Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Chapter 5. Annual Budget

The annual budget meeting began, and Ferdinand wisely chose to leave the stage. According to the usual practice, without arguing for three or five days, there would be no result!

Anyway, Ferdinand has a bottom line in his heart. He has a fixed amount for the general expenses of each department, but this is only a bottom line. It depends on which department can get how much in the end.

For example, this year, Ferdinand set a range of military spending for the military: no less than 30 percent, and no more than 42 percent.

Then Constantine, as the actual executor, must limit the military's expenses within this range, but this bottom line is strictly confidential to them. How much military expenses the military can get at the budget meeting depends on Look at their abilities.

This is not by force or influence, but by reasoning, and we must come up with practical evidence to convince the cabinet and the heads of various departments to convince everyone!

Bulgaria's annual budget is decided at the end of the previous year, usually in early December, and a decision must be made before the end of the month, so that each department can make a detailed policy plan for the coming year.

The war period is of course the exception, because of the World War, Bulgaria's annual budget, which has actually been suspended for two years, is now going to start again.

As Prime Minister Constantine presided over this meeting as usual, he didn't fuss and said directly: In 1918, when the annual budget meeting starts now, it is still the old rule that the heads of various departments speak in order of seats and list each department. The plan for the coming year will be approved and the expenses will be approved, and then we will accept everyone's inquiries, and if everyone approves, we will be approved!

Unspoken rules exist in any environment, and Bulgaria's annual budget meeting is no exception. Basically, the stronger the department, the higher the position and the first to speak. Usually, they get the most funds.

There is no doubt that Bulgaria is located in the Balkans. All the way to the present, all the way to the present, the military is naturally the most powerful department, and it is not one of them!

Since the Bulgarian military is now essentially divided into three armies, the army, navy and air force,

Therefore, their representatives are also three people, and they already have the advantage of decision in terms of number.

Of course, this number is of no use. In fact, there is still only one person who can speak. The other two are eligible to attend just out of respect for the services they represent, showing that the Bulgarian Army, Navy and Air Force are equal in status!

In fact, everyone knows that Bulgaria is still dominated by the army, and the Minister of the Army Popov is naturally the spokesperson of the army.

Popov said solemnly: Then I will start. In 1918, our military planned to eliminate all unstable factors in the colonies, starting from the Asia Minor Peninsula, to Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and then to the Arabian Peninsula, In Africa, there must be a crackdown!

We plan to send 350,000 troops to clean up our colony, eliminate all the hostile elements, and clear obstacles for the government's subsequent colony development work!

At the same time, we also plan to focus on building the Persian Gulf region, establishing a complete naval port, extending our tentacles into the Indian Ocean region, and increasing Bulgaria's influence in the world.

If necessary, we can also conduct a global cruise to demonstrate our presence and implement Bulgaria's globalization strategy.

Everyone knows that the future war is no longer confined to one place, it will be an integrated war coordinated by land, sea and air.

In order to increase the rapid response capability of the Bulgarian army, we plan to deploy the air force to all our colonies, establish two airborne divisions, and if necessary, we can deploy troops to any corner of the country within two days!

...

Therefore, the annual military budget of the Bulgarian military in 1918 was 2.6 billion leva, which is 50% of the fiscal revenue!

Well, now that we have started to fool around, Popov told all the plans of the army, navy and air force in one breath. No matter what happens when they go back, they are still one when they are fighting for the military budget.

In order to enhance his persuasion, he even threw out the integrated war of land, sea and air that Ferdinand often emphasized. Although it has not been confirmed, this is what the great King His Majesty said, so it must be right!

Of course, if 2.6 billion levs can complete his plan, there is no doubt that the cabinet will support it, and the heads of various departments will not be held back at this time.

It's a pity that the plan is always just a plan, and 2.6 billion levs can only be used as start-up capital at most. If you really want to improve this plan, maybe add a zero at the back, and you can barely realize it.

Therefore, although everyone is interested in the military's plan, no one will support it. After all, a year does not matter, everyone can endure it and it will pass. It is not that the Bulgarian government has not experienced hard times.

But the investment in the distant future, which one is still forgettable! When we develop the economy first and the country has money, come back!

After the military's speech, it was the turn of the Ministry of Industry. Industry Minister Lauren Holman said excitedly: Our Ministry of Industry plans to increase our heavy industry production capacity by 50% and light industry production capacity by 50% in the coming year. Ten percent increase.

Everyone knows that we have harvested a lot of good things from Germany this time. These machinery and equipment are in urgent need of installation. We must create good investment conditions for enterprises. Now there are machinery and equipment stacked outside Sofia, but Because the follow-up conditions cannot keep up, the company cannot go into production.

If it continues to delay, I am afraid that these valuable machinery and equipment will be scrapped. In order to avoid waste, the Ministry of Industry has decided to build two light industry bases and one heavy industry base in the Balkans, and three new heavy industry bases in the Asia Minor Peninsula. In the shortest Time will allow these factories to start production.

Therefore, the fiscal budget of the Ministry of Industry in 1918 was 1 billion leva, and this cost will be fully invested in these infrastructures to solve the core problems of enterprises!

Yes, the current Minister of Industry of Bulgaria is a German engineer who built railways. He was able to become Minister of Industry because he was a bit too lenient when he was the chief engineer of the Bulgarian railway, and then Ferdinand discovered it.

As for his origin, it is not a problem at all. King Ferdinand was born from a German nobleman. Anyone who dared to talk about this issue in Bulgaria will be shut up!

Building a new industrial base is another temptation that everyone cannot refuse. Although the initial investment is large, the later return is also huge!

