Chapter 1121 Constantine passes away
Austria-Hungary regarded the Balkan Peninsula as its sphere of influence, but the countries on the Balkan Peninsula were mainly Slavic, which allowed Russia to take the initiative on the Balkan Peninsula.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was not a colonial power. Losing the important market of the Balkans almost forced the Austro-Hungarian Empire to death. Once the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, Russia, which was also a Slavic country, would obviously not sit idly by.
The Balkan Peninsula was almost the only direction for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to expand, and it was also the only hope for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to further strengthen its national strength. The Yugoslav state that Serbia wanted to establish originally overlapped with the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it was also possible to split the Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Therefore, the contradiction between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia was almost unadjustable unless Serbia gave up its ambitions for the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, after this Balkan War, Serbia's nationalist thoughts will further expand. Ernst can already foresee the tension between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia after the war.
The war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia is likely to trigger a chain reaction throughout Europe, and then promote the outbreak of a full-scale war in Europe. Therefore, the key to the outbreak of World War I lies in the contradiction between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
Although he was full of sympathy for the future Austria-Hungary, Ernst could not go against the interests of East African countries and get involved in the quagmire of a full-scale war in Europe. This is also an important reason why Ernst planned Bosnia in advance. If the situation develops to the worst, East Africa must try its best to ensure the right to speak in the local area after the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there is no more effective way than supporting a pro-East African regime.
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With the outbreak of the Balkan War, time came to 1913 in a blink of an eye. It was only more than a year away from the outbreak of World War I in the previous life. Just when Ernst was actively preparing for World War I, bad news came.
Constantine, the Emperor of the Rhine Empire, passed away quietly on February 3, 1913, and the whole of East Africa fell into grief.
As the emperor of the empire, although Constantine rarely intervened in state affairs, he had already become a symbol of the empire. From the Kingdom of East Africa to the Rhine Empire, Constantine, as the nominal supreme leader of the country, was closely related to the history of the establishment of East African countries.
As a powerful empire formed by colonies, East Africa has caused a devastating blow to the local indigenous people, but it has also given new hope to the Eurasian residents of the country. If there is no East Africa, their fate will be completely different.
Either be a second-class citizen in the United States and endure the contempt of American society, or die in the chaotic situation of the Far East Empire, or serve as a gray animal under the cruel rule of Tsarist Russia.
East Africa as a whole is equivalent to a royal paradise for most citizens. In the past fifty years, East Africa's economy has developed rapidly, the quality of life of the people has been continuously improved, and the comprehensive national strength has risen, allowing East African citizens to enjoy the respect they deserve all over the world.
As the supreme leader of the empire, Constantine was naturally loved by most of the people, but the East African emperor could not get rid of the shackles of life and bid farewell to the empire he witnessed growing up.
Constantine's death was a big blow to Ernst, who had been dependent on Constantine since childhood and had a very deep relationship with him.
Of course, Constantine's fate in this life also changed greatly because of Ernst. In this life, he not only became the emperor of a powerful empire in the world, but also lived to the age of 113. Compared with his lonely death in his previous life, it can be said that he was quite perfect and enjoyed the happiness of family.
Constantine's death also represented the end of an era. The whole of East Africa mourned for seven days and held a grand national funeral.
From Jezira in the north to Bloemfontein in the south, from Oriental City in the east (a city on Pemba Island) to Luanda in the west, the whole of East Africa was in grief.
The death of Constantine also affected the changes in the world situation. Most countries in the world sent important personnel to attend Constantine's funeral.
As the emperor of an important empire, Constantine's influence in the world is still relatively large. In addition to his identity as the emperor of the Rhine Empire, Constantine's own experience is enough to cause a little ripple.
Because Constantine was one of the important old men in Europe who had experienced the Napoleonic era, he was one of the living fossils of modern European history and one of the European monarchs. Although the Principality of Hechingen was just an insignificant German country, it was indeed a height that many European nobles could not reach in their lifetime, not to mention that Constantine later became the supreme ruler of a powerful empire on the African continent.
The royal families or nobles of major countries such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain, France, or leaders of other governments basically sent personnel to see off this old man who was also highly respected in Europe.
The Rhine Palace and other places across the country lowered their flags to mourn. In the capital Rhine City, the farewell team exceeded more than 200,000 people. On this day, all production activities in Rhine City stopped, and most citizens participated in mourning activities.
Constantine's body was buried in the Rhine Cathedral based on his Catholic identity. The impact of Constantine's death even exceeded that of the Balkan War, and attracted worldwide attention.
After all, after Constantine's death, Ernst will handle state affairs as the emperor of the empire for the first time. In today's tense world situation, any political changes in East Africa, a world power, may lead to changes in the world situation.
Although Ernst has always been the de facto top leader in East Africa, this does not mean that Constantine has little influence. Some of Constantine's ideas can directly affect Ernst, thus guiding the transformation of national politics.
So after Constantine's death, Ernst's governing policy will obviously be affected to a certain extent.
This is extremely important for European countries. East Africa's international status requires European countries to win over East Africa to prevent East Africa from standing on the side of their respective enemies, especially France.
In order to defeat Germany, France can be said to have united all the forces that can be united, and even reconciled with the two enemies, Britain and Russia, which was almost unimaginable before.
There is no need to say much about Britain as France's century-old enemy, and Russia's former title of European gendarme was also obtained by stepping on the French crown, and the two countries once fought in Crimea.
Therefore, it is quite rare for France to let go of its historical grudges with Britain and Russia. France has had only one goal from the beginning to the end, which is to defeat Germany, France's biggest enemy today. Germany is the country that poses the greatest threat to France in recent years, even more than Britain and Russia. Britain is across the English Channel and does not pose a fatal threat to France, while Russia is very far away from France. Only between Germany and France there are irreconcilable contradictions, and it can even be said that the relationship is one of either you die or I die.