Mediterranean Hegemony Road

In a calm, on May 6, 1898, the Kingdom of Bulgaria was thus established.

To be honest, Ferdinand really couldn't tell the difference between the current kingdom and the previous Grand Duchy. Bulgaria is still the original Bulgaria, but everyone is still keen on it!

After the establishment of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Ferdinand was officially promoted to king. Of course, his life was still the same. There was no overhaul of the palace as people imagined, and no changes to the regulations. It seems that this set is not popular in the Western world.

...

Your Majesty, the British are lobbying European countries to give up their support for the Boers. How should we respond? At the cabinet meeting, Foreign Minister Metev said anxiously.

Ferdinand knew that what was supposed to come would still come, but he didn't expect that John Bull would have to regroup so quickly.

Obviously this time, the British did not set their sights on the big countries. Everyone knew that no matter which one of Germany, France, Austria and Russia was, they could withstand their pressure, but the second-class small countries would not be able to.

The first to bear the brunt is Portugal, without the threat of the Spaniards, the Portuguese can again stand in line.

Due to the contradiction between the Allies and the Allies, Ferdinand did not think that the European countries could still put pressure on the Portuguese, otherwise the Spanish-American War would not break out.

Even the British and Americans joining forces are now powerless to contend with a unanimous decision across the continent.

Now Bulgaria is also forced to stand in line, Ferdinand is repulsive, this line will determine the future direction of Bulgaria's diplomacy.

Not only the British are watching, but the Entente and the Allies are also watching. If they continue to align with the Russians, there is no doubt that the day when Bulgaria will join the Entente is not far away.

Then the friendly relationship between Bulgaria and the Triple Alliance is about to come to an end. After all, Bulgaria's army strength has surpassed Italy's, which is enough to make Deo jealous.

After thinking about it, Ferdinand didn't answer directly, but instead asked, What do you think?

Ferdinand's long-term keen decision-making, now the Bulgarian government is waiting for him to make decisions every time there is a major event, which is a good thing and a bad thing!

The good thing is that Ferdinand can control the direction of Bulgaria at any time. But with the passage of time, Ferdinand's foresighted advantage is slowly disappearing, and at some point in the future, he will even make wrong decisions based on the influence of later generations.

Therefore, Ferdinand was very careful, and habitually asked the cabinet for the opinion first. After all, they were all elites of the era. Without the advantage of prophets, Ferdinand's ability is not necessarily better than them.

Constantine said prudently: Now we have very little choice. For a long time, we have relied on the Russians in our diplomacy, and we have already engraved the mark of the Russians.

If you continue to follow in the footsteps of the Russians now, you will likely be hostile, even suppressed by the British and the Triple Alliance in the future, and of course, it will further strengthen the relationship with France and Russia!

On the contrary, we have our own proposition this time, which will affect the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia, and cast a shadow over the current economic construction of Bulgaria!

However, our diplomatic relations with Britain, Germany, and Austria-Hungary will also further develop, which is both pros and cons.

The last option is to fight with the mud, not to stand in line, presumably with Bulgaria's current strength, everyone will not force us too much.

As soon as Constantine finished speaking, Ferdinand's heart sank. This seems to be the choice of the Bulgarian government in history, but now the situation in the Balkans is very different.

In history, Bulgaria had some benefits at the beginning, but the international situation changed abruptly in the later period. The Bulgarian government just played the game and became an abandoned child.

Of course, Bulgaria's foreign policy failed in the history of parallel time and space, and it may not fail in this plane. At least Bulgaria is much stronger now than it was in history, while its neighbors are much weaker. One increase and one decrease is enough to change a lot of things!

When Ferdinand began to hesitate, Chekov spoke up: I think now I should stand alone, the Russian imprint on the Kingdom of Bulgaria is so strong that it can't be eliminated in a short period of time!

Even now we have our own position, but in essence we still have to agree with the Russians, and it is impossible for us to fall to the British anyway!

Chekov's words are refreshing to Ferdinand. It's true that at this time, Bulgaria must not jump backwards, and it will definitely be unlucky to be the second or fifth boy!

Then we can only be consistent with the Russians in terms of position. As for other details, the St. Peter's government will not care.

Bulgaria takes the first step to clarify its position, and it will be interpreted in two ways internationally. Either the Russian spearheads, or the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia is not as perfect as the outside world imagined.

International diplomacy does not happen in one fell swoop, and a hint of meaning is enough. Now even if Ferdinand dared to jump to the Allies, they would not dare to accept it!

Ferdinand thought for a while and said: Well, the current international situation is complicated, and we cannot tolerate the slightest mistake. There is no one of the five major European powers that we can afford!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first figured out the position of the Russians. Then we will do some artistic processing, which is our position this time, but the release time should be synchronized with the Russians as much as possible, so let the outside world guess!

In the end, Ferdinand took the most conservative approach and played a marginal ball. At this time, Bulgaria is still inseparable from the support of the Russians. Even if you want to make small moves, you must first get the domestic situation.

...

