Police Government

"Prime Minister, how the leak happened is no longer important; the key now is how to handle the aftermath," Michael said urgently.

"Let me think!" Stambolov paced back and forth a few times, speaking calmly.

A moment later, the office door was knocked on again. This time, Jonas, Sowell, and Wilson arrived together.

Stambolov scanned the three of them coldly, as if trying to identify the leaker, before withdrawing his gaze. He asked, "You all know?"

The three nodded, signaling their tacit confirmation.

"Prime Minister, this matter is very tricky. Our mortgage loan issue has now been exposed, and domestic public opinion is very unfavorable to us!" Jonas said in a somewhat low tone.

As Minister of the Interior, monitoring domestic public opinion was Jonas's duty, and now his trouble had arrived.

"Not only that, but even within the government, many people are expressing dissatisfaction with this matter. On the way here, I ran into Chekhov, and he expects our cabinet to provide a clarification!" Wilson added.

"I know! Mortgaging the customs and road rights was a decision our cabinet made privately, bypassing Parliament. If it hadn't been exposed, we could have created a fait accompli after the railway was built and opened to traffic. We could have gotten by on our political achievements, but now I fear many in the party will oppose us!" Stambolov said gloomily.

"That's right, Prime Minister, that was our original plan. Now it's impossible; the British and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will not let us back out. Is it time to initiate the emergency plan?" Sowell said, his tone murderous.

"Oh, God! Sowell, have you lost your mind? The emergency plan is prepared for times of crisis; we haven't reached that point yet!" Wilson shouted in opposition.

"Mr. Wilson, it is already a time of crisis. If this continues, the government's prestige will be dealt a blow. We have been caught by the opposition, and they could initiate a vote of no confidence at any time!" Jonas said.

"Should we wait a bit longer? The implications are truly too great. Once initiated, it will be like a landslide! It will also intensify conflicts, and at that point, it will be a life-or-death struggle with no room for reconciliation," Michael said, hesitant.

With two votes against and two in favor, the decision-making power fell to Stambolov.

"Fine, initiate it! The situation is already beyond our control and cannot continue. Mr. Jonas, the following matters are left to your Ministry of the Interior!" Stambolov said fiercely.

"Rest assured, Prime Minister. Everything is under our control!" Jonas said confidently.

"The military will remain neutral during this operation, and if necessary, we can even bring them out to suppress the rebellion!" Sowell guaranteed with full confidence.

Stambolov nodded with satisfaction, though he automatically filtered out the second half of Sowell's statement.

Joking aside, if the military were truly deployed, it would signal the start of a civil war. Regardless of victory or defeat, the cabinet would be the loser. Now that the Liberal Party was the ruling party, coups were no longer a toy suitable for them.

The opposition did not wait for the government to come out and clarify; the police had already come knocking. The leaders were thrown into prison one after another, suffering a heavy blow in an instant.

Many newspaper offices were sealed, and countless scholars were implicated. The clamor of Sofia suddenly fell silent.

The literary inquisition began, and the White Terror spread from Sofia to the whole of Bulgaria.

Prisons became overcrowded; in just half a month, more than ten thousand people were arrested in Bulgaria.

Among them were intellectuals, feudal landlords, workers, farmers, government officials, and even some members of Parliament. The butcher's knife of the Stambolov cabinet had been raised high.

The constitution was openly trampled upon, and the majesty of the law was swept into the dust. On September 15, the Stambolov cabinet declared the Conservative Party an illegal organization and ordered its dissolution.

In fact, the Conservative Party was now a scattered mess, with its backbone almost entirely in prison. Although everyone was filled with anger, they were powerless in the face of tyranny.

From now on, the days of freedom in Bulgaria were gone. Everyone had to be careful when speaking; one slip and you would be targeted by the secret police, and the gates of the prison would open for you.

Ferdinand fanned the flames from the sidelines; such an opportunity for a great purge was rare. Moreover, there was the Stambolov cabinet, voluntarily stepping forward to take the blame and attract hatred.

If he didn't make good use of it, how could he live up to the cabinet's selfless dedication? Ferdinand admitted that Stambolov was a true patriot who would stop at nothing for the rise of Bulgaria.

However, politics is cruel; it has nothing to do with justice and only exists to achieve goals. The cabinet's approach was a bit radical, but for the sake of national development, it was understandable.

The biggest problem was that the cabinet held great power and wanted to treat Ferdinand, the Prince, as a rubber stamp. Since they were blocking his path, they naturally had to be kicked aside.

The struggle for power allows for no concessions. Previously, Ferdinand had extended many olive branches to Stambolov, but what was the result?

If Stambolov were truly a person of superior ability, high political skill, and excellent governance, comparable to the Iron Chancellor, Ferdinand might not have been unable to endure it. Unfortunately, he possessed none of these.

Thus, with Ferdinand's secret assistance, the efficiency of the police was unprecedented. Large numbers of anarchists, revolutionaries, and anti-government activists were exposed and arrested one after another.

Ferdinand knew clearly:

The main problem with modern Bulgaria was not that democracy was insufficient or freedom was not active enough. On the contrary, the democracy of Bulgaria at this stage had already exceeded actual needs, and freedom had also surpassed the necessary degree.

Bulgaria is located on the Balkan Peninsula, surrounded by strong enemies; the most important thing at this stage is to concentrate energy on development. Only when the country is strong can one talk about freedom and democracy!

At the same time, because nationalism in the Balkan region is too strong, every Bulgarian has their own political ideas and cannot help but want to contribute to the country's development. This leads to them pointing fingers at national politics and development strategies, and blindly being xenophobic!

The two Balkan Wars in history are proof; strong nationalism created a powerful army. Likewise, it also created diplomatic isolation, where one could not even find a single ally in the surrounding area!

Open a history book, and you will know that Bulgaria never formed a clear, long-term, and constructive strategic goal.

One group of politicians comes to power and does this, another group comes to power and does that. Who to choose as an enemy, who to choose as an ally?

I am sorry, but the Bulgarians never figured it out, eventually leading to them being besieged. Then, wrapped up by nationalism, they joined the World War to pull chestnuts from the fire, ending up in a miserable state.