In 1889, a new year began.
Stefan Stambolov ended his busy day at work. He left the Prime Minister's Office under the protection of his bodyguards, and took a carriage ready to drive all the way to his home.
Stambolov sat in the car with his eyes closed to relax his tired brain after a day's work.
This Stefan Stambolov is no ordinary figure. He is currently the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, and he is the one who supported the new King Ferdinand I to succeed him. It is no exaggeration to say that he is currently the number one person in Bulgarian politics.
What is even more enviable is that compared with prime ministers in other countries who are in their 50s or 60s, Stambolov, who is only 35 years old, can be said to be terrifyingly young.
The reason for this is not only his outstanding ability (known as the Bulgarian Bismarck), but also his unparalleled luck and keen judgment. When Bulgaria became independent in 1878, he was just a young and outrageous member of Parliament, and by 1884 he became the Speaker.
Then in 1886, a group of pro-Russian Bulgarian officers launched a coup and expelled Grand Duke Alexander I from the country. At this time, Stambolov stood up. He used public opinion and the heavy pressure of the people to force the officers of the coup to return power to the parliament.
It was precisely by virtue of his status as speaker that Stambolov then selected new monarchs from various countries. Finally, Prince Ferdinand from the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Kohari family became the new king of Bulgaria. During this period, he withstood the pressure from Russia, so much so that Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov once said angrily. "The fruits of the war between Russia and the Ottomans were stolen by the thief Stambolov."
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As Italy carried out secret preparations in an orderly manner, the time quickly approached the end of the year. During this period, something also happened, that is, the navy of the Qing Kingdom in the Far East was finally built. This Beiyang Navy controlled by Li Zhongtang can be said to be the best of the Qing Navy. It has the Four King Kong (internal names); Dingyuan (flagship), Zhenyuan, Zhiyuan, and Jingyuan four ships. Needless to say, the second ship Jingjing is among them, and the second ship Zhijing is even more famous in the Far East.
In addition to these four kings, the Beiyang Navy also has dome-protected cruisers; Jingyuan and Laiyuan (the original Zhiyuan-class dome-protected cruisers in history, their main mission is to compete with Zhiyuan and Jingyuan) The ship formed a fast cruiser formation and was responsible for the second ship Zhijing) and the Jiyuan ship (due to insufficient speed, it was not included in the fast cruiser formation).
Crash cruiser; Yangwei, Chaoyong. Coastal defense ironclad ship; Pingyuan. Unprotected cruisers; Weiyuan, Kangji, Guangjia. And gunboats; Caojiang, Meiyun, Zhenhai, Tai'an. Torpedo cruisers; Guangyi, Guangbing. and other torpedo boats, minelayers, transport ships and other ships, with a total tonnage of more than 45,000 tons. Although a fleet of such a tonnage is not particularly powerful in Europe, in the Far East, it can outlast the rest. Even the major powers do not have a fleet of such a tonnage in the Far East.
Moreover, most of its naval ships were newly built in the past ten years, and the newer weapons and equipment of the warships are also very good.
For this reason, Colonel Antonio, who is currently teaching in the Beiyang Fleet, made some comments on the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy in a telegram sent to China.
"Dear Admiral Golek, I have served the Qing Northern Fleet in the Far East for almost four years, and I have a deep understanding of the officers and soldiers of the fleet. The officers and soldiers of the fleet are generally very good, and they have met the strict requirements of consultants from various countries. Next, all skills are well trained and can reach 70% of the level of domestic officers and soldiers.
This indicator refers to the grassroots officers and soldiers on the ship. The middle and high-level officers and soldiers on the ship are lower, reaching about 60% of our country. Of course, I think this is more because they lack proper training. The Qing Dynasty's Northern Fleet was somewhat resistant to projects that required high costs. This is also closely related to the fact that Governor Li, the actual controller of the fleet, is short of money.
In addition, the fleet also has a big problem, that is, the fleet commander Ding Ruchang is from the army and does not know much about the various regulations and measures of the navy. His orders basically come from the hands of the general adviser, Colonel Lang Weili. Such a result is very worrying.
Moreover, Colonel Langweili did not have a very good relationship with the middle and upper-level commanders of the Qing Dynasty. He was personally strict and unkind, which was somewhat unusual for a humanistic society like China. In addition, the officers and soldiers of the Northern Fleet are basically from the Fujian area. This kind of fleet officers and soldiers all come from the same region, which is also not conducive to future joint naval operations. "
It can be seen that Colonel Antonio has a very thorough understanding of the Beiyang Fleet, which of course has a lot to do with the fact that he is a bystander.
Of course, this is just an episode at the end of the year, and in addition to the formation of the Northern Fleet in the Far East, Italy's domestic development is also continuing.
This year, Italy's fiscal revenue reached a new high of 1.518 billion lire, the highest in history. The increase in government revenue also comes from the development of industry.
Demand for electricity from Italian industry has surged this year. Currently, the State Grid Corporation of China has 47 thermal power plants and 2 hydroelectric power stations across the country, which can provide Italy with 2.14 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year, making it the largest consumer of electricity in Europe.
Of course, this is not all of the State Grid. In the new year, the company has formulated ambitious plans to increase its power generation to 3 million kilowatt hours. Strive to initially meet the electricity needs of Italian industry.
That's right, it initially meets industrial electricity needs.
Speaking of the role of electricity in promoting industry, everyone can see it. At present, companies that want to get electricity are like crucian carp crossing the river. The State Grid is also working overtime to expand the capacity of its own power plants. However, the demand was too great, so it worked hard to expand the power generation capacity, but it has never been able to keep up with the demand for electricity.
The great development of electric power in Italy has also played a leading role. At present, other European countries have also begun to use electricity, but their scale and power plants are not as good as those in Italy. But it is certain that the great development of electric power in Europe has already started. Of course, Westinghouse Electric, which produces various AC motors, can naturally get a share of the pie.
In addition to electricity, Italian agriculture is also doing very well this year, except for grapes. European grapes have been generally attacked by diseases and insect pests this year, and grape production in various countries has been significantly reduced. Among them, Italian wine production has dropped by one-third compared with last year. Of course, this is not just Italy, but this is basically the case in other European countries.
Therefore, the price of wine has risen sharply this year, but even at such a high price, the wine exported by Italy has plummeted, because Italians, like the French, are fond of wine and regard it as a necessity in life. No matter what they do, they need it. Have a glass of wine.
The absence of wine as a major item has led to a decline in agricultural exports. Fortunately, industrial and re-export trade are still good, so Italy's imports and exports still maintain growth.
Although Italy's fiscal revenue is growing this year, this year's expenditure is even more intense, reaching 1.979 billion lire, and the fiscal deficit has reached an unprecedented 451 million lire. Such a large deficit makes Italy's finances even more difficult.
But no matter how difficult it is, we have to do it, and the Ministry of Finance is extremely busy. After several revisions, a financial statement that looked pretty good was released. For example, the additional training expenses and weapons procurement expenses allocated by the army and navy are listed under other names. If there is no one with the bottom order, you will never be able to see the flaw.
Although the Ministry of Finance has succeeded this year, it will be more difficult in the next two years, because government spending will further expand, and the size of the deficit will also be the same.
These expenses have been invested in secret war preparations by Italy, so they need to continue to be covered up.
