Greece to roman road

"Prime Minister Venizelos, Greece's diplomatic and military work is now involved. Chief of General Staff Emmanuel needs your help for the next military plan. I hope that your diplomatic department can maintain smooth communication with the General Staff. , timely reporting of information, the formulation of military plans requires the support of diplomatic intelligence," Constantine made a request to Venizelos.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Venizelos also understands that the cloud of war has once again enveloped Greece, and the next period of time will be crucial for Greece.

"I understand, by the way, there is one more thing, His Royal Highness, I need to ask for your permission," Venizelos said as if he was remembering something.

"There are a group of Greeks in the Ottoman territory, about 50,000 to 60,000, and the Ottoman government hopes that we can accept this group of refugees."

"According to what you just said, the biggest threat to Greece now is Bulgaria, so we need to ease the conflict with the Ottoman Empire," Venizelos said with some helplessness.

"My suggestion is that the government would be better off agreeing to this matter."

Hearing Venizelos talk about the problem of population, Constantine couldn't help but feel a headache.

In the original historical time and space, the great population exchange took place between Greece and the Ottoman Empire (which later became the Republic of Turkey). That is, the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire returned to Greece, and the MSL in Greece returned to Asia Minor. This had already begun long before World War I. .

In fact, among the people, population migration between the two sides has been going on, but these actions are all spontaneous actions by the people.

Especially after the Greek industry has developed smoothly in recent years and job opportunities have increased, more Greeks have taken the initiative to travel to Greece from Asia Minor.

After the defeat in 1912, the Ottoman government even actively encouraged Greeks to migrate.

Perhaps after losing a series of wars and losing confidence in maintaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, the Ottoman authorities felt that the large number of Christians in the territory was an eyesore.

After entering the 19th century, the declining Ottoman Empire lost a series of lands, such as Serbia, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria in the Balkans, Georgia in the Caucasus, etc. After a series of failed wars, they were either ceded or became independent. .

The MSLs who originally lived in these areas suddenly had a completely different political status, and they began to be excluded and expelled by other countries.

For half a century, groups of MSLs who lost their homes and property, with resentment and unwillingness, moved into Asia Minor, mainly Constantinople.

It can be said that these MSLs who were forced to stay away from their homes were the most direct victims of the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

In the city of Constantinople, one can often see displaced MSL refugees shivering in the corners of the streets.

One can imagine the resentment of these MSLs who were driven back towards Christians.

Without the return of a group of MSLs from other places, the hatred of the MSLs in Asia Minor towards the Christians in the territory increased.

Therefore, in the original historical time and space, the Armenian Massacre and the Greek Massacre that shocked the world occurred in the Ottoman Empire. It was these people who returned to Asia Minor from other places, and the increasing number of MSL residents was the result of the concentrated outbreak of this contradiction.

The Greeks mentioned by Venizelos mainly lived on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

These Greeks who were driven back, obviously their original houses and land will be used to resettle the MSL refugees.

After the defeat of the war in 1912, another group of homeless MSLs were added to Asia Minor. They were driven back from Macedonia and Thrace. This number is conservatively estimated to be 600,000-700,000 people.

"I know, let's place them in Macedonia, mainly near Salonika. There are too many Jews there, and a group of Greeks are needed to go there," Constantine said.

These Greek refugees will definitely have all their belongings confiscated before leaving Asia Minor. Therefore, resettling these refugees will consume a lot of money.

···········

On June 7, 1912, Constantine and Crown Princess Sophie rode in a royal carriage to the Athens City Hospital to visit the injured soldiers who were recovering here.

In front of the hospital building, the carriage slowly stopped. Sophie took Constantine's arm and they got off the carriage together.

I saw two people leading the way at the steps in front of the hospital building. One of them was Dean Macaulay, wearing a black suit.

As for the other person, it was Nina, whom Constantine had not seen for a long time, wearing a tight little suit.

Seeing Constantine and the two stepping out of the carriage, the two of them came forward respectfully to greet them.

"We welcome the Crown Princess and His Royal Highness to the hospital," President Macaulay said with a smile on his face after bowing.

"Dean Macaulay, I think you know the purpose of my coming today. How is it? Is everything going well?" Constantine responded.

After that, he turned to Nina and said: "Long time no see, Nina."

After greetings, they entered the building. Nina and Macaulay led the way. The group walked through the corridor and entered a ward.

I saw two rows of beds on both sides of the corridor in the ward, filled with patients wearing white hospital gowns.

Some have bandages on their thighs and are lying on the bed, some have their arms hung by gauze on their chests, and there are many others with sad faces.

Seeing a group of people coming in, the soldiers lying on the hospital bed struggled to stand up from the hospital bed to show respect.

Constantine stretched out his hand to stop everyone's movements, and then said to everyone: "You are all national heroes of Greece. You fought to protect the interests of the Greeks in the war, and fulfilled your oath to protect the country and nation with your own actions. The scars on your body are the most dazzling medals."

The tone is passionate and full of enthusiasm.

"Now, I really want to do something for you heroes. If you have any questions, I can answer you," Constantine said.

Constantine had great respect and sympathy for these people.

The soldiers living in this ward are all patients who have suffered the misfortune of amputations. They are only young people in their 20s.

For the next long life, you will have to drag your incomplete body with you, which is undoubtedly a cruel reality for these young people who are just in their prime.

The soldier on the hospital bed to the left of Constantine said with some awe: "His Royal Highness, thank you for coming to visit us. You have also seen our condition. We are all disabled now."

The upper body swayed, and an empty sleeve was extremely conspicuous: "My condition is good, but I am missing an arm. After retirement, I can still find some work in society."

With his only remaining right hand, he pointed at the patient beside him and said: "But people like Bernie who have had their thighs amputated are miserable. With their condition, it is impossible for them to find any decent job in society."

"You can rest assured that disabled soldiers will receive a monthly disability allowance after retirement, and the army will try its best to help you find a job within your ability." Constantine naturally understood what they were worried about.

"The demobilized soldiers committee will make sure you get jobs"

"No matter what, you will not be forgotten by the Greek army"

Constantine's words obviously dispelled some of everyone's doubts, and the original solemn atmosphere in the ward suddenly dissipated a bit.