Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 769 Who is Serbia’s powder keg blasting towards?
Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australian continent, capital Melbourne.

William IV convened Prime Minister Lyndon, Director of National Security Advisor Cantur, and Chief of General Staff Mark Rutte at the palace.

As the head of William IV's think tank, Cantur has always been good at analysis. He said: "From getting rid of the control of the Ottoman Empire to expand territory, to truly independent principalities, and then to promotion to the kingdom, a series of events have been completed. Under the influence of the ideological trend of "unifying Southern Slavia", more and more people in the Kingdom of Serbia believe that Southern Slavia should be united to form a powerful country in order to forever get rid of the control of various major powers.

But in fact, I want to keep it simple. The ethnic issues in the Balkans have been around for a long time. Although the cultures of the Slavic peoples in the south have the same roots, after years of development and evolution, they have long been different from those in the north."

Prime Minister Linden nodded in agreement: "Mr. Cantur is right. Slovenia and Croatia believe in Catholicism, while Serbia and Bosnia believe in Orthodox Christianity. Although the two sides are branches of Christianity, they are incompatible due to interest disputes. When we have common interests, we can unite; when we have different interests, we can separate.”

William IV smiled and said: "In fact, the Serbs are just inflated by their ambitions due to successive victories. 'Unification of Southern Slavia' is just a bone thrown by the pressure of St. Petersburg II to Milan I, but it is just a bone thrown by Milan I of Serbia." Using excuses to expand territory and sphere of influence and obtain benefits is what every country should do."

William IV naturally knew that this was a collaboration between Alexander II and Milan I.

In 1914, the Serbians conspired to provoke a war. A radical young man who was exploited by careerists assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, which became the fuse of the First World War at that time.

Cantur continued what William IV said: "Now signs of chaos are appearing in the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire has lost its original ruler and is weakening. The Balkans are currently in a situation of intertwined forces. The Hungarian Empire wanted to replace the originally powerful Ottoman Empire and gain dominance over the entire Balkan Peninsula;
However, the Tsarist Empire also gained support from the Kingdom of Romania, the Principality of Moldova, and the Kingdom of Serbia over the years. However, Bulgaria, with the support of the United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was very wary of Tsarist Russia.

Therefore, the Tsarist Empire also wanted to gain control of this region because of its experience. If the Tsarist Empire successfully occupied the Balkans, it would be able to completely control the Black Sea and further threaten the British power in the Middle East through its navy;
In the past, the British focused on their overseas colonies and had no time to compete for control of the European continent. France, as a traditional European power, is now divided between the north and the south. It is somewhat preoccupied with itself and is unwilling to see other countries continue to grow stronger. The German Empire and the Kingdom of Italy are newly reunified powers. , hoping to expand its own power and weaken the power of other powerful countries.

The emerging Kingdom of Serbia wants to use the power of the Tsarist Russian Empire to unify the Balkans and confront the great powers. I am worried that the large-scale Tsarist Russian Imperial Army in Serbia this time may be used to launch a sudden attack without anyone noticing."

Cantur said worriedly: "I'm worried that these 2 troops will become the emboldening force of Serbian King Milan I to launch attacks on other countries."

Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd doubted: "Does Milan I have the courage?"

Prime Minister Lyndon shook his head: "We have to be careful. The main reason is that there are no big countries around Serbia, and Austria-Hungary has the Tsarist Empire to contain it. Since [-] Tsarist Russian troops are used by him, naturally His Majesty Alexander II clearly agreed with Serbia. , even everything was in the plan of Alexander II and Prime Minister Gorchakov.

Perhaps some of Alexander II's men borrowed knives to kill people."

William IV nodded secretly in his heart. The war in his previous life happened so suddenly. After the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire (including the Austrian Empire), which had been tyrannical in Europe for centuries, suddenly collapsed, and the various ethnic groups in the Balkan Peninsula took the opportunity to break away. Under the control of the great powers, the Southern Slavic Nations League was formed with Serbia as the center and the three kingdoms of Serbs, Croats and Slovakia as the center.It can be said that the major powers have failed to achieve their goals despite all their calculations, but Serbia has achieved its own calculations, which cannot be imprecise.

William IV suddenly asked: "What do you think is the goal of Milan I and Alexander II?"

Linden: "The Kingdom of Bulgaria in the east of Serbia. Currently, the northern part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria is within the scope of the original Principality of Bulgaria. It is not far and not close to Tsarist Russia. It must not offend Tsarist Russia and other major powers. Eastern Rumelia in the south also cannot offend the Ottoman Empire. But it is closer to Britain, because it is close to the Meevro River in Ottoman territory that flows into the Aegean Sea. British warships can go up the river to the Maritsa River Basin, the largest river in Bulgaria.

