Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Time passed quickly, and we entered the end of 1917 in a flash, and it was time to decide the expenses of various government departments in the coming year.

Different from the war period, the military will also participate in the budget battle this time, and Ferdinand has also released rumors that a new round of state-owned enterprise restructuring will be carried out!

Enterprises controlled by the military are likely to be separated from the military. From now on, all their funds will have only one way—financial appropriation!

Of course, there are still dividends for operating the colony, but the premise is that the Bulgarian colony is profitable first!

As a representative of the military, now the five major marshals of Bulgaria are around Ferdinand every day, and they can find out if there is nothing. The purpose is naturally for military expenses.

Gone are the good days when they weren't on a budget! During the war, in order to win the war, the whole of Bulgaria was revolving around the army, and the war was going on. Even if the government had no money, it had to get supplies for them!

Now that the economy has begun to normalize, and the military has lost the domineering arrogance that it lacked in the past, it has directly reached out to the government for it!

Everything will be done according to the rules. From now on, the army will need to pay for the purchase of materials. If there is no money, please step aside.

In terms of fiscal revenue, Bulgaria has greatly increased. In 1918, the budget figure given by the Ministry of Finance was 5.2 billion leva (about 208 million pounds). Death, that's what happened now!

Financial revenue has increased, and the number of sites has increased, and the accompanying administrative expenses have also risen. At least the Balkans should be treated as local governance, and the administrative expenses in this part of the region have increased by one-third.

The corresponding education, medical and health funds, infrastructure construction funds, post-war reconstruction funds, etc., are indispensable.

As for war reparations,

I'm sorry that the amount of indemnity in 1918 has been offset by Germany and Italy with physical objects, such as colonies and demolished factories. Isn't these all money?

The factory had been resold by the government to the enterprise for a long time, and the money received was almost spent in 1917, so the 5.2 billion leva was all the government's income in 1918.

Then he was cut by Ferdinand and set aside 8 million pounds for scientific research fees, and the remaining 200 million pounds is everyone's budget.

Petrov said with a smile on his face: Your Majesty, you see that our navy has just established a foothold in the Persian Gulf region, and the construction of this port has just begun. Is it for...

Ferdinand interrupted directly: Yes, you are right, the navy needs a lot of input, but you should go to the military committee to talk about this issue, they are responsible for allocating the proportion of military expenditures among the three armies!

As soon as Ferdinand's voice fell, Petrov's face collapsed. Now Bulgaria's military spending is the worst in the navy.

The army has always been the boss, and the people in the military committee responsible for the allocation of military expenditures are basically from the army, and their share is naturally the largest!

Even the rising star Air Force, their life is more comfortable than the Navy, because their cost is cheaper than the Navy, and Ferdinand specially issued an order that the military expenditure ratio of any military service of the Army, Navy and Air Force must not be less than 25%!

Then the Air Force was relieved, they were enough to meet the minimum standards, and they couldn't get it if they wanted to, and then they watched the army and the navy grab military funds.

As a result, there is no doubt that the Navy is certainly not an opponent of the Army in the Military Commission. Although the final result has not yet come out, if there is no accident, the Navy will be on an equal footing with the Air Force this time, so prepare to take the minimum standard!

At present, the total number of the Bulgarian Military Commission is as high as 183, of which 165 are from the army, three are from the air force, and only 15 are from the navy, including him, the Admiral of the Navy.

Don't be surprised. The predecessors of the Bulgarian Navy and Air Force were drawn from the Army. Was he an Admiral before the Admiral?

The Air Force is a uniform army, from officers to pilots are selected from the army. After becoming an independent army, they began to recruit people on their own.

Of course, the air force of various countries in this era was born out of the army, there is no fuss! The navy is also developed from the army, and it is also the freak of Bulgaria!

This is also no way, who called the Bulgarian Navy has always been a misnomer? It didn't start until after the end of the first Balkan War. Before that, it was either the Navy or the Coast Guard!

In the World War, after Bulgaria expanded its army, most of the generals added were also from the army. The navy had too few opportunities to perform, and the air force started too late. It is impossible to join the army and become a general for two or three years, right?

If you are not a general, why should you enter the military committee? Even this military committee, which is a place for these veterans to retire, must raise the standard level, and it must be very powerful!

Just like now, when the military expenditure is allocated, it is their turn to call the shots, although Ferdinand has already allocated it, it is just a cutscene!

In this battle for military spending, the military must first unite to compete with various government departments, and after the battle, the army, navy, and air force must close their doors and compete for themselves!

The Air Force is self-aware, and the ratio of 25% is already considered very good. Anyway, during the war, a large number of aircraft with good performance were left. In the short term, they should not consider the replacement of weapons, and the military expenditure is not large.

