Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 142, Credit transfer?

Vienna once again became the focus of the world. In order to kill the Germans as soon as possible and end the war, the Allied Powers offered new conditions to the Austro-Hungarian government to win them back.

Of course, this is only a condition set by Britain and France. Bulgaria's condition has never changed. It is impossible to spit out the meat that has already been eaten.

Ferdinand II still inherited some of the old emperor's diplomatic talents, and decisively seized the present opportunity to bargain with the Allied Powers.

Ferdinand II looked at the foreign minister and asked eagerly, "How is it? Has the Allied Powers agreed to our terms?"

Leopold von Berchtold's expression was a bit complicated, and there was a bit of helplessness mixed with joy. After a moment of silence, he replied: "Your Majesty, the Allies do not agree on our request to safeguard national sovereignty.

The French have agreed to our request and will try their best to persuade the Russians to make concessions; the British also promised that they will support our request, but there is no guarantee that the allies will agree!

The Bulgarian government stated that they can acquiesce in our actions, but we recognize that the sovereignty of the Balkan Peninsula belongs to Bulgaria, and they will not let it out on the Transylvania Plateau!

As for the Russians, they have made territorial demands on Austrian Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia. Because their asking prices are too high, the negotiations cannot proceed. "

Now as long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire rebels, the biggest problem for the Bulgarian army to attack the German mainland will be solved. Therefore, the French are the most active in wooing the Vienna government to join the Allied Powers, while the Russians are the most resistant!

Ferdinand II was a little disappointed and said: "It seems that the Allied Powers don't value us as much as we estimated before. Both Bulgaria and Russia are unwilling to make concessions, right?"

Leopold von Berchtold thought for a while and said: "Yes, Your Majesty! Although our decision is related to the outcome of this war, for Bulgaria and Russia, no matter what we do None of the decisions made by the Allies can change the result of the Allied Powers winning this war!

As for the loss of the French, they don't care. Even if the Germans capture Paris now, it is impossible for them to annihilate the main force of the British and French coalition forces.

Therefore, from the perspective of Bulgaria and Russia, even if the German offensive on the western front is successful, it will not change the outcome of this world war, and they will naturally refuse to make concessions!

The British have always had a national policy to keep the European continent in balance. Although they will support us, they think our conditions are too high, Bulgaria and Russia will not accept them, and they do not plan to intervene! "

Chief of Staff Conrad suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the French have not really reached the moment of life and death. There are more than 200,000 French troops in the suburbs outside Paris. As long as they can hold off the Germans for a few days, It bought enough time for the British and French allied forces to reinforce Paris!

I don't think that the Germans can conquer Paris in a short period of time. As long as the war drags on and the Bulgarian army appears in southern Germany, the Germans will be finished!

Although subject to logistical supplies, if Dante Christoph only maintains a combat force of 700,000 to 800,000 people on the front line, they can still complete the transportation through Italy or Austria.

There are more than a million Bulgarian troops acting as food convoys, and I don't think we'll be able to cut their supply lines yet!

And once these 700,000 or 800,000 troops entered the territory of Germany, it would be enough to turn South Germany upside down. If the Germans did not transfer troops from the front line, they could even fight all the way to Berlin!

This time Bulgaria is willing to make great efforts to help the French. In addition to the benefits promised to them by Britain and France, there is also the looting of spoils.

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

As for the Russians, I don't think there is any need for contact at all. If the Germans can break through Paris, it should be more good news for St. Petersburg than our defection! "

Conrad's words,

Broken the fantasy of Ferdinand II, he wants the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is based on the premise that the Austro-Hungarian Empire can determine the outcome of this war.

But the reality is that the defection of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can allow the Allied Powers to end the war early, and at the same time reduce some losses for the French. As for other aspects, the impact is very limited!

Ferdinand II pondered for a while, then said harshly: "Well then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reach an agreement with the Allied Powers as soon as possible. The bottom line is to keep the territory that is still under our control!"

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

And there are lessons learned from the Italians, so they can't help but worry, if the asking price is too high and the negotiation is completed, and the Allied Powers go back later, they will also be powerless!

Bulgaria and Russia join forces to carve up the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is this possible? In Ferdinand's view, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is a complete quagmire, but in the eyes of the outside world, it is in the interests of both parties that Bulgaria and Russia join forces to carve up the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

After all, it is known from the map that once the Austro-Hungarian Empire is divided, the Russians can obtain Austrian Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia (including the Czech Republic and Slovakia), while Bulgaria can obtain Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.

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

Although the benefits are huge, they are highly poisonous! If the time had been advanced a hundred years earlier, Ferdinand might have chosen to carve up the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the Russians without hesitation, but forget it now!

The current ethnic problems in Bulgaria alone are enough to annoy him. If he eats up half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he probably won’t have to do anything in the future. He will find ways to integrate ethnic groups every day!

Although Ferdinand was not interested in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it does not mean that there was no agreement between Bulgaria and Russia to carve up the Austro-Hungarian Empire. II communicated on Telegram!

To put it simply, this agreement is the sword of Damocles hanging over the Vienna government, scaring them into quitting! After all, only if everyone joins the Allies and everyone becomes an ally, this agreement will not become a reality!

