When the bourgeois revolution in Turkey was in full swing, Austria-Hungary was not the only country that had his idea. Turkey's neighbour, Bulgaria, also intends to use this Turkish bourgeois revolution to realize its own plans.

After the defeat of Turkey after the last Russo-Turkish war of 1877~1878, the northern region of the Balkan Mountains was established as the Principality of Bulgaria. Romania and Serbia were also established at this time. In 1885 North and South Bulgaria merged and achieved unification.

Relations between Bulgaria and Russia during this period were very complicated. At that time, Russia's Balkan policy was formulated by Count Ignatiev, and Ignatiev's plan was to gradually turn Bulgaria into a Russian stronghold in the Balkans by supporting Bulgaria, which was almost the same species as Russia, so that it could unite Serbia and Czechoslovakia, threaten the core of Austria-Hungary, and retreat to quickly press Constantinople and cut off the throat of Ottoman Turkey.

It can be said that the core of Russia's foreign policy during this period has been adjusted to support Bulgaria with all its might, and when Bulgaria and Romania are at odds over the ownership of the Dobroga region, Russia even does not hesitate to side with Bulgaria, thus pushing Romania, which also believes in Orthodox Christianity, into the camp of Austria-Hungary.

However, Bulgaria did not reciprocate the enthusiasm of Russia, and in the eyes of the Bulgarians, although the Russian big brother did pay great sacrifices for the liberation of Bulgaria, the ubiquity of independent Bulgaria, and the constant interference of Russian advisers and garrisons in the internal affairs of the Bulgarians only made the Bulgarians feel uncomfortable.

The most ironic thing is that the Russian experts who helped Bulgaria formulate a new constitution are Westerners who are quite unpopular in Russia. What these experts designed for Bulgaria was a highly modern constitutional monarchy that was simply impossible to achieve in Russia. With this form of government, the Bulgarians, in turn, acquired an ideological superiority over Russia, which was still under absolute autocracy.

To make matters worse, Alexander, the German king chosen by the Russians for Bulgaria, did not become the puppet that the Russians imagined. Alexander quickly mastered the Bulgarian language and converted to Orthodoxy. And gradually won the support of the Bulgarian political elite and became the spiritual sustenance of Bulgarian nationalists.

King Alexander's home country, Germany, also used this natural connection to divide and unite the Bulgarian political elite, allowing for the realization of an anti-Russian alliance of German politicians and Bulgarian nationalists linked by King Alexander. In the face of Bulgaria's growing centrifugal tendencies, Russia's approach can be described as simple and crude, increasing political control and military pressure, while instigating a coup d'état by Bulgaria's pro-Russian military official group to overthrow King Alexander.

This brutal and brutal approach aroused great indignation among the Bulgarian government and public, and in the end, the coup d'état of 1886 ended in failure, and Bulgaria expelled all Russian advisers and garrisons in favor of Germany and Austria. The Balkan front, which Russia had painstakingly managed since the Crimean War, came to naught, and the straits, which had been so close at hand, suddenly became out of reach.

After 1886, Izvolsky, who was in charge of Balkan affairs, began to exert his personal influence to reshape Russia's position in the Balkans. In addition, the Bulgarians had too much involvement in Russia, and they were slowly influenced back, and in 1908 Bulgaria still favored Russia.

"Now the bourgeois revolution in Turkey is our opportunity, and Bulgaria does not need a nominal suzerain. And in Turkey many of our people are being bullied and oppressed by them, which we cannot bear. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Stephan Uros spoke his mind.

Stepan Uros was a supporter of Greater Bulgaria, and most of the population in Bulgaria now has this kind of plot.

'Greater Bulgaria' is a Bulgarian nationalist ideology aimed at restoring Bulgaria's largest territory in history. It includes the plain between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, the North and South Dobroga, the Sofia region, Pirot, Vranje, Northern Thrace, parts of Eastern Thrace, Macedonia and other regions.

"There's just an opportunity to take advantage of it." Prime Minister Alexander Malinov said this to the Foreign Minister.

What the Prime Minister said was that on August 2, the Turkish Foreign Minister held a luncheon at his home and did not invite the Bulgarian diplomatic representative in Constantinople. The self-respecting diplomatic representative considered him insulted and reported the situation to Bulgaria. This is a great opportunity for Prime Minister Alexander Malinov.

While the important ministers were deliberating, the Bulgarian Grand Duke Ferdinand I was not idle, and he made a secret visit to Austria-Hungary in Vienna. As a result of the "Macedonian-Adrianople Supreme Council" ("Supreme Council"), which was supported in 1903, the uprising in southwestern Macedonia and eastern Thrace failed. Archduke Ferdinand felt that he needed the support of other powers in order to incorporate the above places into his own land.

The Grand Duke set his sights on Austria-Hungary, hoping to gain the support of Austria-Hungary. If one of the two powers with the greatest influence in the Balkans can be supported (and Russia will not oppose it), then Archduke Ferdinand's dream will have a good chance of becoming a reality.

On August 2, 1903, the "Supreme Council" launched an uprising in southwestern Macedonia and eastern Thrace, and a joint rebel army of Bulgarians, Wallachians and Greeks captured a number of cities, but they were met with desperate resistance from Turkey and Albania***, and were soon again suppressed by the Turkish "Bashi-Bazok".

