Chapter 190 Division of East and West

Chapter 190 Division of East and West

West Bosnia.

There are 150,000 Croatians in West Bosnia, accounting for 35% of the total local population. However, after a large number of Bosniaks and Serbs left, they became the largest ethnic group here.

As for East Bosnia, there are almost no Croatians living there, so they don’t have to suffer the pain of migration, let alone participate in the unlimited chicken competition.

These people used to be called "Raiya", which means cattle, which is the so-called third-class people. In the past, the first-class people were obviously Bosniaks, the second-class people were the larger number of Serbs, and the third-class people were the Croats. Roethians.

Historically, in order to maintain the stability of rule during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they did not Austrianize this area. Instead, they tried to maintain the original status quo and even strengthened the local traditional authority (religious and patriarchal).

This directly resulted in Bosnia becoming the poorest and most chaotic province in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, preceded by Dalmatia.

The Croatians naturally welcomed joining the Austrian Empire.

After all, they suddenly became "First Class", and the person sent to rule them was a Croatian general.

Nowadays, the local Croats are really singing as serfs, and at the same time, their compatriots in the Austrian Empire have begun to support them.

The Croatian region has always been a relatively poor province in Austria, but they still scraped together a large amount of food, weapons, and livestock to support their newly returned brothers.

The Bosnians are in a worse situation. They either convert to become Croatians, go to East Bosnia to participate in the unlimited chicken competition, or they stay in place and are supported by the Croatians. Beaten.

The local Serbs are similar. They can either choose to be obedient citizens of the Austrian Empire, or go to New Serbia and want to continue fighting against the country. Austria has many troops that are good at mountain warfare waiting for them.

In the Belgrade area, Austria deployed heavy troops to defend it, preparing to turn it into a truly impregnable city.

As for the Austrian newspapers, they will not mention the transaction between the Austrian Empire and Serbia, but will only write about Archduke Franz leading the army to regain Belgrade.

The Hungarians have always considered the Croats to be a great threat to themselves, because their territory is too large, they have the same military tradition as Hungary, and they are also rich in elite troops.

Hungary never gave up on suppressing Croatia, whose land area was second only to Hungary in the area of ​​St. Stephen's Crown.

However, the population of the latter is only about one-third that of Hungary, and the population growth rate is even more ridiculously slow, from 2.4 million people at the beginning of the 19th century to just over 3 million at the end of the 19th century.

You must know that the nineteenth century was a period of explosive population growth in Europe. During the same period, Germany's population doubled.

If Western Bosnia were included in the Kingdom of Croatia, it would further strengthen its power. As a result, it would be more difficult for Hungary, which was already weak, to rule Croatia.

Of course, the Hungarians will definitely not agree and will even obstruct it in every possible way, which will further intensify the conflict between Croatia and Hungary.

In the eyes of the Croatians, merging with West Bosnia was saving their brothers. There was absolutely no reason for the Hungarians to interfere.

Hungary's third trick in dealing with Croatia is to suppress Croatian officials, increase land rents and taxes, and at the same time throw dirty water on Croatia, saying that they are ready to become independent, and then take the opportunity to arrest some Croats. Officer Essia.

In fact, a large amount of arable land and pasture in Croatia is in the hands of Hungarians, but the people responsible for farming and grazing are Croatians.

There are indeed many people in Croatia who are officials in Hungary. After all, they belong to the crown territory of St. Stephen. And for ordinary Croatian officials, this is the only way they can get promoted.

At the same time, except for a few local defense forces, most of the military was also controlled by Hungary.

And they really have no intention of rebelling, so they can be manipulated by Hungary every time.

However, at this time, due to the opposition of Hungary, Western Bosnia became a royal territory, and as the governor General Jelačić could use various legitimate reasons to transfer grain and other materials from Vojvodina via Kroc Essia.

At the same time, civil servants no longer need to look at Hungary's face for promotion. They can enter the royal territory and then be promoted directly to Neletania as an official like Count Korolaf.

