The current division of labor was that Ferdinand was responsible for poaching scientists, while the various government departments were responsible for poaching engineers. After all, when dealing with ordinary engineers, offering better terms was far more effective than talking about ideals!
The Bulgarian government now basically followed the principle of buying equipment from great powers and poaching talent from small countries!
The European continent was dotted with small nations. Many of them had once been formidable in modern times, so they still had some foundation left. Historically, it was precisely by absorbing talent from these small countries at the start of the twentieth century that the United States developed!
Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the like had no shortage of senior engineers and warship designers. Though their abilities might not necessarily have been outstanding, they were more than sufficient to lay Bulgaria's foundations.
In Ferdinand's eyes, snapping up industrial equipment at bargain prices during the economic crisis was secondary; absorbing talent was the key. To that end, Ferdinand had specifically approved a Bulgarian Talent Recruitment Act.
As long as a person met the qualifications for talent, they received preferential treatment across the board. All restrictions on naturalization were reduced to zero—they could join unconditionally the moment they arrived, and they would also receive a government-issued, non-repayable settlement allowance!
It could be said that Ferdinand had truly racked his brains to bring in talent!
What one paid was proportional to what one gained. By the end of 1903, the Bulgarian government had spent as much as eight million pounds on recruiting talent, bringing in more than two thousand people of various kinds.
Of course, most of them were ordinary engineers. There were still very few truly weighty senior talents, and only twenty or thirty of them had caught Ferdinand's eye!
Still,