In November 1911, Germany and France reached another compromise and signed the Franco-German Agreement.

Namely: the Germans recognized the French protectorate of Morocco, and the French ceded part of the Congolese possessions to the Germans.

Oh, and the Spaniards also picked up a bargain, and due to the confrontation between Germany and France, they tacitly accepted the Spanish occupation of northern Morocco, and later signed a treaty between France and Spain to recognize their respective spheres of influence.

Of course, at the cost of quelling this dispute, the French people have fallen again! Joseph-Cailliaud's cabinet, which had been in power for less than half a year, was ousted by the angry French people because secret negotiations with the Germans were exposed.

He was succeeded by Raymond Poincaré of the Democratic-Republican Party, undoubtedly one of the leaders of his main battle faction.

Raymond Poincaré went out to Lorraine on August 20, 1860, and advocated more active action against the Germans, simply put, to pull the Entente to take revenge on the Germans!

He believed that if France defeated Germany, they would be able to recover Alsace and Lorraine, and occupy the Saarland mines, and even further the Ruhr region!

The rise to power of Raymond Poincaré marked the dominance of the French warring faction and the inevitability of a world war.

Oh, and at this time the French had already occupied 35.9% of the territory of the African continent, and the colonies in Africa had surpassed Britain and Germany, ranking first.

France is now the second largest colonial empire in the world, with a total colony area of about 10.6 million square kilometers, 20 times the area of the French mainland, second only to the British Empire.

At the same time, with the rise of Raymond Poincaré, nationalism in France was further upsurged, and the neo-royalists, led by Moraes, instigated revenge against Germany, and portrayed Joseph Cailliaud and others, who pursued peaceful diplomacy, as French traitors!

Against this background, Bulgaria put forward a proposal to reopen the Entente Conference, reconcile internal contradictions, and strive for the unanimity of the diplomatic positions of all countries, which was naturally supported by the French!

Oh, the meeting of the pactists has not yet begun, but the negotiations on the protection of Russia have begun. In order to resolve the contradictions and hidden dangers between the two countries and to create favorable conditions for Bulgaria's future expansion, Ferdinand proposed to the tsarist government that the two countries hold high-level meetings and conduct in-depth exchanges in the strategic field.

In May 1912, Ferdinand took Queen Xenia to visit St. Petersburg again.

Oh, and since Nicholas II's only son, Alexei, fell ill with hemophilia, he has no appetite for travel, and seeking medical advice has become a part of Nicholas II's daily life.

Nicholas II was already envious and jealous of Ferdinand, who came to visit at this time, and his only son was still a sick son, while Ferdinand's six sons were all alive.

Of course, just think about it in your heart, if you really say it, Nicholas II doesn't have to mix in the aristocratic circle, and the relationship between the two royal families will be over.

No, according to the current Tsarist Russia's succession to the throne, a few small ones seem to be in the top ten. However, the aristocratic circle in Europe has always been very chaotic, and this kind of miscellaneous inheritance rights are even more chaotic, and the ranking of inheritance rights changes from time to time.

In addition to the status of the crown prince of Alexei Jr., including the succession of several daughters of Nicholas II, the inheritance may change at any time, simply put, Nicholas II has another son, and they continue to step back by one.

Oh no! Now they have not been canonized, theoretically the princess has no inheritance rights, and only after being canonized as a female archduke can she have the right to inherit the throne!

After attending the welcome banquet, Ferdinand was invited to hunt in the royal gardens.

Well, the hunt is fake, the secret talk is real! After all, there are a lot of eyes staring at them now, and once the news leaks out, it is likely to cause unnecessary trouble.

……

"Ferdinand, what is the purpose of your visit?" Nicholas II asked

Obviously, he didn't believe that just a strategic exchange required Prince Ferdinand to run and lie down, and he really thought that the king was very idle?

Ferdinand smiled and said: "The smell of gunpowder on the European continent is so strong, the two major alliances may fight at any time, Bulgaria can't dodge, so naturally you need to prepare in advance!"

The purpose of my visit this time is so obvious, you wouldn't guess? ”

Nicholas II laughed and said, "But don't you think that the war has not yet begun, and it is too early to talk about dividing up the spoils?" ”

"It's better to talk early than late! As much as you take, you have to make as many contributions, and you don't have to worry about it in the end, which hurts everyone's harmony and affects the unity of the alliance! Ferdinand said lightly

Well, Nicholas II also knew that what Ferdinand said was nonsense, nothing more than fearing that after the end of the war, Bulgaria's interests could not be guaranteed, and he wanted to use the treaty to make it clear in advance.

However, it is also in the interests of the Russian Empire, which would also be beneficial to the Russian Empire if both Russia and Bulgaria demanded the early division of the world, the delineation of the interests and obligations of each country.

Nicholas II was very self-conscious of the strength of the Russian Empire, and if a war broke out between the Entente and the Central Powers, the Russian Army would definitely be the main force, and the biggest cake would definitely be the Russians.

In fact, he was very worried that after the war, the three countries would join forces to squeeze out the Russian Empire. There is also a precedent for this kind of thing, and it is not once or twice that European countries have jointly squeezed out Russia.

