Greece to roman road

Seeing Constantine's figure appear, Trikupis, the current Prime Minister of Greece, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty the Duke, you are welcome to attend today's meeting," Trikupis said.

It was the first time for Constantine to attend a meeting of business people.

Constantine looked around the room and saw people gathered around a long table. There were about a dozen men in suits and their female companions who were wearing colorful long dresses and dressed up beautifully.

Among them were several acquaintances, Gian Gauberi and George Steve from the National Bank of Greece.

Coaster Blue by Alfa Bank.

These Greek financial giants all came to participate. It seemed that this gathering of Greek business people was very grand.

"Nice to hand over to you, gentlemen and madams," Constantine greeted as friendly as possible.

After everyone sat down again, Trikupis, who sat at the other end of the table and faced Constantine, said: "Your Excellency, according to the news from the Greek Ambassador in Berlin, the Congo Committee you funded was approved at the Berlin Conference. administration of the Congo”

Hearing Trikupis mention the colony, everyone turned their attention to Constantine.

The stories of European countries, including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, that gained huge wealth through colonization are well known among the European business class.

Now that the Greeks also have a colony, how can they not be tempted.

"That's right," Constantine said calmly.

After hearing these words, Constantine already knew exactly why he was invited to a business meeting.

These businessmen with a keen sense of smell have smelled the smell of money and are here to ask for benefits.

"Crown Prince Constantine, have you ever thought about handing over Congo to the Greek government? After all, according to the practice of European countries, colonies are generally handed over to the mother country government, and you manage the Congo River through the Congo Committee. The watershed, after all, is not very convenient,” Trikupis said.

"Mr. Prime Minister, has the Greek government made any efforts regarding the Congo colony?" Constantine asked rhetorically.

"The Greek government should not expect to get something for nothing, and, frankly, I don't trust the Greek government either. You have made a mess of Greece."

Greece is now a constitutional monarchy. King George I, Constantine's father, does not actively intervene in Greek politics.

The affairs of the Congolese colony, from focusing on African explorers and hiring people to go to Africa, to huge expenses and diplomatic negotiations, Constantine was busy for nearly seven or eight years. All expenses were paid by the royal family themselves. The Greek government does not deserve any credit.

Now I want to take possession of the Congolese colony with just one sentence. What a wishful thinking!

From the beginning to the end, Constantine never thought of relying on the power of the Greek government in the matter of the Congo colony.

Even management work was planned to be handed over to the Congolese Commission.

Because the Greek government will only make things worse.

After three to four hundred years of barbaric rule by the Turks (the Ottoman Turks were descendants of the Turks), Greece, the cradle of Western democracy, had little experience in a democratic system.

In the Greek Parliament, the members are scattered and there is no mature party system.

These congressmen rush forward when they have interests, and stand aside when they have no interests.

Since the current Greek Prime Minister is elected by a majority among the MPs, the MPs often unite to force the authorities to step down and then replace the Prime Minister.

This is the direct reason why Greek Prime Ministers change Prime Ministers like a revolving door.

Since there are no large factories and enterprises in Greece that provide employment for people, the Greek government is the largest employer in Greece.

Moreover, Greeks are keen on government employment positions, that is, civil servants.

If you want to get a civil servant position, you don't just need to have sufficient academic qualifications, because now Greek public offices have a tradition of political parties dividing the wealth.

In other words, if you want to become a civil servant, you must first become a member of the political group of the authorities. In this way, when they are in power, they will naturally hand over the position to their own people.

What's even worse is that governments change frequently, which means that every time the prime minister is replaced, public officials must be reshuffled.

Can you imagine what it feels like when a country's government collapses in a matter of days or a year or two?

Because of frequent replacements, these civil servants who have worked hard to get to their positions "cherish" their hard-won positions.

The Greek government has not yet formed a solid civilian system.

Who dares to trust such a government?

If someone asks, is a democratic system necessarily more advanced than an autocratic monarchy?

To answer from the example of Greece, Constantine's answer is, not necessarily!

The Congolese Commission was able to obtain the management rights of Congo by chance, which was originally the result of compromise among various countries.

If Congo is handed over to such a government, dissatisfied international businessmen will soon kick Greece away and hand it over to an organization with more efficient management.

As a veteran in Greek politics, Trikoupis certainly knew what Constantine meant, and he also understood the shortcomings of the Greek government.

Therefore, he could not excuse Constantine's ridicule.

He sighed inwardly and said with a normal expression, "Your Majesty the Duke, even if you insist on the management rights of the Congo, then you should support Greek businessmen when they go to do trade, right?"

Control cannot be handed over to the Greek government. This is not because Constantine is selfish, but because the current Greek government really cannot be trusted.

However, he naturally supported Greek businessmen going to Congo to do business.

You have to work hard to get a colony, not to be a steward for another country.

"Dear Duke, the Greek business community warmly invites you this time because they want to learn about the situation in Congo through you. Can you tell us about Congo?"

After all, Gao Bairui was familiar with Constantine and told the question that the businessmen here were most eager to know.

Upon hearing this question, everyone looked at Constantine with burning eyes.

"Congo is located in the middle of Africa. It has a tropical climate and is suitable for the cultivation of sugar cane, palm, and rice. It has abundant water resources and numerous wild animals. As for local mineral resources, I'm sorry, there is not much information on this."

Constantine told everyone about the basic situation in the Congo without hiding any secrets.

He did not tell everyone the detailed status of the mineral resources, because it would be useless to tell them. Greek businessmen are usually engaged in trade and are familiar with the exchange of supplies, and very few are engaged in industry.

It is useless to tell them about these mineral resources. Once the news is leaked, it will benefit businessmen from other countries.

Even just this news made the businessmen present feel excited.

Needless to say, ivory can be used to make sugar.

Greece imports 5,000 tons of sugar every year. Previously, because Greece did not have colonies, they could only import from other countries, such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands.

Now that they have the Congo colony, they can grow their own sugar cane and then crush it to make sugar. This can save a lot of foreign exchange and there is no need for other countries to make this money.

Congo is such a vast land, there must be other commodities.

A national development strategy such as the development of industry and commerce cannot be promoted and led by one person. It requires the entire country, from top to bottom, and all strata to proactively make choices that are in their own interests.

If Greece wants to develop, industrialization is the only way to go.

Therefore, Constantine wanted to unite a group of business people around him to work together to promote the industrial development of Greece.

You can't accomplish great things by yourself.

"Just taking advantage of this meeting, I will make an announcement."

"In order to better develop the Congolese colony, I plan to establish a Greek head office. Its main business is to invest in Congo and develop Congo's rich resources. If you have ideas, you can come and become a shareholder."

Constantine shocked everyone with his words.