Edward VII of London, who was convening a diplomatic conference, received a diplomatic message from Bulgaria inviting the British Empire to participate in the mediation of the Second Balkan War.

"This Balkan war is coming to an end so soon?" Edward VII asked suspiciously

It is indeed a bit fast, the war between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire has been fought for more than two months, and there is still no result; It has been less than half a month since the outbreak of the Second Balkan War, and the two sides are about to prepare for negotiations, which is really unexpected!

The Foreign Minister explained: "Your Majesty, it is not so fast, and now there are two weeks left before the time given by the Bulgarians for negotiations, and in such a long time, many more things may happen!"

Bulgaria sent us an invitation in advance, nothing more than to counteract diplomatic pressure from the Allies, and I believe that the French and Russians also received it! ”

Edward VII thought for a moment and said, "Oh, well! It seems that our goal this time has been achieved, and the seeds of contradictions between Bulgaria and the Central Powers have been successfully planted!

It's just that I didn't expect the Germans to jump out so quickly, and they are afraid that this time they will be thankless! ”

After the younger brother asks for help, he will come out to help mediate, and he will take the initiative to mediate, and the harvest is often two different results!

If it is the former, you have helped, even if the younger brother still suffers a loss of interests, you will also reap the gratitude of the younger brother; If it's the latter, people's interests can't be satisfied, and it is estimated that people will suspect that you didn't do your best!

Now the situation is obvious, the Kingdom of Montenegro and Romania have not yet been defeated, if in the negotiations, they are asked to cede land or pay reparations, it is estimated that they will also be dissatisfied with the Germans!

However, Ferdinand's appetite this time was a little bigger, and he was ready to defeat the Romanians in talks, which can be regarded as helping the Germans invisibly!

"It's a pity that the Ottoman Empire hasn't collapsed yet, otherwise our gains would have been even greater!" The Foreign Secretary said with regret

Edward VII smiled slightly and said, "How good can the collapse of the Ottoman Empire do to Bulgaria?" Ferdinand was not stupid, how could he really fight with them?

On the contrary, I think Greece, Montenegro, and Romania are the real targets of Bulgaria in this war? ”

The Foreign Secretary asked incredulously, "Your Majesty, this is impossible!" How could the Bulgarians have known in advance that a second Balkan war was going to break out? ”

Edward VII proudly said, "Perhaps! But none of this matters, the situation is still under our control, as long as it does not affect our global strategy, even if something happens, it is acceptable! ”

He has the pride to be proud of himself, and at the beginning of his succession, Edward VII, who was over 50 years old, restored the British monarchy, which had been bleak due to Queen Victoria's long-term widowhood!

He was also the last real monarch of the British Empire, and since him, the successor has never been able to fully control the country!

……

Compared to the calmness of the British, the Germans are not good. There is no doubt that the pre-developed German strategy for the operation in the Near East has failed, and the Berlin government has had to appease in the face of Vienna's accountability!

True, this time it was the German military who made a mistake in judgment, overestimating the combat effectiveness of the Romanian army and underestimating the war potential of Bulgaria!

As for the Kingdom of Montenegro and Greece, the Germans did not expect much from each other. They mainly hoped that the Romanian Army, which had been trained by Germany, would be able to quickly break through the defensive line and achieve the strategic goal of weakening Bulgaria.

Wilhelm II is now worried, and failure has failed, Germany is also a big business, a local strategic failure, they can still hold on, the question is how to ensure that a few younger brothers get out!

The boss is not so easy to be, if you can't even keep the little brother, who will mess with you?

The problem is that now that you are losing on the battlefield too quickly, you have to have a bargaining chip if you want to negotiate, right? Now the two alliances are opposed, and the tiger power of the Triple Alliance cannot scare Bulgaria!

