Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Chapter 2, 5 years to catch up with France - win by lying down

Celebration banquets have become the norm in Europe recently. Whether it is a big country like Britain and France, or a small country like Portugal and Belgium, they are all holding events one after another, diverting the attention of the people.

After all, in this world war, a lot of people died. Except for the two unfortunate ones in Italy and Germany, even the Austro-Hungarian Empire was engaged in activities to activate the atmosphere of the people.

Fortunately, this is the European Big 6, and there is no scene of the city is full of alum, and every family is still crying.

Bulgaria is no exception. Ferdinand has been busy conferring titles recently. In order to show his importance, he personally presided over the conferring ceremony of all the nobles. Of course, this was done collectively. The order of Viscount-Baron-Knight went all the way down.

If they come one by one, it is estimated that Ferdinand will be able to finish it in his lifetime! The last lord was simply omitted. The virtual nobles in Europe are worthless!

After the nobility was sealed, naturally the next step was to confer titles. This time, Ferdinand was generous enough to seal five marshals, more than 20 generals, more than 120 lieutenants, and more than 500 major generals at one time. .

Then with a big wave of their hands, all of these people who are over fifty years old all entered the military committee and started their semi-retired careers, while the young officers continued to serve in the army.

In addition to the high prestige of these five marshals, Ferdinand did not want them to retire directly, and let them take up their original positions again, namely:

Minister of the Navy: Petrov

6th Army Minister: Popov

Minister of Defense: Dante Christophe

Minister of War: Andrei Blaskov

Chief of General Staff: Imya Dimitev

Anyway, they are all offered up high.

They all said goodbye to Bingquan. If nothing else, they will not have the opportunity to lead troops to fight again in their lifetime, and they can even announce their retirement after one more term.

Ferdinand was very patient in this regard. On the surface, these Bulgarian generals seemed to have outstanding achievements and high prestige in the army, but their actual influence on the army was very low.

After being separated from the front-line troops for many years, I have no chance to cultivate the direct line! Now that they've all made their mark, it's time to leave the opportunity to the young.

It is worth mentioning that so far, several major marshals have submitted applications for retirement to Ferdinand, but he was rejected by the good face.

After all, it is the professional placement of the army right now. If these old guys are not allowed to come out to fight the thunder, I don’t know if the young officers behind them can hold back their roars? Anyway, Ferdinand didn't plan to take any risks. If there was a joke later, he would be embarrassed.

Let these veterans go out, with their prestige, it should be enough to suppress all discordant voices, at least to suppress the radical faction in the army first.

After all, with the current military system in Bulgaria, it is easy for radical ideas to be born in the army, or in any army in this era, it is easy to produce radicals.

The generation of radicals in the army is not to be feared. The emergence of radicals is a manifestation of the vitality of an army. Without an army of radicals, there is no hope! After all, can an army that is not warlike still count on their combat effectiveness?

The scary thing is that the army can't suppress the radicals. The most representative one is the Japanese 6th Army. This wonderful army directly regards the coup as a daily activity. Many grassroots officers regard the government as a national traitor!

Of course, most of this is caused by the game of interest groups behind it. Otherwise, if the military's top management can work together, how can it be impossible to suppress the few grass-roots officers below?

In this regard, Ferdinand doesn't have to worry. For such energetic grass-roots officers, it is best to find something for them to do. In his opinion, an army has a messy idea, which is very big. The reason is that it is too busy!

As long as you are busy, who is still thinking about it? Is there still something to do in Bulgaria now? How many insurgents were there left in the colony to eliminate? If you want to vent, vent on them!

These nomads are not so easy to deal with. If they can't solve even a little colonial problem, they dare to force Ferdinand to retire!

Anyway, there may be a shortage of people in Bulgaria now, but there will be no shortage of people who want to be soldiers. The fame and fame are taken immediately, but now Bulgaria is the best way out!

The professional placement work and the division of military fields are impossible to complete in a short period of time, at least this year, it is impossible to complete this task.

Involving the division of millions of military fields and the flow of tens of millions of people, in Ferdinand's opinion, if the resettlement task can be completed within 1918, the government can be regarded as highly efficient!

...

After returning from the Paris Peace Conference, Constantine sorted out the information and made a comprehensive report to Ferdinand. It also includes first-hand information on the contradictions between countries, the mainstream contradictions in the world today, the relationship between Bulgaria and various countries and so on.

Constantine frowned and said, Your Majesty, the sales of our creditor's rights are very unsatisfactory. The consortium's offer is far from what we expected in advance. I'm afraid it won't be possible in the short term!

Ferdinand smiled slightly and said: Don't worry, I think there will be a turning point soon! The contradiction between the British and the Americans will not intensify for a while, but the war between the British consortium and the American consortium is afraid. It's not far away!

The mainstream currency in today's world is still the British pound, but the number one economy in today's world is the Americans. If the American consortium does not want to be subject to the British pound and be sheared, then they will start a currency war to replace the British pound with the dollar!

And the just-concluded World War just gave Americans enough confidence. They just made a big fortune. How could they be so willing to let John Bull take it back for nothing?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kennedy added: Your Majesty is right, from the intelligence we have gathered, the Americans are preparing to implement a strategy of internationalizing the dollar, and once this plan is launched, they will use dollars and pounds to steal the market!

And the claims we are selling now can precisely promote the circulation of the US dollar. As long as the Americans eat our claims, Bulgaria will have to hold a lot of US dollars. At that time, it will be difficult for us to settle without US dollars!

According to our experts' analysis, they think the Americans may in the near future sell a batch of bonds to the Germans for the Germans to pay off their debts.

After all, in the just-concluded World War, many countries owed American debts. For example, we, even if we get the reparations from Germany, have to pay the American debts. The profits obtained in the war made a performance.

