The Path to Mediterranean Supremacy/Bulgarian Empire (by New Sea Moon)

The year is 1881. On the inside of Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, he admires the reliefs and the paintings hanging on the walls. For once, Li Mu (now Ferdinand) had a feeling of mess. He often compared the present Stephen's Cathedral with the one in a hundred years later.

Just three months ago, the real Ferdinand fainted suddenly in Stephen's Cathedral. Li Mu had taken over him.

Ferdinand was born on February 26, 1861. His full name was Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria. He is a part of the member of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry family.

His father is Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. His mother is Princess Clémentine of Orléans.

His godparents were Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico with his wife, Princess Charlotte of Belgium.

Ferdinand was the grandnephew of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians.

His mother, Princess Clémentine, is the daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France.

His father, Prince Auguste of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is the brother of King Fernando II of Portugal. He is also the first cousin of Prince Albert, the Empress of México - Princess Charlotte of Belgium and King Leopold II of Belgium and Queen Victoria of England.

Princess Louise, the mother of Charlotte and Leopold II, is the sister of Ferdinand's mother. That means the three have relationships as uncle-nephew and aunt-nephew and Ferdinand's first cousins.

Frankly speaking, Li Mu (Ferdinand) is pleased with this traverse. His background is high enough. In addition, if no incidents, he is still the future Tsar of Bulgaria.

He is a Taobao1) merchant who can barely describe as a merchant. As a part-time expert in the military and history, Li Mu (Ferdinand) feels a lot of pressure when he thinks about the real one act in history.

The first twenty years of Ferdinand's rule in Bulgaria brought great success. However, it all went up into smoke when he lost the Second Balkan War, and few nations force him into the Great War.

It seems that as a traverser, he should change his fate against the odds, fight and dominate the world.

For Li Mu (Ferdinand), he did not think so much. The people who have some insight into Bulgaria know that a small Balkan country is most powerful in war. You have nothing to do with industry, resources, and populace, which is not a typical country.

If he is traversing as Wilhelm II, he has to fight against fate. He can probably really defeat the world.

The target he just set for himself, Li Mu (later all called Ferdinand), is at least to be a rich and prestigious aristocrat, and it feels too passive in turn.

At present, it is not too tough to improve a little bit to retain the throne. It seems that as long as Ferdinand doesn't stand in the wrong position, he can do it.

It is clear to anyone who knows the Balkans, however. Unless he wins two Balkan wars, he will still plunge Bulgaria into the abyss with his rising jingoism at home.

If you are poor, you are alone. If you are rich, you get everything!

For now, Ferdinand is not yet the Tsar of Bulgaria. He is just a minor officer of the Austro-Hungarian local garrison. As one of the aristocrats, all Ferdinand has to do is come to report every day. It is okay if he does not.

From that aspect, one could also see that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was rotten. It was just helpful for Ferdinand to act.

After three months of getting familiar with the situation, Ferdinand learned how the basic picture looks. The Koháry family remains wealthy, boasting a large number of terrific relatives.

The greatest wealth, however, was the domain. The Koháry were the owners of a large part of the Slovakia territory, Čabraď and Sitno.

They may look terrific now, but Ferdinand knew that these estates would shrink massively after the Great War. The Soviet Union will seize it after World War II.

It seems that he should do more than one option. As long as he has a lot of money in his hands, he can survive happily in the future.

So what did he really want to do? The first thing that came to his mind was "arms", and then he got rid of it. Most of the arms trade is tying up with politics. There are simply so many powerful buyers in the global market now, and the large-scale arms trade is already taking its place.

Is it possible to engage in a small business of a hundred or eighty guns? That is a shame for the aristocracy, and the money he earns is not as much as his allowance.

"Drugs" is currently not. He is the one who wants to be the King. If he becomes a drug dealer, he will become the "drug king" and think about the horrible scene.

As he made his way to the streets of Vienna, Ferdinand had to remove one plan after another on how to make money when he got a sudden flash on his mind: "department store".

Department stores had been born in Paris, France, as early as 1852 and spread rapidly around the world. There were also department stores in Vienna, but unlike the supermarkets that came after, they were not easy to manage.

It had to wait until 1930 when a new store like this opened in New York in the United States. The customers may just walk in, take the goods on the shelves, and only clear the bill at the same time, making it the world's first supermarket.

History has proven the upper hand of supermarkets, which do not compare very well with department stores.

1. Different orientations: Department stores mainly deal with durable goods. It mainly focuses on the high-end quality of the goods. Supermarkets mainly sell with fast-moving consumer goods and daily needs. The quality of goods is primarily low to medium grade.

2. Different profit models: Department stores manage to gain benefits using a lease to gain profits. Supermarkets rely on their purchases to earn profits by selling more product.

3. Different sales methods: Department store guides are vital, with expert sales agents advising on sales. They are taking a separate bill at the time of purchase. A supermarket is a place where customers choose their own products. They adopt "no need to disturb services" unless they want to. They take a single payment when paying the bill.

Having judged the market with calm, Ferdinand thought that the financial system in Vienna at that time was good enough to make the supermarket turn a profit.

As soon as he says it, Ferdinand began his market survey. After all, at that time and now, it is not the same. There is not so much variety of goods and no home delivery. Whether the goods are suitable for the supermarket, all of them will decide themselves.

However, in that era, he is also the most expert in this area. At least he has seen the supermarket. While others cannot get a good idea, he can only do it right with his own hands.

After a series of daily work for more than a month, Ferdinand, at last, has a clear picture of the basic situation of the big city of Vienna. He collects it in a thick note.

"This is a historical source, isn't it? In the future, when people want to study the era in Vienna, they will find that this is the best evidence. He has taken all into account, like food, clothing, housing and job, he taken all into account. Most of all have some footnotes! It will remain in the museum for future generations to admire!" Ferdinand fondly thought as he lay in bed.

"Bong bang!" There is s sound of the door that was kicking open.

"Ferdinand, what do you think you're doing these days? I can't even see you at the aristocratic banquet, nor do you report to the city guards!" The person who came was Ferdinand's mother, Princess Clémentine.

"No, Clémentine, my dear mother. You know the whole lot about etiquette! It is improper to barge the door without knocking and it would affect your honor!"

"God forbid. Forget about your aristocratic manners. Do not change the subject for me. Do you realize that no one will know about this? Could you please tell me!" said Princess Clémentine.

Translator:

1) Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website headquartered in Hangzhou and owned by Alibaba.