The registration office for the Imperial Army in West Bosnia was almost overcrowded. After all, joining the St. Stephen's Champions Team in Croatia only cost 43 florins, while joining the Imperial Army could receive 100 florins.

The east-west partition was the best way to convert western Bosnia into Austrian territory in a short period of time.

Croatia has a shortcoming, that is, it is poor, with barren land, scant products, lack of important resources, and even cannot be self-sufficient in food for a long time.

Almost all Croatian men during this period joined the Austrian Empire's army because being a soldier could provide a stable income to support their families and receive a pension if they died in battle.

It is precisely because of this that the Croatians never thought of independence from the empire.

There is no need to worry about the fact that the Hungarians may take advantage of the food problem in Croatia, because the rich Vojvodina can definitely feed the entire Croatia. If this is not possible, it can continue to be transported through the Danube waterway.

As Hungarian sanctions intensify and the Croatians' dependence on Hungary weakens, the conflicts between the two sides will become more and more serious.

As for the importance of Belgrade, I have said it many times before and will not repeat it again. One of the bigger impacts is that Austria’s southeastern defense focus will be transferred from Novi Sad to Belgrade.

East Bosnia.

The massacre of outsiders by Serbian natives came to an abrupt end with the arrival of an envoy from Belgrade.

This messenger was none other than Miloš.

He was not resigned to defeat, and the Serbs in East Bosnia were unwilling to accept a new government. The two hit it off immediately, but the Serbian army was not a decadent and incompetent army like the Ottomans.

What the Serbian army is best at is guerrilla warfare, and for this they need allies to jointly fight against the powerful Serbian army.

At first the Bosnians thought this was a trap, but as soon as the Serbian army entered East Bosnia, a fierce conflict broke out between the two sides.

On the frontal battlefield, the Bosnians were no match for the Serbs, so on the one hand, they caught the strong men who migrated from West Bosnia everywhere, and on the other hand, they also extended an olive branch to Milos.

But the coalition forces in East Bosnia were still no match for the Serbian army. The coalition forces can only turn to underground guerrilla warfare, and at the same time, they are even more frantic to capture young men.

The Serbian army that suffered losses also needed to recruit strong men to replenish its troops. Although their nominal monarch was Miloš's son, it was the Seventeen-member Parliament that actually controlled the power.

Naturally, the Seventeen-member Council will not let Miloš succeed, because this is not only related to their rights, but also related to their lives.

As the ultimate victim of this unrestricted chicken-eating contest, the West Bosnians were unwilling to be slaughtered by others and formed their own teams to counterattack.

In fact, the Seventeen-member Parliament was forced to do so because after surrendering Belgrade, Serbia's original land was no longer safe to defend.

Sarajevo in East Bosnia is not only a Serbian settlement, but also a fortified city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Milos fled there.

The Parliament of Seventeen had no choice but to capture it. East Bosnia was nominally Ottoman territory. Although a deal was made between Austria and Serbia, it was not recognized by the local indigenous people.

At first, the Parliament of Seventeen believed that as long as the local Bosniaks were eliminated, the local Serbs would be willing to accept them.

Unexpectedly, it backfired, and the Serbs and Bosnians in East Bosnia joined forces to defend Sarajevo. This time Serbia became the aggressor, but they had to fight.

Because they originally wanted to leave a blank land for the Austrian Empire, the Seventeen-member Parliament moved as many local people as possible from Belgrade and promised them a better life.

An unlimited chicken-eating contest means that on the side of the road, in the rice fields, or in the alleys of the city, no matter day or night, men, women, the elderly, and even children may become your enemies. This kind of battle has a great impact on the morale of the army. It was a heavy blow and also a kind of mental torture.

However, misfortune never comes singly, and Vucic, who has been silent for a long time, once again raised the flag of rebellion. This time he wanted to overthrow Milos and the Seventeen-member Council.

(Vucic was an agent supported by the Russians, but his success failed due to misjudgment of the situation.)