Mediterranean Hegemony Road

There is no accident, the combat effectiveness of the Greek army is not very good, but it is no problem to solve a group of unorganized, fighting on their own.

When the riots were successfully quelled, George I was mixed, happy that he finally kept the throne, and worried that the price the Greeks paid this time was too tragic!

Even if it is hundreds of thousands of pigs, it is not easy to catch, let alone people?

Relying on the weapons left by the Ottomans, the gangsters living in Greece rose up to resist, even if they couldn't beat the Greek army, couldn't they still bully the Greek people?

Burning, killing and looting, they have no pressure. Originally living in a foreign country, the gangsters were full of fire. Before, there were still Ottomans who did not vent. Now that there is no restraint, they naturally have no scruples.

Then the Greek people suffered again, and when the chaos completely subsided, the time had entered 1898.

The economy of the Greek peninsula has completely collapsed. A large number of houses have been burned down, a large number of farmlands have been abandoned, and countless Greek people have died under the slaughter. Hundreds of thousands of Greek people have been displaced and are in urgent need of relief.

Seeing the emergency performance of the Greek government, Ferdinand had to admire the means of George I.

Not only has the conflict been successfully transferred and hidden dangers eliminated, the government has also added hundreds of thousands of free labor, alleviating the labor shortage in Greece's post-war reconstruction.

When Ferdinand was worried about the Greeks rising again, George I did another shocking event. On December 1, 1897, he publicly announced that due to the war, the Greek government was unable to return the funds of various countries. Borrowing, application for deferment of payment failed, the Greek government is now officially bankrupt!

Around is Ferdinand, who had long expected, and is now stunned by George I's actions. There are countless examples of government bankruptcy happening in Europe, and there are not a few kings who borrowed money to live.

But in modern times, it rarely happens again, and everyone will try to avoid it.

The main reason is that in the past, kings borrowed money from merchants, and most of them were borrowed from Jews. They could use bankruptcy to default on their debts, but merchants had no ability to recover money anyway!

But now it can't be done. If you borrow money from foreign powers, you have to pay it back even if you go bankrupt! Needless to say, the government goes bankrupt, but there is a revolution, and the new government has to pay off the old debts!

Moreover, this bankruptcy of the Greek government is different from the past, it collapsed together with their currency.

The pre-war drachma was worth the same as the Bulgarian lev and the Romanian leu.

1 drachma = 0.29 grams of gold, and now 10,000 drachmas cannot be exchanged for 0.29 grams of gold!

It's not that George I is spamming money, or that someone is counterfeiting. This is determined by the gold standard era. In an emergency, the Greek government used the gold reserves. Now the Greeks lack gold as the principal, and the drachma is similar to waste paper.

The Greek government was completely bankrupt, and all Ferdinand's worries were put down. This era is not the era of the uncle who owed debts.

Next, it is time for the creditors to take over the financial power of Greece. At least until the loan is paid off, the Greeks are unable to develop armaments!

Taking into account the actual situation in Greece now, in order to stabilize the situation, countries have to spend a huge sum of money to help them stabilize the situation and restore currency credit.

The Greek government will soon surpass Bulgaria in debt again. Perhaps their annual loan interest repayments will exceed their financial income!

In this way, for Bulgaria, the threat from Greece will cease to exist in the next few decades!

With one less competitor, Ferdinand was in a much better mood, and now his energies were devoted to the unborn little one.

Every day dutifully guarded by Xenia's side, waiting for the birth of the little guy.

Oh, it's still early, Xenia is only three months pregnant, and it's still very early for the baby to be born.

But Ferdinand, who has lived for two generations, was so close to being a father for the first time. He chose to accompany him there every day, just like an ordinary father, and he didn't want to miss it...

Grand Duke, there is an accident in Cuba! Foreign Minister Metev hurried over, interrupting Ferdinand's leisurely life

The Americans have attacked the Kingdom of Spain? Ferdinand asked with concern

On the surface, the Americans and the Spaniards are fighting for more Cuba and have nothing to do with Bulgaria. In fact, the international situation has long affected the whole body.

Once the Spanish-American War breaks out, the international situation will undergo great changes. When Spain was dragged into the war by the Americans, it was bound to withdraw from the joint operations against the British on the European continent.

Once Spain withdraws, it is very likely that the Portuguese will fall to the British again, block the Portuguese colonies in Africa, and cut off the transportation lines of the Boers.

History will go back to square one again, and without the support of the European continent, the defeat of the Boers is a matter of time.

Once the Anglo-Boer War is over, who knows where the idle John Bull will put his energy?

Of course, Bulgaria is not yet worth specifically targeting by the British. What Ferdinand was worried about was that if John Bull's next goal was to hit the bear, if Bulgaria was affected by Chiyu, he would not cry.

