Mediterranean Hegemony Road

There are no idiots in successful politicians, and Carol I is no exception. When it is time to admit it, admit it, and call the boss directly when you can't do anything!

Face and so on, in the eyes of politicians and interests are not worth mentioning, especially when it comes to themselves!

Since he was about to admit his cowardice, of course, Carol I did not intend to continue fighting with the Bulgarians. If he did not have this army in his hands, why would he keep his throne?

He is a good king in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, but his reputation among the people is not very good, and Carol I did not think that a group of mud legs would care about any international influence!

Decisively began to shrink the line of defense. In just a few days, the main Romanian army retreated to the capital Bucharest, and fought a battle to defend the capital.

Bucharest is located in the central part of the Wallachia Plain in southeastern Romania, on the banks of the Denbovica, a tributary of the Danube. It is the largest city in Romania.

Carol I recklessly started the defense of the capital, and it was Ferdinand's turn to be dumbfounded. Do you still want to attack?

If they attack, the Bulgarian army will inevitably suffer heavy losses. The most important thing is that in a short period of time, the Bulgarian army may not be able to conquer Bucharest; if it does not attack, then Romania, the largest city, will be saved!

What cannot be obtained by force can be obtained at the negotiating table. This does not apply to the current Balkan countries!

War Minister Popov suggested: Your Majesty, now that we have surrounded Bucharest, we can conquer this city in just one month, and the Wallachia Plain is ours!

The Wallachia Plain, also known as the Lower Danube Plain, is located in southern Romania. From the north to the front of the Carpathians, to the south to the Danube, it is about 120 kilometers wide from north to south and 400 kilometers long from east to west. The climate is mild and the land is fertile.

Ferdinand knew that many people in the military were greedy for this place. According to Bulgarian practice, as long as the Wallachia Plain was obtained, a group of military nobles must be sealed in the border area. Many people are eyeing this place!

As for whether Bucharest can be conquered within a month, it is difficult to say. If the Romanians resist desperately, it may be possible to drag on for three or five months!

This is the figure that Ferdinand deduced based on the grain storage in Bucharest. After all, this is the Balkans, and Ferdinand dare not underestimate the tenacity of any nation!

Ferdinand thought for a while and said, Forget it! Since the Romanians want to defend Bucharest, let them do it!

Order the troops to take the opportunity to take Craiova, Slatina, Slobozia and other places, turn Bucharest into an isolated city, and negotiate with the Romanians!

In the end, Ferdinand decided to put the Romanian issue behind. After all, the current international situation is already very serious. In the case that the First World War is about to break out, it is still the most important thing to preserve strength!

As for Romania, it has already boarded the ship of the Allied countries, but are you still thinking about getting down? Even if they want to be neutral, Ferdinand will drag them into the war at the first time!

In the face of the attack of the two countries, even Austria-Hungary can't stand it, let alone Romania!

It's a pity to think about Ferdinand. This time it's equivalent to letting go of the two enemies of Romania and the Ottoman Empire at the same time. As for the Kingdom of Montenegro,

This little one is really not in the eyes of Ferdinand!

As soon as the war is over, the group of middle-aged teenagers in the Montenegro Kingdom will find that they have been fooled. The Allies are not so easy to mess with, and the contradiction between them and the Austro-Hungarian Empire can not be eliminated in a short time!

...

Just after dealing with the Romanian issue, Foreign Minister Metev brought another message: Your Majesty, the Italians want us to honor our agreement and hand over Tripoli to them!

Ferdinand nodded and said, Understood, tell the Italians that Tripoli can be handed over to them, but in the subsequent negotiations, they have to favor us, or at least remain neutral!

Now the Italians can send someone to take over the political affairs of Tripoli, but the Bulgarian army will not start to withdraw until the negotiation is completed!

Ferdinand couldn't believe the integrity of the Italians. If he didn't have chips in his hands, who knows what else would happen next!

As for whether the Italians will take action against other parts of Libya, Ferdinand said: In addition to Tripoli, there are still several oases along the coast of Libya this year, and the rest are sand, unless the Italians are crazy and will go for a pile of sand , and war with Bulgaria!

