Chapter 121 Assistance

On November 4, 1896, Athens welcomed a special guest.

Venizelos, one of the leaders of the Cretan uprising, brought a young man as his follower, and arrived at the Port of Piraeus from Crete with the help of the Greek Navy's destroyer.

After landing, the two looked around the Greek city of Athens, which was completely different from the style of Crete. Everything seemed to be new.

On the road leading to the city center, citizens coming and going, trams running in the middle of the road, bicycles ringing constantly, and newsboys hawking and selling newspapers on the road showed them a strange and familiar prosperous city to the two outsiders.

Venizelos looked at his follower, Reidhart, unhappily, looking left and right, curious about everything, and said helplessly: "Reidhart, let's go"

"Mr. Venizelos, Athenians are a little different," Reidhart said as he looked behind Venizelos who was running fast.

Reidhart's answer made Venizelos stunned. Looking at the confident and calm expressions on the faces of the Athenians around him, he thought to himself: They are of course different from the Cretans who have lived under foreign rule for a long time.

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In the Ministry of Defense building, Constantine heard that the Greek hero of Crete, Venizelos, came to visit, and received him together with Emmanuil.

In the conference room, Constantine carefully looked at this famous figure in the modern history of Greece in the original time and space.

He had a beard, a big forehead, a pair of silver-rimmed round glasses, a thin face, and a pair of bright eyes, which made a deep impression.

After the four people from both sides sat down, Venizelos spoke directly: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff, Crete needs your support"

"Since the Ottoman Turkish government went bankrupt in 1875, in order to repay the debts of foreign creditors, it has stepped up the atrocities of plundering and oppressing Christians"

"If the Cretans don't resist, they can't survive at all"

Reidhart also chimed in: "Yes, the current uprising troops on Crete are no match for the Ottoman troops stationed on the island"

"Your Highness, the compatriots on Crete need the help of the Greek government"

Constantine and Emmanuil looked at each other, and the other party's request was expected.

In fact, Constantine was also a little surprised when he heard the news of the uprising of the Cretan people. The time seemed to be earlier than the original time and space.

Constantine ignored a fact, that is, in contrast, the reason why the people of Crete revolted faster was also due to Greece.

The straight-line distance between Athens and Crete is no more than 150 kilometers, so things about Greece are no secret to the Greeks on Crete.

Over the years, Greece's economy has been going smoothly, and as a result, the income of local Greeks has greatly exceeded that of Crete.

This fact naturally stimulated the people of Crete: we are all Greeks, you are at ease, but we have to endure the oppression and coercion of the Ottoman Turks.

Relying solely on the armed peasants of Crete, how can they be the opponents of the Ottoman professional soldiers.

Venizelos was already a well-known commander of the rebels in the Cretan uprising in 1889.

He naturally understood the fact that the enemy was strong and we were weak, so after the uprising was frustrated, he hurried to Athens to seek support.

Emmainur said leisurely: "What do you all need?"

Venizelos' assistant, Reidhart, took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to the two.

It was a list of supplies: food, medicine, and a number of firearms and ammunition.

Well, almost everything is needed.

"In addition, it would be best if the Greek army could send troops. The Turks have stationed nearly 1,500 troops on the island, all equipped with German weapons," Venizelos continued to ask.

After hesitating for a while, Venizelos said: "Mr. Chief of Staff, the territorial changes such as the Crete uprising will inevitably lead to war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire."

"If Greece cannot resist the pressure of the Ottomans, the Cretans will not be able to achieve the goal of merging with Greece with their weak strength, no matter how hard they try."

"Once the Greek army lands on Crete, war between the two countries is inevitable."

Emmainur comforted: "Mr. Venizelos, the General Staff has already had a response plan for this situation, so you don't have to worry."

"Let the Minister of Armaments Yannis be responsible for the transportation of these supplies," Constantine said to the three.

"Supplies can be sent to Crete in advance, and as for the supporting troops, we need to consider it carefully."

After that, Constantine personally settled Venizelos and the other two to rest for two days, and then returned to Crete with the ship transporting supplies.

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After meeting Venizelos, Constantine personally came to Prime Minister Trikoupis' office.

Looking at Prime Minister Trikoupis handling documents on his desk, Constantine sighed.

Trikoupis is good at handling government affairs. In terms of politics, Constantine supports his proposal to develop industry and commerce and vigorously build infrastructure.

However, Greece is now facing the threat of war, and the prime minister, who is only good at government affairs, is obviously a little slow to react.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you know the current situation in Greece. Do you think we can win over the Balkan countries as allies to jointly deal with the Ottomans?" Constantine reminded.

Seeing Constantine come in, Trikupis stopped his work and said after hearing Constantine's suggestion: "You are right. Serbia and Bulgaria are also neighbors of the Ottomans, and these two countries also have ambitions for the Ottoman Macedonia region."

"Your Highness, do you think I should go to these two countries for a diplomatic visit now?" Trikupis asked.

Although Trikupis was a little slow in diplomacy, he was the most accomplished and mature politician in modern Greece after all.

Since Greece's independence, the economic and political situation in Greece has been in a state of chaos. It is a puppet of various countries and has never had any diplomatic independence.

Thinking of this, it is no wonder that the prime minister is not good at diplomatic affairs.

"Yes, if possible, you'd better be able to form an alliance with the two countries to jointly target the Ottomans," Constantine asked.

Constantine is confident in the current military strength of Greece, but there are considerable risks after all.

If the Triple Alliance can be achieved, then the possibility of Greece's victory will be greatly increased.

If Greece can form an alliance with Serbia and Bulgaria, I am afraid that under the huge military pressure, the Ottomans will really make concessions to Greece on the island of Crete.

"Of course, this is only the most ideal situation, and it is unlikely," Constantine said.

Apart from other things, Serbia and Bulgaria had just fought a war in 1885, Serbia was defeated, and the people of the two countries hated each other.

The comradeship accumulated by the two countries before - the friendship of jointly dealing with the Ottoman Turks and gaining national independence, has disappeared.

Now let the two countries put aside their past grudges and join hands to form an alliance to deal with the Ottomans, I am afraid they will not be willing.