At this moment, in Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Franz-Joseph I was flying into a rage. Of course, it had nothing to do with Ferdinand. Bulgaria's little affair was hardly worth his anger—the real reason was that the troops at the front had failed again!
It could not exactly be called a defeat. The Austro-Hungarian army had merely returned empty-handed, but for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that was already tantamount to defeat!
They could not even handle a crippled Serbia with an army of two hundred thousand. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had nearly lost all face.
Back during the Serbo-Bulgarian War, Bulgaria had sent out only a little over two hundred thousand troops. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire had not intervened, Serbia would have been finished.
And now, a rabble hastily assembled by the Serbian Revolutionary Party could fight the Austro-Hungarian army to a standstill. No matter how well-mannered Joseph was, he could no longer endure it!
"Tell those good-for-nothings that I don't care what excuses they have. They must deal with those rebels as soon as possible..."
Of course, Franz-Joseph I was still a man of breeding. He went back and forth over only a few phrases, and after a moment, he seemed to grow tired of it.
"What is the military's plan for swiftly dealing with the Serbian rebels?" Joseph I asked sternly.
The Minister of War, whose name had been called, flushed red and said awkwardly, "The rebel main force is currently entrenched in the mountainous regions of southern Serbia. They have the support of the local mountain folk, as well as aid from international forces. Relying on the mountains for defense, they simply refuse to fight a decisive battle with our forces.
"To eliminate them completely, the best approach is to cut off their outside assistance and simply besiege them