The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, after receiving a telegram of protest from Ferdinand, Nicholas II laughed it off!

Oh, and that's not the point, the main thing is that the opportunity that the Russians have been waiting for for a long time has finally come!

Bulgaria asked the Navy to enter the war to cut off the connection between Constantinople and the peninsula of Asia Minor, and after more than half a month of artillery battles, the number of artillery shells in the Ottoman Empire has been reduced to a minimum!

At the same time, the Bulgarian artillery can also suppress the shore artillery of the Ottomans, after all, the Bosphorus is so wide, and it is not a problem at all for the two sides of the strait to bombard!

The Minister of the Navy said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the Navy is ready and ready to send troops at any time!" ”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed: "Shall we wait any longer? Or simply wait for the Bulgarians to occupy Constantinople and then send the navy, which would be safer? ”

The Minister of the Navy's heart fluttered, but he still said without changing his face: "I can't wait any longer, I have a lot of dreams at night!" According to the information we received, now the Ottoman Empire has ordered a batch of weapons and ammunition from the Germans, and as soon as they return home with this batch of weapons and equipment, we will be in big trouble! ”

The Minister of War hesitated, but decided to help, so he said: "Your Majesty, according to the judgment of the Front Observation Mission, we have now achieved an absolute superiority in firepower, but this superiority is based on the consumption of countless shells!"

From the beginning of the war to the present, Bulgaria has consumed almost three million shells, of which more than 80% have been consumed in Constantinople, including the hundreds of thousands of shells we have supplied!

Now every day that lasts, more than 100,000 shells have to be paid, and we can't hold it anymore, let alone Bulgaria!

According to the Mission's analysis, at most a week, we will be unable to supply the supply of heavy artillery ammunition! ”

In fact, now the Minister of War has to say, after all, most of the artillery shells to support Bulgaria are taken out of the army's ammunition reserves, as long as a small part is provided by the navy!

But the reserve of shells for heavy artillery is limited, and if it continues, it is easy to have problems!

As for what the problem is, of course, it is a moth in the Russian Army, which is likely to be exposed! In the Russo-Japanese War, the Russians were miserable by these people in the Far East!

Now the Minister of War doesn't want to lift the lid, otherwise he will offend more people! Anyway, after the Balkan War, they have a way to settle the account, and they can add a zero to the ammunition to support Bulgaria!

The words of the Minister of War immediately shocked everyone, and the consumption of this war has greatly exceeded everyone's expectations!

In less than two months, the Bulgarians have fired more ammunition than the Crimean War!

Of course, due to the different times, there is no comparison between the two sides!

Nicholas II asked puzzledly: "How did the Bulgarians have so much ammunition?" I remember that only a few years ago they fought with the Serbs, and their artillery was not very good! ”

The Minister of War began to flicker: "The main thing is that the Serbs are too weak, and they have not recovered since the first Bulgarian War more than ten years ago!"

In the Second Bulgarian War, Serbia also used a lot of weapons left over from the last war, and Bulgaria has just completed the reloading, and their Bulgarian 1891 rifle is comparable to our Mogan rifle!

There is a big gap in the weapons and equipment of the two sides, and the morale of the military is not at the same level, and the Bulgarian artillery does not have much opportunity to play!

Moreover, the 75mm field gun they are now in service is a new rapid-fire gun that spans the era, and it was only installed after the Second Bulgarian War!

This rapid-fire gun is also independently developed by the Bulgarians, judging from this aspect, the Bulgarians have reached the world's advanced level in some military fields!

In recent years, the Bulgarians have repeatedly expanded their arsenals, and now their army production capacity has surpassed that of the Italians, and it is also very high in Europe! ”

Nicholas II nodded, this situation is not uncommon in Europe, the emergence of military-industrial power among small European countries, Bulgaria is not the first, and the development of the military industry in Sweden and Belgium is also good!

"In that case, then the Navy should act immediately! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should pay attention to the coordination of relations with the Bulgarians, and do not make any more chaos at critical moments!