This time, the Turkish government was determined to exterminate the Bulgarian inhabitants in Thrace and Adrianople, which were too close to the imperial capital. Hundreds of Bulgarian villages were looted and burned, more than 5,000 were killed, more than 70,000 were displaced, and more than 30,000 fled to Bulgaria proper.

Troublesomely, in addition to the rebels and Turkish forces of the "internal revolutionary organization", the surrounding neighboring countries also took advantage of the chaos to send armed men, and these troops were no less effective than the Turks in killing foreign Christians.

Serbian "Chetnik" ("irregulars") attacked the Bulgarian "Comitadji" ("volunteers"), which in turn was killed by the other side; Like the Greek Andartes, both sides hunted down Albanians and Turks, while the Turkish authorities sowed discord among Christians.

The chaotic state of affairs in Macedonia has provided Russia and Austria with a pretext to intervene. In 1903, they demanded a series of administrative, financial, and security reforms to the Sultan's court, demanding that Turkey turn Macedonia into an independent autonomous province, divided into five districts, to be administered by the Great Powers. Skopje belongs to Austria, Thessaloniki to Russia, Sere to France, Derama to Great Britain, and Bitola to Italy.

The demands of the Great Powers on Macedonian autonomy were greatly alarmed by the Turkish authorities, which was the reason for the early uprising of the Young Turks.

The events in Turkey came as a great shock to the Bulgarian government and Archduke Ferdinand. They had intended to annex Macedonia through an uprising of the "internal revolutionary organization", and the implementation of constitutional reforms in Turkey would undoubtedly deprive Bulgaria of this opportunity. After the coup d'état in young Turkey, Bulgaria found that not only could not wait for the Macedonian fruit to fall naturally when it was ripe, but had to quickly pick it.

Bulgaria, on the one hand, engaged in intense preparations for war, on the other hand, decided to take advantage of the chaotic situation of the abolition of the Turkish Sultan to declare independence and completely break away from its vassalage to Turkey. But independence would mean tearing up the Berlin Treaty, which would be dangerous for Bulgaria. Coincidentally, Austria was to return Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkey after the end of its 30-year occupation (i.e., 1908) under the terms of the Berlin Treaty, and it did not want to do so, so the two countries came together and decided to tear up the Berlin Treaty in unison.

This was also the reason why Archduke Ferdinand secretly visited Vienna, and now news from home made the Archduke speed up his coordination with Austria-Hungary. The next day, Archduke Ferdinand had a secret discussion with the Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister Alois.

Ferdinand said in a big way, "We all need to support each other, and hopefully we can coordinate the time together to catch the Turks off guard." ”

"I agree with this, even if the strength is strong, it needs the least price." Seeing that Archduke Ferdinand was more direct, Prime Minister Alois also spoke directly.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister is very right, coordinating the two sides can reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles, so why not do it in our favor." Archduke Ferdinand agreed, and after a good conversation, the two sides reached an agreement that Bulgaria would become independent first, and Austria-Hungary would declare the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina two days later. It allows both parties to reduce external pressure.

After the agreement was reached, Archduke Ferdinand returned to Sofia and told the Prime Minister and a group of others about it. This greatly encouraged the Bulgarian government to discuss preparations for independence.

On 22 September in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Archduke Ferdinand formally declared Bulgaria's independence from the Ottoman Empire at the National Assembly. On the same day he officially proclaimed Bulgaria a kingdom to which he would become the new king.

After announcing the news of independence to the people, Archduke Ferdinand approached Prime Minister Alexander Malinov and told him one of his ideas. "I want to crown myself 'Tsar', which is my tribute to the early rulers of Bulgaria."

After listening to this, the prime minister thought for a moment and said. "This decision is a good idea, as long as we explain it to Russia, I believe they will not refute us with a title."

Hearing the Prime Minister's analysis, Archduke Ferdinand said with great satisfaction, "According to the agreement with Austria-Hungary, we declared independence on October 5. I would like to announce this news to the martyrs of the Forty Martyrs in Tarnovo at the Church of the Forty Martyrs. ”

"It was a wise decision that would make the people of the kingdom burst into a frenzy of patriotic fervor." Prime Minister Alexander Malinov admired the king's decision. This would make the people love their king even more, and for King Ferdinand's statement that being loved would strengthen his position in Bulgaria.

In St. Petersburg Nicholas II looked at the telegram, which Prime Minister Stolypin brought to him. It reads the message that Bulgaria will become an independent kingdom and hopes that the king will be crowned Tsar.

"We should congratulate Bulgaria on the news that we must now strengthen relations with Bulgaria, after all, if we do not approve of it, Austria-Hungary will not let go of this opportunity." Seeing that Nicholas II was silent looking at the telegram, Stolypin hurriedly explained the impact on Russia.

After all, the title of Tsar is now known to be unique to Russia, and it is no wonder that suddenly there is a nominal Tsar in many places, which can make Nicholas II happy. Soon a Russian message congratulating Bulgaria on its independence was sent to Sofia, and it was understood that King Ferdinand had been crowned 'Tsar'.

On October 5 in the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Tarnovo, King Ferdinand was officially crowned 'Tsar' and proclaimed the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence.