Mediterranean Hegemony Road

The reaction of the people made Ferdinand very depressed. The Bulgarian people have an expression of eating melon seeds and watching a play. It felt like I was used to it, as if I felt that the war was nothing special, and I didn't feel worried at all.

Doesn't it mean that ordinary people hate war? Could it be that the way I opened it is wrong, why everyone seems to be gearing up, planning to make a big fight.

This is also related to the cultural traditions of the Balkans. Due to its geographical location, it has long been a strategic location for European powers to compete.

"War" has been a part of the life of the Balkan people. Since the 2nd century BC, it has been ruled by Roman, Byzantine, Avars, Ottoman Turkey and other empires successively.

Later the Huns, Avars, Lombards, Romans, Slavs and later the Ottomans all fought for control of the area.

War is always present. Due to the long-term war, the people's bellicose spirit has been cultivated, because those who are afraid of war will not be able to survive.

In the current Balkans, it can be said that it is a mixture of various ethnic groups. Pure-blooded ethnic groups hardly exist, but the spirit of belligerence has not changed.

Think about history, Bulgaria mobilized 1.26 million troops to participate in the world war, and insisted on it for two years, you can know the attitude of the people to the war.

Oppressed by the Ottomans for a long time, the Balkan countries have attached great importance to military construction after independence. It is also very sensitive to the surrounding wind and grass.

As soon as Bulgaria expanded its army, it caused turmoil in the surrounding area. The foreign powers are okay, just pay a little attention, a mere Bulgaria is not enough to make them jealous.

The Balkan countries are interesting, although the Ottoman Empire has declined, they still regard themselves as great powers, and the rotten governments are busy fighting for power.

The then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Harim Pasha, laughed when he received the news, and did not care and passed it on directly to the government.

As for whether this news finally reached Abdul Hamid II (reigned from 1876 to 1909), this is unknown. Anyway, apart from sending diplomats to express concern, they did nothing, which is quite different from the previous attitude towards the alliance between Russia and Bulgaria.

Serbia was much more sensitive, and the young Alexander Oblianovic (reigned 1889-1903) expressed strong concern. Although not yet fully in power, the 16-year-old king summoned the cabinet for the first time.

"Gentlemen, what do you think of the expansion of the Bulgarian army?" Alexander Oblinovich

"It's clear that Bulgaria was preparing for war, presumably allied with Russia, and they were emboldened to take military action!" Home Secretary

"Yes, I think Serbia should have made preparations now. Bulgaria's strategic goals are still uncertain. Now that the Russians are backing, the possibility of targeting us is very high! We should expand our military and prepare for war now, and don't give them a chance to take advantage of it. Opportunity!!" Minister of War

"No, I don't think so! Don't forget that if Bulgaria wants to expand into Serbia, it also depends on whether the Austro-Hungarian Empire agrees! Don't think they will do it again now!! And our finances are not rich now, there is no more money for you to squander!!" The Chancellor of the Exchequer retorted

"How can this be a waste?? If we don't expand our army, how can we defend the country? What if we are invaded by Bulgaria?? How can we defend against it??" The Minister of War asked rhetorically.

"Really?? Is it possible to expand the army?? In 1885, didn't you have a lot of advantages? In the end, you were beaten to the ground??" The Minister of Finance said with a sneer.

"You, this is a slander!! That's why we failed when we joined the Bulgarians, otherwise the heroic Serbian army would not have failed!!" The Minister of War said with some lack of confidence.

...

Young Alexander Oblinovich had little patience,

He didn't have much prestige either, and he looked very embarrassed looking at the constant quarrel below.

Suddenly, he scolded: "Enough! Who is the target of Bulgaria, only they know! You are arguing, and it's no use! What we need to be sure now is, what should Serbia do next?"

Historically, Alexander Oblianovich became pro-governor in 1893. Although he was young, he

Politically savvy!

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of War quarreled, both for their own interests. Of course, Serbia's poor financial situation is the key issue. If you don't stop it, you will soon become a war minister.

Serbia's financial problems can be traced back to the War of Independence. But in 1885, the war against Bulgaria was defeated, and the economy paid a heavy price. The financial crisis intensified, and it has not been relieved until now.

Serbia's annual budget is fiercely contested, and now if it follows Bulgaria's military expansion, it will greatly squeeze the budgets of other departments.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is most worried that Serbia still owes a lot of debt, including the military payment to Bulgaria in 1885, all of which are loans, which have not been repaid now.

This issue can also be traced back to Milan Obrenovich IV. During Serbia's independence, in order to obtain the support of Austria-Hungary, the two sides concluded a political and economic treaty, and Serbia was forced to sell a lot of political and economic sovereignty.

Until now, there is no decent industry in Serbia. Facing the competition of Austro-Hungarian capital, the national capital collapsed and gradually turned to the pro-Russian faction, which was one of the reasons why Serbia turned to the Allies before the First World War.

There is no reason why the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not object, mainly because the government has no money and has no choice but to jump out. Moreover, he is also not optimistic about the combat effectiveness of the Serbian army. In the last war, the advantage was so obvious and it was defeated so badly. Now there is no advantage, do you still need to consider it? Anyway, you can't beat it, so don't waste it.

