Greece to roman road

Thinking of this, Venizelos sighed and said with luck, "Maybe things won't go in the worst direction."

From the bottom of his heart, Venizelos did not want a war that would affect the entire Europe at this time. read

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Greece's economic situation is just right. As long as Greece can digest Macedonian territory, its national strength will be further enhanced.

The only thing Greece needs now is time.

Moreover, in the short period of time from 1912 to 1913, Greece had participated in two wars in a row. Now it was just the middle of 1914, and it had to undergo the baptism of another war?

"Well, due to the potential risk of war, we will immediately hold a meeting and invite the heads of major Greek companies to participate in the meeting to prepare them and minimize the impact on the Greek economy," Venizelos said.

In Venizelos's view, Greece does not have the ability to influence the direction of the political situation in Europe as a whole. It can only try its best to be prepared to withstand the impact of war.

All European countries are small and medium-sized countries (except Russia). They are not large in land and do not have extensive resources. They cannot be self-sufficient and need to exchange what they have. The trade exchanges between various countries are extremely close.

As a country with an incomplete industrial chain, the Greek economy is highly dependent on foreign countries. Once Europe falls into a war, even if Greece does not participate in it, it will be disastrous for the Greek economy alone.

The next day, in addition to officials from the Greek government, representatives from major Greek companies gathered in the large conference room of the Royal Palace in Syntagma Square.

Andros Machinery, Philip Pharmaceuticals, Hellenic Steel Company, Railway Company, Royal Petroleum Company, Electricity Company, Royal Bank, Alfa Bank, the three major commercial banks of National Bank, Wine Association, Textile Association, Agricultural Cooperative Association and other major Greek companies, Or representatives of organizations, all of whom were invited to attend the meeting after receiving an invitation from the Greek government.

"The reason why everyone is invited to attend the meeting may have been speculated by everyone. Due to the impact of the Sarajevo incident, a war may break out in Europe..." Venizelos, who chaired the meeting, said.

Before Venizelos could finish speaking, a bomb exploded in the conference room.

"Is there going to be a war again? Isn't this too frequent? Didn't the war just end last year?"

"The domestic development momentum is good now, why is there a war now?"

Discussions filled the entire conference room.

"Okay, everyone, keep quiet," Constantine, who was sitting opposite Venizelos, said to maintain order.

"It's not that the Greeks are going to fight, but that there may be a war in Europe that affects almost all countries. We need to prepare in advance to reduce possible losses."

After that, Constantine told everyone in detail the current political and diplomatic situation in Europe.

Hearing that Greece was not the first country to bear the brunt, the attitudes of the representatives in the conference room were obviously different.

Omilis, the head of the railway company, heard that Britain might also participate in the war, and said: "At present, almost all the coal used in Greece comes from the United Kingdom. Once the United Kingdom enters the war, the coal production in the United Kingdom may stop, and the coal production in Greece may stop. Coal supply will be interrupted”

The railway company, which is owned by the Greek government, has long been Greece's largest user of imported coal after steel companies.

Greece only has lignite, which has low calorific value and is dusty, and cannot be used as steam engine fuel for trains and locomotives.

If the coal supply is lost, Greece's railways will face the risk of paralysis.

After the completion of the railway network connecting various parts of Greece, railways will become the main means of transportation in Greece. The suspension of railway operations will seriously affect the Greek domestic economy.

For a long time, British coal has firmly occupied the international coal market. With the rise of Germany, coal from the Ruhr area has entered into fierce competition with British coal.

However, due to its geographical location, the cost of importing German coal is too high for Greece, so it has long imported British coal.

Venizelos quickly asked with concern: "How much British coal did your company consume last year?"

"Last year our company used 850,000 tons of British coal. Under normal circumstances, it should be higher this year. In order to reduce risks, should we stockpile a batch of coal in advance?" Omilis asked.

"Your railway company and steel company should immediately stockpile coal. Do your best to stockpile as much coal as you can. You must seize the time," Constantine ordered decisively.

The railway company is a company in which the Greek government has a stake, and the steel company is strongly supported by the royal family. They are different from ordinary private enterprises, and Constantine can directly intervene in their operations.

The steel plant is also a vital factory. Once the steel plant affects production due to lack of coal, the negative impact on the Greek economy will not be much smaller than the suspension of the railway company.

When the head of the Wine Association, Volgaris, heard the news of the war, instead of panicking, he was a little happy: "For Greece, the outbreak of war in Europe is not entirely a bad thing. At least our wines will not have to worry about sales. Once the war starts, the price of industrial raw materials such as coal, wood ore, and food will rise."

"Because the output is too high and it has to compete with French and Italian wines, Greek wines would be unsaleable in previous years. In the past two years, the military has purchased a large amount of wines, so the situation has been better."

Soldiers' demand for tobacco and alcohol will rise sharply during war. During the two Balkan Wars, in order to boost morale, the Greek Logistics Department purchased a large amount of wine in Greece.

"You can inform the grape farmers this year that they can produce wine at full capacity and stop drying raisins," Constantine said to Volgaris.

Greece has a large area suitable for growing grapes, and the barren hills and gravel lands are especially suitable for growing wine grapes.

In recent years, with the development of the economy in Greece, the per capita consumption of wine has gradually increased. In the past two years, the military has vigorously purchased Greek wine, which has greatly stimulated farmers' enthusiasm for growing grapes.

The originally barren hills and slopes had no development value at all. Now they are widely planted with grape vines. There are vineyards distributed across the country, which has led to a rapid increase in Greek domestic wine production. Last year, Greek wine production reached 12 million liters.

However, Greece’s domestic wine consumption is only 7 million liters, and Greece’s domestic wine production is seriously overproduced.

Due to the low price of domestic wine in Greece, most wines only cost 2 drachmas per bottle, and the export market is not large. In order to reduce wine production, farmers will dry part of the grapes into raisins.

"Your Highness, there is a serious overproduction of wine in Greece. If all the grapes are made into wine, the total production may reach 20 million liters," Volgaris hesitated.

"In this way, your Wine Association calls on the people in the country to actively make wine. Soon the military logistics department will purchase a batch of wine again."

Constantine also noticed at this time that the outbreak of the European War was not entirely a bad thing for Greece. At least the agricultural products grown on the newly reclaimed land in Macedonia would be very popular.