I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 556 Be Prepared
The young eagle will always spread its wings and fly high, and Annie is mentally prepared.

But it was still beyond Anne's expectation that he could fly so high all of a sudden.

If it weren't for the incident with Waldemar, Boris would most likely have stayed with George and Anne all his life and would not have gone far away.

Being pushed to the position of king at the young age of 17 was a blessing or a curse for Boris.

Waldemar is the best example.

If Valdemar had not been invited to be the King of Bulgaria, then Valdemar would not be so miserable now.

Polis is looking pretty good now.

But as he grows older, sooner or later Bolis will taste the sweetness of power. Will Bolis then develop greater ambitions like Waldemar?

Anne fears that Boris will go the same way as Valdemar.

George was actually worried too, but he did not show it in front of Anne. The resources that Waldemar possessed were not on the same level as Bolis. As long as Bolis did not stand on the wrong side, the king of Bolis would be as stable as a rock.

Valdemar's biggest mistake was that he thought that with the support of William II, he could use the strength of the Kingdom of Bulgaria to change the European political landscape.

This is not ambition, it's just a dream.

Boris is very pragmatic. He knows what he can and cannot do. Since what the Bulgarians need most now is rest and recuperation, Boris simply does what he is best at: spending money.

After all, Boris is not like someone who knows the future direction of history and can make the most correct choice at every critical historical node.

Boris' greatest luck is that he has such a person by his side.

After recruiting pilots in Varna, Polis visited veterans and distributed pensions to the families of fallen soldiers.

Like the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria did not have a complete veterans' protection system. Not only were the pensions for fallen soldiers pitifully small, but veterans with injuries and disabilities did not even have their living standards guaranteed. Many even committed suicide because they did not want to burden their families by wandering around.

Polis kept George's reminder in mind, and while paying attention to vulnerable groups, he did not forget his base.

The base of Polis is not the disadvantaged groups, but the officials and gentry.

This may sound outrageous, but in an era when disadvantaged groups did not even have the right to vote, officials and gentry, or the aristocracy, were the king's base.

Bulgaria was founded 30 years ago and deposed two kings.

There were only two kings in the Kingdom of Bulgaria before, and the dethronement rate was 100%.

Treating disadvantaged groups well can help Polis gain the support of the grassroots people.

Protecting the interests of the aristocracy and sharing the world with the literati is the amulet of Polis.

Brusinov's massacre in Burgas made the Bulgarian aristocracy fully realize that King Polis was completely different from the previous two kings who had little ability but great ambition. The power of the Bulgarian Kingdom was in the hands of Polis.

Fully aware of this, the Bulgarian nobility became reasonable and law-abiding.

In the past six months since coming to Bulgaria, Boris has traveled to all cities in Bulgaria and finally has a general understanding of the situation in Bulgaria.

As a typical agricultural country, the wine industry is the economic lifeline of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Although the quality of Bulgarian wine is good, there is still a big gap compared with French wine.

When George and Anne passed through Constantinople, Polis took the initiative to raise this issue to George, hoping that George could help with advice.

"Easy, just send a telegram to your uncle and ask him to buy all your wine."

Anne's way of solving the problem was simple and crude. If Mario was willing to help, he could indeed give Boris a good price. Last winter, Mikhail was hospitalized due to illness, and George's eldest cousin Mario temporarily took over Mikhail's work.

This spring, Mario officially took over and became the helmsman of Amur.

“This doesn’t solve the problem at its root.”

Boris doesn't want to take any backdoors. It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

"The French don't sell quality wine, they sell French culture and lifestyle. Are you sure you want to compete with the French?"

George is not optimistic about Bulgarian wine beating French Champagne.

As I said, it is a good thing to have ideals, but ideals must be based on reality.

George wants to sweep across Europe today and explore the sea of ​​stars tomorrow.

"I hope to work with the Academy of Sciences to improve grape varieties and brewing methods. Even if we cannot compete with French champagne in high-end red wine, we can help Bulgarian wine gain more market share in the mid- and low-end wine market."

George was comforted by Boris' words. It is important to know yourself.

The pillar industries of the Bulgarian Kingdom are not only red wine, but also cigars.

When it comes to cigars, many people's first reaction is Havana cigars.

The quality of Bulgarian cigars is also very good. Although they are not as famous as Havana cigars, they are not as expensive as Havana cigars. Their sales in Europe are still quite good.

George reminded Polis that if Bulgaria's agricultural products were to gain better profits, it was necessary to change the current situation of Bulgarian agriculture and use groupization and scale to compete with other countries.

Bulgaria has great potential in agriculture, so French businessmen often go to Bulgaria to purchase wine, bottle it in France, and sell it around the world under the name of French wine.

If Bulgarian wine wants to become famous, it must build its own brand, establish an agricultural product association, and compete with French wine.

However, George's focus is not on Bulgaria's economy, but on the increasingly tense situation in Europe.

Polis's ideals are good, but with a world war about to break out, everything has to serve the military, and Bulgaria is no exception.

Even if Bulgarian wine can compete with French wine, once a world war breaks out, all countries will focus their main attention on the military and all economic activities will be regulated. No matter how good the quality of Bulgarian wine is, it will be useless.

George reminded Polis that he could not focus all his energy on cash crops, but should fill the Bulgarians' stomachs first before doing anything else.

With the support of the Russian Empire in peacetime, Bulgaria will not have any problems with food supply.

But what if the Russian Empire no longer exists, where will Polis get food?

We can't let the Bulgarians eat grapes every day.

"Will it be that serious?"

Boris was a little shocked. He had been focusing on Bulgaria during this period and neglected to pay attention to the situation in Europe.

"It is better to be prepared. As a king, you cannot pin all your hopes on the Russian Empire."

George reminded Boris not to think that everything would be fine with the support of the Russian Empire.

(End of this chapter)