Greece to roman road

However, the direction of the Boer War surprised all European countries.

You know, the Boer Republic has a total of only 440,000 people.

Britain was at its peak at this time, the undisputed world hegemon.

After increasing troops one after another, the total strength of British troops in southern Africa reached 450,000 at its peak!

It was under such a disparity in power balance that the Boer War was dragged on again and again.

It is difficult to say whether Kaiser Wilhelm II at this time was looking at the poor performance of the British in South Africa, and in the same time and space, decades later, Hitler was looking at the poor performance of the Soviet Union in Finland. Leaders, do they all have the illusion that potential enemies are like a dilapidated house, so decayed that it will collapse with just a few kicks?

The enemy is already in decline. Is this our chance?

The British spent 200 million pounds on this war. How much money was it?

To make a comparison, in the Boer War, 200 million pounds, or 100 million taels of silver, were invested in one go, twice the total compensation from the unequal treaties signed by the Qing Dynasty.

This war was an important turning point for the world hegemon, Britain. From then on, Britain's power in the colonies began to shrink rather than expand.

At the end of the 19th century, Germany and the United States, two countries that hardly relied on colonies, experienced rapid economic development. In 1894, the United States surpassed the United Kingdom and officially became the world's largest economic power.

However, Britain's industrial development has stalled and is stuck in a quagmire.

A natural question was raised: Since maintaining a colony was so expensive, was it necessary?

From then on, the British Empire itself became less confident.

Before the Boer War, Britain had always pursued a policy of glorious isolation and disdained alliances.

After the Boer War, well, alliances smelled great.

Soon afterwards, Britain and Japan formed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

The world hegemon is in a bitter war. European countries are watching the British jokes, and various countries are making small moves.

For example, on the Balkan issue, the original German Triple B railway issue, in order to hold Germany back, the British agreed to relax conditions on the railway issue and allow the Germans to build this strategic railway.

Recalling this information in his mind, Constantine said: "Since other countries have no scruples about the Balkan issue, they cannot just watch the Bulgarians secretly expand in Macedonia."

"They can send soldiers into Macedonia to promote the idea of ​​Greater Bulgaria, but we can't?" Constantine said.

After the defeat of the Ottomans, Greece did not insist on compensation from the Ottomans due to international relations considerations. This has resulted in Greece currently being in a period of weakness and in urgent need of economic recovery and digestion of new territories.

Constantine was unwilling to let Greece get into trouble at this time.

However, the Bulgarians cannot be allowed to drive away the Greeks in Macedonia. Otherwise, all the Greeks in Macedonia will be gone. Then how can Greece assert Macedonian territorial rights in the future?

"Your Highness, what do you mean?" Alexandros asked.

"We have also sent soldiers into Macedonia, and at the same time, we have united with the Macedonian Orthodox Church to sponsor them to wave the flag. We also have the Education Foundation sponsor more students in Macedonia to receive Greek education," Constantine said.

Although Greece does not want to cause trouble at the moment, it is not afraid of trouble.

As long as Greece can successfully digest its current territory and its economy is on the right track, Greece will become the strongest country among the three Balkan countries in terms of overall strength.

At this time, Serbia was a truly landlocked country, with the smallest territorial area among the three countries, and faced many difficulties in economic development.

In the original historical time and space, Serbia began to quarrel after the Second Alba War. His confidence was so high that he even wanted to touch the butt of the Austro-Hungarian tiger.

Bulgaria is not a landlocked country, but it is not much better than a landlocked country.

Its seaports are all on the Black Sea coast. If Bulgarian ships want to enter the Mediterranean, they have to pass through the Bosporus depending on Ottoman's face.

It is almost impossible for these two countries to develop peacefully and become powerful countries.

Compared with Greece, the biggest advantage of these two countries is their arable land area. Serbia, the smallest of the two countries, has a lot of arable land area, and its territory is almost all plains.

Both countries are located on the lower reaches of the Danube River and are rich in food. Therefore, although their economies are not developed, they can feed a large population.

Greece is different. Both Albania and the Greek Peninsula, although there is not much cultivated land, have long coastlines and many excellent ports.

The port alone can make Serbia and Bulgaria drool with envy.

Therefore, time is on Greece's side. The longer peace lasts, the stronger Greece will be compared to the two countries.

Such infiltration and propaganda is nothing more than spending money to buy influence. How can a country like Bulgaria, which relies on exporting food, have the financial resources to compete with Greece?

Everyone agreed with Constantine's proposal.

Let the Greek power also penetrate into Macedonia, compete with Bulgaria, and curb Bulgaria's invisible expansion.

The Macedonia region is located northeast of Greece and is the only way for Greece to expand toward the Balkans and the Dardanelles. Without Macedonia, Greece's expansion direction would be blocked.

“The Orthodox Church in Macedonia is, in principle, closer to us,” said Prime Minister Alexandros.

“It would indeed be good news if Greece’s influence in Macedonia could be expanded by sponsoring churches in Macedonia.”

The ethnic groups in Macedonia are mixed, and the national identity of the Greeks covers a wider range. Orthodox Christians and Greek-speaking people who meet these two criteria will be considered Greeks by the Greek people.

The modern Greek nation was built on faith, so much so that some people believed that the war between Greece and the Ottomans was a religious war.

Therefore, there is no reason why the Macedonian church should not support Greece.

"Caveras, your intelligence office needs to play an active role in establishing a reliable and extensive intelligence network in Macedonia so that when the situation in Europe changes, Greece can successfully recover Macedonia," Constantine said to Tsaveras.

"Judging from the current situation, the Ottoman Empire will continue to decline. It does not have the strength to control the situation in Macedonia. Although it is unlikely that the situation in Europe will change significantly in the near future, your intelligence office must be prepared."

“Don’t give up on map surveying and intelligence gathering.”

Emmanuel heard this and asked: "Then, our army will also send some active soldiers as volunteers into Macedonia."