Chapter 1648 The Dilemma of the Dalmatian Kingdom
Although East Africa has discussed the construction of the Central Asian Highway, the Soviet Union has not yet publicly indicated any change in its foreign policy, so the highway remains a concept for the time being.
Turning our attention back to Europe, another conflict is quietly unfolding.
Even after the Austro-Hungarian Empire was annexed by Germany, some historical issues remained unresolved. Within Germany (Austria-Hungary), the overall situation remained relatively stable due to the strength of the German government and the overwhelming majority of the German population.
However, the situation was different for the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, for those countries that did not join Germany.
The conflict between the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Yugoslavia was particularly acute, and the newly independent European nation also had strained relations with Germany and Italy.
February 21, 1937.
The Kingdom of Dalmatia.
The capital city of Split.
After overcoming the chaos and disorder of the early years of its founding, the Kingdom of Dalmatia is now finally able to focus its attention on governing the country.
King Charles I and his cabinet discussed the difficult situation currently facing Dalmatia at the Split Palace.
The Split Palace was originally an old castle, so the conditions weren't very good, and the newly formed Dalmatian Kingdom didn't yet have the capacity to build a magnificent palace.
In the heart of Split, there is actually the ruins of an ancient Roman palace, the Palace of Diocletian, which was the residence of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
Without a doubt, Diocletian's Palace was the most suitable place to serve as the royal palace of Split. Even Charles I preferred to renovate Diocletian's Palace in the future. As for why not now, it all comes down to money.
In the present-day Split Palace, Charles I looked at his cabinet with a troubled expression, knowing that it was time to ask for money again.
Like King Charles I, Dalmatian Prime Minister Juliusan was also in a bad mood, and his displeasure was written all over his face. King Charles I noticed this and, seeing that someone else was just as unlucky as he was, felt somewhat better.
"The meeting can begin now. Everyone, please feel free to share your thoughts."
As Charles I took the head seat and announced the meeting, everyone became less reserved.
Davis, the first finance minister of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, spoke first.
"Your Majesty, the kingdom's finances have been initially sorted out, and the kingdom's tax system is now operational. However, our financial pressure has not been alleviated as a result. Therefore, how to open up new sources of revenue and develop the economy is something we urgently need to solve."
As a country that had only recently broken away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the original economic operation and governance system of the Kingdom of Dalmatia completely collapsed.
Therefore, after the kingdom gained independence, all the work of the Dalmatian Kingdom focused on establishing a new national framework.
The basic framework of the state has now been established, but the Kingdom of Dalmatia is still just a poorly constructed makeshift organization.
Minister Davis continued, "The situation of the Kingdom of Dalmatia is not optimistic in terms of geography, population, resources, and land."
"After breaking away from the original imperial system, our industries also underwent a painful transformation."
"However, if we want to develop the economy and improve people's livelihoods, it is not easy to rely solely on our own strength."
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its trade and industry were closely tied to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, thus participating in the division of labor within the imperial market.
Now that they have broken away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, their original trade routes have been cut off, and their market share has decreased significantly.
The industries of the Dalmatian Kingdom were also severely impacted. Some of Dalmatian industrial and agricultural products lost orders from the Austro-Hungarian Empire's large market and fell into operational difficulties.
Minister Davis said helplessly, "The Kingdom of Dalmatia was already a poor place. Now, our economic difficulties have only worsened, making it even harder to survive."
“Most of Dalmatia is mountainous, with limited food production, while our population is over 1.7 million, which is not small in the entire Balkans.”
"At the same time, the empire's transportation conditions are relatively poor, especially the lack of north-south transportation arteries, which restricts the empire's logistics."
The most populous country in the Balkans is Romania, followed by Yugoslavia, with Bulgaria ranking third. Romania and Yugoslavia both have populations of over ten million, while Bulgaria has over eight million.
