Chapter 132 The Powder Keg is Still the Powder Keg

To be honest, the moment Morin saw the three pieces of intelligence, he was first overcome with a mix of ecstasy and hesitation.

World War I won’t happen in this world?

Princip has been captured, the founder of the Black Hand Society has inexplicably committed suicide. Will the assassination not take place?

If Archduke Ferdinand isn’t assassinated on the street, will the Austro-Hungarian Empire not declare war on Serbia?

This thought existed in his mind for less than half a second before he dismissed it himself.

Too naive.

You may laugh at the imperialists for being corrupt and outdated, but the imperialists laugh at you for not understanding what imperialism truly is.

From what Morin knew about the current world situation, the major powers, including the Saxon Empire, were like a group of bulls with surging hormones, locked in a cage for decades, already looking for a fight with everyone.

If they didn’t find an excuse to fight a satisfying war, that would be the real surprise.

Whether the Holy Britannian Empire maintained its singular dominance over Europa, or whether the nations engaged in an unprecedented melee…

What was meant to come would always come.

The assassination by the ambitious young Serb was, at most, a spark to ignite the powder keg.

Now that this spark was gone, they would simply find another one.

It might be a ‘disappearance of an Austro-Hungarian soldier on the border incident,’ or a ‘Serbian military exercise crossing the boundary incident’…

In short, if they want a war, can’t they find any reason?

However, the timing of the war’s outbreak might be delayed as a result.

Is a delay a good thing or a bad thing?

Morin couldn’t immediately tell.

He had planned to continue discussing with the other officers and subtly fish for information to figure out the situation in the Balkans in this world.

Because all he knew for now was the geographic distribution of the countries on the map.

But were the relationships between the nations still as complex as in the other timeline?

Especially with the premature collapse and subsequent civil war of the Russian Empire, the clumsy giant that no longer interfered in the Balkans, had the overall situation changed in ways he didn’t know?

Unfortunately, before he could speak, Vice-President Horndorff, the instructor, walked into the classroom with his teaching materials.

The moment the old General appeared, the slightly noisy discussions in the classroom instantly ceased. Everyone straightened their backs and sat ramrod straight.

Morin had no choice but to swallow his myriad questions and focus his attention on the podium.

As the ‘Imperial Military Tradition’ course concluded, General Horndorff’s gaze subtly swept over the students who had been discussing most heatedly, including Morin, before dismissing the class.

“Caring about international affairs and broadening your perspective is a necessary quality for an excellent officer…”

“But do not let it interfere with your studies. Your primary focus must always be on learning how to command troops and win battles.”

“Is that clear, gentlemen?”

“Yes, Vice-President!”

After all morning classes ended, Morin, for once, did not rush back to the Teaching Assault Battalion garrison.

He walked over to the College mess hall with a few officers he had become acquainted with over the past few days.

He hoped to take this opportunity to extract more useful information from these elite officers.

Lunch at the College mess hall was as abundant as usual.

The Bavarian Schweinshaxe—roasted pork knuckle with a crisp crust formed by boiling before roasting—was served with tangy sauerkraut and a generous scoop of mashed potatoes and two sizzling fried sausages.

For Morin, who had fully adapted to the Saxon Imperial diet, this was a decent lunch.

In the mess hall, students sat in small groups, continuing the conversations they hadn’t finished in the morning while they ate.

“Vienna finally did something right! If they let the Serbians continue their infiltration, something terrible would have happened sooner or later…”

One student commented while carving his pork knuckle.

“Alas, if the Austro-Hungarian intelligence agency were more professional, they wouldn’t have waited until now to act.”

Morin approached their table with his tray and naturally sat down with them.

However, he mentally disagreed with the second sentence.

After all, the Saxon intelligence agency probably didn’t have the face to criticize the Austro-Hungarian Empire…

But he naturally kept this to himself. He spoke up, feigning curiosity about international affairs:

“Colleagues, I am not very familiar with the situation in the Balkans. What exactly is going on with Serbia?”

His question immediately opened the floodgates for the few officers at the table.

“You don’t know, Captain Morin? Those Serbians are incredibly troublesome!”

One student who clearly had some background in international relations immediately became animated. He put down his knife and fork and began to ‘educate’ Morin.

“The Serbians have something called ‘Greater Serbianism,’ and it’s utterly delusional!”

“Oh? How so?” Morin pressed, playing along.

“They have two core demands.”

