Greece to roman road

"In Europe now, all countries are enjoying prosperity," Salisbury said with a serious face.

"No major country wants to break this harmonious situation."

"Once the Russians' attention is drawn back to Europe, Greece's interests will also be damaged."

What Salisbury meant by Russian attention.

After the Berlin Conference in 1881, European countries reached a consensus in Berlin to maintain the current situation in Europe.

To put it bluntly, it means, don’t think about causing trouble in Europe, just stay calm.

The intention to target the Russians was very clear.

The most intuitive impression of Russia is its endless greed for land. Almost all of Russia's neighboring countries have fought wars with Russia and suffered invasions from Russia.

Expansion is the life of Russia as a country.

This is not because the Russians are cruel and greedy in nature, but because of the country’s national conditions.

Russia has serious shortcomings - it is located inland, has a high latitude, and has a cold climate.

The history of Russia's rise is a history of finding a warm port.

From Sweden, Russia gained St. Petersburg.

Russia gained Crimea and Ukraine from the Ottoman Turks.

However, God seemed to have played a joke on the Russians - they could not find a good, warm-water port with convenient shipping.

Whether it is St. Petersburg or Crimea, although they are indeed excellent ports, these ports have serious drawbacks-the throat of the port is controlled by others and can easily be cut off.

Peter the Great defeated the Swedes and got St. Petersburg, which is located on the Baltic Sea. The gateway from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, the Denmark-Norway Strait, is extremely easy to be blocked.

Catherine the Great obtained Crimea on the coast of the Black Sea, but the only way the Black Sea entered the Mediterranean was through the Bosporus.

Both the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea are semi-enclosed oceans.

After the Treaty of Berlin in 1881, Russia saw that there was no chance for European expansion - the Treaty of Berlin had sealed this possibility.

Russia continued to expand to the east, began to pursue ports in the Pacific, and expanded in Asia.

For this strategy, a concept of "Yellow Russia" was specially proposed.

Salisbury's implicit meaning is that Greece's war behavior may attract Russia's attention back to Europe.

This is a situation that no European country, whether it is Germany, Austria-Hungary, or the United Kingdom, wants to see.

Once the Ottomans were ravaged by war and fell apart, Russia naturally preferred the European port of Constantinople.

Rather than Vladivostok, which is thousands of miles away.

Therefore, Salisbury's words are an implicit threat - Greece should not do things that everyone dislikes.

Constantine couldn't help but admire the professionalism of Salisbury, the British Foreign Secretary.

To say threatening and offensive words secretly and implicitly requires exquisite language art.

Especially when facing a military general like Constantine who had just won a glorious victory.

From Salisbury's words, Constantine knew that the British intended to mediate the Sioux war.

Constantine did not have the extravagant hope of wiping out the Ottomans in just one battle.

Negotiation is definitely necessary.

However, the Greek army still has to continue military operations.

The Thessalian Army only defeated the Ottoman army on the border. Except for Salonika, Greece had no control over other Ottoman territories.

So far, the fierce fighting in the Salonika area is still ongoing.

At this time of negotiation, what should we talk about at the negotiation table?

Territory that was not obtained on the battlefield does not need to be mentioned at the negotiation table, and it is impossible for anyone to agree to it.

If Hamid II bites the bullet and recruits soldiers from home to continue the fight, it will only add to the setbacks.

The Ottoman Empire has about 200,000 troops. In addition to the Ioannina garrison confronting the Greek Epirus Army and the two divisions attacking Salonika, the Ottoman Empire has military forces on the borders of Bulgaria and Serbia and in the Caucasus region. There are still about 100,000 troops in the Constantinople area.

Despite losing a legion of 80,000 men, Osman was not a toothless tiger.

However, the face of the British Empire cannot be dismissed casually.

Constantine echoed Salisbury: "Your Majesty, your words make sense, but the Greeks just want to be with their compatriots."

“This is not too much to ask for.”

Salisbury looked at Constantine with a kind face. It seemed that he was in line with his own opinion and would end the war immediately, but the meaning of his words was equally rich.

The Greeks just wanted to be with their fellow citizens, which seems to be a reference to the people of Crete who started the war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

But this Greek may also refer to the Greeks living in northern Epirus, Salonika, Thrace, Constantinople, and the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

"Then your Highness agrees to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire now?" Salisbury continued.

"Negotiations can be held in London by the prime ministers (grand viziers) of the two countries. I am happy to see this happen," Constantine could only respond.

At this time, the British Empire and Greece really couldn't refuse.

"An act of mercy, Your Highness" said Salisbury, his beard twitching in delight.

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After Salisbury left, Constantine immediately informed Athens of his agreement to negotiate between the two countries.

On the same day, Salisbury and Prime Minister Trikupis sailed to England to negotiate with the Ottomans on war issues.

After two days of rest, the soldiers of the Thessalian Legion were on the road again, and the 2nd Division went to support Salonika and end the threat of the Ottoman army to Salonika.

As for the other troops, they moved to northern Epirus and cooperated with the Greek Epirus Legion to capture the city of Ioannina.

With the power of victory, and with the assistance of the Epirus Army, the Thessalian Army captured Ioannina, the capital of the Epirus region.

In just ten days, the Greek army swept through the defenseless Albania.

Before the war, since there was no threat from Albania, Edmund transferred all the Albanian defenders into his Macedonian army.

The Greek army's military operations in Albania provoked almost no decent resistance.

When the march of the second division was about to reach the city of Salonika, the Ottoman army commander who received the news knew that the situation was over. In order to quickly conquer Salonika, these two divisions, under Edmund's urging, stormed several times. The 1st Division position defended by machine guns suffered heavy casualties, with almost half of the personnel lost.

Even without the assistance of the Second Division, their attack would have been unsustainable.

In order to avoid unnecessary losses, the Ottoman troops gathered outside Salonika took the initiative to retreat and broke away from contact with the Greek army.

As a result, the Ottoman territories occupied by the Greek army included northern Epirus, the entire Albania, and the Aegean coast of Macedonia.

In order not to further irritate Serbia and Bulgaria, Constantine specifically ordered the army not to enter northern Macedonia because these areas were relatively close to the two countries.

Direct military actions on the battlefields between the two countries came to an end.