Re: Blood and Iron

Kaiser Wilhelm II sat across from Ferdinand I who in 1915 was the current King of Bulgaria. The two men had rather stern expressions on their faces, as neither wished to say a word about their current predicament. Nor their ongoing disagreements.

Truth of the matter be told; Ferdinand was favorable to the Central Powers from the moment the war began. But he did not immediately act to get involved. Now, however, Greece had entered the war on behalf of the Central Powers, and the two nations were feuding over disputed territories such as that in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace.

In fact, one might say this was an irreconcilable grudge. One that made the King of Bulgaria wish to go to war, but he had already recently lost a war pressing these claims, and if truth be told, he hated the Ottomans far more than he did the Greeks.

Yet, despite this, he would not allow the Hellenic Army to march through his lands, nor their allies. And that was why the German Kaiser was here, along with the other leaders of the Central Powers, who were based in Europe.

Emperor Franz Joseph I, Tsar Nicholas II, and King Constantine I of Greece. All of them had gathered on Neutral Ground in Geneva to discuss this matter of military access that could destroy the Ottoman Empire once and for all.

Negotiations had started out well enough, that is until Constantine had to open his mouth about disputed territories with Bulgaria, and how the lands they wished to march through should rightfully belong to Greece.

This, in turn, caused a rather volatile verbal disagreement to break out among the two men, until Kaiser Wilhelm stepped in and told the King of Greece to remain composed and act with the dignity a man in his position should have.
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Thus, at the moment, Kaiser Wilhlem II sighed heavily, before posing a question to the King of Bulgaria, one which he was not expecting.

"Is there anything you desire that I have the ability to provide, which will make you agree to temporary military access? We simply wish to march our troops through your southern territory, and in doing so attack Constantinople from both sides… That is all we are requesting, there is nothing to be said about your current lands, even if King Constantine has given voice to such grievances...."

King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria scratched his chin for several moments, before finally giving a response which nobody expected.

"There are a few terms I have that could make me agree, but I don't know if you are willing to accept these conditions of mine…"

Nobody had thought that Ferdinand would budge on this issue, especially after Constantine had begun a heated argument about disputed territories, some of which they would actually be marching through.

However, when the Kaiser heard, there was indeed hope to gain that which he needed to seize the Capital of the Ottoman Empire, and hopefully force their capitulation early. He was more than ecstatic in his response.

"Just ask, and if it is within my power to grant you, I will give it!"

This was the statement that Ferdinand was hoping to hear as he gave voice to a request that immediately caused everyone to become hesitant to respond.

"If that is truly the case, then you don't mind licensing the local production of the small arms which has made your Army peerless in this world here in Bulgaria, would you?"

Even the Kaiser felt as if he had been overeager in his response as he bit his tongue and thought of a way out of this minefield he had accidentally walked into. Wilhelm's hesitation was actually exactly what Ferdinand wanted.

If he was rejected, he could use this as just means to deny the request of the Central Powers, and could also hold them responsible for negotiations breaking down as the Kaiser would have gone back on his word.

And he was quick to take advantage of the hand that was dealt him.

"Well… well… I see now how much the worth of the Kaiser's word truly is. If you truly do not wish to license the manufacture of your small arms to me, so that I may protect my borders, then what point is there even-"

Ferdinand, however, was quickly cut off, not by the Kaiser, but surprisingly enough Tsar Nicholas II who came to his defense.

"It is not necessarily that Wilhelm does not wish to accept your request, Moreso that he can't, legally speaking that is… Not without violating the laws of the German Reich…"

This caused everyone's brow to raise as King Ferdinand asked what everyone else was currently thinking.

"What precisely do you mean?"

The Russian Tsar remained completely calm as he explained the details of these various weapons and the actual owners of their intellectual rights.

"From my understanding, the ownership of the rights to these weapons belongs solely with Von Zehntner Waffenwerke, which is a private arms corporation belonging to the von Zehntner family.

The Kaiser does not possess the power, nor does the German Government to steal intellectual property from the citizens of the German Reich, let alone hand it over to you without expressed permission of the rightful owners.

While the German Armed Forces can seize war material during a time of war, with due compensation, they cannot do so in regards to the intellectual property which said material is derived from.

Contracting local manufacture of such weapons is a matter you would have to take up directly with the von Zehntner family. Albeit, the Kaiser can grant permission for them to lease said rights to you. He cannot force them to do so."

Wilhelm was actually shocked that his cousin, Nicholas of all people, had come forward with the legal defense necessary to put a silver bullet in the scheme that the Bulgarian King had concocted…

And in doing so silenced everyone present. Having had his attempts to get his hands on the world's most advanced infantry weapons thoroughly butchered with this fact. Ferdinand was forced to request something else, or simply cease these negotiations here and there.

But that was ultimately something he did not wish to do, even if the party he was negotiating with did not know this fact. Because at the end of the day, he too wanted the Ottoman Empire to go the way of the Dodo Bird far more than he wanted to feud with the King of Greece….