"Colorful four-wheeled carriages with open tops rolled along the streets. The warehouses of the wealthy were piled high with grain, and large, brightly colored photographs of 'beauties' were everywhere in the entertainment districts...
The unspeakable misery of ordinary people: their tables were bare, they went hungry, and years might pass before they got to eat a loaf of white bread..."
Doesn't that sound familiar? That's right, this was originally written about Shanghai—though the author had made a few changes. It described the state of the Balkans. Bulgaria had been just the same two years ago.
Thanks to the purges under the Stam Government, a large number of the wealthy had been swept away. Ferdinand had gained enough resources to ease the exploitation of the people, allowing ordinary citizens to breathe a sigh of relief.
As he traveled, Ferdinand found that most of the entertainment venues from years past had closed for good. Hope shone on the people's faces. Taxes had returned to normal, and the great weight pressing down on them had been lifted.
Most important of all, they no longer had to repay their usurious loans. The dead wouldn't come to collect, and many people were still grateful to the Stam Government for that.
The Stam Government might have a terrible reputation, but its contributions to the country still surpassed those of every other Bulgarian government.
Bulgaria was a land of rolling, varied terrain, with mountains and hills accounting for about 64 percent of its territory. (Note: This was the terrain in 1891. After successive defeats in the Second Balkan War and the two World Wars, Bulgaria lost a large swath of plains. In later years, mountains and hills accounted for 79 percent of its territory.)
In an age when railways were still being built and automobiles were still under development, even Ferdinand, the king, was no exception. He could only travel by carriage, enduring the jolting ride.
As for why he didn't ride a horse, the Ferdinand from Li Mu's previous life had been a proper horseman. But this Ferdinand? Whether he could stay on a horse without falling off was another question entirely!
Fortunately, Ferdinand's body was in good shape after his transmigration, and he could take the strain. Li Mu, in his previous life, would have been throwing up and suffering from diarrhea by now.
As he traveled, Ferdinand found that, just as he had expected, industrialization was progressing well across the country. New agricultural techniques were spreading quickly in the plains, while progress in the mountain regions was slow.
There was another benefit Ferdinand hadn't noticed: everywhere he went, a road had sprung up ahead of him.
This ordinary road became Bulgaria's first continuous transport route. It went down in history as the "Imperial Avenue," though ordinary people jokingly called it the "King's Inspection Path"—the road the king had traveled while making his inspections.
Ferdinand had now reached Burgas, in southeastern Bulgaria. Located on the western shore of the Black Sea, it was the capital of Burgas Province, on the coast of Burgas Bay. In the future, it would become Bulgaria's second-largest city in terms of overall economic strength, the central city on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and an important hub for industry and transport.
Its history could be traced back to ancient Greece. The city began to develop in the Middle Ages. It was also an important transfer point for travelers heading to Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts, and was home to industries such as oil, chemicals, salt production, and iron mining.
Burgas was still only an ordinary little port. The main reason Ferdinand had come was that Bulgaria's first main railway line had opened, running from Sofia to Burgas and stretching 580 kilometers. (Some sections had already existed; they had simply been connected.)
Ferdinand knew that once the railway was complete, Burgas would enter a period of rapid development.
In this parallel world, the Port of Burgas handled 60 percent of Bulgaria's maritime transport. Its petrochemical industry was thriving, and the largest refinery in the Balkans was located there.
It was also Bulgaria's fishing center. Influenced by both the maritime climate and the temperate, humid continental climate, the region was well suited to agriculture.
Besides grain crops such as wheat, corn, and barley, it also produced cash crops such as grapes, apples, almonds, and cherries.
The opening of the railway from Sofia to Burgas was unquestionably a major event for Bulgaria. The line passed through multiple cities, stretching from east to west across the country.
Ferdinand couldn't remember the railway's original name. He simply followed his usual habit and named it after the first syllables of the two cities. And so the awkward name "Sofia-Burgas Railway" was born.
The Sofia-Burgas Railway was Bulgaria's main artery, with immense military and economic value. If the branch lines were connected as well, the country's entire transport network would come to life.
The opening ceremony for the Sofia-Burgas Railway was a grand affair. Ferdinand attended the ceremony in Burgas, while Chekhov represented the government and presided over the opening in Sofia.
Two trains departed, one from Sofia and the other from Burgas. After twelve and a half hours, both arrived safely at their destinations.
In fact, the line had already been tested many times to ensure the opening would go smoothly. This was just a formality.
That day, Bulgarian newspapers reported the good news on their front pages.
Ferdinand himself didn't feel much. After getting used to the speed of high-speed trains, it was hard for a railway running at less than fifty kilometers per hour to get his blood pumping.
In fact, by the end of the nineteenth century, the Sofia-Burgas Railway could only be considered ordinary. It used the most common type of steam locomotive. Its only advantages were mature technology and reliable safety.
Although Ferdinand knew it would soon be obsolete and that the railway would need extensive reconstruction, there was nothing he could do about it.
Even so, the railway's status in Bulgaria was not diminished in the slightest. From then on, the country could be crossed from east to west in a single day.
Economically, the cost of transporting goods fell sharply, and people could communicate with one another more easily, spurring economic development.
Militarily, the pressure on national defense was greatly reduced. A regiment could be sent to most parts of the country in a day, and within three days that number could be expanded to a division. This assumed the local branch lines were connected, of course; otherwise, the supply lines would certainly run into trouble.
Ferdinand had still underestimated the impact the opening of the Sofia-Burgas Railway would have.
People all across Bulgaria organized celebrations of their own accord. Of course, the parades and demonstrations common in later times were nowhere to be seen. Those obstructed public transport and were illegal.
Most people simply gathered in small groups of three or five, bragging to one another, dreaming about the future, and discussing the present. Some businesses took the opportunity to hold sales.
All in all, Bulgarians at this time were still quite conservative. They lived simply, and their everyday behavior was just as traditional. The breeze of democracy and freedom had yet to reach their hearts.
Ferdinand was enjoying this wonderful moment when an unexpected visitor interrupted his journey.
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