Chapter 374: Gunfire in Sarajevo

In the entire structure of the Mafia, members with code names are core members. The smaller the code number, the greater the power and status in the Mafia.

Under these core members with code names, there are also a large number of peripheral members. Although these members are also counted as members of the Mafia, they cannot contact the absolute top of the Mafia.

The means by which they serve the Mafia is to convey through core members with larger code names.

This also means that each core Mafia member with a code name basically has a varying number of subordinates.

These subordinates can not only protect their rights, but also better complete the assassination missions assigned by them.

In early June 1914, Archduke Ferdinand's special train departed from Vienna and headed for Bosnia.

A small episode occurred at the beginning of the trip. The axle box of the special train carriage overheated, which made Archduke Ferdinand angrily criticize: "This is simply a good start for this trip!"

In addition, it was summer in the northern hemisphere at this time, and the weather was very hot along the way, and Archduke Ferdinand was a little unwell.

But the good news is that Archduke Ferdinand received a warm welcome along the way, which can be regarded as making up for some of the bad situations he encountered before.

After successfully completing his official task, that is, reviewing the army, Archduke Ferdinand went to Sarajevo in a good mood.

Sarajevo is an ancient city in the Balkans, winding between canyons. A clear stream runs through the city of Sarajevo. The bridge that runs from north to south on the river is also the center of Sarajevo.

It is worth noting that Archduke Ferdinand's special train arrived at Sarajevo Station on Sunday, June 28, 1914.

This day happened to be the National Day of Mourning for Serbians to commemorate 500 years of Turkish rule.

Serbian patriots regarded Archduke Ferdinand's visit to Sarajevo on this day as an insult to Serbia, but this day happened to be the 14th anniversary of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife's marriage, and Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were in a very proud mood.

Everything is just such a coincidence. This day is a sad day for one party, but a good day worth remembering for the other party.

On the morning of June 28, Archduke Ferdinand sent a telegram to his three children saying that everything was going well.

Then in the afternoon, Archduke Ferdinand was dressed in military uniform and a helmet decorated with feather tassels, looking very domineering and majestic.

On the other side, Duchess Sophie was wearing a white long dress, a sun hat, and a parasol in her hand. Her good temperament made the Duchess look charming.

The couple was preparing to go to the City Hall to attend the welcome ceremony. They walked out of the room with their arms around each other and smiled.

The weather was very sunny that day. All the shops and streets that Archduke Ferdinand passed along the way were all planted with colorful flags and flowers, which looked very magnificent and beautiful.

The real reason for all this was that the mayor of Sarajevo revealed Archduke Ferdinand's itinerary in advance, and also called on residents on the road to spontaneously place flags and flowers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to bring good mood to Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.

The mayor didn't know that his unique flattery would send the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly to the abyss.

The itinerary of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife was directly revealed, which was good news for the assassin.

If it was not confirmed that the mayor of Sarajevo had no contact with any mafia forces, the mafia would really think that this was their undercover.

Although there were police and gendarmerie on the streets along the way for alert, the crowd of people watching the excitement was very crowded, making the scene seem a bit chaotic.

At this time, Archduke Ferdinand's convoy had gone halfway smoothly. When it arrived at the bridge in the city center, a young man who looked young suddenly rushed over and asked Ferdinand's vehicle to throw a bomb.

Seeing that it was not good, the driver hurriedly accelerated and let the bomb fall on the canvas awning above the car and was bounced to the side.

Boom!

With a huge explosion, the car behind Ferdinand's seat became an innocent victim and suffered a direct impact from the bomb. The car lost control of the driver and crashed directly into the bridge pier. The casualties in the car were unknown.

The surrounding police and gendarmes were instantly busy, and they all caught the assassin to protect Ferdinand.

At this time, some people took the opportunity to propose to temporarily cancel today's visit plan until everything can be guaranteed to be safe.

But Ferdinand was very calm at this time, and laughed at himself: "This guy must be a lunatic. Come on, gentlemen, let's proceed according to the original plan."

