In Athens in June, the temperature gradually rises, with a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius, which is relatively hot even by the sea. Especially for Prime Minister Petkov, who is accustomed to the pleasant climate of Sofia, it is still a little annoying.

However, for Petkov, the heat of Athens was bearable, and besides, he did not come here for a vacation, but for a friendly visit to his neighbor.

"Ivanchev, do you think the Greeks will agree to our request this time?"

At this time, Prime Minister Petkov sat on the sofa with a big sting, untied his collar and exuded heat, and asked Foreign Minister Ivanchev, who looked like him. They had only met King George I of Greece before, and the conversation was going well.

"Prime Minister, this question depends on what the Greeks think, and we have talked to them many times, and each time we can't talk about it because of the belonging of Thessaloniki." On the topic of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Ivanchev had some headaches.

Facing the words of the Foreign Minister, Petkov said with a smile. "So here I am this time."

Of course, the prime minister also knows why the two countries cannot talk about an alliance over the belonging of Thessaloniki. Because Thessaloniki is so important, so important that no one wants to let go.

Thessaloniki is the largest port city in Macedonia, the most populous and economically developed city in the region, and an important trade and transportation hub in the region. There is one factor that is enough for the two countries to compete for, not to mention that Thessaloniki is still a combination of many factors, and it is a goal that the two countries cannot let go.

Therefore, in recent years, although Greece and Bulgaria have the will to form an alliance, when it comes to the belonging of Thessaloniki, this willingness can only end up in vain under the trend of interests.

And Petkov's words with such confidence aroused Ivanchev's curiosity. He did not know what panacea the Prime Minister could have to appease the ambitions of the Greeks.

And just as he was about to ask, he heard a knock on the door. Outside the door came the voice of the Bulgarian ambassador to Greece.

"Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Hon. Teotokis and Chaimis are here."

The sound outside the door immediately cheered up the two people in the room, and the two looked at each other and quickly sorted out their clothes. "Your Excellency, please come in."

"Good day, two of you!"

Greek Prime Minister Teotokis, who came in, greeted the two of them.

"Good day, Your Excellency Teotokis and Chaimis!"

After the guests of honor were seated, the visiting Greek Prime Minister Teotokis spoke. "I bring greetings from His Majesty the King of our country, and he is very grateful to your country for this friendly visit, and wishes you and us a better future in solidarity."

"Thank you for your greetings, and please bring back my greetings to King George, as long as we keep our interests aligned, then we will be invincible." Petkov replied in the same friendly manner.

Well, the two prime ministers are playing dumb riddles, one is saying that he is sharing the spoils after the first fight, and the other is saying that he is fighting after the talks.

It can be seen from the dumb riddle of these two that the differences between the two countries have not yet been resolved.

Capsules

Seeing that the Bulgarians still needed to distribute the benefits first, Teotokis said helplessly. "Your Excellency Petkov, at the moment there is a dead knot in the discussion of the distribution of benefits, Saloniki is inhabited by a large number of our people, and it is impossible for our country to abandon the city."

In the face of the Greek Prime Minister's remarks, Petkov said with a straight face. "Your Excellency Theotokis, your excellency should know about our country's needs for Mediterranean ports, and I cannot convince my people to accept the terms of an alliance that will not be available to Thessaloniki."

Well, now everyone is no longer mild-mannered, and they are considered shirtless.

"You see, the fact that you and I have never been able to agree on the question of the ownership of Thessaloniki is not good news for our two countries. You must know that the Turks are not easy to deal with, and if our two countries do not unite, then no one will want to regain the territory occupied by the Turks. ”

Teotokis said this, and Petkov also agreed. Don't look at Bulgaria all day long as a Balkan Prussian, but let it face the Turks alone, they are also unwilling. Not to mention, Turkey has a population of more than 30 million, Bulgaria has only more than 4 million, and Greece has only 2 million, which is far inferior to the Turks in terms of population.

Of course, war is not just about the population, but also about the number of troops, weapons and equipment, the level of training, the morale of the personnel, and so on. In comparison with these aspects, the Bulgarian and Greek armies are better than the Turkish army in terms of training level and morale, but the degree of good is limited, and it is far from being able to withstand the difference in the number of personnel.

Although the two countries have a much higher number of technical weapons such as artillery and machine guns per capita than the Turks, there is a big gap in the number of troops. At present, Greece has an army of more than 50,000 people, while Bulgaria has more than 70,000 people, and as their potential opponents, the Ottomans have 340,000 people, of which 180,000 are elite troops trained by German advisers, and their equipment and training level are no worse than those of Bulgaria and Greece.

Therefore, even if the two countries are united, they may not be able to fight if they don't fight hard.

However, although he was aware of the problem, Petkov did not believe that this could be a reason for Bulgaria to abandon Thessaloniki.

"Your Excellency Teotokis, in fact, your country has already earned it. Your country mainly dispatches its navy and can occupy its islands in the Aegean Sea. The total area of those islands is already more than 10,000, and with the land west of the Vardar River in South Macedonia, there are at least 20,000 new territories. At present, only South Macedonia east of the Vardar River can be occupied, plus most of Thrace, with a total area of only more than 30,000. And Constantinople is impossible for our country to get, and even the Thracian territory on the side of the strait is very likely not to be held, so our country is not much better than yours. ”

Petkov rationally analyzed the issue of the distribution of interests between the two parties.

However, Petkov's analysis did not impress the Greeks, only Teotokis retorted. "Your Excellency has carefully calculated the gains and losses of your two countries, the land west of the Vardar River is completely inferior to the east, the west is mainly hilly and mountainous, and the population is not as good as the east, this is not at all reasonable."

In the face of Teotokis's rebuttal, Petkov of course knew the gap between the two, and saw him answer confidently. "You're right, it's true. But have you ever considered that if your country does not cooperate with us, you will not be able to get the land west of the Vardar River?

It is important to know that our country does not necessarily have to cooperate with your country, Serbia or Romania may be potential partners for cooperation. As long as our country is willing to pay the price of part of its territory, I believe that the other side will be willing to join this just war to expel the Turks, and it is a big deal that our country will not consider the issue of the Turkish islands and only take South Macedonia and Thrace. ”

Petkov's words directly made Teotokis speechless. True, Bulgaria really has the possibility of abandoning cooperation with Greece. As for the Greek side, Bulgaria could not be bypassed at all, unless it could cooperate with the great powers. But which great power was willing to help the Greeks fight the Ottoman Empire?

The Italians are to blame, why they didn't choose Greece and let Bulgaria take advantage of it.

Teotokis was a little confused at this time, and he stood up and spoke. "Sorry, it's too hard to choose, we need to go back and talk about it."

"It's okay, anyway, I still have three days to go back, waiting for good news from the two of you."