1918 was the year of economic normalization in Europe, and Bulgaria was no exception, and the government rarely initiated major projects, and everyone's main focus was on economic transformation.

The most typical is that the number of daily necessities in the market has increased significantly, and the people's table life has become more colorful.

On April 26, 1918, the Bulgarian government announced the cancellation of the decree on the purchase of goods, which had lasted for more than three years, and the market was completely normalized.

In fact, after the end of the World War, the government had already lifted the ban, but in order to maintain price stability, it did not repeal the wartime basic necessities guarantee bill.

More than half a year has passed, and there are already enough daily necessities in the market, so there is naturally no need for this guarantee bill to continue.

As a result, the price of daily necessities in Bulgaria increased by 10 percent compared to before the war. There was no way around it, prices rose throughout Europe, and although the lev did not depreciate, inflation did occur in Bulgaria.

This was the cause of a world war, and although Bulgaria had maintained price stability through government intervention, the rest of Europe was beyond Ferdinand's control.

In Britain and France, for example, their prices had already risen during the world war, and after the world war, although they had fallen somewhat, they were still far more than before the war.

Prices in the international market have far exceeded those before the war, and as one of the participants in the market economy, Bulgaria is naturally not immune to it, coupled with the recent rise in domestic labor costs, which eventually pushed prices up!

Fortunately, Bulgaria's economy is recovering well, and the harm caused by inflation has been covered up in a good economic development situation.

But the world economy is still not optimistic, with the end of the world war, many neutral countries that have made war money, are now facing a common problem - overcapacity!

To this end, Ferdinand also convened several economic meetings to discuss whether to protect the domestic market by raising tariffs.

However, before the question could be discussed, Ferdinand's attention was diverted, and in March 1918 the British initiated an international conference with the aim of building an international alliance.

Obviously, John Bull also found that they were not strong enough to suppress the world, and continued to build a new international order and consolidate their position in the world.

This League of Nations is completely Ferdinand's butterfly effect, and it has nothing to do with the League of Nations in history, both the purpose of its creation and the initiator have changed.

Even the address of the League of Nations was not in neutral Switzerland, but in London, and there were not as many countries participating in this alliance as in history, and the Americans directly said that they would not play.

Of course, the British did not invite them to participate either, and if it were not for the need for influence, Ferdinand guessed that John Bull would most likely have invited only European countries to participate in this joint meeting.

Although the ostensible idea is still so lofty, it aims to eliminate war, calm international strife, promote international trade, and improve the living standards of the people.

In fact, the conference was for the British, and Bulgaria and France only reserved a certain say, and all activities were centered around consolidating the British hegemony in the world.

Of course, there were still a lot of positive agreements reached at this meeting, but unfortunately they were not enforced, for example: if a war is started, it must be approved by the League of Nations conference, otherwise it will be sanctioned by the alliance.

But the League of Nations itself does not possess force, it can only be achieved through the support of the great powers, and it is not fair to want to intervene in the war by pinning its hopes on the interests of the great powers!

The British were able to get the two countries to cooperate with their actions, and John Bull naturally did not give any less benefits, such as: trade care, and everyone strengthened military and economic exchanges.

In this era, world trade is still inseparable from the British, and it will be much more convenient to have their support, at least the probability of merchant ships being robbed by pirates will drop a lot.

As soon as the League of Nations was established, 38 member countries joined, eventually forming the Troika Council of Britain, France and Bulgaria, and the Americans, along with their younger brothers, were absent from the meeting this time.

John Bull accomplished most of their goals by restricting colonial expansion by treaty, i.e., not to expand colonies to member countries.

This point is supported by many small European countries, and it is already tragic enough to be neighbors with the bigwigs, and now the colonies in their hands are tantamount to - children hugging gold bricks in the midst of trouble!

The current paper treaty is exactly what they want, and with the League of Nations coming out to endorse them, they can finally sleep with peace of mind.

Among them, the Dutch and the Portuguese are even worse, who calls them colonized enough and their own strength weak enough?

