Chapter 232 Thessaloniki (II)

Bulgarian Consulate in Thessaloniki

Since learning that the Ottoman army had retreated to Thessaloniki, Johnkovic, the Bulgarian consul in Thessaloniki, has been closely following the news in Thessaloniki.

Drawing aside the silk curtains, Johnkovic, standing on the second floor, looked down at the scene on the streets of Thessaloniki, and from time to time, he could see a few Ottoman soldiers walking carelessly on the streets.

The Ottoman soldiers were easy to identify because they usually wore headscarves.

The goods in the street shops, whatever the soldiers liked, were directly put into their pockets. The faces of the Jews or Greek merchants were flushed, but looking at the rifles on the shoulders of these Ottoman soldiers, they dared not speak out.

These undisciplined soldiers strolled in the streets in twos and threes, with loose discipline and low morale.

Johnkovic was surprised by the lax military discipline of the Ottoman army. As we all know, the Greek army has won battle after battle and is now approaching the outskirts of Thessaloniki.

According to Johnkovic's expectation, the Ottoman army should be ready for war as if facing a formidable enemy.

But what puzzled Johnkovic was that these Ottoman soldiers had time to stroll around the streets, looking leisurely and without any intention of preparing for war.

Although Johnkovic was not aware of the secret negotiations between the Greeks and the Ottomans on Thessaloniki, he was also keenly aware of the abnormal performance of the Ottoman army.

On the morning of January 8, Johnkovic went to visit Aitsa Pasha and asked about the attitude of the Ottomans.

Looking at the Bulgarian consul who was carefully probing in front of him, Aitsa Pasha, who was determined to provoke the Balkan alliance, was naturally not polite and said frankly without concealment: "The Macedonian Corps has negotiated with the Greeks. We will use the city of Thessaloniki in exchange for the Greek army to allow the remaining troops of our army to withdraw from Thessaloniki."

Aitsa Pasha quietly watched the changes in the expression of the Bulgarian consul, and guessed in his heart what reaction Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria) would make after learning the news.

This shocking answer made Johnkovic's anger burn like a flame, and he felt the regret and hatred of Bulgaria being betrayed by the Greeks.

Johnkovic believed that the 400,000 Bulgarian troops fought the Ottomans in Thrace and fought against the power of an empire almost single-handedly.

Whether it was the Greeks or the Serbs, their military operations in Macedonia could proceed smoothly because the Bulgarian army firmly attracted the attention of the Ottoman Empire in the frontal war, leaving the Ottoman Empire no time to take care of the war in Macedonia.

To put it bluntly, most of the elite troops of the Ottoman army were dealt with by Bulgarian soldiers.

And these despicable Greeks, behind the scenes, left Bulgaria alone to take the benefits.

"Aitsa Pasha, I have to say that this news really shocked me. How could you negotiate with the Greeks privately without Bulgaria's knowledge?" Johnkovic asked in disbelief.

"As a major participant in the Balkan League, Aitsa Pasha, I strongly urge you to surrender to the great Kingdom of Bulgaria. Our two divisions of troops are rushing to Thessaloniki at a very fast speed." Johnkovic heard Aitsa Pasha, the highest commander of the Ottoman army in Thessaloniki, say this, trying to save this terrible news for Bulgaria.

Looking at Johnkovic, whose chest was heaving violently due to anger and whose face was flushed, Aitsa Pasha did not forget to add fuel to the fire: "We have reached an agreement with the commander of the Greeks, Crown Prince Constantine, last night."

At this point, Aitsa Pasha spread his hands flat and made a helpless look: "Unfortunately, I only have one Thessaloniki."

Took a few deep breaths to calm down all the negative emotions. After a little thought, he roughly understood the thoughts of the Pasha in front of him.

Since the situation in Thessaloniki is irreversible, there is no need to act like a clown here and let people tease and mock him.

"I really envy your military accomplishment, Pasha. As a soldier, you can give up an important city of your country to another country without any psychological obstacles. I really admire you from the bottom of my heart. Can I ask you what is the secret?"

Without waiting for Aitser Pasha to respond, he asked himself and answered: "Oh, no, I will never use such experience anyway."

After that, he turned around and left in a hurry without watching Aitser Pasha respond.

After returning to the consulate, he hurried to the communication room and asked the telegraph staff to inform the country and the army of the news.

In the afternoon, the Greek army officially entered the city of Thessaloniki. The whole process was safe and orderly without any resistance.

The Ottoman army withdrew from the city of Thessaloniki in the morning according to the signed secret agreement.

That night, in the official residence that originally belonged to Aitser Pasha, Constantine invited the upper class in Thessaloniki to hold a banquet to celebrate the Greek recovery of Thessaloniki, a city that the Greeks had lost for hundreds of years.

In the quiet back garden, Constantine met with Johnkovic, the Bulgarian consul in Thessaloniki.

In the pavilion in the garden, Constantine sat and talked with two guests from Bulgaria.

"Your Highness, congratulations on leading the Greek army and bringing a brilliant victory to the Balkan Alliance," Johnkovic complimented.

Johnkovic was thin and tall, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with a clean face and a calm demeanor.

As for the guest sitting next to him, he had a straight back, a thick beard, and a serious expression. It was obvious that he was a soldier.

"Your Highness, this is General Christo. After hearing that the Greek army's attack on Thessaloniki was not going well, General Christo immediately led his 12th division to quickly support the Greek allies." Johnkovic saw Constantine looking at the two of them and introduced.

In fact, after Johnkovic reported the news that the Greek army was about to enter Thessaloniki back to the country, both the Bulgarian government and the army were caught off guard.

According to Bulgaria's expectations, the Greek offensive, even if it went smoothly, would take more than ten days.

After all, the Ottoman army stationed in Thessaloniki not only had complete fortifications as a support, but also had 100,000 soldiers.

It was not expected that the Greeks and the Ottomans would reach an agreement in private.

Therefore, after learning about Johnkovic's news, Bulgarian King Ferdinand I directly ordered Hristo's troops, which were closest to Thessaloniki, to go to Thessaloniki immediately.

After learning the news, Hristo's infantry division hurried as fast as possible. Seeing that the Greeks had already entered the city, Hristo had no choice but to lead a company of cavalry, lightly equipped, and ran for more than four hours before catching up with the Greek banquet.