London

"The Bulgarians have come to protest, ignore them, the canal company is a purely commercial operation, and it is our freedom to raise the price or not!" Stanley Baldwin said unconcernedly

"But Your Excellency Prime Minister, it is said that the Bulgarians are preparing to dig the Grand Canal of Aqaba, and if the purpose of the Bulgarians is achieved, then our Suez Canal will have a lot less money!" Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain said distressedly

Originally, in addition to making up for the financial shortfall, the most important reason for the increase in the price of the Suez Canal this time was to knock the Bulgarians and let them follow the footsteps of the British Empire in the next international affairs.

The first project was indeed achieved, and in the short term the profits of the Suez Canal increased significantly.

The second project was bouncing, beating and beating, but the result was not what they wanted.

The Bulgarians directly said that they would not play and would dig a grand canal by themselves, which was completely unexpected by everyone.

In order to get rid of the influence of the British Empire, the Grand Canal will be dug, can Bulgaria be expected to support the British Empire in international affairs in the future?

"Damn! Are Bulgarians all pig brains? Or is it that what we are saying is too complex and they misunderstand it? Stanley Baldwin said with a headache

"Your Excellency, I think the Bulgarians have made this decision because they think that we have mastered the Suez Canal and can cut off their maritime lifeline at any time!

But fortunately, their best cabinets are already old and have become rational, otherwise we would have had more headaches! Foreign Secretary Donald explained

"Is this still rational? What will the Bulgarians do if they are not rational? Stanley Baldwin asked, puzzled

"Judging from the history of Bulgaria's development, in fact, they are a bunch of gamblers, for example, in the two Balkan wars, they both gambled on the fortunes of the country.

Their luck was not bad, or rather, the enemy was too stupid, and both times they let them win, and then there was the current Bulgaria!

If the Bulgarians had followed the previous style, perhaps they would not have thought about digging the Grand Canal, but would have been planning how to seize the Suez Canal! Donald said with a shrug

"Oh, that's a good thing?" Stanley Baldwin seemed to have something in mind

A radical state is very scary, because they will play their cards uncomfortably, and you can't analyze them according to normal interests!

Just like the current Japanese government, the London government has a lot of headaches for them. For example, a large number of volunteers were sent to Southeast Asian countries, and they were directly involved with the rebels.

This is beyond their comprehension, and the British Empire often supports some powers, but they usually give weapons or financial support.

If it were to go into battle directly, it is estimated that there would be few volunteers in the British Empire, but the Japanese government could send thousands of people to be cannon fodder at one time.

That's right, it's cannon fodder, even if these people have caused enough trouble to the British, but the difference in strength still determines that this uprising cannot succeed, and their sacrifice is equivalent to being wasted.

And on the European continent, the only place where so many death squads can be born is the Balkans, and other European nations are not so crazy.

Madness is a terrible thing, and if radicalism in Bulgaria is not suppressed, it is estimated that it will be better than Japan.

Except that they do not have the habit of punishing national thieves, they are all the same radical and crazy, eager to start a war and establish their own merits.

"This question, how to look at it! In the short term, a conservative Bulgaria is in the interests of the British Empire, and we don't have to worry about them suddenly doing something out of their control.

In the long run, this conservative enemy will also be more difficult to deal with. As long as they don't make big mistakes, it's hard for us to crush them! Donald said calmly

"Okay, let's not care about the future, that's the next one, let's talk about the current problem first!

Now I have two questions: first, is it possible for us to get the Bulgarians to abandon the excavation of the Grand Canal at Aqaba?

Second, with the current technical capabilities, can the Aqaba Grand Canal be excavated? If so, how much time will it take? How much does it cost? Stanley Baldwin asked with concern

"I can answer the first question, it depends on the determination of the Bulgarians, once they really make up their minds to dig the Grand Canal of Aqaba, it will be very difficult for us to stop it!

Even if we threaten them with the closure of the Suez Canal, it will not be of much use!

We all know that Ferdinand the Great's greatest hobby is to build roads, so now there are three or four railways in Bulgaria that can bypass the Suez Canal.

For example, the Baghdad railway goes directly to the Persian Gulf, or the Gaza railway from the Palestinian area to the Gulf of Aqaba, and they also have a railway from Syria directly to the Arabian Peninsula.

Theoretically, we would be able to block the Suez Canal and be able to raise the cost of their transportation by forty or fifty percent, but this should not scare the Bulgarians! Donald analyzed

"That's really bad news! Technically, there is no technical difficulty in excavating the Grand Canal in Aqaba.

Either they choose to go directly with the Gaza Strip; Or by connecting to the Dead Sea and from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, both routes can be completed!

It's just that this amount of work is much larger than the original amount of the Suez Canal, almost two to three times that of the Suez Canal, and maybe even more! Industry Secretary Landis said with a frown

"You mean that the construction of the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba will take a long time?" Stanley Baldwin said in surprise

"No, Your Excellency Prime Minister! On the contrary, I think that if the Bulgarians are willing, the excavation time of the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba will be very short, and as long as they are willing to invest their money, it will be completed in three or five years! Landis was very sure

"Why? You must know that the Suez Canal was dug by the French for ten years, and in the face of the larger volume of work, how could the Bulgarians complete it in such a short time?