Oh, the area of ​​these oases is not too small, adding up to a total of tens of thousands of square kilometers, but it seems that apart from farming, there is nothing else you can do!

Oil that thing, now there is no shadow? Otherwise, it will not be Bulgaria and Italy's turn, and they will have been divided up by Britain and France!

...

Time passed in a hurry, half a month has passed, and the negotiation time agreed by Ferdinand and the countries has come. This negotiation took place in Constantinople, which was also deliberately arranged by Ferdinand.

As for what it means, it can only be understood and unspoken!

On August 28, 1909, the negotiations were held in Constantinople as scheduled, with all delegations in place.

Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, the six major European powers, and Bulgaria are the protagonists of this negotiation. As for Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire, their right to speak is already very low.

At the beginning of the negotiation, Bulgaria and the six major powers held consultations. After the attitudes of the countries were clarified, it was the turn of the four defeated countries, the Anti-Safety Alliance, to express their opinions.

As a victorious country, at the beginning of the negotiations, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Metev made conditions:

1. The four countries admitted defeat, apologized to Bulgaria, and paid 110 million pounds of war reparations;

Of which: £96 million from the Ottoman Empire, £6 million from Romania, £4.5 million from Montenegro, and £3.5 million from Greece;

2. Ottoman Empire ceded: Tripoli and Cyrenaica (ie: Libya area), Zonguldak - Eskisehir - Afyon - Adalia (almost one third of the peninsula of Asia Minor) , which directly turned the Marmara Sea into an inland lake) and the islands in the Aegean Sea to Bulgaria;

3. Greece ceded all the islands to Bulgaria, including the Peloponnese, and Bulgaria acquired the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Greece;

4. The Kingdom of Montenegro cedes Troboa and Ivangrad to Bulgaria;

5. Romania cedes the Wallachia Plain to Bulgaria;

...

Well, after looking at the conditions put forward by Bulgaria, everyone found that none of the previous five items could be afforded by the anti-guarantee alliance!

Oh no! The representatives of Romania, Montenegro, and Greece said: If the land is not ceded, the war indemnity can be accepted, and the specific amount needs to be further discussed!

However, the Ottoman Empire delegation directly chose to ignore it. Before the war could not start, Bulgaria had asked for a huge indemnity of 80 million pounds. Now it is impossible to talk about it!

In this case, they can't afford 8,000 pounds anyway, and they still can't afford it. For the ceded land issue, they can agree to other regions except Asia Minor!

There is no doubt that these are impossible for Bulgaria to agree to! After mobilizing millions of people and fighting a war, how is it possible that this little benefit can be fed?

Of course, if the land cannot be ceded, the anti-guarantee alliance is willing to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in war reparations at one time, and Ferdinand can also agree!

But this is completely impossible. If they have so much money, it is estimated that this war will continue. Even recruiting mercenaries is enough to entangle with Bulgaria for a few years!

This point can be referred to the Boer Republic, who smashed hundreds of tons of gold and entangled with the British on the battlefield in South Africa for several years!

The sky is the asking price, and the money is paid back on the ground!

Everyone knows this. Anyway, it is impossible to negotiate successfully at one time!

From the results of the first round of negotiations, we know that Greece, Romania, and the Kingdom of Montenegro all attach great importance to the territory, and they are still pinning their hopes on the Allies to put pressure on Bulgaria!

The Ottoman Empire is rich in experience. Since modern times, they have come all the way to cede land and pay indemnities. As long as it is not the core territory, it can be negotiated!

The main reason is that they can face the reality, knowing that after the navy is over, Libya, the Aegean Islands, the meat that has entered Bulgaria's mouth, it is impossible to spit it out.

But in the core territory of Asia Minor Peninsula, they don't want to give in even an inch!

The Turkish youth party that just came to power is not stupid. It is troublesome enough to be neighbors with newly emerging powers like Bulgaria. If Bulgaria can gain a foothold in the Asia Minor peninsula, then maybe in a few years, they will move the capital again!

Ferdinand combined the intelligence feedback from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and analyzed it, and found that it was probably the easiest to negotiate with the Kingdom of Montenegro!

No way, who said that the Kingdom of Montenegro has nothing worth peeping at Ferdinand? The land is all mountainous and has little strategic value!

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