Mediterranean Hegemony Road

The early establishment of the Kingdom of Montenegro did not arouse the world situation, and even in the Balkans, it did not cause a few waves.

A small country is a small country after all, and the Kingdom of Montenegro is not yet worthy of world attention. After the Balkan Wars, the focus of the world has returned to South Africa again.

The British are still fighting with the Boers, and it seems that it will not end in the short term. Of course, the British will still win the final victory, which Ferdinand will not doubt.

It's just that this duration may be much longer than parallel space-time. From the news from the South African intelligence service, Ferdinand knew that there were now many more mercenary volunteers among the Boers.

There are also shadows of European countries, basically the French, Germans, Russians, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands... all participated in it.

This time, the British are fighting alone. To a certain extent, the Balkan war that has just ended has also helped the British.

The energy of the Russians and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was involved, and they did not continue to block them in South Africa. The most important thing is that the two countries have little interests in South Africa.

Of course, the British didn't do anything either. According to Ferdinand's knowledge, the high-level officials of Germany and France had already had the intention of cooperating on the South African issue, but with the efforts of the British, there has been no progress!

Including in the Near East, the British showed weakness to the Russians and watched the Russians control the Black Sea Strait, all in order to divide the European continent and unanimously target the British as part of the action!

Ferdinand didn't know what was going on behind the British, but he knew that the Germans had made a lot of money now.

Since the Anglo-Boer War, hundreds of tons of gold have flowed into Europe from the Boer Republic, and at least half of them have entered the pockets of the Germans!

It made Ferdinand salivate, but fortunately, he still had self-knowledge and knew that with Bulgaria's current strength, it was still the most suitable for him to continue to be a melon eater.

Grand Duke, the British Minister has asked us to buy a 75mm rapid-fire field gun. What should we do? Foreign Minister Metev asked.

Ferdinand said without hesitation: Sell! As long as the price is right, we will sell it, and we will sell it together with the technology!

Ferdinand knew very well that as soon as the 75mm rapid-fire field gun appeared in the Balkan Wars, it would attract the attention of European countries.

It is no longer necessary to continue to keep secrets, and besides, this is plagiarism from the French. It's just that Bulgaria came out early,

Now the French army has only just begun to be deployed, which has caused no trouble!

Instead of waiting for the French to sell it, it's better to do the business yourself. Moreover, the technical content of the 75mm rapid-fire field gun is not so high that the foreign powers can't really copy it. It is only a matter of time before the British Empire gets the finished product and wants to copy it.

Historically, the Germans have not done it for a long time, largely because of their face. There is also this rapid-fire gun, which runs counter to the idea of ​​the German Army's pursuit. Otherwise, it is pure plagiarism, and the Germans have already done it in the laboratory.

Grand Duke, how should I report this price? Foreign Minister Metev asked with a headache. The export of weapons technology is the first time for a big girl to go to the sedan chair in Bulgaria, and there is no experience to be found.

The previous transaction with the Russians was different. Everyone was exchanging artillery technology, and there was no bargaining.

The arms trade, often with political implications, must be taken into account.

From the perspective of the relationship between the two sides, even if Bulgaria and the Russians are allied, the relationship with the British is still not bad. Not only with the UK, but also with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

This is not surprising. During this period, the contradictions between the major European powers have not intensified, and it is not time to stand on their own.

Bulgaria's sale of rapid-fire gun technology to Britain was also a diplomatic gesture. The same move Ferdinand prepared to do several more times, whether it was Germany, Austria-Hungary, or even Italy, it could be sold. Ferdinand had no obligation to keep the French secret.

When Ferdinand was thinking about what to exchange, Petrov suddenly said, Grand Duke, the British navy is number one in the world, why don't you exchange warships with the British!

It seems that he, the bare Admiralty, has become impatient and wants to buy some new toys for the Navy. That's right, it's a toy. With the background of the Bulgarian Navy, if you get a warship, don't even think about forming combat effectiveness in the short term!

Ferdinand shook his head and said: I'm afraid this is not possible. Although the technology of rapid-fire guns is important, its value is limited after all. If it is exchanged at an equivalent value, it is estimated that a few torpedo boats can be exchanged, and at most one or two small tonnage boats. Destroyer, not very useful.

Petrov said reluctantly: We can still make up the price difference. At any rate, we have to get a few warships back and let the navy operate normally first?

His words reminded Ferdinand that the navy is not something that can be done in a day or two. Army training may only take half a year to have a certain combat effectiveness, and the navy has started at least ten years. A ready-made example is the Japanese navy, which has a relatively short rise time.

Then discuss with the British and exchange the warships they are about to retire, and bring them back to be used as training ships. Ferdinand made a decision.

