It's spring again, and Sofia is already in full bloom, but this year there are some exceptions, everyone is busy with the war, and there is not much mood to appreciate this sea of flowers.

For most people, spending time in the United States could not match the news of a victory on the battlefield, and as the situation of the world war gradually stabilized, the propaganda slogan of the Bulgarian government began to change.

"Fight for the national unity of Yugoslavia!" This new slogan is undoubtedly to everyone's liking, and it doesn't matter whether it will irritate Austria-Hungary or not.

After the victory of the winter offensive, the Russians had already shouted the domineering declaration of "fighting for the unity of the Slavic nations", and the whole world was taken aback, and unwittingly thought that the Russians were going to declare war with Bulgaria.

Then the tsarist government also found that the slogan was shouted too early, in case the secret treaty of Bulgaria and Russia was leaked in advance, it was estimated that the Slavic Empire had not yet been built, and the material aid from Britain and France would be gone.

Then two more words were added to it, and it became "Fight for the unification of the East and West Slavic peoples", and the momentum was weakened by half at once, and finally did not cause major trouble.

However, the unconscious actions of the Russians have been interpreted by Britain and France as an expression of ambition, raising the vigilance of the woolly bear.

To Ferdinand's laughter, Britain and France also hinted that Bulgaria could continue to expand on the European continent, with the obvious intention of deliberately creating contradictions between Bulgaria and Russia in preparation for the post-war world situation.

It is a pity that this was premised on the existence of the Russian Empire. Apparently in the war on the Eastern Front that had just broken out, the performance of the woolly bear had frightened Britain and France.

Now a new chess piece is needed to counterbalance them, and Bulgaria is the best option!

……

"Your Majesty, this is good news from General Popov, Üsküdar has been conquered, and it is expected that the Ottomans will lose the Great Plains of Constantinople in half a month." Chief of the General Staff Imya Dimityev said excitedly

The Ottoman Empire's agricultural production technology was very backward, and there was little progress compared to the Middle Ages, and if they lost the plains, their food production would be severely damaged.

Strictly speaking, the Great Plain of Constantinople is not accurate, it is composed of gently sloping hills and plains, and the natural conditions are superior to agricultural production.

It has always been the most elite place in the Mediterranean region and the most important granary of the Ottoman Empire, and Ferdinand simply ordered him to be the "Great Plains of Constantinople".

This is not the first time that this has been occupied, as early as the Second Balkan War, Bulgarian troops had occupied this land, but were forced to abandon it under pressure from the Great Powers.

"Well, this is really good news, send a congratulatory message to General Popov in the name of the General Staff, congratulating him on once again opening up a new living space for Bulgaria!" Ferdinand said with satisfaction

"Yes!" The Chief of the General Staff, Imya Dimitev, immediately replied

……

However, at this time, Admiral Popov's mood was not so good, the hint of this congratulatory message was too obvious, but it was very troublesome to implement.

"To open up a new living space for Bulgaria", then it means that this land can only be Bulgarian!

This "again" seems to be another one, which can be modeled after the old calendar! What was Bulgaria doing before? Repatriate the Ottomans directly, but where to throw them now?

The destruction of the Ottoman Empire has been a plan made by Bulgaria for a long time, and it must not be changed, and there is no place to repatriate it?

He now misses his time in Sofia very much, and he doesn't know what to do, he can go directly to King Ferdinand!

Now I definitely can't ask, it's obvious that this is the task of carrying the black pot, and as a qualified subordinate, you can't push it on the boss.

It's okay to dictate in person, it won't leave a trace, and if you send a telegram, forget it, in case you leave something, isn't it to touch the shadow of the greatest emperor in Bulgaria's history?

In line with the principle that "it is better to be happy alone than to be happy", Popov chose "it is better to be alone than to be troubled by all", and convened a meeting of high-ranking officers to find a way together!

A combat-ready army, often a gathering place for hawks, did not think so much about the consequences of a question that bothered Popov.

"Commander, I think the concentration camp is a good choice, haven't the Kingdom of Montenegro and the Greeks done it before? Send them all to the concentration camps and contribute to the construction of Bulgaria! Major General Nikolai Victoria, commander of the 76th Division, said domineeringly

"Yes, that's a good idea, the Ottoman Empire has done a lot of evil, it's time to make them pay!" The commander of the 31st Division, Merbuck, agreed

"Yes!"

