"Prime Minister, the Ten-Year Plan is about to be completed. What does the government intend to do with the criminals among these laborers?" Ferdinand asked with concern.
"Your Majesty, the government has decided to develop the African continent. Some of these criminals will remain in the country to continue improving the infrastructure, while others will be sent to Africa," Konstantin said after some thought.
"Developing Africa will not be easy. Our population is already severely insufficient; even developing World Island is stretching us thin. If we divide our attention further by going into Africa, I fear our strength will fall short," Ferdinand said worriedly.
Ferdinand's concerns were not without reason. Bulgaria had a population of only a little over sixty million, while its territory on World Island alone already covered more than 6.6 million square kilometers.
Developing just this territory already made the land vast and the people sparse. If they went on to develop the African colonies as well, would that not scatter them even further?
Without a sufficient population, how could they even speak of development?
One had to know that Bulgaria's colonies in Africa were no small matter. Their combined area amounted to more than seven or eight million square kilometers. Where could they find so many people?
"Your Majesty, even if fully developing Africa is not feasible right now, we can still begin the preparatory work and carry out the necessary infrastructure construction.
"In any event, we cannot let these people sit idle, much less release them. That would endanger the security of our colonies!" Konstantin said after thinking it over.
It was not that they did not know it was too early to develop Africa. Rather, most of the laborers in their hands were malignant tumors that endangered social stability.
They could not be allowed