Chapter 623 Balkan Alliance
The insignificant joint response of France and Portugal in the South Asian subcontinent is just a tiny episode in an increasingly unstable world. Italy and the Ottoman Empire are still fighting in North Africa. Although it is obviously the rhythm of old-fashioned warfare, it is undeniable that North Africa is only the Mediterranean Sea away from Europe, which is enough to attract the attention of the two major military groups.
As for another aspect, Sheffield kept contacting Imperial Russia to inquire about the progress of Imperial Russia's preparations in the Balkans. Things in Europe have become so complicated, how could the British have the time to pay attention to a trivial joint response?
However, in Paris, the discussion of jointly dealing with Portugal is much more heated than in London. In the final analysis, it is not particularly important. Whether it is important or not depends on marketing.
With French son-in-law Sheffield wielding money to vigorously market, even the smallest things can inspire the pride of the French. The first step in propaganda is not to make others believe in your ideas, but to make the citizens of your country support the government.
Just like any army, no matter how much it claims to protect the country and safeguard national interests, the first purpose of the army itself is to suppress citizens.
Telling lies with open eyes is a basic skill for a media person, and this is what Hearst taught Sheffield.
There was more than one piece of good news from his wife. In addition to this, Anne was pregnant again. It was just after they arrived at Oak Manor for the filming. Listening to Anne's shy joy in the microphone, the slave owner looked at Mary Pickford beside him and felt a little guilty.
"I can also give birth to a child for you!" Mary Pickford said hurriedly as soon as she hung up the phone.
"Your words give me the illusion that I'm very charming. Also, I recently heard that you were a little dissatisfied with the role David Griffith arranged. I can remind you now that I never quarrel with my partners. The reason can be explained." Sheffield said calmly, "If you think that your current relationship with me means you can disrespect my partners, it's a mistake to think so."
"Another point is that if you want to stay with me for a long time, I will give you two movies to retire. I will not allow my woman to appear on the screen all the time." Sheffield emphasized this point, "This is what you have to do. Of course, if you don't want to retire, thank you for your companionship during this time, and I will give you enough compensation."
Sheffield's voice was not loud, but it was full of unquestionable force, which made Mary Pickford understand that it was her business to choose, but there must be an unquestionable choice.
Sheffield would not let personal feelings affect his judgment. He once hung his brother-in-law on a steel furnace and almost grilled him. After the election, he teamed up with the bosses of Rockefeller and Morgan to humiliate the former president of the United States.
In front of Natalia and Alice Roosevelt, Sheffield was almost like a bootlicker. He could act ruthlessly without hesitation. If it were Mary Pickford, he would not hesitate at all to do something.
Sheffield gave Mary Pickford two choices: either retire from the entertainment industry and concentrate on being a wealthy wife after becoming famous, or continue making movies, but in the future, she should not use her connections as a cover for whatever she does.
"Father!" Mary Pickford whispered in her cloyingly sweet voice into the slave master's ear.
Sheffield shuddered and frowned, "Didn't I tell you not to call me that?"
What made the slave owners most uncomfortable was that a certain part of their body began to show signs of swelling because of this title.
The body's reaction is honest, and one must continue to oppose even if one speaks out against it. Being both right and wrong is something slave owners often do.
"You just deserve a good lesson." Sheffield gritted his teeth, his body surging.
"I got it, father!" A pair of lotus-like arms tightly hooked around Sheffield's neck, and Mary Pickford looked at the man with intoxicating eyes as he did what he did to her.
"Some people always think they are young and pretty and don't take my words seriously." Looking at the intense filming process of the film crew from afar, Sheffield with his hands in his pockets retracted his gaze and turned his head to ask, "No gossip has spread, right?"
"I don't think so, right? My people didn't find anything!" Jesla said with an expression on his face but a little uncertain, "Boss, this female star is really beautiful, it's normal that you didn't guard against her?"
"Why does it sound like you're scolding me in a roundabout way?" Sheffield glanced at Jesla. What does it mean to be beautiful? Is it normal to be unprepared? What is the necessary connection here? Isn't the head of the bodyguard saying that the slave owner is both a powerful and a weak person?
Although he didn't deny it in his heart, he said to himself, "Waiting is really a difficult stage."