The new German Prime Minister Theobarden von Batemann Holwig said calmly: "Your Majesty, Bulgaria has agreed to our mediation, but they have asked for negotiations to be postponed to two weeks, and they will not stop until then!" ”

Theobaden von Batemann Holwig was a great and failed politician in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century (1909~1917 German Chancellor), who opposed the war between the two alliances and advocated diplomatic understanding with the British and rapprochement with the Russians.

Due to the opposition of Admiral Tirpitz, who was supported by Kaiser Wilhelm II, his negotiations with Britain on the issue of naval reduction failed.

Likewise, due to the opposition of the Nationalist nobles, the attempt to re-establish an alliance with the Russians failed!

After the Sarajevo Incident in 1914, he worked with British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray to confine the war to the Balkans, but the German High Command had the best decision-making power, and his proposal failed again!

In general, he was a failed politician, a failure of political reforms at home, and a failure of foreign policy!

There is no doubt that Theobaden von Batemann Holvay supported the creation of an anti-Bulgarian alliance, but he opposed war against Bulgaria (he believed that the most important effect of the opposition alliance was deterrence, not war) but failed!

After listening to the Prime Minister's words, Wilhelm II's face was very ugly, obviously he was very angry that Bulgaria did not buy it!

"Humph! Prime Minister, should we do something? Wilhelm II asked, trying his best to suppress his anger

Prime Minister Theobard von Batemann Holvay replied: "Your Majesty, it is better for us not to do anything now, even if we immediately negotiate an armistice, as a loser we will have to pay the price!"

But now the Kingdom of Montenegro and Romania are not dead set on and are making a last-ditch effort; The Greeks are gone, and it is not worth any more effort to protect them; As for the Ottoman Empire, I think it would be better to wait for their new government to come out and then negotiate! ”

Wilhelm II nodded helplessly, which was considered a tacit acquiescence. There is no way to have four younger brothers, one is abolished, and three still have to insist, and they don't want to stop fighting, what can he do?

As for Greece, which has been abolished, it is naturally not in consideration, everyone is very realistic in this era!

……

At this time, Ankara, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, was no longer calm, and the Turkish Shabaab could no longer hold it back!

In 1908, the Turkish Al-Shabaab took control of the garrison in Macedonia and staged a coup d'état in early 1909.

However, due to Ferdinand's butterfly effect, the Ottoman Empire moved its capital to the more conservative Ankara, and the development of the Turkish Al-Shabaab was also affected.

In Ankara, where the traditional aristocracy dominates, the influence of the Turkish al-Shabaab is much weaker, but the successive defeats on the battlefield and the continuous displacement of the Ankara region army to the front line have created opportunities for them.

…… (Religious beliefs, 50,000 words omitted here)

At the palace in Sofia, Ferdinand is meeting to discuss the implications of the Ottoman coup.

"Your Majesty, the Ottoman Empire has just had a coup d'état, and the old nobles who are unwilling to defeat will definitely fight back, this is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" War Minister Popov said excitedly

"Your Majesty, I think it is time to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire immediately, otherwise they may reach a compromise because of our intervention! Only when the war is over, can they rest assured that infighting! The Chancellor of the Exchequer objected

……

The Minister of War advocated the continuation of the war expansion, and he was supported by the Minister of the Navy, the Chief of the General Staff, the Secretary of War, and the Minister of Defence.

However, the army advocated continuing to attack the Asia Minor peninsula and turning it into Bulgaria's proper, while the navy advocated attacking the weak Ottoman regions of Jordan, Syria, and Kuwait.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer advocated an early end to the war as soon as possible, and this was supported by the Cabinet.

Well, the military advocates the continuation of the war, only in a different direction of attack; The government's opinion is very unanimous, and it will be accepted when it is good!

The final decision was thrown into the hands of Ferdinand again, intellectually speaking, it is the safest to take it when it is good now, anyway, the benefits this time are enough; But the potential gains from continuing the war were too tempting for Ferdinand to give up!

After all, if this golden opportunity is missed, until the outbreak of World War I, Bulgaria will not have a chance to do it again!