Aleksandr Oblianovich also knew the state of the government, but the young and flamboyant king would not tolerate such a situation!

"The ministers are all Serbian elites, and they must be very clear. Although we can rely on Austria-Hungary now, there is also Russia behind Bulgaria. If a war breaks out under the mutual restraint of the two great powers, who can we rely on???" Alexander Oblinovich's Heartfelt Rhetorical Questions

"But Your Majesty, the government has no money now! What are we going to use to expand the army?? How much do we need to expand the army to deal with the threat from Bulgaria?? Only the military can guarantee victory??" the Minister of Finance asked sneeringly

"Bulgaria has expanded by 60,000 people. If we want to maintain our advantage, we must expand at least 80,000 people to have the ability to attack!!" Minister of War Lion said.

"This is impossible! This is equivalent to the size of our army has been expanded by 1.2 times, and with equipment, this is an astronomical figure!!" The Chancellor of the Exchequer said in disbelief

Not only him, but other Serbian executives were also forced to do so. Then everyone will not have to use it in the following days, and the financial revenue will be consumed by the army.

Alexander Oblianovich was also dumbfounded. He supported the expansion of the army, but he did not discount the government without money!

The proportion of military expenditures in the Balkan countries has always been high, and Serbia is the best among them, but it is impossible to exceed fiscal revenue!

The Minister of War seems to know that it seems to be too much, but he can't slap himself in the face. After thinking about it, I was ready to change the subject and said, "If you don't have money, then increase the tax!! How simple is this, I can't think of it, what does your Ministry of Finance do??"

The angry Minister of Finance rolled his eyes, looked at the Minister of War, and said nothing. It seems that again, if you think that this is a child playing a house, if you say tax increases, you will increase taxes, and the capitalists are not easy to mess with!

The others didn't respond, but Alexander Oblianovich took his heart and began to figure out how much tax he would need to raise to get enough money for the military!

Don't be surprised. Historically, Alexander Oblianovich was not a worry-free person, and he did a lot of absurd things.

In 1900, he also married a widow 10 years older than him, court maid Deleg Marsh, which caused the resignation of the entire cabinet and was ostracized by European aristocrats.

Even more bizarre is that in 1903, Alexander Oblianovich actually announced that he would stop enforcing the Constitution for a few hours to facilitate his illegal activities.

Compared with these, the tax increase is only a paediatric matter.

Alexander Oblianovich seemed to realize that this kind of thing was beyond his ability, and asked: "The Ministry of Finance calculates how much tax will be levied to solve the financial crisis?"

...

Serbia is still discussing the types of taxes to be levied and the amount of the taxes. On the other side, Romania is much more relaxed. Carol I secretly formed an alliance with Germany and Austria in 1883. The alliance between Bulgaria and Russia was worried for a while, but after getting the guarantees of Germany and Austria-Hungary, he was relieved.

Carol I had excellent military skills, and in the Tenth Russo-Turkish War he commanded the army to win the battle of Pleven.

He has always had a soft spot for the army, and when he heard the Bulgarian expansion of the army, Carol I did not intend to lag behind, and followed the expansion of the army by 60,000. Romania is much richer than Serbia. Although there is a certain financial pressure, the military expenses are enough if the East and the West gather together.

If it weren't for the limited political level of Carroll I, the domestic search was too serious and unpopular. In 1888, the conflict intensified, and a peasant uprising broke out in Romania, which hurt the country's vitality. Now it is time for Ferdinand to have a headache.

It stands to reason that the response of these neighbors is also normal, what are you worried about Greece, and now it has no border with Bulgaria.

But George I was so politically sensitive. He believed that Bulgaria's next target was the Ottoman Empire, so Greece should also prepare for war in advance.

In spite of the opposition of the ministers, the military expansion bill was forcibly passed. Greece, with only two million people per person, actually had an army of 110,000 and a navy of 40,000 after the expansion of the army.

Of course, the Greek government doesn't have that much money, but it's okay to borrow it.

George I succeeded to the throne and the British gave him the Ionian Islands as a gift, of course, the British were not so generous.

At first, Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, succeeded the king of Greece, but the Treaty of London in 1832 stipulated that Britain, Russia and France could not use their own royal family as the king of Greece. George I picked up a bargain.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Greece began to lay railways and dig the Isthmus of Corinth canal. Began to borrow a lot of debt and import light industrial products, the foreign debt reached more than 700 million drachma, the government was unable to repay, and Prime Minister Trikupis was forced to declare the country bankrupt.

In 1898, Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Russia and other countries formed the International Financial Committee to supervise Greece's fiscal revenue and expenditure, and the fiscal power fell into the hands of foreign powers.

So now it doesn't matter if you borrow a little more to expand the army. The big deal is to go bankrupt early. The Greeks are used to debt, which can be regarded as a fine tradition.

As for the future kingdom of Montenegro, ignore him! It is still a small country with a population of less than 400,000 people. It is really more than enough to expand the military and prepare for war, but he still expands the army to 15,000 people.

Seeing the reactions of the Balkan countries, Ferdinand almost went crazy, and the arms race started! In a few months, when the economic crisis spreads to the Balkans, it will be fun to watch.