I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 520 Fox Tail
George didn't know whether Sofia's coup had anything to do with Valdemar.

Regardless of whether it mattered or not, Valdemar couldn't leave now.

George's reasons were very valid. Sofia was not safe now, and Waldemar could only return after the situation stabilized.

Although Bojinov was killed, the situation in Sofia did not completely collapse. The new prime minister candidate put forward by the rebels was called Dimitrov, who was neither pro-Russian nor pro-German.

This did not seem too bad for the Russian Empire, as Nicholas and Nicholas the Younger were not very sensitive to Dimitrov's position.

George Sensitive, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, must take a pro-Russian stance.

The Russian Empire had too much influence on the Bulgarian Kingdom. Before Valdemar ascended the throne, all officers of the Bulgarian Kingdom were either graduates of Russian military academies or were simply Russians.

After Valdemar ascended the throne, Germany also began to help the Bulgarian Kingdom train military officers, and its influence on the Bulgarian Kingdom was gradually increasing.

If William II wanted to undermine the Russian Empire, he would not have directly cut off the connection between the Russian Empire and Bulgaria right away, but would have boiled the frog in warm water, allowing the Russian Empire to lose control of the Bulgarian Kingdom without realizing it.

Specifically speaking of the coup, if the rebels chose a pro-German prime minister, the Russian Empire would definitely not agree.

If a prime minister with a neutral stance is chosen, the Russian Empire will face much less resistance.

"This guy is mentally ill. Doesn't he know that his stupid behavior will drag the Bulgarian Kingdom into the abyss?"

Little Nicholas couldn't understand why Waldemar and Carol were different.

Carol I of the Kingdom of Romania was also a German, but after becoming the Grand Duke of Romania, he did not hesitate to cut ties with Berlin and chose to ally with the Russian Empire.

This is also the reason why Nicholas supported Valdemar to become the Grand Duke of Bulgaria.

Nicholas ignored Carol and Waldemar's background.

Although Carroll was a German, he had served in the Russian army. In the 10th Russo-Turkish War, Carroll fought side by side with the Russian army. The two had long been inseparable.

Valdemar had never been to St. Petersburg before Alex married Nicholas.

When Paula married Sergei, Valdemar was not yet born.

Of course, another reason that cannot be ignored is that the Kingdom of Romania borders the Russian Empire.

"It is still unclear whether the coup was related to him. Our most urgent task now is to quell the rebellion."

George was a little troubled, as he wasn't sure about Sophia's specific situation.

"What if it's related to him?"

Little Nicholas's attitude of getting to the bottom of things made Nicholas roll his eyes.

"Then depose him and let you become the Grand Duke of Bulgaria instead. Are you satisfied?"

George goes straight to the ultimate move.

Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"I won't do it!"

Little Nicholas laughed loudly. It was simply crazy that he gave up being the Grand Duke of the Russian Empire and went to be the Grand Duke of Bulgaria.

The Tsar is more like that.

"Nikki, I'm not kidding."

George's tone was cold, he really planned to do so.

To depose Valdemar did not necessarily mean to kill him. After being overthrown, Alexander I returned to Germany and died in Austria in 1893.

Waldemar could also go back to Wiesbaden. As long as he didn't cause trouble for George, George would not bother to deal with him.

Nicholas was silent for a long time, then he said helplessly: "If that day really comes, I hope you won't make Sunny too sad." George was very happy that Nicholas finally did not put love above national interests.

Young Nicholas was the Minister of War and had to cooperate with George in military reforms, so neither he nor George had time to go to Sofia.

George returned to the Admiralty building and called Brusinov, hoping that Brusinov could quell Sofia's rebellion.

"How many troops do we still have in Sofia?"

Brusinov also didn't know much about Sofia's situation.

"No, our last regiment in the Kingdom of Bulgaria was evacuated in 1901."

After Brusinov went to Sofia, Major General Mikhail Alexeev temporarily took over Brusinov's position.

During the Russo-Japanese War, Mikhail served as director of the Third Army's Quartermaster Bureau. After George became the Governor-General of the Far East, Mikhail continued to serve in the Russian Army in Kwantung.

During the first phase of disarmament, a large number of Russian troops in Kwantung were also laid off. George transferred Mikhail to his side and served as his assistant together with Brusinov.

“Why evacuate?”

Brusinov was surprised.

"This is the request of Grand Duke Valdemar."

Mikhail didn't like the Grand Duke from Germany very much.

“How far can I go?”

Brusinov needs to clarify his authority.

"Do whatever you want."

George fully supports it.

In St. Petersburg, George cannot act recklessly and must restrain himself.

In Bulgaria, George has no taboos. In recent years, the Kingdom of Bulgaria has been too close to Germany, and George needs to make the people of Sofia understand that the sword of the Russian Empire is still quite sharp.

Waldemar was very angry. He was not completely dependent on Germany, nor did he want to be completely dependent on the Russian Empire, so he brought in the Germans to balance the pro-Russian forces within the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

If it were peacetime, Valdemar might have been able to please both sides and make the Bulgarian Kingdom truly independent.

Now is the stage of taking sides, and everyone must make their position clear.

Although there are no Russian Imperial troops stationed in the Kingdom of Bulgaria, there are at least two divisions around Sofia, led by pro-Russian generals.

George sent a telegram to Dmitriy, who was still in Sevastopol, asking him to lead his cavalry division to Sofia in advance to cooperate with Brusinov in suppressing the rebellion.

While suppressing the rebellion, George continued to promote the establishment of the Balkan League, using this alliance to strengthen the Russian Empire's influence on the Balkan countries.

The Balkan countries are like a group of young people. We cannot let them sit idle. We must take the initiative to find things for them to do, otherwise they will fight among themselves.

Both Dmitri and Brusinov were very efficient. After arriving in Sofia, Dmitri took the initiative to take over the defense of Sofia without waiting for Brusinov to arrive.

In the process of taking over the defense, the Guards Cavalry led by Demeter confronted the Bulgarian army. Fortunately, the Bulgarian officers were still rational and neither side opened fire.

On August 8, eight days after the coup, Brusinov arrived in Sofia.

Brusinov acted decisively. The first thing he did after arriving in Sofia was to order the arrest of all the officers who launched the coup and hand them over to a military court for trial.

It was only then that Brusinov learned that the officers who had started the rebellion had taken refuge in the German Embassy in Bulgaria after Demeter’s arrival.

Brusinov was very happy that the fox's tail was finally revealed.

(End of this chapter)