There was no way, Ferdinand's status at the scene was the highest, so naturally Ferdinand had the final say.

After that, the road to the city hall became very smooth again, which also made the security forces feel relieved.

At the welcome party in the city hall, when the mayor was delivering a welcome speech, Archduke Ferdinand interrupted the mayor with an impatient look on his face, saying: "Damn it, enough, enough! I came from afar to visit you, but you welcomed me with bombs!"

Ferdinand's anger made the kind-hearted mayor tremble all over and stutter.

Fortunately, Archduke Ferdinand had no intention of pursuing responsibility for the time being, which allowed the welcome party to proceed smoothly.

After the welcome party, before leaving for the next stop, Ferdinand looked at Governor Botyrek next to him and asked meaningfully: "Mr. Governor, do you think we can still visit the National Museum as planned?"

The Governor hurriedly replied: "Of course, Your Highness. I promise you that such a despicable thing will never happen again."

The Governor even planned to use his political career to guarantee it, but Ferdinand waved his hand, unwilling to listen to the Governor's nonsense.

What the Governor did not expect was that what happened next was not only despicable, but also plunged the whole of Europe into chaos.

The next stop of Archduke Ferdinand was the National Museum, but because of the assassination, Ferdinand temporarily changed the next stop to the hospital to visit the people who were injured in the bomb explosion just now.

But Ferdinand changed his itinerary temporarily, perhaps because the driver forgot, and still followed the mayor's car in front without making any changes.

At this time, Governor Botyrek on the side reminded: "Wrong way, wrong way! We should go to the hospital!"

Under the order of the Governor, the driver stopped the car to change the route, and the whole convoy slowed down and stopped at this street corner.

The convoy seemed to have plans to change the itinerary, which also made the assassins hiding in the dark a little flustered.

If the convoy took a new route, it would also mean that the assassination they deployed would fail.

The assassins selected by the Mafia were all extreme patriots. After thinking for a moment, the assassin named Princip resolutely chose to assassinate in advance.

50 meters, 40 meters, 20 meters, 10 meters.

Seeing that a young man was getting closer and closer to the Archduke, the police standing on the street noticed something was wrong.

"Protect His Highness!"

At the moment the police shouted, Princip came to the front of the convoy, without any hesitation, and fired several shots at Archduke Ferdinand with the M1910 pistol developed by Browning.

Perhaps because of some nervousness, a few shots were more erratic, just hitting the Duchess Sophie next to Archduke Ferdinand.

The harsh gunshots made everyone present panic instantly, and the shouts of the guards and the screams of the crowd made the voices of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife a little weak.

Governor Bretzer looked at the Archduke and his wife not far away from him, and was immediately shocked and panicked.

Archduke Ferdinand's chest, neck and Duchess Sophie's abdomen were all bleeding wildly, and the blood had already dripped down the car door to the ground, forming a small pool of blood on the ground.

"Sophie, Sophie, don't die, live for our children." Archduke Ferdinand, who was shot in the neck, shouted with righteousness at this time.

"Go to the hospital! Send His Highness the Archduke to the hospital!" Governor Bretzer reacted at this time and shouted to the driver who was already stunned and didn't know what to do.

Although catching the assassin was also very important, for Governor Bretzerek, nothing was more important than saving the lives of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.

Unfortunately, the chest and neck were fatal points, and Archduke Ferdinand encountered two more, so the fate can be imagined.

Duchess Sophie, who was in a slightly better condition, also died of excessive bleeding on the way to the hospital.

When Archduke Ferdinand and his wife successfully arrived at the hospital, they were already two cold bodies.

Fortunately, the deployment of the police was successful, and the assassin of the Archduke did not escape.

After the surrounding police frantically arrested, the assassin and his seven accomplices were finally captured. They were all Serbians and members of a young Bosnian organization.

Among them, the assassin was the one who threw the bomb before, and the other was Princip who shot and assassinated.

After an overnight interrogation, Governor Bretzerek finally confirmed that this was an assassination against the Archduke.