The student held up two fingers.

“First, all lands that historically belonged to the ancient Kingdom of Serbia should be inherited by the current Kingdom of Serbia. Second, all places where Serbians currently live are also the territory of Serbia!”

Morin inwardly chuckled.

The first point, while aggressive, was somewhat understandable, given the historical disputes that were difficult to resolve now.

But the second point… was that a joke?

The audacity of that claim was comparable to the ‘Promised Land’ claim made by a certain seafaring people in his past life.

Morin couldn’t help but comment:

“Based on the second point, are all places in the world with Serbians their territory?”

“Who said it wasn’t!”

The student excitedly slapped the table, clearly enjoying the discussion.

“According to their logic, whether it’s Bosnia, ‘merged’ with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the Austro-Hungarian territories of Croatia and Slovenia, and even the independent Kingdom of Montenegro, all must follow the command of Belgrade! Isn’t that ridiculous?”

“That’s quite an appetite,” Morin nodded.

“It’s not just the Serbians who have a large appetite! The entire Balkan Peninsula is a madhouse right now!”

Another officer interjected: “Besides ‘Greater Serbianism,’ there’s ‘Greater Croatianism,’ ‘Greater Albanianism,’ ‘Greater Hellenism’… every country wants to be the boss, and they all want to grab more land and population in that small patch of the Balkans.”

“Their core idea is basically the same: unite all ethnic groups who share the same ancestry, language, and customs under their national flag.”

Listening to the officers’ animated discussion, the puzzle pieces of this world’s Balkan situation slowly began to fall into place in Morin’s mind.

At the same time, the 【Information】 collection progress in his system slowly ticked upward.

40%

As the collection rate increased, more detailed content refreshed in the 【Information】 and 【Intelligence】 tabs.

The powder keg that was Europa in this world clearly contained no less explosive material than the world he came from.

Morin distractedly sliced the sausage on his plate, quickly processing the new information surging into his mind.

In this world, the Kingdom of Serbia, after its old King and his family were overthrown in a coup in 1901, somehow embarked on the path of constitutional monarchy.

Driven by ‘Greater Serbianism,’ they indeed gained significant advantages in the previous Balkan conflicts, expanding their territory considerably.

But this also ruined their relationships with all their neighboring countries.

Their relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire had plummeted to freezing point over the Bosnia issue.

They had also clashed fiercely with Bulgaria over the division of Macedonia, creating a bitter feud.

The most critical factor was the premature collapse and subsequent civil war of the Russian Empire, which instantly deprived Serbia of its greatest protector.

This shock, from paradise to hell, plunged the whole of Serbia into a state of extreme panic and insecurity.

Although the Gallic Republic and the Holy Britannian Empire quickly issued statements supporting Serbia’s ‘legitimate demands’ and offering ‘all necessary assistance.’

Everyone knew these were merely diplomatic platitudes.

Distant water couldn’t extinguish a nearby fire.

The Serbians never relied on either of those countries to genuinely assist them before their potential collapse.

Consequently, the Kingdom of Serbia had been frantically expanding its military and preparing for war in recent years.

The country’s economy was being dragged to the brink of collapse by this reckless preparation, and domestic resentment was high, close to boiling over.

Although the politicians in Belgrade did not wish to initiate a war, they were not averse to using one to deflect internal conflicts.

Almost all European statesmen tacitly agreed that a war between the Kingdom of Serbia and the various Balkan nations was inevitable.

However, no one could predict how this war would begin or how it would end.

As for the recent dismantling of ‘The Black Hand’ chapter in Bosnia, the Saxon officers, seasoned observers of Balkan turmoil, considered it a minor incident.

They all agreed that it was nothing more than the Austro-Hungarian intelligence agency finally managing to do something right for once.

Morin listened silently, finishing the last bite of mashed potatoes on his plate. He then stood up, carrying his tray, and left the table.

Stepping out of the mess hall, the afternoon sun shone brightly on the ground, but his mood was much heavier than the weather outside.

Morin quickly walked back to his temporary dormitory. He took out a small notebook from his drawer and meticulously recorded all the information he had just gathered, along with his own conjectures.

After writing, he stared at the notes for a long time.

Clearly, relying solely on secondhand information gleaned from conversations at the College was insufficient to trigger his golden finger’s 【Intelligence】 updates.

He needed more direct and reliable intelligence…

(End of this Chapter)

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