My Italy

Chapter 247 The Russians’ little moves

Facing the secret message sent by the captain of the guard, Carlo read it as quickly as possible.

This is the news detected by Italy's intelligence network in Istanbul. It shows that an arms dealer named Yuri Orlov sold a large number of arms to the Ottoman Empire.

How big is this batch of arms? The telegram shows that this batch of arms is worth up to 50 million Ottoman liras, with a total of 87,000 Berdan rifles, nearly a hundred artillery pieces of various types, and some other military supplies. You can tell who sent this batch of arms at a glance. There are so many Russian weapons. Unexpectedly, the Russians were able to export arms to Ottoman in order to prevent Ottoman from suffering too much loss.

Seeing this, Carlo couldn't help but cursed. "These damn Russians."

At this time, Carlo's mind came to the words of Russian Ambassador Fedorovsky when he visited him before. "Your Majesty Carlo, since Russia is not enough to attract your country's attention, please look forward to the following."

Unexpectedly, the following is here. As for the arms dealer named Yuri Orlov, it is obviously just an excuse, in order to give Russia an extra layer of identity and avoid causing domestic dissatisfaction.

After all, this is what arms dealers do, and it has nothing to do with the Russians.

Thinking of this, Carlo immediately said, "Call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and let others test the attitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to see if its attitude changes."

Although the small actions of the Russians were not enough to scare Carlo, the changes in their attitudes meant that Italy must pay attention.

As for asking about the attitude of the Austro-Hungarians, it is very easy to understand. The country is an ally with Italy. If their attitude changes, then this will also mean that the Three Kingdoms Alliance, which has made Italy a lot of profits, has loosened. This is Card. Luo definitely didn't want to see it.

Regarding Carlo's order, the captain of the guard, who knew the seriousness of the matter, immediately responded. "I'll do it right away."

With Carlo's order, the already intense diplomatic situation became even more exciting.

In Vienna, Count Carnocchi, the Foreign Minister and President of the Council of Ministers, received the Italian ambassador.

"Your Excellency Banks, your country also knows our country's attitude towards this Balkan war. We are not willing to see the local people in ruins, so we hope that your country can end this war as soon as possible."

Being able to allow Count Carnoghi to receive the Italian ambassador despite his busy schedule fully demonstrates the importance Austria-Hungary attaches to Italy. . Although its current main experience is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has just gained legal rights, Austria-Hungary is also paying a lot of attention to the ongoing war.

However, what he said made Ambassador Banks feel frightened, because Austria-Hungary's previous attitude was to support Italy's actions, but on the issue of Bulgaria, it opposed its occupation of Macedonia.

Although it has not yet expressed clear opposition, its vague position itself means that Austria-Hungary's attitude has changed.

Faced with this new situation, Ambassador Banks tried to save it. "Your Excellency is right. Our country also wants to end this damn war as soon as possible. If the Ottomans hadn't torn up the results of the peace talks themselves, then we wouldn't have to fight them anymore."

Banks tried to put all the blame on Osman, but who was Count Carnoki? How could he be distracted by such a little trick. He said directly and clearly.

"Although it was the Ottomans who were at fault this time, our country hopes to restore peace as soon as possible, especially in South Macedonia and East Thrace. This is not only what our country wants to see, but also what all countries want to see. .”

It is obvious that the words of Count Carnoki represent the attitude of Austria-Hungary. They hope that the ambitions of Italy and Bulgaria will not affect Southern Macedonia and Eastern Thrace.

Banks heard what Count Carnogie said clearly, but this matter was not something he could decide as a small ambassador. "I need to report this issue to Rome, please don't mind me."

"It doesn't matter, you can take my words to your government."

The change in attitude towards Austria-Hungary was sent back to Rome by Banks, and Carlo immediately attracted attention.

After thinking about it, Carlo called the Prime Minister. "Tell the Bulgarians about the export of arms from Austria-Hungary and Russia to the Ottomans. Let them know that our current situation is not good."

Although Carlo didn't say it clearly, Depretis could still feel a slight change in the king's attitude. It seems that it is no longer possible for Italy to gain more from this war against the Ottomans.

