Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 240

Chapter 240: Chapter 127, Refugee Crisis Erupts
The British and the Montenegro Duchy’s battle drew no attention; the disparity between their strengths was too great to be bridged merely by fervor. The outcome had been predetermined from the start.

Even Franz held little hope for the Montenegro Duchy; their foundation was too weak to withstand attrition. Even if they repelled the United Kingdom and Sardinia’s Allied Forces’ offensive, they were still the losers.

This was the sorrow of a small nation; there were only so many people. No matter the fighting capability, warfare always resulted in casualties, and Montenegro could not afford the loss.

The Near East war had raged on until now, with the Balkan Peninsula’s loss of population already surpassing a million, and perhaps even two or three million, especially with a considerable loss among the young and strong.

The Ottomans conscripted strong men for the war, and the Mao Xiong didn’t hesitate either. Including the current Siege of Constantinople, the Russians had taken many young men to the front lines as cannon fodder.

Even if gray livestock was cheap, they were still the Tsar’s soldiers, belonging to their own people, and surely more valuable than these cannon fodder.

Every day, the Siege of Constantinople resulted in the loss of thousands. Even with Mao Xiong’s vast resources, they couldn’t bear such losses!

If they used cannon fodder, Menshikov would be under no pressure. Dead is dead; the Austrian Government was extremely cooperative.

Before obtaining Austrian citizenship, the Austrian Government had no obligation to ensure their safety, and the Two Principalities of the Danube Basin had suffered greatly from the Russians’ havoc lately.

Those who initially resisted learning German are now crying too late. There’s no choice; failing the language assessment and the political ideology review meant no citizenship.

The two Danube principalities are currently still nominally under the Ottoman Empire’s control, and the Austrians are only occupying them temporarily, with no obligation to ensure their safety.

The Russian Army’s atrocities only garnered expressions of regret from Franz. To protest, one must go to St. Petersburg—the Russian Army was out of his control, and he was powerless regarding the current situation.

Conscripting strong men wasn’t all; those who understood Russians knew that these gray livestock usually didn’t receive military pay, their only income being loot from the battlefield.

According to messages from the front, at least half of the local population had been robbed by the Russian Army, except in areas where the Austrian Army was stationed, which were relatively safe, leaving other areas at the mercy of the Russians.

Because of the westward strategic movement, Austria had withdrawn a large number of troops, naturally unable to cover all areas, thus only regions with successful Austrianization had Austrian soldiers stationed, offering the Russians their chance.

Franz dared to guarantee that Austria absolutely did not collude with the Russians on this issue; these atrocities were all organized by the Russian soldiers spontaneously.

Everyone was quite pleasant in cooperation; that was after the Russians complete their looting and needed to sell off the stolen goods, and the Austrian-controlled safety zones made for the best trading places.

Almost every time the Russian Army passed through, it left chaos in its wake. Good luck meant only robbery, bad luck spelled ruin and loss of life.

The world is this cruel. When the news reached Franz’s hands, everything had already happened, what’s done was done. How many people died locally, was an unknown number that could only be tallied slowly after the war.

Not only the Russians and Ottomans brought disaster to the Balkan Peninsula, but the Allied Forces of England, France, and Sardinia were no saints either. To improve their diet, everyone started to fend for themselves abundantly.

With so many armies taking turns causing harm, the wealthy had long since fled, including the nobility of the Ottoman Empire.

All of these were smart people, who knew that it was impossible to reason with the rank-and-file soldiers. In times of war and chaos, human life was the cheapest of all.

Those who could flee had done so, leaving behind a crowd of paupers. They were either the lowest of the freedmen or serfs, with no place to flee even if they wanted to.

Marshal Radetzky, with a furrowed brow, said, “Your Majesty, an urgent telegram from the front lines—the Serbia region is overwhelmed by refugee surges which the military has suppressed.

The atmosphere is very tense right now, and I fear it won’t be long before chaos erupts again. The newly-formed 9th Division stationed at the front has requested domestic support.”

There was no helping it; any war inevitably produces a vast number of refugees who, due to the war, have lost their livelihoods and have no choice but to venture out in search of sustenance.

Franz asked with concern, “At the border, how many refugees are gathered?”

After thinking for a moment, Marshal Radetzky answered, “At least several hundred thousand, maybe even a million. The scene is too chaotic for an effective count.

In the early stages, we received tens of thousands of refugees, but later, as their numbers grew too large and threatened to disturb the local order, the Austrian General Staff issued orders to intercept them.

