บท 86: Impact of the Balkans
By contrast, another bad brother - Greece, is now much better. Although the Austro-Hungarian Bank suddenly stopped lending, it was also affected. However, it does not matter. There are more of its creditors so that they can deal with the problems.
Ferdinand had to say "impressed" to the Greek government under George I!
A country with a population of about two million people has an army of 150,000 people. It also includes the navy of more or less another 40,000 'gold swallowing beasts'1), which is simply much better than any other.
With such a great deal of poverty and militarism, it is logical to say that the country should have been in a state of chaos. However, Greece did not. Although also affected by the economic crisis, there was some minor chaos, but the country is overall stable.
It is entirely thanks to a unique Greek technique, the word "borrow"!
George I's political level is solid. As soon as the economic crisis broke out, a cabinet meeting was held at once to think of ways to deal with the crisis that might break out next.
"The economic crisis has broken out. What is the strategy of your cabinet?" George I asked expectantly.
"Your Majesty, this economic crisis in Greece is caused by external reasons! I'm afraid we can't get out of the crisis by ourselves! Now we only have funds from the government to buy food and provide relief to the unemployed. When the world economic crisis is over, all will return to normal!" Prime Minister Trikoupis said with great certainty.
George I nodded, and he wisely did not object to the government's passive measures.
If one were to talk about the Balkan countries, Greece would undoubtedly be the most influenced by the Great Powers.
Starting from the independence from the Ottoman Empire's rule, it was all done by the Great Powers. It included the first King Otto I in 1832 and now George I, who was chosen by the Great Powers.
The country's sovereignty, long ago, has almost fallen. It is a fool's errand to rely on government policies to restrict international capital. George I did not dare to challenge the Great Powers. Greece did not have the strength to challenge the Great Powers.
After thinking about it, George I said, "It's not enough, we still lack emergency funds in our hands! You have to strengthen the contact with the banks of various countries and try to get them to grant some of the loans in advance, just in case!"
...
Since the Greek government had prepared in advance, when the Austro-Hungarian Bank stopped issuing loans, the government still had a sum of money in hand and could slowly begin to work with other banks.
In the end, it was the wealthy British owner who won and was quick to take over the Austro-Hungarian bank's claim. Well, just another two cents of your interest... minor deal!
In contrast, next door, Carol I still lives a perfect life in Romania. The "Pearl of the Black Sea" is not just a figure of speech. The Black Sea's vast areas and rich mineral resources are desirable even to Russia.
Well, Russia is dying for too much, so let's leave it at that! Anyway, this rich home base provides strong support for the growth of the Romanian industry.
Since his succession, Carol I encouraged industry development with no major results, though. However, small and medium-sized factories have sprung up and look alive.
Like other Balkan countries, Romania was heavily influenced by the Great Powers. The fragile Romanian economy was hit hard by the wave of an economic crisis that erupted with its shearing.
After the Austro-Hungarian financial crisis outbreak, they drew money from abroad all around, and Romania was no less. However, before the outbreak of this economic crisis, Germany's agriculture failed to harvest. Under the alliance concluded with Germany and Austria by Carol I in 1883, Romania also made a profit.
It went well for Romania then, except that the financial crisis worsened. Carol I raised taxes on the peasants again to raise money for the military.
When looking at the news from the neighboring countries that were compiled, Ferdinand breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was lucky that everyone was unlucky together.
There are times when people are like this. They are down on their luck, and when they see others worse off, they rejoice, and Ferdinand is no less.
From the data collected, all Balkans countries have been affected by this economic crisis and suffered heavy losses without exception.
Bulgaria has made earlier preparations. Domestic capital is dominated by state-owned capital. The government has strongly restricted the domestic capitalists from taking profit from the fire. They started the "Second Five-Year Plan" to absorb the unemployed people in society and take the lead to get rid of the economic crisis.
The Greek government has survived the crisis with loans. The government has helped calm the crisis by providing relief to the unemployed.
Romania is fertile and rich in goods. Although it has suffered heavy industrial losses, it has survived the crisis by exploiting the peasantry. The country is still shady, although it could erupt violently.
It goes without saying that the Serbian economy has lost a lot of money. Under Ferdinand's butterfly effect, a small-scale civil war has now actually broken out. Well, Ferdinand admitted that this uprising had his hand in pushing it.
As for the future Kingdom of Montenegro in Montenegro, please ignore it. A small country with a population of less than half a million and almost zero industry is not yet worthy of Ferdinand's attention.
It should not be strange that there is no analysis of the Ottoman Empire. It is not that Ferdinand does not pay attention. The point is that now the Ottoman is a mess with their domestic bureaucrats are busy fighting for power and profit. They have not yet figured out the specifics of the domestic situation themselves, which is bad anyway.
With regard to the Ottoman, Ferdinand is also happy to do so. With the memory of his past life, he also knows that the Ottoman Empire's ethnic conflict is an unsolved problem. All it takes is a spark to trigger. If not, forgive Ferdinand's guts. He would not have turned his sights on this giant.
In order to deal with the Balkans, which might face the next changes, Ferdinand again convened a cabinet meeting.
"Gentlemen, since the outbreak of the economic crisis, we have passed the most difficult moment! But the next problem comes again. After the outbreak of the Austro-Hungarian financial crisis and the weakening of control over the Balkans, other Great Powers will surely find a chance to take profit. There is a strong chance of a major diplomatic change in the Balkans in the future! What should we do next in Bulgaria? How can we be invincible in this change, and even gain greater benefits?" Ferdinand said seriously.
It was a big deal. Ferdinand doesn't think that Bulgaria's alliance with Russia will leave them in peace. Ferdinand didn't mind tearing up the treaty at any time if there was something more at stake, which of course, was the same for Russia.
The meeting room became silent. Although all the Bulgarian elites are sitting here, everyone is losing on this issue. In the long-term strategic layout, except for Ferdinand, Bulgaria now really does not have that kind of long-term vision of the strategist.
Seeing that the scene had fallen into an awkward moment, Chekhov said stiffly, "Your Highness, the current status of the Balkans is a mess. The interests of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Austria are intertwined. It is really hard to see the future course."
Ferdinand nodded calmly. He knew that it was not that his men were not acting. It really was that they were confused by the Great Powers that be and did not know what to do.
Konstantin knew it was time for his own opinion, the newly appointed prime minister. Everyone else could do without it, but it had to be there as prime minister.
The mind is nervous to say...
1) Gold swallowing beasts refers to the great amount of money that someone spends on their army (beast) as if the military swallowed their leader's money into their own. For example, by buying ammunition for army to train, the army swallowed the bullet, which is not the same as swallowing money.
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