Bulgarian Empire

In November 1911, Germany and France reached a compromise again and signed the "German-French Agreement".

That is: the Germans recognized the French protectorate of Morocco, and the French ceded part of the territory of the Congo to the Germans.

Oh, the Spaniards also took advantage of it. Due to the confrontation between Germany and France, they acquiesced in Spain's occupation of northern Morocco. Later, France and Spain signed a treaty to recognize their respective spheres of influence.

Of course, as the price of quelling this dispute, the French people fell back again! The cabinet of Joseph Cayo, who had just been in power for less than half a year, was kicked out by the angry French people because of the exposure of secret negotiations with the Germans.

And his successor was the Democratic-Republican Raymond Poincaré (Raymond Poincaré), who was undoubtedly one of the leaders of his war faction.

Raymond Poincaré went out to Lorraine on August 20, 1860, advocating more active actions against the Germans. Simply put, he was pulling the Allied Powers to avenge the Germans!

He believes that as long as France defeats Germany, it can regain Alsace and Lorraine, and occupy the Saar mining area, and even further occupy the Ruhr area!

The coming to power of Raymond Poincaré marked that the French war faction had taken a dominant position, and a world war was inevitable.

Oh, at this time, the French have already occupied 35.9% of the territory of the African continent, and the area of ​​their colonies in Africa has surpassed that of Britain and Germany, ranking first.

France is now the second largest colonial empire in the world, with a total colonial area of ​​about 10.6 million square kilometers, 20 times the area of ​​France itself, second only to the British Empire.

At the same time, with the rise of Raymond Poincaré, nationalism in France has further increased. The new royalism headed by Moras is vigorously inciting revenge against Germany, and will promote peaceful diplomacy. Everyone has rendered them as French traitors!

In this context, Bulgaria proposed to reopen the Allied Conference, coordinate internal conflicts, and strive for a consistent diplomatic stance among all countries, which was naturally supported by the French!

Oh, the Pact Conference has not yet started, but the Bulgarian-Russian negotiations have already begun. In order to resolve the potential conflicts between the two countries and create favorable conditions for Bulgaria to expand in the future, Ferdinand proposed to the tsarist government that the two countries hold high-level meetings and conduct in-depth exchanges in the strategic field.

In May 1912, Ferdinand took Queen Xenia and embarked on a journey to visit St. Petersburg again.

Oh, since Nicholas II's only son Alexei suffered from hemophilia, he has no interest in traveling anymore. Seeking medical advice has become part of Nicholas II's daily life up.

For Ferdinand who visited at this time, Nicholas II was already envious and jealous. His only son was still sick, while Ferdinand's six sons were all alive and kicking.

Of course, these are all just thinking about it in my heart. If it is said that Nicholas II does not need to mix in the noble circle, the relationship between the two royal families will be over.

No, according to the current right of succession to the throne of Tsarist Russia, the little ones seem to be still in the top ten. However, the aristocratic circles in Europe have always been chaotic, and this miscellaneous issue of inheritance rights is even more messy, and the ranking of inheritance rights is also changing from time to time.

In addition to Little Alexei's crown prince status, the inheritance rights of several daughters including Nicholas II may change at any time. Simply put, if Nicholas II has a son, they will continue to step back one.

Oh no! Now that they haven't been canonized, theoretically, princesses have no right to inherit. Only after being canonized as Grand Duchess can they have the right to inherit in line!

As soon as they met, the two sides naturally had a happy chat. After attending the welcome banquet, Ferdinand was also invited to go hunting in the royal garden.

Well, the hunt is fake, but the secret talk is real! After all, there are many eyes staring at them now, once the news is leaked, it is likely to cause unnecessary trouble.

...

"Ferdinand, what is the purpose of your visit this time?" Nicholas II asked

Apparently he doesn't believe in just a strategic exchange,

Just need Prince Ferdinand to run and lie down. Do you really think that the king is very idle?

Ferdinand smiled slightly and said: "The smell of gunpowder on the European continent is so strong that the two major alliances may fight at any time, and Bulgaria cannot escape, so naturally we need to make preparations in advance!

The purpose of my visit this time is so obvious, you can't guess? "

Nicholas II laughed and said, "But don't you think the war hasn't started yet, so it's too early to talk about dividing up the spoils?"

"Talking early is better than talking late! You have to make as much contribution as you can get, so as not to argue at the end, which will hurt everyone's peace and affect the unity of the alliance!" Ferdinand said lightly

Well, Nicholas II also knew that what Ferdinand said was all lies. He was just worried that Bulgaria's interests would not be guaranteed after the war, and wanted to use the treaty to clarify it in advance.

However, this is also in the interests of the Russian Empire. If Russia and Bulgaria both demand to carve up the world in advance and delineate the interests and obligations of each country, this will also be very beneficial to the Russian Empire.

Nicholas II was very independent about the strength of the Russian Empire. If a war broke out between the Allied Powers and the Allied Powers, the Russian Army would definitely be the main force, and the Russians would definitely have a share of the biggest cake.

In fact, he was very worried that after the war, the three countries would join forces to crowd out the Russian Empire. There are precedents for this kind of thing, and it is not once or twice that European countries jointly squeezed out Russia.

