Labor Problems

Starting in 1888, Bulgaria embarked on a Five-Year Plan, with railways as its top priority. Neither during the Stam Government nor under Ferdinand had changes in the domestic situation disrupted the normal progress of railway construction.

To ensure the railway plan was completed smoothly and to cut costs, the Stam administration had begun sending convicts to construction sites as laborers.

The Stam Cabinet had let the police run rampant. At first, it was to crush political rivals; later, it was to raise funds. And perhaps they had also hoped to find a supply of cheap labor.

As efforts to overturn wrongful convictions got underway, many unjust cases from the Stam era were investigated and cleared up, and large numbers of innocent people were released. The railway projects were now facing a labor shortage.

Bulgaria could hardly be called vast, but its sparse population was a fact. Although many farmers had gone bankrupt earlier, industrialization had absorbed almost all of them by now.

Given a choice, few people were willing to build railways, even though railway workers received better pay.

But railway construction at the end of the nineteenth century was practically a death sentence. Workplace accidents were all too common. Even those driven by necessity couldn't stick it out; at the first opportunity, they found other work.

Konstantin was at his wits' end. There weren't enough workers. Even after he had sent every convict to the construction sites, the manpower shortage was still severe!

In an age without machinery, when everything had to be carried on people's backs and shoulders, manual laborers were indispensable. To finish on time, the engineers had come up with a shocking figure: at least fifty thousand laborers.

When that figure was reported to him, Konstantin was dumbfounded. It meant they were still short by forty thousand workers.

Bulgaria had only a little over three million people. Finding so many railway workers would be nearly impossible. Since there was no other way, all they could do was report the problem up the chain.

Chekhov, who was on duty at the cabinet offices, received an unexpected visitor: Konstantin had arrived, bringing an engineer with him.

Chekhov stared at Konstantin and his entourage in confusion and asked, puzzled, "Konstantin, what's going on?"

Konstantin had no time for small talk and got straight to the point. "Mr. Chekhov, I'm here today mainly about the railway."

Chekhov asked gravely, "Has something gone wrong with the railway project?"

"No!" Konstantin replied firmly.

Chekhov's heart, which had been in his throat, settled. "Thank God. As long as nothing's gone wrong!"

"But this is even more serious!" Konstantin's next words left Chekhov even more bewildered.

"What is it?" Chekhov asked.

"I'd better let the engineer explain," Konstantin said awkwardly.

Chekhov sighed in frustration. "All right. It makes no difference who tells me!"

The chief engineer, Lauren Holman, said with a solemn expression, "Dear Mr. Chekhov, everything is going smoothly with the railway project, but we've run into a major problem!"

Chekhov was even more confused. If everything was going smoothly, what problem could there be? He immediately asked, "What major problem?"

Lauren Holman answered stiffly, "We don't have enough laborers!"

Chekhov relaxed and asked, "How many are we short?"

Lauren Holman replied calmly, "To ensure the project is completed smoothly, we need at least another forty-three thousand laborers, and the project budget must increase by fifty percent!"

"What? How is that possible? This is far beyond the original plan!" Chekhov said in disbelief.

"Mr. Chekhov, please trust our expertise! These figures are based on calculations made by our technical staff after conducting on-site measurements," Lauren Holman said gravely.

Chekhov still found it hard to believe. "Sorry, Mr. Lauren, I'm not questioning your expertise, but this gap is far too large!"

"All I can do is apologize. At the time, we underestimated Bulgaria's transportation conditions. While building the railway, we had to put a great deal of manpower into building roads first. And construction in the Rila Mountains proved far more difficult than we imagined," Lauren Holman explained.

After hearing Lauren's explanation, Chekhov's expression changed. He knew this really was a major problem—one far beyond what the cabinet could handle.

Chekhov could only smile bitterly. "Thank God! Konstantin, you really have brought us a huge problem!"

"Chekhov, I didn't want this either!" Konstantin said helplessly.

The problem was so huge that it threatened not only the completion of the Five-Year Plan, but also the provisional cabinet's chances of becoming permanent.

After thinking it over, Chekhov decided to report the matter to Ferdinand. He no longer believed the railway project could be completed on schedule. Given Bulgaria's current circumstances, there was no way they could gather so many laborers in a short time.

Ferdinand, who had just found himself some free time, was in the palace watching a dance performance. Several beautiful young women were dancing with abandon, wearing costumes Ferdinand had designed himself.

Ferdinand had just taken one of the dancers into his arms and was about to take things further when Alice suddenly walked in. Blushing, she said, "Your Highness, Mr. Chekhov and Mr. Konstantin are here. Oh, and they've brought three strangers with them!"

Ferdinand said irritably, "I know. I'll be right there!" With that, he released the woman in his arms. Looking at the bashful Alice, he suddenly gave her a wicked grin, making her turn and flee at once.

In his previous life, Ferdinand had been a lifelong bachelor. When he had first crossed over, he'd still been quite upright, but the life of a nobleman had soon corrupted him. He hadn't gone so far as to become promiscuous; at least, he'd never attended the nobles' wild orgies, afraid of catching a disease. Of course, he'd never been short of women at his side, either.

Remembering that business awaited him, Ferdinand decided to let Alice off the hook this time and strode toward the reception hall.

When he saw Chekhov and the others, Ferdinand, already in a bad mood, didn't give them a chance to speak. He had sent for Lauren Holman in the first place, so he had met him once before and knew what this was about as soon as he saw him. He asked bluntly, "You've all come here. Has something gone wrong with the railway project?"

Seeing Ferdinand was in a foul mood, Chekhov didn't dare beat around the bush. He immediately said, "Thank God, everything is going smoothly with the railway project, but now we're short of laborers!"

"Oh!" Ferdinand replied, waiting for him to continue. Labor shortages were commonplace when building railways; there was nothing surprising about that. But if they had come to him over such a minor problem, something was clearly wrong.

Chekhov thought it over, then steeled himself and continued, "According to Engineer Lauren's calculations, we need at least another forty-three thousand laborers to finish the project smoothly and on schedule!"

Hearing that figure, Ferdinand said in disbelief, "What? Are you kidding me? You need that many more laborers?"