Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 50: Opening of Sobu Railroad

"The streets run with colorful open, four-wheeled carriages. The warehouses of the rich have mountains of grain. The entertainment venues are filled with large color photographs of 'beautiful women' and...

The untold misery of the folk who have nothing on their tables, who have nothing to eat, and who rarely get a meal of white bread for many years..."

Does it look familiar? Yes, this is the original depiction of the Shanghai Bund (adapted a bit by the author). It is the current situation in the Balkans, as well as in Bulgaria two years ago.

Thanks to the purges of the Stambolov period, which cleared away a large class of the rich, Ferdinand was able to accumulate enough to relax the exploitation of the population and give the common people a sigh of relief.

Along the way, Ferdinand found that most of the former places of entertainment were closed for business. It put on the people's faces a glow of hope, the taxes returned to normal levels, and the mountain that was weighing them down was taken off again.

The bottom line is that there is no need to pay back the usury owed. The dead won't come to collect, and many of them are still grateful to the Stambolov government on this point.

Do not lose sight of the notoriety of the Stambolov government. In fact, its contributions to the country are still at the top of the list of all Bulgarian governments.

Bulgaria's varied and undulating landscape is characterized by mountains and hills, which account for about 64% of the territory. (Note: This was the topography in 1891. After the Second Balkan War and the successive defeats in the two World Wars, Bulgaria lost a large part of its plains, and in later times the mountains and forests rose to seventy-nine percent.)

The railroad was still under construction, and the automobile was still being developed. Ferdinand, even if he was the monarch, could not be an exception. He had to rely on carriages and suffered from bumps and bruises.

As for why not to ride a horse, before Li Mu traversed, that Ferdinand is a standard knight. However, the current Ferdinand would be unable to not fall off on horseback!

Fortunately, after traversing to Ferdinand's body, it is good to be able to withstand. If it is the past life of Li Mu, he would have vomited and suffered from nausea.

Along the way, as Ferdinand expected, the industrialization process everywhere is not bad. In agriculture, new technologies are spreading quickly in the plains, but mostly slowly in the mountains.

Of course, there is another benefit Ferdinand did not notice. Wherever he passed, they created a road in advance.

This ordinary road, which became the first connected road in Bulgaria, was called "Imperial Avenue", and was also called "Chama Road"1), meaning: the road where the monarch visited.

By now, Ferdinand has reached the city of Burgas in southeastern Bulgaria, which is located on the west coast of the Black Sea and is the capital of Burgas Province, near the Burgas Bay on the Black Sea. It is the second-largest city in Bulgaria's future economic complex, the central metropolis on the southern coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, with an important position in industry and transportation.

It can trace its history back to the ancient Greek period. In the medieval period, the city began to develop. It is also a tourist area to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, an important transit hub, and also has industries such as oil, chemicals, salt tanning, and iron mining.

Nowadays, Burgas is still just a small, ordinary port. Ferdinand wanted to come over the main reason was the opening of the first mainline in Bulgaria, from Sofia to Burgas, a total of five hundred and eighty kilometers. (Parts of it, which had been there before, were just connected.)

Ferdinand knew that with the railroad opening, Burgas would enter the fast lane of rapid development in the future.

In parallel time, the port of Burgas is responsible for 60 percent of Bulgaria's national maritime transport. It has a well-developed petrochemical industry, with the largest oil refinery in the Balkans located here.

It is also the fishing center of Bulgaria, which is influenced by maritime climate and temperate continental climate with humidity, suitable for the development of agriculture.

In addition to grain crops such as wheat, corn, and barley, there are also cash crops such as grapes, apples, almonds, and cherries.

The opening of the railroad from Sofia to Burgas is definitely a big event for Bulgaria. The railroad passes through several cities and runs through the east and west of Bulgaria.

Ferdinand no longer remembered the original name of the railroad, simply per his habits, taking the first word of the two cities named. It is how the anachronistic name "Sobu Railroad" was born.

"The Sobu Railroad" is the main artery of Bulgaria. It is crucial for its military and economic value. If the branch lines are connected, it will realize the entire Bulgarian transportation.

The opening ceremony of the "Sobu Railroad" was solemn. Ferdinand attended the opening ceremony in Burgas, while Chekhov, on behalf of the government, presided over the opening ceremony in Sofia.

The two trains, which left Sofia and Burgas in the same time frame, took twelve and a half hours to reach their destinations safely.

In fact, to ensure a smooth opening, it has been tested many times before, and now it is just a walk in the park.

All the Bulgarian newspapers of that day reported the happy news to the population on the front page.

Ferdinand was not much felt that he was used to seeing the speed of high-speed rail. It is tough to make him think surging for the railroad speed below fifty kilometers per hour.

In fact, at the end of the 19th century, the "Sobu Railroad" could only be described as ordinary. The only advantage of using the most common steam trains was their technical maturity and safety.

Although Ferdinand knew that soon, it would be obsolete and the railroads would have to be drastically remodeled, there was nothing that he could do about it.

Nevertheless, it does not affect in any way the status of the "Sobu Railroad" in Bulgaria. From now on, it can reach Bulgaria from the east and the west.

Economically, the cost of materials shipping has been significantly reduced. People's communication has become more convenient, and economic development has been promoted.

In military terms, the pressure on national defense is greatly reduced, and a regiment can be put into most of the country in one day. Within three days, they can enlarge this number to a division. The premise is that the branch lines everywhere are also linked. Otherwise, logistical supply will certainly be the first problem.

Ferdinand still underestimated the impact of the opening of the Sobu Railroad.

All over Bulgaria, the population has organized their own celebrations. Of course, the usual protests in later times, which do not exist, are an obstacle to public transport and would be an illegal act.

Most of them are three or five friends gathered together. They brag about each other, think about the future, and talk about the present. Some businesses take the opportunity to engage in promotional activity.

All in all, people in Bulgaria are still very conservative at this stage. Not only are they living a simple life, but they are also conservative and follow traditions in their daily behavior. The spring breeze of democracy and freedom has not yet reached their hearts.

Ferdinand was enjoying a good time when an unexpected visitor interrupted his trip.

Translator:

1) This word is just 'english' way to the Chinese word "Ch m". Ch means to observe, and m is the horse. It can mean that person who observed from the horse or any transport. You can say that author makes the name from the Chinese perspective and language, not from Bulgarian.

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