Chapter 629: Greetings from England and France
The news of Eder's concurrent role as king of Bulgaria soon spread around the world.
Unlike Bulgaria and Romania, which cheered, the rest of Europe was generally neutral and opposed to Eder's ascension to the throne of Bulgaria, with the exception of Italy, which had close ties with Romania, to congratulate him.
The countries that indicate neutrality are mainly small and irrelevant countries, as well as Germany, which is struggling with its economy.
The main countries that opposed it were Britain, France, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, and even Poland, which has close economic ties.
The Polish opposition was mainly due to the fear that Romania would devote its energies to the Balkans and not to the Soviet Union as it had done in the past.
Turkey, on the other hand, was afraid that the union of Bulgaria and Romania would put it under more pressure after Eder became king of Bulgaria. You must know that Istanbul was originally called Constantinople, which is the holy place of the Orthodox Church. If, with the agitation of religious forces, the Romanians want to retake Constantinople, it will be difficult for Turkey.
As for Yugoslavia and Greece, of course, it is more because of the question of the belonging of the Macedonian region. Originally, in the face of Bulgaria's shrinking strength after World War I, the two countries were not afraid at all, and even had a trace of contempt. But now, with Eder ascending to the throne of Bulgaria and bringing out a powerful Romania, the two countries are extremely nervous. For fear that Romania would encourage Bulgaria to retake its homeland, which would make it difficult for the two countries to parry.
Because Romania is already the de facto leader in the Balkans, but the two countries have better relations with Britain and France, and have more interests, they cannot change the court, which is what makes it difficult for the two countries to do so.
As for the opposition of the Soviet Union, they were a little helpless, and they were both happy and surprised that Eder was the king of Bulgaria. Because with Eder taking over as King of Bulgaria, it means that Romania will gradually penetrate into the Mediterranean, which will ease the pressure on the Soviet Union in Ukraine.
You must know that at present, the Kiev Military District is the military district with the largest number of garrisons in the Soviet Union, and it is also the military district with the heaviest tasks, with its peak reaching more than 500,000 troops, although it is small, there are more than 300,000, and at present more than 400,000 troops have been stationed here. Its main purpose was to look down on Romania, the most stubborn anti-Soviet element.
As Romania's attention shifts, it will inevitably make the western border of the Soviet Union more secure, and it will also allow the Soviet Union to reduce pressure and better serve its Second Five-Year Plan.
Surprisingly, the Balkan Peninsula has always been a contested area for traditional Russia, for which Russia suffered a discolored fate in World War I. And the Soviet Union, after regaining its strength, also wanted to continue to invest in it for its own benefit.
But with Bulgaria being turned into a state by Romania (not really, but the Soviets thought it was a matter of time), then Romania had a head start in the region, which was still very bad for the Soviets.
For this reason, the Soviet newspaper Red Star repeatedly commented on this, severely accusing Romania of undermining the peaceful environment in the region. Several military exercises have even been organized in Ukraine, each on a larger scale. But Romania was unmoved, reacted violently to the USSR, without any indication.
Britain and France are much simpler, in order to prevent Romania from appearing in the Mediterranean, making this already lively sea area even more intense. Moreover, the two countries are the big brothers of Greece and Yugoslavia, respectively, and naturally have an obligation to help them avoid losses. Of course, the deeper reason for these two countries is that Romania is seizing the market and hurting the interests of Britain and France.
Of course, Britain and France, who are still in charge of the European order, have no intention of stopping at Eder as king of Bulgaria. On the one hand, they increased their support for the opposition, and on the other hand, they argued that Bulgaria was a defeated country. The Kingdom of Bulgaria is required to abide by the Peace of Nay and, in particular, to be refrained from challenging it.
The main intention was to demand that Bulgaria continue to recognize the territories it ceded to Yugoslavia and Greece without objecting, and that the size of the 20,000 troops currently retained by Bulgaria should not be expanded. In addition to reassuring Yugoslavia and Greece, the Anglo-French demands were intended to create a problem for Eder.
Because with the arrival of Eder in Bulgaria and the return of places such as South Budoroga to Bulgaria, the self-confidence of the Bulgarian people has been boosted like never before. There are already media outlets in the newspapers calling for the return of the Macedonian population to Bulgaria.
If Eder had agreed to the demands of Britain and France, his position in Bulgaria would have been greatly reduced. If Eder does not agree, he will be hostile to Yugoslavia and Greece, and the economic, trade, and diplomatic relations between the two countries against Romania and Bulgaria will be dealt a huge blow. It will also affect neighboring countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, because people want to see an ambitious country around them.
And this problem is not so easy for Eder to solve, the Versailles system after the First World War is recognized by all countries, if Romania turns back, it will be a heavy blow to Romanian diplomacy. And for Romania is he a vested interest layer, or a vested interest layer with huge benefits.
Therefore, Eder's opposition is to disappoint the Kingdom of Romania, and if he is in favor, he is to disappoint the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and he cannot but express his position.
And Eder, after careful consideration, chose an attitude in favor. Because he knew very well where his base was, and in terms of strength, he had to give priority to the attitude of the Kingdom of Romania. Moreover, Bulgaria still needs to recover slowly at present, its internal affairs are uneven, its national strength is not strong, and it has not yet become a whole with Romania, so what can it do to challenge Britain and France.
Moreover, he was very satisfied with the provisions of the Peace of Nay limiting the Bulgarian army to 20,000 men, and had no intention of changing it. Although the Bulgarian Army expressed neutrality in the chaos and did not oppose Eder's accession, he was still dissatisfied with him. The Bulgarian military's involvement in politics was so deep that Eder was very jealous of him. Look at the chaotic situation in Bulgaria, the military has made several moves to increase the level of chaos in the situation.
Moreover, Eder had long had the idea of purging the Bulgarian army, especially since the current Eder Guard was in an awkward situation in Bulgaria. The Guards who had already completed their escort mission should be disbanded, but Edel was reluctant to disband. The Bulgarian military resisted accepting him, much to Eder's anger. He has become a king himself, and the Bulgarian military is still like a self-contained one.
And this time the British and French coercion gave Eder the opportunity to promise to limit the number of troops so that the military had nothing to say.
The Guard was then streamlined and incorporated into the newly established Armed Police Force. These backbones were Bulgarian officers and soldiers in the Romanian army, which made it work. And this armed force is the police, even if it is equipped with tanks, it is also the policeman who drives the tank, and Britain and France have nothing to say.
It would also leave a loyal army in Bulgaria and would be very important in consolidating its position.
As for the reparations, which has already been paid, Eder ignores it even more, can he still come back.
And the ceded territory has no strength to get back at present, so there is nothing to lose to Bulgaria, the only thing to lose is the inflated self-confidence. In this regard, Eder believes that there is nothing wrong with suffering a crackdown that can make Bulgaria feel worse towards Britain and France.
Eventually, therefore, the Bulgarian government made a public statement, declaring that it was willing to abide by the Peace of Nay and had no intention of amending the treaty.