The Dutch colony has always been prying eyes of the Japanese, and without the support of the British, they would have changed hands long ago on their own!

The Portuguese colonies were not prying eyes, but the Portuguese government was weak-hearted, because they overthrew the king - Manuel II in the world war, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the Gotha family.

At that time, everyone was busy with the war, and Portugal decisively joined the Entente, so there was no trouble for them, but that did not mean that this was the end.

The British royal family has always supported the restoration of Manuel II, but after the end of the world war, George V was almost hollowed out, and he did not dare to spend too much political resources in his hands for Manuel II.

But on the other hand, Ferdinand had no such concerns, and if he could help Manuel II to restore and collect the Portuguese colonies as a reward by the way, it is estimated that the Bulgarians would be happy to do something to them.

Now that the colonies have been kept through international treaties, the possibility of Bulgarian interfering in their internal affairs has been reduced, and in their opinion, there are not enough interests for Ferdinand to stand up for Manuel II.

Of course, they don't know that this is because Ferdinand has been too busy to forget about Manuel II recently, who told Manuel II to hide in London after being overthrown, and they don't know that they ran to Sofia to brush up their presence?

As for the question of treaties, there are ways to avoid them, and the League of Nations does not prohibit the transfer of colonies between member states, as long as everyone is willing, it is completely free to trade!

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There was an agreement in the colonies, but on the issue of disarmament, the main thing was the disarmament of the navy, and there was no consensus. After the end of the world war, the naval arms race did not stop, and some countries continued to expand, such as Japan and the United States, and they continued to build their navies on a large scale.

In order to maintain world hegemony, John Niu also had to follow up, especially since the naval tonnage of the Americans was already moving closer to them, if they did not continue to build warships, the tonnage of the US Navy would surpass them in 1927 and become the world's first!

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No way, the Germans are still as stubborn as ever, after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the German Navy sank all the warships in the port, John Bull was busy in vain, he didn't get the German warships, and the naval supremacy of the British was not so stable!

Of course, there must have been other factors in this, at least the French and Bulgarians, such as Konstantin, who inadvertently leaked the fact that the British were going to annex the German navy in a conversation with Hindenburg.

The French sent people to humiliate the German Navy many times, ridiculing them as cowards who did not have the courage to go out and fight the British, anyway, as long as the German Navy did not act, they were cowards!

Even, the Americans reached a loan contract with the German government before the Paris Peace Conference, and the interest rate was quite generous, and it is unknown what insider trading there was!

……

Anyway, with the joint efforts of everyone, the hegemony of the British is unstable, the Japanese want to build the "88 Plan", and the Americans want to build a navy that matches their economic status!

In order to join in the fun, Ferdinand also announced Bulgaria's future shipbuilding plan, no more than five super dreadnoughts, and the shipbuilding time is naturally in the near future!

The specific length of this "near future" depends on the actual situation, anyway, it changes with the changes in the international situation, and Ferdinand's purpose is only to brush up his presence, and he has no real intention of joining the arms race.

Unless there is an accident, such as the British suddenly falling, the position of world hegemon cannot be kept, Ferdinand does not mind pushing again, and only if there is a advantage to take advantage of, he will explode the navy!

The French also joined in the excitement and said that they want to build two more capital ships, and they really can't afford to build more, because the world war has knocked the French economy to a half-time, and it will not be able to recover for a while!

The rest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the woolly bears don't have to think about it for now, they don't have to think about their diplomatic position if they don't have time, at least for ten years.

Then, John Bull said that they have been busy lately, and without the participation of the-stirring sticks, the European continent will naturally be too peaceful. No matter how serious the contradiction between Germany and France is, it is impossible for the Germans to jump out and fight with Gaul during this period!

In the end, Ferdinand combined European history and summed up the law, as long as the British are busy, everyone's small life will be good, so it is better for everyone to pit a John Bull!

Against this background, it is naturally not so easy for the British to pull everyone to stop the arms race!

Bulgaria is easy to do, as long as other countries agree to limit their armaments, Ferdinand will not object.

