My Italy

Chapter 293 Balkan Arbiter

The reply from the UK that Carlo was waiting for came quickly, and he was informed the next day, but the news was somewhat unexpected.

"Is this really what the British say?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, our ambassador heard this reply from the British Prime Minister with our own ears."

The reason that surprised Carlo was simple. The British reply was that the British Empire did not want to see conflicts in the Balkans, which would cause regional disasters, so the British Empire hoped that the situation could calm down as soon as possible and give the region a peaceful and tranquil environment.

The Englishman looked exactly as he had imagined, but this feeling of surprise after he had completely guessed it made Carlo have to confirm.

Since the British also have this attitude, the next step will be much easier.

He picked up the phone in front of him and ordered. "Invite Marshal Cardorna and Admiral Gorek, as well as the Prime Minister, I have something to ask them."

That's right, since the British attitude was what he thought, Carlo planned to take action as soon as possible. Taking advantage of the fact that Italy's remaining power in the Balkans was still there just after the war, let the Balkan countries know Italy's attitude to prevent them from making misjudgments.

As Carlo summoned military and political ministers to discuss until midnight, the plan was quickly introduced.

The next day, Italy announced that it would conduct naval and army exercises in Kosovo and the Aegean Sea. In terms of the content of the exercise, the Army quickly dispatched troops to stop conflicts in the area, and the Navy blocked maritime transportation and trade in the area. Everyone can understand the meaning of the exercise.

It can be said that when Italy announced the naval and army exercises, it represented a strong warning from Italy.

In Sofia, Bulgarian military and political officials were worried about the possible situation. When they received the news that Italy announced the exercise, the audience burst into cheers.

As Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Popkov said excitedly, "Thank you to the Italians for their selfless help."

Yes, as Foreign Minister, Popkov has a very diplomatic vision. He felt something was wrong the first time the Serbs started trouble, and then Greece and the Ottomans quickly followed up, making him worried about Bulgaria's situation. Especially after being confused by the attitude of Russia, which was the biggest backer, I felt even more chilled.

Even the most radical, the military, had not dared to say that it could defeat possible sieges from several countries before. At most, it could only say that it could use its internal advantages to draw a tie with several countries.

It is precisely under this circumstance that Italy stood up for itself strongly, which is why Bulgaria cheered.

Being alone and relying on others are treated differently.

Amidst the cheers, Stambolov, as Prime Minister, is worthy of the title of Bulgarian Bismarck, he said immediately. "With help from Italy, we should immediately respond to each other's kindness and take this opportunity to discuss the railway from Pristina to Sofia with the other party. Our country is willing to raise its own funds to build this railway together with Italy. "

Yes, what he said is a cliché. Previously, the prime minister used the proceeds from the Saloniga railway and port to lure Italy to stand up for him in order to obtain the entire Macedonia plan. Because in the end, the harvest was not as expected, so it ended in vain, leaving a small crack in the relationship between the two countries.

Now Prime Minister Stambolov keenly observes that this is a good opportunity to mend fences with Italy. This opportunity is very likely to win a quasi-ally for Bulgaria. Although this may not necessarily succeed, at least it can buy time for Bulgaria with Italy's tiger skin.

This crisis has caused Bulgaria to cool down a bit from its fanatical national self-confidence. The external environment was so bad that they didn't realize that this mistake needed to be corrected.

Just as Bulgaria was reflecting on itself, several other countries that had also received warnings from Italy had the opposite attitude from Bulgaria.

As the other party to the conflict, Belgrade is very dissatisfied with Italy's stance.

"These Italian bastards are like this again. Bulgaria has done so much to make them support these damn Bulgarians so unremittingly."

As the favored party in this conflict, Serbian Prime Minister Grujic is now very dissatisfied. He directly cursed in front of a room full of military and political ministers.

God knows how much Serbia has paid to unite other countries against Bulgaria. Prime Minister Grujic's heart bleeds every time he thinks of it.

Of course, the reason why Serbia paid so much was because it gained more. In the plan to deal with Bulgaria secretly negotiated by several countries, Serbia will get most of the territory that belongs to Macedonia, while Greece, due to its strength and mentality of stealing chickens, will get a small part of the territory that belongs to Macedonia (Southern Macedonia, especially Salonika is still there) in Ottoman hands).

As for the Ottomans, they will obtain the strategic location of Adrianople to protect the capital Istanbul, which is not a loss.

As for Romania, because Romania has not negotiated the reasons for sending troops (a bit like looking at the food on the side), it has not yet negotiated the conditions for acquiring territory from Bulgaria.

As for the major powers that may intervene, each participating country has been responsible for appeasing them, except Italy. The reason for not appeasing Italy is somewhat ridiculous, because Italy's expulsion operations in new territories made all participating countries believe that Italy now has no energy to participate in operations against Bulgaria.

