Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Xenia was pregnant. Although it was not known whether the child was a boy or a girl, the pressure on Ferdinand's shoulders was suddenly much less.

As the most beloved king of Bulgaria, he has no direct successor for a long time. Not only Ferdinand is anxious, but even the Bulgarian people are very worried.

In Europe, illegitimate children have no right of inheritance. If the queen is not pregnant, prepare to be extinct! This is not without precedent. Because the European royal family has no heir, there should not be too many things left by the crown!

The Hardenburg family is an example. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was established by marriage. After each kingdom and the royal family died out, the crown fell into the hands of the Hardenburg family.

Franz Joseph I was the beneficiary of this marriage, and also the victim!

Ferdinand was not interested, and let the other branches of the Gordon family inherit what he had conquered, and the Bulgarian people also did not want such a thing to happen. That could be catastrophic for Bulgaria too!

In the Middle Ages, Spain was the biggest victim of the succession to the throne. Historically, the crown of Spain fell on the head of Charles V of Germany. The Kingdom of Spain contributed money and efforts for the unification war of Germany, and finally the empire was ruined!

Therefore, as soon as the queen was pregnant, Ferdinand immediately disclosed the good news to the outside world.

For Bulgaria, this can be regarded as a double happiness. It has just won the Balkan War, completed the most crucial step of the Great Bulgarian Plan, and is about to welcome a prince or princess!

Before the baby is born, Bulgarians are starting to discuss the gender of the child. For most Bulgarians, they want to be a prince, so that Bulgaria has an heir.

It is best to inherit the fine genes of Archduke Ferdinand, the same wise and martial arts, and at the same time have a benevolent heart, love the people and things, and work hard...

Anyway, Ferdinand's personal image is well managed, and the Bulgarian people still love him very much. Any good words that come to mind will be used on him regardless of whether they are suitable or not.

The little guy has not yet been born, he is already a household name in Bulgaria, and soon his popularity will continue to spread throughout Europe.

The European royal family is a family, so it’s not bragging. If you want to find relatives, basically everyone can get in touch, so as soon as the news of Xenia’s pregnancy spread, Ferdinand received a bunch of congratulatory messages.

It's all courtesy. Since the telegraph is an artifact, everyone has a lot more contact with each other.

There are also many unknown secret transactions,

Don't look at the contradictions between many countries, many of their royal families still maintain friendly exchanges, and some are still one family.

In other words, even if everyone wants to kill each other, they still have to maintain a gentleman's demeanor when communicating, and they can't see the slightest contradiction.

In this regard, Ferdinand can only say that there are bad things between the great nobles, that is, too much!

Oh, and he's also a vested interest. Without this distinguished background, even if the transmigrator was against the sky, Ferdinand would not be able to get where he is now.

Not to mention the throne, even his current net worth is not entirely obtained by honest business, legal business only accounts for a small part, and Ferdinand does a lot of smuggling and tax evasion.

It's just that his relationship background is large enough, and he has attracted a group of powerful collaborators, and everyone worked together to cover things up.

For example, the United Mining Company that Ferdinand and Edward worked together to fiddle with, mining everywhere, how many times did they obey the law, and how many times did they pay taxes according to the rules?

Many places are owned by the owner, but they still got their hands on it. The stories that happened in them were definitely not so pleasant anyway. It was just that the colonial officials managed to deal with them.

How many companies in the world dare to use warships to transport gold? Ferdinand can tell you unequivocally, a lot! Most of the world's most important mining companies are backed by top nobles.

Otherwise, the pirates in the 19th century were not vegetarians. If they were robbed once and lost a few tons of gold, no one could stand it!

By the way, the British Royal Navy will occasionally join pirates, provided the fish are fat enough! Just think about how dangerous sailing was in the 19th century.

The only exception may be the United States, but now the United States cannot completely get rid of European control, and many industries are still controlled by people behind the scenes.

After the First World War, the collective decline of Europe, the withering of the royal family and the nobility, the capitalists can truly become the masters of the world!

It is precisely because he knows a lot of inside information that Ferdinand has no industry to make money, so he has to intervene. Otherwise, his industry would not have developed so smoothly, and he would have been taught how to behave!

It was not until he was in power in Bulgaria that Ferdinand dared to set foot in all walks of life. After all, on his own land, he still had no strong competitors.

...

At this time, the dispute over the interests of the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in the Strait also came to an end. The half-paralyzed Ottoman Empire is still not as powerful as the Russians. Under the threat of bayonet, it was forced to compromise!

Then Bulgarian Foreign Minister Metev was called to sign in a state of compulsion, and the dispute over the interests of the Black Sea Strait came to an end!

Well, Ferdinand is also very helpless now, he can only say that the Russians really know how to play! It's no wonder that being able to become a foreign power is really not leaking!

The "Ottoman Empire and the Bulgarian Strait Benefit Distribution Plan" was just released. Literally, Bulgaria received 70% of the tariffs, which seemed to be a big winner.

If you look down carefully, you will know that Bulgaria's strait customs officers must all be hired by Russians. The Bulgarian government has only the right to advise, not to decide.

Metev protested a little, and limited the scope to the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus Strait, and other places were not covered by the treaty. After obtaining the Russian consent, he signed it.

