Introducing Laborers

Seeing Ferdinand lose his temper, Lauren Holman spoke up: "Respected Grand Duke, I can answer this question for you!"

"Oh? Then give me a reason, Mr. Holman!" Ferdinand said, sounding annoyed.

Lauren Holman did not mind Ferdinand's attitude and said calmly: "Grand Duke, as the railway project has progressed to this point, we have actually performed a great deal of work that goes beyond the railway itself!"

"Oh!" Ferdinand let out a sound of surprise.

Lauren Holman continued: "In reality, while building the railway, we have also had to build roads first. Of course, there was also an underestimation of the geographical conditions at the time, which led us to underestimate the difficulty of construction! These factors combined have resulted in the current labor shortage."

Ferdinand understood, his expression returning to normal as he said calmly: "I see. Mr. Holman means that in addition to the railway project, we have also added a supporting road network. Furthermore, does this mean the ten-million-pound budget will also increase significantly?"

Lauren Holman replied bluntly: "Yes, Grand Duke! It is estimated that it will increase by about fifty percent. Of course, if we only built temporary roads, the cost could be lower, but that would be very uneconomical."

Having grasped the situation, Ferdinand's mood immediately cleared as he said: "Hmm, very well, I am aware of this matter. Thank you, Mr. Holman; the people of Bulgaria will not forget your dedication! The government will resolve this issue as quickly as possible, so you can proceed with the construction without worry!"

"Very well, Grand Duke, this is only what I should do. Since there is nothing left for me here and I still have work to finish at the site, I shall take my leave." Seeming to realize that the matters Ferdinand would discuss next were not suitable for him to participate in, Lauren Holman chose to excuse himself.

Watching Lauren Holman and his two companions leave, Ferdinand turned his gaze toward Chekhov and Konstantin and asked: "What are your thoughts?"

Chekhov shook his head, indicating he had none.

Konstantin thought for a moment and said: "How about we buy black slaves? Although there are some moral issues, as long as it ensures the smooth progress of the railway project, it is worth it!"

Ferdinand rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: What a terrible idea. What era does he think this is, buying black slaves? Is he trying to make Bulgaria's ethnic problems even more complicated? Just looking at their skin color, there would be no way to assimilate them even a hundred years from now.

Seeming to realize the impropriety of his suggestion, Konstantin said sheepishly: "Oh, that doesn't seem to work; the price of black slaves is too high!"

Ferdinand almost burst out laughing; it turned out all he cared about was money!

After a long while, Ferdinand cleared his thoughts and said: "Since we lack labor in Bulgaria, we should set our sights abroad! We can introduce workers from our neighbors, and if that's not enough, we can look to the world's most populous nations! However, we must ensure two principles: first, no nationalists; second, no religious fanatics!"

Chekhov and Konstantin both reacted immediately. Now that factories in Bulgaria were springing up like bamboo shoots after rain and the government was heavily investing in infrastructure, the country was naturally short on labor, which had even driven up workers' wages significantly.

But other countries had plenty of people. The Balkan nations did not have large populations and likely didn't have much surplus labor, but the rest of the world had plenty.

Not to mention the distant Qing Dynasty—that was too far away, and besides Ferdinand, few people would likely believe that the best workers could be found there.

In Eastern Europe alone, the labor forces of Russia and Austria-Hungary were vastly abundant. Hundreds of thousands of people left every year to immigrate to the Americas; if even half of them could come to Bulgaria, it would be enough.

At this moment, Ferdinand thought of another way to increase the population and said happily: "Right, Chekhov, your Ministry of Education will have its hands full again; we need a batch of language teachers."

"The base wages for foreign laborers should be set lower than those of domestic workers; they will receive a slight increase after learning Bulgarian; and if they obtain Bulgarian citizenship, their pay will be raised to match that of domestic workers."

Chekhov asked in confusion: "Grand Duke, wouldn't this increase expenses? And if they go back on their word once the project is finished and leave Bulgaria, wouldn't we have worked in vain?"

Konstantin wore the same expression, clearly not understanding Ferdinand's suggestion.

Ferdinand smiled and said: "I don't expect all of them to stay; some will certainly leave. However, while Bulgaria's economic situation may not compare to Western Europe, it is certainly better than that of our neighbors!"

"Moreover, our construction will be completed in the short term. At the very least, we will face labor shortages for the next ten years. If they spend a few years in Bulgaria, many will choose to stay!"

Konstantin suddenly remembered something and looked at Ferdinand in surprise: "Grand Duke, do you intend to use economic means to handle ethnic issues?"

Seeing that Konstantin had figured it out, Ferdinand did not deny it and smiled: "Correct. This is just an experiment. If it succeeds, all the better; if it fails, it doesn't matter—it's merely an extra expense. As long as one-tenth of them stay, we haven't lost anything!"

The higher-ups give the orders, and the lower-downs run themselves ragged. Ferdinand had provided the grand strategy, and that was that; he went back to discussing life with the ladies.

However, importing labor was absolutely not as simple as imagined, especially in such large numbers. Even in that era, when government oversight of the private sector was not strict and visas were not required, the effort involved was immense.

Simply getting tens of thousands of people to travel to a foreign land required no small amount of energy. Furthermore, their food, clothing, housing, and transportation along the way all required meticulous organization and arrangement.

Konstantin took on the task, and the government began to revolve around this matter, working in a frenzy; many people had their vacations canceled.

Even the usually leisurely Ministry of Education began to mobilize in all directions to find teachers. They no longer required high cultural standards; as long as they could speak several languages, it was enough. Even so, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and whether they could gather enough depended entirely on luck.

Minister Metev was in a very bad mood. Ever since Ferdinand decided to import labor, the government had organized the recruitment first, but later, unscrupulous capitalists joined in. They used every trick in the book, including deception and fraud.

Austria-Hungary and Russia had not yet felt the impact, but the surrounding neighbors were the first to suffer. The embassies of Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire in Bulgaria all sent people to protest.

Fortunately, in this era, no one cared about the lives of the poor; otherwise, the diplomatic pressure alone would have been enough to give Ferdinand a headache.

As the party in the wrong, Minister Metev had to offer apologies and gifts, along with large amounts of bribes. After exerting tremendous effort, he finally managed to smooth things over, only for another problem to arise.