Chapter 463: Trick If You Can
Chapter 463: Trick If You Can
Romania was destroyed in four days after being bombed with napalm and hit by a tank blitzkrieg.
If this result was achieved by the German army, it would not be a big deal.
But Bulgaria, which had been hiding in the corner and developing without anyone noticing, achieved this result and immediately became famous all over the world.
Shao Quanxiao's simple and plain Tsar's "palace" was immediately filled with guests, and the door was filled with the latest Maybach cars.
As soon as the German ambassador left, the British ambassador came in. Without mentioning that Britain had just lost 120 million pounds in arms investment, he cordially invited Bulgaria to join the Allied Powers.
If Bulgaria could join forces to defeat Germany, the British Empire would support it in becoming the new overlord of Europe.
Shao Quanxiao expressed his gratitude with a smile, saying that Britain was more open-minded than Germany, as Germany only promised to hand over the entire Balkans to Bulgaria.
It is said that Bulgaria really has the strength to dominate the Balkans, the Germans' promises are reliable, but the British are just fooling people.
Don't you want to be a hegemon with a population of 40 to 50 million? This is not the Age of Discovery. A small country with a population of 1 to 80 million can dominate the world. Who knows what Portugal and the Netherlands are doing now?
I don't have such a big butt, so I don't sit on such a big chair. We are a small country in Bulgaria, we know our own weight, we don't have such a big appetite, and we will continue to strictly maintain neutrality in the European war.
We just fought a self-defense counterattack. We have no territorial claims against Romania and will withdraw our troops soon.
Representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Austria all came to persuade Bulgaria to join. Although they failed to do so, the fact that Bulgaria was willing to strictly maintain neutrality and not join the other side was considered acceptable.
The Turkish and Greek ambassadors came to inquire about Bulgaria's ambitions, but seeing that Bulgaria had no intention of seizing Thrace and Macedonia, they left with peace of mind.
The last person who asked for a meeting was not an official representative, but Gustav Rothschild, who came by train from Germany.
As soon as Gustav entered the so-called "imperial palace", he looked around and immediately shook his head and sighed.
He bowed and saluted Shao Quanxiao, "Your Majesty."
Quan Xiao quickly stood up and shook hands with Gustav. "No, the arrival of a big banker will bring glory to this poor place of Bulgaria. When I was studying at the military academy in Germany, I heard of Mr. Gustav's name for a long time."
Well, the Bulgarian Tsar was trained in Germany, and Quan Xiao’s pure German and humble attitude gave Gustav a great boost of confidence.
"Your Majesty, you are too simple. You have just conquered Romania and need a magnificent palace to reflect your dignity."
Quan Xiao smiled and nodded, "Who wouldn't want to? Why would I become an emperor? But Bulgaria is poor. What can we do if we don't have the money to repair it?"
Gustav sat on the sofa at Quan Xiao's signal, "Your Majesty, I know Bulgaria. Since you came to power, you have been actively promoting industrialization and investing heavily in industry, which has caused a shortage of funds."
"You are right to industrialize and strengthen the country. I admire your vision, but there is no need to live in hardship. As long as you introduce reasonable financial means and lend enough money to make Bulgaria more prosperous, it will be easy."
Quan Xiao shrugged, "Bulgaria is a small country, without such financial talents, how can we invite talents like you to help prosper the economy."
Gustav laughed, "I'm here now."
"I am willing to help you build a magnificent palace for free to express my respect for you as a military god, legendary hero, and wise ruler."
Quan Xiao was embarrassed. "Free? How can I accept that? Um--really?"
"Of course it is true. And in order to help you, my fellow German, we have decided to establish banks in Sofia and all the big cities in Bulgaria to help you prosper your economy."
Quan Xiao was excited, "Thank you so much." Everything went well, and Gustav smiled, "If you can allow our bank to undertake the issuance of the 'Lev', I guarantee that the Bulgarian economy will be on the fast track."
Quan Xiao scratched his head, "This needs to be approved by the parliament. I will try to persuade Sophie."
"Please tell your queen that if the parliament approves our bank to issue levs, I will provide Bulgaria with an interest-free loan of 600 million gold marks."
"That's great. I will definitely persuade her to agree."
It went better than expected. Hum, this younger brother is much easier to deal with. He is just a simple-minded soldier. His elder brother is a sly old man. He is not a soldier at all. He is essentially a politician.
"I have another piece of good news. I happen to have 100 million gold marks in cash on hand, and I want to give it to you."
Shao Quanxiao stood up suddenly and said, "How can you be so embarrassed to give me so much money? I will agree to any request you make. Do you want me to arrange a dozen Bulgarian beauties for you?"
Gustav waved his hands. Are you trying to kill me? Do I look like someone who is in need of beautiful women?
“Your Majesty, since Bulgaria was previously extremely poor, all Bulgarian enterprises belonged to you, which was not conducive to competition and commercial vitality.
If you can agree to sell part of the enterprise to private individuals and market it, I will give you the 100 million gold marks now."
Gustav pulled out a check, flicked it with his fingers, and stared at Jeon Hyo.
Quan Xiao nodded repeatedly, "No problem, I can get money if the company is sold, right? I am exhausted from managing so many companies, and I have long wanted to sell a few for money. It's just that no foreign capital was optimistic about Bulgaria before, and there were no rich people in China to take over."
"My advisor Zhang told me about this a long time ago. He said that based on his experience in governing Cuba and France, workers will lose their initial enthusiasm after a while and will start to slow down. If someone takes over, I promise to sell the company."
Seeing Gustav holding the check, smiling silently, Quan Xiao slapped his forehead, wrote a letter of guarantee himself, stamped it with the imperial seal, and signed his name.
It is guaranteed that within ten years, more than 95% of the enterprises will be sold to private individuals, and the output value of the large enterprises retained by Bulgaria will not exceed 45% of Bulgaria's total output value.
Gustav took Quan Xiao's letter of guarantee, looked up to the sky and laughed as he left. The check for 100 million marks was left on Quan Xiao's desk.
The back door of Quan Xiao's office opened gently, and Sophie walked out, picked up a check for 100 million marks, with a worried look on her face.
"Although I don't understand finance, I feel that free things are the most expensive. This Gustav must have bad intentions towards Bulgaria."
Quan Xiao's honest face suddenly revealed a peasant-like cunning, "Zhang Siwen called me yesterday and said that Bulgaria became famous after the battle, and someone would definitely come to us because of Lev's scent, so I should just take the benefits and not worry about the consequences."
"But you have already written a letter of guarantee—"
"That was Zhang Zizheng's original plan. We would have done it even if Gustav didn't give us the money."
"What about issuing Lev?"
"Zhang Siwen has anticipated this. He said that it would take them half a year to open the bank, so we should just agree to it and get the benefits first. An interest-free loan of 600 million marks will solve a big problem."
"I think you have an idiom in the East that can describe what you are doing - trying to get the skin of a tiger."
"Yes, I was worried, so I called my brother again. He told me to listen to Zhang Siwen. He said the tiger was too rampant and Wu Song was going to kill it. We should trap the tiger before it is killed."
(End of this chapter)