Kill the Sea of Marmara as soon as possible, take out the Ottoman navy, pocket the fruits of victory, and don't give the British a chance to meddle! ”

Obviously, Nicholas II was more worried about the British causing trouble for him, and this was the central reason for advocating immediate action!

In fact, the London government is also suffering now, and the Boers are really not so easy to deal with, especially since there is still a group of people in Europe who are working as wet nurses for them!

The British Empire dispatched five infantry divisions, and the performance of these lobster soldiers was really not very good, not only did they not take down the Boer Republic, but they were pressed and beaten by the Boer Wehrmacht!

Of course, the British will not admit this, and the Boer army also has volunteers from all over the world, so it would be more accurate to describe it as mercenaries!

Anyway, it is rich in gold and diamonds, and the Boer Republic lacks everything, but it is not short of money!

In the face of interests, even the brand of the British Empire is not easy to use!

As long as the profits are high enough, there is nothing that the capitalists dare not do!

This world lacks everything, but there is no shortage of outlaws!

At this time, the British are busy using diplomatic means to get the Germans and the French, and they don't have the energy to deal with the Russians for the time being, they can't take care of the Near East anymore!

Well, the Russians have never been fuel-efficient lamps, and in Central Asia and Afghanistan, Anglo-Russian conflicts have not been few, but they have been temporarily restrained for the sake of the Bosphorus!

The London government does not want to open a new front with the Russians in Afghanistan in the case of South African and German PK, North Africa and France!

……

With the participation of the Navy, this war has entered a new phase!

Ferdinand's protest still gained something, he still got part of the command of the navy, and the specific situation is specifically understood!

On June 8, 1897, the main force of the Black Sea Fleet set sail in the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, headed to Burgas to join the "Bulgarian Navy", and then swept towards the Bosphorus!

The Russians' discipline was really not very good, and for the sake of insurance, they didn't care whether they would be blamed, and they used the main force of the Black Sea Fleet to attack the Ottoman Empire directly!

Of course, they did not forget to change the flag, to cover it up, to indicate that the Russian Empire has not yet entered the war, these navies are Bulgarian and it has nothing to do with us!

As for whether anyone believes it or not, it doesn't matter, mercenaries have always been popular in Europe anyway! Although the navy is a mercenary is a bit different, but it is all a trivial matter!

After the Russian Navy approached the Bosphorus, it was soon discovered by the Ottoman Empire, and such a huge fleet could not be kept secret at all!

However, the Ottoman navy seems to have made up its mind to go to the end of the turtle! Ignoring the Russian Navy at all, trying to rely on the strait for defense!

……

At this time, the commander of the Ottoman Navy, Ahmad Pasha, was not in a good mood, his own family knew his own affairs, and now the Ottoman Navy really can't fight!

Without a few months of repair and maintenance, the weapons and equipment on the fleet have not yet been fully equipped; Most of the naval officers are in name, and now that they have been put on the ship, many people are still crying for their fathers and mothers; Not to mention the soldiers, the number of them is not even!

These problems have nothing to do with him at all! There has been no full appropriation for more than ten consecutive years, and the warships have become old antiques, and the combat effectiveness?

If it really had combat effectiveness, it would have killed the Greek Navy a long time ago! The tonnage advantage of several times did not take on the Greeks, let alone the Russians!

"Send a telegram to the Admiralty and tell them to quickly replenish our supplies, and we will rely on the Bosphorus to fight the Russians!"

An adjutant hurried over, handed over a document, and said: "Report, urgent letter from General Eder Pasha, request for fire support!" ”

Ahmed Pasha said lightly: "How many times is this? ”

The adjutant immediately replied, "It's the sixth time, but we haven't supported them again except for the first two!" ”

Ahmet Pasha nodded and said helplessly: "I still remember that in order to give them fire support, we also had two destroyers that were hit by Bulgarian artillery and are still being repaired!"

Tell General Eder Pasha that the Russian fleet has arrived, and we have limited ammunition and are unable to support them! ”