Bulgarian Empire -
Chapter 76: Various Reactions
The response of the people was depressing to Ferdinand. The Bulgarian public looked like they were eating melons and watching the show. It felt like getting used to it, as if they thought the war was no big deal and didn't look worried at all.
Didn't they say that the common people hate war? Did I open the wrong way? How come they all seem to be fist-pumping and planning to have a big fight.
It also has to do with the cultural traditions of the Balkans, which, due to its geographical location, has long been a strategic point of struggle for European powers.
"War" has been a part of the life of the Balkan population since the 2nd century BC, when it was ruled by the Roman, Byzantine, Avar, and Ottoman Turkish empires.
Later the Huns, Avars, Lombards, Romans, Slavs, and later the Ottomans all fought for control of the region.
The war is ever-present, and because of the long war, the population's militancy is nurtured because those who are afraid of war do not survive.
The present Balkan region can be described as a mixture of various ethnicities. Pure-blooded peoples are almost non-existent, but the warlike spirit has remained unchanged.
Bulgaria mobilized 1.26 million troops for the Great War and lasted two years when you think about history. You can see the public's view of the war.
After being occupied by the Ottoman oppression for a long time, the Balkan countries emphasized army building after their independence. They are also very careful about the surrounding trend.
As soon as Bulgaria expanded its army, it caused turmoil in the neighborhood. The Great Powers are okay but only slightly concerned. A mere Bulgaria is not enough to scare them.
The Balkan countries are quite different. Despite the decline of the Ottoman Empire, they still consider themselves great power, and their corrupt governments are busy fighting for power and profit.
Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Said Halim Pasha, received the news with a chuckle and did not bother to forward it directly to the government.
Whether this news eventually reached Abdul Hamid II (reigned 1876-1909) is unknown. Anyway, apart from sending diplomats to express their concern, nothing was done, which was very different from the previous Russian-Bulgarian alliance.
Serbia was much more alert, and the young Aleksandar Obrenović (reigned 1889-1903) expressed strong concern about it. Although not yet in full power, the 16-year-old king was the first to summon his cabinet.
"Gentlemen, what do you think about the expansion of the Bulgarian army?" asked Aleksandar Obrenović.
"It's obvious that Bulgaria is preparing for war. It's because probably they have become bolder after the alliance with Russia and are ready to take military action!" said the Minister of the Interior.
"Good, I think it's time for Serbia to make early preparations as well. Bulgaria's strategic goals are still unclear, and the chances of them targeting us now with the Russians behind them are very high! We should expand our army and prepare for war right now and not allow them to take advantage of it!!!" said 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 Austria-Hungary agrees or not! They had the upper hand in 1886, and once Austria-Hungary stepped in, they didn't still come up empty-handed, and I don't think they're going to do it again now!!! Besides, we are not fiscally rich now and do not have more than enough money for you to squander!!!" countered by the Minister of Finance.
"How can this be a squandering of money? How can we defend the country if we don't expand our army? What if Bulgaria invades us? What will we rely on to defend against it?" The Minister of War asked the counter-question.
"Is that so? Is it possible to expand the army? Didn't you have a full-strength in 1885? How did it turn out that you were still defeated?" The Minister of Finance said with a sneer.
"You, this is slander!!! That was our defeat because we fell for the Bulgarians' trick. There is no way that they would have defeated the heroic Serbian army otherwise!!!" The Minister of War said with a little bit of shame.
...
The young Aleksandar Obrenović, who had little patience and little prestige, watched the noise below and looked dismayed.
A sudden stern rebuke: "That's enough! Only Bulgaria knows who they are targeting! It's useless for you to argue! What we need to determine now is, what should Serbia do next?"
Historically Aleksandar Obrenović was in power in 1893. Although young, he was a brilliant politician!
The Minister of Finance and the Minister of War are arguing for their own benefit. Of course, the bad Serbian finances are the key issue. It will soon turn into a verbal battle between the ministers if it is not stopped.
Serbia's financial problems can be traced back to the War of Independence. However, with the defeat of the war against Bulgaria in 1885, the economy paid another heavy price. The financial crisis worsened to the extent that it has not slowed down until now.
Serbia's annual budget is highly fought over. If it follows Bulgaria's expansion now, it will surely greatly squeeze other sectors' budgets.
The Minister of Finance was most concerned that Serbia now had a debt of money, including a military expense for the use of troops against Bulgaria in 1885, which was a loan that they had not paid off.
This problem can also be traced back to Milan Obrenović IV. During the period of Serbian independence, to gain Austria-Hungary's support, political and economic treaties were signed, and Serbia was forced to sell out much of its political and economic sovereignty.
Until now, there was no proper industry in Serbia. The national capital failed in the face of competition with the Austro-Hungarian capital. It gradually turned to the pro-Russian faction, which is one of the reasons why Serbia turned to the Entente before World War I.
The Minister of Finance could not help but oppose, mainly because the government had no money and had no choice but to step forward. He also does not see the fighting ability of the Serbian army. The last war was so clearly better than the others, and now there is no longer dominant. What else do they need to consider? Anyway, they can not fight, do not just squander money.
