Greece to roman road

After the meeting of the Ministry of Defense, Kouros, who was already serving in the General Staff and was awarded the rank of captain for his meritorious service in the last war, Tsaveras was sent to the Macedonian region again in view of his familiarity with the situation in Macedonia and was responsible for the military operations there. intelligence work.

After landing in Salonika, Kouros led several subordinates to the familiar dock area and saw Volgaris directing workers to unload cargo.

"Mr. Volgaris, long time no see" Kuros stepped forward to say hello.

It's just that Volgaris turned a blind eye to his former colleagues.

In the 1896 war, in order to assist the Greek army to successfully land in the port of Salonika, Volgaris took a risk and led several people to sneak attack the Ottoman Empire's arsenal in the middle of the night, attracting the attention of the defenders. He made great contributions to the landing of the Greek fleet.

What only disappointed Volgaris was that after the Greek army occupied Salonika, they abandoned the port of Salonika during the negotiations at the London Conference and gave this important city to the Ottomans again. This made Volgaris Lgaris felt betrayed.

After the war, the General Staff originally wanted to reward Volgaris for his service and transfer him back to the General Staff, but the frustrated Volgaris refused. As a Salonika Greek, he could not Be willing to leave your hometown.

Seeing Volgaris' indifferent look, Kuros, who knew his intentions, didn't take it seriously. He picked up the little Palasia next to him, and the two familiar people said hello.

"Uncle Kuros, long time no see, have you brought a gift for Palasia?" Palasia, who was wearing a red dress, recognized Kuros at a glance, her father's former colleague.

Kuros stroked little Palasia's head and responded: "Of course, how could uncle forget Palasia? Our little hero!"

Kouros still has vivid memories of Palesia counting beans to detect the enemy during the war.

As he spoke, he motioned to his subordinates behind him.

Two young men carried a wooden box and placed it in front of them with a soft "clink" sound.

Palasia, who was cheering for joy, held the wooden box happily, with undisguised hope in her eyes.

Kuros hunched over and helped open the wooden box. Inside was a children's bicycle. There were two balance wheels installed on the rear axle of the bicycle. Even children who could not ride a bicycle could play with confidence.

This is a recently popular youth bicycle in Athens. It is expensive and more expensive than ordinary bicycles. Such a bicycle costs 60 drachmas.

Looking at the two people having a great time, Volgaris sighed, knowing that Kouros had something important to come to today and would not give up until there was no result. He said to Kouros: "Let's go, let's find something." Let’s talk somewhere?”

Asking several subordinates to take care of Palasia who was riding a toy car, the two walked into a bar near the pier.

Volgaris drank the whiskey in his glass in one gulp and asked angrily: "Why are you back again? I remember you must have been promoted."

Looking at Volgaris who was finally willing to communicate with him, Kuros took a sip of the wine in his glass and said: "A new mission is here again."

"Volgaris, I know you are angry that the Greek government gave up Salonika, but there is nothing you can do about it," Kouros admonished.

"At the 1896 London Conference, when various countries were mediating, the Germans sided with the Ottomans, and Greece had no choice. The government was worried about the long nights and dreams, so it chose to give up as soon as possible."

Volgaris let out a long breath, as if to clear away the suffocation in his chest, and said: "You don't need to explain this to me, I am just an ordinary dock worker now."

Kuros was silent for a moment, knowing that his old friend had made up his mind, and felt very sorry in his heart.

Volgaris is a local leader in Salonika. He is familiar with the local customs and has performed very well in previous intelligence work.

"Okay, then I'll ask you about the recent situation in Macedonia. How about this? I'm a colleague at least. You have to help me with this, right?" Kuros said the next best thing.

After thinking for a moment, as a Greek, he could not stand the arrogance of the Bulgarians, and said: "About the end of the war, an organization called the "Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization" (IMRO), in Salonika Established, they claimed to want Macedonia to gain autonomy."

autonomy? The autonomy of the Ottoman Empire is like a dress rehearsal for independence. Any place that is autonomous will eventually become independent. Romania, Serbia, and Egypt are controlled by the British. As for Bulgaria, which is still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, when will it declare independence? It's already a matter of time.

"But as far as I know, this organization is supported by Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria). In fact, this organization secretly plans to join Bulgaria and is an agent of Bulgaria. In their view, Macedonia's independence or autonomy means joining Bulgaria. "intermediate steps"

"The Ottoman Empire lacked control over rural areas, and many residents of Macedonia did not have a clear sense of national and national identity, and they themselves were confused."

"The current Macedonia is like an outcast, belonging to the Ottomans only in name. They don't care about anything except collecting taxes."

In the corner of the bar counter, the two of them were whispering.

"This organization operates throughout Macedonia. They go to villages and towns to promote their political ideas, but recently they have increasingly targeted villages that are emotionally inclined to Greece and Serbia. They attack and loot these villages."

Kuros said in surprise: "The Ottoman Empire just stood by and watched? Didn't do anything?"

Volgaris sneered "hehe" and said: "Why not do it? The Ottoman Empire supports those Albanians who are loyal to the empire."

"These men are equally versed in the art of plunder"

"Is there no movement in Serbia?" Macedonia is located at the center of the three countries, and Serbia cannot stay out of the matter.

"How is that possible? According to what I heard, Serbia established "Chetniks" (meaning volunteers) to enter the northwest of Kosovo and Macedonia."

After all, Kosovo and northwestern Macedonia, known by Serbia as "Old Serbia", are the birthplaces of the Kingdom of Serbia, and Skopje is the old capital of the Kingdom of Serbia.

"The two parties are already fighting fiercely. Macedonia is now very chaotic. There are robbers everywhere. Militiamen, believers and bandits are fighting each other."

Speaking of this, Volgaris said in a low voice: "In fact, if the Greek government is bolder and simply annexes Macedonia after the last war, it will also be a relief for the residents here. At worst, they will not have to To endure the current chaos, there is no social order left here.”

Kuros shook his head and smiled bitterly. Volgaris' statement clearly lacked basic political common sense.

It is true that Greece annexed Macedonia in one go after the last war, and the top leaders of the Ottoman Empire were probably happy to do so. The numerous Christians on these European territories had become the empire's biggest trouble.

If Greece really dares to do this, not to mention the attitudes of other countries, Serbia and Bulgaria alone will jump out and embarrass Greece.