Vol 4 Chapter 59: , Bonds

"Your Majesty, if we introduce a large amount of labor to Russia, this expenditure will be very huge!" Chancellor Kennedy said embarrassedly.
Kennedy has no objection to Ferdinand’s recruitment of "mercenaries". There is a tradition of using mercenaries in Europe, and there is nothing unacceptable in this regard.
Oh, the idea of ​​Ferdinand looking for Mao Xiong as cannon fodder was directly understood by them as recruiting "mercenaries." Of course, there is no difference in essence. Even if it is recruited cannon fodder, Ferdinand still has to pay his army salary, nothing more than the restriction of recruiting "mercenaries".
The only difference is probably that the mercenaries are all self-contained, while the cannon fodder recruited by Ferdinand is responsible for the Bulgarian officers and command them to fight!
In Kennedy's view, if Bulgaria can use two or three million "mercenaries", then with Bulgaria’s population base, it can also have the same number of troops as the British and French powers, and it will also occupy a more favorable position in the distribution of benefits after the war. !
At the same time, a large number of mercenaries are used. After the outbreak of the war, Bulgaria can reduce the number of mobilizations and preserve domestic industry and food production.
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Although from a single person’s point of view, the price of importing labor into Russia is not expensive, the intermediary fee paid is only 250 lev (approximately 10 pounds), the average toll is about 50 levs, and the employment placement fee is about 200 levs. The total cost of a labor is no more than 500 Lev.
Anyway, the Bulgarian government started the advance payment first, and later it will be deducted from their wages in installments without losing money. Therefore, Bulgaria imported a large amount of Russian labor before, and the Ministry of Finance did not have any pressure.
But now it's different. Before, it was Bulgarian who was short of labor and brought them in. There are a lot of jobs for them. At this moment, Ferdinand can't get so many jobs!
If there are no jobs, then there are only man-made jobs, and the expenditure will be huge!
And no one knows when the European war will break out. If it lasts three or five years, then the Bulgarian government will have to find a way to feed them for three to five years?
Leaving aside, the intermediary fee alone costs 10 pounds per person, and the intermediary fee for one million people is 10 million pounds.
According to Ferdinand’s request, how could there be two to three million people in the end? This alone has an investment of 20-30 million pounds, and don't expect to recover the cost in the short term!
Ferdinand nodded. There are too many young men and women needed this time, and time is too tight, which is indeed a challenge to the Bulgarian government's finances.
"Well, let's issue another construction bond to raise funds from all over the world in the name of developing the Greek peninsula. The focus of this bond issuance will be on Russia!"
After thinking about it, Kennedy smiled and said, "Okay, Your Majesty, the Ministry of Finance will estimate the funding gap as soon as possible."
There is no doubt that Kennedy thought that Ferdinand focused on selling bonds to the Russians in order to win over the financial circles and aristocrats in Russia and create a good political environment for the introduction of labor.
Ferdinand knew that he had misunderstood, but he didn't explain it. There were some things he knew alone, and there was no need to say it.
"Don't evaluate it. Directly issue 200 million pounds of bonds to the outside world, use our tariff income as a guarantee, and the interest will follow international standards." Ferdinand said lightly.
The figure of "200 million pounds" directly frightened everyone. Now all countries are preparing for war, and a lot of funds are consumed in the military. But 200 million pounds, this can create a British Royal Navy! (Limited to shipbuilding)
Constantine said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that this number will not be sold, and countries will think that we are raising military expenses, this..."
Ferdinand smiled slightly, and said, "Prime Minister, you have been worrying too much. What if they know it? Now everyone is raising military expenses, and we are just doing something obvious!
However, for convenience, the bonds can also be split and sold. For the time being, an announcement of 50 million pounds will be fine, but the actual sales will not be restricted, the more the better! "
Anyway, the world war is about to break out. Ferdinand is now holding a fortune to count. Of course, the money will still be repaid in the future, but the premise is that the creditors are still there!
Needless to say, once a war breaks out, the exchanges between the two sides will naturally be cut off. When the world war is over, I don’t know how many financial institutions have gone bankrupt, and how many people’s debts have been destroyed by the war!
What's more, the bond issued in Germany is the mark, and the krona issued in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the world war is over, the currencies of these countries will soon become waste paper, and Bulgaria can easily pay off the debt!
It is a pity that under the current international situation, the bonds issued by the Bulgarian government may be difficult to sell in the Allied market. Ferdinand missed the opportunity to take advantage of the fire!
Although the Allies can’t do it, isn’t there still an Allied Power?
After the end of the First World War, the franc depreciated greatly. From the ratio of 1 pound ≈ 25 francs before the war, to 1 pound ≈ 240 francs in 1926.
This is also the main reason why Ferdinand borrowed a French loan. Now the Bulgarian government owes a huge foreign debt of more than seven billion francs to the French, but after the end of the First World War, this debt will quickly shrink with the devaluation of the franc!
Oh, in fact, the pound has also depreciated, but the British Empire is backed by South African gold, and the depreciation is not that big!
As for the Russians, let alone, once the tsarist government collapsed, the ruble immediately became waste paper. Isn't it too easy to pay off this debt?
It can be said that now is the golden age of borrowing money! Ferdinand can now rely on the borrowed money to reserve strategic materials and enhance Bulgaria's war potential.
In any case, no matter how high the interest rate on international borrowing is, it cannot match inflation. Now the Bulgarian government is heavily indebted, but after the end of the world war, the actual value of these debts may not even be one-tenth of what they were before the war!
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After discussing the financial issues, the Foreign Secretary Metiev suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the conditions for annexation of the Greek Peninsula are now ripe!"
Ferdinand was taken aback for a moment, and asked reflexively: "Why?"
He originally planned to wait for the outbreak of the World War before annexing the Greek Peninsula. When the time comes, the two sides are fighting, and naturally they will not care about the Greek peninsula!
Medev said confidently: "Your Majesty, there are now four to five million Greeks left on the Greek peninsula, and our number of immigrants on the peninsula has exceeded that of the Greeks. Even if we immediately announce the annexation of Greece, the Greeks will not be able to reverse it. There is a big wave!
And in diplomacy, we have also obtained the understanding of the Allies, and with their support we will not stand alone.
The power of the Allies in the Near East is limited, and the only one capable of intervening is Italy, but as long as the Italians are not stupid, they will not fight us for the Greeks! "
Ferdinand pondered for a while, but finally resisted the temptation, shook his head and said, "It's not appropriate, but wait! Now let's increase the pace of immigration in Greece. After we pack the Greeks and send us away It is more appropriate to annex the Greek peninsula!"
Anyway, the Greek peninsula is already the meat in the Bulgarian bowl. If you eat it later, you won’t run away. What if you eat it hot now?
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