In truth, relocating the Serbians to Vojvodina was a reluctant choice. For the sake of Belgrade's long-term stability, Franz could not allow large numbers of Serbians to remain there.
To minimize resistance to the relocation and even persuade the local Serbians to move of their own accord, Franz had no choice but to designate fertile Vojvodina as their destination.
It was the most effective solution Austria could offer at the time, given its limited national strength. The distance was less than a hundred kilometers, but more than a hundred thousand people were involved. If anything went wrong, it could easily turn a joyous occasion into a disaster.
After all, no country truly wanted Austria to gain the Key of the Balkans. Even the smallest spark could set off a great upheaval.
The situation was much the same here. The Serbians had little presence in the Austrian Empire, not because they lacked a sense of national identity, as the Slovenes did, but because their strength was too dispersed.
The Serbians already had a country of their own. So allowing them to gather their strength and grow more powerful was absolutely not a good idea.
Franz could not satisfy the Serbians' demands. He would not allow Vojvodina autonomy, much less hand over the Austrian Empire's southern gateway to a people who might rebel at any moment.
One had to admit, the Hungarians had a gift for causing trouble for Austria. The latter always had to clean up after the former.
The Imperial Territory government could only accept the refugees fleeing from all directions to Vojvodina. Otherwise, it would be pushing them straight into Hungary's arms.
Compared to having more enemies, having more refugees in need of aid was more in line with the Austrian Empire's interests at the moment.
Still, Franz thought