The Russian Empire had disintegrated. This colossal beast that had made the European continent tremble for over two centuries vanished into smoke, and the whole world cheered in celebration.
Even the Russians were celebrating. At last, there would be no more war! If it had gone on any longer, the Russian Empire would probably have run out of people.
The newly independent states had barely established their governments before scrambling for recognition from the international community, giving Britain and France another chance to take advantage of them. It left Ferdinand deeply depressed.
There was no helping it. In terms of influence, Britain and France were still the real heavyweights in this era. They had managed things well, and finance was their specialty. When it came to usury, they were the true professionals.
With just a few moves, they had talked the leaders of those countries into a daze, and then those leaders accepted their loans.
Bulgaria was a step too slow in this regard. By the time the domestic banks caught on, the contracts had already been signed.
Though they were invalid contracts, and Britain and France could renege at any time, those countries did not dare to renege, did they?
Ferdinand could do nothing about that either. Before the League of Nations conference had even convened, they had already signed the loan agreements. Bulgaria could hardly follow suit, could it?
But when Ferdinand saw Britain and France extending loans to the Soviet Republic, he smiled. They had finally jumped into the pit after all.
Before the Russian Empire split apart, it had already accumulated staggering debts. They could not possibly make Western Russia shoulder them alone now, could they?
If that happened, Nicholas II could simply declare bankruptcy. Western Russia's current assets were nowhere near enough to repay them