At the same time, the blood transfusion to the Germans was also completed. After all, for the Germans, American capital is a pure inflow of funds. This money can be used directly to repay debts, or to expand industrial production and use the industrial products produced for Pay off the debt!

Well, I'm a little dizzy. Ferdinand only knows a little about economic terms. A loan that seems to be very ordinary now was a game of war between the US dollar and the British pound!

To put it simply, the Americans help the Germans with their debts. It is not that the Americans paid for these bonds, but Wall Street sells them in the global market, using global capital to buy the Germans’ bonds, and let the Germans pay for them. Funds were raised.

In fact, a large part of this capital flowed out from the victorious countries such as Britain and France. The Americans used high interest to induce the capital of Britain, France and other countries to buy the German bonds.

For the Germans, this is the inflow of capital, and they take this money to pay off the international debt, and the Americans have completed the debt. The capital outflow from Britain and France exacerbated the Great Depression of the domestic economy. This is the very famous Dawes plan in later generations!

Americans have had this plan for a long time. This is only a component of the dollar currency war. It also includes a series of combination punches such as the silver war, the devaluation of the dollar, and the change of the gold standard. Historically, the British were dizzy. , and eventually lost the financial hegemony of the pound.

I know, I know, but Ferdinand can't do anything. With Bulgaria's current economic size, it's no problem to get a piece of the pie.

Now the choice before him is to help the Americans or the British? After all, Bulgaria is also an important part of today's world economy. Whether it is settled in sterling or in US dollars, it is related to the direction of this currency war!

After figuring out all this, Constantine sighed slightly. He had just experienced the glory of the Big Three and was about to become a spectator in a war, which was not so pleasant.

After a moment of silence, Constantine recovered and said confidently: Your Majesty, there is no need for us to participate in the currency war between the Americans and the British. After all, virtual wealth is virtual and real. Industry is the root of a country's strength!

What we need to do now is to further promote industrialization. When we complete the opening of the Asia Minor Peninsula, Bulgaria will become the largest industrial power in Europe. Then it is time for us to play!

Ferdinand nodded with satisfaction. Yes, currency hegemony means wealth, and it also means a country's soft power, but industry is a country's hard power.

If Bulgaria now has the industrial strength of the Americans, Ferdinand will definitely jump out and pk the world hegemony with the British.

But the reality is that Bulgaria's industrial strength is only about one-fifth or six times that of the Americans, so Ferdinand can only choose to continue to practice his internal skills.

Ferdinand replied: Yes! The cabinet will come up with a new five-year plan as soon as possible. No, this time is a ten-year plan. The core of our exhibition is still the Balkans first, then Asia Minor, and then Syria, Pakistan, and Iraq. , Persian Gulf region!

I ask you to complete the full coverage of the railway and highway network of the Balkan Peninsula within five years, and realize the total industrial volume of the French!

Within ten years, the railway and highway network of the Asia Minor Peninsula will be fully covered, and the main roads in Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf will be connected!

We must also promote the electrification revolution, build a number of hydropower stations that can be used for a long time, and reduce our energy consumption. Before 193o, I hope that our water conservancy electricity can reach 35% of the total electricity!

At the same time, we must further accelerate the expansion of our heavy industry, and strive to triple it within ten years. The government must continue to encourage the development of physical manufacturing. We must surpass the British in the total industrial volume within ten years!

From now on, the slogan of Bulgaria's new round of exhibitions is French to France in five years, England in ten years!

After thinking about it, Constantine reminded: Your Majesty, you don't need to catch France in five years. Due to the world war, our total industrial volume has actually surpassed that of the French!

Ferdinand nodded in embarrassment. He suddenly forgot that because of the World War, the 10 provinces in the northeast of the French were occupied by the German army shortly after the war. The occupied area was originally an important mining, metallurgy and textile center. The proportion of the national industrial output is 63% for steel, 81% for iron, 74% for coal, 81% for wool fabrics, and 76% for sugar;

After the end of the World War, the total industrial output of the French is actually less than the six floors in 1914, but the total industrial output of Bulgaria has increased by 15% compared with 1914. In fact, the total industrial output of Bulgaria has already surpassed that of France at this stage.

Of course, the total industrial volume of the French can theoretically recover within two years, but in fact everyone knows the integrity of the capitalists. In order to maximize profits, there is an influx of cheap German industrial products. God knows what they are. Time to restore production!

In history, it seems that in 1929, the French economy surpassed that of 1913, and the French are still celebrating!

If this efficiency were left in Bulgaria, Ferdinand would have pulled out all the cabinets and all of them, so the slogan of five years to catch France should not be shouted, it is already a win!

Not only the French, but in fact John Bull was not much better. After the end of the World War, their industrial development was also a turtle, and they were just waiting for the latecomers to overtake them!

All Bulgaria wants to become the first industrial power in Europe, there is only one real competitor, that is, the Germans who are still lying dead, Britain and France have already abolished their martial arts!

And the powerful Soviet Union in history has not even appeared yet. Whether they can unify the Russian Empire is a big question mark, at least now European countries will not give them this opportunity!

If you can't even compare to the Germans who are still lying dead, then Ferdinand doesn't need to mix! The Germans are passively developing the industry, and the Bulgarians are actively developing the industry. If they can't pass them, then there is really a problem!

Ferdinand smiled slightly, concealed his embarrassment, and decisively chose to divert his attention: Really? It seems that our goal is one step closer. From now on, the French are no longer our competitors, and the British are also It can only be counted as half, and everyone should focus on the Americans!

This goal is very powerful. At least in the short term, Ferdinand can't see the hope of being more American in Bulgaria. However, since it is a long-term goal, it must be lofty. It is too easy to achieve, and it is not challenging!

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