Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 118: Serbia's preparation

The Minister of Finance had a bright idea and said, "In that case, can we not collect weapons from the people? Whether it's a hunting rifle or musket, equip the soldiers with them first, no matter how bad it is, it's better than having empty hands!"

What a good guy. In this short period, 200,000 troops have the weaponry! Fortunately, the Minister of War is also a civil official whose only partially flawed military level. Otherwise, he would have been furious!

With a bunch of messy equipment put together, the logistics of supplies alone can break people down!

Aleksandar I nodded with content, so soon to get the weaponry done! It was as if he had already seen the scene of 300,000 Serbian troops coming to Sofia.

The Minister of Finance interrupted his thoughts and said with a bitter smile, "Now that the problem of weapons is solved, do we need to think about where to get money? Three hundred thousand troops is not something we can afford to raise!"

The military expenditure took up 80 percent of the government's expenditure in order to suppress the rebellion. It's a good thing that the army has doubled in one go, but where will we get the money?

After pondering for a while, the pro-Austrian Prime Minister Radoman Bovic gritted his teeth and said cautiously: "War with Bulgaria is a last resort! Now we should consider using diplomacy and ask Austria-Hungary to intervene, even if it costs a certain amount, it is better than going to war with Bulgaria directly!"

The Minister of Finance at once supported his opinion. It was better to prepare for war, but it was possible to refrain from fighting!

Winning is fine, but what if you lose? What to do? Or what if the war is stagnated? What should Serbia do?

He wistfully thought that if Serbia did mobilize, perhaps it would be Bulgaria that would be the happiest! Nothing would have to be done, it would drag on for months, and the treasury would drag Serbia into the abyss!

If Ferdinand had known what he was thinking, he would have said, "Ah, the soulmate!" Yes, it was supposed to weaken Serbia's war potential this time, and he wouldn't mind if they could drag it down without bloodshed!

"The Prime Minister is right! We can't afford to fight right now. It would be unwise to blindly go to war with Bulgaria before the rebels at home have been solved!" said the Minister of Finance.

At this point, the Minister of War is no longer silent. The Serbian military is not the one to be messed with it. If they are interrupted from expanding the army, the Minister of War will be the end of his own!

"No! Bulgaria may attack at any moment. We must prepare with all our might. If we hope for diplomacy, if we fail, we will be at the mercy of others!!!

Don't forget that Bulgaria is already allied with Russia, and if Russia steps in to stall Austria-Hungary, we still have to deal with Bulgaria alone!"

Aleksandar I, who was somewhat motivated, once again hesitated, the possibility of what everyone said could happen, making it difficult for him to choose!

"What does the Minister of Foreign Affairs think, and what are the chances that Austria-Hungary will intervene? What about the attitude of the other great powers? And Romania and the Ottoman Empire, are they likely to side with us this time?" Aleksandar I asked expectantly.

Knowing that he could not avoid it this time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said with a bitter smile: "Austria-Hungary's attitude is now icy and did not make a clear statement supporting us. It reminds us to strengthen our preparations for war!

The Germans and the British have said they want to maintain the status quo, but they won't intervene directly! The French and the Russians have not yet taken a stand, and the Russians are now allies of Bulgaria. Even if they don't support them, they can't support us!

In Romania, Carol I had some interest, and with the Russian Empire's attitude unknown, they dared not make a move, but they agreed to sell us a batch of weapons at a low price! The Ottoman Empire is now busy with the Armenian issue and can't afford to let us fight!"

Aleksandar I complained, "Is this the effort of your Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Can't you find a single ally?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Your Majesty!"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said quickly but, in fact, in his heart, was cursing. What a joke. Do I cause the current situation?

Would this have happened if not for the conflict with Austria-Hungary over the loan in the previous period? Wonder who is the one who shouts every day about the establishment of 'Greater Serbia', without looking at where those territories are?

What's so strange is that Austria-Hungary is not happy? Who is the boss and who is the minion, such a matter of principle, are not explicit! It would be strange if Austria-Hungary would be willing to help if we now needed to greet them!

The attitude of other great powers was more than normal when Serbia invaded Bulgaria. Is not it also the same?

We, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at least also talked to Romania. Although not very reliable, at least they supported many weapons, although it also requires money!

Not to mention the Ottomans, we also have a share of the credit for their domestic unrest? It's not like we didn't do anything to encourage the minorities to make trouble!

By the way, we have managed to pull an ally! Although it can be negligible, but still can wave the flag!

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said with discontent: "Besides such countries, Greece is busy with the Ottomans in order to pull the trigger and hit Crete again! Montenegro has expressed support for us and strongly condemned the barbaric actions of the Bulgarian government!"

Aleksandar I just 'grunted' to show that he knew!

With a population of less than 400,000, almost zero industry, and a gate of Montenegro surrounded by Ottomans, they have nothing to do even if they want to help. They can completely ignore their attitude!

Looking at the childish king, Prime Minister Radoman Bovic made a big question mark in his mind. Did he wonder about the usual political struggle, which is not very powerful? How is it that when it comes to big things, the IQ has dropped, even if it is to blame, but also pay attention to the face!

After thinking about it, he said, "In that case, let's prepare with both hands! On the one hand, let's do our best to expand our army and prepare for war, and on the other hand, let's make diplomatic efforts and try our best to win!"

Radoman Bovic had no expectations of this war, and the darkness in his heart left by the Bulgarian War nine years ago has not yet passed!

He doesn't know the fighting strength of the Bulgarian army now! But he remembers that in the last war between Bulgaria and Serbia, they mobilized a group of Bulgarian hordes to beat the Serbian regular army with no guns and no artillery! Nowadays, they are much better than then!

How much has the fighting strength of the Serbian army improved compared to nine years ago? He didn't see it anyway, a small rebellion has taken so long, and he is trying to blame it on the support of Bulgaria!

Even if Bulgaria gave them a few guns, but the fact that you are, a regular army can not beat a few lowly people, does this still need to find a reason? Indeed he ignored the fact that the rebels in the fight had crushed the Serbian army!