Greece to roman road

On November 4, 1896, Athens welcomed a special guest.

Venizelos, one of the leaders of the Cretan uprising, took a young man as a follower. With the support of a destroyer of the Greek Navy, he traveled from Crete to the port of Piraeus.

After landing, the two people looked around at Athens, a Greek city that was completely different from Crete. Everything seemed to be novel.

On the road leading to the city center, citizens were coming and going, trams running in the middle of the road, bicycles ringing their bells, and newsboys hawking and selling newspapers on the road, showing them to the two outsiders. A prosperous city that is strange yet familiar.

Venizelos looked at his follower, Rider Hart, angrily, looking left and right, curious about everything, and said helplessly: "Leadhart, we have to leave."

"Mr. Venizelos, the Athenians are a little different," Ryderhart said while looking around behind Venizelos who was running fast.

Venizelos was stunned by Ryderhart's answer. Looking at the confident and calm expressions on the faces of the Athenians around him, he secretly thought: Of course they are different from the Cretans who have lived under alien rule for a long time.

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In the building of the Ministry of Defense, Constantine heard that Venizelos, the Greek hero of Crete, came to visit and, together with Emmanuel, received him.

In the conference room, Constantine carefully looked at this famous figure in the modern history of Greece in the original time and space.

He has a beard, a large forehead, a pair of silver-rimmed eyes, a thin face, and a pair of bright eyes, which is impressive.

After the four people on both sides took their seats, Venizelos said directly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Your Excellency the Chief of General Staff, Crete needs your support."

"Since the Ottoman Turkish government went bankrupt in 1875, it has intensified its atrocities in plundering and squeezing Christians in order to repay its debts to foreign creditors."

“If the Cretans don’t resist, they won’t be able to survive at all.”

Leidhart also said: "Yes, the current uprising troops on Crete are no match for the Ottoman troops stationed on the island."

"Your Highness, our fellow Cretans need help from the Greek government"

Constantine and Emmanuel looked at each other, and the other party's request was quite expected.

In fact, Constantine was a little surprised when he heard the news of the popular uprising in Crete. The time seemed to be earlier than the original time and space.

Constantine ignored the fact that in contrast, the reason why the people of Crete revolted faster was also due to Greece.

The straight-line distance between Athens and Crete is no more than 150 kilometers, so things about Greece are naturally no secret to the Greeks on Crete.

Over the years, Greece's economy has been going smoothly. As a result, the income of local Greeks has greatly exceeded that of Crete.

This fact naturally stimulated the people of Crete: We are all Greeks, you can enjoy yourself, but we have to endure the oppression and persecution of the Ottoman Turks.

The armed peasants of Crete alone were no match for the Ottoman professional soldiers.

Venizelos, as early as the 1889 Crete Uprising, was already a well-known rebel commander.

He naturally understood the fact that the enemy was strong and we were weak, so after the uprising was frustrated, he hurriedly came to Athens to seek support.

Emma Inur said calmly: "What do you all need?"

The assistant next to Venizelos, Ryder Hart, took out a document from his handbag and handed it to the two of them.

There was a list of supplies: food, medicine, some firearms and ammunition.

Well, almost everything is needed.

"In addition, it would be best if the Greek army could send troops. The Turks stationed nearly 1,500 troops on the island, all equipped with German weapons," Venizelos continued to demand.

After hesitating for a while, Venizelos said: "Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, territorial changes such as the Cretan uprising will inevitably lead to war between Greece and the Ottomans."

"If Greece cannot resist the pressure of the Ottomans, it is impossible to achieve the goal of merging with Greece with just the meager strength of the Cretans, no matter how hard they try."

"Once the Greek troops land on Crete, war between the two countries will be inevitable."

Emma Inur comforted: "Mr. Venizelos, the General Staff has already had a response plan for this situation, so you don't have to worry."

"Let Minister of Arms Giannis be responsible for the transportation of these supplies," Constantine said to the three of them.

"Supplies can be sent to Crete in advance. As for the supporting troops, we need to carefully consider them."

Afterwards, Constantine personally arranged for Venizelos and the two to rest for two days, and then returned to Crete along with the ship transporting supplies.

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After receiving Venizelos, Constantine personally came to the office of Prime Minister Trikupis.

Looking at Prime Minister Trikupis working on documents on his desk, Constantine sighed.

Trikupis was good at handling government affairs. In terms of political leadership, Constantine supported his ideas of developing industry and commerce and vigorously building infrastructure.

However, Greece is now facing the threat of war, and the Prime Minister, who is only good at government affairs, is obviously slow to respond.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you know the situation in Greece now. Do you think it is possible to win over the Balkan countries as allies to deal with the Ottomans together?" Constantine reminded.

Seeing Constantine walking in, Trikupis stopped what he was doing, and after hearing Constantine's suggestion, he said: "You are right, Serbia and Bulgaria are also neighboring countries of the Ottomans, and Both countries also had ambitions for the Ottoman Macedonian region."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, do you think I should go to these two countries for diplomatic visits now?" Trikupis asked.

Although Trikoupis was a bit slow to react diplomatically, he was after all the most accomplished and mature politician in modern Greece.

Since Greece's independence, Greece's domestic economic and political situation has been in a state of chaos. It has been a puppet of various countries and has never had any diplomatic independence at all.

Thinking of this, it is no wonder that the prime minister is not good at foreign affairs.

"Yes, if possible, you'd better reach an alliance with the two countries to jointly target the Ottomans," Constantine demanded.

Constantine is confident in today's Greek military strength, but after all, there are considerable risks.

If the Three Kingdoms Alliance can be reached, Greece's chances of victory will be greatly improved.

If an alliance between Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria can be reached, I am afraid that under huge military pressure, the Ottomans will really have to make concessions to Greece on the island of Crete.

"Of course, this is only the most ideal situation, and it is unlikely," Constantine said.

Let’s not talk about anything else. Serbia and Bulgaria had just fought a war in 1885. Serbia suffered a disastrous defeat and the people of the two countries hated each other.

The comradeship accumulated in the two previous countries - the friendship to jointly deal with the Ottoman Turks and gain national independence, disappeared.

Now, if the two countries are asked to put aside their old grievances and join hands to form an alliance to deal with the Ottomans, I am afraid they will not be willing to do so.