With the matter of Finland temporarily settled, Ferdinand felt much more at ease—but new trouble soon came knocking.
The Dutch were extremely shrewd. The Indonesian rebellion had basically been crushed, but the military expenditure for suppressing it had been enormous. The ammunition fired alone was an astronomical sum to the Dutch government.
So they made a decisive choice: they offered the still-unsettled half of Borneo as a dowry, making the wedding appear exceedingly grand.
In reality, it was little different from giving nothing at all. The rebels on the island had already joined forces, and suppressing them would still require cooperation with the United Kingdom.
The key was that Borneo had yet to be developed in this era. The land held little economic value for now, and the Dutch government lacked the ability to develop it, so they simply tossed out this hot potato.
In fact, as dowry, it would still be the Crown Prince's private property. After the Bulgarian Royal Family took it over, even if they suppressed the rebellion there, it would not become part of the Gotha-Kohary Family until Ferdinand's grandson inherited it.
In other words, this colony belonged neither to Bulgaria nor to the Gotha-Kohary Family, but to his daughter-in-law as her private property.
Now it was Ferdinand's turn to have a headache. If he gave it up, would the Gotha-Kohary Family have any face left?
But if he governed the region, he could not freely mobilize the Bulgarian army without compensation. The royal family could only foot the bill itself; otherwise, word getting out would damage his reputation.
The mercenaries happened to still be in Southeast Asia. The Dutch had calculated things very precisely: even if Bulgaria sent troops to crush the rebellion on the island, it would not have much impact on their own