"It's already cheap for them, and it's for God's sake that they didn't kill them all!"

"Shut up, they are all infidels, God will not favor them, they only deserve to go to hell!"

……

Listening to the rambling discussion below, Popov suddenly realized that it seemed like a wrong choice to let them come to the meeting. According to their ideas, these Ottomans are indeed not troublesome, and no matter how bad they are, they can be used as fertilizers.

But the question is, what to do politically? There were quite a few Ottomans of this generation, and as the most elite part of the peninsula of Asia Minor, there were three or four million Ottomans living in this area of 20,000 or 30,000 square kilometers.

If all of them were sent to concentration camps, Bulgaria would not have become the largest slave owner in the world, after all, these people have been dealt with like this now, so it will naturally be the same in the later period!

Considering that tens of millions of people entered the concentration camps, then did he Popov not become the "general of the camp builders"?

As for the proposal to wipe them all out, Popov simply chose to ignore them. He has long had the nickname of "General Butcher", and he has no psychological pressure to slaughter the Ottomans, the question is who can do it with so many people?

If you really want to kill all the way like this, the soldiers must not go crazy? Do you want the Indians to do it? As soon as this idea came out, he immediately dispelled it.

Suddenly, a major general Karlovina, the head of the Judge Advocate General's Office, said: "Commander, after we occupied this place, there are many ethnic minorities who have escaped the catastrophe, and they have complained to us about the atrocities of the Ottomans, and they want us to uphold justice. ”

Popov's eyes lit up, and he finally had a seemingly reliable proposal, so he asked: "Go on, what do you think?" ”

Major General Karlovina said in a dignified manner: "Commander, since there are people who need us to uphold justice, then we should come out and uphold justice, and give justice to the victims!"

We can open military courts, hear these cases in public, and impose heavy fines! ”

Popov shook his head and said, "But it's not much use, isn't it?" Even if we engage in the whole family, there is no way to deal with a few people reasonably? ”

Major General Karlovina said coldly: "No, Your Excellency Commander! If they really want to be investigated, most of these Ottomans will be involved, in addition to oppressing and slaughtering ethnic minorities, they are also guilty of blasphemy!

All we need is proof that they have committed these acts, and we can even invite the Holy See and the media to participate and convict them! ”

Everyone was shocked, didn't this become a religious war?

"No! They must not be criminalized in the name of religion, the political implications of this are too serious to be agreed to in the country! Popov said categorically

Yes, as long as Ferdinand hadn't gone mad, he probably wouldn't have done so. It's the twentieth century, and the aura of religion is fading, if it were a hundred years earlier.

In the short term, no one will feel that there is any problem, and the current international public opinion is still in the hands of "believers in God", and few people dare to jump out to oppose it.

The future will be different, the countries that will become independent will not be believers in God, and Ferdinand is not sure that they will be whitewashed in just a few decades, and if they are all hostile to Bulgaria because of this, it will be a big problem.

Major General Karlovina thought for a moment and said, "If this article does not work, then they can only be convicted for crimes against humanity!"

According to the information we have, in addition to massacring ethnic minorities, the Ottomans also engaged in cannibalism!

As long as this evidence is released and a batch of witnesses are found, this crime is enough to send most of them to prison! ”

"Very well, this is a good solution, we will put up notices in all the occupied areas, and let the world know that the perpetrators will be severely punished by the law!" Popov said with a domineering declaration

The fate of these Ottomans was decided, basically as long as they went to a military court, the serious circumstances were naturally the death penalty, and the lightest sentence was ten or twenty years, and then thrown into the mine, which was no different from the death penalty!

Popov is well aware that this is clearly nonsense, and what Major General Karlovina said is just an example, but what does this have to do with him? As long as it exists, anyway!

After processing by the media and magnifying the matter, it can be qualified, anyway, it is not complete nonsense, the Ottoman nobles can really do this kind of thing!

It's just that this estimate is hard to convince everyone, but it doesn't matter that the massacre alone can be called a crime against humanity, and there is no need to condemn everyone, just scare the Ottomans away.

That's right, according to the fanfare of this plan, the Ottomans are definitely going to run away. Otherwise, if they really go to court-martial, they can still count on these surviving minorities to be able to distinguish who participated in the massacre and who did not.

As for what will happen to these Ottomans after they escape, Popov doesn't bother to care, even if the Ottoman government organizes all of them to be cannon fodder, they must first be able to afford it!