Chapter 389 Rose Crown
Chapter 389 Rose Crown
"Mehmed Murad V requests an audience."
Well, that’s how important negotiations work. Before starting formal negotiations, representatives will visit and communicate with each other so as to obtain more favorable conditions during the formal negotiations.
The Ottoman Empire's negotiating representative this time was the Grand Vizier, or Prime Minister Mahmed Nadim. Murad V was the son of the previous Sultan and the nephew of the current Sultan. He came with the purpose of assisting the envoys of various countries in communicating with them as a royal family member.
"Your Highness."
Shao Quanzhong quickly returned the greeting, "Your Highness, you are too polite. Please!"
Both parties were of the same level and sat opposite each other drinking tea.
Although Shao Quanxiao is an important figure in the Bulgarian Restoration Army, it doesn't matter. There are many cases where the two brothers stand on different camps.
The Grand Duchy of Crimea did not officially send troops, and the Qing Dynasty was one of the powers that mediated the Balkan War. Shao Quanzhong did not have a falling out with the Ottoman Empire.
Murad V once went to Kokand in person and signed the Treaty of Kokand with Shao Quanzhong, establishing a new tripartite alliance between Qing, Britain and Turkey to fight against Tsarist Russia. So he was considered an acquaintance.
"Your Highness is an old friend of the Qing Dynasty. Don't worry. I will represent Russia in the conference this time and will do my best to take care of the interests of the Ottoman Empire. I will also greet the Qing Dynasty's representative, Ambassador to the United Kingdom Guo Songtao, and will not embarrass you."
"Thank you for your favor, Your Highness. In fact, the situation of the empire has deteriorated to such an extent that it can no longer be worse. In this peace conference, our Ottoman Empire will definitely lose a lot of territory. If you, Qing Dynasty and Russia, do not want benefits, other countries will not be polite either."
"So you should take the benefits you deserve. After all, the Qing Dynasty and the Grand Duchy of Crimea are friendly countries. They are not like the Austro-Hungarian Empire that is eyeing the Balkans and the British that is eyeing our money. Neither of them has good intentions when mediating."
"I came here not to ask Your Highness to ask for less benefits, but to consider the future of the Ottoman Empire."
Murad V took out a piece of paper from his pocket and said, "This is the order my country is going to place with Good Fruit Company."
Shao Quanzhong took it and looked at it. There were 300 tanks, 400 armored vehicles, 400 wheeled personnel carriers, 100 steam artillery tractors, 100 Krupp heavy artillery, 300 Krupp six-pound field guns, and 500 steam logistics transport vehicles.
Enough to equip one mechanized tank division, one mechanized artillery division, and two mechanized infantry divisions.
This is a deal worth nearly 10 million taels of silver, and the profit must account for three quarters of it. What a big deal Osman made.
Shao Quanzhong nodded slightly. He had done this before. It was basically purchasing arms as a token of his loyalty and to gain the other party's support.
If someone wants to give you a profit of several million taels of silver, this money must have been borrowed from the powerful countries, which was not easy. So he must have something in mind.
"The Ottoman Empire is so sincere, you can ask for anything you want."
Murad IV lowered his voice, "We want to learn the secret of the new high explosive."
Shao Quanzhong didn't even think about it, "Deal!"
"Your Highness, you are so open-minded. We in the Ottoman Empire are grateful. In the future, the Ottoman Empire will follow your lead in international affairs. If the Qing Dynasty is willing, we can also become your vassal."
Shao Quanzhong waved his hands repeatedly, "Absolutely not, you are putting the Qing Dynasty on the spot. We are all younger brothers of big brother Britain, but we must not let big brother Britain doubt that the Qing Dynasty has the ambition to rise independently."
"I understand, so I just said that. But I personally think that with your great talent and vision, Shao, this day will come sooner or later."
"The big brother, Britain, is too greedy for money and is never polite when selling us out. He is not a leader we can follow for a long time. The Ottoman Empire wants to secretly form an unbreakable alliance with you. In the future, you eat meat and we drink soup, becoming loyal little brothers of the Qing Dynasty."
Shao Quanzhong looked at Murad V. It was rare that the Ottoman Empire had such an admirer of its own.
