I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 547: The triangular structure is the most stable
When the naval aviation bombed the Constantinople Palace, Mehmed V was inspecting the military camp and luckily escaped the bombing.

On the night of the bombing, Mehmed V took an ordinary ferry across the Bosphorus and fled to the old capital of 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 entered Constantinople.

As the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople had a population of over one million, making it the most populous city in the Ottoman Empire.

In all previous Russo-Turkish wars, Constantinople had never been directly attacked by the Russian army. This was the first time in 235 years since the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War that the flag of the Russian Empire flew over Constantinople.

George agreed to accept the surrender of the Ottoman army only after the Russian army occupied Constantinople.

At this time in 1911, the construction of the Bosphorus Bridge had not yet begun, and communication between the two sides depended entirely on ferries.

After all the Ottoman Empire's battleships were sunk, the Black Sea Fleet's cruisers had passed through the Bosphorus Strait into the Sea of ​​Marmara and were sweeping through the Ottoman ports along the way. Those Ottoman troops who had not had time to evacuate had become trapped in a jar, with no way to escape.

On October 10, George returned to St. Petersburg to attend a royal meeting to discuss negotiations with the Ottoman Empire.

Regardless of how the Balkan League divided Thrace, George demanded all the Ottoman islands in the Mediterranean, the Garibaldi Peninsula, and the area between Adrianople and Constantinople.

Nicholas fully agreed with George's request, with only one question: whether the two allies, Britain and France, would support the Russian Empire's request.

Young Nicholas disagreed with George's conservatism. He hoped that the Russian Empire would seize the opportunity to cross the Bosphorus Strait, launch an attack on the Anatolian Peninsula, and completely destroy the Ottoman Empire.

“If I could, I’d like to do that, too.”

George also wanted to achieve his goal in one fell swoop, but unfortunately it was not realistic.

The Russian Empire's access to the Black Sea was the limit of what other countries could accept.

If the Russian Empire attempted to annex the Ottoman Empire, regardless of whether it could do so, as long as the Russian Empire had such a tendency, it would attract collective intervention from other countries.

The current Russian Empire is already strong enough.

If the Russian Empire annexed the Ottoman Empire, there would be no need for Britain, France, Germany and Austria to form the Allied Powers. They could first join hands to destroy the Russian Empire and then talk about other things.

The only issue George was not too worried about was whether Britain and France would accept the demands of the Russian Empire.

For the Russian Empire, even if it broke through the blockade of the Black Sea, it could not threaten Britain's global interests. After all, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal at both ends of the Mediterranean were under British control.

The reason why Britain was pursuing and blocking the Russian Empire was that it was worried that the Russian Empire would extend its influence to Africa.

Now the African colonies have been basically divided up, and the only independent country left is the Abyssinian Empire. If the Russian Empire wants to become an independent country, it will first have to face competition from the Kingdom of Italy.

"The only remaining question is how to balance the interests within the Balkan alliance."

Nicholas thought of the Balkan Alliance and was again overwhelmed by lawsuits.

Like the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria also wanted Constantinople.

This is pure dreaming. In fact, not only Constantinople, but even Thessaloniki, which was jointly governed by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Greece, could not be defended by the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Brusinov, 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 withdrew, the contradictions within the Balkan Alliance became the protagonist—"

After Brusinov returned to St. Petersburg, the first person he met was not Nicholas, but George. In order to ensure peace in the Balkans in the post-Ottoman era, Brusinov suggested to George that Valdemar be deposed and a new emperor be appointed.

Dethrone

George also wanted to depose Valdemar, but it was equally unrealistic. It is easier to invite a god than to send him away. If he wanted to depose Valdemar, neither Nicholas nor William II would agree.

As Alexei's condition improved, Alex and Anne have returned to St. Petersburg. It is estimated that Alex has been whispering in Nicholas' ear over the past two days. On the issue of Thessaloniki, Nicholas 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 the Kingdom of Greece more support 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 issue of Dobruja.

This "reasonableness" also gave George a headache.

Dobruja was a territory of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

The Romanians living in Dobruja were indeed treated unfairly by the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

The Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania were both allies of the Russian Empire. It would be inappropriate to favor one over the other. What would be fair to do?
Emotionally, George definitely leans towards Ferdinand.

But there is no emotion in the face of national interests.

"We must do our best to maintain peace in the Balkans. In any case, the Balkans must not become a powder keg in Europe."

Nicholas had also realized the danger of the Balkans.

After the establishment of the Balkan League, the whole of Europe believed that the Balkan Peninsula would become Europe's powder keg.

There are indeed conflicts within the Balkan Alliance.

But it's not yet a powder keg.

It would be fine if only Germany and Austria-Hungary were hyping this up.

Even Britain and France are adding fuel to the fire. The Balkan countries are indeed becoming more and more confident.

At the imperial conference, George did not publicly mention Brusinov's suggestion.

George talked to Nicholas about Valdemar only after the imperial meeting ended.

"I wrote three letters to Valdemar in a row last week, hoping that he could accept the current situation and coexist peacefully with the Kingdom of Greece."

It makes sense that Nicholas had no intention of changing the status quo 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 under multi-national co-management, like Crete.

After all, the triangular structure is the most stable.

(End of this chapter)