Aleksandar Obrenović also knew about the state of the government, but the young and furious king could not tolerate this!
"All of you gentlemen, as ministers, you are the elite of Serbia, so I think you all know it very well. Although we can rely on Austria-Hungary now, Bulgaria also has Russia behind it. If war breaks out with two great powers holding each other in check, who can we rely on?" Aleksandar Obrenović asked rhetorically in a serious tone.
"But Your Majesty, the government has no money now! What will we do to expand the army? Rather, how much do we have to expand the army to deal with the Bulgarian threat?? What will it take for the military to guarantee victory?" The Minister of Finance asked with a cold voice.
"Bulgaria has expanded by 60,000 men. If we want to maintain our advantage, we need to expand by at least 80,000 men to have the ability to attack!!!" The Minister of War said with a big smile.
"This can't be! It amounts to a 1.2 times expansion of the size of our army already. Combined with the equipment, it's simply astronomical!!!" The Minister of Finance said in disbelief.
Not only did he do so, but other Serbian officials were also stunned. It really needs to be done. It's unnecessary to spend the rest of the day. The army drains the revenue.
Aleksandar Obrenović is also stunned. He supports the expansion of the army, but the government has no money, and he has no discount!
The scale of military spending in the Balkan countries has always been high, and Serbia is one of the top spenders, but it can't be more than the revenue!
The Minister of War seems to know that it seems to be beyond his head, but he can't hit himself in the face, right? After some thought, he was ready to change the subject and opened his mouth and said, "If you don't have money, then raise taxes! It is so simple, you can not even think, what is your Ministry of Finance to do?"
The Minister of Finance rolled his eyes in anger and looked at the Minister of War twice without saying anything. It seems to say again that you think this is a child playing house and say to raise taxes. The capitalists are not happy!
The others did not react much, but Aleksandar Obrenović got interested and began calculating how much taxes would have to be raised to cover the military expenses!
It should not be surprising that historically Aleksandar Obrenović was not a carefree person and did not do many absurd things.
In 1900, he also married a widow 10 years older than him, Draga Mašin, a maid of honor, which caused the dismissal of the entire cabinet and was rejected by the European nobility.
What is even more bizarre is that in 1903, Aleksandar Obrenović actually suspended the Constitution for a few hours to enable him to carry out illegal acts.
Compared to these, tax increases are child's play.
Aleksandar Obrenović seemed to realize that this kind of thing was beyond his ability to do and opened his mouth to ask: "How much would the Ministry of Finance calculate to raise taxes in order to solve the financial crisis?"
...
As Serbia was still discussing how much to raise taxes and how they should be levied, the Romanian government had a much easier time. Carol I had a secret alliance with Germany and Austria in 1883, and Bulgaria was worried for a while about the alliance with Russia. However, after being assured by Germany and Austria-Hungary, they were relieved.
Carol I had excellent military skills, and he commanded the army that won the Battle of Pleven in the Tenth Russo-Turkish War.
He had always been fond of the army. When he heard that Bulgaria had expanded its army, Carol I did not intend to lag behind and followed the expansion of 60,000 troops. Although Romania was much richer than Serbia, the military expenses would be enough despite the financial pressure.
If not for Carol I's limited political skills and his excessive raids on the country, which were not popular, the conflicts intensified in 1888, when a peasant uprising broke out in Romania, hurting the country's vitality, it would have been Ferdinand's headache now.
It is logical that the reaction of these neighbors is normal. There is no hurry for Greece, which does not share a border with Bulgaria now.
But Geórgios I was so politically sensitive that he thought that Bulgaria's next target was the Ottoman Empire, so Greece should also prepare for war in advance.
Despite the opposition of the ministers, he forced through the expansion bill. The one who was only more than two million Greek, after the expansion, actually had 110,000 land forces and 40,000 naval forces.
The Greek government, of course, does not have so much money, but it is fine to borrow.
Geórgios I took over the throne, and the British gave him the Ionian Islands as a gift, but of course, the British were not that generous.
Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred, was made King of Greece. Only the London Conference of 1832 excluded Britain, Russia, and France from having their own royal family as King of Greece, and George I took up the mantle.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Greece began laying railroads and opening the Corinth Canal. The government became bankrupt, and Prime Minister Trikoupis was forced to declare the country bankrupt.
In 1898, Britain, France, Austria, Germany, and Russia formed the International Financial Commission to monitor Greece's financial revenues and expenditures. As a result, the financial power fell into the hands of the Great Powers.
That is why now, in order to borrow more for the expansion of the army, it does not matter. It is a big deal to go bankrupt early. The Greeks are used to debt, which is also known as a strong tradition.
As for the future Kingdom of Montenegro, ignore him! It is still a small country with a population of less than 400,000. It s really not enough to expand the army and prepare for war, but he still expanded the army to 15,000 people.
Ferdinand was almost happy to see the reaction of the Balkan countries. The arms race was on! The economic crisis spread to the Balkans in a few months, and there will be fun to see.
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