Vol 2 Chapter 88: 5 years after Belgium, 10 years after Spain

The destructive nature of the war was innate. More than three months after the Balkan war ended, Ferdinand finally received a specific loss report.
Of course, this report only includes Bulgarian territory. The area controlled by the Kingdom of Montenegro has only made a rough guess. As for Greece, there is no result.
Even so, the damage caused by the war is still alarming. In just three months, nearly 200,000 civilians were killed or injured in the Balkans, and millions more were displaced and homeless.
The direct economic loss caused is as high as 1 billion levs. Especially in the area of ​​Istanbul, where the Ottomans resisted the most, the losses were even more severe.
No matter who is responsible, now this bitter fruit needs Ferdinand to swallow. The economic levels of various regions have retrogressed for at least thirty years.
This judgment is objective, after all, during the Ottoman Empire, the economy in the Balkans has been bad.
The data based on them is not informative. According to Cabinet estimates, the Ottoman army resisted the relatively weak Kosovo region, the economy was not damaged, and it could be restored in one or two years.
In Istanbul, due to the fierce resistance of the Ottomans, the economic damage caused is great, and it will take at least five years to restore vitality.
As for Constantinople, it has been reduced to ruins. There is no such thing as 20 or 30 years of recovery.
Taken together, most of the energy of the Bulgarian government in the next five years will be spent on post-war reconstruction, and most of the government's financial investment will be spent on these new territories.
As for the displacement of nearly a million people, Ferdinand does not need this headache. They have left Bulgaria anyway, just to make room for immigrants.
After reading the report, Ferdinand thought for a while and said, "These situations are worse than our previous estimates. What specific plan does the Cabinet have to restore the economy and stabilize the livelihood of people as soon as possible?"
Constantine said, "After comprehensive consideration, in the next few years, we will resettle millions of immigrants, so we must create a lot of jobs.
The cabinet plans to continue to increase financial input in the new round of the "Three Five-Year Plan", with the focus on our new territory. Mainly focused on railways, mining, municipal infrastructure, and vigorously building water conservancy projects in agriculture.
However, in this way, the financial pressure will be very great. In 1898, the government's fiscal revenue is expected to reach about 510 million levs, of which the original Bulgarian region can contribute 307 million. Another 145 million levs are for sale of land and confiscation of lev The new territories contributed only less than 58 million levs.
However, in terms of fiscal expenditure, it has risen sharply, reaching a staggering 680 million levs, and the fiscal deficit is as high as 170 million levs, which has exceeded the safety line.
The increase in expenditure was mainly due to the fact that administrative expenses tripled to 120 million levs; education expenditures doubled to 80 million levs; medical expenditures increased by 50% to 21 million levs. Eph.
The other parts are mainly government investment, including: investment in railway construction, which is expected to be about 80 million levs; municipal reconstruction and post-war reconstruction, this part of the investment is expected to be about 75 million levs; and the construction of water conservancy projects and the promotion of new agricultural technologies This part of the investment is about 60 million levs ... "
After listening to Constantine's introduction, Ferdinand pondered for a while and found that there was nothing wrong. These cost ratios are determined based on actual conditions, and there is no blind pursuit of results.
Just like the fastest growing administrative expenses, this is a top priority. Must the ruling order of the newly added territories be established? This cost can't be saved at all!
Followed by education, this is obviously for brainwashing. It has always been a long-term project. It cannot be completed in the short term, and the urgency is slightly lower.
As for the subsequent construction investment, this number is really small. In the "second five-year plan", Bulgaria's investment exceeded this number. But now financial difficulties can only be taken slowly.
"I remember there are still a lot of real estate this time, including land. If the government manages them, it will also be a lot of income. Can this make up most of the deficit?" Ferdinand asked puzzledly
Constantine said painfully: "Considering the complexity of the situation in the Balkans, our military expenditures can only increase in the future and cannot be reduced.
In order to ensure a stable supply of military expenditures, the government has decided to allocate the confiscated land to the army with all the proceeds of more than 5 million hectares, in addition to the rewards for the officers and soldiers and the sale!
The Ministry of Finance has done detailed calculations in this regard. In 1897, due to the Balkan War, our military expenditure actually exceeded 700 million levs.
In 1895, our army military expenditure totaled 147 million levs; in 1896, this number expanded to 280 million levs. Of course, this is mainly due to combat readiness!
In the coming year, the army will also need to carry out large bandits and suppress local stubborn forces. In addition, our national borders have also grown significantly, and national defense pressure has increased.
As a result, military expenditures will also be on the high side, which is expected to increase to 360 million levs, of which the army accounts for 94% and the navy accounts for 6%.
Except for the 120 million levs allocated for this part of the expenditure, most of the rest is borne by land revenue and the profits paid by supporting state-owned enterprises.
As for the other real estate confiscated, the income of this part of the industry must be used to fill the cost of immigration, otherwise the 40 million levs allocated by the government are simply not enough! "
Ferdinand nodded with satisfaction. The Bulgarian government still adhered to his usual style, first listing the most important part, prioritizing satisfaction, and then doing other things.
There is no doubt that the most important thing in Bulgaria today is to maintain a strong army. This is the root of everything!
The second is to stabilize the place, digest the fruits of victory, and exchange the subject nation with the Ottoman Empire.
Only after doing this can we have the energy to consider the issue of construction and development!
"So, not only will our fiscal deficit not shrink in the next few years, but it will further increase?" Ferdinand asked with concern.
Constantine said in distress: "Yes! We cannot have real estate sold every year. In 1899, our fiscal revenue will return to normal. Fiscal revenue may be slightly lower than in 1898!
The government's various investments will continue to increase. In the next few years, it is likely that only military expenditures will be reduced. After local stability, military expenditures can be reduced by about 30 to 50 million levs.
