Raising Taxes

"Your Highness, educators have to eat, too! Have you noticed that Bulgaria has never had enough funding for education since it gained independence? Basically, every government has fallen behind on its payments. And not long ago, you happened to pay out the back wages."

Ferdinand exclaimed, "You've really opened my eyes! So they've set their sights on me."

"But this actually suits me just fine. It's not easy to interfere with the schools as things stand. Now that I'll be their principal in name and in fact, won't it be much easier to get involved?"

Having figured out the reason, Ferdinand naturally had no reason to keep refusing. However, he knew that he would be a principal in name only; he couldn't devote all his energy to the school. The day-to-day management would still have to be entrusted to someone else.

"Karl, call Chekhov back and tell him I've agreed," Ferdinand said with a smile.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Karl said, then went out.

A short while later, Chekhov came in and greeted Ferdinand.

"All right, for the love of God, I'll take the position of principal. But the rest of the staff will be up to your Ministry of Education. You'll also need to get the admissions process ready for the second half of the year!" Ferdinand said earnestly.

"Yes, Your Highness. Our Ministry of Education will do everything in its power. I swear it before God!" Chekhov promised.

Ferdinand nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Good. Tell me about your plans."

Chekhov pondered for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, you know this is Bulgaria's first university, and we lack relevant experience. Our Ministry of Education plans to hire administrators and some teachers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire."

Ferdinand fell into thought. It seems the Liberals have a very good impression of the Alliance! Russia's education system is nothing special, so it's understandable they've overlooked it; but they haven't mentioned Britain or France at all. That's not a good sign!

That was what he thought, but Ferdinand wasn't a fool. Naturally, he wouldn't say it outright. That would be politically unwise.

"Send me your plans as soon as possible. Also include the departments and courses at the University of Bulgaria, along with the number of students you plan to admit," Ferdinand said, looking at Chekhov.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Chekhov replied firmly.

"Good. Get to work," Ferdinand said, watching Chekhov, who was brimming with energy.

"Yes," Chekhov said, then left the palace.

Meanwhile, at the Sofia government building, the arguments were raging. Stambolov helplessly shook his head and slammed his hand down on the table.

"For the love of God, will you all stop arguing! It's all this damned money's fault. You could shout yourselves hoarse and you still wouldn't make any appear!"

When everyone had quieted down, Stambolov continued, "You all know Bulgaria's financial situation. If we did nothing at all, we could balance the budget. But is that even possible?"

"If we're not going to do anything, then what do you need us for? Instead of fighting over the budget here, why don't you think about how to get some money?"

"Perhaps we should consider taking out loans from foreign banks," Wilson, the minister of industry, suggested.

"No. Bankers aren't philanthropists. They'll surely take advantage of our predicament, and the price we pay will be steep. Besides, the funding gap is so large. What do we have to offer as collateral?" Michael, the minister of economy, objected.

"Then let's raise taxes!" Jonas, the minister of the interior, suggested.

"Absolutely not! The domestic economy is struggling, and the capitalists aren't having an easy time of it either!" Stam objected.

He knew full well that the Liberals had come to power with the capitalists' support. Raising taxes on them now would be cutting off their own roots!

"Prime Minister, I know the capitalists are having a hard time. I'm saying we could tax the peasants!" Jonas explained.

"Well..." Everyone fell silent. No one openly objected.

A short while later, Stambolov said, "Why don't we hold a cabinet meeting to discuss it?"

"Good!" everyone said in unison.

Everyone knew that raising taxes was no enviable task, and they were bound to be cursed for it. The peasantry had little influence, but although the landed gentry were weak, they weren't pushovers.

Indeed, people's positions were determined by where they sat. Faced with a financial crisis, just as in history, they still turned the knife on the peasants.

Historically, Bulgaria increased the peasants' burden in order to develop industry. Land consolidation accelerated, and large numbers of peasants went bankrupt and lost their land, forced to head to the cities to scrape together a living.

Families were torn apart, and Bulgaria was soaked in blood and tears. Although the influx of labor into the cities drove industrial development, the newly emerging working class gained nothing from it. They worked as many as fourteen to sixteen hours a day, yet took home less than half the wages they were owed.

This also laid the groundwork for the rise of communism. Later, defeat in the World War only aggravated domestic tensions, ultimately triggering a proletarian revolution.

Knowing the causes and consequences, Ferdinand naturally had to think twice. Although he urgently needed industrial development, he was still worried that his own butterfly effect might bring about disastrous consequences. In the end, he decided to intervene to a limited extent.

Ferdinand flatly rejected the tax bill submitted by the cabinet. He had already made up his mind: whatever happened, he would not allow masses of peasants to go bankrupt as they had in history.

"Your Highness, the government is facing a financial crisis. We have no choice but to resort to this measure," Stambolov said, displeased.

"I know! But for the love of God, I still can't agree! Do you realize that if this bill passes, tens of thousands of families will go bankrupt? Families will be torn apart, and cries of grief will drown out all of Bulgaria!" Ferdinand declared righteously.

"No, Your Highness. It won't be as bad as you imagine. The peasants will have a harder time in the days ahead, but they must be sacrificed for Bulgaria's development. Besides, they can become workers. It won't be as terrible as you say!" Stambolov said angrily.

Ferdinand sneered. "Is that so? Don't take me for a fool. Under the new tax law you've drawn up, land will be consolidated on a massive scale, and large numbers of peasants will go bankrupt. Don't tell me Bulgaria can provide that many jobs."

"Then masses of peasants will lose their livelihoods, while the capitalists can keep cutting wages and making workers put in overtime without restraint. Isn't that right, Stam, my prime minister?"

"Remember, you are the prime minister of Bulgaria, not the prime minister of the bourgeoisie! A competent government must serve the interests of the majority. Otherwise, we'll face one enemy after another. People on the verge of starving to death will use their lives to demand justice from you!"