Greece to roman road

After two days of running around, Constantine and his party finally arrived at the city of Larissa, where the Thessalian Legion was stationed.

After entering the city, everyone looked at this city that was still under the rule of the Turks not long ago.

(The Berlin Conference of 1881 assigned Thessaly to Greece)

The low building made of gray stone and the streets paved with stone can accommodate two carriages traveling side by side.

There were only a few pedestrians on the street. When they saw Constantine riding a horse and a group of people in military uniforms, they stayed away from each other. They only glanced at each other secretly and then immediately lowered their heads and passed by.

From a distance, we can see the location of the military station - the Greek flag with a blue background and a white cross flying in the sky.

Following the guidance of the national flag, several people came to a building. The guard in front of the door saw Constantine's military rank: crossed scepter and sword, and immediately said respectfully: "Your Excellency, Private Thales salutes you."

"Private, take me to the command post of your first division," Constantine said.

Several people were led by Taylor to a two-story building.

After entering, I saw several people in the hall discussing issues around the map on the table.

Seeing Constantine and his entourage coming in, several people turned around.

Schmidt stepped forward and read out Constantine's appointment as division commander.

"What railway did I hear you talking about just now? What railway is it?" Constantine asked curiously.

"Your Excellency General, we are talking about the Ottoman Anatolian Railway, Metaxas, Chief of Staff of the 1st Division".

Hearing Constantine's question, Metaxas answered while saluting.

"Are the Ottomans going to build a railway?" Constantine was moved when he heard about the railway.

"Yes, some time ago, the military attache stationed in Constantinople revealed to us the information when communicating with us. In addition, we also heard from him that the Germans sent a man named Colmar von der... Colonel Goltz, came to Constantinople, and Hamid II entrusted him with training the army,” Metaxas said.

Constantine frowned, this was really bad news.

"Has the Ottomans begun to turn against the Germans?" Constantine murmured.

"According to our intelligence personnel, Colonel Goltz is a very principled person who holds the authority to manage the import and export of German weapons. He is very disgusted with the corrupt atmosphere in the Sultan's court and has put an end to all solicitation. Our intelligence personnel have tried and failed. The moves are useless," Metaxas replied.

"Moreover, this person also persuaded Sultan Hamid II (reigned from 1876 to 1909) to send outstanding officers to study in Germany." Metaxas saw the frowning look on Constantine's face and cautiously said.

Having said this, Constantine still didn't understand who this Goltz was.

In Constantine's opinion, the Turks were really lucky.

The Young Turk Party, which would later have huge political influence in the Ottoman Empire, was mainly composed of young officers studying in Germany.

Thanks to their study abroad experience, these young officers had a broad vision and progressive thinking, and they had a huge influence on the later Turkish state.

For example, Enver Pasha during World War I, Kemal Kemal, the later founding father of Turkey, and the capable generals in the Turkish army all had the same identity - young officers in Germany.

In a series of wars between Turkey and Greece in the original time and space, the Turkish army, under the leadership of this group of people, repeatedly defeated the Greeks.

Emotions were created by Colonel Goltz.

After the independence of Greece, the Ottoman Empire came up with a plan to build a railway in order to prevent the recurrence of Greek independence. This was the origin of the famous Baghdad Railway in history.

This railway generally passes through Ankara from the Bosporus, and its final destination is Baghdad, Iraq, and the Syrian and Palestinian areas in the eastern Mediterranean.

This nearly 3,000-kilometer-long railway was of vital importance to the Ottoman Empire, comparable to Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway.

It is conceivable that once the railways connecting various parts of Ottoman Turkey were built, the Ottoman authorities' ability to control various parts of the empire would be greatly strengthened.

In the future, other ethnic groups under Ottoman rule would have changes. The Turkish army could quickly maneuver through this railway and quickly stabilize the situation.

In the original time and space, part of the reason for the failure of the Greek-Turkish border conflict in 1897 could be attributed to the Turkish army trained by Goltz, and the other part was the Ottoman Railway, which was beginning to take shape.

Seeing Constantine's silence, Metaxas asked; "Your Highness, the role of the railway cannot be underestimated, both military and economic. Now that the Ottomans have begun preparations, when will we in Greece build it?" What about your own railway?”

"Build a railway? Do you know how much it costs to build a kilometer of railways, especially on continuous mountainous terrain like the Greek Peninsula?" Constantine shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"But once there is a war between Greece and Turkey, the Ottoman Sultan can quickly, massively and effectively transport troops and logistical supplies to the front line through the railway. The strength of the Ottoman army will continue to strengthen, and Greece will be at an absolute disadvantage. In that case... ·······”

As a staff officer, no one is more sensitive to military projection capabilities than him. As soon as he heard that the Ottomans planned to build a railway, he immediately summoned a group of colleagues to discuss the impact of the railway on the military in the command room.

Now that I met the Crown Prince Commander, I couldn't hold back my thoughts, so I took this opportunity to inquire about the government's railway plan.

"Railways, as a means of transportation, must be repaired, but this is a problem for the Prime Minister. How can I know? You also know the financial capabilities of the government. If you want them to build railways, I am afraid they will have to borrow money from foreign countries."

In fact, being in debt is not entirely a bad thing, especially for some weak and small countries.

People ridicule the problem of loans to small countries, saying that in the 19th century, a period when international Darwinism (the law of the jungle) prevailed, if you wanted to preserve the country and avoid national annihilation, you would owe a huge debt.

In this case, even if the small country itself wants to fall or be annexed, the great powers may not allow it.

If the country no longer exists, who will repay the debt?

For example, in 1897 in the original time and space, Greece failed in the border war. Seeing that the Greek army had failed, the European powers immediately stopped the Turkish army, which still had unfinished business.

Countries have formed a fiscal regulatory committee to supervise the Greek government's fiscal revenue and expenditures and ensure its ability to repay its debts.

After hearing Constantine's answer, Metaxas was silent for a moment.

"Your Majesty the Duke, as a staff officer, I strongly recommend to you that you must stop the Ottomans, whether it is their railway plan or the Goltz officer studying in Germany. If not, then this inevitable hope will The Turkish war should begin as soon as possible," Metaxas said anxiously.

“Now the Turkish army is in disarray, with incompetent officers at all levels and low morale among soldiers. Since the failure of the last Russo-Turkish War (1977-1978), France has occupied Tunisia, the Ottoman North African dependency, and the British have occupied Egypt and Sudan. (1882), the current Ottoman Turkey is definitely at its lowest point ever. I really can’t think of a better time to defeat Turkey than now.”

"Every minute that passes, Turkey's strength recovers one point from its low point. It is now obvious that, for the above reasons, after alienating Britain, France and Russia, the Turks move closer to the Germans and use the Germans to train professional army officers. capabilities, if Turkey, under the command of Goltz, really reorganizes its army with low combat effectiveness, with the capabilities of our Greek army, it will no longer be a match for the Turkish army, sooner rather than later."

Metaxas said with excitement.