As for what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can get in exchange, Ferdinand doesn't care anymore. Anyway, it is just right for the Bulgarian Navy to use broken copper and iron, and it doesn't feel bad if it breaks.

If it wasn't for the fact that Maozi's warships were too pitted, he was going to get a few retired warships from Maoxiong. Later, when he actually learned about the situation, he realized how powerful Mao Xiong's bean curd slag project was. A small part of their warships that were about to retire could not go out to sea, because going out to sea would have the risk of sinking to the bottom.

The British are much better in this regard. The navy is their core, and they control the quality of warships much more strictly. After the warships are retired, they can be used as armed merchant ships.

By the way, you can also study the British warships, although they are technically behind an era. But it is also a challenge for Ferdinand's soon-to-be-established shipyard.

Such a small episode passed, and then in the near future, the Bulgarian Navy ushered in the first batch of warships, starting the foundation-laying of the Bulgarian Navy.

How is it going with our exchange of subjects with the Ottoman Empire? Ferdinand asked

Prime Minister Konstantin said with a wry smile: The Ottoman government is really bad. Now they are busy with internal struggles and exchanging people's affairs. They don't take it seriously, and we have done all the main work.

Including the mobilization of the Bulgarians within the Ottoman Empire to relocate, the Sudanese government is indifferent, and the Turks repatriated to the Ottoman Empire now want us to pay for their living expenses in advance!

For Ferdinand, no matter how bad the Ottoman Empire was, it was acceptable. All kinds of corruption and incompetence of the Ottoman government have been exposed in the Internet age.

Ferdinand nodded and said: Well, no matter how bad the Ottoman government is, the job of exchanging people must be done well, and the issue of resettlement must also be considered, mainly for the employment of ordinary people.

In addition, many people's belongings in the Ottoman Empire will definitely not be taken away, which will also dissuade them from coming back. Does the government have a compensation plan?

Constantine said confidently: In this regard, the Grand Duke can rest assured that most of the Bulgarian people in the Ottoman Empire are at the bottom of society, basically poor and white, and they have been oppressed by the Sudanese government for a long time.

Most of them are welcome to return to the big family in Bulgaria, and the migration work is still going smoothly.

In principle, after we relocated a group of Turks, the houses and land they left behind were used by us to resettle the people who came back. Considering the actual situation, we paid the living expenses for the next year on a per capita basis.

Most of the people were relocated to the countryside by us, and a very small number of artisans and people from other industries were relocated to the cities. The government is still working on the employment issue.

Ferdinand nodded. It involved the relocation of millions of people, which could not be done in an instant. As for whether the Ottoman government will hinder, Ferdinand is not worried at all.

The Bulgarians moved away, and the vacated land and houses became the private property of the Ottoman nobles, and the Turks who moved back happened to work for them again to earn a living.

Regarding these issues, Ferdinand believed that the officials of the Immigration Bureau would do the work of the Ottoman nobles. After all, there is no difference between the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty, and few officials are willing to cause diplomatic disputes.

Constantine then added: However, we also encountered some troubles. Bulgarians lived in the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years, and there were not a few intermarriages with other local ethnic groups, and many people also mixed in through relatives.

However, many of them still owe usury loans, and they can only leave after we help to pay in advance!

In this way, our expenses will be greatly increased, and the number of immigrants may also exceed our estimates, and the later resettlement work is a problem.

Ferdinand's current situation is mixed, the population is undoubtedly precious to Bulgaria, but the sudden increase of the population will cause employment problems.

After thinking for a while, Ferdinand still decided: Come, as long as we agree with Bulgaria in terms of cultural concepts, we will open up!

However, the ruffians are not among them, even if they are really Bulgarian, they can't want it. What we need are people who can bear hardships and stand hard work and can contribute to the construction of Bulgaria!

Well, the Ottoman nobles did a good thing, they exploited the minorities, and many were forced to separate their wives and children. Now that there is a chance to leave the country, of course these people will try their best to run away.

Ferdinand remembers that in history, the Turkish government and the Greek government exchanged ethnicities after the First World War. As a result, the Greeks have not all returned, and the number of Greeks who have moved back has already exceeded the total number of Greeks counted by the Ottoman Empire.

Originally Ferdinand thought it was caused by a demographic error, but now he discovered that this nation can still be impersonated, as long as the language is the same, and a few people guarantee each other.

Think about it too, the Ottoman Empire is corrupt, but no matter how incompetent it is, it is impossible to make millions of errors in the statistics of the Greek nation!

Anyway, after Greece completed the exchange of population, the number of many ethnic minorities in the Ottoman Empire was greatly reduced, which proved this again.

Whether it is true or not, in this era, there is no way to verify it. Anyway, as long as they insisted that they were Bulgarians, the Immigration Department did not have so much energy to verify the authenticity.