I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 91 Reciprocal revenge
  Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are allies. Rewarding deserters is still taboo and is definitely not officially promoted.

But if a kind-hearted prince or noble suddenly shows kindness, it is normal for him to give deserters a few hundred rubles or a hundred acres of land as a private reward.

This can understand why Russia is so cruel to deserters.

George would not let Nikolai's reputation suffer any loss, so George asked Demeter to send the deserters to the regiment headquarters for processing, so that whether it was the cane formation or the military parade, it had nothing to do with Nikolai.

Little Nicholas had no such concerns. While the deserters were hanged, Little Nicholas also used the topic to ask the Austro-Hungarian Empire to hand over more deserters.

"The soldiers who disappeared before must have fled to the Austro-Hungarian Empire!" Cousin Vicky is not afraid of making things worse. Rivne has an army of 50,000, which is enough to start a war.

"Why don't we send people to search Lemberg." The future governor was even more radical. Almost all the Russians George knew blamed the Austro-Hungarian Empire for Russia's loss of the Ninth Russo-Turkish War.

Austria-Hungary had more troubles of its own than Russia.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dualist constitutional monarchy that spanned Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. It was the second largest country in Europe, second only to the Russian Empire. Its population was slightly smaller than that of Russia and Germany, and it was the third largest country in Europe.

In terms of hard power, Austria-Hungary was not bad.

Soft power is much worse.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire had three governments, the Hungarian government, the Austrian government and a central government under the emperor. Hungary and Austria each had their own parliaments and prime ministers.

三个政府之下，还有大量的王国和公国，仅奥地利部分就包括3个王国、7个公国、1个侯国、1个地区和1个省份。

The ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were complex. Germans and Hungarians were the main ethnic groups in Austria and Hungary respectively. However, the total population of these two ethnic groups did not have an absolute advantage. The Germans, the most populous, did not account for a small proportion of the population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. By the quarter, Hungarians make up only 20% of the population—

In addition to the Germans and Hungarians, there were also large numbers of Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Slovenians, and Italians living in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as Romanians, Slovaks, Croats, and Serbs.

The country is as bloated and ugly as Stitches.

These ethnic groups are gathered in different regions. Their languages, living customs, and levels of economic development are different. Military members also come from different ethnic groups, making it difficult to combine them.

Conrad, the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, was a linguistic genius and knew seven languages.

But even Conrad could not effectively command all the armies because there were fifteen languages ​​in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"George, what do you think?" Little Nicholas was not used to George's silence.

During this year in the General League, George was very active most of the time.

The Grand Duke of Russia has many faces, the competitive one, the brutal one, the one who enjoys wine and meat, the one who is uncontested, etc., etc., which fully proves the diversity of the human race.

George also has some bad labels, such as having no concept of money and spending money lavishly; being conservative and stubborn, impulsive and competitive; being obsessed with money and competing with the people for profit, etc., which fully proves the complexity of human nature.

Generally speaking, compared with other grand dukes, George is not unusual. Although he has many shortcomings, his advantages are also obvious.

For example, if you have a good relationship with the crown prince——

Good relationship with the crown prince!

Good relationship with the crown prince! ! !

"If we don't want to trigger a war between the two countries, we'd better restrain ourselves." George was not impulsive. Russia was not yet ready to launch a war of national annihilation.

The cousin said from a strange angle: "George, you must not be jealous of us."

"Hahahaha——" 　　　Nicholas burst into laughter.

"Regiment Commander, I require the 4th Company to also undertake patrol duties." Nikki did not want to stay out of the matter. The 4th Company selected the best soldiers from the general regiment, but could only stay away from the border and watch on the sidelines, which made Nikki feel guilty.

"Nicky, you know that's impossible." Little Nicholas disagreed. If anything went wrong with Nicky, he couldn't bear the responsibility.

Then just stay in the rear areas.

"George, am I really dragging you down?" On the way back to the 4th Company, Nicky was in a low mood.

"Don't be stupid, Nicky. Without you, I would have to wait at least 6 years before I am eligible to join the Guards." George said lazily and confidently: "We are not adults yet, unless all adult men in Russia die. It's our turn to fight for the Empire."

Nicholas immediately became happy. He is only 15 years old now.

"I really want to grow up quickly -" Nicholas couldn't wait.

George smiled and said nothing.

Now Nicholas is somewhat free.

When Nicholas gets older, even the little freedom he has now will be swallowed up by endless worries.

Cousin Vicky is indeed fierce. He encountered an Austro-Hungarian patrol while patrolling. Although the Austro-Hungarian patrol took the initiative to avoid conflicts, cousin Vicky still chased people into the Austro-Hungarian Empire and beat them up. , and also brought back the opponent's equipment and military horses.

"The men in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were weak, cowards, and did not dare to resist at all. We surrounded them, ordered them to dismount, take off all their equipment, and asked them to return to the military camp on foot. This is the result of going against us, Russia. !" Cousin Vicky was very happy. The trophies he brought back included the other party's underwear.

This--

Is this stripping people naked?

"We must severely humiliate the Austrians and make the Austrians feel ashamed in front of us. The Austrians must pay the price for their shameless betrayal. No one can escape the punishment of Russia." The cousin was frothing at the mouth and did not consider doing this at all. s consequence.

"Sooner or later we will capture Vienna!" the regiment commander was equally confident.

"Our Russia will punish the whole world!" the future governor howled crazily. This song has spread throughout the Guards and everyone can sing it.

George had a vague feeling that it would be too much to treat an ally like this.

Russians look down on Austria.

The Austrians also look down on Russia. They are all bastards in the mud, and no one is nobler than the other.

The Prussian Regiment is Russia's most elite Guards, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire troops on the opposite side are not much worse.

The Guards are as numerous as dogs, and the dukes are everywhere. There are so many kingdoms and principalities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and nobles are also serving as officers. Will such unscrupulous insults to the Austrians really not lead to an escalation of the conflict?

It’s hard to say whether it will be upgraded or not, the Austrians will definitely take revenge.

The next day, this fear came true when a patrol of local troops was attacked by the Austrians.

The Austrians retaliated against the patrol, stripping everyone of their equipment and clothing and forcing them to return to camp on foot.

(End of this chapter)