After reading the content of the covenant, Alexander III looked at Paul Shuvalov and said with a smile: "Count Paul, you have done a good job in negotiating with Bulgaria this time!" For a small price, we tied Bulgaria to the Russian carriage and planted a nail in the Balkans! ”

It is clear that Alexander III's aura is strong, at least Paul Shuvalov is a war in front of him, especially after Germany tore up the reinsurance treaty.

Don't think that being afraid of sycophants is the patent of the Big Apple, and Westerners are just as unreckless. Paul Shuvalov hurriedly said: "This is all the wisdom of Your Majesty the Tsar, who led Russia to prosperity and made the Bulgarians yearn for it; And the shrewdness and ability of Crown Prince Nicholas, I just do my part, it's not worth mentioning! ”

Alexander III seemed to have become accustomed to this, but smiled and did not refute.

After Count Paul had finished speaking, he said, "Well, don't say any more of these sycophants!" There's a conference on Bulgaria later, so stay and attend! ”

Count Paul immediately made a grateful face, this time sincerely. Since the rupture of German-Russian relations, he has been marginalized and has never participated in high-level meetings again.

This time the Tsar kept him at the meeting, which was clearly a good sign that he had a chance to return to the center of power.

……

In Gatchina, the palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, a meeting was held on the fate of Bulgaria.

Without cumbersome etiquette, Alexander III got straight to the point, saying: "I want to conclude a treaty with Bulgaria, you all know it!" Today's call to you is to determine our foreign policy towards Bulgaria for a long time to come! ”

(Note: Not all the main characters in the back are called official positions, and there are too many duplicate names for foreigners, and the author will also be dizzy.) For example, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia: Nikolai Gilles, who had the same name as Nicholas II, and many more! ）

As soon as Alexander III finished speaking, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said: "Your Majesty the Tsar, since we have decided to shift our strategic focus to the east, it is enough to maintain sufficient influence in the Balkans, and there is no need to invest too much energy!" ”

"But this is only time, Europe is the center of the world, we still have to come back in the future, and we cannot relax our infiltration into the Balkans!" The Secretary of War immediately objected

The Chancellor shook his head, then asked, "But our energy is not unlimited, is it?" The finances of the empire cannot support us on two fronts at the same time, and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway has just begun, which has already taken up a lot of our funds! ”

"In the short term, we will shrink in Europe, so that we can devote more energy to the East, and when the plan of Imperial Russia is completed, it will not be too late to return to Europe, when our national strength will be even stronger, and the Balkans will not be able to stop the pace of the empire!"

……

Then the leading dignitaries of the Russian Empire got involved and began a war of words, with Count Paul standing aside without saying a word.

Seeing the noise below, Alexander III noticed Paul Shuvalov, who was watching from the sidelines.

Now Alexander III, who has not been very interested in politics since the beginning, has deviated from today's topic by hearing the more and more people talk about it. "Ahem" coughed, and then said, "Okay, everyone, be quiet!" Count Paul has just returned from Sofia, and is familiar with the situation there, so let's hear his opinion first! ”

Paul Shuvalov was shocked in his heart and shouted that it was not good, and now he opened his mouth at this time, isn't this taking sides!

The Russian Empire was now divided into Eastward and European factions, as well as Centrists. Oh, and that's not all.

The Eastward Movement was further divided into: the Far Easterners, who advocated expansion to the Far East; the Hindu faction who advocated entering Afghanistan and then expanding into India; and the Central Asian faction, which advocated Ottoman expansion into Central Asia.

There were also factions in Europe, the Balkans who advocated expansion into the Balkans; the Nordics, who advocated expansion into Northern Europe; There were even radicals who advocated expansion to Austria-Hungary.

It's messy, it's varied, and of course there isn't so much chaos at the top of the government, mainly the Far Easterners and the Balkans, and there aren't so many brain-dead ideas.

Having suffered a setback in their expansion in Europe, the Russian Empire was now dominated by the Far Easterners, who had the support of Crown Prince Nicholas.

Hearing Alexander III's question, Paul Shuvalov immediately spoke: "Your Majesty the Tsar, from what I can see, the Bulgarians are mostly pro-Russian at the moment, which shows that our long-term penetration in the Balkans has been successful!" ”

"And in recent years, Bulgaria's economy has developed rapidly, but it has poor resources and a lack of labor. Now Bulgaria is moving closer to the empire, and the reasons for this are also the main factor. If we continue to export resources and labor to them, we will be able to take control of Bulgaria economically in a few decades. ”

Paul Shuvalov was still cautious, simply returning to the question of Alexander III, confined himself to Bulgaria and did not make a clear statement on the Balkan question, and at the same time showed a tendency to lean towards the Far East.

As soon as Count Paul finished speaking, Alexander III showed a strong interest. He was not very fond of war, and the cultural influence of economic control was just right for Alexander III.

Seeing the performance of Alexander III, everyone chose to shut up, and no one chose to challenge the authority of the tsar.

"So how long do you think it will take for us to take control of Bulgaria?" Alexander III looked at Paul Shuvalov and asked

Paul Shuvalov thought for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty, if everything goes well, in twenty years Bulgaria will be fully pro-Russian, and in thirty years we can even turn it into a grand duchy under the banner of the empire without blood!" ”

Sure enough, after listening to the words of Paul Shuvalov, Alexander III smiled with satisfaction.

Is twenty years a long time? Of course, that's enough time for a new generation to grow up! If it takes a generation to integrate a country, it is too short.

Why did the Russian Empire export Slavic culture to the Balkans? Isn't it just to assimilate the Balkan countries culturally!

Isn't it just right that Bulgaria is asking for immigration now? Those sitting here have already ignored the fact that the Russian Empire is not a nation, and even less than half of the main nation. How much affection will immigrants have for the Russian Empire, who are also the majority of other nationalities and have been oppressed for a long time?

"Well, if you have no other opinions, then I will ratify this treaty! The strategy of the future empire towards Bulgaria is to focus on political co-optation and economic and cultural infiltration! Alexander III asked in an affirmative tone

Of course, no one will object to this question, and the Eastward Advance faction naturally supports it, and the "Russo-Conservative Alliance" is still led by Crown Prince Nikolai, which is in line with their priority Eastern strategy; There is no reason for the Europeans to oppose it, and this does not affect their strategy; The neutrals continued to play soy sauce.

After Alexander III ratified the Russo-Bulgarian Alliance, the Russian government was rarely efficient, and the Foreign Ministry, together with the Bulgarian ambassador to Russia, made the announcement on Christmas Eve.