Greece to roman road

Alexandros had his reasons for being so resistant to Venizelos' so-called changes in Greek policy.

From the war of 1896 to 1907, nearly ten years have been the period of fastest economic development in Greece. Although the term GDP has not yet appeared, the Greek government’s fiscal revenue growth rate is also the lowest. Judging from 9%, we can roughly assess the speed of Greek economic growth from the side, and it will not be lower than this number.

Greece defeated the Ottoman Empire. Since Greece's independence, the threat from the north has been weaker than ever. Due to Italy's failure in the Italian-Egyptian War in 1897, Italy was also politically and economically chaotic during this period, and its desire for expansion was curbed.

Under such circumstances, Greece's two neighboring countries were both in trouble. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Greece seized the time to digest the results of its expansion.

It is precisely because the threat from neighboring countries has been greatly reduced that the Greek military, including the navy and army, applied to Constantine and King George several times to increase military expenditures, but Constantine and Alexandros suppressed the request. That is, the pressure on national defense has been greatly reduced, and there is no need to invest too much money in the military in a short period of time.

This has also resulted in Greece's military growth being almost slow in recent years. The army's standing army has been maintained at 60,000 people for a long time. The navy has not built any new warships except for a few hundred-ton torpedo boats.

Chief of General Staff Emma Inur personally went to the palace to lobby the royal family. No matter whether he was making insinuations or making harsh remarks, Constantine blocked him on the grounds that developing the domestic economy was the priority and he would postpone the deployment of the army.

Under such favorable conditions, the Alexandros government relied on the support of the royal family. In addition to normal expenditures, most of the government's fiscal revenue was invested in the economic field.

Moreover, as the Greek economy is on the fast track and the government's finances are affluent, the Greek government's huge external debt has also begun to repay the principal, instead of only paying interest as before.

Thanks to the efforts of the Alexandros cabinet, nearly half of the foreign debt owed to Britain and France totaling approximately 600 million drachmas has been repaid.

The second industrial revolution represented by electrical and internal combustion engines is in full swing, and the economies of European countries are generally developing rapidly. In Alexandros' view, this is a rare opportunity for Greece to develop rapidly.

How can we take the initiative to interrupt Greece's good development momentum just because of the Ottoman revolution?

Venizelos' so-called change of Greece's current policy means increasing investment in the military field and reducing funds in the economic field to deal with the upcoming military threats in Europe.

Prime Minister Alexandros originally made many enemies in Greek politics during the 1897 reforms and offended many people. According to the situation at the time, he might be ousted by the parliament soon.

Due to the rapid economic development of Greece in recent years, Alexandros relied on his excellent political performance, supplemented by the support of the royal family, and his excellent internal affairs skills to firmly secure his position as prime minister.

Once the government begins to allocate funds to the military, the current good situation of the Greek economy will inevitably be affected, and Alexandros naturally does not want to see such a thing happen.

Constantine knew the trend of history and naturally knew that the two major groups of the Allies and the Entente in Europe were prophetic.

However, Venizelos relied on his keen diplomatic sense to discover this, which shows that his ability in the diplomatic field is outstanding.

The situation in Europe is about to change, and Alexandros is good at domestic affairs, but he is relatively ignorant of the complex international situation.

And Venizelos’s keen diplomatic insight is what Greece needs next.

Therefore, following Constantine's lobbying, King George appointed Venizelos Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

Although the positions of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Justice are nominally at the same level, the position of Foreign Minister is rather special. For example, German Prime Minister Bismarck served concurrently as Germany's Foreign Minister for a long time.

Venizelos's appointment as foreign minister means that he is the successor to the prime minister by default.

"Since France was defeated by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War and lost its throne as the European hegemon, France has been brooding and intending to take revenge. Therefore, it has always wanted to form an alliance with Russia, attack Germany from the east and west, and wash away the shame of France." Venizelos told Everyone analyzed.

"Most of the funds for Russia's gold standard reform and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway were loans from France. Even if the French feel pain, they have to do it in order to win over Russia as an ally."

"The Germans are naturally aware of France's strong sentiments of revenge, so there has always been a voice in the German General Staff - since the war between Germany and France is inevitable, it is better to launch a preventive war to defeat France's fledgling forces. Completely eliminate this threat before Fengfeng"

"Of course, such a move by Germany was opposed by Britain and Russia, as was clearly demonstrated in the Moroccan crisis of 1905"

The Moroccan Crisis of 1905-1906 refers to the crisis caused by the struggle between France and Germany for control of Morocco.

This crisis caused tensions between Germany and France. Millions of troops from Germany and France were arrayed on the border between France and Germany, confronting each other, and war was about to break out.

During the crisis, the German army once clamored to take advantage of Russia's weakness (the Russo-Japanese War) to launch a preventive war against France, imitating the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, and completely eliminate France's threat to Germany.

(If Russia had not been severely damaged in the Russo-Japanese War, perhaps the world war would have broken out several years earlier.)

Germany tried to test Britain's opinion on this move, but was strongly opposed by Britain and had to give up.

Later, in order to resolve the crisis, an international conference was held to negotiate the Moroccan issue. France received the support of most countries, especially the United Kingdom, and the conference consultations achieved results in favor of France. However, Germany could not applaud at the conference, and its supporters could only The Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Since the Franco-Prussian War, Germany has completed its reunification and its national confidence has been at an all-time high. However, this crisis severely humiliated Germany and made the Germans deeply ashamed.

At present, the two major military blocs in Europe, France and Russia, and Germany and Austria, are already clearly divided. Although the United Kingdom has not yet clearly expressed its position, from the increasing conflicts between Germany and Britain, its preference between the Allies and the Entente Self-explanatory.

"However, the two sides are currently only forming an alliance, and the economies of each country are developing well, so a war may not necessarily break out, right?" Prime Minister Alexandros retorted.

"Currently, the development differences between countries in the world are very large. The industrial development of Germany and the United States is advancing rapidly. The economic aggregate of the United States has surpassed the United Kingdom. According to the current development speed, Germany's economic aggregate will soon surpass the United Kingdom. Unless the United Kingdom really Be willing to give up the throne of the world's hegemon, otherwise the British must do something to save the hegemony they have gained through centuries of hard work," Venizelos analyzed to everyone.

"In fact, in order to contain the two emerging countries of Germany and the United States, the United Kingdom has already taken action."

"In Europe, the UK will inevitably join France and Russia to attack and contain Germany. For example, the recent trade war and naval competition between the two countries have already made this attitude clear."

Hearing this, Constantine asked curiously: "You just said that Britain besieged Germany and the United States in order to maintain its hegemony. So how did Britain besiege the United States?"