Vienna was once again in the spotlight of the world, and in order to take out the Germans as soon as possible and end the war, the Allies offered new conditions to the Austro-Hungarian government to win them over.

Of course, this was only a condition set by Britain and France, and the conditions of Bulgaria have never changed, and it is impossible to spit out the meat that has already been eaten in the stomach.

Ferdinand II still inherited some diplomatic talents from the old emperor, and decisively seized the present opportunity to bargain with the Entente.

Ferdinand II looked at the Foreign Secretary and asked eagerly, "How is it, have the Entente agreed to our terms?" ”

Leopold. Feng. Bechtold's expression was a little complicated, mixed with joy and a little helplessness. After a moment of silence, he replied: "Your Majesty, the Entente countries do not agree on our request to preserve national sovereignty.

The French have already agreed to our demands and will do their best to persuade the Russians to make concessions; The British also promised that they would support our demands, but there was no guarantee that the allies would agree!

The Bulgarian government says they can acquiesce in our actions, but we recognize that the sovereignty of the Balkans belongs to Bulgaria and that they will not give up the Transylvanian plateau!

As for the Russians, they made territorial claims to areas such as Austrian Poland, Hungary and Bohemia, and the negotiations could not proceed because their asking price was too high. ”

Now as soon as Austria-Hungary defected, the biggest problem of the Bulgarian army attacking the German mainland was solved, so the French were the most positive in trying to win the Vienna government into the Entente, while the Russians were the most resistant!

Ferdinand II said with some disappointment: "It seems that the Entente does not attach as much importance to us as we estimated before, and neither Bulgaria nor Russia will make concessions, right?" ”

Leopold. Feng. Bechtold thought for a moment and said, "Yes, Your Majesty! Although our decision is related to the outcome of this war, for the two countries, no matter what decision we make, it will not change the outcome of the Entente's victory in this war!

As for the losses of the French, they did not care, and now even if the Germans conquered Paris, they would not be able to annihilate the main forces of the Anglo-French army.

Therefore, in the eyes of the two countries, even if the German offensive on the Western Front was successful, it could not change the outcome of this world war, and they naturally refused to make concessions!

The British have always had a national policy of keeping the European continent in balance, and although they will support us, they think that our conditions are too high for the two countries to accept, and they do not intend to intervene! ”

Conrad, the chief of the General Staff, suddenly spoke: "Your Majesty, the French are not really at the moment of life and death now, there are still more than 200,000 French troops in the suburbs outside Paris, as long as they can hold off the Germans for a few days, they will buy enough time for the Anglo-French army to reinforce Paris!"

I don't think the Germans will be able to storm Paris in a short time, as long as the war drags on and the Bulgarian army appears in southern Germany, the Germans will be finished!

Although limited by logistical supplies, if Dante Kristof only maintained a combat force of 700,000 or 800,000 men on the front line, they could still be transported through Italy or Austria.

With more than a million Bulgarian troops acting as food convoys, I don't think we will still be able to cut off their supply lines!

And these seven or eight hundred thousand troops, once they enter the territory of Germany, are enough to turn South Germany upside down, and if the Germans do not transfer troops from the front, they can even fight all the way to Berlin!

This time Bulgaria was willing to make great efforts to help the French, in addition to the benefits promised to them by Britain and France, and also to snatch the spoils of war.

Therefore, we are indeed valuable in the eyes of the Bulgarian government now, but this value is not enough for them to give up the benefits they have already made to win us over!

As for the Russians, I think there is no need for contact at all, and if the Germans can break through Paris, it should be a bigger piece of good news for St. Petersburg than our defection! ”

Conrad's words shattered Ferdinand II's illusion that he wanted the territorial integrity of Austria-Hungary on the premise that Austria-Hungary could influence the outcome of the war.

But the reality is that the Austro-Hungarian defection can allow the Entente to end the war early, and at the same time allow the French to reduce some losses, as for other aspects, the impact is very limited!

Ferdinand II pondered for a while, and said fiercely: "Well, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reach an agreement with the Entente as soon as possible, and the bottom line is to keep the territory that is still under our control!" ”

It is impossible not to make concessions, and once the Paris crisis is resolved, they will not even have a chance to negotiate terms.

And there are also the lessons of the Italians, so they can't help but worry, in case the asking price is too high to negotiate, and the Entente countries regret it later, they are also powerless!

Is it possible that Bulgaria and Russia will join forces to carve up Austria-Hungary? In Ferdinand's view, Austria-Hungary was a complete quagmire, but in the eyes of the outside world, it was in the interests of both sides that Bulgaria and Russia joined forces to carve up Austria-Hungary!

After all, it is clear from the map that once Austria-Hungary is partitioned, the Russians will receive Austrian Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia (including the Czech Republic and Slovakia), while Bulgaria will receive Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria.

This benefit is much greater than the value of all the territories of Bulgaria except the Balkans combined, and the most direct benefit is that the total industrial volume of Bulgaria has directly increased by four layers, and the economic volume has directly increased by half, directly surpassing the French!

Although the benefits are huge, they contain highly poisonous! If the time had been advanced by another hundred years, Ferdinand might not hesitate to choose to divide the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the Russians, but forget it for now!

The current national problem of Bulgaria alone is enough to annoy him, if he eats half of Austria-Hungary again, it is estimated that he will not have to do anything in the future, and he will find a way to carry out national integration every day!

Although Ferdinand had no interest in Austria-Hungary, it did not mean that there was no agreement between Bulgaria and Russia to divide Austria-Hungary.

To put it simply, this agreement was a sword of Damocles hanging over the head of the Vienna government, and they were so scared that they had to jump ship! After all, this agreement will not become a reality only if they join the Entente and everyone becomes allies!

