Greece to roman road

In the next two days, Elizabeth and William chatted very congenially because of their common interest in architecture.

So before the two left Corfu, Queen Elizabeth officially announced that she had made a will, and William would inherit this exquisite Achilles Palace after her death. The reason was that the treasures should be kept. For those who appreciate its unique charm.

Constantine and Rudolf were very surprised when they heard about this, because the queen came to this beautiful holy place on the Adriatic Sea to spend the summer every summer.

For her, it was a way to escape the dreary court life in Vienna with its strict rules and red tape.

The two did not expect that Queen Elizabeth would give it to William to inherit.

William and Constantine left on a cruise ship and headed north along the Adriatic Sea, passing through the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They landed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the important seaport city of Trieste and took a train to Germany.

Constantine's journey to study in Germany began.

After following William to Berlin, he visited Crown Prince Frederick (later German Emperor Frederick III) and his mother Crown Princess Victoria (the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom) who lived in Sanssouci Palace. He happened to meet William's youngest sister, Princess Sophie, who was about the same age as Constantine.

For nearly a year after that, Constantine studied political science at the University of Heidelberg with his mentor Dr. Luders.

It wasn't until October 1883 that Schmidt received a telegram from Banning: the lion's territory had been stabilized, the invaders had been repelled, and a new journey could begin.

This is a coded telegram. The clear meaning is: the construction of the stronghold in the Congo River Basin has been completed, and other adventurers who coveted this place have been expelled and can make other preparations.

After receiving the telegram, Constantine immediately took the train and took Schmidt to Hamburg.

During the trip, the two people were very impressed by Germany's rapidly developing railways and its extensive railway lines.

Sitting on the train from Heidelberg to Hamburg, Schmidt envied: "It's so convenient. It would be great if Greece could have a lot of railways. Then we would definitely be able to defeat the damn Turks."

Schmidt obviously noticed the role of railways in war, but as a soldier, he did not have enough understanding of the economic value of railways.

For today's most powerful country in continental Europe, its development speed made Constantine envious.

Railways play an important role in the modernization of a country.

Before the railway, the only means of large-scale transportation for mankind was ships.

In order to use ships to transport materials, various countries have historically been forced to spend huge manpower and material resources to build numerous canals, such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in China, the Erie Canal in the United States, the Suez Canal in France, and the Kiel Canal in Germany.

Even in the 21st century, ship transportation is still the cheapest mode of transportation. Nothing is the cheapest.

This situation led to the fact that before the advent of railways, the world's powerful countries were island or coastal countries. People called such countries maritime countries.

Countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France, which have emerged as world powers, all have one thing in common - they rely on the convenience of shipping and are all maritime countries.

The long coastline provided enough seaports to promote the development of commerce.

Their rise relies on the advantages of being a naval power, a commercial power, and a shipping power.

Until the emergence of railways, it became possible for land countries to transport materials on a large scale and cheaply.

Speaking of which, Germany's national destiny strongly proves this point.

Germany's economic unification is far ahead of its political unification. The establishment of the German Customs Union laid the foundation for Germany's unification.

The 20th century was a breeze, and Germany shocked the world with its war capabilities. Before that, it had maintained a fragmented political structure for a long time, with a scattered patchwork of small states scattered across the German region.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the economic development of the German region had an increasingly strong desire for a unified market.

The various states imposed tariffs on each other, which seriously hindered the development of German commerce.

For example, as an important commercial waterway, the Rhine River has important commercial value. However, before the establishment of the German Customs Union, various states set up numerous tax cards in order to increase tax revenue.

After a shipment of goods was transported through the Rhine, the accumulated taxes and fees paid were higher than the value of the goods themselves.

This unfavorable situation has greatly reduced the role of the Rhine River, a natural trade route with great commercial value.

After the establishment of the Customs Union, driven by economic interests, various states began to build railways.

In 1835, Germany only had a 6-kilometer railway. After the establishment of the Customs Union, driven by economic interests, various countries began to build railways.

Before the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870, Germany, which only covered an area of ​​several hundred thousand square kilometers, had a railway mileage of 19,575 kilometers.

The railways have developed to such an extent that although each state is still independent, the commercial connections established through the railways have closely connected the entire Germany.

In 1871, before the Franco-Prussian War broke out, in just one week, Prussia and other states gathered troops through various railway stations and transported 500,000 troops, as well as supporting equipment and supplies to the assembly areas on the front line.

On the French side, Napoleon III only gathered 200,000 troops and hurried to the front line.

As a result, the war lasted only a few months, and Napoleon III led hundreds of thousands of French troops to surrender.

This result surprised all countries.

The military value of railways has since been valued by military strategists from all over the world.

If we really want to say what is the most direct factor in Germany's rise, the railways should take the lion's share of the credit.

Thinking of this, Schmidt patted his shoulder and said, "Sooner or later, Greece will build railways on a large scale."

The two got off the train in Hamburg, and after leaving the train station, they met up with Banning who had returned from Africa.

Banning was the president of the Congo Committee and had been in Africa before that, replacing Constantine and cooperating with Stanley's adventures.

Banning is an important adviser to Constantine and has been advising Constantine since the beginning of the African plan.

"Welcome back to Europe, Banning." Constantine said to the tanned Banning, and then gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Your Excellency the Duke."

Afterwards, the three of them found a cafe on the street.

"Your Excellency, the construction of our commercial base in Africa has been completed." Banning said excitedly.

"How specific are they? How many commercial strongholds are there and what is the entrustment treaty?" Constantine asked eagerly after hearing these words.

"The Congo Committee has established about 30 commercial bases and about 400 trust treaties in Africa," Banning replied.

"Your Excellency, the Duke, I came back this time just to discuss with you, what should we do next?" Banning asked.

Whether it is a power of attorney or a commercial stronghold, it will be meaningless if it is not recognized by the European powers.

How to get the European powers to recognize the Congo Committee's suzerainty over the Congo River Basin is the most difficult part of this African plan.