But the navy is not good. Their warships are all gold-devouring beasts. Now the total tonnage of the Bulgarian navy is as high as 410,000 tons. There are still colonies to guard, and ports in the Persian Gulf have to be built. Petrov will not come out and fight!

Not only Petrov complained, but War Minister Popov also complained: Your Majesty, you see that our colony is in such a mess now that we need troops everywhere...

Ferdinand smiled slightly and said, You two or two, can't you find a way to do it yourself without military spending? The navy is arguing that the military spending is not enough, and the army will follow suit?

Anyway, the annual budget hasn't started yet, so are you going to grab it from the cabinet? Now is the time to test your abilities. As long as you can persuade them, won't there be military expenses?

After the war is over, military expenditure must be suppressed. This is the consensus of Ferdinand and the cabinet, but it is not suppressed within a year!

This is very unrealistic. It takes time for the army to adjust. Besides, the newly occupied colonies are not peaceful now. There are no major battles, but small battles are still indispensable.

But this, only Prime Minister Constantine and Ferdinand know about this. The military only knows to reduce the proportion of military expenditure. The proportion of military expenditure in war time once exceeded 90% of financial expenditure, while the proportion of military expenditure in peacetime is 90%. No more than twenty-five percent!

This is still the Balkans. Before the World War, Bulgaria's defense pressure was very high, so it only had this proportion of military expenditure, but now I really look around, there is no decent enemy!

If this is cut down with one knife, it is estimated that the days of the Bulgarian army in 1918 will really be impossible, not to mention the small treasury in their hands?

Popov said with a wry smile: Your Majesty, how can we be their opponents?

I have heard that many government departments are now preparing to make a big deal? You know that during the war, they were suffocated. Now when they make a big move, the money is not like flowing water. What is left for our army in the end?

Ferdinand just looked at them with schadenfreude. There is no doubt that the cabinet is beating the military through the allocation of military expenditures, letting them know who is the master of this country!

This is also their own responsibility. During the war, these big men in the army were all arrogant and they were completely the boss of the king. Second, they didn't take the cabinet seriously at all. Now they naturally want to wake up. .

Ferdinand is also happy to see it happen. If it really makes the military float away and suppresses the cabinet, then why not? How is the balance of rights?

The current Bulgarian political system, but the king controls the army, and uses the parliament to check and balance the cabinet, uses the cabinet to check and balance the army, and uses the army to check and balance the government.

Of course, in practice, it will be more complicated. The king also has the right to recall Congress, nominate or appoint or remove cabinet officials. In short, the king has the right to appoint and remove all high-level personnel.

However, the prestige of the king Ferdinand was a little too high, and the cabinet that threatened the kingship had turned into a good baby, but it didn't mean that he had to give up this balance system.

As a traveler, he is very clear that the king must master the army, so Sofia's guards are directly commanded by the king, and even the military expenses are calculated separately and directly extracted from the annual finances.

He also has to beat the military to let them know who is their boss! At the same time, he wants to prevent the cabinet from interfering with the army and weaken the influence of the king in the army!

After the rise of the military aristocracy, the balance of power in Bulgaria has become more perfect. The cabinet holds the executive power of the country, the king holds the army, the nobles represent the king in the local area, and the future members of the aristocratic class will be checked and balanced with the members of the bourgeoisie.

It is also in order to establish this system that Ferdinand suppressed the bourgeoisie before the rise of the aristocracy.

The issue of the balance of power is very complicated. While supporting the aristocracy, Ferdinand dismantled the aristocracy with his own hands. There is no big aristocrat who speaks his mind. Power is limited to one side.

The king became their only leader and the spokesperson for their interest class! In addition to the nobility, Ferdinand also produced a group of rich peasants, whose status was not as high as that of the nobility, but surpassed the ordinary people economically.

And because of productivity, Bulgaria, which lacks labor, will definitely develop mechanized agriculture, and they will become farmers one by one in the future.

In the face of mechanized agriculture, it is a matter of time before the small-scale peasant economy collapses. The peasants are essentially farmers, and the future Bulgarian king is the spokesperson for the peasant and aristocratic classes.

At the same time, the king has mastered a large number of industries, and is the largest consortium in the country, with huge economic strength, and controls the country's economy behind the scenes.

Now Ferdinand is still in the process of planning. His ideal state is to control the country's army, control the country's banks, control the country's public opinion, and also hold a large number of real industries.

Under such circumstances, if he could still be overturned, Ferdinand could only say that he admired it!

It was almost impossible to achieve this goal, but the situation in Bulgaria just provided him with this condition - that is, oil that has not yet been discovered!

Ferdinand can completely take down the oil fields under these deserts at a low price, and make more vests. In the future, the industry will explode, and the world's economy will be manipulated in the hands of the royal family!

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