At the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, after receiving Ferdinand's telegram of protest, Nicholas II merely laughed it off!
Oh, that was not the point. What mattered was that the opportunity Russia had awaited for so long had finally arrived!
Bulgaria had asked the navy to join the war and sever the connection between Constantinople and the Asia Minor peninsula. After more than half a month of artillery exchanges, the Ottoman Empire's shell reserves had already fallen to their lowest point!
At the same time, Bulgarian artillery could also suppress the Ottoman coastal batteries. After all, the Bosporus Strait was only so wide—having both shores blast away at each other was no problem at all!
The Minister of the Navy said excitedly, "Your Majesty, the navy is ready. We can deploy at any time!"
The Minister of Finance proposed, "Shouldn't we wait a little longer? Or simply wait until the Bulgarians occupy Constantinople before sending out the navy? That would be safer."
The Minister of the Navy's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "We cannot wait any longer. The longer the night, the more dreams there are! According to the intelligence we have received, the Ottoman Empire has already ordered a batch of weapons and ammunition from the Germans. Once that equipment reaches their country, we will be in serious trouble!"
The Minister of the Army hesitated repeatedly before deciding to lend a hand. He spoke up, "Your Majesty, according to the assessment of the frontline observation group, we have now gained an absolute advantage in firepower, but that advantage has been built upon the expenditure of countless shells!
"Since the war began, Bulgaria has expended nearly three million shells. More than eighty percent of them were used at Constantinople, including several hundred thousand shells supplied