In the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, Rasputin, who seemed to be shrouded in mystery, said in a firm tone in front of Nicholas II and his wife, "The opportunity for the Russian Empire to realize its hundreds of years of dream has appeared. Missing this opportunity will be a huge mistake for the great Russian Empire, an unforgivable mistake."
Since successfully predicting the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War, Rasputin has silenced the hostility of the Russian aristocracy. If he had ever made predictions under the chandelier of the palace, he would have been met with all kinds of suspicion.
Predicting the outbreak of a war completely turned Rasputin, a liar in the eyes of the nobles, into a saint in the eyes of the emperor and his wife. The trust in Rasputin had reached an unprecedented level.
As the emperor of a great empire, Nicholas II certainly could not be like his wife, blindly obeying others' orders for no reason. He had other channels of information and knew the emotions spreading among the people in the Balkan countries.
The wave of Pan-Slavism was of course also popular within the Russian Empire, but its source did not originate from within Imperial Russia.
After the European Revolution in 1848, the Slovaks in exile in Prague proposed convening a Slavic Congress. The congress was held as scheduled in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and an invitation letter was sent to the Russian ambassador to Austria, but was rejected silently.
The conference mainly discussed the importance of Slavs in the Austrian Empire, the relationship between Slavs in Austria, and the relationship between Slavs in Austria and Slavs outside Austria and other European ethnic groups.
It is very clear that at that time, the Russian Empire was the biggest backer of the European monarchy. It was actually indifferent to the Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, as expansion in other directions was blocked, the Russian Empire finally listened to the call of the Slavs outside the Russian Empire. The emperor of the Russian Empire seriously considered that since it was impossible to rely on its own country to defeat the Ottoman Empire, it could also try to use agents to dismantle the Ottoman rule over Southeast Europe.
Pan-Slavism within the Russian Empire developed from indifference to acceptance and encouragement, but the Pan-Slavists outside the Russian Empire were the most fanatical ones.
The Great Slavists within the Russian Empire wanted to convince all Slavs to accept the theory of the unification of all Slavs by the Russian Empire. According to their ideas, the political ideas of the Slavs in Central and Southeast Europe under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire should be changed from accepting the rule of the Ottoman Empire and Austria to accepting the rule of the Russian Empire.
The Russian Empire began to change its mind and began to infiltrate the Balkan Peninsula. Now it has successfully made Pan-Slavism the mainstream thought of the entire Balkan Peninsula. Whether it is Montenegro, Serbia or Bulgaria, all of them have fallen into the frenzy of Pan-Slavism. Under the auspices of the Russian Empire, they expanded their military and prepared to rescue all the Slavs under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Nicholas II was of course making his own war preparations, and now that Rasputin, the saint who predicted the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War, also felt that the current international situation was very favorable, he was completely relieved!
The next day, Nicholas II convened a royal meeting to discuss the Balkan Peninsula. Nicholas openly agreed, "Your Majesty has a very thorough understanding of the situation in the Balkan Peninsula. The local Slavs are looking forward to us with eager eyes. Whether it is Serbia and Montenegro, Bulgaria or Greece, they all need our support now."
"If we can open up a passage to the Mediterranean and allow our Russian forces to enter the Mediterranean, the situation in the entire Eurasian continent will undergo a huge change." Seeing that his uncle, who had always been very talented, also agreed, Nicholas II nodded with satisfaction and said, "The current situation is very favorable. We must take advantage of the war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire to accomplish this. The chances of success are very high."
"Bulgaria and Serbia are still the main forces this time. In terms of military strength, Bulgaria is more powerful." Grand Duke Nicholas agreed, "I wonder when we start?"
"Right away!" Nicholas II gave his answer, and revealed, "Serbia and Bulgaria have already formed a secret alliance, and relevant preparations have already been underway."
When Enver was fighting the Italian army in North Africa, the two countries signed the Treaty of Serbia-Bulgaria Alliance, in which both sides guaranteed each other's independence and territorial integrity. If one of them was invaded by another country, the other side would provide full support. The two sides also agreed that when any major power attempted to annex the Balkan territory, both sides should assist each other with all their armed forces.
Among the countries in the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria and Serbia are the strongest. Although each country has its own supporters, there is no doubt that the agents of Imperial Russia have an overwhelming advantage in these countries.
As the war continued in North Africa, the Balkan Alliance hidden in the shadows gradually surfaced.
(End of this chapter)
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