Chapter 1441 - 16: Rudolph’s Population Plan (Part 2)

Chapter 1441: Chapter 16: Rudolph’s Population Plan (Part 2)

In other words, since the mid-point of the war, Crown Prince Rudolph has become the actual controller of the Austria-Hungary Empire.

Rudolph is now also in his sixties, having matured and become more stable after World War I, but of course, he has also become colder and more scheming.

In his youth, Rudolph was rebellious and sympathized with the empire’s citizens, but now, Rudolph lives more and more like his father, Emperor Franz.

Crown Prince Rudolph said: "In the past, my father maintained the internal balance of the empire through sophisticated balance techniques, but as time goes on, this balance becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. The empire missed the best opportunity to integrate national ideology, and if we cannot solve this issue, then the Austria-Hungary Empire could disappear into the long river of history at any time."

At this point, Rudolph’s tone became somewhat heavy, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes: "We must take some subtle policies and measures to help the empire through this crisis."

Rudolph’s overall strategy is, naturally, to increase the number of Germans within the empire, ideally making Germans the principal ethnic group of the empire in a true sense.

However, the difficulty is extremely high, almost negligible in terms of potential solutions, and a key issue is the low birth rate of the Germans within the empire.

The birth rate in Austria is somewhat lower than in places like Hungary, which clearly further undermines the foundation of Habsburg rule.

However, Hungary is actually not the core concern of Habsburg. From an objective perspective, Hungary is more staunchly royalist than Austria, mainly because Hungary, being relatively economically backward, has less resistance to monarchical autocracy than Austria.

This is one of the internal contradictions in the Austria-Hungary Empire. The empire is bonded together by the Habsburgs, but the empire’s interests are not completely aligned with the Habsburg family.

As for how to resolve this contradiction, Rudolph has no clue, as any maneuver could backfire, making Rudolph’s attitude towards Hungary rather ambivalent.

Of course, while Hungary cannot be disposed of casually, this is not the case for other regions. As they digest the territories and populations acquired from the war, Slavs within the Austria-Hungary Empire have further increased.

And Rudolph also wants to use this as a breakthrough point to solve the empire’s ethnic issues.

Rudolph said: "Now, we must hasten the de-Slavization of residents within the new territory, and leverage our advantages, as much as possible, to increase the number of mixed-blood German population."

"The Dalmatian Kingdom is a good example. Although their Far East lineage makes their appearance quite different from other citizens of the empire, these outsiders are more prone to Germanization."

This is actually the frenzy of converts, and such phenomena are seen in East Africa, the Dalmatian Kingdom of the Austria-Hungary Empire, where these half-way members of the "German" family, mixed-blood Germans, value their current identity even more than pure-blood Germans themselves.

Of course, the case in the Dalmatian Kingdom is more intense than in East Africa, because the ethnic and cultural integration in East Africa has already been completed, while mixed-blood Germans in Dalmatia seem out of place with surrounding areas.

To the north are Croatians and Slovenes, to the east are Serbians, and to the south are Black Mountain People. Aside from the Adriatic Sea to the west, mixed-blood Germans in the Dalmatian Kingdom are surrounded by Slavs.

And this has made the mixed-blood Germans in the Dalmatian Kingdom more loyal and patriotic. This was demonstrated in World War I, where the mixed-blood Germans in the Dalmatian Kingdom showed more military zeal than other regions within the Austria-Hungary Empire from start to finish.

Moreover, this loyalty and patriotism are voluntary. Since the Allies blocked the Suez Canal and Gibraltar, East Africa, the original backer behind the Dalmatian Kingdom, quietly ended.

Nowadays, the Dalmatian Kingdom has completely become a new political entity within the Austria-Hungary Empire. In fact, if pure-blood Germans in the Austria-Hungary Empire are willing to accept them, they are almost indistinguishable.

Regarding the Dalmatian Kingdom, Prime Minister Conrad furrowed his brows and said: "The new Dalmatian Kingdom is indeed more easily Germanized, yet they, after all..."

The Dalmatian Kingdom was originally a subordinate kingdom of the Austria-Hungary Empire. Previously, the main ethnic groups in the Dalmatian Kingdom were Romanians and Serbians.

Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by World War I, mixed-blood Germans, or rather those whom East Africa inserted into the region as black households, not only naturally became the new main residents of the Dalmatian Kingdom but also smoothly took control of local discourse rights. This is why Prime Minister Conrad calls it the "New Dalmatian Kingdom."

It’s no wonder Conrad holds prejudices against the new Dalmatian Kingdom, as Conrad himself is a pure-blood German.

Rudolph naturally understands Conrad’s concerns and explains: "Although this mixed-blood German looks somewhat bizarre, considering the empire’s current situation, we must accept them as part of the German identity."

"Otherwise, given Austria’s fertility situation, without fresh blood, the concept of German might naturally become extinct within the empire in the future."

"Back then, it was due to such prejudice and arrogance that the empire lost the chance to assimilate Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and other regions. We cannot let the Dalmatian Kingdom become a new political force like Hungary and other ethnic groups in the future."