"Good! Russia can support Bulgaria's expansion in the Balkans, but only to contain other powers, and we will not send troops directly! Nikolai had calmed down, and despite Ferdinand's luring promises, the success rate was low, and he didn't intend to invest too much.

Ferdinand, even though he knew Nikolai's intentions, didn't care, his true goal had been achieved!

For the sake of secrecy, the secret alliance with Russia must be a secret treaty, and the diplomatic impact will not be too great. Bulgaria can obtain sufficient mining resources and human resources from Russia to complete industrialization in a short period of time.

In the future, the international situation will change, Mao Xiong suffered a crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, has just recovered, and has just caught up with the world war. Mao Xiong Ben didn't have a chance to complete this strategy, and plans will always be plans!

Historically, Bulgaria was isolated in the Balkan wars and will cease to exist. Of course, it is still not clear that although the pro-Russian faction in Serbia came to power, now they are still the younger brothers of Austria-Hungary, and Russia has no room to choose allies at this time. (Note: In 1891, Greece was the territory of the British, and Romania had already signed a treaty with Germany and Austria.) ）

……

Ferdinand was deeply relieved that a preliminary agreement had been reached with Nikolai.

The biggest problem of Bulgaria's development has been solved, and the next step is to develop it in full force. We must seize the time and quickly throw off the Balkan countries in terms of national strength.

In the next negotiations, Ferdinand did not need to come out in person. Bulgaria is a luxurious version of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consisting of Konstantin and Chekov, among others, and the representatives of Russia are headed by Duke Ukhtomsky.

This could be good news for Bulgaria. Duke Ukhtomsky is not very familiar with him, he is the "civilian diplomat" who was active in St. Petersburg, Beijing, Shanghai, and Vladivostok.

He was a representative of the Russian Orientalists, who advocated strategic contraction in Europe, expansion to the Far East, and the establishment of "Yellow Russia".

Since Ferdinand and Nikolai had already had a showdown, there were no major differences between the two sides on issues of principle, so the negotiations went smoothly, and there were still some specific rules to be discussed.

Nikolai stayed in Bulgaria for more than a month, and saw that negotiations were still far away. Ukhtomsky was again the main figure in the attaché and could not leave him behind, which seriously affected his plans for the east.

"Mr. Ukhtomsky, can you speed things up a little more? It's been more than a month, and it's only half done! Nikolai urged, as usual

"Your Highness, we are already making fast progress, but we are stuck on the details!" Ukhtomsky explained

When Nikolai heard this, his face changed, and he said a little angrily: "It's stuck, could it be that there is something wrong with the Bulgarian side and wants the lion to open his mouth!" ”

"Oh, it's not! Just some ordinary business negotiations, normal bargaining? Ukhtomsky hurriedly explained that as the vanguard of the eastward expansion, he did not want anything to happen and affect the eastward expansion strategy of the empire.

Nikolai's face softened slightly, and he asked a little depressed: "Then how long will it take to finish?" ”

Ukhtomsky hesitated: "It's hard to say! Normal business negotiations are very troublesome, there are too many industries involved, and you can only talk one by one, and you have to find all kinds of information, so it is difficult to say how long it will take to complete! ”

Nikolai was taken aback, and suddenly understood, and a bold idea suddenly popped up in his mind, "Since it is an ordinary commercial agreement, why don't you just sign a draft first, and the specific rules will be taken over by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later." ”

He said: "Mr. Ukhtomsky, simply sign the peace treaty that has already been negotiated, and hand over the negotiations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take over!" ”

"Your Highness, this is not good! If we hand over like this, it will be difficult for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do the work behind it, and it will be difficult for them to grasp that degree! Duke Ukhtomsky has entered the state and said dutifully.

Nikolai said freely: "It doesn't matter, you can explain to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and release some goodwill appropriately, anyway, as long as the zero tariff agreement is signed, the Bulgarian market has been fully opened to us, and some details are not important at all!" ”

"Alright then!" Ukhtomsky thought about it for a while, or the eastward expansion strategy is more important, and the slight benefits of the Balkans are not worth mentioning compared to this aspect.

Nikolai still doesn't know how much damage this hasty decision will bring to Russia in the future, and he probably doesn't care if he knows.

Before leaving, Ferdinand gave a large gift, including a huge cheque for half a million pounds.

It can be regarded as soothing Nikolai's injured heart, up and down one by one, and taking people short, so Nikolai's release of some kindness has been infinitely magnified.

Then, amid laughter, Nikolai left Bulgaria and stepped into his next stop, Greece.

The official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who arrived from St. Petersburg in charge of taking over, Paul Shuvalov, was somewhat confused, St. Petersburg demanded to fight for the interests of the empire as much as possible, and the crown prince's order was exactly the opposite!

Paul Shuvalov is now in a difficult situation, he was originally the ambassador to live in Germany, but he was unlucky. It happened to coincide with Wilhelm II's tearing up of the German-Russian Reinsurance Treaty, and then he was removed from his post and is now demoted to Bulgaria.

St. Petersburg's orders cannot but be carried out, and the crown prince cannot be offended, and his current position is still coincidental. Just to win over Bulgaria, a person with sufficient status is needed to be the ambassador.

At this time, an uninvited guest solves the problem for him, and Nicolai's close attendant Smith Wiki arrives. I had received the benefits sent by Ferdinand before, and I pretended to be sick and stayed.

……

Paul Shuvalov asked incredulously: "Mr. Smith, does the crown prince really say that?" ”

"Of course! You can send a telegram and ask, am I going to lie? Mr. Paul Shuvalov, the first negotiations were between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke of Bulgaria in person. Some of these agreements are dense, and these concessions are included in the class, which is not clear to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! Smith-Wiki is absolutely certain

Paul Shuvalov was startled, cold sweat came out, why was this unfortunate thing touched by himself again? "Secrecy" is not even clear to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, can you still ask?

As for the truth of the matter, he had no doubts! Nikolai's telegram to him clearly asked for the release of goodwill, isn't it understandable, but I didn't expect such a big concession!

After thinking about it, Paul Shuvalov finally decided to do it, he had just been cheated by the Germans, and now he was afraid. Anyway, at most, it will harm the interests of the country, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can use Nikolai's telegram to make a difference.

"Well, I understand what to do, Mr. Smith, thank you for your guidance, otherwise it will be troublesome to disrupt the layout of the crown prince!"