As for how the tariffs are collected and used, Metev did not mention it. Anyway, if they entered the pocket of Mao Xiong, don't want to come out again.

After the Russians took the lead in tariffs, the first unfortunate one was not the Ottoman Empire, let alone Bulgaria, but the irrelevant Romania.

When people sit at home, disaster falls from the sky!

As a major agricultural exporter in Europe, the export of agricultural products has always been a pillar industry in Romania.

At the same time, they are also one of the main competitors of the Russians in the international grain market!

After the Russians took control of the strait, they first adjusted tariffs. Russia's agricultural exports can be sailed directly after paying the tax once.

But Romanian agricultural products, after paying the tax once in the Bosphorus, reach the Dardanelles, I'm sorry to have to pay it again!

do you have any opinion? Protest against Bulgaria or the Ottoman Empire, this is their territory!

When Carol I angrily sent the protest telegram to Ferdinand, Ferdinand was still in a state of persecution.

The injustice has the head, the debt has the owner!

If you don't go to the Russians to protest, what's the use of going to me? Do you think I can be the lord of the Russians? Even if you can, you can't do it!

Ferdinand is 100% supportive of what the Russians did this time!

Romania is also one of the main international competitors for Bulgarian agricultural exports.

Oh, the other two are the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire, none of which he can afford to provoke, of course, he has to catch a soft persimmon!

Now that the Russians have done it, there is no need for Ferdinand to be a villain.

Ferdinand said heartlessly: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a telegram to Carol I to explain the situation, and the embassy sent him a copy of the "Ottoman Empire and the Bulgarian Strait Benefit Distribution Plan", telling him that we were powerless, and suggested Talk to the St. Petersburg government!"

Metev asked: "Grand Duke, the Romanians seem to want to borrow the way from us and go directly to the Mediterranean Sea! Do we want to agree?"

Ferdinand asked indifferently: "Romania made a request to us?"

"Not yet, but they're already showing that," Metev explained.

Ferdinand sneered: "Then pretend not to know, anyway, they didn't mention it, how can we guess their minds!"

...

Who cares, anyway, the unlucky Romania, and Ferdinand has nothing to do with half a dime, and there are only advantages and no disadvantages.

If the sea export channel of Romanian grain is blocked and they are forced to take the land route, it is estimated that the good days of Carol I will be gone forever.

Without the dividends of agricultural exports, what else would Romania's finances have? Do you still expect to make money selling oil in the 19th century?

Maybe you can make money, but the profit from selling lamp oil is not enough for Carol I's personal expenses!

Think about the transfer from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Germany for sale. If it really goes well, it is estimated that the Hungarian nobles and capitalists will be unhappy. Who would like their competitors?

For Romania, not only has the cost increased in vain, but the capacity is also a big problem.

As long as the Hungarian nobles and capitalists are not stupid, Romania will not be able to obtain sufficient transportation capacity!

If you don't get in the way, even if you give face to your allies, who will help your competitors? At least let us make a difference!

Ferdinand had already imagined the faces of the Hungarian nobles and capitalists.

Anyway, Romania's food can't be shipped out, so just sell it to us. No thanks, we are so helpful!

Of course, the higher the transportation cost, the lower the price. After all, we have to make some hard work.

What Ferdinand didn't know was that after receiving Bulgaria's explanation, Carol I became even more angry.

"Bastard! That guy Ferdinand, if we hadn't made a move, would they have won the Balkan War?

I don't even know how to be grateful, and now I don't want to help with such a small job. Sooner or later, I will teach him a lesson and let him know that the sky is high! "

Of course, it seems that Bulgaria is not easy to deal with now. But it doesn't matter, Carol I is just scolding, not really what to do with Bulgaria!

Well, Carol I, who wanted to save face, did not plan to really let Bulgaria cut their tariffs. After all, it was collected by the Russians, and it was no use to find Ferdinand!

Of course, if it's just a few smuggling ships, maybe Ferdinand will sell him a face, so he will find a way to let it go!

It is a pity that he hopes to go directly to the Mediterranean Sea through Bulgaria. The meaning revealed by Carroll I was obvious, but Ferdinand didn't see it, which made him embarrassed.

You must know that during the Balkan War, in order to keep Romania neutral, Ferdinand was humble and made a lot of promises to him. Now, as soon as the war is over, he starts to pretend to be stupid!

Oh, Ferdinand is also very wronged. The prerequisites for the promise he gave have not been fulfilled, and now he cannot fulfill it at all.

For example, Ferdinand promised to exempt Romanian imports and exports from customs duties after Bulgaria took control of the strait.

Unfortunately, it is the Russians who control the strait now, and Ferdinand is not a breach of contract. Bulgaria does not control the strait.

To fully control the strait, at least half of the Asia Minor peninsula has to be taken, otherwise it is the current state, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire each have half and half, and no one has complete sea control!

If the Russians were not strong enough to overwhelm the Ottoman Empire, why would they fight for the theoretically existing navy in Bulgaria?

As for lending to Romania, the conscience of heaven and earth, Ferdinand really wanted to earn this shipping fee, but unfortunately Bulgaria's shipping capacity is also limited, and it is impossible to provide it to Romanians.