"Your Highness, I feel your sincerity. From now on, we are family. Shao has always been open-hearted to his own people. To tell you the truth, I do not recognize the Ottoman Empire, but I recognize you as a person. From now on, we two brothers will be firm allies."
Shao Quanzhong and Murad V shook hands tightly, gaining a staunch ally in the Ottoman royal family.
…………
The next day, the London Peace Conference was officially convened.
The four mediating countries that participated in the peace conference were Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Qing Dynasty. The seven participating countries in the Balkan War were the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Italy.
British Prime Minister Braxton chaired the meeting, and various countries put forward their demands.
Britain's own demand was that the Ottoman Empire must not be destroyed, and that the Turkish soldiers besieged in Sofia and Pleven Fortress must be withdrawn intact to Istanbul. No one dared to object to this.
As for Italy, the four volunteer divisions organized by Chaoerbahuo have not yet been completed. They have only sent out the navy and have not made much contribution.
Moreover, all the troops had been sent to the front line, and the Ottoman Empire, which had been depleted a lot, had robbed a lot of money along the coast, which was enough to break even.
Therefore, Italy's condition was to execute Muzaffar Pasha, the murderer who ordered the killing of Garibaldi, one of the founding fathers of Italy.
The representative of Bulgaria was Prince Alexander I of Battenberg who came from Germany. The 14-year-old prince was brought here by his father, Prince Alexander, and was favored by the great powers to lead Bulgaria after independence.
The father and son had never even been to Bulgaria, and had no direct experience of the Ottoman Empire's massacre of Bulgaria.
Apart from demanding Bulgaria's independence from the Ottoman Empire and dividing the Ottoman Empire's territory in the Balkans, there was no demand for punishing war criminals.
Shao Quanzhong, the Russian representative, was quite competent. He demanded the independence of the three Slavic countries of Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria, and the division of the Macedonia region, which was mainly inhabited by Slavs.
The meeting lasted for more than ten days, and finally the Treaty of London was signed.
Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro gained independence from the Ottoman Empire and were recognized by the great powers.
Macedonia, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, was divided among Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Thessaloniki was incorporated into Greece.
Serbia originally wanted to annex Albania, but was stopped by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had ulterior motives towards Serbia, and Albania became independent.
The Ottoman Empire lost most of its territory in the Balkans, and only the core territory of Thrace around Istanbul remained in Europe.
Suddenly, five new countries appeared on the Balkan Peninsula: Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania.
After the meeting, Prince Murad signed a bilateral treaty with Guo Songtao, the Qing Dynasty's ambassador to the United Kingdom, at Shao Quanzhong's request, ceding the land sovereignty of the Suez Canal to the Qing Dynasty.
For Türkiye, the Balkan Peninsula has been lost, so what does a river mean? Moreover, this river belongs to Egypt, and Egypt has already stopped listening to the Empire and may declare independence at any time.
Prince Murad exchanged a river that the Ottoman Empire could not control at all for Shao Quanzhong's full support.
The Suez Canal was leased to the Canal Company for 99 years. This treaty simply changed the Qing Dynasty's 99-year property rights into permanent property rights. The Ottoman Empire was in turmoil, so who the hell cared about what would happen a hundred years later?
After the conference, everyone went back to their own homes. Shao Quanzhong stayed with Rong Hui and her son for a few more days in London, and returned home on the Haiqi. On the way back, he also visited Madrid to see Isabel and her Spanish son.
…………
August 1872, 8, Sofia.
Under the supervision of the peacekeeping forces of Britain, Austria-Hungary, Qing Dynasty and the Grand Duchy of Crimea, 100,000 besieged Turkish soldiers officially withdrew from Sofia.
There were cheering people everywhere, full of hope for Bulgaria's future.
Prince Alexander Joseph of Battenberg, recognized by the great powers, entered Sofia under the escort of the German Guards and peacekeeping forces of the great powers, preparing to be crowned the Grand Duke of Bulgaria in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral.
The team had just arrived at Hagia Sophia when a huge roar suddenly came from Sophia Street.
The fifteen-year-old Prince was confused and walked out of the church under the guidance of his father.
The streets were filled with angry crowds and the "Rose Crown Tricolor Flag" was flying everywhere. The people shouted loudly, "Germans, get out of Bulgaria! We don't need Germans to be our kings!"
(End of this chapter)