Nicholas II thought for a while and said: "Yes, dividing responsibilities and obligations in advance and dividing up benefits according to their respective contributions is indeed conducive to the unity of the alliance!"

Negotiations have never been an easy matter. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is allowed to negotiate, there is no way to reach a result without a few months of mutual testing.

Apparently, Ferdinand had no intention of slowly probing, and said straight to the point: "The current world structure is very obvious. Once a war breaks out, the Allied Powers are almost certain to win, and the distribution of benefits after the war will also be carried out among our four countries.

For the traditional friendship between our two families, I think it is very necessary for the two sides to divide the scope of strength and try to avoid the core interests of the other party. Even if it cannot be avoided, we must coordinate as much as possible, so as not to let Britain and France take advantage of it! "

Ferdinand's meaning is obvious, either Russia and Bulgaria will continue to unite, and everyone will still be allies to carve up Eastern Europe; or they will part ways, and Bulgaria can only follow Britain and France as younger brothers!

Obviously, the second situation is not in the interests of the two countries. Judging from the current situation, as long as Russia and Bulgaria continue to join forces, the division of Eastern Europe will become a foregone conclusion. Even if Britain and France have opinions, there is no need to worry!

If tit for tat is the case, maybe everyone will be in vain!

"What do you want?" Nicholas II asked

Even if it is cooperation, the Russians still take the initiative, which is determined by the strength of both parties.

Ferdinand said calmly: "I need your support for Bulgaria to unify the Balkans, colonize Asia Minor, and carve up part of the colonies of the Allies!

In return, Bulgaria will also support all your interests in this war! "

Well, Ferdinand's conditions were not unexpected. Anyone with a discerning eye can see Bulgaria's strategy. Since the end of the Second Balkan War, Ferdinand's strategy has been exposed.

I saw Nicholas II shook his head and said: "No, the Black Sea Strait is too important to the Russian Empire, we cannot give up!"

Ferdinand smiled slightly and said: "The important thing is now, after your country turns the Baltic Sea into an inner lake, the strategic value of the Black Sea Strait will be reduced, and it will be just a golden waterway then!

We can continue to maintain the status quo, all ships in your country can navigate freely, Bulgaria will not charge customs duties, and your country's interests can still be protected! "

"What? Turn the Baltic Sea into an inner lake?" Nicholas II's face changed and he exclaimed

It's not that the Russians haven't thought about this strategy, and even implemented it, but the enemies in the Baltic Sea are too powerful.

But changes are about to take place now. Once the Germans are defeated, will the remaining Denmark and Sweden still have the strength to prevent the Russians from rushing out of the Baltic Sea?

From a strategic point of view, the Baltic Sea seems to be more valuable than the Black Sea, from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

In contrast, going out of the Black Sea Strait and entering the Mediterranean Sea is still a cage, but the scope is larger. The Russians want to implement a maritime strategy, either to seize control of the Suez Canal that the Egyptians and the British are fighting for; or to seize...

Forget this is even more unrealistic, this is the rhythm of single-handedly challenging the major European powers. Therefore, as early as the end of the 19th century, the Russians gave up their strategy of breaking out from the Mediterranean Sea and attempted to achieve a strategic breakthrough in the Far East.

Ferdinand asked: "Is there a problem? If the Germans are defeated, don't tell me that Denmark and Sweden still have the courage to stop your country?"

"No!" Nicholas II said confidently

Now that he has calmed down, the previous Russian strategy was based on the premise of the existence of Germany. Once the Germans were defeated, the French would definitely weaken or even carve up the Germans. As long as Bulgaria and Russia expressed their support, the British would be powerless.

At that time, the only imaginary enemies of the Russians in the Baltic Sea will be Denmark and Sweden. Even if Britain and France will support them, they will not have the courage to jump out?

They are not Japan in the Far East. They have the natural danger of Siberia, which hinders the input of Russian power. If they jumped out, they would not be able to bear the continuous stream of gray animals!

Too far from God, too close to Bear! This is doomed to the positions of the two countries, and the relationship between the Russians and Denmark is still very friendly, and there is almost no possibility of confrontation between the two countries!

Ferdinand has always believed that there is nothing that cannot be traded between countries. If there is, it must be that the interests are not big enough! When the common interests of both parties are large enough, an alliance is logical.

So the second "Secret Treaty to Protect Russia" was signed, and the appetite of the Russians was much bigger than Ferdinand imagined. In addition to being interested in Eastern Europe, they were also interested in the Ottomans in Central Asia.

Even in order to realize their world strategy, Nicholas II once again proposed the establishment of a military alliance to counter the possible Anglo-French alliance after the war.

Oh, this is the "establishment of the Slavic Empire" proposed by Ferdinand in order to fool the Russians. It seems that Nicholas II is still obsessed with this!

It's just that the two sides are now jointly establishing an empire, just like the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. It is a country in name, but in fact the major princes have sufficient autonomy.

Well, it's all a blank promise anyway, and of course Ferdinand agreed. The two parties even agreed on the establishment time, and the United Empire would be established within one year after the end of the European War.

There is no doubt that Nicholas II will be the emperor of the new empire-Augustus, and Ferdinand also won the title of Caesar!

Well, I don't bother to complain about the same name as his son. Anyway, these two titles are full of Roman meaning, and it seems that the Russians still have no hope of rebuilding the Roman Empire.