However, the main target of the assassination was Archduke Ferdinand, and the secondary target was Governor Bretzerak. Sophie was the most innocent person.

No matter how flustered she was, it was impossible not to report such a major event to Vienna.

With a very complicated mood, Governor Bretzerak sent a telegram to Vienna, detailing the assassination process and all the background of the planner.

At this time, Franz I went to the country villa to hunt because of the hot summer. On the way to hunting, Franz I learned that Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated.

The old emperor announced with a cold expression: "A powerful force is trying to subvert the order, and for this reason, we can't sit idly by."

No one knows what the old emperor's mood is at this time, but from the old emperor's slightly shaking shoulders, it can be seen that the old man is experiencing one of the greatest sorrows in his life.

For the old emperor, the Habsburg family has suffered more than one misfortune. In a few years, the old emperor's brother was killed, his sister-in-law went crazy, his only son died suddenly for unknown reasons, the queen was assassinated by Italians, and the queen's nephew was drowned.

The only heir to the throne was assassinated during such an ordinary inspection. The old emperor was the only close relative left. It was very sad.

On his way back to Vienna, the old emperor couldn't help but sigh sadly: "The future I see is dark, and the people around me are dying one by one."

A few days later in Vienna, the Imperial Conference.

The old emperor sitting on the high platform had a cold face and announced to the ministers in the audience: "I want you to come up with a plan to deal with the impact of this crisis on domestic and foreign countries. Although Habsburg Faint, but the Habsburgs never feared death."

Conrad, the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff, had always advocated resolute suppression of the Serbs.

It is worth mentioning that Archduke Ferdinand’s strong recommendation was indispensable for Conrad’s successful appointment as Chief of Staff.

Conrad said loudly: "Your Majesty, for a long time, Serbia has attempted to annex our two provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and establish a unified Yugoslav country. The national unity of Yugoslavia may be unstoppable, but at the expense of Serbia's independence, the Austro-Hungarian Empire controlled it It was a question of whether to gain unification in exchange for a lower state or to suffer heavy losses and place the empire under Serbian control.”

"If the latter is the case, it would mean the empire loses the Yugoslav ethnic areas and almost all of its coastline. Such a significant loss in territory and respectability would reduce the empire to a small state. The sooner the conflict between us and Serbia is resolved The better, the assassination of the crown prince is shocking, but it is also a God-given opportunity for us. We have a rare excuse to eliminate Greater Serbianism and eliminate the damn country of Serbia.”

Berthold, the Prime Minister of the Austrian government and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who had not previously advocated war, also said: "Your Majesty, the time has come to solve the Serbian problem."

The Hungarian Prime Minister Ticza, who held a high position in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was the most talented politician in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his way of handling things was relatively calm and steady.

He thought for a while and then said: "The key to the European situation lies in the Balkans. We cannot act rashly. If we can use diplomatic means, seek support from Germany and win over Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey to resolve ethnic disputes. Provoke a war. It is a fatal mistake that puts a noose around us and makes us guilty of violating peace in the eyes of people around the world."

But in this context, the peaceful faction is ultimately in the minority.

Chief of Staff Konrad retorted: "We can no longer tolerate this provocation with a nonchalant calm attitude. Just like Christians who were slapped on one cheek and sent the other cheek. This is not the same as damned Serbia. The knight's duel is not a punishment for the assassination, but an honor for a great country. If we keep giving in and being patient, the enemy will become more impotent and lead to the demise of the empire. Isn't it clear enough that we should let others strangle us to death or make a last-ditch struggle to avoid death? From now on, the army must mobilize."

Ticha retorted: "Mobilization means war. If we attack Serbia, Russia may not stand idly by. In this case, Germany and Romania may not be able to help us. If the war becomes between us and Russia, Serbia War would be extremely detrimental to us."

After the old emperor Joseph I heard that military mobilization was required, he couldn't help but sigh and said feebly: "Mobilization is temporarily impossible. Russia may attack, but Germany's support is still a problem."

The second update of 4200 words, please vote for me and support!