This was an oversight by our General Staff. In recent times, we’ve been preoccupied with the strategy of advancing westward and neglected the refugee issue.

Now the number of refugees at the borders we control is increasing, and the forces at the front are unable to hold them back. Only after they sent telegrams for reinforcements did we take notice.”

Because of the war, the Serbia region, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the two Danube principalities are all under military control. Moreover, since the Austrian Government has not gained sovereignty over these areas, no local governments have been established.

Since these areas are under military control, it naturally falls to the General Staff to address these issues. As expected, it is not reasonable to expect a group of military officers to be highly capable of administering local affairs and maintaining stability; it all relies on military force.

Including Marshal Radetzky, the Austrian General Staff was all neglectful of the refugee issue and had not reported it to Franz. It wasn’t until the situation exploded that they began to take it seriously.

Frankly, the handling by the General Staff was not wrong. If so many refugees were allowed through, it would have immediately become a humanitarian disaster.

The order that Austria had painstakingly established in those areas would likely collapse at once.

If maintaining social order could be achieved by increasing the number of troops, then the problem of feeding them becomes truly insurmountable.

In this era, to solve the problem of feeding hundreds of thousands or even millions of people without prior preparation, where could Franz find so many resources in such a short time?

It’s not that there were no resources, but there wasn’t enough time to mobilize so many supplies. Keep in mind that in order to aid the refugees, the Austrian Government had already sent a large amount of food supplies.

However, these supplies were barely enough to aid the refugees in the Austrian-occupied areas. As for the additional influx of external refugees, there was simply no capacity to help.

Franz asked with confusion, “That’s not right. With so many refugees, they should have overwhelmed our blockades long ago. Why is it only after such a large accumulation that this problem has arisen?”

Marshal Radetzky answered, “Your Majesty, most of these refugees are the elderly, the weak, women, and children, lacking able-bodied young adults. So, at first, when they encountered military blockades, many chose to retreat.

Now that a number of deserters have joined the refugees and someone has taken the lead, they have begun to assault our blockades.”

Franz nodded, and with the end of the second Bulgarian battle, a large number of defeated soldiers emerged on the Balkan Peninsula, wreaking havoc and creating a vast number of refugees.

By now, they probably can’t find anywhere left to plunder, and as a result, these people have started appearing among the ranks of refugees.

If there is no leader, a crowd of the old, weak, women, and children wouldn’t dare to storm the border line, no matter their numbers. After all, this era doesn’t concern itself with human rights; soldiers would shoot as soon as anyone dares to breach the blockade.

Having grasped the situation, Franz also felt a headache. He knew all too well what kind of tragedy that must be, the image of people resorting to cannibalism already playing in his mind.

But letting them in was even more impossible, without enough food, these people, once in disarray, would only create more refugees.

It wasn’t the 21st century, where the government could dispatch massive amounts of materials at any time. Given the current transportation dependent on ox-carts, what could Franz do to provide them with a vast amount of supplies?

People are capable of anything when they’re starving, and Franz dared not test the good and evil in human nature. Even in later times, this would remain a dilemma for all nations.

It’s fair to say it’s a thankless task that only yields complaints. Thinking of this, Franz couldn’t help but feel resentful; if you’re going to ignore them, then ignore them completely, he thought. If only he could act like a British bureaucrat, following the rules without knowledge of the issue, he wouldn’t have to worry about it.

Now that the matter was out in the open, it couldn’t just be left unaddressed, could it?

Franz asked, “Prime Minister, how do you think we should handle this issue?”

He was passing the buck. After all, Franz couldn’t think of a perfect solution, so he had to let the Cabinet figure it out. If they had a solution, great, if not, the Cabinet would have to bear the brunt of the blame.

Prime Minister Felix spoke hesitantly, “Your Majesty, first, we should send more troops to reinforce the front, by any means necessary to prevent more people from becoming refugees. Then we can start arranging supplies from within the country for relief efforts.”

Franz understood what he meant. That was to hold the blockade line to the end. Once the supplies had been transported, they would then provide relief; by then, many of the refugees would probably be dead, and the food would suffice.

Marshal Radetzky thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, other regions can be secured, but I fear the Bosnia and Herzegovina region will be difficult, the numerous mountains there will likely make it impossible to stop the flood of refugees.”

Finance Minister Karl asked with confusion, “Aren’t we the only ones facing this problem? How are the Kingdom of Greek, Montenegro Duchy, Ottomans, and Russians dealing with it?”