In addition, there are still cheap machinery waiting to be assembled, so it can't be dragged at all! Every day you delay is a waste of money! From this point of view, the Bulgarian government is actually more anxious than the behind-the-scenes boss of the enterprise Ferdinand!

The development of heavy industry is different from light industry. If there are not enough resources, it is impossible to build factories at all. Now Bulgaria has passed the era of building a foundation at a loss, and economic benefits must also be considered.

For example, the Palestinian area has 492 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 184 million barrels of oil, 185 billion tons of coal, 430 million tons of iron, 74 million tons of bauxite, and a large amount of chrome ore and marble.

It has the basic conditions for the development of heavy industry, and there is also a weakness here, that is, there is enough water in the coastal plains where there is a shortage of water, so the location of the factory is very important.

This is why the Ministry of Industry has released Bulgaria's heavy industry from east to west, which is really limited by the origin of raw materials.

Some places are suitable for steelmaking, and some places are suitable for ironmaking, but it is impossible to put these enterprises together.

For example, to support a large iron and steel enterprise in the Palestinian area, iron ore must be transported in from the outside, and the local iron ore resources are only sufficient for initial consumption.

Of course, there is no need to consider it in a short period of time. With the productivity of the early 20th century, an annual output of one million tons of steel is a large enterprise.

Due to the lack of concentration of resources, there is still a long way to go to concentrate heavy industry in Bulgaria in the future. In terms of mineral resources, it is a matter of time before Bulgaria develops Africa!

After the Ministry of Industry is over, it is the turn of the Ministry of Education and Science. Education and scientific research are tied together when budget allocation is made. This is inseparable. There must be two bosses in scientific research institutions under universities, right?

In fact, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Bulgaria are already one department. Even the office buildings are together, but two signs are hung. It is only a matter of time before the merger.

Anyway, their funding is indispensable, Chekov said calmly: The Ministry of Education decided to expand another university in 1918, still focusing on science and engineering. By then, we will have five universities in the country, which can recruit about four per year. Thousands of college students, which will greatly alleviate the shortage of our senior talents!

At the same time, we will expand 15 higher vocational colleges, including three medical colleges. By then, our higher vocational colleges will break through the 50 mark and can recruit 100,000 students every year...

Well, in order to save money, Ferdinand had to pursue an elite education in Bulgaria. The consequence is that Bulgarian university students are very few in number.

In fact, even the establishment of a university in Bulgaria must be discussed and approved by the Congress before it can be implemented. The establishment of higher vocational colleges can only be established with the approval of the Ministry of Education itself.

The treatment between the two is also very different. The most obvious one is to establish a university. The funds invested are in units of 100 million, and the annual financial allocation is also in units of 100 million!

The establishment of a vocational college only needs tens of millions, and the annual operating expenses only need a few million levs. The two sides are not comparable at all!

To cultivate scientific research talents, how can we not spend money? Therefore, the total number of college students in Bulgaria is now less than 15,000, and it will cost up to 500 million leva, and the per capita education cost has exceeded 33,300 leva.

Of course, this fee also includes the scientific research fees of the professors, which also accounts for more than half of it, otherwise the Bulgarian government really cannot afford it.

Now, these investments have begun to return blood. With the technology developed by universities, it can barely recover 100 million leva of patent royalties in China every year. This has made Ferdinand overjoyed, and finally saw the benefits!

In contrast, the primary school students under the compulsory education system are much cheaper. The education expenditure of three or four million primary school students is actually not as large as the expenditure of these universities!

It can only be said that it is really expensive to engage in high-level education in this era, especially for science and engineering. How can it be less expensive to do experiments? If you want to keep these experts and professors, you can't do without scientific research funds!

It's not that no one in the education world suggested that universities expand enrollment, but after seeing this funding, everyone shut up obediently. This is really not something that ordinary countries can play!

Even Americans with deep pockets can't afford to play in this day and age, and unless it is made up of pheasant universities, this huge sum of money is enough to bankrupt any country ten times.

Of course, the higher vocational colleges in Bulgaria can also be regarded as universities in the world. The education they receive is no different from that of ordinary universities outside. Take so many hours of class every day.

It is no secret that Bulgaria is going to add a university. The Ministry of Education made preparations long before the outbreak of the World War, but unfortunately it broke out before the war could be carried out. Now that the world war is over, the Ministry of Education will naturally implement it!

...

After the various departments revealed their respective annual budgets, Constantine's face darkened, and there was no doubt that the budget had been greatly exceeded.

After the clerk completed the statistics, Constantine said coldly: Everyone's budgets are listed, and the final result is 8.648 billion levs, which exceeds our fiscal revenue of 3.448 billion levs, and the fiscal deficit is as high as 8.648 billion levs. 66.3 percent!

So please make a new plan, if you think that your financial budget results are OK, then enter the second round now - accept everyone's questions!

It is no wonder that Constantine is not angry. The budgets of some departments are too unrealistic. For example, the Ministry of Health plans to carry out a one-village, one-medical plan. Regardless of the cost, let’s first consider whether Bulgaria can cobble together so many doctors. Bar!

Of course, in theory, the number of doctors in Bulgaria is enough, but in this way, all of them are devolved to the countryside, and people in the cities will have a lot of trouble if they want to seek medical treatment!

In fact, there is no need to think about it at all. The city must be given priority. To be able to have qualified doctors in every town is actually the limit of this era.

No way, a qualified doctor needs to be trained for at least ten years. Now Bulgaria also encourages doctors to bring apprentices. As long as these apprentices pass the examination, they can also be issued a medical license.

...

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