Greece to roman road

Tristan and Colonel Henry looked at each other and naturally understood that Constantine was dissatisfied with Britain's sale of the latest super-dreadnought warships to the Ottomans.

"His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it is only the Ottoman government that has conveyed its application to purchase super-dreadnought warships to our country. As far as I know, the House of Representatives has not unified opinions on this matter. Many members believe that powerful super-dreadnought warships should be sold to the Ottoman Empire. , it’s too involved,” Tristan explained.

"Will the members have trouble with their own business?" Constantine said in a Noyu tone.

King George looked confused, but Lord Tristan and Captain Henry understood instantly.

The large arms industries in the UK are the industries of those MPs.

For example, the two major British warship manufacturing giants, Vickers and Armstrong shipyards, in order to build relationships with high-level government officials and obtain warship manufacturing orders from the Admiralty, many members of Parliament have become shareholders of these two major shipyards.

Some British media have ridiculed that Vickers Shipyard is the mother of the British Parliament.

This is what Constantine said, parliamentarians will not have trouble with their own business.

The price of Ottoman's order for two super-dreadnought warships must be at least 5 million pounds. Such a huge order and its huge profits make it impossible for the bosses of these shipyards and parliamentarians to refuse.

Lord Tristan sighed secretly. He knew his own family affairs, and he naturally understood the huge power contained in the British military-industrial complex.

Encouraging Italy to occupy Libya not only embarrassed the Germans, but also meant to defeat the Ottoman Empire.

After the outbreak of the Libyan War, the Ottoman Empire was also very smart and immediately went to the UK to place an order, hoping to use this huge warship order to regain the support of the British.

In the current Anglo-German naval race that is in full swing, British parliamentarians are clamoring: For every battleship the Germans build, we must build two.

This move is not simply in the national interest, but also in the interest of the parliamentarians. Without the naval competition, the parliament would not allocate a huge amount of shipbuilding funds, and there would be no reason to put taxpayers' money into their own pockets.

"Lord Tristan, once the super-dreadnought warship appears in the Dardanelles, it will seriously affect the naval balance in the nearby area," Constantine said seriously.

When Navy Commander Kontoriotis heard the news that the Ottoman government had released the purchase of British super-dreadnought warships, he immediately came to the Prime Minister's Office and asked Prime Minister Venizelos to immediately allocate funds to purchase new warships to deal with the threat of the Ottoman Navy.

The two had a heated argument in the office about increasing naval spending.

Afterwards, Venizelos also complained to Constantine. Greece's finances have now reached their limits. The previous plan to build a navy required the allocation of 500 million to 300 million. In addition to maintaining the normal government expenditures, in view of the current tense situation in the Balkans, the army The expansion is also imminent. In order to cope with the imminent situation in Macedonia, the logistics department has begun to hoard supplies, which must be another huge expenditure.

Constantine also understood that Greece could not continue to increase naval military expenditures, so he also deliberately organized the Ottomans to obtain these two super-dreadnought warships in the near future.

"Your Highness, although the Ottomans intend to purchase new warships, you don't have to worry so much. As far as I know, at least until the end of this war (Italo-Austrian War), our government will not respond to the Ottoman Empire's request." Lord Tristan Said calmly.

"After the news spread in London, Russian and Italian diplomats in London expressed their opposition."

It is normal for Italy to object. The two countries are currently at war. Italy took advantage of its navy to take the lead. The navy and army worked together and occupied almost all of the coastal cities in northern Libya. Naturally, they opposed the Ottoman Empire's purchase. Ship application.

Russia and the Ottoman Empire themselves are neighboring countries. The two countries border on the Caucasus and face each other across the Black Sea.

After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's navy, which was originally at the forefront of the world's naval tonnage rankings, was severely damaged by the Japanese. In recent years, it has been silently licking its wounds. The entire country's main energy is mainly used for economic reform. and internal political governance, the strength of the Russian navy has never recovered.

If the two Ottoman super-dreadnought warships enter the strait, it will inevitably increase the pressure on the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

"Therefore, under the protests of the two countries, in order not to cause diplomatic disputes, even if our country finally decides to launch the latest super-dreadnought battleship, it is estimated that it will not be until a year later," Lord Tristan patiently explained to Constantine. .

As an ambassador of a country, it is the ambassador's responsibility to maintain good relations between the host country and the home country.

"I will write a report to remind the country to pay attention to the naval balance in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions."

Hearing that the Ottoman ship purchase could be delayed for a while, Constantine's originally serious expression softened slightly. In fact, he had been frequently pestered by Contoriotis recently, begging Constantine to agree to increase naval funding.

The construction of super-dreadnought warships can take as fast as one year or as slow as two years. It is now the end of 1911. As long as the Ottoman Empire's purchase of ships can be delayed for about a year, it has reached a very delicate time point.

The Ottomans' hope of obtaining warships faced many twists and turns.

It would be better if these two warships still suffered their historical misfortune.

Constantine nodded and then asked: "Lord Tristan, what do you think of the current situation in the Balkans? Since the war broke out between Italy and the Ottoman Empire, the situation in the Balkans has been undercurrent."

Serbia and Bulgaria are privately involved, and excluding Greece naturally gives them some eye candy: "As far as I know, the two countries seem to have agreed on something at the moment."

"The two Slavic countries appear to have the support of the Russians"

Lord Tristan took a sip of tea and took over the words: "That's not all! I heard that the Austrian army has been mobilized in the border area of ​​​​Ossay. Austria strongly opposes the expansion of Slavic forces in the Balkan Peninsula."

Bulgaria and Serbia are both Slavic in ethnicity, have different languages, and even their religion, due to historical reasons, is Orthodox like Russia. This makes the cultures of the three countries similar. Taken together, these three countries are really very different. Many reasons to join together.

It is no wonder that in order to allow Serbia and Bulgaria to become independent from the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Russians did not hesitate to go to war personally and launch a military confrontation with the Ottoman Empire.

"Where did you get this news?" King George asked in surprise.

"The Ambassador of the British Empire in Sofia, in fact, since the war between the Ottoman Empire and Italy in North Africa, the British Foreign Office has been very focused on the development of the situation in the Balkans. The Ambassador in Sofia visited the Prime Minister of Bulgaria several times to explore Bulgaria's diplomatic trends." Lord Ristan did not hide anything and spoke frankly.

"Serbia and Bulgaria are united, and their primary enemy is the Ottoman Empire. Why does Austria react so fiercely and has already partially mobilized its troops?" King George asked in confusion.

Lord Tristan took a slow sip of tea and said unhurriedly: "Because in the agreement reached between Bulgaria and Serbia, both parties support the obligation to liberate the Slavic areas in the Balkan Peninsula and oppose the encroachment of Slavic territory by a third country."

Constantine and King George looked at each other and understood in each other's hearts that this was obviously aimed at Austria.