Metternich answered, “The situation in the Kingdom of Greek has been reported by the officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That fool Otto I, seeing the refugees, thought it was an opportunity to increase the population and ordered the government to provide relief.

As a result, due to the vast number of refugees pouring in, exceeding their limit of endurance, and with the British Army entering and disrupting local order, the place has descended into chaos. The new Greek government is suppressing refugee uprisings.

The situation is still not optimistic, and it won’t be long before they will ask for help from the great powers. I suspect that the British agreed so readily at the Paris conference only after seeing this chaos.”

There’s no need to mention the other countries; we’re all aware of the situations there. The Ottoman Empire’s controlled areas are definitely in disarray, the Sultan Government is incapable of providing relief to refugees, and England and France are not philanthropists, unwilling to help without reason.

Montenegro Duchy is incredibly poor, still fighting with the Allied Forces, and only fools would flee there. And if any fools did, they wouldn’t expect a good end.

At this moment, Franz began to envy the bad reputation of the Russians. Due to the atrocities of the Russian Army, the refugees avoided them at all costs; why would they ever get close?

Thanks to this, even the two Danube principalities under Austrian control were spared the impact of this Balkan Peninsula refugee crisis because the Russians were blocking the way.

Typical of those who bully the weak but fear the strong, Austria, with a reputation not vile enough and methods not ruthless enough, and yet appearing relatively prosperous, became the unlucky one.

“Expect Franz not to tarnish his reputation by slaughtering refugees? That’s impossible! If it were the Tsarist Government, they might indeed issue such an order.”

Franz made up his mind and said, “If we can’t hold Bosnia and Herzegovina, then there’s no need to bother defending it. Tell the refugees to head to the coast; only when they reach the sea can we gather enough food to rescue them.”

This was the hard truth, as transportation in inland areas was too difficult. Even with the Danube River, the river’s capacity wasn’t unlimited, and priority had to be given to supplying the troops and the Russians’ consumption.

To reach the port from Serbia, there were still hundreds of kilometers to cover, and mountains to cross; not many would make it alive.

Don’t call it cruelty; having some hope is always better than none. Most of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s region is mountainous, and Austria had only just taken control; the local assimilation work was not progressing well, so Franz wouldn’t be heartbroken to abandon it.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Marshal Radetzky answered softly.

He knew that the Emperor was very displeased with the situation, but there was nothing they could do. The General Staff had not anticipated this, and they missed the best timing to deal with it.

With so many people gathered, even the local tree bark and grass roots were likely stripped clean. It was inevitable for people, driven by extreme hunger, to assault the blockade lines, and since Marshal Radetzky couldn’t bring himself to massacre the refugees, it was left to Franz to handle.

Prime Minister Felix frowned and said, “Your Majesty, rescuing these refugees now poses the question of how to settle them in the future. If we allow them to stay on the Balkan Peninsula, they might become a hidden danger.”

He opposed this kind of relief effort; it not only consumed a large amount of financial and material resources, but in the end, they would not even receive a word of gratitude.

Those who could survive in such conditions were mostly morally degenerate, and those who weren’t ruthless enough wouldn’t last until the end.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Of course, they should all be repatriated to the Ottoman Empire. Once there, immediately put them on ships and send them off, and package the people from the Bosnia and Herzegovina region and send them along as well.

If the Ottoman Empire refuses to accept them, then ship them all to the African Continent to serve as the first batch of immigrants for our colonization of Africa.

The navy should immediately select suitable landing spots on the African Continent and occupy a few strongholds; the colonial era of Austria has begun ahead of schedule.

Organize the vessels quickly; transporting so many people will definitely not be easy, so everyone should be prepared mentally in advance.”

If it were just simple refugees, settling them on the Balkan Peninsula wouldn’t be a problem; at worst, they could just be slowly assimilated. Unfortunately, a large number of deserters had infiltrated the masses, instantly becoming a scourge.

Given that, they just had to find them a new place to live. Devalued by leaving their homeland and dispersed in their resettlement, Franz was not worried these people would dare to cause trouble on the African Continent.

This was an excellent opportunity to resolve the hidden dangers in the Bosnia and Herzegovina region at once. The Austrian Government had exerted so much effort and spent so much money; they couldn’t just be busy for nothing.

This labor force was perfect for the resourceful development of the African Continent. With a few years of slow transformation abroad, time could dilute everything; more priests could be sent to enlighten them.

Let them repent their sins and gradually return to a normal life, eventually integrating into the Austrian system. With this thought, Franz’s ideas became clear.