Apart from Albania, Dalmatia's population of 1.7 million is not actually that large. However, most of Dalmatia is mountainous, with only a small amount of plains along the coast, so the population pressure is still relatively high.
Albania's situation is similar to that of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, as Albania is also a mountainous country with limited arable land.
Of course, Dalmatia's population is far greater than Albania's, because the Kingdom of Dalmatia covers an area of only about 15,000 square kilometers, while Albania is close to 30,000 square kilometers, and its plains area is also larger than that of Dalmatia.
However, Albania's population is only slightly over one million.
From this perspective, the Dalmatian Kingdom's economic and productivity levels were clearly not bad. Of course, this was only in comparison to the group of the most backward countries in Europe in the Balkans; it was like choosing the best among the worst.
At the same time, the Dalmatian Kingdom was at a significant disadvantage in agricultural development due to its limited arable land area, but its industry was relatively prominent in the entire Balkan Peninsula.
In particular, aluminum from the Kingdom of Dalmatia is a resource that Germany urgently needs and is related to the development of the German Air Force. Therefore, Germany can reliably obtain a large number of orders from Germany every year.
In terms of transportation, the situation in the Kingdom of Dalmatia is slightly better than in other Balkan countries.
In terms of railways, Dalmatia has three railways: one is the railway line from Knin to Split, which was built under the leadership of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the other is the Dubrovnik Railway, which is not yet fully completed.
Then there's the Naretwa Valley Railway, primarily constructed by East Africa.
The railways of the Kingdom of Dalmatia were among the worst in the entire Balkans, with only two and a half railways totaling less than 300 kilometers.
Moreover, these two and a half railways use three different standards: the Knin-Split railway uses the European standard gauge, the Dobrovnik line in the south uses narrow gauge, and the Naretwa Valley railway, which is mainly constructed in East Africa, uses broad gauge.
In other words, the two and a half railways that the Dalmatian Kingdom possessed were not compatible with each other.
As for roads, the situation in the Kingdom of Dalmatia was clearly no better than that of the poor railways and highways.
Two distinct strengths of the Dalmatian Kingdom in transportation were its highly developed maritime and air transport.
The Dalmatian Kingdom had a winding coastline and numerous ports, making maritime transport the most important pillar of its economic development.
Secondly, the aviation industry of the Kingdom of Dalmatia has been supported by East Africa, and it has built the most advanced transit airport in the entire Balkan Peninsula.
Davis said, "The Kingdom of Dalmatia urgently needs to improve its transportation, especially the lack of interconnected railways, other lines, and the construction of a supporting road network."
"Considering the kingdom's finances, I believe the most important thing to build now is the north-south railway from Fium (Zadal) to Dubrovnik,"
"Then we will build several east-west highways to connect with this railway."
Despite what Davis said, which may seem exaggerated, the North-South Railway of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was actually a completely different concept from what people generally understand, due to Dalmatia being a small country.
The railway line from Fiume to Dubrovnik, even if completed, wouldn't be more than 300 kilometers long. In East Africa, a railway of that size would probably not even cover a prefecture-level city.
The Kingdom of Dalmatia itself was roughly the size of a large prefecture-level city.
Davis said, "We only need to build one major north-south artery, and that will be enough. All other east-west traffic can be done by highways."
"A nationwide land transportation network will be built around this north-south trunk railway. Of course, the biggest challenge lies in what standard should be adopted for this railway."
"Currently, the most important railways in our country are the Knin-Split railway and the Naretwa Valley railway in the south."
"These two railways, one using European standards and the other using East African standards, must be approached with caution in their construction if they are to be integrated into our railway network."
Davis made no mention of the Dubrovnik Railway, because the Kingdom of Dalmatia had no interest in restarting this abandoned railway with its bizarre 760mm gauge.
During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dubrovnik Railway was primarily built as a sea route for the Bosnian region. Now that Dalmatia and Bosnia are separate countries, the Kingdom of Dalmatia naturally doesn't value it.
