Chapter 138 The King and Parliament

In the Greek Parliament, after the issue of ennobling nobles had been fermenting for a while, Alexandros, the new prime minister of Greece, finally gave a solution. The king could ennoble nobles, but the conditions must be met: first, Greek nobles have no privileges, and second, Greek nobles cannot serve as prime ministers.

In other words, Greek nobles do not have any obvious privileges, but are subject to restrictions.

This is also the limit that Greek society can tolerate.

After all, it was already 1896, and a new class suddenly appeared in Greek society - the aristocracy, which made most people feel very uncomfortable and felt inferior.

The parliament also had its own reasons for providing such a restricted aristocratic system: although the people on the ennobling list did contribute to the victory of the Greek war, in the final analysis, the victory of the war was still the contribution made by the Greek people. More than 100,000 people went to the battlefield, and the taxes they paid were used as military expenses. All the expenses of the army, food, clothing, guns and ammunition, were all provided by the Greek people. In terms of the first credit for the victory of the war, it should also be the Greek people.

It is not the turn of these officers.

Constantine, who pushed for the knighthood for military merit, also had his own reasons.

First, it was for the interests of the Greek royal family. In a country where only the king is a noble, the monarch is always in a weak position. After all, there are no nobles around him to protect him. He is alone and feels like a rootless duckweed.

In Greece today, the main power and influence of the royal family are concentrated in the army.

In the army, the royal family holds enormous power, especially after winning the war against the Ottoman Empire, the royal family's power in the army has risen.

And the parliament is the prime minister's home court.

Although King George has the right to interfere in politics, when the country is operating normally, the king's arbitrary interference in government affairs will be rejected by the entire parliament.

After all, members of parliament are elected by the people and represent public opinion.

This move is very risky.

Generally speaking, in the current power structure of Greece, the parliament is the prime minister's home court, and the army is the royal family's base.

Although the rights of both parties are not clearly divided, they are basically distributed like this.

The butt determines the head. In order to stabilize the royal family and maintain the influence of the royal family in the army, Constantine, who was born in the royal family, could only promote military merits and titles.

In future wars, the scale of the war will be far more than 100,000. In order to deal with the threat of enemy countries, the Greek army will be greatly expanded.

In this situation, a large number of civilians will enter the army, and a group of civilian officers will naturally flow into the officer corps. This situation has many disadvantages for the isolated royal family.

On the contrary, the influence of the parliament in the army will become greater and greater.

It is different for aristocratic officers. The aristocracy naturally has the same interests as the royal family.

Secondly, the system of military merit titles can indeed improve the combat effectiveness of the army.

The system of military merit titles can motivate the officers who command the army and improve their enthusiasm.

In addition, the army is not a place suitable for democratization. In fact, in various countries, whether you are a republic or a monarchy, the army is a place with strict class.

What the army needs is obedience, strict discipline, and courage to fight, not harmony.

In the armies of various European countries, the nobility is the guarantee of the army's combat effectiveness. The aristocratic and hereditary nature of officers is beneficial to improving the combat effectiveness of the army.

In this regard, the example of Prussia is very obvious.

The Prussian Junker aristocratic officers have a tradition of serving in the army for generations, and this tradition can often be traced back to more than ten generations, or even more than twenty generations.

There is a Chinese saying called "farming and reading pass down the family", which should be changed to "guns and cannons pass down the family" in Prussia.

Most of the famous generals on the battlefield in Germany later came from Junker aristocrats.

Officers from such families have been influenced by their environment and have received military education from their elders since childhood. Such education is lacking in officers from civilians.

In Napoleon's words, Prussians are all hatched from cannonballs.

It can be seen from the side that the Prussian Junker aristocrats have the fighting will to lead the army.

It is for these reasons that Constantine persuaded King George to advocate the restoration of the aristocratic system in Greece.

The parliament certainly had reason to worry about the aristocracy: with the emergence of the Greek nobility, the king's power might expand in the government, and might even evolve into the autocratic system implemented by other European monarchies.

After the victory of the war, the reality of the royal family's rising prestige made it difficult for the parliament to directly reject the king's will. Although it agreed to the nobility, it restricted the rights of the nobility and wanted to make the nobility a mere honorary system.

After all, aristocrats without privileges are like toothless tigers.

It can be said that both sides have their own plans for the event of nobility.

The royal family and the parliament have steps to step down.

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Although it is a shrinking nobility, it is also a victory for the royal family.

On April 21, 1896, King George I of Greece officially held a ceremony of nomination in the Royal Palace in Constitution Square.

In the meeting hall of the Royal Palace, George I, wearing a golden olive crown, a long sword hanging from the waist ribbon, and a gorgeous robe, stood on the steps in front of the golden throne with a serious expression.

Surrounding the throne stood a group of powerful Greek figures, including the archbishop, members of parliament, the prime minister, and officials from various regions (similar to provinces).

Under the royal steps, Manogianaski knelt respectfully on the black silk mat, lowered his head, and looked pious.

Looking around, King George said in a loud voice: "This canonization is aimed at encouraging those who have contributed to Greece, and I hope that you can continue to work hard, do your best to make greater contributions to the revival of Greece."

After that, he slowly walked to Manogianaski, and with a "swish", he drew out the bright silver sword from his waist, placed the blade on the left shoulder of Manogianaski who was kneeling on the ground, and said solemnly:

"I give you the sword, not because I hope you can kill with it, but because I hope you can remember that you must be loyal to the country.

I give you the ring, not because I hope you can make a profit with it, but because I hope you can remember your noble status with it.

Now, I give you my most noble trust, and what you get is not only the supreme power and status, but an irreplaceable responsibility

May you fight for the great ideals of Greece!

Where my sword points is the direction you move forward"

Manugianaskis, kneeling at the steps with his head bowed, solemnly swore:

"I, Manugianaskis, solemnly swear here:

Loyalty is my honor, and upholding justice is my mission.

My honor is not to wear a crown, but to dedicate my life to my country;

My duty is not to make money, but to fight against bandits for my beliefs.

I dedicate my life to my country, my beliefs and my people.

I swear so today, and I will abide by it in this life. "

Next, the other three were enthroned in turn and became the first batch of non-royal nobles in Greece.