Greece’s Roman Road - Chapter 232
On the morning of January 7, the headquarters of the Greek Macedonian Legion welcomed a special guest, Mr. Benjamin, the British consul in Thessaloniki.
Constantine, who got the news, walked out of the tent and came to meet him in person.
Benjamin, who was wearing a round hat, riding clothes and brown leather boots, dismounted, took the cane handed over by the servant, took two quick steps, and took off his hat and bowed to Constantine: “Congratulations, Crown Prince Your Highness, under your leadership the Greek army has achieved a great victory”
After all, he looked at the guards behind Constantine and complimented: “The heroic and excellent military qualities of the Greek soldiers are impressive.”
“Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Consul,” Constantine nodded.
Constantine greeted Consul Benjamin and entered the conference room, and Officer Hammett politely served Benjamin with black tea and snacks.
“His Royal Highness, I came to visit today because I accepted the request of Aitsa Pasha, the garrison commander of the Ottoman Empire in Thessaloniki, to deliver a message for him.” Sitting on the guest sofa of Constantine, he picked up After taking a sip of the black tea in the porcelain cup, he said after moistening his throat.
Benjamin went straight to the point and explained his purpose.
Constantine was not surprised at all when he heard the news. The barrier of Thessaloniki had been broken by Greece. The current city of Thessaloniki is surrounded by a flat plain, without danger, and it will only be lost sooner or later. thing.
“No matter what the outcome is, I would like to thank Mr. Consul for his mediation. The Battle of Thessaloniki will end sooner, and the people here will be able to restore their former peace sooner,” Constantine praised.
Benjamin was noncommittal. The reason why he took up this matter was just to take the opportunity to meet with the future king of Greece and inquire about the next direction of Greece.
“His Royal Highness, according to what I have learned, the Balkan Alliance is now making great strides, and the Ottomans are simply unable to effectively resist your attack. Now all European countries are paying attention to this war. If the war is delayed for a long time, perhaps the whole of Europe will be involved. Come in,” Benjamin said.
For a long time, European countries have held the same attitude on the issue of the Ottoman Empire. It cannot be allowed to perish, nor can it be made strong. It is better to live half-dead and live.
Only in this way can all countries lay down on the Ottoman Empire to **** blood and grab rich profits.
Obviously, the current Balkan alliance to carve up the territory of the Ottoman Empire is not welcomed by all countries.
“Bulgaria’s ambitions are worthy of vigilance. Your Highness, I would like to remind you that, according to what the UK has heard in Bulgaria, Bulgaria is not only interested in Adrianople, their war target also includes Constantinople,” Ambassador Benjamin said. About Bulgarian intelligence.
Bulgaria’s appearance in this war is eye-catching, and its army is powerful. It is known as the Prussia of the Balkans.
The Bulgarians not only have the name of Eastern Prussia, but also have a very similar style to the Germans. They are frugal and rigorous on weekdays, and brave and fearless in battle.
This war, after the Franco-Prussian War, was the battle with the largest number of troops in Europe, which naturally attracted major European newspapers to report the news of the Balkan War.
Extensive coverage made the battle one of the most detailed in the newspapers and gave the Bulgarian Army a reputation.
After all, the fierce battle between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire in Thrace was the main battlefield of this war.
In contrast, the armies of Greece and Serbia are more like two supporting roles.
According to Paris newspaper reports, after the victory of the Bulgarian First and Third Armies at the Battle of Kirk-Kilise, French Minister of War Alexander Millerand commented that Bulgaria had the best army compared to other European armies, He preferred to be allies with 100,000 Bulgarians.
“The Second Army led by General Ivanov of Bulgaria has won victory and advanced all the way. Now it has reached the city of Adrianople, the important Thracian city, and has begun to besiege this heavily guarded city.” Benjamin said with a sigh.
Adrianople is the last fortress of Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Once the city is conquered by Bulgaria, then the Bulgarian King Ferdinand may really realize his long-cherished wish to go south to drink the Bosphorus Strait.
The city of Adria was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire in history. It was not until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople that the capital of the empire was moved to Constantinople.
The Bulgarian army defeated the Ottoman army cleanly in a short period of time, and the blade went straight to Adriatic Fort, a feat that European newspapers blew the Bulgarian army to the sky.
“According to what I have heard from London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in London has received a diplomatic letter from the Russians, and the major powers want to jointly appeal for peace negotiations to prevent the war from continuing,” Benjamin threw out a heavy news.
Constantine thought secretly, it seems that the Russians can’t sit still.
After all, the Russian ambitions for Constantinople are well known in Europe.
Seeing Bulgaria now approaching the city that Russia has dreamed of for hundreds of years, Russia; is about to jump out and call for peace talks.
In fact, he was afraid of this little brother from Bulgaria, who performed well in this war~www.mtlnovel.com~ Worried about this little brother, he won the castle first.
The Bulgarian ally, in Constantine’s view, was too whimsical and too arrogant.
Is Constantinople a small Balkan country that can care about it?
Even if Bulgaria did capture Constantinople, would the major European powers allow Bulgaria to occupy the fort?
I am afraid that at that time, first of all, Russia, the big brother of Bulgaria, will teach his disobedient younger brother.
Constantine ended the meeting after informing Consul Benjamin that he had agreed to negotiate with the remnants of the Ottoman soldiers in Thessaloniki.
The next day, Constantine’s chief of staff, Samaras, as a negotiator, entered the city of Thessaloniki, and the two sides negotiated secretly.
That night, Constantine received Aitesa Pasha’s conditions: the Greek army allowed more than 60,000 Ottoman soldiers to retreat to Thrace, and the Greek army could not block it in any form during the retreat.
In exchange, Aitza Pasha promised to hand over the entire city of Thessaloniki to the Greek army.
Immediately after receiving the news of the negotiations from Samaras, Constantine called Athens to inform King George and Prime Minister Venizelos.
Constantine himself agreed to this condition. Greece avoided the ruins of the city of Thessaloniki, and 60,000 Ottoman troops returned to Thrace to strengthen the defense of the Ottoman Empire there, which was good for everyone.
Since the Bulgarian army is known as the Prussia of the East, let them work harder and give them some additional tasks.
How can you be called an ally if you don’t pull the opponent’s hind legs?
After all, after acquiring the city of Thessaloniki, a conflict with Bulgaria is inevitable, and naturally there is no need to be too concerned about Bulgaria.