The French, who are busy recovering the economy, can deal with it, the French government is at its poorest now, and they don't mind saving another expense.

But the British wanted Bulgaria and France to join them in suppressing the other countries to agree to disarmament, and the question needed to be discussed.

Maybe the French would support the British for the sake of the security of the colonies, but Bulgaria was different, most of the colonies were on their doorstep, there was no military threat, and the two pieces of land in Africa were worthless, and no one would rob them.

In this context, how could Ferdinand stand up for the British in vain?

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The Minister of Health, Carl Landsteiner, reported to Ferdinand worriedly: "Your Majesty, this is information that our Ministry of Health has gathered from all over the world, and there is a wave of influenza that is spreading throughout the world, and the main symptoms are: headache, high fever, muscle aches and loss of appetite.

At present, there have been epidemics in Texas in the United States, London in the United Kingdom, Paris in France and other cities, and in our coastal city of Cavett, there are also similar symptoms!

Although the harm of this flu is not very great, it is very contagious, and the Ministry of Health is worried that it will spread to the whole country, and recommends that the government take quarantine measures! ”

Ferdinand rolled his eyes, what is not very harmful, that is, it has not broken out yet, and once it breaks out, its destructive power is not much less than this world war!

Fortunately, Bulgaria has established a health care proposal and is the only country in the world that can implement national surveillance at the moment, otherwise he would not have been able to receive the news until the outbreak of the epidemic.

Ferdinand said without hesitation: "Immediately activate the emergency plan, this time the flu is spreading too fast, and it is very likely to mutate in the later stage, and I am afraid that the harm will be greater than our expectations."

Now I authorize you to have supreme command in the outbreak area, and the local government and garrison will cooperate with you in epidemic prevention work!

Anyway, I will not allow the large-scale spread of the flu in Bulgaria, and you can isolate the cities in the epidemic area if necessary! ”

Carl Landsteiner's face changed drastically, and he was very shocked and said: "Your Majesty, this flu is only a little more transmissible, but the damage caused by the virus to the human body is not fatal, we don't need to make such a big fanfare, right?" ”

Ferdinand was shocked, could it be that history had changed, this flu was not the legendary "Spanish flu", but just an ordinary viral cold?

"History tells us that after a great war there will be a great epidemic, and what is so strange about this war on the European continent that it has been fought for so long and caused a great epidemic?

Besides, even if it's an ordinary flu, isn't it worth our attention because it's so transmissible?

Have medical experts now discovered a cure for this flu? Or have you discovered a drug to prevent the flu? ”

In any case, it's better to pay attention to it first, even if it's a mistake, it's a big deal and a waste of money, Bulgaria can afford it, if it's really "Spanish flu" and doesn't attract attention, then it's not a matter of money!

Karl Landsteiner lowered his head and replied: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will start arranging as soon as I go back, and I will definitely not let the epidemic spread on a large scale in Bulgaria!"

However, Your Majesty, if we want to start a comprehensive epidemic prevention work, then all outsiders will be quarantined, which may cause ......"

Ferdinand said without hesitation: "According to your rules, don't worry about the funds, you can spend it in the special expenses, and there are still 200 million leva for you to squander this year!"

In order to reduce the intensity of your work, I will order that from now on, all foreign refugees will be sent to the Asia Minor Peninsula for centralized resettlement!

At the same time, before the epidemic is over, Bulgarian merchant ships will no longer go to cities where sick labor has been outbreaked, and returning merchant ships can also let them dock on many islands in the Aegean Sea first, and only after passing the inspection can they enter the mainland! ”

After knowing Ferdinand's determination, Health Minister Carl Landsteiner did not hesitate, anyway, there was a boss who came forward, and he just had to do a good job of epidemic prevention.

Carl Landsteiner replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that our Ministry of Health will definitely do a good job of epidemic prevention and will never allow the epidemic to spread in the country!" ”

He has already made up his mind in his heart, he must organize people as soon as possible when he goes back, research the drugs for treatment, and get the vaccine no matter how bad it is, otherwise he will be sorry for this investment!

……