On a winter day, a large group of soldiers on the streets of Sophia were walking with their bags on their backs, and there were many farewell people on both sides of the road. It can be seen from the sad expressions on the faces of others that they are sending their loved ones to the battlefield.

According to Bulgarian official statistics, Sofia, which had a population of 470,000 before the war, now counts only 310,000. Most of the population gap of 160,000 in the middle was conscripted into the army, and the 27th Division was formed in this way.

As a division formed by the third wave of Bulgaria in 16 years, it can only be said that the 27th Division was formed very late, mainly due to lack of equipment and training. As the 27th Division, which had already been selected and formed from the source of three melons and two jujube soldiers, his training cycle was generally longer than that of others. And according to the words of its division commander, the main responsibility of these troops, which consisted of soldiers in their forties and sixteen or seventeen, should be to defend second-tier cities. But now faced with the situation of Romania and the Entente attacking from both sides, the 27th Division can only catch ducks on the shelf.

Now the farewell scene shows the 27th Division.

As an order issued by Admiral Zekov, it has already arrived in the capital Sofia, and the 27th Division that received the order is ready to go to battle, so it is only right that the soldiers' relatives are sad. Moreover, reinforcements drawn from Thessaloniki had arrived outside the city, and they were now to join them up with them and go to Pleven to reinforce Lieutenant General Kutinchev, who was struggling to support him there. However, the reinforcements waiting for them outside the city have some troubles of their own.

In the temporary headquarters of the reinforcements outside the city, Lieutenant General Triyev, who was in charge of leading the troops, asked the communications staff officer with some dissatisfaction.

"Does Sophia still refuse to give me the supplies I need?"

The little staff officer who was questioned did not dare to reply. "There has been a message from Sophia's munitions warehouse. They had ammunition and munitions, but the wine and other necessities we needed were not stored in their warehouses. ”

The communications staff officer took one look at Lieutenant General Triyev and continued. "Then I followed your instructions to coordinate with the city government, but they refused, saying that they did not have many supplies, and we could not meet the number of our demands."

Hearing the words of the communications staff, Lieutenant General Triyev was very dissatisfied with the answer of the city government. Because he knew that Sophia, who lived in the capital with many powerful people, could not have lived without the materials he had said, and it was obvious that the city government was perfunctory to him.

Triev felt a little dissatisfied, so he picked up the phone and spoke to the operator. "Mayor Vasily, who picked me up from the city government, said that I, Triev, were looking for him."

After waiting for a few minutes, Lieutenant General Triyev finally got through to the mayor's call.

"Hey, is this Mayor Vasily, I'm Triev...... I remember the last time we saw each other at the King's Banquet...... This time, the soldiers complained because they were in a hurry, and I planned to give them some alcohol and food to relieve their mood...... Nothing, we have the order of the commander-in-chief, Admiral Zekov, to collect the necessary supplies for life...... I just said that Sophia is the capital, so I can do this, isn't it because I am in a hurry to say the wrong thing...... What or nothing, Mayor Vasily, hey, hey, hey. ”

Lieutenant General Triev, who put down the phone, had a somewhat cloudy expression, and this mayor Vasily had no way to take him at all.

Triev felt a little aggrieved in his heart, because Mayor Vasily regarded himself as a person who fought the autumn wind and used his power for personal gain. The conscience of heaven and earth does not have such thoughts at all, and everything he does is for the sake of the country.

As a general who has led troops for many years, he knows the situation of soldiers too well. The chronic shortage of living supplies, as well as the confrontation and fighting with the Entente in Thessaloniki, already had some discontent among the soldiers. And this urgent dispatch of front-line troops to reinforce Plevin has already somewhat shaken the soldiers' morale.

During the four-day march from Thessaloniki to Sofia, the number of soldiers left behind reached hundreds. Triev, as the commander, immediately saw that there were too many people left behind, and it was becoming more and more festering day by day.

So when he got to Sofia, Lieutenant General Triyev immediately contacted Admiral Zekov to express his concerns and ask for a day to stop here to restore the low morale of the soldiers. As a means of restoring morale, tobacco, alcohol, bacon and other daily necessities have become the materials he needs, but at present, the government does not have the idea of meeting his demands.

Just when Lieutenant General Triyev was a little undecided, the chief of staff, who had just gone to inspect the bottom floor, walked into the temporary headquarters with a cold wind.

Triev asked as soon as he saw his old partner enter the door. "What were the results?"

The chief of staff said to him with a worried face. "The condition of the troops was somewhat poor, and the soldiers were very resentful of the fact that they were drawn from the battlefield to reinforce Plevin. I visited many companies, and all officers complained to me that the soldiers were emotionally unstable and that they were disobedient to their orders. ”

Hearing what the chief of staff said, Triev knew that this was a soldier's vent for the fact that he had not been able to rest because of the mental tension on the battlefield. He also understands these soldiers very well, but the current situation makes it impossible for Bulgaria to let these elite soldiers rest. That's why he planned to anesthetize the soldiers with cigarettes, alcohol and other items first, so that they could release some of their emotions, but at present, it seems that his plan is about to fail.

The chief of staff looked at Lieutenant General Triev, who had an ugly face, and said tentatively. "We didn't get the extra supplies we needed?"

Faced with the chief of staff's inquiry, Triev nodded heavily and said. "I just spoke to Mayor Sofia on the phone, and he refused my request."

Hearing his partner's words, the chief of staff said with some sting. "What are these government officials thinking, aren't they afraid that the discontent of the soldiers will cause unrest."

Faced with the words of the chief of staff, Triev said with a wry smile. "He thought I was threatening him with the situation."

Triev spread his hands and continued helplessly. "So, it's impossible for us to get these supplies from the Sofia government."

In the face of Triev's words, the chief of staff spoke after thinking about it. "Why don't we ask the Prime Minister about it again?"

Faced with the words of the chief of staff, Triev hesitated. The reason is very simple, if this kind of thing goes to the prime minister, then it fully shows that his personal ability is limited.

So Triev said with some hesitation. "If this kind of thing is handled by the prime minister, I'm afraid neither of us will have a good time."

The prime minister has a lot of things to do every day, and it is impossible to arrange them directly for such things, and they are military generals, so it is a little inappropriate to go directly to the prime minister.

In this regard, the chief of staff said. "Prime Minister Radoslav probably won't refuse us."

To this Triev replied with some uncertainty. "It's hard to say, you know the style of our prime minister."

The two spoke of Radoslav as a lawyer born in Norwich, who had studied in Germany and Austria-Hungary, and had previously served as the youngest prime minister of Bulgaria (July-September 1886). After the resignation of Prime Minister Gaishov after the Balkan Wars, Radoslav's Liberal Party formed a cabinet, and he played a major role in Bulgaria's accession to the Central Powers.

His famous quote is: "If you love your country, then you should sacrifice everything for him."

So when facing the prime minister who is fanatically patriotic about the country, both of them are a little uncertain.

"Why don't you call and ask?"

In the face of Triev's inquiry, the chief of staff, who had been a little impulsive before, calmed down a little. He also said with some hesitation. "I think it's better to think about it in the long run, or we'll get these supplements in the next city."

"It's fine."

Triev, after a casual reply, glanced at the next city on the map, which marked the march on the road. Across the mountain range from Sofia, Felatsa, will be their next stop, and then they will arrive in Plevin.