However, after the sale of real estate, the immigration expenses will be borne entirely by the government. Our financial pressure will not be reduced, but will be even more serious! "
Ferdinand said with emotion: "It looks like we have a few more years of hardship! However, on the other hand, our total economic output has increased by 80% compared with before the war!
If we can develop this new territory, we will achieve leapfrog development. The total industrial output in the next five years is expected to catch up with Belgium and within ten years to catch up with Spain! "
Well, Ferdinand is undoubtedly a sentiment, which has become the development goal of the Bulgarian government in the next ten years, "overtake Belgium in five years and catch up with Spain in ten years"!
Overtaking Belgium in five years, this is not difficult! After all, Belgium's total industrial output is not much higher than Bulgaria's, and the gap between the two sides is less than one fifth.
However, Spain is not the same. Where is its weight? Anyway, it is also a second-class power. Its comprehensive national strength is comparable to Italy. Europe ranks only behind Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia!
When the Bulgarian government shouted the slogan, it caused a ridicule. Of course, once the Spanish-American War broke out, the results were different. The Spanish kingdom at the bottom of the powers was knocked down and made a stepping stone!
In any case, the Bulgarians of this era are still confident, especially under Ferdinand's leadership, and have achieved a series of victories.
The Bulgarian government's confidence in achieving this goal is better than Ferdinand's, and he directly blows the cowhide out!
They have a reason for self-confidence. The biggest drawback of Bulgaria is the imperfect industrial system, but it has reached the forefront of the world in some areas.
For example, steel output exceeds the total of Italy + Japan. No way, the Italian steel output has always been the lower limit of the powers. As for the Japanese steel industry, it has only just started.
It also owns the world's largest army arsenal. For the Balkan war, the Bulgarian arsenal has grown like a snowball, and it can indeed be proud of its heroes in terms of production capacity!
Even if it is the strongest, this will be shameful, and it can be called the strongest "cottage factory". The arsenal developed with "cottage" as its core idea can only be obtained by Ferdinand!
When Ferdinand's ambition shouted "Dare to surpass Belgium in five years and catch up with Spain in ten years", the tug-of-war between the Greeks and the Ottoman Empire also ended.
The Greek government has lost most of its homeland. Over time, the government has been under increasing pressure. The Ottoman Empire has also been difficult. Affected by the Balkan War, domestic revolutionary forces have prevailed, and troops continue to be suppressed.
Since both sides were unhappy, the Greek government and the Ottoman Empire naturally compromised, each giving way.
The Ottoman Empire abandoned its claim for land-cutting compensation and withdrew its troops directly from the Greek peninsula. The Greek government paid the Ottoman Empire the cost of purchasing Crete, totaling 10 million pounds.
Everyone knows that the Greeks have no money now. Don't say 10 million pounds. Even if it is 1 million pounds, they can't get it!
And even if you want to borrow money, you can't get enough collateral, so the two sides compromised and let the Greek government pay in installments.
At the request of George I, the Greeks paid 10,000 pounds to the Ottomans for the first year, and then they disappeared!
No one knows Greece's financial situation. Their currency, Drachma, is now almost like waste paper. There is really no money, and the Sudanese government can only recognize disasters.
There is only one step back. The two parties agreed to repay 500,000 pounds per year, with a profit of 30 years for Fuqing, and the first year would be fine.
After reaching an agreement. How long before George I was too happy, he found out what kind of mess he had taken over!
This time it really home! During the Greek-Turkish war, the 200,000 troops of the Greek army were almost wiped out, and the direct death toll exceeded 60,000.
At the same time, the 100,000-odd captives who fell into the hands of the Ottomans will naturally have no good results. Especially the wounded, after a few months, nearly 20,000 people were reduced, and the survivors have become skinny. There is no one and a half years of recuperation, don't try to restore vitality!
In addition, the Ottoman army's rampant conquest in the Greek peninsula is now hungry and mournful.
The loss of civilians alone was no less than 200,000, and the number of Greeks fell again to less than 2 million, but the population in Greece increased by 600,000!
George I said that Greece was short of people, but he definitely did not lack people. From the defeat to the present, he has been assassinated twice and suppressed five rebellions!
So when the locals and outsiders clashed, George I acutely discovered the opportunity to get rid of the political crisis, and decisively stood by the locals.
Taking advantage of ethnic conflict, George I once again gained the recognition of the Greek people and successfully maintained the throne. At the same time, it also caused further chaos in the Greek peninsula!
The migrant population entering Greece lost its restraint after the Ottoman army withdrew. The Greek-evil Edher Pasha did not forget to bury the Greeks before evacuating.
A large number of weapons and equipment were deliberately left in the refugee camps. When the refugees took up the weapons, it was often not a revolution but a mob!
In order to survive, they set their sights on the locals. At first, they tried to each other's food. Later, some people began to property ~ EbookFREE.me ~ When they met resistance, they raised their butcher knifes.
In order to keep his throne, after the incident, not only did George I prevent the situation from deteriorating immediately, but he also led public opinion and magnified the incident.
Then, when the Greeks were worried about the safety of their lives, George I stepped forward, organized an army rebellion, and aimed the guns at all the foreign nations.
This is not to blame George I ’s fierceness. It is the actual situation that forced him to do so. With the poor finances of the current Greek government, there is no way to house these uninvited guests!
Not to mention now, even before the Greek-Turkish war, there was no way to provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in Greece.
Since there is no way to digest it, of course it can only be eliminated. This time George I decided to learn from the successful experience of Nicholas I. All foreign nations he caught were thrown into the prisoner of war camps, adding to the building of the Greek government.
However, when George I started, these refugees were already scattered on the Greek peninsula. Since they could not be exhausted, the other party naturally resisted.