The dispute between the United States and Spain in Cuba is not a matter of one or two days. As early as 1896, the Americans were ready to forcefully intervene in the Cuban Revolution.

On December 7, 1896, Cleveland made it clear in his speech that the Spaniards had been unable to stabilize the situation in Cuba, and their legitimate rights and interests in Cuba had disappeared.

From this moment on, the U.S. government no longer intends to continue to recognize the legitimate ownership of Cuba by the Kingdom of Spain.

The speech further proposed that the U.S. government can choose three options: 1. Recognize Cuban independence; 2. Purchase Cuban sovereignty from the Kingdom of Spain at the expense of the U.S. government; 3. Take Cuba by force.

After William McKinley took office in 1897, he ordered the Kingdom of Spain to immediately quell the Cuban Revolution and complete the reform of Cuba.

Americans also protested the brutality of the Spanish army in the pacification, burning houses and destroying farmland, because American citizens were among the victims!

Well, the Americans are calling the thief to catch the thief. Who doesn't know the inextricable connection between the Cuban Revolutionary Army and the Americans? Without the support of the Americans, the Cuban Revolution would have been quelled long ago!

Metev replied: Yes! Just yesterday, December 6, President McKinley said in his congressional address that because the Spaniards stubbornly rejected the goodwill of the U.S. government, if the Spaniards cannot immediately restore order in Cuba, The U.S. government will have the right to forcefully intervene in the Cuban issue!

This can be considered an ultimatum, the Americans simply will not give the Spanish kingdom time, distance from the war, and now they just need a suitable excuse!

Ferdinand knew that the Americans could no longer bear it, and the reason for the delay was mainly to use the Cuban Revolutionary Army to probe the bottom of the Spaniards.

After all, Americans in this era do not have the self-confidence of later generations, and they are still very jealous of European powers.

However, the poor performance of the Spaniards in the Cuban rebellion has made them give up this fear. Driven by interests, the Americans can no longer bear it.

What is the attitude of the European countries? Ferdinand asked

Metev frowned and said, According to the information we have obtained, the British have decided to support the American operation this time!

Most other European countries tend to support Spain in public opinion, but it is hard to say whether there will be actual actions!

Ferdinand thought for a while and said: It seems that the Spaniards are finished this time, with their current strength, the possibility of winning this war is almost zero!

Among the great powers in the Americas, the strongest are the British, followed by the French, and the rest is Spain.

Now that the British have decided to support the Americans, even if the Spaniards have the support of European countries, they can only be regarded as equal, and the two sides still have to fight for strength in the end.

Unleash our influence and build momentum for the Spaniards in public opinion!

Interfering in such a major event as the Spanish-American War is not something that Bulgaria can afford to participate in, but it is still possible to support Spain in public opinion.

Anyway, the European continent now has no good opinion of the upstarts in the United States, and it is everyone's favorite thing to criticize them.

For Ferdinand, he supports any action that can weaken the United States, provided that Bulgaria does not emerge!

Just as public opinion exposes the ugly face of the U.S. government, people who want to immigrate to the U.S. may have to think about it again. Should they change to another place? This is also an invisible weakening.

Of course, this does not require Ferdinand to spread rumors. The international reputation of Americans in this era is really not very good. They have too much black history, and it's too late to whitewash them.

Yes! But Your Excellency the Grand Duke, what is the position of our government? Should we also clearly support Spain? Metev asked

Ferdinand didn't think about it, and said, Ask the attitude of the St. Petersburg government, we are in line with them!

How could Ferdinand miss such a good opportunity to show his loyalty to the boss? Anyway, just express your opinion, and you don't need a dime. Let's leave this opportunity to attract hatred to the Russians!

Now standing up to support the Spaniards will definitely make the British and Americans unhappy. Of course, the attitude of the Americans can be ignored now! As for winning the goodwill of the Spaniards?

Well, it's still worthwhile if the Spaniards can win! Ferdinand doesn't mind taking this head, but unfortunately it's impossible!

If you stand up to support the Americans now, it is estimated that it will make the whole of Europe unhappy. Should Bulgaria still mix in Europe?

This is impossible to choose at all, at least now the boss of Bulgaria is still a hairy bear, so there is no possibility at all!

American favor? This is the most useless, they only care about interests! The French are an example. Fortunately, they helped the Americans win the War of Independence, but they ushered in the fall of the Americans at a critical moment!

This is also one of the reasons why Americans are rejected by Europe. The food looks so ugly! Even if you want to annex the French colonies, you must pay attention to the impact!

As for the attitude of the Russians, there is no doubt that they support Spain. Who told the Americans to let the bear suffer a big loss on the issue of Alaska? If it doesn't retaliate, is it still a bear?

Moreover, in the Far East, the Americans are still supporting the Japanese behind the scenes in an attempt to undermine the Russian Far East strategy!