Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 26: Conspiracy

"Rotten to the core!" Ferdinand judged the opposition party.

Under the perverse rule of the government, instead of organizing the masses to overthrow the government, the opposition party wasted its limited power on violent assassinations and countering violence with violence, which only provoked the public's resentment.

In 1888, the Sofia public was mainly sympathetic to the opposition parties and expressed discontent with the government. Then in 1889, it pulled everyone's popular base to the same level - antipathy.

The enraged Stambolov's Cabinet once again declared martial law throughout the country. The secret police were once again expanded and assigned to various locations.

There is revenge. There are grudges and complaints. The rapidly expanding secret police have become a mixed breed who abuse their power, retaliate, and fleece the people, causing public unrest.

"What now? Stambolov's lackeys are going crazy and arresting people everywhere. At this rate, we'll be exposed sooner or later!" Petko Karavelov (one of the leaders of the pro-Russian faction)

"How about a coup d'tat?" Commander Trapani (a supporter of the Conservative Party in the army) suggested.

"No, the government is going down badly, but the liberals still control the army. Our people are too weak?" Webber (a democrat) objected, saying.

...

"Well, now we have no choice but to fight to the death if Stambolov wants us dead! May God bless us!" Petko Karavelov made his final decision.

"Maybe the situation is not that bad?" Commander Trapani wondered.

Seeing the fuming gaze of the crowd, he sneered and said, "Let's not forget that Sofia still has a royal guard army! So far Ferdinand, our Knyaz, has been expanding it since he succeeded to the throne. It now has more than three thousand men!"

Webber said coldly, "Good, but so what? It seems that His Highness is not interested in politics, or else why would he let the Cabinet's rampage go unchecked?"

"The most crucial thing is, why would he support us? Don't forget that among us, there are quite a few people who are his opponents!"

Commander Trapani said calmly, "Not necessarily, the Cabinet has already turned against His Highness for the agricultural tax increase! Is it true that His Highness doesn't hold any grudge at all?"

"Moreover, gentlemen, in the past, we were against himself, Ferdinand, to succeed as Knyaz, so naturally we were enemies. But now it is already given fact, we can not drive him out of power, and there is no need to oppose his succession!"

"The basic conflict between the two sides no longer exists, does Knyaz Ferdinand not want to hold real power? Then why did he expand the Royal Guard? No matter what, no one in Bulgaria is going to go crazy and attack the royal palace, right?"

"Commander Trapani, you're right! But if we let Ferdinand take power, won't we have worked for nothing? I don't think that by taking out the Liberals, he'll let us take power!" Webber asked back.

Milnavilov (People's Party) smiled and said, "No, that would be up to our Knyaz! You should not forget that now in Bulgaria, except for the Liberal Party, whose party is ours, no other political power is yet in power!"

"You, the People's Party, naturally it doesn't matter anymore. We, the Conservative Party, are the main force against Ferdinand, and it's only strange that we are not suppressed!" Webber said grimly.

...

The plots of the opposition were no secret to Ferdinand. Their internal disputes were soon passed on to Ferdinand through the inner circle.

"Stupid!" Ferdinand sneered.

It has come to this kind of time, but still fighting for power and profit. It is entirely a group of the rabble.

Even if they want to share the spoils, but only after the overthrow of the government. If it fails, everyone will have to hang out. Now they start to fight for dominance in the future.

If they were not necessary to attract the government's attention, Ferdinand has sent his men to help clean up the first and last now. The opposition party would have been wiped out after all. The bunch of rascals who actually thought of counting him out.

"The enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend, but most likely will remain an enemy." This phrase, which well describes the current situation within Bulgaria.

The government of Liberals, the opposition of the Conservatives and the Democrats, are now the targets of Ferdinand's purge.

"There is no sin in the life of a man. There is a sin in the heart of a man!"1)

Ferdinand has been staying out of the way because he intends to use the knife to kill people. So that the Conservative Party angered Stambolov's Cabinet, forcing the Cabinet to open a killing spree.

The reason lay in the huge amount of property seized by the government, which the Stambolov cabinet intended to use to complete the five-year plan, and Ferdinand was in line with it.

If it comes out now to fix the situation, then this huge amount of money seized will have to be sent back. What about the funds needed for the later five-year plan?

Ferdinand was not a saint and had no intention of paying this money himself. Then he could only devour this unexpected fortune! The only way he could legally confiscate this huge sum of money was to let the property owners all die.

It is also possible to clear the obstacles to Ferdinand's reforms pretty much. It is important to know that the arrested population, the conservatives, democrats, pro-Russians, radical nationalists, and a large part of feudal landlords, agricultural capitalists.

Throughout history, any reform is to bleed. The vested interests will certainly not willingly let go. Blood and rain are inevitable. Now it is possible to use the Stambolov cabinet to take the blame. It is more than good.

In 1888, Ferdinand benefited greatly from the purges of the Stambolov's Cabinet, and his assets expanded rapidly.

Ferdinand himself was frugal, did not act recklessly, strictly observed the aristocratic ethics, and did not bully the weak.

However, his lackeys, Franz, conspired with the head of intelligence, Hoover, in order to combat rivals, planted evidence, and fueled the fire. Many capitalists had their family assets confiscated and strangely went to prison.

And then, they acquired a large number of high-quality assets from the government at a low price. Of course, many others did this, just not as crisp and clean as they did, leaving no hidden problems.

A large number of capitalists went to jail without causing major turmoil in the market. Ferdinand's industry is to be thanked for this.

"Your Highness, we have now basically monopolized the food industry in Bulgaria. There are only a few small family-owned businesses left, and they are no longer a problem!" Wilhelm reported to Ferdinand with an excited face.

Ferdinand listened to Wilhelm's report and nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Good! But still, be careful not to let anyone find out that the market has been monopolized by us!"

Wilhelm said with confidence: "Don't worry, Your Highness! We still adopt the old method, the factories all over the world produce different brands. And in the open, we also created some fake friction sometimes, it won't make people suspect!"

"Well, good! You also have to keep an eye on the international market and what's going on. Do a good job of technological innovation to increase our competitiveness!" Ferdinand once again said, staring at the orders.

The largest export industry in Bulgaria at the moment is the export of agricultural products. At the same time, with this stage, the most promising industry in Bulgaria.

Ferdinand can not ignore it. The history of agricultural exports has been the largest source of foreign exchange in Bulgaria.

In 1911 alone, Bulgarian agricultural exports reached 129.4 million Leva.

The total export value of Bulgaria at that time, however, was only 184.6 million Leva, with agricultural exports taking up 70%.

And now that the Bulgarian industry has not yet developed, the share of agricultural exports is even higher, accounting for nine-fold of total exports.

In 1888, Bulgaria's annual exports of agricultural products amounted to just over 40 million Leva, leaving plenty of room for growth.

It is just the primary product, and the number can continue to increase if the agricultural products are processed and then invested in the international market.

Translator:

1)Its passage is from 'The Spring and Autumn Annals - The Tenth Year of Duke of Huan'. The meaning of this passage is that one can avoid disaster by not coveting one's wealth and treasures, but it definitely does not mean giving away all one's wealth and treasures to others without principle. If others covet wealth and treasures, they may be able to succeed at first, but if they do not know how to satisfy them, they are bound to invite disaster. It later extended this phrase to mean "the sin of having talent" and even "the sin of having beauty". Wealth, talent, and beauty are not sinful in themselves, but the wrong-minded people always want to destroy or snatch them. So if a person carries wealth, talent, beauty, etc., he should beat away those who covet them.

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