"Your Majesty wants the Bulgarians to stand up on their own?"

Although he had some guesses, Depretis still decided to speak to make sure.

"No, this is just our country seeking the opinions of the Bulgarians. Our country respects them very much for this."

After all, Bulgaria will be needed next, so Carlo doesn't plan to make it too obvious. Since Italy is an ally of Bulgaria, it is better to share the pressure. However, Italy has no interest in Macedonia at all, so it is up to Bulgaria to fight for how much it can get.

After knowing Carlo's attitude, Depretis already knew what to do. Next, he sent all the intelligence recently received by Italy and the changes in the attitudes of various countries to the Bulgarians.

This is not because Italy, the big brother, does not support you, but there is currently a lot of pressure from the outside. If you want to achieve more results, you Bulgaria need to stand up.

So when the Italian telegram was sent to Sofia, the Bulgarians immediately felt the pressure.

In the Palazzo Vrana in Sofia, a discussion about the Italian telegram officially began.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, the telegram sent from Italy this time shows that if our country continues to expand, it will attract intervention from various countries. At this point, our country needs to think carefully."

The first person to speak was Bulgarian Foreign Minister Popkov. He was the most anxious about the telegram from Italy. Because this would mean that Bulgaria would be isolated by other countries, especially since Russia secretly provided weapons to the Ottomans, which made him feel heavy pressure. He did not say anything at the meeting, mainly because of the impact it would have on Bulgarian politics.

In fact, everyone present had seen this telegram, and they were very helpless about the Russians' drifting away attitude. The country of Bulgaria was founded with the help of Russia, and they have very deep feelings for Russia. Otherwise, Russian officers would not have been commanding the Bulgarian army before.

However, with the spread of nationalism, the interests of Bulgaria and Russia conflicted, so the two countries later broke up due to the issue of the throne. However, despite the break, there are still strong pro-Russian factions in Bulgaria. And this Italian telegram was a huge blow to the pro-Russian faction.

However, Popkov's choice of tolerance made many people dissatisfied. Especially the hardliners represented by the military are the most dissatisfied.

"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, you are not unaware of the feelings between our country and the Macedonian people. In this case, you let the frontline soldiers who fought bloody battles know that we lost the opportunity to unify the entire Macedonian region, which will trigger a huge conflict. Sensation, this is not a good thing for the government and the military.”

The speaker was Major General Nikolaev, Chief of General Staff of the Bulgarian Army. Bulgaria’s current military leader bluntly pointed out the difficulties involved.

Yes, countries in the Balkans are currently vigorously encouraging nationalism, and Serbia and Bulgaria are the most serious among them. There are many fanatical nationalists in the two countries. Although these people can promote Bulgaria to unite, they are not the same. The characteristics of a double-edged sword also lead to its inability to take a step back.

Faced with the difficulties expressed by Major General Nikolayev, Prime Minister Stambolov felt the need to stand up. “Major General Nikolayev, I am also aware of the situations you mentioned, but for our country, this harvest is enough to shut them up.

If Bulgaria wants to digest the results stably, it must consider the attitudes of other countries. And this telegram from Italy is not a warning. They are warning us not to be too greedy, otherwise we will not even have a friend. Think about the fate of the Russians in the Crimean War. Our country does not have the strength of Russia. "

Faced with the warning from the powerful Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Major General Nikolaev finally stopped talking. Of course he had also seen this telegram, about the Russians selling Ottoman arms, and he knew what it meant.

After seeing that the military with the toughest attitude was suppressed, Prime Minister Stambolov continued. "Let's think about it from another angle. Being able to obtain the Central Macedonia region is an unexpected surprise for our country. Our next job is to implement this surprise and we cannot waste this God-given opportunity."

His words revived the atmosphere at the scene.

Yes, being able to get Central Macedonia unexpectedly is already very good for them. Although it has not yet obtained complete Macedonia, at least Bulgaria has stood out from the Balkan countries. Although it is not as strong as its neighbor Romania, it has far surpassed the direct competitors of Serbia and Greece.

After turning the atmosphere around, Prime Minister Stambolov breathed a sigh of relief. Only King Ferdinand, who was sitting on the throne, watched the scene quietly.

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