Chapter 110： Bulgaria's diplomatic preparations

"Build this new synthetic ammonia plant in Ploiesti," Edel ordered to the chief guard.

The purchase order for this newly-built ammonia plant has been placed in Germany, which is exactly the same as the one purchased by BASF. Because the crown prince invested a huge sum of 40 million lei this time, the synthetic ammonia plant built this time is larger than BASF's own. It can produce 60 tons of synthetic ammonia per day, twice that of BASF’s own construction.

This shows Edel's ambition. In addition to satisfying the use of the explosives industry, he plans to produce a large amount of fertilizer to increase Romania's agricultural output. There are also reasons for choosing Ploiesti to use local natural gas. Now a large amount of natural gas for crude oil extraction is wasted, and only a small part is used. The construction of this synthetic ammonia plant can avoid wasting resources and increase the local economic level.

Just after Edel and the chief guard had chosen the address of the ammonia plant, a guard knocked on the door and walked in. "His Highness Foreign Minister Barnosk has an important request for summoning."

When the head of the bodyguard saw that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was coming, he knew that there must be something important to ask His Royal Highness, and he planned to work on this factory first. "His Royal Highness, I will first arrange manpower to inspect the synthetic ammonia plant."

"Go ahead."

Knowing that the Minister of Foreign Affairs must have something important for him now, he asked the Chief Guard to arrange the construction of the ammonia plant.

As the head of the bodyguard walked out of the room, a slightly fat man in his fifties with glasses came in. This was the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Barnosk. He has been working in the diplomatic field. He previously served as Romania’s ambassador to Germany and was later transferred to Austria’s ambassador. He did a very good job in diplomacy, and later Edel valued his income from his team.

After Bretianu became prime minister, he was inserted into the cabinet by Edel in order to better control the diplomatic situation in Romania, and our new prime minister also pinched his nose and acquiesced. After this Mr. Barnosk was promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was also respectful to the Prime Minister and did not hide anything from him, allowing Prime Minister Bretianu to slowly accept his existence. Generally speaking, he is a wise man who is savvy and capable and knows how to perceive words and colors.

"His Royal Highness, Bulgaria has just sent us a telegram. Their Prime Minister Geschov and Foreign Minister Dilas Roch will pay a state visit to our country in one week." Foreign Minister Barnosk said that he had just received the news.

After hearing the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edel was shocked and knew that this was Bulgaria's intention to pull Romania into the Balkan League. Recently, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece have moved very close. According to private information, Greece has already formed an alliance with Bulgaria. Then it is not difficult to guess what they want to deal with. Except for the territory of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, there is nothing else that can make everyone so united.

"So how are you going to arrange to receive them?" Edel asked.

"I want to follow the principle of diplomatic reciprocity. The Prime Minister and I will meet them together, and let us explore their bottoms first, and then the crown prince will discuss with you. I don't know what your Royal Highness thinks?"

This Foreign Minister Barnoske is indeed a shrewd man. He not only made his own suggestions, but also sought the opinions of the crown prince.

Edel heard the advice of Foreign Minister Barnosk and thought it was pretty good. "Yes, but you have to control the degree. Don't neglect them, and don't be too eager."

"Okay Your Highness, we will pay attention to the control of the joints."

The Foreign Minister Barnosk walked out of the palace after answering the crown prince. He will also discuss with Prime Minister Bretianu on the reception issues in it. He wants to let the crown prince see his abilities in this turbulent situation in the Balkans, and also fight for enough interests for Romania to lay the foundation for his future political path. It seems that Mr. Barnosk is also unwilling to be content with the status quo.

When Romania wants to get the benefits they want in this Balkan Alliance. In Bulgaria, the visiting Prime Minister Geschov and Foreign Minister Tiras Rocky are discussing the bottom line of the Romanian trip with King Ferdinand I.

The 51-year-old Bulgarian King Ferdinand I is a man of considerable background. He is the grandnephew of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the first King of Belgium, Leopold I. His mother, Princess Clementine, was the daughter of Louis Philippe, King of France. His father, Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was the younger brother of King Fernando II of Portugal, Prince Albert, Queen of Mexico, Princess Charlotte of Belgium and King Leopold II of Belgium. The first cousin, the first representative of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Among them, because Charlotte and Leopold II's mother, Princess Louise, is the sister of Ferdinand's mother, the three of them are not only the relationship between nephews, nephews and nephews, but also the first representatives.

