Chapter 33: Dealing with the Greek Debt Crisis

It's easy to send the people on the island away, except for the slightly larger population on Crete, most of the other islands have only a thousand people and 800 people, and a boat can do it, and the total of more than 200 islands is less than 100,000 people!

But the Greek peninsula is a problem, and even Ferdinand in the Peloponnese did not dare to act rashly, after all, there are hundreds of thousands of people above?

If the movement is too big, it is estimated that the great powers will not agree, who is to say that the Greek government still owes a huge amount of foreign debt? If everyone runs away, who will be responsible for paying off the debt?

Unless the Bulgarian government can pay the entire foreign debt of the Greek government in one go!

Since Bulgaria took over Greece, the power of the great powers also began to withdraw from the Greek peninsula, but the rights and interests of the great powers must be guaranteed, which is a prerequisite for the withdrawal of the power of the great powers!

To put it simply, the debt of the Greek government has now fallen on Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian government has vouched for their ability to repay!

Of course, this guarantee is limited, limited to the annual payment amount of the Greek government, and will not be lower than it is now, and it will be given priority to the major powers!

It's not that Bulgaria wants to guarantee that the Greeks can pay off the loan immediately, after all, the Greeks' loans are basically due, and the Bulgarian government can't come up with so much money to support it at one time!

Therefore, the Greek government must exist, no matter what method is used, Ferdinand has to let the Greek government take on its own, and it is impossible to pay off their debts for them!

Eighty or ninety million pounds is not a small amount, this is equivalent to a year's financial income of Bulgaria, so it can only be borne by the Greeks themselves!

Oh, and this is also a measure taken by the Great Powers to limit Bulgaria's annexation of the Greek peninsula. After all, if so much money is taken out at one time, the development of Bulgaria will also be interrupted, and if the rapid development of Bulgaria can be interrupted because of this, it will make a lot of money!

……

The problem now is that Ferdinand wanted to pack the Greeks and send them away, after all, the location of the Greek peninsula was important to Bulgaria, and it was impossible for Ferdinand to give up!

Especially in the future, if anyone places a few missile launchers on the peninsula, then the whole of Bulgaria will be covered by firepower, and there will be no national security at all!

It is easy to annex the Greek peninsula, but it is difficult to assimilate the Greeks on the island! After all, Greece is also an ancient nation with thousands of years of cultural heritage, unless Ferdinand kills 1.8 million, ethnic integration is a dream!

It is very contradictory to get the Greeks out of here, and to get the Greek government to pay off its debts! Unless Bulgaria helps them move their country and find a good piece of land, they still can't afford to take on the debt!

This is obviously impossible, such a good place in this era has long been divided up by the great powers, even if there is Ferdinand himself, where will it be given to the Greeks?

"Your Majesty, what about the loan from the Greek government?" Konstantin asked embarrassedly

In fact, the Bulgarian government has been discussing this issue for a long time, but there has been no result!

After thinking about it, Ferdinand sneered and said, "Let the Greek government declare that it is in arrears!" We only promised to guarantee the loans of the great powers, but the bonds issued by the Greek government have nothing to do with us! ”

Oh, and that's the most effective thing Ferdinand could come up with! Of course, as soon as this news is announced, the credibility of the Greek government is completely ruined!

But what does this have to do with him? Anyway, the money owed to the individual and the money owed to the consortium are not the same concept at all!

At least the consortium has a spokesperson in the government, can influence politics, and has the ability to collect debts! But ordinary people? They don't have the right to speak in this era!

Originally, international debt is a risky investment, although the return is high, but it may also lose all its money at any time!

Oh, and in this way, it is the capitalists in Greece who are the worst to be trapped! The debt owed by the government department is not a small amount, and the blank slip does not only exist in the Eastern world, but also exists in the Western world!

Like what arrears of project payments, part of the money for the purchase of materials is paid in advance, and the settlement is delayed for several months, or the officials go out to eat and drink for nothing, and the IOUs written afterwards, and the debt issued by the Greek government, all of which are invalid!

As soon as this news came out, it is estimated that many interest groups in Greece will go crazy about it!

Listening to Ferdinand's words, Konstantin's face was overjoyed, so that the Greeks' debt could be reduced by at least a third, and for the Bulgarian government, the risk would undoubtedly be reduced!

As for the credibility of the Greeks' government, and the interest groups that suffer from it, what does it matter to him? Could it be that Bulgaria still has to take into account their feelings?

Ferdinand added: "Oh, by the way, the Greek government can also reduce spending, after all, they have so many debts, if they don't work hard, how can they pay them off?"

