Moreover, Russia is now actively promoting "Great Slavism" propaganda, which can unite Poles, Ukrainians, and South Slavs around Saint Petersburg, as they are all branches of the Slavs.

Meanwhile, the Austria-Hungary Empire cannot even reach a consensus with its own Hungarians, and Hungary is actively pushing for various privileges for its ethnic group within the Empire, further splitting consensus within the Austria-Hungary Empire.

Rudolph’s words also intensified the atmosphere in Mei Quan Palace, causing even the hawkish Conrad to have to consider carefully in the face of ample factual evidence.

At this point, Franz finally spoke: "Having said so much, Rudolph, what do you think the Empire should choose as the most reliable course of action?"

Since Rudolph spoke so much, there should be a solution, after all, the Austria-Hungary Empire couldn’t just choose to do nothing because of too many disadvantages, such as Serbia, a small country jumping around in front of the Austria-Hungary Empire. If not sanctioned, it obviously insults the dignity of the Empire.

Rudolph: "According to my idea, naturally, we should actively expand the military, especially improve military finances, first bridging the gap between us and other great powers, and then declare war on Serbia."

That’s basically easier said than done, given that military expenditure is not something Austria can unilaterally decide, circumventing Hungary, and if we could persuade Hungary, it wouldn’t be so indecisive now.

Conrad said: "Regarding military spending, we can only first initiate war and then gradually negotiate with Hungary. In a state of war, everything is not a problem, of course, if we can bypass Hungary to gather military expenses, so much the better."

Hungary being one of the Empire’s cores is sure to oppose the annexation of Serbia, after all, combining Serbia with Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia could potentially alter the original dual-core political map of the Empire, which essentially distributes Hungary’s original political power.

And what Conrad said is mutually contradictory, but there’s a factor unmentioned by Conrad, which is Russia. If Russia goes to war with the Empire over the Serbian issue, then Hungary is shackled to the war chariot, as Russia is in the eastern part of the Austria-Hungary Empire, Hungary bears the brunt, directly facing Russia’s threat.

After summarizing the views of the two men, Franz spoke after much consideration: "In that case, let us first pressure Serbia! After all, pressuring Serbia does not mean having to wage war. If Serbia can compromise, perhaps there’ll be no need for further radical measures."

Franz’s idea is good, but Serbia, a country built on extreme nationalism, at this time obviously has no habit of compromising with great powers. However, the Austria-Hungary Empire has no choice, and war between the two countries is only a matter of time.

Unsurprisingly, in July, the Austria-Hungary Empire leveraged the Sarajevo incident to present its political demands to Serbia, which the Serbian military government categorically rejected.

The two countries entered a tense relationship, considered a provocation by hawks within the Empire, while extreme media intensified the portrayal of the Serbian threat.

Originally, due to Archduke Ferdinand not passing away, the solution proposed by the Austria-Hungary Empire this time was much more lenient than in the same historical period, but under the choices of Serbian extreme nationalism and its military government, the situation began to develop in the worst possible direction.

Austria-Hungary’s internal tolerance for public opinion last time fermented further until it completely exploded, with a massive wave demanding stringent punishment of Serbia sweeping across the nation.

Actually, similar to Serbia, nationalism is also serious within the Austria-Hungary Empire, but Hungary’s involvement makes it difficult to form a coalition. This time, however, internal public opinion shaped Serbia as a common enemy, which barely integrated initial consensus.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Rudolph also went to Hungary for lobbying, leveraging his mother’s influence in Hungary and partial benefits linking, ultimately leading to a compromise from the Hungarian government.

Nonetheless, this was something past Austria-Hungary Crown Prince Archduke Ferdinand could hardly achieve, given that Archduke Ferdinand didn’t have a good reputation within the Austria-Hungary Empire, particularly with his advocacy for establishing a triune empire and integrating the Slavs into the core of the Empire, surely causing dissatisfaction among the Hungarians.

Rudolph, however, is entirely different. Influenced by Ernst, Rudolph has always been dissatisfied with the dual monarchy, but due to Hungary’s already established position, Rudolph tolerates it, grudgingly, but he absolutely won’t allow a second "Hungary" to emerge within the Empire, as per Ferdinand’s doctrine, unless Hungary splits into two.

For Rudolph, implementing Germanization within the Empire is virtually impossible, so he can only aim elsewhere, creating a weaker version of "Austria-Hungaryization", integrating Austria and Hungary to form a new nation, establishing a dominant national concept within the country at least.

This is a unification, so Rudolph can no longer grant any special rights to other ethnic groups to prevent a second "Hungary" from appearing within the Empire.

Of course, Rudolph’s thoughts are only thoughts, after all, the Emperor is still Franz, and before acquiring power, these ideas only exist in Rudolph’s mind.

July 26, 1914.

The Austria-Hungary Empire issued a final war ultimatum to Serbia, which was rejected once again two days later, with Serbia beginning its final war mobilization.

On 28th, the Austria-Hungary Empire ultimately declared war on Serbia, and just one day after, Russia declared support for Serbia; the Tsar’s government issued a mobilization order.

Simultaneously, Russia declared war successively on both Austria-Hungary and Germany, involving Germany in the chaos as well, for Germany’s courting of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire had pushed Russo-German relations to a freezing point.

After Russia’s declaration of war, William II of Germany did not immediately hope for war to break out but desired Russia to cease military mobilization, but being rejected by Russia, Germany could only opt to declare war on Russia. Subsequently, Germany declared war on its old rival France, and the United Kingdom followed suit, declaring war on Germany on August 4th.

A war engulfing the five top European powers entirely broke out, with other European countries, except for Serbia, Belgium, and several other nations, temporarily remaining on the sidelines, preventing themselves from being splattered with blood.

Meanwhile, the United States, East Africa, and other external nations were thrilled, their governments hypocritically advising Europe to remain calm while expressing neutrality in not participating in the European war.

After confirming that major European powers were involved in the war, the East African government resumed its naval expansion plan, with previously stalled naval construction projects receiving fund injections and factories working overtime to handle potential substantial orders stemming from the European war.

With the European war a foregone conclusion, East Africa began shifting its focus to world markets outside Europe, including Germany’s colonies.

Of course, the East African government had no intent of forcibly seizing Germany’s overseas territories, but amidst the tidal wave of World War I, Germany was already unable to ensure the security of overseas territories, under which the East African government naturally expressed willingness to act as Germany’s proxy.

Including the German Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon) and German Pacific Islands (New Guinea, Mariana Islands) regions, East Africa was particularly interested in the German Central Africa, while the German Pacific territories could continue to consolidate East African dominance in the Pacific Region, thus further spreading its influence in the Pacific Region from Alaska in the north to New Guinea near Australia.

On the very day Germany declared war on Russia, the East African embassy in Germany immediately took action, negotiating with the German government.

At this moment, Germany had no other choice; even holding these overseas territories offered no security guarantee, better to exchange them with the East African government for relevant support.