Regarding which railway standard should be used to construct the north-south railway trunk line of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, members of the Dalmatian cabinet also had differing opinions.
Transport Minister Wang Lu said, "We are now faced with only two options: the general European standard and the East African standard. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages."
“If we adopt European standards, it will improve our future accessibility to other European countries and facilitate trade and the movement of people. However, we do not have the technology to build railways. If we want to build this railway, we will probably have to ask countries like Germany for help.”
“Adopting East African standards would be the opposite, making it difficult to align with other European countries, but it also has advantages, including improved defense security.”
"The Kingdom of Dalmatia faces a threat from its neighbor, Yugoslavia, so if we adopt the East African standard, we will have a certain advantage in the war."
"Moreover, we have a good relationship with East Africa. If the North-South Railway asks East Africa for help, East Africa should provide us with some practical and technical support, just like the Naretwa Valley Railway. Although we do not have the capacity to build railways, we can still maintain and repair some minor problems."
Both options had their advantages and disadvantages, so the cabinet members engaged in a heated discussion about the standard choice. Neither side could convince the other, and the number of members was roughly equal.
In the end, the ball was passed to the Prime Minister and the King.
Prime Minister Yulitian looked at King Charles I and said, "Your Majesty, what do you think we should choose? It's hard to say which option is better or worse, but there's no doubt that if a decision is made, it will have a significant impact on the long-term development of the Dalmatian Kingdom."
Prime Minister Yulitz was also conflicted about the choice of railway standards, so he simply passed the buck to King Charles I, the nominal supreme leader of the country, just like his cabinet members.
King Charles I was also in a dilemma, saying, "The North-South Railway will definitely be built, but as for the railway standards..."
After a moment's thought, King Charles I finally made his decision: "Let's build it according to the standards of the Naretwa Valley Railway."
Karl I chose the East African standard and gave his reasons: "Given the current national defense and security pressures we face, it is better not to adopt the same railway standard as Yugoslavia."
"As for the future impact of this railway, to be honest, our railway will eventually be no more than 300 kilometers long. If future economic development requires it, it can be completely rebuilt."
"Therefore, given the current threat we face from Yugoslavia, we should prioritize the East African standard. Even if we want to re-align with international standards in the future, the cost will not be too high."
"In addition to external factors such as our current relationship with East Africa, we had East African railway companies help us build the North-South Railway."
Charles I's reasoning was unanimously accepted: as a very small country, the Dalmatian Kingdom was a typical example of a small boat that could easily turn around.
Choosing the East African railway construction standard would be even more attractive, as it would be easier to change course later, especially since the Kingdom of Dalmatia is currently facing military pressure from Yugoslavia.
The conflict between the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Yugoslavia was mainly at the territorial level, focusing on the north and south. Yugoslavia was now dominated by Croats, who had always resented Dalmatia's independence and considered Dalmatia to be Croat land.
Secondly, the Serbs in Yugoslavia also had great conflicts with the Kingdom of Dalmatia. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Dalmatia could be said to be the most powerful weapon the Austro-Hungarian Empire used against the Serbs.
At the same time, some territories in southeastern Dalmatia are also considered by the Serbs to have been seized from them by the Germans in Dalmatia, especially the Konic region.
Konic is only about 30 kilometers away from Sarajevo in a straight line, which was obviously seen by Yugoslavia as an unstable factor threatening their economic powerhouse.
In conclusion, the conflict between Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of Dalmatia is almost irreconcilable at this stage.
Since the Kingdom of Dalmatia gained independence, its leadership has been constantly on guard against a potential war launched by Yugoslavia.
It was precisely because of the military pressure that Yugoslavia exerted on land that the Kingdom of Dalmatia had to choose the East African standard for railway gauge.
After all, if possible, the Kingdom of Dalmatia clearly hoped to integrate into Europe and maintain good relations with its neighboring countries.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