As the suzerain, we also have an obligation to help them pay off their debts as soon as possible! Our national defense and security will be borne by us for them, and this fee can be remembered first, and they will pay it back slowly when they have money!

Well, except for George I's Guard, which could keep five hundred men, the Greek army was disbanded!

In this way, you can save 1.8 million pounds a year!

In addition, the government can also abolish some unnecessary departments, you see that they are in such financial difficulties now, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, these non-essential departments, can be dispensed with!

Anyway, let's do it! As long as the institutions that are not indispensable are abolished first, the assets owned by the government can also be sold as soon as possible, and the cash can be withdrawn as soon as possible, so as to pay off the debts as soon as possible! ”

Oh, the great powers have been ruthless enough to compress the military expenses of the Greeks to a very low point, only the expenses of one infantry division in Bulgaria, and Ferdinand is even more ruthless this time, and directly lost them!

If it weren't for the sake of maintaining the sanctity of the monarchy and saving the face of George I, it is estimated that Ferdinand would not have left even these 500 guards to the Greeks!

Seeing that Ferdinand said it so uprightly, with an expression that I am all for your good, Konstantin was a little stunned!

However, Konstantin is also an old fritter in the political arena, and he quickly reacted, he knew very well that it was up to the Greek government to pay off its foreign debts, and he had to do it!

Even for individual creditors, the Greek government's debt is still as high as 50 or 60 million pounds, and the Greek government's pre-war fiscal revenue is only about 4 million pounds, excluding the government's daily expenses, even the interest is not enough!

Not to mention after the war, it was thanks to Bulgaria that it had cut so much land and was affected by the war, and was able to keep the financial revenue of 3 million pounds!

The unscrupulous Konstantin proposed: "Your Majesty, in addition to throttling, I think the most important thing is to help the Greek government open source, the current tax system of the Greeks is too scattered, we need to help them straighten it out."

If they try a little hard, they might be able to double their revenues! ”

This time it was Ferdinand's turn to wonder, with the current situation of the Greeks, could there be a significant increase in fiscal revenues? Are you sure you're not joking?

After thinking about it, Ferdinand decisively rejected Constantine's proposal: "No, if the conquest is tyrannical, the situation on the Greek Peninsula will immediately fall into chaos, and after the signing of the armistice treaty, the Greek Peninsula will be a little unstable, and we can't add fuel to the fire!" ”

Konstantin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the situation may not be so bad!" Ordinary Greeks don't have much money, but there are a lot of rich people in Greece!

If it's just against them, plus our army suppresses it, it won't make much of a mess!

And we can use the joint system, one person sins and the whole family is exiled! In the event of a major riot, we estimate that hundreds of thousands of people could be exiled! ”

Listening to Constantine's words, Ferdinand nodded, if it was only for one percent, it is estimated that most of the Greek people would still gloat!

After all, the bourgeoisie and landlord class in this era really don't have a few good things. Under normal circumstances, the hatred of the Greek people for them is still above that of Bulgaria!

After all, these people have been oppressing them all their lives, and the Bulgarian army, although it occupied Greece, did not rob them or collect their taxes!

There is no pain in the skin, in the hearts of ordinary people, the hatred of national righteousness is really not so unforgettable!

Ferdinand thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's okay to collect taxes!" But it has to be done by the Greek government itself, we can't intervene directly, and the main thing is to take the opportunity to fight against those who are hostile to us, and find someone to cooperate with and support!

It is even possible for the Greeks to restore the tax system, divide the districts, and contract the task of collecting taxes directly to the capitalists, who are professionals in this regard!

At the same time, we must pay attention to the social dynamics in Greece, especially pay attention to the supervision of public opinion, and any unfavorable remarks must be extinguished immediately!

All those involved in the case, all executed! And one person will be involved in the case, relatives and friends, all possible related people, all exiled to Syria!

Also, as soon as a large number of civilians go bankrupt, find a way to make them emigrate to the Syrian region! ”

Troubled times with heavy canons!

Ferdinand had already thought about the miserable days of the Greek people in the future, because these policies were designed to reduce the population of the Greek peninsula as much as possible and force them to emigrate to Syria!

Especially after the implementation of the tax package system, the capitalists can do anything for the sake of profit, and it is estimated that in the future, a large number of Greek laborers will be added to the mines of Bulgaria!

After thinking about it, Konstantin said with a righteous face: "Okay, Your Majesty! I have written all of this, and the cabinet will help the Greek government formulate a practical policy plan to help them get out of the debt crisis as soon as possible! ”

Well, Ferdinand wanted to say: everyone is their own person, there is no need to continue acting!

I forgot that he was acting himself!