Chapter 547 The triangular structure is the most stable
When the naval aviation bombed the Royal Palace of Constantinople, Mohammed V was inspecting the military camp and was lucky to escape the bombing.
On the night of the bombing, Mohammed V took an ordinary ferry across the Bosporus and fled to the old capital Bursa.
At the same time that the Ottoman Empire declared Constantinople an undefended city, the Odessa Rifle Regiment of the 1st Marine Division had already invaded Constantinople.
As the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople has a population of over one million and is the most populous city in the Ottoman Empire.
In the previous Russo-Turkish wars, Constantinople had never been directly attacked by the Russian army. This was the first time in the 235 years since the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war that the flag of the Russian Empire flew over Constantinople.
George only agreed to accept the surrender of the Ottoman army after the Russian army occupied Constantinople.
At this time in 1911, the construction of the Bosphorus Bridge had not yet begun, and cross-strait exchanges relied entirely on ferries.
After all the battleships of the Ottoman Empire were sunk, the cruisers of the Black Sea Fleet have entered the Sea of Marmara through the Bosporus and are sweeping the Ottoman ports along the way. Those Ottoman troops who have not had time to evacuate have already Becoming a turtle in a urn with no way to escape.
On October 15, George returned to St. Petersburg to attend the imperial meeting to discuss negotiations with the Ottoman Empire.
Regardless of how the Balkan League divided Thrace, he demanded all the islands of the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean, as well as the Garibaldi Peninsula and the area between Adrianople and Constantinople.
Nicholas fully agreed with George's request. There was only one question, whether the two allies, Britain and France, would support the Russian Empire's request.
Nicholas the Younger disapproved of George's conservatism. He hoped that the Russian Empire would pursue the victory, cross the Bosporus, launch an attack on the Asia Minor Peninsula, and completely eliminate the Ottoman Empire.
"If possible, I would like to do the same."
George also wants to complete his victory in one battle, but it is unrealistic.
The Russian Empire had access to the Black Sea, which was the limit of what other countries would accept.
If the Russian Empire attempts to annex the Ottoman Empire, let alone whether it can be done, if the Russian Empire has this tendency, it will lead to collective interference from other countries.
The Russian Empire is now strong enough.
If the Russian Empire annexes the Ottoman Empire, then Britain, France, Germany and Austria will not need to form the Allied Powers. They will join forces to kill the Russian Empire first, and then talk about other things.
Only whether Britain and France accept the requirements of the Russian Empire, George is not too worried about this issue.
For the Russian Empire, even if it breaks through the Black Sea blockade, it cannot threaten Britain's global interests. After all, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal at both ends of the Mediterranean are under British control.
The reason why Britain pursues and intercepts the Russian Empire is that it is worried that the Russian Empire will extend its power to Africa.
Now that the African colonies have been basically divided up, there is only the Abyssinian Empire left as an independent country. If the Russian Empire wants it, it must first face competition from the Kingdom of Italy.
“Now there is only one last question left, how to balance the interests within the Balkan Alliance.”
Nicholas thought of the Balkan Alliance and was flooded with lawsuits.
Like the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria also wanted Constantinople.
This is purely a dream. In fact, not only Constantinople, but also Thessaloniki and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which are co-administered by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Greece, cannot be saved.
Brushinov, who hurried back from the Kingdom of Bulgaria, was not optimistic about the prospects of the Balkan Alliance.
“There are too many contradictions within the Balkan Alliance. When the Ottoman Empire existed, it was the common enemy of the Balkan Alliance. After the Ottoman Empire withdraws, the contradictions within the Balkan Alliance will become the protagonist——”
After Brusinov returned to St. Petersburg, the first person he met was not Nikolai, but George. In order to ensure peace in the Balkans in the post-Ottoman era, Brusinov suggested to George to depose Valdemar and establish a new emperor.
Depose——
George also wants to depose Valdemar, but it is also unrealistic. It is easier to ask God than to give up. If Valdemar is to be deposed, Nicholas and William The second generation would not agree.
As Alexey's condition has improved, Alex and Anne have returned to St. Petersburg. It is probably Alex who gave Nikolai a pillow blow in the past two days. In Thessalo Regarding Niki, Nikolai is more inclined to the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
This is by no means good news for the Kingdom of Greece. Just last night, Prince George of Greece visited George, hoping that George could give more support to the Kingdom of Greece on the issue of Thessaloniki.
Romanian Crown Prince Ferdinand also met with George, hoping that George could give reasonable support to the Kingdom of Romania on the Dobroga issue.
This "reasonableness" also gave George a headache.
Dobroga is a territory of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Romanians living in Dobroga were indeed treated unfairly by the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania are both allies of the Russian Empire. It is not appropriate to favor one over the other. What should we do?
Emotionally, George is definitely inclined towards Ferdinand.
But there is no emotion before national interests.
"We must maintain peace in the Balkans as much as possible. No matter what, the Balkans cannot become a powder keg for Europe."
Nicola has also realized the danger of the Balkans.
After the establishment of the Balkan Union, the entire Europe believed that the Balkan Peninsula would become the powder keg of Europe.
There are indeed contradictions within the Balkan Alliance.
But it hasn’t reached the level of a powder keg.
It would be fine if only Germany and Austria-Hungary were hyping it up like this.
Even Britain and France are fighting against each other, and the countries in the Balkans are indeed becoming more and more ambitious.
At the Imperial Council, George did not publicly mention Brusinov's suggestion.
After the imperial meeting, George talked to Nicholas about Valdemar.
“I wrote three letters to Valdemar last week, hoping that he can accept the current situation and coexist peacefully with the Kingdom of Greece.”
Nicholas does not intend to change This makes sense given the current situation in Thessaloniki.
Thessaloniki is the largest port in the northern Aegean Sea. Whether the Kingdom of Bulgaria controls Thessaloniki alone or the Kingdom of Greece controls Thessaloniki, it will affect the interests of the Russian Empire.
“Getting Thessaloniki is the wish of all Bulgarian soldiers.”
George was not optimistic about peaceful coexistence. He preferred to place Thessaloniki, like Crete, under multinational condominium.
After all, the triangular structure is the most stable.
(End of this chapter)