Greece to roman road

In October 1895, people all over Greece learned exciting news - the resistance forces in Crete once again launched an uprising, demanding merger with Greece.

The incident caught the Greek government off guard.

People in the Greek industrial and commercial circles suffered serious losses due to the Ottoman Empire's trade barriers, and a lot of dissatisfaction was building up.

The uprising of the people of Crete was like pouring oil on the fire, and the whole of Greece was filled with anger.

For a time, Greek nationalist sentiments burned fiercely, and the whole country kept clamoring to teach the Ottomans a lesson.

There is no doubt that the Greek people sincerely sympathize with the Tritans who have experienced ups and downs and suffered for hundreds of years.

The history of the sufferings of the Cretans is really a long story.

During the Fourth Crusade, the Crusaders sacked Constantinople. Since then, the Eastern Roman Empire has been in decline, and the territory of the original Eastern Roman Empire has been fragmented.

Crete first became the fiefdom of Burney, and in 1204, he sold it to the Venetians.

From then on, the Venetians established rule in Crete and built many castles on the island.

Under the rule of the Venetians, the Venetian knights took away the land from the Cretans, and the Cretans turned into serfs.

Heavy taxes and labor made people feel the hardship of life, and the resistance of the Cretans led to brutal suppression and torture.

In 1669, Crete was again captured by the Turks - after a battle that lasted 22 years, Venice finally lost.

The Turkish government once again brought serious disasters to the Cretans: murder, plunder, heavy taxes, arson, and slavery.

The brutal rule of the Turks was even more brutal than that of the Venetians.

In Crete under the rule of the Turks, popular resistance activities have become a form of life.

The most recent and most widespread Cretan uprising occurred in the spring of 1866. The Turkish army and the Cretans fought a decisive battle with a huge disparity in strength at the Akadi Monastery - the weaker Cretans. The special failed again.

In this battle, volunteer officers from Greece played an important role.

There was also an episode - Coptic Christian soldiers from Egypt refused to fight against the Greek Christians and were eventually executed.

Looking at the history of Crete in the past 500 years, it is really tragic and miserable.

It is precisely because of the connection between Greece and Crete that the statement of the Cretan rebel army announcing its merger with Greece aroused the anger of the Greek people.

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In front of Syntagma Square, citizens of Athens gathered densely together, shouting in the direction of the National Assembly Building: "Agree to the merger of Greece and Crete"

The young-looking students and children in the crowd had particularly passionate views: "Destroy the Ottoman villains and help our fellow Greeks gain freedom."

Every time a slogan was shouted, the people around him were still holding their hats in their hands, or waving their coats, shouting "Ao Ao" in excitement.

Constantine, who was riding in a carriage, sat in the carriage, opened the curtains in front of the window, and looked at the enthusiastic people.

After Constantine stepped out of the carriage, the guards surrounded Constantine and crowded together, passing through the crowd on the front steps of the building and entering the Capitol.

The parliament hall is a spacious hall with a high-hanging dome, two rows of Roman columns standing in the hall, and rows of chairs bent in an arc, surrounding the rostrum.

The MPs who were sitting together in twos and threes on the surrounding chairs, discussing in low voices, saw Constantine coming in. They all stood up to pay respects, and at the same time they had strange expressions on their faces: This was the first time in his life that the crown prince came to the parliament to observe.

After nodding, Constantine came to the front row and sat down, waiting for today's protagonist to appear.

After a while, the venue suddenly became quiet, and Prime Minister Trikupis slowly walked onto the podium.

Before he could make any move, a congressman with gray hair and a serious face, about 50 years old, stood up and asked the Prime Minister on the stage: "Regarding the issue of the Cretan uprising, Mr. Prime Minister, what should we do?" How to reply?"

“Yesterday, the leader of this Cretan uprising, Mr. Vizenilos, issued a statement to Greece demanding the union of Greece and Crete.”

After this statement was issued, the Greek government felt as if it had been put on the grill and was suffering.

Crete is now the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and changes in territory generally involve war.

There is nothing more shameful for a country than losing its territory.

For a government, there is nothing that makes democracy more disappointing to them than the loss of territory.

Therefore, if the Greek government declares its agreement to the annexation of Crete, it is tantamount to a direct declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire.

As for rejection, it is unlikely.

Whoever dares to say something that rejects his fellow Greeks will be scolded by the Greek people, who are full of nationalistic enthusiasm, and his reputation will be ruined.

At this time, the Greek government was almost forced to a dead end and did not have many options.

Trikoupis on the stage did not directly answer his question. Instead, he changed his subject and delivered a government work report: "As for the government's large-scale infrastructure construction plan, through the unremitting efforts of the Greek people, it has been completed recently. Quite fruitful results have been achieved”

"This includes the rail network, road construction plans etc."

"Greece's railway mileage. When I first took office, Greece only had a 12-kilometer railway linking Athens and the port of Piraeus."

"So far, Greece's railway mileage has reached 1,000 kilometers, connecting Athens with the Peloponnese, central Greece and Thessaly"

"The total mileage of our roads has reached 5,000 kilometers."

"The telegraph line is 9,000 kilometers long, with a total of 186 telegraph stations."

"The number of students at all stages has also experienced massive growth. From 1860 to 1895, the number of students enrolled in schools reached 450,000, an increase of nearly 10 times."

"Obviously, our education has also made great progress."

A councilor sitting next to Constantine whispered to Constantine: "But at the same time, he also owes a huge amount of foreign debt. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than borrowing a lot of money."

"Now the Greek government has to pay tens of millions of drachmas back to British and French creditors every year just in interest."

“As for the principal, I still don’t know when or what month it will be repaid.”

Obviously, this congressman has a problem with Trikupis borrowing heavily to finance the expansion of infrastructure.

Trikupis on the stage continued: "So far, the total economic volume of Greece has reached 1.2 billion drachmas."

"After the army was reorganized, its combat effectiveness improved rapidly."

"We have the confidence to face any challenge"

Everyone in the audience was in chaos, and the MPs helped each other and whispered about the Prime Minister's last words.

Combined with the current situation in Greece, the Prime Minister's words seem to be a response to the current situation.