In fact, during the 19th century, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family controlled the thrones of many European countries either through marriage or through elections. Following this trend, Ferdinand himself became the king of Bulgaria.

Before he became king, an interesting incident happened in Bulgaria. In 1886, a coup broke out in Bulgaria, and the Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria, who had been in power for only 7 years, was forced to abdicate. Bulgaria once found the Caucasus from Denmark in order to find an heir. They even wanted to invite King Carol I of Romania, so that Edel's father came to be their monarch and was almost about to form the Kingdom of Paul (you think of nothing). In the end, it was the Austro-Hungarian Empire with its own influence and the shining signboard of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Kohari family that made Bulgaria choose Ferdinand who was still a prince.

In the early days of Ferdinand’s reign, Bulgaria’s internal politics was controlled by the leader of the Liberal Party Stefan Stambolov. His foreign policy has significantly reduced the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia, which was originally protected by Russia.

With Stefan Stambolov stepping down in May 1894 and being assassinated in July 1895, the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia also showed signs of relaxation. In February 1896, affected by a series of events, Prince Boris, who was only 2 years old, gave up his Roman Catholic faith and converted to Orthodox Church.

However, this move also earned him the hatred of his Catholic relatives in Austria, especially his uncle, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Ferdinand is famous among European royal families for his vengeful character. In 1909, Ferdinand went to Germany to visit the eldest son of his second cousin Princess Victoria, the German Emperor Wilhelm II. In the new palace in Potsdam, Ferdinand leaned out of the window when the emperor walked behind him and patted him on the hip. Ferdinand felt that the emperor's actions insulted him, and the emperor apologized to Ferdinand for this. However, in order to take revenge, Ferdinand asked William to sign a valuable arms contract with him. He intended to provide the Krupp factory in Essen to the French arms manufacturer Schneider Electric.

Another incident occurred during Ferdinand's visit to attend the funeral of his second cousin King Edward VII in 1910. At that time, Ferdinand had a dispute with Grand Duke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince about the location of the carriage. In the end, the Grand Duke won. His carriage was placed directly behind the engine. Ferdinand’s It was placed behind the Grand Duke. But when Ferdinand realized that the dining car of the train was behind his carriage, he refused to let the Grand Duke enter the dining car through his carriage for revenge.

"Prime Minister Geschov, the best result of this trip to Romania is to win Romania to declare war on Ottoman and send troops." Ferdinand I said the most powerful result for Bulgaria.

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, then the price we have to pay, I am afraid we cannot bear." Prime Minister Geschoff said his judgment.

"Gaischoff, you are so boring, let me think about it." Ferdinand I, in his fifties, smiled and joked. Of course he knew that this plan was not reliable, and I am afraid that it would only be possible for Bulgaria to cede large areas of territory. .

"His Royal Highness, let's prepare a more feasible plan. There are only more than 100,000 Romanians in Macedonia. I believe they have no reason to make too high demands." Foreign Minister Dilas Rochi suggested.

"Then first we need to guarantee the security guarantee from Romania after the declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire." Ferdinand I said the most important point.

As for Romania’s current strength, Bulgaria’s senior leaders know well, after all, they are next door. A standing army of more than 200,000, plus an annual fiscal revenue of 20 million pounds. This makes Bulgaria look drooling. Bulgaria now has a standing army of more than 90,000 people, and its fiscal revenue is only crushed. Now Bulgaria does not even reach 6 million pounds. I really envy it. When Bulgaria saw Romania’s exports of grain, oil, cars, etc., its eyes were green.

The export of Romanian agricultural machinery has also soared recently, which has made Bulgaria even more murmured about what the world is like. No matter what Romania produces, it can be sold in Europe. Bulgaria can only be self-sufficient in food. The largest exports are actually agricultural products such as roses, yogurt and wine. Bulgaria's mineral resources are poor, most of which are small-scale minerals, and the mining utilization rate is extremely low.

"Your Majesty, the best way now is to draw Romania into the League, but we only need to provide us with logistical support." Prime Minister Geschov said his proposal.

