croatia in the south will also become states. If other places are included, the area controlled by the Hungarian government will drop by more than one-third. The Hungarian government's weight within the empire would also decline.
As for how to maintain the stability of rule, don't forget that in this plan, the country has the initiative on military and financial issues, that is to say, the Vienna government will command the country's military! Historically, the Austro-Hungarian army was actually divided into three parts, the imperial army and the kingdom's own troops owned by the two kingdoms. In fact, in the second half of the 19th century, the Austrian and Hungarian armies almost never fought together; they almost never fought together; All to suppress domestic rebellions. The central government, which controls tariffs and national finances, will also have financial guarantees. You know, historically Hungary had independent tariff rights! The various kingdoms within the German Empire have no tariff rights!
This plan is actually to transition the oligarchic rule of the dual empire to a federal system. It can satisfy the demands of various ethnic groups to the greatest extent while maintaining the unity of the country. At least the country has financial and military power in its hands, as well as control over domestic transportation hubs and postal services. of control. Moreover, after the ruling areas of various ethnic groups are greatly divided, even if some places seek independence, they will be suppressed quickly. It has centripetal force and is more stable than the dual empire. But needless to say, the Hungarians definitely didn’t agree with this plan, so it was naturally stillborn.
If the Austro-Hungarian Empire acquires the territory of Ukraine and Russian Poland, this policy can be directly extended to new areas, making it easier for the locals to accept it. Of course, if you encounter die-hard national independence elements, then there is no need for anything. Having said that, let’s go directly to the battlefield to see the real chapter!
In fact, when there was civil strife in Hungary, Austria was also preparing. Princess Mary is now the Grand Duchess of Bohemia and Moravia. This is almost a prince's territory and will not move for the time being. Galicia will be divided into Polish-dominated West Galicia and Ukrainian-dominated East Galicia, with Slovenes and Croats also having their own ethnic provinces. And some Germans living in some other ethnic areas will also have lower-level autonomous regions.
At the same time, the Vienna government has been in contact with representatives of the Slovaks, Slovenia, and Croatia, and has nationalized the army and pledged allegiance to the central government in exchange for certain rights to national autonomy. This is not suitable for those who currently want national autonomy. It is undoubtedly tempting for nations and regions that really want to be independent. The Romanians in Transylvania are more troublesome, and Vienna does not want to contact them yet.
In the newly added territories, whether it is Russian Poland or Western Ukraine, corresponding work is also underway. Acting at the upper and lower levels at the same time, on the one hand, the Austro-Hungarian Empire needed the help of local nobles, but at the same time, future industrialization and construction also required a large amount of free labor, which determined that the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not continue Russian-style rule. A balance needs to be struck between the stability of the regime and the interests of the people.
In other words, so far, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been preparing for the new domestic political situation after the war, and now, the biggest and most serious problem is Hungary! After all, it is a country of 300,000 square kilometers. It is not easy to dismantle it or deal with it. And this time Prime Minister Sati's audience will be the time for a showdown between the two sides!
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