Mediterranean Hegemony Road

While the Battle of Constantinople was in full swing, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Metev was secretly leaving Sofia, accompanied by Chekov, the Cabinet Minister and Minister of Education.

It is definitely a big event for Bulgaria to be able to secretly dispatch the two giants of Bulgarian politics at the same time!

On the train, Metev said worriedly: Mr. Chekov, this trip to Vienna may not be smooth sailing!

Chekov nodded and said, Well! After the Balkan War, we are competitors of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and this negotiation is likely to end without results!

...

At the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Franz Joseph I said plainly: Has the Bulgarian secret mission reached it?

The attendant replied respectfully: Your Majesty, they are still in Hungary and will arrive in Vienna tomorrow night under normal circumstances!

Call the cabinet members to discuss! Franz Joseph I said lightly

At this time, Foreign Minister Metev and Cabinet Minister Chekov were in Hungary, visiting dignitaries and seeking support!

Your Excellency Prime Minister, does your country really want to turn the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a ternary empire, and one more Slavic federation will come out to compete with you for resources? Chekov said with a smile.

The Hungarian Prime Minister said with a gloomy face: Mr. Chekov, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with your country! Does Bulgaria still intend to interfere in our internal affairs?

Chekov smiled and said, How is that possible? Only the British and Germans who have the ability to interfere in your internal affairs, not Bulgaria!

I came to visit your Excellency, of course, for our common interests. As long as the interests are the same in this world, many issues can be cooperated!

The Prime Minister asked suspiciously: Oh! Mr. Chekov speaks directly! Where are our common interests?

Chekov explained: After the Balkan War, Bosnia and Herzegovina will soon join the big family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Serbia is also in your pocket!

With the addition of these two, your country's status in the empire has already declined! And I heard that now the Austrians seem to be planning to merge Bosnia and Herzegovina with Serbia to form a new kingdom in an attempt to establish a ternary empire!

The Prime Minister sneered and said: Wishful thinking! Their plot will not succeed! The great Hungary will never be on an equal footing with the Serbs!

Chekov went on to explain: Of course,

With the strength of your country, Bosnia and Herzegovina plus the United Kingdom of Serbia is not enough to shake your country's position in the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

But what if you add Albania and Mentegro, or even bigger? Like Croatia, Slovenia!

When these regions are added together, a kingdom with a population of over 10 million and a territory of nearly 200,000 square kilometers will be formed. Can your country still maintain its current aloof status?

After listening to Chekov's words, the Prime Minister smiled slightly and said, It turns out that Mr. Chekov's purpose in coming here this time is Albania! It's a pity that I can't help you in this matter!

As for your scaremongering, it's okay to bluff people. The Austrians do have that plan, but on this issue they simply don't have many supporters!

Your Excellency just said that common interests are the foundation of cooperation, and on this issue, you are the beneficiaries!

Well, politicians are all old foxes, and it is difficult to impress them without actual interests! At the first stop, Chekov hit a soft nail.

Metev's itinerary was not smooth either. He either dealt with it or refused outright. The Hungarians are not keen on the Balkan issue!

Ferdinand, who received the news, was relieved. The Hungarians were not interested in the Balkans, which also meant that the possibility of the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly sending troops to intervene in Bulgaria was reduced!

This is also because Ferdinand was busy with the Balkan War, and ignored this period. In fact, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not peaceful. Many domestic problems were exposed, and Hungary was the hardest hit by ethnic problems!

In history, in 1897, Austria-Hungary and the Russians reached a compromise on the Balkan issue. The core factor was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had to deal with internal conflicts, and the Russians had to implement the Far East strategy!

Against such a background, it is Hungary who dare to conclude that the Austrians dare not engage in a ternary empire now, which will further intensify the national contradictions in the country!

Tell Chekov to keep working hard, don't ask them to support us directly, as long as they can be neutral and don't stand up against us!

...

Chekov finally saw the violence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under the offensive of large sums of gold and dollars, many resolute opponents suddenly became neutrals, and some even directly marked the price, how much neutrality charges, and help to charge How much, and there is a clear fee for helping that step!

This series of changes made Chekov stunned and asked suspiciously: Mr. Metev, the ministers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is this how they work?

Foreign Minister Metev was used to seeing it, and said with a smile: Actually, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not bad. At least these ministers have some integrity, and they don't dare to accept any money. When it comes to the country's fundamental interests, They are also hard to buy!

If it is the Ottoman Empire, if you can afford it, they dare to sell anything. I heard that some of the Greek naval guns are directly removed from their warships!

In this regard, only the great empire in the east can compare with them. It is said that corruption is legalized, and the crime is paid for ransom!

Chekov said in surprise: It seems that I am very rare. There shouldn't be such people in Bulgaria, right?

Metev said with a teasing: Yes, but they have all joined the railway company, so I don't think they will come out in this lifetime!

...

After the delegation arrived in Vienna, Ferdinand felt that he had to find something for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to divert their attention!

Soon, a piece of news about the Austro-Hungarian Empire's annexation of Serbia came. The Serbian rebel army, which has been in a latent state, has once again reappeared. Now they have changed their name to Serbian National Independence Liberation Revolutionary Army!

After accumulating strength for three years, the strength of the revolutionary army is now different from what it used to be. With the defeat of the Serbian War, the internal conflicts in Serbia have intensified.

The contradiction between the black people and the Serbs, the direct contradiction between the locals and the outsiders, it can be said that the current Serbia is a powder keg. Against this background, the revolutionary army is rapidly expanding like a snowball!

With the experience of the last failure, the leader of the revolutionary army learned a lesson this time, and directly played the east and west, and specially jumped into the areas where the government's military strength was weak!

Does Serbia still have a strong military? Apart from the Royal Guards, there is no other armed force in the whole country!

There is no doubt that the Serbian puppet government has turned to Vienna for help, and they want to use this opportunity to regain the right to form an army!

When Franz Joseph I received the news, he was first angry and then happy. The time to annex Serbia was finally ripe! Immediately mobilized five Austro-Hungarian infantry divisions, went to Serbia to suppress the rebellion.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's attitude on the Albania issue has also changed after the Serbs made such a fuss. The Vienna government said that it had no time to deal with it, and the Bulgarian delegation came back in such a disheartened way!

Ferdinand was so angry that he was furious, and of course he would add to the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

It’s okay to send people to support the revolutionary army, but the Bulgarians can’t come forward, and the conflict between the Bulgarians and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is no smaller than that between them and the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

Under the relocation of Bulgarian intelligence personnel, Mente Negro became their new supporter!

Coincidentally, Nicholas I was also suffering from being surrounded by Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, and could not break through strategically. The Serbs suddenly came to his door, which aroused his ambition - the establishment of the Kingdom of Montenegro!

At this moment, Mente Negro has bordered with Serbia, and the weak Mente Negro can no longer meet the ambitions of Nicholas I. The annexation of Serbia has become the only option at the moment!

There are always some similarities in history!

The Serbian revolutionary army performed very well. As long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire was driven out and the dictatorial government of Alexander I was overthrown, Nicholas I became the new king of Serbia and the two countries were merged!