"The Prime Minister's words are very good. Even if there are more than 100,000 Romanians in Macedonia, we don't have to pay such a big price." After hearing the Prime Minister's suggestion, Ferdinand I immediately agreed.

"But Romania is willing to only do logistics for us?" Foreign Minister Dilas Lodge asked the Prime Minister if he was too idealistic.

Ferdinand I took the words of the foreign minister and said. "It's time for you and the Prime Minister to show their abilities."

"This method still requires compensation for territories, but at a lower cost." Geschov sighed secretly, and said that he still had to pay a price for his plan. Who makes Bulgaria less powerful than others? No matter how many methods he has, he can't reduce the gap.

"Then how many territories do you think can basically satisfy the appetite of those Romanians?" Hearing that the Prime Minister still needs to compensate for the territories, Ferdinand I knew that this was the only condition that could meet the requirements, but it was still a bit uncomfortable for a country. Said that the territory is his capital.

"It is estimated that the southern area of ​​Dobrogea we have in our hands will not be able to be kept. This is to meet the basic requirements of Romania, and it is possible that they will want more." Geschov said his judgment.

Dobrogea, located in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, is the geographic name of the coastal strip of the corridor from Eastern Europe into the Balkans. Romania’s most important port city, Constanta, is located here, and Bulgaria also controls the southern region of 2,000 square kilometers. Geschoff made a very accurate judgment. Romania must have been very interested in this place in history, and finally agreed to this condition. Now that I have replaced him with a memory of later generations, can this condition still meet Romania's requirements?

After Ferdinand compared the strengths of the two sides, the Prime Minister's method was the best choice. And if you get Macedonian territory and Thracian territory, then the cession of this small territory is worth it.

"Okay Prime Minister, your opinion is very pertinent. I can't think of the shortcomings, so I will discuss it according to this plan." After thinking about the pros and cons, Ferdinand I agreed with the Prime Minister's approach.

After hearing that the king agreed to his plan, Prime Minister Geschov was not happy because his plan was adopted, but continued to talk about it. "Your Majesty, this is only the minimum requirement that I think Romania may agree to. In my estimation, there are plans for the cession of territories ranging from 3,000 to 4,000."

"Do we really need to pay so much?" Ferdinand I asked a little puzzled.

Geschoff said after a wry smile. "Yes, your Highness, if it were two thousand square kilometers six years ago, I am 90% sure that they will agree. But now I am only 10% sure that they will agree to this plan."

Ferdinand I, who heard the Prime Minister’s words, also sighed inwardly. Bulgaria is much worse than Romania. So for the tens of thousands of square kilometers of Macedonia and Thrace, he can only swallow this glass of bitter wine.

"Everything depends on two people." Ferdinand I still agreed to the Prime Minister's plan.

"For the kingdom, we will do our best." The prime minister and foreign minister made their promises to King Ferdinand I.

Subsequently, the Bulgarian government received a receipt from Romania, welcoming the state visit of Prime Minister Geschov and Foreign Minister Dilas Roch.

After getting a reply from Romania, Prime Minister Geschoff and Foreign Minister Tiras Rocky took a delegation from Sofia to Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

The train was moving slowly along the winding and rugged mountain railway in Bulgaria. On the train, Prime Minister Geschoff and Foreign Minister Dilas Roche sat and chatted together, and the other personnel watched the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stay far away They came only when they were summoned.

Prime Minister Geschoff looked at the mountain scenery outside the window and spoke with Foreign Minister Dilas Roch, who was sitting opposite. "The mountains of Bulgaria have created the heroic and unyielding character of our people. Unfortunately, this land is not suitable for farming food, and there are not enough mineral resources to make our people rich."

"Yes, and there are also a large number of Bulgarians in Macedonia and Thrace who are being oppressed by the Ottoman Empire. We have a mission to make these suffering tribes asylum in Bulgaria." Foreign Minister Tirasloch responded to the Prime Minister. if.

The train drove the Danube Bridge into Romania the next day, and the terrain opened up. There were farmers working **** the endless plains, and some drove tractors to spread fertilizer on the land. Both Prime Minister Geschoff and Foreign Minister Tirasloch in these pictures were envious.

In the afternoon their train arrived in Bucharest, and the Romanian side was ready to receive them, and now they are waiting for their arrival.

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