Of course, Italy had a good relationship with Bulgaria before. They were worried that they could not come up with the conditions to buy Italy, or they were reluctant to spend a lot of money to buy Italy. If the negotiation failed, the news would be leaked and they would lose the opportunity.

Yes, everyone is betting that Italy will not be able to intervene.

However, it is obvious that with Italy's tough statement, the already excellent situation immediately took a turn for the worse. (Serbia has begun secret mobilization)

However, the Serbs did not intend to just die down. When Italy issued a statement, in addition to complaining, they also wanted to ask their allies for their opinions. After all, if several countries unite, they will have the strength to make the Italians fearful. Serbia has paid so much for this, so it cannot be wasted.

"What do our friends say now?"

Prime Minister Grujic asked immediately when he saw the Foreign Minister hurried over.

Facing the expectant looks of everyone, Foreign Minister Jeremic said with a frustrated look. "Athens' answer to us was that they could not take the risk of war with Italy."

Jeremic's words made the crowd wailed. Unexpectedly, Greece was so unintimidated, and they were intimidated by Italy's move.

In fact, Greece also has its own difficulties. If you look at the topography of Greece, you will know that Greece is afraid of threats from the sea. Although the Greek navy is very good among the Balkan countries, compared with Italy, it is completely crushed. You must know that Greece's maritime trade is very powerful. If Italy really intervenes, other countries will not know, but Greece will definitely be the one who suffers the most serious losses.

The risks involved with little gain are the highest. Anyone with a normal IQ would never do this. If Greek Prime Minister Trikoupis agrees, he will be a true Serbian traitor, burning Greece and lighting up the future for Serbia.

Although the Greeks were timid, Prime Minister Grujic still did not give up and continued to ask. “What did the Ottomans say?”

Facing the Prime Minister's continued questioning, Jeremic's face turned even darker. "Istanbul says they don't believe in our capabilities."

You read that right, the Ottomans were not optimistic about Serbia's strength. The brave and fearless Serbs in World War I were despised by the Ottomans who performed even worse at the time.

However, it is normal to put the time to the present. You must know that Serbia has only fought one war before, and that was the Serbia-Bulgaria War. He was beaten violently after a sneak attack from behind. This is why Osman is not optimistic about Serbia.

Maybe you can say that I have become different. But what's the use of this? Can you produce any results? If you can't get it out, it's just empty talk. Who can't speak plainly?

If three companies fought against one Bulgaria, Osman would still be very confident. But if you add Italy, it's a different situation.

In the eyes of the Ottomans, if Italy did intervene, it would be nothing more than a replica of previous wars.

Serbia and Greece serve as garrisons for the Austrian Balkans, while the Bulgarians only need to garrison Adrianople with heavy troops. Next, it will be up to the Italians to beat the two countries to surrender, and then march to Istanbul.

Since you have already failed miserably, why try again?

Besides, the Ottomans currently have many problems. Since a large number of troops were wiped out in previous wars, the Ottomans also need to rebuild their own armed forces. Although an advisory group has been invited from Germany and the captured soldiers have been released, the loss of a large amount of equipment is a considerable loss and requires a large amount of money. Tax increases and borrowing are also necessary.

There are also doubts about whether the people in the country who are unwilling to bear the heavy burden can accept the tax increase of the noble Lord. Borrowing is also a problem. From which country to borrow, how much to borrow, how to allocate the loan, what to use as collateral, a lot of problems involve a lot of energy.

In addition, because of this defeat, the tribes in the Arabian Peninsula began to make moves, and many people had other thoughts.

These are all things that need to be paid attention to, so it is okay for Osman to play a supporting role and play a supporting role, but forget it if he wants to be the protagonist on stage.

Greece and the Ottomans both retreated, and now the Serbians were really blinded.

As the Prime Minister, Jeremic could only say helplessly. "Send a message and say we are willing to sit down and talk with Bulgaria. Also, I will announce my resignation when this is over."

Yes, Serbia has paid so much and gained nothing, and someone needs to be held responsible for this. There is no more suitable candidate than him as Prime Minister.

With Serbia's statement, the tense atmosphere over the Balkans was dispersed.

Countries have returned to normal, but among them, Italy's weight has increased a bit.

Of course, Italy's performance in the Balkans was also noticed by other powers. However, due to various reasons, they are not convenient to stand on the platform, so this crisis will give Italy an opportunity.

Therefore, it can be said that Italy became the mediator in the Balkans due to various reasons.

But in any case, Italy has contributed to the Balkan people and saved them from the catastrophe of a war.

Whether they want it or not.

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