Next is the Principality of Macedonia in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. However, the Principality of Macedonia likes to have good relations with the Kingdom of Alibania and the Principality of Montenegro.Be wary of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

So, Your Majesty, if the Kingdom of Serbia wants to attack, then the situation in the Kingdom of Bulgaria will be much more chaotic, and the Kingdom of Albania or Montenegro are good places next to it."

Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd shook his head and objected: "I have a different view than Prime Minister Linden. I think Serbia's goal for Milan I may not be the Kingdom of Bulgaria. After all, the Kingdom of Bulgaria is obviously pro-British, and the Kingdom of Serbia is a pro-Russian country. , it’s a good strategy to help Alexander II of St. Petersburg challenge Britain’s bottom line.”

William IV looked at him, and then at Cantur: "King of Bulgaria, I remember that young guy Ferdinand I?"

Cantur immediately explained: "Yes, Ferdinand I was born in 1861 as a prince of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Kohari family in Vienna. The following year he was born in Vienna at Stephen's Cathedral. Baptized, his god-father was the late Mexican Emperor Maximilian I and his wife Princess Charlotte of Belgium. He was also a member of the great aristocracy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He grew up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his family Located in the ancestral land of Slovakia. Their family is an upper-class Hungarian noble family. His family owns large areas of land in Abra and Sitno in Slovakia. Ferdinand I’s father, Prince August, went to Orleans Clement with a rich dowry. With Princess Tina as his wife, the family’s wealth doubled.”

William IV listened quietly.

Although other Prime Minister Linden and Chief of Staff Mark Rudd knew something, they did not know it in such detail. As the fog was lifted one by one, they seemed to find that there were more things that the Kingdom of Bulgaria did not understand.

What Cantur said next shocked them even more, including William IV.

Cantur said: "Ferdinand I was the grandnephew of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Leopold I, the first King of Belgium."

Isn't that Queen Victoria's nephew?
Several people's faces changed slightly.

Cantur: "His mother, Princess Clementine, is the daughter of King Louis Philippe of France"

Join the French royal family?

Cantur: "His father was Prince Augustus of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, younger brother of King Fernando II of Portugal"

Lyndon asked: "The one who married to Portugal and became Queen Maria II of Portugal, became the husband of the king, and was called the younger brother of Fernando II of Portugal? I remember that the current King Louis I of Portugal is the second son of the two of them?"

Cantur nodded and said: "It's him. His father is also the first cousin of Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, the Queen of Mexico Princess Charlotte of Belgium, and the current King Leopold II of Belgium. He is also the first cousin of Queen Victoria. First cousin"

Cantur worried: "Since the mother of Queen Victoria, Princess Charlotte and Leopold II, Princess Louise, is the sister of Ferdinand I's mother, the three of them are not only uncle-niece. , or first cousins.

Therefore, Your Majesty, in the past few decades of the 19th century, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family has controlled the thrones of many European countries either through marriage or through elections. Following this trend, Ferdinand I was replaced by the British , the Royal Palace of Portugal, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the German Empire were put on the throne of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, we have to be careful about the affairs of the Kingdom of Bulgaria."

Lyndon asked: "The Battenberg dynasty was the royal family of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was finally overthrown in 1877. The British took the opportunity to promote Ferdinand I to the throne. Thinking about it now, it is really disappointing to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family. I’m afraid.”

William IV smiled and said, "Even so, Battenberg has still been compensated, hasn't he?"

The former King of Bulgaria Alexander I was the son of Alexander, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and his mother was Countess Yulia of Poland.
In 1858, when he was only one year old, he was named Prince of Battenberg. He joined the Prussian army in his youth and served in the Russian army in 1877. During the Fourth Russian-Ottoman War, he participated in Tsarist Russia versus the Ottoman Empire.After that, the Principality of Bulgaria was divided into three parts, the Principality of Bulgaria in the north, Eastern Rumelia and Macedonia in the south. According to the creation of the Berlin Conference in 1878, he became the king of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. However, in the end, Britain intervened and he became the principality of Macedonia just six months later. Grand Duke, and Ferdinand I ascended to the throne as King of the Kingdom of Bulgaria and Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Bulgaria.

So now in the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Alexander I of the Principality of Macedonia and Ferdinand I of the Principality of Bulgaria are facing each other every day. This makes the political situation in the Balkan Peninsula extremely strange, with the minions of various forces intertwined, and nationalism at an unprecedented rise.

Cantur said: "I'm afraid that Serbia is eyeing the Principality of Macedonia."

Seeing several people looking over, he sighed and said: "Be afraid, Alexander II and Milan I both saw that the Battenberg family was strong on the outside and powerful on the inside, especially Bismarck who was suppressing the Principality of Battenberg in the territory. This was very important to Macedonia. For the Battenberg branch, it is a fatal injury."

(End of this chapter)