Mediterranean Hegemony Road

After dismissing the cabinet, Ferdinand shouted at the door: "Butler Carl, notify our people to come to the meeting."

"Okay Grand Duke!" the old butler Carl replied in a loud voice

Half an hour later, Ferdinand called everyone together and said, "Sir, please take a seat. Everyone came to Bulgaria with me from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now the situation is basically clear to everyone."

"Bulgaria is just a small country. It's not easy to grow and develop. Now I need everyone's help." Ferdinand looked down after saying that.

"Respected Archduke, it is our honor to serve you!" Franz and the others said in unison

Ferdinand was very satisfied with everyone's reaction and said with a smile: "Okay, let's not talk nonsense, let's expand our industry first. Although Bulgaria's current market is still small, the competition is also small!"

"But Your Excellency, the bad traffic conditions in Bulgaria make it difficult for our products to be competitive internationally!" Wei Li'an said depressedly

"Oh, Mr. Werian, I know it's very difficult, isn't it still you! You can consider focusing on the Balkan market. Domestic, Greece, Serbia, and Turkey are all good choices!" Ferdinand knew Werian's worries and suggested Say.

"Okay, Your Excellency, then I understand. If it's just like this, it shouldn't be a problem, but they are all poor, and the profits will not be too high!" Wei Li'an reminded

"Of course, I know this. Isn't there a factory in Austria-Hungary in the international market! Your focus is still there. The main competitors of the flour mill here are family workshops and transportation!" Ferdinand said a little depressedly

After finishing speaking, Ferdinand glanced at the others and said, "You can't have any problems!"

Looking at the silent crowd, Ferdinand said depressedly: "It seems that the road must be built first! I will ask the cabinet to formulate a railway plan and issue public bonds as soon as possible."

...

Although he was already prepared, Ferdinand was still very depressed. He still had a headache about how to go in the future of Bulgaria.

After thinking about it in my heart: "The high-end route, how to get the high-end route? Internal combustion engines, cars, planes, tanks, etc. are still far away, and these things cannot be produced by Bulgaria."

"Even if it comes out, it can still be sold internally, but if you go out, you will be beaten up by other companies in other places. The industrial heritage is too poor!"

"Now it's better to farm slowly. There is really no way for the industrial base. It needs to be replenished slowly and needs support from the state."

"Let's convince the second-ranking cabinet first. Forget it, let's just use big data. Young people don't have much patience. They can start a five-year plan and adopt a planned economy, which suits their appetite. Now there are no capitalists in Bulgaria. be opposed to."

In 1887 the spring breeze blew through the Royal Palace of Sofia,

The grass, which had been sleeping for a winter, had woken up at this time, stubbornly sticking its head out of the ground, although only a little green was seen, it was full of vitality.

After a five-month investigation, the cabinet came to the conclusion that Bulgaria was lacking in natural resources and that the previously submitted industrial plans had long since been thrown into the Mediterranean.

"Okay, everyone, stay calm! It's not impossible to make up for the lack of natural resources." Ferdinand comforted.

"Your Excellency, are you planning to start a war?" Stambolov said with bright eyes.

Ferdinand thought to himself: "Bulgarians deserve to be the Prussians of the Balkans. They are indeed warlike. Just look at these cabinets and you will know. It is no wonder that more than 4 million people in history have mobilized more than 1.2 million troops!"

He rolled his eyes and said, "No, now we don't have the strength to start a war! Although Bulgaria lacks mineral resources, its geographical conditions are still very favorable, and the people are very supportive of the government. I plan to implement a planned economy to reduce unnecessary resource consumption. "

Everyone in the "planned economy" was busy and turned their attention to it.

"Yes, the planned economy. Maybe you don't understand it very well. Let me keep it simple."

"Take an example, such as railways. It is planned to build a thousand kilometers of railways within five years to improve the traffic in Bulgaria. If private capital is not enough, the government will issue public bonds to build it."

"A thousand kilometers of railway, built in Bulgaria in five years?" Transportation Secretary Clinton asked incredulously

"That's right," the Grand Duke said with a smile.

"Then I support it," Clinton said directly.

"This is just one of them. All major industries in Bulgaria are involved." Ferdinand said confidently, seeing the performance of everyone, he knew the result.

"Okay, be quiet, let's discuss it when I'm done talking!" Ferdinand waved his hand.

"This is my initial idea, you can take a look." After finishing speaking, Ferdinand handed over a copy of the "Bulgarian Five-Year Plan" to everyone.

Article 1. Focus on the development of agriculture, invite agricultural experts, vigorously promote advanced agricultural production technology, and achieve a 30% increase in the total output of agricultural products within five years, and increase farmers' income;

Article 2: The railway plan, building a thousand kilometers of railways across the country in five years to improve traffic conditions. The required funds will be solved by the government issuing railway bonds;

Article 3. Military: 1. Establish a primary arsenal and basically realize the localization of light weapons and equipment within five years. 2. Complete the reorganization of the national army within five years, and implement the reserve system and compulsory military service system; 3. Establish a national defense university;

Article 4. Industry, encourage the development of heavy and heavy industries. Considering the lack of resources in Bulgaria, support for key industries such as steel mills, machine factories, and military enterprises, exempt from taxation, and give priority to domestic use under the same conditions;

Article 5, Education, 1. Establish literacy classes in factories and rural areas, encourage young students to teach the public during the holidays, and focus on popularizing the law, and control the illiteracy rate within 15% within five years; 2. Establish a family In view of the special period now, public comprehensive universities only offer science and engineering courses; 3. Three new normal colleges will be built to train teachers to lay the foundation for future compulsory education.

"The above five items are the core of this five-year plan. It can also be called the five-year plan. If you have any suggestions, you can add them, and you can also raise your opinions." Ferdinand said confidently.

"Respect Your Excellency the Grand Duke, can I do it? This obviously violates the laws of the market!" Economy Minister Michael asked incredulously

"Of course you can, don't care about the bullshit market rules, it's nothing more than taking money from the capitalists, and the remarks are all used to fool people! Be confident, you are all Bulgarian elites, and you can definitely do it," said Maybe it will be over-completed!" The Grand Duke encouraged

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke, how to solve the funds? With Bulgaria's fiscal revenue, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete?" Prime Minister Stambolov

"Here, the main expenditure is the railway plan. The issuance of railway public bonds can set a higher interest rate to attract private capital. If it is not enough, you can go abroad to sell it. Later, the income from railway operation will be used to pay off the debt, and at most the government will make up for it. a little."

"Like an arsenal, I can invest, so the government saves another expense."

"The funding gap in the back is not big. With Bulgaria's fiscal revenue, it should be able to be barely completed. At most, some education bonds are being issued. What else is there?" Ferdinand said cheerfully.

"Respected Grand Duke, why is there no goal of steel and coal? This is an indispensable thing for a strong country!" Michael asked suspiciously

"It's very simple, the coal reserves in Bulgaria are too small, and we can't change it against the laws of nature! The iron ore is all in the Balkan Mountains. Before the railway was built, all the raw materials for the establishment of the steel plant had to be imported. It is better to directly import steel. !" explained Ferdinand

"If you have no doubts, we will make this decision. The specific details will be completed by you, and then submitted to the National Assembly for resolution!" Seeing that everyone did not speak any more, Ferdinand announced the decision.