The reaction of the people made Ferdinand very depressed. The Bulgarian people have the same expression of eating melon seeds and watching the play. It felt like I was used to it, and I didn't seem to be worried at all about war.

Doesn't it mean that the common people hate war? Could it be that I opened it in the wrong way, why do they all seem to be gearing up, planning to do a big job?

This is also related to the cultural traditions of the Balkan region, which has long been a strategic point of contention for European powers due to its geographical location.

"War" has been a part of the life of the Balkan people, and since the 2nd century BC, it has been ruled by the Roman, Byzantine, Avar, and Ottoman Turkish empires.

Later the Huns, Avars, Lombards, Romans, Slavs and, later, the Ottomans all vied for control of the region.

War is ever-present, and because of the long war, the militant spirit of the people has been cultivated, because those who are afraid of war cannot survive.

The current Balkans can be said to be a mixture of various ethnic groups, pure-bloods almost no longer exist, but the belligerent spirit has not changed.

If you think about history, Bulgaria mobilized 1.26 million troops to fight in the world war, and held out for two years, to know the attitude of the population towards the war.

After being oppressed by the Ottomans for a long time, the Balkan countries attached great importance to army building after independence. It is also very sensitive to the surrounding wind and grass.

As soon as Bulgaria expanded its army, it caused unrest in the surrounding area. The great powers are okay, just a little attention, and a single Bulgaria is not enough for them to fear.

The Balkan states are interesting, the Ottoman Empire, despite its decline, still regarded itself as a great power, and the rotten government was busy vying for power.

The then Foreign Minister, Harim Pasha, laughed when he received the news and didn't care about passing it on directly to the government.

As for whether this news finally reached the hands of Abdul Hamid II (reigned 1876~1909), it is not known. Anyway, apart from sending diplomats to express concern, they did nothing, which is very different from the previous attitude towards the Russian-Bulgarian alliance.

Serbia was much more sensitive, and the young Aleksandar Obrynović (reigned 1889~1903) expressed strong concern about this. Although he was not yet fully in power, at the age of 16, the king summoned the cabinet as soon as possible.

"Gentlemen, what do you think of the Bulgarian expansion?" Alexander Obrenovich

"It is clear that Bulgaria is preparing for war, presumably after the alliance with Russia, they have become emboldened and ready to take military action!" Secretary of State for the Interior

"Yes, I think it's time for Serbia to prepare early, Bulgaria's strategic goals are still uncertain, and now with the Russians as their backing, the possibility of targeting us is very high! We should immediately expand our armaments and war, and do not give them a chance!! "Minister of War

"No, I don't think so! Do not forget that if Bulgaria wants to expand into Serbia, it will also depend on whether Austria-Hungary agrees or not! In 1886 they had the upper hand, and as soon as Austria-Hungary came forward, it was not in vain, and I don't think they would have to do it again now!! And we are not financially rich now, we don't have more money for you to squander!! The Chancellor of the Exchequer retorted

"How can this be a squander?? How can we defend our country if we don't expand our army, and what if we are invaded by Bulgaria?? What to defend against?? The War Secretary asked rhetorically

"Really?? Can it be done by expanding the army? Didn't you have the advantage in 1885? As a result, it wasn't defeated by someone?? The Chancellor of the Exchequer said with a sneer

"You, this is slander!! That was the defeat of the Bulgarians, otherwise the heroic Serbian army would not have been able to fail!! The Minister of War said with some confidence

……

Young Aleksandar Obrenovich did not have much patience and prestige, and looked at the noise below, and his face was very embarrassed.

Suddenly scolded: "Enough! Who Bulgaria is targeting, only they themselves know! You are noisy, and you are in vain! What we need to determine now is, what will Serbia do next? ”

Historically, Alexander Obrianovich was pro-government in 1893, albeit young, but

Political acumen is still very shrewd!

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chancellor of War quarrel for the sake of their respective interests. Of course, Serbia's poor finances are the key problem. If you don't stop it, you will soon become a war of war.

Serbia's financial problems can be traced back to the War of Independence. However, the defeat of the war against Bulgaria in 1885 took a heavy economic toll and the financial crisis intensified, which has not been alleviated until now.

Serbia's annual budget is fiercely contested, and if it follows Bulgaria's military expansion, it will inevitably squeeze the budgets of other departments.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was most concerned that Serbia was still in debt, including the military expenses for the Bulgarian army in 1885, which had not been paid off.

This issue can also be traced back to Milan Obrenović IV, who, during the period of Serbian independence, in order to gain the support of Austria-Hungary, concluded a political and economic treaty, and Serbia was forced to sell a lot of political and economic sovereignty.

Until now, there has been no decent industry in Serbia. In the face of the competition of Austro-Hungarian capital, the national capital collapsed and gradually turned to the pro-Russian faction, which was one of the reasons why Serbia went to the Entente before the First World War.

The chancellor of the exchequer did not object, mainly because the government had no money and had no choice but to jump out. And he is not optimistic about the combat effectiveness of the Serbian army, the advantage in the last war was so obvious that it was defeated so badly, and now there is no advantage, do you still need to think about it? You can't beat it anyway, so don't waste it.

Alexander Obrynovich also knew the situation in the government, but the young and vigorous king could not tolerate such a situation!

