Mediterranean Hegemony Road

After several days of bitter fighting, the First Army finally settled the fortresses along the way and arrived at Constantinople!

Constantinople is located at the junction of the Eurasian continent. The terrain is an irregular triangular peninsula. The terrain stands tall and surrounded by water on three sides.

At this moment, General Huofu, who was scouting the terrain on the spot, took a deep breath!

There are narrow and long straits on the north and south sides of Constantinople, which act as natural barriers; two tall walls were built on the land, connecting them with the Balkan Mountains! The city is also densely covered with fortresses and fortresses, criss-crossing!

The husband put down the binoculars in his hand and sighed: This battle is not easy!

Petrov nodded and said: Constantinople has been occupied by the Ottoman Empire since 1453, and it has been more than 500 years. The Turks have operated it for more than 500 years. This city can be said to be impenetrable!

Now we are about to tear this fortress city apart. After this battle, we will definitely have a place in the history of world wars!

Speaking of this, Petrov's eyes burst into a fiery light!

The siege battle has begun. The invincible defense of Constantinople in the era of cold weapons has become crumbling under the baptism of artillery!

Far away in the Sofia area, Ferdinand was disrupted by a sudden donation.

As soon as the Balkan War broke out, the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria took action. Schliment suggested to Ferdinand to launch a war in the name of jihad, but Ferdinand decisively rejected it!

But the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria did not stop. They turned to Orthodox dioceses all over the world to raise funds and supplies.

Ferdinand didn't take it seriously either. The historical Balkan Wars were an example, and the church didn't provide much help!

In fact, this was also the case at the beginning of the war. The attitudes of the major dioceses were indifferent. Apart from the support of public opinion, the actual actions were coping with it!

But when the Bulgarian army officially attacked Constantinople, the situation changed. Except for Jerusalem and other places ruled by the Ottoman Empire, there was no response, and large-scale fundraising activities were launched in other regions!

Needless to say, in the Balkans, believers form volunteers every day to help the war effortlessly!

Ferdinand still underestimated the influence of the Orthodox Church,

As one of the three mainstream religions in the Christian world, its influence is still huge, raising millions of pounds in just a few days!

To be honest, Ferdinand didn't want to take the money at all. There is no free lunch in the world!

Have you figured out their purpose? I don't believe that they just donate money and efforts so selflessly just for the sake of faith! Ferdinand asked with concern

Fhu said with some hesitation: The Grand Duke and the others are going to build Constantinople into a religious autonomous city. There seems to be a shadow of the Russians in it. They don't want us to control Constantinople!

Ferdinand thought for a while, and said: It seems that the Russians can't sit still! They can mobilize so many Orthodox parishes to act together at the same time. Apart from the Russians, I can't imagine that there is such a powerful force in the world!

Prime Minister Konstantin asked in surprise: Grand Duke, if the Russians want to make an idea of ​​Constantinople, they can directly propose it. It is impossible for us to refuse!

Foreign Minister Megev replied hesitantly: I am afraid this is related to the current international situation. The Russians are afraid that they will directly obtain the sovereignty of Constantinople, which will be interpreted by the outside world as a prelude to the hegemony of the Mediterranean Sea. This will undoubtedly stimulate Britain. Sensitive nerves of people and Italians!

Now the strategic focus of the Russians is in the Far East. Controlling Constantinople is to ensure their strategic security in the Black Sea. They have no energy to devote themselves to the struggle for hegemony in the Mediterranean!

Suddenly Ferdinand laughed and said: This is also a good thing for us! The strategic center of gravity of the Russians is still in the Far East, so our value will be greater!

Tell the Russians that in view of the unique strategic value of Constantinople, we are going to build it into a military port and the base camp of the Bulgarian Navy!

Everyone's expressions changed, and Chekhov said unwillingly: Grand Duke, if we just abandon Constantinople like this, we might as well establish a free city of religion!

Ferdinand interrupted: No! Religious expansion is too harmful, and the secular world must be strictly separated!

What Ferdinand really thought was that if the Russians took it back, they could take it back after World War I, and if they established a Free City of Religion, then they would never want to take it back again!

...

At the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Nicholas II, who had just received Ferdinand’s offer, spit out a sip of water, and then asked in disbelief: “Has Ferdinand lost his mind? Just throwing Constantinople out like this , without any conditions?

The foreign minister explained embarrassingly: Your Majesty the Great Tsar, he is a Catholic, so naturally he doesn't like the Orthodox Free City!

Nicholas II thought for a while and said: That's right! If a free city of the Orthodox Church really emerges in Bulgaria, he, the Catholic king, will be embarrassed!

What else would he want in exchange?

The Bulgarians want all the territories they actually control! replied the Foreign Secretary

Recalling that Constantinople, the city that Russian tsars fought for, will soon fall into his hands, Nicholas II is in a good mood!

He smiled and said, Oh, Ferdinand really dared to think about it, but I agreed!

The Prime Minister questioned: Your Majesty, the area controlled by the Bulgarians is not small now. Once they annex them all, I am afraid it will be beyond our control in the future!

The Secretary of the Navy asked back: Prime Minister, if you don't agree to their request, what will happen to Constantinople? Shall we go get it ourselves?

As for whether Bulgaria will get rid of our control? No one can answer this question. Anyway, I know that as long as the Russian Empire continues to be strong, there will be no problems!

The foreign minister thought for a while and said: A powerful Bulgaria appears in the Balkans, the most worrying thing is the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

After the Balkan War, they bordered Bulgaria, and they will be left to limit the growth of the Bulgarians. We still have to fully support our allies!

...

After receiving accurate information from the Russians, Ferdinand breathed a sigh of relief. With the support of the Russians, Bulgaria was able to pocket the benefits it had obtained!

At this time, the unresponsive Ottoman Empire also took action, lobbying the big powers everywhere in an attempt to gain support!

In the palace of Ankara, the Sultan asked expectantly: How is the situation?

The foreign minister said in embarrassment: There are some achievements, but they have not met our expectations!

After my concession on Egypt, the British promised to stop providing support to the Balkan League; but they rejected our offer to jointly restrain the Russians!

The Germans are willing to stand on our side, but unfortunately they are now competing with the British for colonies in South Africa, and their influence in the Balkans is too weak!

After we agreed to abandon Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Austro-Hungarian Empire expressed its willingness to mediate, but they were unwilling to have a violent conflict with the Russians!

The sultan asked dissatisfiedly: What about the French and Italians? What about their attitude?

After he finished speaking, he also realized that he had asked for nothing. Just by looking at the Franco-Russian alliance, one can know the position of the French. The British have no energy to intervene in the Balkans, and the French have also made great efforts!

Let the Italians ignore them, the Russians don't take them seriously, and just now they are in trouble in Ethiopia. It is estimated that even a few small countries in the Balkans don't take them seriously!

The Foreign Minister added: The Romanians were ready to stand on our side, but after the Russians clearly expressed their attitude, they shrank back!

The Sudan said fiercely: In this case, the great powers can't be counted on, so let's fight! I don't believe that all the newly formed troops in the country will be transferred to Constantinople. We can't beat a mere Bulgaria. !

With the failure of the diplomatic efforts of the Ottoman Empire, the Battle of Constantinople became more intense. With the arrival of a large number of reinforcements from the Ottoman Empire, the two sides began a brutal war of attrition!

In just a few days, the First Army lost two divisions. Of course, it was not easy for the Ottomans, and they lost even more troops. Even the two walls of Constantinople were breached, and the war has entered a fierce stage!