Nicholas II thought for a moment and said: "Yes, it is indeed beneficial to the unity of the alliance to divide the responsibilities and obligations in advance and divide the benefits according to their respective contributions!" ”

Negotiations have never been a simple matter, and if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is allowed to negotiate, there is no need to negotiate a result without months of mutual testing.

Obviously, Ferdinand had no intention of slowly probing, and said directly to the point: "Now the world pattern is obvious, once a war breaks out, the Entente will almost win, and the distribution of interests after the war will also be carried out among our four countries."

For the sake of the traditional friendship between our two families, I think it is necessary for both sides to divide the scope of strength, try to avoid each other's core interests, and even if they can't avoid it, they must be coordinated as much as possible, so as not to let Britain and France take advantage! ”

Ferdinand's meaning is obvious, either Russia and Bulgaria continue to unite, or everyone is still an ally to jointly carve up Eastern Europe; Either they will part ways, and Bulgaria will have to follow Britain and France as its junior brother!

It is clear that the second scenario is not in the interests of both countries. Judging from the current situation, as long as Russia and Bulgaria continue to join forces, the partition of Eastern Europe will be a foregone conclusion.

If it's a-for-tat, it's hard for everyone to be empty!

"What do you want?" Nicholas II asked

Even if it is cooperation, it is still the Russians who occupy the initiative, which is determined by the strength of both sides.

Ferdinand said calmly: "I need your support for Bulgaria to unify the Balkans, colonize Asia Minor, and divide up some of the colonies of the Central Powers!"

In return, Bulgaria will support all your interests in this war! ”

Well, Ferdinand's conditions were not unexpected, and anyone with a discerning eye could see the Bulgarian strategy, which had been exposed since the end of the Second Balkan War.

I saw that Nicholas II shook his head and said: "No, the Black Sea straits are too important for the Russian Empire, we can't give it up!" ”

Ferdinand smiled slightly and said: "This is important only for now, after your country turns the Baltic Sea into an inland lake, the strategic value of the Black Sea Strait will also be reduced, and then it will be just a golden waterway!"

We can continue with the status quo, all ships in your country are free to navigate, Bulgaria will not charge customs duties, and your country's interests can still be safeguarded! ”

"What? Turning the Baltic Sea into an inland lake? Nicholas II's face changed and he exclaimed

This strategy, the Russians did not think about it, and even implemented it, but the enemy in the Baltic Sea is too strong.

But now that is about to change, once the Germans are defeated, will the remaining Denmark and Sweden still have the strength to prevent the Russians from breaking out of the Baltic Sea?

Strategically, the Baltic Sea seems to be more valuable than the Black Sea, and from the Baltic Sea is the Atlantic.

In contrast, leaving the Black Sea straits and entering the Mediterranean Sea is still a cage, but on a larger scale. The Russians wanted to pursue a maritime strategy, either by seizing Egypt and the British for control of the Suez Canal; Either go and grab ......

Forget this, it is even more unrealistic, this is the rhythm of single-handedly challenging the major European powers. Therefore, as early as the end of the 19th century, the Russians abandoned the strategy of breaking through from the Mediterranean in an attempt to achieve a strategic breakthrough in the Far East.

Ferdinand asked rhetorically, "Is there a problem?" If the Germans are defeated, don't tell me that Denmark and Sweden still have the courage to stand in the way of your country? ”

"Nope!" Nicholas II said confidently

Now that he has calmed down, the previous strategy of the Russians was based on the premise of the existence of Germany, once the Germans were defeated, the French would definitely weaken or even carve up the Germans, as long as the two countries expressed their support, the British could not do anything.

At that time, the imaginary enemies of the Russians in the Baltic Sea will only be Denmark and Sweden, and even if Britain and France will support them, they will not have the courage to jump out?

They were not Japan in the Far East, and they had the natural dangers of Siberia that prevented the Russians from investing in power. If they jumped out, they couldn't stand it in the face of a steady stream of gray animals!

Too far from God, too close to the woolly bear! This dooms the position of the two countries, and besides, the relations between the Russians and Denmark are still very friendly, and the possibility of confrontation between the two countries is almost none!

Ferdinand always believed that there was nothing between countries that could not be traded, and if there was, it must be that the interests were not big enough! When the common interests of both parties are large enough, the alliance is logical.

As a result, the Second Treaty of Protection-Russia was signed, and the Russians had a much greater appetite than Ferdinand had imagined, and in addition to their interest in Eastern Europe, they were also interested in the Ottomans in Central Asia.

Even in order to realize their world strategy, Nicholas II once again proposed the creation of a military alliance to counter the Anglo-French alliance that might arise after the war.

Oh, this is the "establishment of the Slavic Empire" proposed by Ferdinand in order to fool the Russians, and it seems that Nicholas II still has this in mind!

It's just that now the two sides are united to build an empire, just like the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, nominally a state, but in fact the major princes have enough autonomy.

Well, it's all empty promises anyway, and of course Ferdinand agreed. The two sides even agreed on a time for the establishment of a united empire within a year after the end of the war in Europe.

There was no doubt that Nicholas II would be the emperor of the new empire - Augustus, and Ferdinand also earned the title of Caesar!

Well, with a title for his son, he didn't bother to complain. In any case, both of these titles are full of Roman meaning, and it seems that the Russians are still not dead set on rebuilding the Roman Empire.