In fact, there are many similar agreements, such as the agreement between Bulgaria and France to divide the Italian peninsula, and even an agreement for the Entente to jointly divide Germany.

These agreements all have one thing in common, that is, they are difficult to achieve, but everyone still signed them, and the purpose is very clear, which is to increase their leverage in the post-war negotiations!

If, for example, Italy rejects the terms of the two countries in the future negotiations, and the bottom line is still far from agreeing, then the agreement could be set in motion.

After all, the two countries have joined forces, and in terms of strength, it is possible to carve up Italy, and even if the British want to intervene, it will be a big deal to share him!

This is what is used to scare the Italians, but this threat is not necessarily a threat forever, and he still has the possibility of becoming a reality!

Obviously, Ferdinand II did not intend to test the determination of the two countries to protect Russia, even if there was insider trading in secret, but in the face of interests, he still did not dare to try.

……

In the palace of Sofia, Foreign Minister Metev said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the French ambassador to Bulgaria has just sent a diplomatic note, and they hope that we can let Austria-Hungary go and not continue to annex their territory!" ”

Ferdinand smiled and asked, "So, the French have already agreed with the Vienna government?" ”

Metyev replied: "From what we have information about me so far, yes! ”

After hesitating for a moment, Ferdinand smiled and said, "Tell the French that as long as Austria-Hungary recognizes our sovereignty over the Balkans and cedes the Transylvanian plateau, we will let them go!"

But war reparations are indispensable, and the Viennese government must pay a ransom if the Vienna government wants to recover the land we occupy! ”

Metyev calmly replied: "Your Majesty, I don't think the Vienna government will raise any objections to this question!"

The Balkans have already been eaten by us, and they must know that they can't take it back! And the Transylvanian plateau belongs to the Kingdom of Hungary, and if it can weaken the Kingdom of Hungary, they have no reason to object! ”

As for the war reparations, Metevti did not mention them, this is a European practice, there is nothing to say at all, the Vienna government will not refuse to pay the reparations, and the dispute between the two sides is nothing more than the amount.

"Hmm!" Ferdinand

Looking out the window, Ferdinand suddenly asked, "You say, if we ask Austria-Hungary to assume the debt owed by the Bulgarian government to the French, how likely is it that the French will agree?" ”

Metev didn't answer immediately, but asked with some surprise: "Your Majesty means to let Austria-Hungary pay us off~ the debt between us and the French, right?" ”

Ferdinand nodded and said, "That's right, now we owe the French more than 12 billion francs, and the war reparations that Austria-Hungary has paid us this time will definitely be more!"

Just let Austria-Hungary pay this debt for us, and then deduct it from their war reparations, so that we can also save a formality! ”

Metyev was given a lot of light by Ferdinand's whimsical proposal. You must know that in this era, international loans are not just about loans, but also contain many political interests!

For example, before Bulgaria owed the French a huge foreign debt, the French financially influenced the position of the Bulgarian government through loans, and in international diplomacy, Bulgaria did not fail to raise the flag for the French, and even finally joined the Entente!

Now, if the debt relationship between Bulgaria and France does not exist, then the French will no longer want to influence Bulgaria's domestic and foreign affairs through loans!

Metev shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's hard to say, if the French want to continue to maintain their influence on us, I'm afraid they won't agree, unless we ......"

Suddenly, Metev found that the French were now likely to agree, after all, the war had now reached the outskirts of Paris, and the cost to France for every day that the war lasted was incalculable.

At this time, they needed Bulgaria the most, and if Ferdinand's request was refused, then the Bulgarian army's attack on southern Germany could become a distant event.

The lesser of both worlds and the loss of financial influence in Bulgaria will not have much impact on France, but if the war continues, it will really threaten the very roots of France!

After a pause, Metev said, "Your Majesty, we can try it now!" Even if we fail, we have nothing to lose, and if we succeed, then we have one less foreign debt on our shoulders! ”

"Hmm!" Ferdinand replied satisfied

Then Ferdinand fell into deep thought, if this time he succeeded, dumping the foreign debt owed to the French to Austria-Hungary, would it be possible to transfer the debts of the British and Americans as well?

On the face of it, the transfer of these foreign debts was only an attempt to get rid of the financial influence of various countries on Bulgaria.

But the deeper reason is clear to only Ferdinand himself, after the world war, all the defeated countries had to pay huge war reparations, and with their post-war economic situation, they simply could not afford to repay so many debts.

What should I do if I don't have money to pay my debts? The answer is obvious: default!

Whatever you do, they don't have the money to pay off their debts anyway, unless Bulgaria can also learn how the French can recover their arrears and send troops over to rob them.

Historically, the French methods were actually very effective, but unfortunately they encountered an economic crisis, whether it was machinery or minerals, they could not use it in the economic crisis!

Then, the French government got into the water and returned these directly to the Germans, allowing Hitler to restore the German economy with these belongings, and then started World War II.

It can be said that if the French government at that time insisted any longer, that is, if they did not withdraw their troops from the Ruhr area, the Germans would not be able to help them.

At that time, subject to the Treaty of Versailles, the German army was only 100,000 people, and even heavy weapons were restricted, and they did not have the strength to fight with them at all.

As long as the Germans hold the heavy industrial area of the Germans and do not let go, without the support of heavy industry, Germany is a toothless tiger, even if Hitler comes to power, it is useless?

With the lessons of history, this pit Ferdinand naturally wants others to jump!

Due to his butterfly effect, the losses of Britain and France in this world war were much smaller than in history, even if they had a little more money, compared with the huge war funds, it would be a drizzle!

……