The war has lasted for two full years.[23[w]x

If the decision-makers of various countries could foresee that this would be a lasting and intensive war at the beginning of the war, they might have been able to avoid the war. Now, all parties involved in the war are exhausted and unable to do so, but they can't stop.

The war process in 1916 disappointed all parties of the Allies. When Brushilov launched an offensive at the beginning of the year, they seemed to see some light. But then, the Russian offensive was resolved, and under the pressure of the German and Austrian coalition, they gradually retreated back to the defense line in the fall of 1915.

On the Western Front, it was still a protracted war of attrition. The Battle of Verdun launched by Falkenhein was forced to be suspended in a hurry, and he was removed from his post as Chief of Staff. Later, the two large-scale battles launched by Britain and France on the Somme did not make any progress, but instead caused huge casualties to himself.

The result of the naval battle in the Jutland Sea deepened the panic of the Allies. The Austro-Hungarian army then occupied Thessalonika and controlled the Aegean Sea, which accelerated the turmoil in British politics. On October 5, 1916, Prime Minister Asquis submitted his resignation from himself and his cabinet to the king, and the British cabinet fell. Lloyd George was appointed as the new prime minister. He formed a new three-man group with Bona and Sir Edward Carson to manage the wartime cabinet, and actually held dictatorial power.

After the Battle of Scarglak, Lee Haydn had been planning the military operations of the Imperial team in North Africa and the Mediterranean, but when the battle was about to be launched, it had to be terminated.

On November 21, 1916, after ruling the entire empire for 68 years, Emperor Franz Joseph, who was already 86 years old, suddenly passed away in his office at the Hofburg Palace when he was 11 days away from his throne celebration. The empire lost a key figure who was deeply loved by the people and maintained the entire empire. His death inevitably caused the empire to be temporarily panic.

Lee Haydn had to rush back to Vienna from Tripoli.

The old and old Hofburg Palace was shrouded in a sad atmosphere, and the old emperor lay peacefully in the middle of the hall, looking very calm. Some of the nobles present kept sobbing in a low voice, while the nobles and ministers used silence to express their condolences to the old emperor.

The crown prince Frederi, who was hurrying back, stood in front of the old emperor solemnly placed in the hall, staring quietly at his face, while the emperor's little daughter Princess Valerie stood in front of him and sobbed gently. The old emperor seemed very calm and left no last words. In the last period of his life, the world left him more loneliness and sadness.

The suicide of his only son and the assassination of his beloved Queen Elizabeth have almost collapsed. The old emperor has been insisting on maintaining the glory of the entire turbulent empire and the Habsburg family.

As the second emperor of the Austrian Empire, the Habsburg family was in decline when Franz Joseph was in power. The Hofburg Palace in Vienna lost its status as the Holy Roman Empire and the German Emperor Palace. In a series of foreign wars, Emperor Franz never tasted the taste of victory. In the war with Napoleon III, he lost the Lombardy region centered on Milan. After the Prussian War, the Prussians forced the Habsburg family to ced the Veneto region to the Sardinians.

However, it is gratifying that in the current wars that swept across Europe, the Austro-Hungarian army still showed the level of a world-class power and achieved remarkable achievements on the battlefield. The enemy Italians had been defeated, and the empire also occupied Romania, Serbia, Mendnegro, Albania, Macedonia and Bisarabia, and almost took over all the previous Ottoman Empire's legacy in the Balkans, and seized the Black Sea coastal lowlands and the Crim Peninsula from the Russians in one fell swoop.

These achievements are enough for the old emperor to rest in peace with a smile.

A week later, the new emperor Frederich performed the coronation ceremony of the Austrian emperor at St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Compared with the throne ceremony of the old emperor Franz Joseph and his brother-in-law William II, Lee Haydn's crowning process seemed much deserted. It is a war period, and the hostile parties will definitely not send people to attend, and there are also fewer envoys sent by Romania, Serbia, Mende Negro and other countries, because the emperor himself is currently the king of these countries.

The Austro-Hungarian army temporarily stopped attacking, the battlefield became quiet, and where will the empire go in the future? People spent 1916 in anxiety and various speculations.

At the beginning of the new year, the entire Vienna was shrouded in a depressed atmosphere. Due to years of war, the market has become very depressed. Food and important daily necessities have been implemented with a strict rationing system. The soldiers are fighting, but the people are suffering.

"Why has the emperor been reluctant to confirm the specific date of his crowning of the Hungarian king?" At the Prime Minister's residence, Prime Minister Tisa asked Foreign Minister Porchitot that as a representative of the Magyar nobles, what he cares most about is Hungary's status and interests.

"He wants to fulfill his promise," said Porchitot. "If we can't do it, the emperor says he will only be the Emperor of Austria."

"He is threatening us and forcing the government and parliament to submit to his will." Tisa said, if the emperor gave equal power to all nations of the empire, then the Slavs could dominate the empire."

"So the emperor said that he was not interested in the territory of Serbia, and he intended to maintain a relative balance among the peoples in the country. Germans, Magyars, Romanians and Croats, and of course, he would also add Bohemia." Porchitot said, "In this way, although we have lost the privilege of dominating the empire, we will not lose balance."

"What if we don't agree?" said Tisa.

"The problem is that he is now deeply loved by the people. Although the Habsburgs had actually lost control of the government after the Revolution of 1848, the army was always on the side of the emperor." Porchitot said that the Croats were always on the side of the Habsburgs during the War against Hungary in 1851, and the Magyars had long lost control of it. Although there were some Hungarian nobles who could arrange positions in the Croatian government, in fact, the trend of restoring the Kingdom of Croatia was inevitable."

"A new emperor?" This thought suddenly appeared in Tisa's mind, but he quickly dispelled this idea. Emperor Fredrich established his current status on the battlefield. He was supported by the army and the people. He is now a hero in the minds of the entire people, a figure like a god of war.
Chapter completed!