Holy Roman Empire

The foundation of the Ottoman Empire primarily centered on the Asia Minor Peninsula, and the control exerted by the Sultan Government over other regions was clearly much weaker.

Especially after the Anti-Turkish Alliance severed the Sultan Government’s connection with the local areas, the control practically vanished.

Loyal subjects were few, and in the face of cruel reality, the weaknesses of human nature were laid bare.

Seeing that the Ottoman Government was a sinking ship, those unwilling to go down with the empire began to look for ways out.

Baghdad was just the beginning; after the Austrian army advanced into Mesopotamia, there were countless incidents of people abandoning their cities and fleeing.

People are prone to follow the herd; once they saw the dignitaries and elite running off, the ordinary people naturally raced to do the same, and for a time, the Persian border was overcrowded with refugees.

...

Baghdad, temporary headquarters of the Middle East War Zone n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

General Mörck asked with concern, "Denis, how many people have left altogether?"

The middle-aged military officer, Denis, answered, "In the Baghdad region, about one hundred and twenty thousand people have left, and in the entire Mesopotamia, more than five hundred thousand have left."

General Mörck frowned deeply, "It’s not enough; too few people have left. The battles in Mesopotamia are essentially over, and what remains is just sporadic resistance.

The local population numbers more than three million, and even due to the war, there should be at least two and a half or two and a third million left; subtract the fifty thousand who left, and that still leaves one million seven or eight hundred thousand residents.

To relocate so many people in the future will inevitably cost a huge sum of money; the best approach is still to have them leave voluntarily.

Spread the news that we are going to implement the ’Fallow Law’; for the next twenty years, the cultivating of crops and livestock in Mesopotamia will be prohibited."

News, whether partly true or false, are often the easiest for people to believe.

Those slightly better informed knew that Austria had implemented the Fallow Law after occupying the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Arabian Peninsula.

Now aside from a few cities, those regions are overrun with weeds and shrubs; the inland areas are virtually uninhabited for thousands of miles.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Commander!" Major Denis replied.

After hesitating a bit, Denis still expressed the doubts in his mind, "Your Excellency the Commander, why must we relocate the population when they can create wealth and immediately pay taxes to us?"

To many, the Vienna Government’s Fallow Law seemed like a senseless action, causing only hardship and expense without any tangible value.

Environmental protection wasn’t a popular concept at the time. The reason nobody raised opposition before was that it involved Jerusalem. The Holy Land was almost buried by sandstorms; it indeed wouldn’t be right not to protect it.

The Arabian Peninsula was just caught up in the mix; after all, there wasn’t much there, and Austria didn’t lack camels, so let it be fallow.

Mesopotamia was different. The Mesopotamian Plain was very fertile, suitable for developing agriculture and livestock.

The era of population explosion had not yet arrived. Taking Iraq as an example, before the war, the population was just around one and twenty or thirty million, and water resources were relatively abundant.

General Mörck barely smiled, "It is for stability. You don’t think these people will quietly accept our rule, do you?"

Hearing this answer, Denis grew even more puzzled. The Ottoman Empire had managed to suppress these people; that Austria was worried about the local stability would be a joke if it got out.

Colonial Empires each had their methods of governance, generally speaking. When faced with unsolvable problems, there was one method that could settle everything—"death"!

General Mörck continued to explain, "If it were an ordinary colony, it certainly wouldn’t be worth our while to invest so much, but Mesopotamia is special.

Our people have discovered oil here, and geologists estimate that the oil reserves in Mesopotamia could potentially exceed the total amount of oil discovered in the world up to now.

Scientists believe that oil is the most important energy source for the future, very likely to replace coal."

Denis shook his head in disbelief, blurting out, "That’s impossible! The uses for oil are limited; how could it possibly replace coal?"

General Mörck waved his hand, "That’s not a question I can answer. In any case, the scientists have convinced the government, making the country believe this judgment."

Watching Denis slip into a state of self-doubt, General Mörck continued, "Alright, whether oil can replace coal’s position is a question for time to prove.

