Greece to roman road

The newly established Purple Robe Foundation received an investment of 20 million drachmas from the royal family.

The head of the Purple Robe Foundation, Yakov, was asked by Constantine to continue to maintain contact with the exploration team managed by Castrios.

For Constantine, there are still some urgent issues that need to be resolved before Greece can use new energy sources - oil - on a large scale and continue to promote rapid economic development.

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When Coubertin visited King George, the king agreed to Coubertin's proposal to host the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

After receiving the king's approval, the confident Coubertin believed that the restoration of the Olympian Games in ancient Greece was about to succeed, so he decided to personally visit the Greek Prime Minister, Alexandros, to finalize the specific details.

News spread like wildfire that Greece would restore its ancient traditions and hold the first modern Olympic Games, which received strong support from the citizens of Athens.

On July 4, Coubertin came to Alexandros's Prime Minister's Palace to discuss the practical issues of hosting the Olympic Games.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the resumption of the first modern Olympia Games in Greece is of extremely important historical significance. What do you think of this matter?" Coubertin looked at Alexandros and asked impatiently.

"Huh? You are right, Mr. Coubertin," Alexandros responded absently.

Seeing the prime minister with a cold attitude, Coubertin's original excitement was like a bucket of cold water poured on him.

"Prime Minister Alexandros, do you have any difficulties?" Coubertin couldn't understand why Alexandros was not interested. You know, in Greece, the birthplace of the Olympia Games, the restoration of the Olympic Games had been interrupted for thousands of years. Tradition not only has positive significance for world sports, but also is a good opportunity for Greece to inspire people and enhance national self-confidence.

This is equivalent to giving Greece an opportunity to show itself in front of the world.

"Mr. Coubertin, I am very clear about the importance of Greece hosting the Olympic Games. However, the Greek government has its own difficulties," Alexandros said with a wry smile.

“Greece’s treasury is now empty and there is simply not enough money to hold such a grand event.”

Coubertin was stunned, thinking about King George's sworn promise, and then looking at the evasion of the Prime Minister in front of him, he said unwillingly: "Only two million francs are enough to hold the sports meeting."

"Mr. Coubertin, according to the current enthusiasm of the Greek people, even though I have never organized a sports meeting, I also know that 2 million drachmas are far from enough to cope with the sports meeting."

"At least 6 million is needed." Alexandros shook his head helplessly.

"The Greek government had just gone through a war, and suddenly Greece really couldn't get the money out."

Watching Coubertin leave in despair, Alexandros also felt depressed.

When he first assumed the post of Prime Minister, Alexandros was very ambitious. He was lucky. Greece had just defeated the Ottomans. With the Ottomans as a stepping stone, Greece's prestige in Europe had reached the level of a second-rate country.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I will work hard to bring Greece's national strength to a higher level.

When he leaves office in the future, he will become the prime minister praised by the Greek people.

However, after three months in office, as the end of contact deepened, Alexandros slowly came to his senses. Greece's finances were in danger and could go bankrupt at any time!

In less than three months of war, the Greek army fought majestically on the battlefield and quickly resolved the war. However, the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of troops completely depleted the last drop of blood from the Greek treasury.

Coupled with the failure to receive compensation from the Ottomans, the Greek government, which was already heavily in debt, was even worse.

Two months ago, in order to ease financial pressure, the government borrowed 50 million drachmas from the country's three major banks. After paying the pensions for casualty soldiers, the government's daily expenses, and an expired loan, all Very few are left.

Originally, according to Alexandros' plan, as long as the Greek government saves a little in the past few months, he will rack his brains, think of ways to embezzle some funds, and survive the current difficult moment until Greece's taxes for the next year arrive. After the account is settled, it is considered to have been dealt with.

However, Coubertin suddenly appeared and proposed that Greece host the Olympic Games, breaking his plan.

The Prime Minister's secretary, Rofus, stepped forward and said: "Prime Minister, I also saw the newspaper report today that Greece will host the Olympia Games."

"As far as I know, the people are very enthusiastic about this matter. Your answer will probably attract criticism from everyone," Rufus said worriedly.

"The government is now heavily in debt, and a British loan will expire in two months. It is indeed inappropriate to spend huge sums of money to host the Olympia Games." Alexandros took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, helplessly. said.

"Let's find a way to deal with the current predicament."

However, things developed beyond Alexandros' imagination.

As word spread that Prime Minister Alexandros had refused to hold the games, Greek newspapers began to lash out at the government for being short-sighted.

At the same time, the opposition in the parliament also began to accuse, and the people were even more dissatisfied.

For a time, Alexandros was under tremendous pressure.

As someone who has been involved in politics for decades, Alexandros is keenly aware of the strangeness. Even if the Greek government's actions disappoint the people, they should not cause such a big reaction.

Especially the unusual behavior of Crown Prince Constantine.

In public, Constantine criticized the Greek government for its inefficiency and short-sightedness.

On July 6, under all kinds of desperation, Alexandros, who was under tremendous pressure, had no choice but to give a speech in parliament, telling everyone that Greece's finances might go bankrupt even if it did not host the Olympics.

At the same time, he called on the public to be patient for the time being and wait until next year's financial tensions are relieved before discussing the Olympics.

I originally thought that when things got to this point, the controversy caused by the Olympics would be over.

The next day, using the excuse of not being able to host the Olympics, the Greek newspapers changed their tone and began to criticize the Greek government for its incompetence and chaos, which resulted in the Greek government not being able to come up with any money when it came to such a major event as the Olympics. Come to emergency.

Greek newspapers, large and small, have surprisingly unanimous opinions; the tax system.

The report pointed out that the true meaning of taxation is to pluck the most goose feathers and listen to the fewest goose feathers. However, the Greek government has indeed caught the poor and plucking them ruthlessly, causing the vast number of poor people to suffer.

And it really turns a deaf ear to the rich - the poor and the rich, no matter how big their personal income gap is, do pay the same amount in taxes.

It is Greece's unfair tax system that has led to the country's low revenue and this predicament.

After the victory of the war, Greece's international status soared and the morale of the people also improved.

Now we see that the government cannot even provide money for important events such as the Olympics. This strong contrast makes the people intolerable.

In particular, the large number of articles in newspapers criticizing the shortcomings of the current tax system have touched the pain points of the general public and aroused widespread resonance.

For a time, criticism of the Greek government was endless.

It also calls for reform of the tax system.

By this time, Alexandros also realized that someone was obviously taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

This crisis can no longer be easily resolved.