Even if science and technology are much more developed now than they were back then, this gap will not be so big, right? Stanley Baldwin said incredulously

"Your Excellency, this is our calculation based on the efficiency of the Bulgarian organization!

You should know that now there is a saying all over the world called - Bulgarian speed.

The Bulgarian government's organizational ability is really terrible, now they can build more than 10,000 kilometers of railways and more than 100,000 kilometers of roads every year, and it is worth noting that most of these projects are in areas with poor natural environment!

However, this is not the limit speed of the Bulgarians, and the Bulgarian government is still doing it with ease!

If the Bulgarians were going to dig the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba, they would certainly not be able to do it as slowly as the French.

Even if they choose more than 10 sites at the same time, I will not find it any surprise, because the current measurement technology can be achieved.

Hundreds of kilometers of the Grand Canal, a few kilometers wide, even if there is a slight error, can be repaired by widening the canal, without affecting the final navigation.

Mobilizing thousands of excavators at one time and excavating at the same time, I think this project is not as terrible as imagined!

Anyway, they have to have railway lines along the way, and supplies can be transported by train, I don't think it's a problem!

The question of cost, I think, is not difficult for Bulgarians.

The French spent 17,800,000,000,000 pounds to dig the Suez Canal back then, and now the cost of the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba, even if it is expanded tenfold on this basis, is nothing more than the toll of the Bulgarians for seven or eight years! Lantis explained

"No, we can't let the Bulgarians' plan succeed, or we'll be in big trouble!

The toll of the Suez Canal is only a small problem, and the most important thing is that once the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba is opened, the influence of the British Empire in the Mediterranean will be gone! Stanley Baldwin thought for a moment and said

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can only delay the start of construction for the Bulgarians as much as possible, and if you want them to dispel this idea, we may not have enough strength in the Mediterranean!" Donald said politely

"What do you say? Procrastinating for time? "Stanley Baldwin

"Yes!" Donald said calmly

"Excellent! We just need to delay the start of construction for the Bulgarians now, and that's it!

The Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba cannot be dug in a day or two, as long as we delay for a while, and after dealing with the problems of Central Asia and Southeast Asia, we will concentrate our efforts on solving this problem! Stanley Baldwin said with an explosion of inspiration

No one objected, anyway, no matter what the Bulgarians did, it would be impossible for the Grand Canal to be opened in the Gulf of Aqaba during their term of office.

Now, if there is some sabotage, a delay in the progress of the Bulgarians, or even the end of the next term, they will not necessarily face this problem.

The premise is that they can still be elected in the next term, otherwise this trouble will have nothing to do with them.

After all, the term of Stanley Baldwin's cabinet ended in 1929, and no matter how efficient Bulgaria was, it was not possible to start construction until 1928.

In any case, Bulgaria will not be able to dig the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba in just over a year.

As things stand, the rebellion in the colonies has been unresolved, and popular support for them is declining, with almost zero chance of re-election.

As long as this trouble does not erupt during their tenure, it will be left to the next one as a headache! Anyway, in the end, it was the political enemy who pitted, and everyone had no psychological pressure.

……

Paris, France

"The Bulgarians invited us to dig the Grand Canal in the Gulf of Aqaba?" President Gaston Dumerg asked in surprise

"Yes, Your Excellency! This time, the Suez Canal navigation fee suddenly skyrocketed, which made the Bulgarian government very dissatisfied.

They hoped to be able to dig a new canal and break the British monopoly on the Suez Canal!

The Bulgarians invited not only us, but also Austria-Hungary to join us, and it seems that they want us to stand with them against the diplomatic pressure of the British! The Foreign Secretary explained

"Well, it's a good proposition, and if the conditions are right, I think breaking the British Empire's monopoly on the Suez Canal would be very positive for the French Republic!" Gaston Dumeg said calmly

(Note: Gaston Dumerg, 12th President of the French Third Republic, Socialist-Radical)

"Yes, Your Excellency!

However, the purpose of the Bulgarians is not so simple, although the diplomatic pressure of the British is uncomfortable, but Bulgaria is not a soft-footed shrimp, they can resist it alone, there is no need to take out the benefits of the Grand Canal and share it with us! The Foreign Secretary reminded

"Of course, it's very obvious, if we were on the side of Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, how do you think the British would react?" Gaston Dumerg said with a smile

"They will be angry, the Mediterranean will have nothing to do with them from now on, and even their voice on the European continent will be greatly reduced!" The Foreign Secretary thought for a moment and said

"In that case, why don't we do it? Let's see how the British reacted, and regardless of the final outcome, we can get a lot of benefit from it this time!

Of course, being able to strike at the British and expel them from the Mediterranean is the perfect ending, although there is little chance of success.

But it's also a pleasure to be able to cause a little trouble for the British! Gaston Dumeg thought for a moment and said

……