Chapter 168 Macedonian Uprising

1901, Sofia, Royal Palace.

The new Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Karavi, is reporting the state of the nation to King Ferdinand I.

"Prime Minister, how is the situation in Macedonia?" Ferdinand I asked with some concern.

Like all Bulgarian rulers in history, Ferdinand was also determined to establish a new Byzantine Empire.

However, after the war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire in 1896, the Greek territory was greatly expanded and the population increased dramatically, which made Bulgaria, which was originally ranked first among the three Balkan countries, feel great pressure.

"Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the forces supported by the Greeks have also appeared in the Macedonian region." Karavi also frowned.

In Bulgaria's position, if it wants to develop further, Macedonia, which is strategically important, is an indispensable place, especially the port of the Aegean Sea, which is a strategic location that Bulgaria has long dreamed of.

The southern part of Bulgaria is only a hundred kilometers away from the Aegean Sea, but because Macedonia and Thrace are still under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria's trade routes have to take a long detour and rely on ports along the Black Sea for international trade, which seriously affects the development of Bulgaria's economy.

"According to the news we heard from the Greek embassy, ​​after the 1896 war, Greece's economic development was extremely fast, with an annual economic growth rate of more than 8%," Karawi said, quoting the ambassador.

"In your opinion, will the gap between our strength and Greece become larger and larger over time?" King Ferdinand asked worriedly.

Karawi was silent after hearing this, and he was indeed analyzing the specific data of Greece in his mind.

"Culturally, Greece has implemented compulsory education. Almost all children of school age have received education. The literacy rate of the whole country has reached 50%, and the number of college students has reached 50,000."

"Economically, Greece has the Congo colony. The entire Greece earns 60 million francs from it every year (mainly from colonial companies). Greece exports textiles, medicines and agricultural products every year, with an output value of 600 million francs. It is said that Greece's fiscal revenue reached 500 million francs last year."

(Due to the relationship of the Latin Monetary Union, the exchange rate between the franc and the Greek currency drachma and the Italian lira is 1:1:1)

Looking at King Ferdinand's increasingly gloomy face, Callaway stopped reporting on the situation in Greece tactfully.

Hearing this, Ferdinand also felt a little regretful. In 1896, during the Greek-Ottoman War, a coup d'état happened in Bulgaria. He was a new king who had just arrived. He was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had just become the Grand Duke of Bulgaria. The situation in Bulgaria was relatively chaotic. At the same time, the great powers strongly opposed the expansion of the scale of the war, so Bulgaria could only watch Greece annex the Ottoman territory in the end.

Now it seems that if Bulgaria had a tougher attitude at that time, it would not have allowed Greece to successfully expand its territory.

Now Greece's economy is soaring, especially when it is heard that Greece has found an oil field with an annual output of 80,000 tons in Albania. Ferdinand swallowed a fly when he heard the news.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is already very clear. The Macedonian issue cannot be delayed any longer. The longer the time, the more beneficial it will be for Greece," said Prime Minister Karawi in a firm tone.

"What do you mean?"

"We should act decisively now and completely solve the issue of Macedonia's ownership. While the gap between the two countries is still within a certain range, we should immediately let our forces in Macedonia take action, either independence or autonomy, to stir up the situation in the Balkans and disrupt the development steps of the Greeks. We cannot let the rhythm follow the rhythm of Greece."

The experienced Karavi had a clear understanding of the situation in the Balkans and saw Greece's plan at a glance.

The Greeks are currently very restrained on the Macedonian issue because they don't want to cause more trouble and seize the opportunity to develop the economy and digest the benefits they have gained from the Ottoman Empire.

Moreover, Macedonia is nominally a territory belonging to the Ottoman Empire. No matter how many small moves Bulgaria makes, it will not make much sense in the short term, and this will not change.

Ferdinand pondered for a moment, and the prime minister's words did make sense.

"What do you think we should do, Prime Minister?"

"It's not difficult, Your Majesty. Inform our soldiers in Macedonia and ask them to act as soon as possible, make some noise, attract the attention of European countries, and force European countries to pay attention to the Macedonian issue, whether it is independence or something else, to make the situation in the Balkans chaotic."

Most residents in Macedonia are Christians. At the end of the 19th century, the liberation of Christians from the hands of pagans was naturally supported by people in European countries.

By creating chaos and making big news in Macedonia, the Macedonian issue was put on the agenda of politicians in European countries.

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In May 1901, a French merchant ship anchored in Thessaloniki was attacked. The merchant ship, which was blazing with fire, burned on the sea near the dock for a full three hours. The flames that shot up into the sky almost attracted the attention of all citizens in Thessaloniki.

Only the day after this incident, an Ottoman bank branch in Thessaloniki exploded, killing and injuring more than 50 people.

An organization called "Thessaloniki Assassins" openly claimed responsibility for the incident in the newspaper and declared the independence of the Macedonian people.

For a time, the unrest in the Balkans was mysterious and attracted the attention of the whole of Europe.

France and Britain immediately put pressure on the Ottoman authorities, demanding that the Ottoman government play an active role and end the local chaos.

The shareholders behind the bank where the explosion occurred were almost all British and French capitalists.

At the same time, the ethnic organizations close to Bulgaria used increasingly brutal means in rural areas.

For those villages that were emotionally close to Greece, the armed bandits brutally looted and massacred, using terrorist means to deal with these people.

On August 2, the southern region of Macedonia officially kicked off the uprising. From Bitola to Kruvoshe, from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, there were irregular armed forces everywhere participating in the uprising.

After the uprising won initial victory, several leaders of the uprising established a "Kruvoshe Republic" in Kruvoshe.

Ambassadors from five countries, including Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany, personally visited the Ottoman Grand Vizier and asked the Ottoman Empire to take measures to maintain the situation and prevent it from further deteriorating.

At this time, all countries did not want to cause trouble in Europe: Britain was deeply involved in the Boer War and had no time to care about other things; Russia was expanding towards Asia with the extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and ambitiously planned to establish "Yellow Russia";

The news of the uprising spread to Athens, and the nationalist citizens came to the Capitol, shouting slogans, demanding support for Macedonia's independence and the liberation of Christians.