"Ministers, all of them are the elite of Serbia, and they must all know very well. Although we can now rely on Austria-Hungary, but behind Bulgaria there is also Russia, and if war breaks out under the mutual containment of the two great powers, who can we rely on??? Alexander Obrynovich asked rhetorically

"But Your Majesty, the government has no money now! What do we do to expand our army?? But how much to expand the army to deal with the Bulgarian threat?? Only then can the military guarantee victory?? The Chancellor of the Exchequer asked with a sneer

"Bulgaria has expanded by 60,000 men, and if we want to maintain our advantage, we need to expand by at least 80,000 men in order to have the ability to attack!!" The Minister of War, the Lion, opened his mouth widely

"It can't be! This is equivalent to the size of our army has been expanded by one or two times, and with the equipment, this is simply an astronomical amount!! The Chancellor of the Exchequer said incredulously

Not only him, but other Serbian high-level officials were also forced to do this. Then everyone will not have to spend the rest of the day, and the financial revenue will be consumed by the army.

Alexander Obrynovich was also dumbfounded, he supported the expansion of the army, but he didn't fold it when the government didn't have money!

The proportion of military spending in the Balkan countries has always been high, and Serbia is one of the best, but it is impossible to exceed the fiscal revenue!

The Minister of War seems to know that he is going too far, but he can't slap himself in the face. After thinking about it, he was ready to change the topic and said, "If you don't have money, then raise taxes!" How simple is this, I can't even imagine what your Ministry of Finance does to eat?? ”

The angry Chancellor of the Exchequer rolled his eyes, looked at the Chancellor of War without cutting his eyes, and said nothing. It seems that if you think this is a child's house, you will raise taxes when you say that taxes will be raised, and the capitalists are not easy to mess with!

The others didn't react, but Alexander Obrynovich got interested and began to calculate how much tax would have to be raised in order to make up enough for the military!

Don't be surprised, historically Alexander Obrianovich was not a worry-free thing, and he did a lot of ridiculous things.

In 1900, he also married a widow 10 years older than him, the court maid Deleger Marsh, which caused the resignation of the entire cabinet and was ostracized by the European aristocracy.

What is even more bizarre is that in 1903, Alexander Obrianovich actually announced that he would suspend the implementation of the constitution for a few hours in order to facilitate his illegal activities.

Compared to these, the tax increase is just a pediatric.

Aleksandr Obrenovich seemed to realize that this kind of thing was beyond his ability and asked: "The Ministry of Finance calculates how much additional taxes will be required to solve the fiscal crisis?" ”

……

Serbia is also discussing what kind of tax to be imposed, the amount of tax to be collected. On the other hand, Romania was much easier, Carroll I had a secret alliance with Germany and Austria in 1883, and Bulgaria had been worried about the alliance with Russia for a while, but after receiving assurances from Germany and Austria-Hungary, he was relieved.

Carol I was a man of great military prowess, having commanded his army in the 10th Russo-Turkish War and won the Battle of Plevin.

He has always had a soft spot for the army, and when he heard about the expansion of the Bulgarian army, Carol I did not plan to lag behind, and followed the expansion of the army by 60,000. Romania is much richer than Serbia, and although there is a certain amount of financial pressure, it is enough to spend on the military.

If it weren't for the limited political level of Carol I, the looting of the country was too serious and unpopular. In 1888, the contradictions intensified, and a peasant revolt broke out in Romania, which hurt the country's vitality, and it was time for Ferdinand to have a headache.

It stands to reason that the reaction of these neighbors is also normal, what are you in a hurry Greece has, and now it does not border Bulgaria.

But George I was so politically sensitive, he believed that Bulgaria's next goal was the Ottoman Empire, so Greece should also prepare for war in advance.

Ignoring the opposition of the ministers, the law of military expansion was forcibly passed, and Greece, which had only about 2 million people per person, actually had 110,000 troops and 40,000 navy after the expansion.

Of course, the Greek government doesn't have that much money, but it doesn't matter if you can borrow it.

George I succeeded to the throne and the English gave him the Ionian Islands as a gift, but of course the British were not so generous.

Originally, Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred, succeeded him as King of Greece, but the Treaty of London in 1832 stipulated that Britain, Russia, and France could not use their own royal families as King of Greece, and George I took advantage of it.

In the second half of the 19th century, Greece began to lay railways and dig the Corinth Isthmus Canal. Massive borrowing and imports of light industrial products began, with a foreign debt of more than 700 million drachmas, which the government was unable to repay, and Prime Minister Trikupis was forced to declare the country bankrupt.

In 1898, Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Russia and other countries formed the International Financial Committee to supervise Greece's financial revenue and expenditure, and the financial power fell into the hands of the great powers.

So now it doesn't matter if you borrow more in order to expand your army, it's a big deal to go bankrupt early, the Greeks are used to going into debt, which is also a fine tradition.

As for the future kingdom of Montenegro, ignore him! Now it is still a small country with a population of less than 400,000, and it is really more than enough to expand its armament and war, but he still expands the army to 15,000 people.

Seeing the reaction of the Balkan countries, Ferdinand almost went crazy with joy, and the arms race began like this! In a few months' time, the economic crisis will spread to the Balkans, and there will be fun.