Chapter 759 - 348: Austria-Serbia Peace Talks (Part 3)

Of course, the reason for being able to sideline the King was actually due to Milan Obrenovic’s own reckless maneuvers.

If it were just about being close to Austria-Hungary, it wouldn’t be considered an unforgivable sin. However, while cozying up to Austria-Hungary, Milan Obrenovic maintained a highly autocratic rule, which sparked dissatisfaction among the Serbians.

The newly independent Serbians had not yet been brainwashed by Great Serbianism, and they did not have much demand regarding the Bosnia and Herzegovina region.

The Serbians were more concerned about whether their political rights could be protected, and at this time, the autocratic rule was becoming increasingly conspicuous.

Amidst the King’s autocratic rule, numerous protests erupted within Serbia, and the parliament engaged in several related disputes.

It was precisely these protests and disputes that allowed the Russians to exploit the situation, vigorously promoting Great Serbianism, making the Serbians see what seemed to be a brighter path.

However, this war also proved that Great Serbianism might not be so reliable, as a small country having too many ambitions is often not a good thing.

At this time, the Serbians no longer entertained thoughts of Great Serbianism, being able to preserve their territory and maintain the hard-won peaceful life was already quite satisfactory.

While the peace negotiations were underway between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Austria-Hungary did not forget to offer Serbia some sweetness to taste.

On the very day of the negotiations, the Austrian Army fully withdrew from Serbia’s central cities, retreating to Loznica, a border city.

While retreating, the Austrian Army also left behind a large amount of grain supplies and some leaflets.

The leaflets explained the reasons for the outbreak of the war and stated that Austria had no intention of waging war against Serbia, claiming it was the previous Serbian Cabinet Government, misled by Russia, that sheltered serious criminals in the Bosnia region, which led to the war.

And naturally, the supplies left by Austria were meant to compensate the Serbians.

Although this was of no help to the Serbians who had already lost their loved ones, at least it pointed them in a certain direction, telling them exactly who was responsible for the outbreak of this war.

In the situation where the previous Cabinet Government had already been purged, the hatred of the Serbian people naturally turned towards Russia.

Of course, these small actions of Austria-Hungary were not enough to make Serbia completely side with them.

After all, this war was fought between the Austrian Army and the Serbian Army, and expecting Serbia to forgive Austria just with some small compensation and leaflets was obviously impossible.

While the peace negotiations between Germany and Russia were still at a stalemate, Austria-Hungary quickly signed a peace agreement with Serbia, officially declaring the end of the war.

Most of the content of this treaty was made public, and the terms greatly surprised the Serbians.

Austria-Hungary did not require Serbia to cede any territory; Serbia, as the defeated party, only needed to pay a symbolic amount of compensation.

Although the amount of compensation was not small, for a defeated side, it was already quite an advantageous deal.

It must be noted that in the Franco-Prussian War, France as the defeated party, besides having to pay a huge indemnity of 5 billion francs, also ceded Alsace and Lorraine to then-Prussia.

Alsace and Lorraine were not ordinary regions; they were not only important frontier towns of France but also contained extremely rich coal and iron ore resources.

Germany’s industrialization was so successful in part due to the coal and iron ore from Alsace and Lorraine providing significant support.

Compared to France, which was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, the situation of Serbia, also as a defeated side, was clearly much better.

The total amount of compensation Serbia needed to pay to Austria-Hungary was just 10 million florins, amounting to merely over 20 million Pesseta.

This sum might not even cover the military expenses of Austria-Hungary in waging this war; from this perspective, it also showed Austria-Hungary’s attitude towards Serbia, which was mainly to win over, and only secondarily to suppress.