Chapter 169 Secret War with Macedonia

Seeing that the situation in the Balkans was likely to collapse, the great powers exerted diplomatic pressure on Bulgaria, severely rebuked Bulgaria's actions, and at the same time instructed the Ottoman troops to garrison Macedonia and eliminate the Macedonian rebels.

The Ottoman government mobilized a superior force of 30,000 people to attack the land occupied by the rebels.

After all, the rebel army was not a professional soldier, and the numerical difference with the Ottoman army was too large, which caused the rebel army to collapse at the first touch.

At the critical moment, the rebel commander sent a letter code-named 543 to Bulgaria, requesting immediate armed intervention.

Due to pressure from various countries, Bulgaria did not dare to risk the disapproval of the world and openly sent troops into Macedonia.

After the rebel army asked for help from the main messenger, Bulgaria, but there was no news, the "Kruvoshe Republic" only existed for ten days and came to an end.

The Ottoman army carried out brutal revenge on the areas and villages that participated in the uprising. More than 200 villages were burned down, more than 4,000 people were killed, and about 30,000 refugees fled to Bulgaria.

Obviously, Bulgaria's test was obviously not effective.

·········

After the wave, after notifying Greece of the specific circumstances of the uprising, Kouros, as the main intelligence officer in Macedonia, visited the Greek consulate in Salonika.

When he arrived at the office of Consul Mioaris, he happened to meet Demetrius, a wealthy Greek businessman, who was complaining to Mioaris: "Mr. Consul, Macedonia is very chaotic now. Murder and robbery have become commonplace, especially A businessman like me is even more frightened. Everywhere I go, people are staring at me."

These days, Mio Aris, a well-known wealthy businessman, has been on tenterhooks all day long. People come to his door every day to extort money, threatening his life at every turn, and he is miserable.

"Mr. Consul, for the sake of God, can you take some measures to provide security for us Greeks?" Mioaris said with a bitter face.

Seeing Kouros coming in, Mioaris invited him to sit down with him.

"Kuros, the country has made a decision to increase its penetration of Macedonia. You, the general person in charge of intelligence, are very busy," Mioaris said to Kouros.

"The government has decided to establish a "Greek-Macedonian Committee" in Macedonia, which will be responsible for fighting against Bulgaria's expansion in Macedonia and at the same time protecting the lives and property of Greeks in Macedonia. The Thessaloniki Consulate is your general headquarters," Mioaris said.

"Isn't this too risky? If discovered, it will cause diplomatic disputes," Kouros said in surprise when he heard the bold decision to directly use the Salonika consulate as the headquarters.

"I visited Hassan Pasha before, and he hinted that Greece could increase the presence of volunteer troops in Macedonia and that the Thessaloniki government could remain neutral, so that we can distribute supplies and treat the wounded through the embassy," Mioaris said .

"What I say is that I actually want us and Bulgaria to fight against each other to consume and contain each other's strength."

Kuros nodded when he heard this. That's good. Many things that could only be done secretly can now be done openly.

"What about the funding?" Kuros asked.

Volunteers are easy to find. Whether in Greece or in Macedonia, there are many people who are willing to fight for Greece, but funding is difficult to solve. After all, they cannot be asked to pay for themselves when they come to be volunteers. This is unreasonable.

Hearing the word funding, Demetrius, who had been listening in, was moved and said: "Two gentlemen, if you have difficulties with funding, I can help you with some funding, but I also ask you to send some professional personnel. , to ensure the safety of those of us businessmen who have to stay in Macedonia”

Demetrius came to the embassy this time with the intention of seeking assistance. Hearing that there was a financial difficulty, he planned to donate generously.

After hearing this, Mioaris, who was also having a headache for funds, was very happy: "Mr. Demetrius is a noble patriot."

Although Greece's fiscal revenue has increased year by year in recent years, the fiscal revenue has never been sufficient because the government has to take care of all aspects: land reclamation and immigration, construction of railways and roads, repayment of foreign debts, etc.

With the encouragement of the government, a group of Greek soldiers will soon take off their military uniforms and head to Macedonia.

After hearing that his problem had been solved, Demetrius said goodbye cheerfully, understanding that it was not appropriate for a businessman to be present for intelligence matters.

After seeing Demetrius leave, Kouros said: "Actually, I have another situation to report to you this time. Mr. Mioaris, you also know that due to the failure of the Ottoman military attack, the IMRO organization Split, we can attract some IMRO fighters to join us," Kuros suggested.

Since the Bulgarians looked on with cold eyes, IMRO lost confidence in Bulgaria after the failure.

"As long as it can increase the power of Greece in Macedonia, you can do it." Mioaris granted Kuros full rights.

"Your intelligence support is very important for the upcoming Greek-Macedonian Commission, Kouros, be sure not to slack off."

"At the same time, Crown Prince Constantine specifically asked me to tell you, Kouros, that your intelligence work should be expanded to the interior of Macedonia, such as Skopje," Mioaris said meaningfully.

Skopje (near the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia) is an important city in northern Macedonia. The Kingdom of Serbia has always had intentions here, and the Crown Prince deliberately expanded intelligence work to Skopje. What does it mean?

"Will the fighters of the Greek Macedonian Committee also enter North Macedonia? Will this conflict with Serbia?" Kuros asked in surprise.

It is already difficult enough to deal with Bulgaria alone, and now we have to deal with Serbia?

After the uprising in Macedonia, Serbia also joined the craze for Macedonia. The armed personnel affiliated with Serbia are more active in Kosovo and North Macedonia.

"This is what the country instructed, so we do it"

With the funding of the wealthy businessman Demetrius, Greek armed personnel also entered the Macedonian region in large numbers to fight for the great cause of the Greek nation.

········

In the Tatoi Palace, Constantine is discussing the situation in Macedonia with Prime Minister Alexandros.

"The attitudes of all countries are very firm. In order to maintain the stability of the European situation, the major powers must also maintain the Ottoman Empire's position in Macedonia," said Alexandros.

"The situation in Europe is complicated. Austria-Hungary will do its best to support the Ottoman Empire's rule in Macedonia. Serbia and Bulgaria, two Slavic countries, are all close to Russia. Once the situation in Macedonia changes, it means that Russia's influence in the Balkan Peninsula will expand."

"And Germany will definitely stand on the side of Austria-Hungary in order to appease its ally Austria-Hungary. Britain and France are also unwilling to see Slavic forces enter the Mediterranean."

"That is to say, in the short term, although the three countries are fighting fiercely in the Macedonian region, there will still be no changes in the overall situation?" Constantine said.

This is also good, which is most beneficial to Greece.