For now, all we need to know is that oil is important, our domestic reserves are scarce, and the reserves in Mesopotamia are vast."

"It involves energy security; to ensure the safety of oil extraction, we must take complete control of this region,"

Mörck didn’t believe oil could replace coal’s position in energy, but as long as there was a "possibility," it was worth paying attention to.

To make the French realize the "importance of energy," the Vienna Government spared no effort in its propaganda. Now every European knew the importance of energy.

After hesitating for a moment, Denis slowly began, "Commander, if that’s the case, then just releasing the news isn’t enough.

"It would be better to take concrete action, for example: imposing war taxes, setting a tax amount beyond the capacity of most people; or directly sending people to convince them to leave.

The Persian people learned their lesson from the last refugee crisis and have drawn up a cordon along the border. A large number of refugees have already gathered there now.

"Without opening a passage, even if these people want to leave, they can’t get out."

There must be more than one exit route. The problem is that the Russians won’t dare to go there, and Austria won’t let them in.

General Mörck nodded, "That indeed is a problem. I will report to Vienna and strive to get domestic support.

"However, the chances of success are low. Even if the Foreign Ministry intervenes, the Persian people don’t have the courage to accept these one or two million people.

"First incite the refugees to break through. If that’s not possible, then have the troops create a misunderstanding and tear open a gap."

Facing the military and diplomatic pressure from the British Government, the Persian people let the British’s supplies into the Ottomans only because the Anti-Turkish Alliance didn’t support them.

For this, the Persian Government has explained multiple times to Vienna and St. Petersburg, but unfortunately, it was meaningless because the great powers mostly don’t like to reason.

In General Mörck’s view, no matter what the reason was, once Persia positioned itself against the Anti-Turkish Alliance, they had to pay the price.

...

At Vienna Palace, the progress of the Austrian army in Mesopotamia didn’t bring any comfort to Franz. The news reported by General Mörck was giving him an enormous headache.

The Middle East War Zone was worried about the problem of one or two million people, but Franz, the Emperor, had to worry about three or four million people’s issues.

Helplessly, the Ottoman Government might be crazy, but that doesn’t mean all the generals are crazy. It’s true that everyone’s a soldier, but when they can’t win the fight, they still surrender.

On the Asia Minor Peninsula, there are also one or two million prisoners of war, since the Sultan Government had its crazy moment resulting in such massive losses that the locals would starve if they weren’t considered POWs.

With no choice left, the Vienna Government had to support this large group of "prisoners of war". Both sides were covered in the other’s blood, and Franz didn’t think he had the capability to reform them.

"Sending them away is a must," said Franz, who didn’t care about the expense, considering it initial investment, but the question was where to send them.

Foreign Minister Wessenberg said, "Your Majesty, most American countries have refused to accept refugees. The United States of America has agreed to take in some immigrants, but only those who are able-bodied laborers."

Helplessly, the Ottomans were not welcome, and American countries never recruited from the Ottoman Empire, let alone the old, weak, women and children.

The United States agreed to accept some, influenced by Franz’s butterfly effect. The number of European immigrants to the United States had greatly decreased, and capitalists were desperately in need of workers.

Unfortunately, no matter how desperate for workers, the capitalists only wanted able-bodied laborers who could create wealth, with no interest in the old and weak.

"Does the government have any plan?" Franz asked.

Prime Minister Felix replied, "The government has three plans. First, set aside a piece of land in the colonies to move these people; second, throw the problem to the soon-to-be established Kingdom of Armenia;

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Third, use the excuse that Persia supports the Ottomans to provoke war earlier and expel these people into Persia.

"Each of these plans has its pros and cons. Allocating land from the colonies means looking to America or Southeast Asia, which would be costly.

Handing it over to the Kingdom of Armenia seems the simplest, but it brings plenty of follow-up troubles.

"Russians definitely wouldn’t want to give wealthy land to the Armenians to establish their country, and this new kingdom might not afford so many people.

"Driving them into Persia is the cheapest, but the methods are too violent and could negatively affect our international reputation."

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