After solving the diplomatic problem, Ferdinand turned his attention to immigration again and asked with concern, How is the immigration work going?

Immigration is now the most important job of the Bulgarian government, and it is also the most troublesome job.

As long as you think about the food, drink, sleep, and job placement that involve millions of people, the Cabinet will not have to worry about it!

Constantine said with a headache: So far, the domestic military migrants have been properly resettled, and they have been resettled to various gathering points in batches according to the original plan.

In addition, the number of Bulgarians who have migrated back from the Ottoman Empire has exceeded 800,000 people, and the number is increasing by an average of 5,000 people every day. It is expected that by 1900, the immigration work will be completed.

However, the issue of job placement is a little troublesome. Now only 70% of the young and strong labor force has been placed. The government is about to launch a nationwide transportation construction plan, which is expected to absorb another 500,000 people. Coupled with the development of its industry and commerce, it can barely solve the employment problem of most people!

And the 500,000 Turks we migrated to the Ottoman Empire are now a hot potato, and the Ottoman government has no intention of taking over.

Except for the 200,000 people who were recruited by the Ottoman nobles as coolies, in order not to cause unnecessary changes, we helped raise the rest of the people, so we had to slow down the migration of the Turks in the territory.

The migration of people in the country is easy to handle, as long as the land and houses are divided. Everyone has a family background, and those who don’t can get loans. The main business is farming, and the government does not need to worry about it.

But those who come from the Ottoman Empire are in trouble. For the sake of long-term stability, immigrants returning from the same place must not be placed in the same place. Otherwise, there are only 800,000 immigrants now, and the government can completely stuff them all into Albania to farm.

As for the Turks, under Bulgarian rule, it will never be less than two million! you say no? Could it be that the officials of the Immigration Department will not engage in ethnicity?

Anyone who has been transformed by Iraq must be Turks. This is a rule made by Ferdinand. Otherwise, what will happen to religious conflicts in the future?

Of course, Ferdinand still had integrity. Instead of throwing the Turks to the opposite Asia Minor peninsula, they scattered them over the vast territory of the Ottoman Empire.

Well, the main reason is for fear of trouble. If a big mess is caused and the exchange of immigrants is affected, it will be too late for Ferdinand to cry.

Ferdinand thought for a while and said, We can ignore the issue of the placement of the Turks for now. The big deal is to keep them in vain for two or three years, and then leave it to the Ottoman government to have a headache!

Anyway, we reserve old grain, and we need to dispose of it. If we don’t have enough, we can buy cheap grain from Romania. At this moment, Carol I is still worried about how to sell the grain?

Now the focus is still domestic, and it must be settled as soon as possible. If it really can’t be done, we will resettle them to the countryside and encourage them to work intensively. The big deal is that we can pay less rent, and we can support ourselves by planting three to five acres of land!

Well, Ferdinand is coming up with a bad idea again. This is to engage in precision agriculture according to Eastern standards, and considering the productivity of the 19th century, if it is to grow potatoes, it is indeed enough to eat.

It is estimated that the area of ​​cultivated land in Bulgaria can be greatly increased by then. After all, the requirements are low, and there will be more land that can be cultivated?

After all, the Balkans have always been sparsely populated, and the use of land is also very limited. It is also feasible to reclaim some mountains!

Of course, this is also a cure for the symptoms rather than the root cause. According to Ferdinand's actions, many poor people in mountain villages will be born in Bulgaria, but this is a problem for the future.

There are also examples of solutions. In rural areas, as long as the world is peaceful, the population will skyrocket.

At that time, in order to make a living, it is the best choice to guide people to work in cities. As long as the Bulgarian industry develops, this is not a problem.

Although it was a bad idea, it was fully endorsed by the Bulgarian cabinet, and now as long as there is a solution to the short-term problems, it is a good solution.

After all, industrial development does not happen in a day. As for more than ten years later, if Bulgaria can't solve this problem, then Ferdinand will be a transmigrator.

And about the issue of poverty, if you go and tell the people, they will definitely scoff at them, as long as they have enough to eat. What is there to fear about poverty? When have you seen them become rich?

...

Inspired by Ferdinand, the Bulgarian government immediately took action, and a vigorous campaign of land reclamation broke out in the country.

Of course, this movement came and went faster, and was stopped by Ferdinand after only two or three years.

There is no shortage of food in Bulgaria now, mainly to resettle migrants and reclaim so many mountains.

Ferdinand also pays attention to environmental protection, but there are no conditions now. Within the scope of his ability, he is still trying to minimize the damage to the natural environment!

Although the Balkans are dominated by mountains and hills, with a small area of ​​plains, it also depends on who you compare with!

In Eastern Europe, this plain-covered region is indeed a mountainous country. If you compare it to the outside world, the plains in the Constantinople area controlled by Bulgaria are the area of ​​three Chengdu plains.

If you add several other small plains, such as the coastal plains of Albania and the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea, they are all areas with good natural conditions and abundant water resources, which are suitable for the development of agriculture.

Bulgaria will remain a food exporter for a long time to come!