Leaving aside the thoughts of Greek Prime Minister Trikupis, let’s first talk about the impact of Bulgaria’s mobilization.
Since both Serbia and Greece have received the information, of course the Ottoman Empire as the country involved has also received the information. However, thanks to its "excellent" intelligence work, the Ottoman Empire received the information five days later than the two countries.
Faced with the unexpected situation, the Ottoman monarchs and ministers were shocked and quickly began to discuss countermeasures.
“How is the situation in Bulgaria?”
It was rare that Hamid II, His Majesty the Sultan, was the first to ask.
"Your Majesty, I just asked the Bulgarian envoy in Istanbul. He said that this was Bulgaria's natural reaction to this war. In order to prevent the war from spreading to Bulgaria, they carried out a small-scale mobilization. The number of people was not large, only
About 40,000 people.”
Halim Pasha, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, answered the questions from His Majesty the Sultan.
However, the foreign minister's answer made Hamid II smile.
"Do you believe the Bulgarian's answer?"
"If you don't believe it, the Bulgarians must have some kind of intention, especially when there are a large number of Italian weapons in their army, we can't believe their words."
Obviously, the words of the Bulgarians cannot be deceived even by the children in Istanbul.
However, even though the Bulgarians' intentions were known, the matter was still difficult to handle. Just open the map and you can see how critical Bulgaria's location is to the Ottoman Empire.
Bulgaria's location just threatens the safety of the Ottoman Empire's Aegean Sea Corridor. This corridor is the key point for Istanbul to connect Macedonia, Albania and other Balkan territories. As long as this corridor is interrupted, the armies in Macedonia, Albania and other places will lose contact with Istanbul.
.Especially when the Italians still control the sea, this will be even more dangerous.
Therefore, under such circumstances, the Ottoman high-level officials are so concerned about Bulgaria's actions. This is simply holding a sharp knife to the Ottomans' vital points.
However, in the face of Bulgaria's hostility, the Ottoman leaders were not fools.
Nuri Pasha, who was the Minister of War, then spoke.
"Can the government find a way to remedy this situation?"
What to save? Although Nuri Pasha didn't say it, everyone present knew what he meant.
Facing the words of the old marshal, Foreign Minister Halim Pasha thought for a while and replied. "This is unlikely. We all know Bulgaria's intentions. They want the entire Macedonia and Western Thrace. It is impossible for us to give them
.”
After hearing what Halim Pasha said, the old marshal shook his head and said. "You misunderstood me. I mean talking to the Bulgarians. I think you should know better than me about negotiations, Halim Pasha."
, in fact, just a small problem requires many days of wrangling."
Nuri Pasha said it so openly that the people present did not understand what he meant. This was to delay time and give the Ottoman Empire more time.
"So, how long does the marshal think the conversation should take?"
Is it the Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha who asked this? After all, it is not just diplomats who are willing to compromise with the Bulgarians? It also requires the cooperation of other departments.
Facing the Grand Vizier's inquiry, Nuri Pasha said naturally. "Of course the longer the better? But at least it should be a week."
The old marshal gave a minimum of one week? It was also the minimum number of days he approved. Because if you want to protect the narrow coastal channel of Western Thrace, you will need a lot of troops.
Are there currently more than 200,000 troops in Macedonia and other parts of the Balkans where the Ottomans belong? Although this seems like a lot, it is still not enough. Because the Ottomans have too many things to do. Do they need to defend against Italian attacks? Protect the coastline?
As well as the necessary surveillance forces for other Balkan countries, and sufficient mobile forces, it would be good to be able to mobilize 40,000 people locally.
How can a force of 40,000 people block a possible attack by Bulgaria? Although Bulgaria has a small population? But it is still possible to mobilize more than 100,000 people with a population of more than 3 million? This requires the deployment of troops from Istanbul. But Istanbul is the capital.
If more troops are deployed in a city, it will give the Bulgarians a chance to seize the city. Besides, Istanbul currently only has 60,000 troops, so it is not suitable to mobilize too many troops. Therefore, the only way at present is to mobilize troops from Asian territories.
Of course, before this, Minister of War Nuri Pasha had already done this again. But the number of troops transferred was not that large? Only more than 60,000 people were transferred from Asia, and more than 60,000 people were on the way. And these people
The time it takes to get here is about a week.
With these 60,000 people plus the 40,000 people that Macedonia can provide? In addition, 20,000 people are transferred from Istanbul, and there are 120,000 people for defense? Although it is not enough, but if it is only used for defensive tasks? It is almost enough.
Yes. This is why Nuri Pasha asked for seven days.
Faced with Nuri Pasha's request, Kamil Pasha glanced at Halim Pasha, the Foreign Minister, and finally said, "Then our government will do its best to delay it for a week."
After receiving the guarantee from the government, the old marshal no longer had any problems. Although there were still issues such as ordnance and supplies, it was not appropriate to discuss them here at the moment.
After solving the army's problem, Kamil Pasha turned to look at the almost transparent person in this meeting, Navy Minister Hardeman Pasha.
Yes, Hardman Pasha, who was in charge of the Ottoman Navy, really seemed to be a transparent man, but this time he could no longer be transparent.
"Hardman Pasha, can your navy go to sea to protect the empire's shipping lanes in the Aegean Sea?"
If Kamil Pasha's words were placed in Italy, they would definitely be an insult to the other party. Not being asked to duel on the spot, it can be considered that the Admiralty has a good temper.
It's just that when this sentence is applied to the current Ottoman Navy, it does not mean to insult the other party at all. The dispatch of the aging navy is also the reason why Kamil Pasha wants to speed up the delivery of supplies to the Macedonian region.
Although Nuri Pasha promised that the Ottoman army would be able to make a defensive deployment in just one week, there are always surprises. In order to prevent the possibility of being cut off after an unexpected surprise occurs, it is always good to transport more supplies.
Facing the question of Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha, Hardman Pasha stood up and said impassionedly. "Your Majesty, everyone, although the situation of our navy is not very good, as long as your Majesty orders, the Imperial Navy will
Still working hard to fulfill His Majesty’s request.”
Hardman Pasha's words made several others secretly curse him as an old cunning man. It was the same as not saying it, and the choice was left in the hands of His Majesty the Sultan.
But his plan failed. Faced with Hardman Pasha's words, Sultan Hamid II glanced at the Minister of Navy, and then turned his eyes to Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha. "What does the government need the navy for?"
Facing the Sultan's inquiry, Kamil Pasha quickly came up with the idea of using ships to transport supplies.
Kamil Pasha's words made the respected Sultan think for three seconds, "Since the navy is needed, let the navy do it."
He had no scruples at all about the Admiral of the Navy who was standing next to him and forcing a smile. In response, Kamil Pasha made an apologetic look at him. He did not expect that the matter would end like this.
Of course, Kamil Pasha only left the other party with an apologetic expression. Originally, he had a lot of things to do, but now there are even more things. Of course, everything that can be mentioned on this occasion is a big deal.
Kamil Pasha later proposed the need to strengthen intelligence work in other Balkan countries to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Bulgaria.
This proposal was very important and everyone present unanimously agreed.
Just as the meeting was coming to an end, an attendant suddenly rushed in with a telegram.
After reading the telegram, Hamid II told a piece of news with an unsightly expression.
