Time flies, and in a flash it is October. Ferdinand was still intoxicated by the joy of being a father, and now he was happy with everyone.

"Grand Duke, this is an invitation from Mentnegro, Nicholas I invites you to attend the founding ceremony of the Kingdom of Montenegro." Foreign Minister Metyev said

Ferdinand laughed and said, "It seems that Nicholas I was really an impatient!" There was no waiting for a moment, and now the situation in Mentenegro was not as good as it seemed on the surface, and Austria-Hungary was already interested in them.

Forget it, I'm still not going. It's better to do less to declare the army and seize the master, refuse it for me, and your Ministry of Foreign Affairs can send a representative to participate. ”

Declaring the army to seize the throne was just an excuse for Ferdinand, mainly because he was timid. In the soon-to-be-established Kingdom of Montenegro, there are many people who are dissatisfied with Bulgaria, and if someone holds a grudge and gives him a peanut, it will be a tragedy!

However, he was still surprised by the performance of Nicholas I, who was too eager to establish the Kingdom of Montenegro, which was not in line with his usual steady style.

"By the way, Nicholas I is in such a hurry to establish the Kingdom of Montenegro, does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs know what's going on?" Ferdinand continued to ask

Metyev thought for a moment and said: "Grand Duke, it seems that Nicholas I can't wait, our growth has greatly reduced their status in the eyes of the Russians.

And some time ago, after Nicholas I's support for Serbia was exposed, he was retaliated against by Austria-Hungary, and now Mentenegro is desperately hoping to establish the Kingdom of Montenegro, in order to promote the next step of reform, improve the morale of the people, and resist the pressure brought by Austria-Hungary! ”

Ferdinand nodded in approval. After Serbia became a semi-colony of Austria-Hungary under his butterfly effect, Nicholas I now had to face much greater pressure than in parallel time and space.

Now the soon-to-be-established "Kingdom of Montenegro" has been surrounded by Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, and strategically the way to their development has been blocked.

The outbreak of the Serbian uprising allowed Nicholas I to see the light of day, and it seemed that the annexation of Serbia became their only hope!

All of the above was made up by Ferdinand's own brain. At this time, Nicholas I had already begun to regret how Austria-Hungary was also the fifth largest power in the world today, and it was not something that the little Mentnegro could afford to provoke!

Ferdinand wanted to add to Austria-Hungary, but he didn't dare to take action in person, and let Nicholas I come out to take the cylinder, just for fear of Austro-Hungarian retaliation.

This question also starts with the Serbian Revolution, with the support of Nicholas I, the Serbian rebel army finally supported it, and also defeated the Austro-Hungarian army many times.

Now that most of the Serbian countryside is under the control of the rebel army, the Vienna government has repeatedly increased its troops in Serbia, in addition to the first five divisions, six more divisions have been reinforced, and the situation in Serbia has been stabilized!

After paying so much price, the Vienna government naturally would not let go of the initiators, so the soon-to-be-established "Kingdom of Montenegro" was subjected to a total economic blockade by Austria-Hungary!

The "Kingdom of Montenegro" was originally the most economically backward small country in the Balkans, and it did not have railways of its own. Poor transportation prevented the small Yugoslav country from exploiting its wealth – minerals, forests.

In this semi-feudal country, economically, foreign capital dominated.

Austria-Hungary, in particular, monopolized more than three-quarters of Montenegro's export trade and more than half of its imports.

Ferdinand also knew that if the future did not change, British capital and Italian capital would follow.

The Kingdom of Montenegro is also the hardcore little brother of the Russians in the Balkans, and the Russians have saved their bad finances from bankruptcy many times!

According to Ferdinand's just-concluded Balkan War, all the funds received by Nicholas I for the war were provided by the government of St. Petersburg.

Especially after the economic blockade of Austria-Hungary, the life of the Kingdom of Montenegro was even more difficult. Austria-Hungary not only blocked their land trade, but also sent its navy to blockade the Adriague, and their sea lanes were cut off.

With the exception of Bulgaria, the foreign trade routes of the Kingdom of Montenegro were all cut off by Austria-Hungary.

Although the territory of the Montenegrin Kingdom that is about to be established has more than doubled, the import and export trade volume is less than half of the previous one, especially the export trade!

Affected by this, Nicholas I had to change his long-standing foreign policy and take the initiative to start repairing Bulgaria in order to preserve this only lifeline of foreign trade.

Since the Balkan War, relations between the two countries have begun to warm up sharply, and of course the Russians have also played the role of mediators in it, otherwise Ferdinand's temperament will definitely kill Nicholas I.

"How's the preparation for the ceremony?" Nicholas I asked

The Prime Minister replied: "All preparations are in place to ensure the normal operation of the ceremony on October 15!" ”

Nicholas I then asked: "Which of the invited guests will be present in person?" ”

The prime minister explained: "Due to the tight schedule, most of the main guests we invited did not have time to come, so we ......"

Nicholas I interrupted: "Okay, you can just say which people of weight will come!" ”

The Prime Minister stood there awkwardly, half-ringing without speaking.

Nicholas I smiled bitterly: "There won't be a single person of weight who won't come, right?" ”

The prime minister nodded and said, "Due to the tight time, the main guests we invited could not arrive, and most of them sent representatives to attend!" ”

"What about the Russians?" Nicholas I asked with concern

"The Russians will send Count Paul as a representative to this ceremony." said the Prime Minister

Nicholas I asked: "Is it the ambassador to Bulgaria, Paul Shuvanov?" ”

"Yes!" The Prime Minister replied in the affirmative

"Who are the representatives of Bulgaria?" Nicholas I continued to ask

The prime minister was a little embarrassed and said, "This one has not yet been decided." ”

Nicholas I nodded, knowing that the Russians had sent Count Paul Shuvanov, apparently to reconcile the kingdoms of Montenegro and Bulgaria, and even to promote an alliance between the two countries to counter Austria-Hungary in the Balkans.

However, due to the previous foreign policy of Nicholas I, which was pro-Serbian, and he had repeatedly struggled with Bulgaria diplomatically, the Bulgarian government now does not have a good impression of the Kingdom of Montenegro.

If there was no reconciliation without the Russians, Nicholas I still suspected that Ferdinand would blockade Montenegro with Austria-Hungary, or even divide the kingdom of Montenegro together!

Affected by this, now the Kingdom of Montenegro has hugged the thighs of the Russians tightly, and looks like a loyal little brother.

Well, Nicholas I completely guessed Ferdinand's thoughts, and the reason why he did not ally with the Kingdom of Montenegro was mainly for fear of being pitted by his pig teammates.

What if one day the Montenegrin Kingdom gets into the water and fights with Austria-Hungary?

Ferdinand did not think that Bulgaria was a rival to Austria-Hungary, even with the addition of Montenegro.

This is not the same as his alliance with Russia, even if he is really dragged into the war, the strength of the Russians is strong! Now Germany has not yet broken out, the military strength of the Entente is still slightly stronger than that of the Central Powers, and the military pressure on Bulgaria is not great.

So the "alliance of black protection" that Nicholas I had been expecting was impossible to build!

Time passed in a hurry, and the Kingdom of Montenegro was successfully established, but there were some shivers on the scene, and there were a few people among the guests who came to attend the ceremony.

Fortunately, Nicholas I was able to give birth and had five precious daughters, allowing him to share the title of "father-in-law of Europe" with the King of Denmark.

His family always has to give face, and most of the sons-in-law came and supported the scene for him, otherwise this ceremony would really become a laughing stock.