There are actually many similar agreements, such as the agreement between Bulgaria and France to carve up the Italian peninsula, and there is even an agreement between the Allied Powers to carve up Germany.

These agreements all have one thing in common, that is, it is difficult to realize, but everyone still signed it, and the purpose is very clear to increase their bargaining chips in the post-war negotiations!

For example, if Italy rejects the conditions of the two countries in the negotiations in the future, and everyone's bottom line is still far from reaching an agreement, then this agreement may be activated.

After all, if the two countries join forces, in terms of strength, it is possible to carve up Italy. Even if the British want to intervene, at worst, they will give him a share!

This is used to scare the Italians, but this threat may not always be just a threat, he still has the possibility of becoming a reality!

Obviously, Ferdinand II did not intend to test the determination of Bulgaria and Russia. Even though there were insider transactions secretly, he still did not dare to try in the face of interests.

...

Sofia Palace, Foreign Minister Megeve said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the French ambassador to Paul has just sent a diplomatic note. They hope that we can let the Austro-Hungarian Empire go and not continue to annex their territories!"

Ferdinand asked with a slight smile: "So, the French have reached an agreement with the Vienna government?"

Megev replied: "From the current information we have on me, yes!"

After hesitating for a while, Ferdinand said with a smile: "Tell the French, as long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire recognizes our sovereignty over the Balkan Peninsula and cedes the Transylvania Plateau, we will let them go!

But war reparations are indispensable. If the Vienna government wants to take back the land we occupy, it must pay the ransom! "

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

The Balkan Peninsula has 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 they have no reason to object if they can weaken the Kingdom of Hungary! "

As for war indemnity, Megeft did not even mention it. This is a European practice, and there is nothing to say at all. The Vienna government will not refuse to pay indemnity. The dispute between the two parties is nothing more than the amount.

"Yeah!" Ferdinand

Looking out the window, Ferdinand suddenly asked: "You said, if we ask the Austro-Hungarian Empire to assume the debt owed by the Bulgarian government to the French, how likely is the French to agree?"

Megev didn't answer right away, but asked with some surprise: "Your Majesty means to let the Austro-Hungarian Empire pay for us~ the debt between us and the French, right?"

Ferdinand nodded and said: "That's right, we already owe the French more than 12 billion francs, and the war reparations paid to us by the Austro-Hungarian Empire this time will definitely be even more!

Just let the Austro-Hungarian Empire pay this debt for us, and then deduct it from their war reparations, so that we can also save a procedure! "

Megeve was taken aback by Ferdinand's whimsical proposal. You must know that in this era, international loans are not just as simple as loans, but also contain many political interests!

For example, Bulgaria owed huge foreign debts to the French before, and the French influenced the position of the Bulgarian government financially through loans. In international diplomacy, Bulgaria did not sway the flag for the French, and even joined the Allied Powers in the end. !

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!

Megeve 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, they may not agree, unless we use..."

Suddenly, Megeve found that the French were likely to agree. After all, the war had already reached the outskirts of Paris, and every day the war lasted would cause immeasurable losses to France.

At this time, it is when they need Bulgaria the most. Once Ferdinand's request is rejected, the Bulgarian army's attack on southern Germany may become indefinitely.

The lesser of two harms, the loss of Bulgaria's financial influence will not have a great impact on France, but the continuation of the war will really endanger the foundation of France!

After a pause, Megev said: "Your Majesty, we can try now! Even if we fail, we will not lose anything. If we succeed, the foreign debt on our shoulders will be reduced!"

"Yes!" Ferdinand replied with satisfaction.

Then Ferdinand fell into contemplation again. If he succeeded this time and dumped the foreign debts owed to the French to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, could it be possible to do the same and transfer the debts of the British and Americans?

On the surface, the transfer of these foreign debts is just to get rid of the financial influence of various countries on Bulgaria.

But the deeper reason is only understood by Ferdinand himself. After this world war, all the defeated countries have to pay a huge amount of war indemnity, and their post-war economic situation is simply unable to repay so many debts. .

What should I do if I have no money to pay off my debts? The answer is obvious: repudiation!

Whatever you do, they have no money to repay their debts anyway, unless Bulgaria can also learn from the French method of recovering debts and send troops to grab it.

The French method was actually very effective in history, but unfortunately they encountered an economic crisis again, no matter whether it was machinery or minerals, they could not be used in the economic crisis!

Then, the French government lost its mind and directly returned these to the Germans, allowing Hitler to take these possessions to restore the German economy, and then started World War II.

It can be said that if the French government persisted even if it did not withdraw its troops from the Ruhr area, the Germans would not be able to do anything to them.

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

As long as you hold on to the German heavy industrial zone tightly and don't let go, without the support of heavy industry, Germany will be a tiger without teeth. Even if Hitler came to power, it would be useless?

With the lessons of history, Ferdinand will naturally let others jump into this pit!

Due to his butterfly effect, the losses of Britain and France in this world war are much smaller than in history. Even if they cheated them a little more money, it is drizzle compared with the huge war funds!

...

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