"Soldiers outside the city rioted. They demanded the resignation of the prime minister and the cabinet within two days."
This surprising news spread rapidly in the city of Sofia, causing panic among the residents in the city. In other directions that did not face the military camp, there was an endless stream of people leaving the city to avoid trouble, which made the situation look even more worrying.
"Hurry up and prepare the sandbags. Set up the machine gun here and point it at the intersection."
Soldiers loyal to the government have set up fortifications in residential areas near the edge of the city, which is even more worrying. It’s just that how can these soldiers, who are sparsely distributed throughout the city, resist the nearly 100,000 rebels outside the city who are about to become rebels?
The military, this has also become a problem.
This problem also troubled Lieutenant General Ivanov, who was temporarily assigned as the commander of Sofia city defense. Because he only had military police, military academy cadets, and royal guards and other scattered troops at his disposal, which totaled less than 9,000 troops. More
The most important thing is that the Romanian army has already entered Feraca, which is only separated from Sofia by the Stara Mountains.
Lieutenant General Kudinchev, who commands the Sixth Army, has promised to use the Stara Mountains, which divides Bulgaria into the north and south, to hold back the enemy, but he can only guarantee a delay of three days. Regarding this result, those who know the details
Ivanov was also very satisfied. Because he knew that Lieutenant General Kudinchev was using the lives of soldiers to buy them time. But looking at the troops outside the city that were gradually showing signs of rebellion, was it worth it?
?
Lieutenant General Ivanov's question was actually raised by Radoslav in person. In the Sofia Palace, King Ferdinand I was asking the Prime Minister.
"Prime Minister, is it all worth it?"
Facing the inquiry of the king who was in the prime of life, the prime minister who had been forced to a dead end and looked a little haggard replied firmly. "Your Majesty, all this is worth it. Because we have not actually failed, and the reinforcements from Turkey will arrive in only five days."
Salonika. In this way, we will ask General Zekov to mobilize 150,000 troops to rush back to Sofia, and then Germany and Austria will be able to bring reinforcements from Serbia in about ten days. In this way, we will have a force of nearly 400,000 troops.
With a large army, we can even counterattack Romania and regain the territories occupied by them such as Ruse and Varna."
The words spoken by Prime Minister Radoslav used to make Ferdinand I excited, but now they made the king feel that his Prime Minister was a bit exaggerated.
What appeared in his mind was the secret meeting between Radical Democratic leaders Teodorov and Malinov yesterday evening. In this meeting that few people knew about, the two Radical Democrats described the current situation in Bulgaria to him in detail.
After hearing that hundreds of thousands of people in Bulgaria had starved to death due to famine, and that the soldiers were generally war-weary, and that Bulgaria was facing attacks from two sides and had lost hundreds of thousands of troops, the king, who rarely interfered with the situation, decided to
Do something for this country.
This interview was actually a step for King Ferdinand to give to the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, taking on the role of Prime Minister has made Radoslav dizzy. In other words, joining the Allied camp has made him lose his way out. The Prime Minister in front of him is still trying to get the King to support him.
plan of.
Ferdinand I, who has been king and commander of the army for many years, has now made it very clear. The biggest problem in Bulgaria at present is that the soldiers are tired of this war with no victory in sight. There is no way for anyone to solve this problem. And the prime minister is in front of himself
Having said so much, I have been avoiding a key issue, which is the wishes of the soldiers who have rioted outside the city.
Resigning the prime minister and cabinet is not a difficult choice for the king. And now there is a more urgent problem for him to solve, which is how to ensure the existence of the royal family in Bulgaria.
So when he saw Prime Minister Radoslav talking endlessly about his ridiculous plans, Ferdinand told him directly. "Radoslav heard that you are sick and in poor health?"
Prime Minister Radoslav, who was still immersed in his own show plan, did not understand the intention of the king who did not even bother to say the word prime minister for a while, and answered directly. "Your Majesty, my health is very good and I don't have any pain at all."
Seeing that the Prime Minister did not fully understand what he said, Ferdinand I said it again very bluntly. "Prime Minister, you are not in good health and you must rest."
When Ferdinand said the word rest, he deliberately emphasized his tone, which made Radoslav react. Then the prime minister looked at the king with disbelief, as if to say is this true?
Ferdinand I also said one more thing about this. "Prime Minister, when you are sick, just leave the work to others. You can just rest and recuperate."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I... I... am not in good health and I do need to rest."
After Radoslav finished these words intermittently, as if he had been drained of energy, he then said in a dry tone, "I will announce my resignation tomorrow."
Prime Minister Radoslav's words made Ferdinand breathe a sigh of relief. No one could ignore the voice of the troops outside the city. In addition, it was the Prime Minister who was responsible for negotiating to join the Allied camp. If he continued to negotiate a truce with the Allies, it would be embarrassing for both parties.
.
After Prime Minister Radoslav said all this, he asked curiously, "Your Majesty, may I ask who will succeed me as Prime Minister?"
When faced with the issue of Radoslav, Ferdinand I said generously: "Malinov of the Radical Democratic Party has a good influence in Britain and France, and he will be a suitable candidate."
The king's words made Radoslav appear in his mind. When he decided to join the Allied camp, he strongly opposed everyone's face when he decided to join the Allied camp. Radoslav also had to admit that this candidate was indeed suitable for negotiating an armistice agreement.
.
"Malinov is indeed a suitable candidate for negotiation."
After seeing off Prime Minister Radoslav, Ferdinand summoned a confidant and said: "Immediately send a message to Teodorov and Malinov. The Prime Minister has agreed to resign and let them prepare for the replacement. Then let them find it immediately."
The British and French commercial agencies in Sofia informed them of our decision to armistice. We also sent a message to General Ivanov and informed the soldiers outside the city that the prime minister would lead the cabinet to resign. Now they should be satisfied."
After Ferdinand finished speaking, the attendant nodded and replied, "Okay, Your Majesty, I'll do it right away."
While watching the attendants leaving, Ferdinand thought of the discussion with Teodorov and Malinov last night, and said to himself, "I hope you can guarantee the status of the royal family."
It turns out that Ferdinand I decided to let the Radical Democratic Party come to power, and the reason was that they promised to keep Wang Shi's position.
Just for this move, the royal family had to give up too many things, including even abdicating the throne. In his mind, Ferdinand was already sufficiently prepared for this, because of the news that the Russian Czar was forced to abdicate and was under house arrest.
, making him feel uneasy. Therefore, for the sake of the country and the royal family, peace talks now have become a necessary choice. After all, no one wants to negotiate again at the gate of the city.
