While Crown Prince Edel is waiting for the olive branch from Serbia and Greece, there is actually talk in Serbia about the possibility of bringing Romania into the alliance.
This discussion was initiated by King Peter I of Serbia and was attended by Crown Prince Alexander, Prime Minister Protic, Chief of General Staff Putnik, Foreign Minister Milanovic and others.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Milanovic was the first to express his opinion. "Your Majesty, colleagues, I personally think it is a good idea to bring Romania into an alliance to jointly deal with Bulgaria. Now Romania is the only one among our Balkan countries.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is the strongest country, and a long part of their border borders Bulgaria. If he joins the alliance, we can encircle Bulgaria on three sides and leave them overwhelmed."
After hearing the words of Foreign Minister Milanovic, Serbian King Peter I and Prime Minister Protic nodded secretly. Chief of General Staff Putnik felt that he needed to add something and also spoke. "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I think we need to take into account
A situation.”
Seeing that General Putnik, the Serbian hero in the Balkan War, had something to say, the king motioned for him to continue speaking.
After getting the king's approval, General Putnik continued. "Romania began to prepare its army in 1905 and invested no less than 20 million pounds in their 260,000-strong army. This is very terrifying.
of."
Everyone from the king to the foreign minister was surprised when they heard what Admiral Putnik said. You must know that the cost of building a most advanced super-dreadnought battleship is less than 400 pounds, and Romania's investment in the army can reach 500 pounds.
A super-dreadnought ship. On the same scale, Romania is ranked among the top three in Europe in terms of army investment.
The Prime Minister asked. "So what does the Chief of General Staff mean?"
Upon hearing Prime Minister Protich's inquiry, General Putnik said categorically, "If we don't win over Romania, if we are roped in by Bulgaria, we and Greece will definitely not be able to defeat the Paul coalition."
After hearing such affirmative words from the Chief of General Staff, Crown Prince Alexander asked the Prime Minister. "Your Excellency Protic, then why did we not extend an invitation to Romania?"
Facing the Crown Prince's question, Prime Minister Protich said with a wry smile. "Your Highness, in order to bring Romania into the alliance, Bulgaria gave 4,000 square kilometers of territory before, and Romania did not send troops. If we bring Romania into the alliance,
, I estimate that the price will be high. Moreover, Russia has expressed its willingness to support our territorial claims. I did not expect that Bulgaria would find support from Austria-Hungary and Germany."
After all, the Prime Minister is still a little bit reluctant to part with it, and the Russian ambassador to Serbia, Hartwig, also deserves a share of the credit. During his stay in Serbia, the Russian ambassador showed more love for Serbia than the Serbian people. During his tenure as ambassador, he vigorously advocated a greater Serbia.
doctrine, advocating that Serbia should form a Greater Serbian country with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. He also contributed to the establishment of the Balkan League. Now facing the dispute with Bulgaria, he fully supports Serbia. According to his words, "Russia is in the Balkans.
The most important thing is to integrate the Slavs into one country."
It was obvious that the country he was talking about was Serbia. Faced with the possible price of an alliance with Romania, he believed that with the support of Serbia and Greece and Russia, Bulgaria could see the facts clearly. Prime Minister Protic had obviously been influenced by him before.
Influence.
Seeing the appearance of Prime Minister Protic, King Peter I spoke slowly. "I think it's better to get in touch first. After all, we are making random guesses here, so let's get to know him first."
After seeing King Peter I speak, the Prime Minister, Chief of General Staff and others all responded.
"I obey your Majesty."
Then several important ministers left the palace. After seeing everyone leave, Peter I couldn't help coughing again. Crown Prince Alexander stepped forward and patted his father's back gently.
Peter I said to his crown prince, "Okay, Alexander, it's all old problems. I don't have any other problems."
"But father, I have to worry about you now." Crown Prince Alexander said with concern.
King Peter I looked at his son and said, "Alexander, I plan to hand over Serbia to you next year."
Crown Prince Alexander said in shock. "Father, can I do it? And you can still work normally. Isn't it good now?"
Seeing his son's expression, Peter I encouraged him. "You have to believe in yourself. Look at the Romanian Crown Prince Edel next door. He is equally outstanding. And he is a few years younger than you. You have to have confidence in yourself."
Hearing his father compare himself with Romanian Edel, Alexander is really Alexander. Edel's achievements in Romania in the past few years are obvious to all. Whether he can do it in the future is still a question.
Soon Serbia sent a telegram requesting alliance through its ambassador to Romania.
The telegram is now in Edel's hands. Seeing the Crown Prince holding the telegram and thinking deeply, Foreign Minister Barnoske asked, "Your Highness, what do you think of this telegram?"
Upon hearing the inquiry from Foreign Minister Barnoske, Eder put down the telegram in his hand and said, "Send a telegram to Serbia and ask them to bring someone with weight to come if they want to talk. There is no way to negotiate in the telegram."
"Okay, Your Highness."
Romanian Foreign Minister Barnoske sent Eder's message to Serbia.
Serbian Prime Minister Protic received the telegram from Romania and began to think about it. It seemed that Romania was not resistant to the alliance, and it seemed that there was still room for discussion. Thinking of this, he took the telegram and rushed to the palace to tell King Peter the news.
A generation.
Peter I asked, "Prime Minister, who do you want to photograph?"
Prime Minister Protic named a surprising candidate. "Your Majesty, I plan to go to Romania to talk to them personally."
Hearing the Prime Minister's shocking decision, Peter I was a little surprised and asked, "Do you really have to go?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Protic replied first, and then explained why he wanted to go there himself. "Others will go to negotiate with Romania. Many things need to be consulted at home, which is very detrimental to the negotiations. If I go to do many things, I can do it first.
I want to make a decision, and I also want to see the development of Romania in the past few years and feel their background."
After hearing what the Prime Minister said, Peter I thought about it and said, "That's fine, but what preparations are needed?"
Facing the king's question, Prime Minister Protich replied, "I plan to visit secretly this time, so I don't need to bring many people with me. Just a few staff will be fine."
After paying a visit to King Peter I, Prime Minister Protich explained the work issues and took a few staff members to Romania on an ordinary train.
