Chapter 58 Britain's Attitude

After seeing the breakdown of relations between the Russians and Bulgaria, the British Gladstone government sent a diplomatic note to the authorities in Constantinople and Athens: if military action is taken against Bulgaria, it will be regarded as an act of hostility against Britain.

William White, the British acting ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, originally planned to be transferred to the British ambassador to the Qing Dynasty, so he stayed in Constantinople.

There is no doubt that the British statement was like a bucket of cold water poured on the heads of the Greek war faction that had just come to power.

After hearing the news, Constantine hurried to the Prime Minister's residence.

After Trikoupis resigned that day, Delianes, who was supported by the majority of members in the parliament, officially moved into the Prime Minister's residence and became the new Prime Minister of Greece.

Rushing into the Prime Minister's office, I saw Delianes pointing at a map with the Chief of Staff Emmanuil.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you should have received the British diplomatic note. What are your plans?" Constantine asked anxiously.

"Your Excellency, the current situation in the Balkans does not allow Greece to hesitate. The Serbian army has 60,000 well-trained troops, while the Bulgarian army has only about 50,000 troops, and they also have to guard against the Ottoman Turkish army," Delianes said confidently.

His analysis does make sense. The Eastern Rumelia province is geographically important and is an important barrier to Constantinople. Once Bulgaria controls Eastern Rumelia, Bulgaria will pose too great a threat to the capital of Ottoman Turkey. Once a military conflict occurs between the two countries, the Bulgarian army will quickly move south and occupy an advantageous position.

There is a road connecting the Bulgarian capital Sofia with Constantinople. This is the main road built when the Roman Empire was strong, mainly for the mobilization of troops and the convenience of merchants to travel.

Ironically, when the Eastern Roman Empire declined, the Bulgarian army, led by the Tsar, went south along the same road several times and reached the city of Constantinople.

Now, if the Eastern Rumelia province is lost, the situation between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Turks is similar to that between Bulgaria and the weakened Rome, threatening the capital of the empire through this road.

Therefore, the Ottoman Turks will never sit idly by and watch the loss of the Eastern Rumelia province.

"You know, among the three Christian countries in the Balkans, our Greece is the weakest one"

"If we don't take action at this time, after Serbia wins, she will become the new Balkan hegemon," Delianis explained.

In fact, all countries are more optimistic about Serbia at this time. One of the important reasons is that Bulgaria has no officers above the captain at this time, because these senior officers were previously Russians.

Because the relationship between the two countries broke down, Russia directly withdrew all Russian officers in the Bulgarian army.

Secondly, the attitude of all countries is to support Serbia.

"Greece must take action," said Delianis.

"First of all, Serbia does have an advantage, but in a war, the side with the advantage does not necessarily win the final victory."

There are many factors that affect victory in land wars, such as the morale of soldiers, the quality of weapons and equipment, the number of troops, the ability of commanders, terrain, the support of the people, etc.

Therefore, land wars have great uncertainty.

"Secondly, we cannot ignore the British statement," Constantine said seriously.

"Moreover, our territory is not adjacent to Bulgaria, and there is Macedonia in the middle. Once we cross the border, it is easy to cause the actions of the Ottoman Turks, which may intensify the contradictions and turn into a melee among the Balkan countries. This is the result that all the major powers are trying their best to avoid."

Although the current Turkish army is not strong, the Turkish Sultan is retraining the army with the help of the German adviser, Captain von der Goltz, because the time is still short and it will take time to form combat effectiveness.

It is hard to say whether the German high-level officials sent Captain Goltz to Turkey because they had a premonition of the future world war situation, but from the perspective of the development of the original time and space history, this was a brilliant move, indirectly pulling the Ottoman Turkey onto the pirate ship of the Allies.

"So, Mr. Prime Minister, Greece should not be involved in this war," Constantine stated.

Hearing Constantine's clear opposition to participating in the war, the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff frowned and remained silent.

This is obviously the attitude of the king.

The office was quiet for a long time.

"Your Highness, we will take actions that are in line with the interests of Greece depending on the development of the situation," Delianis said vaguely.

This ambiguous answer was undoubtedly perfunctory.

Constantine walked out of the Prime Minister's Mansion with a heavy heart, and for the first time he was tired of the majority voting system in Greece.

There is no doubt that Delianis fanatically advocated war and became Prime Minister with this, and he intended to rely on the will of the Greek people and go all the way.

For Delianes at this time, peace means being driven out of office.

On weekdays, Trikoupis has always been in the upper hand in the Greek National Assembly. His policies of developing industry and commerce, raising tariffs, and building infrastructure are obviously more popular.

Disappointed, he returned to Tatoi Palace and explained the meeting to King George.

"Father, as the supreme commander of the Greek army, can you stop the army's adventure?" Constantine asked, trying to make a last-ditch effort.

The king is the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, which is a sacred right given to the king by the constitution.

"That's impossible. If I really do this, can you imagine how the people will view the royal family? You don't want to see the people gathering in front of the palace gate, shouting traitors, betrayers, right? In the eyes of the majority of the people, A king can only go with the flow when it comes to his will, unless he doesn't care about his own honor."

King George I said with a wry smile.

"Your Majesty, the British Ambassador wishes to see you." Steward Capet came in, interrupting the conversation between the two.

It seems that Derianis' plan to carry out a military adventure has been leaked.

After all, with the British's ability to collect intelligence, it was impossible to conceal the large-scale military gathering.

"Your Majesty the King, the attitude of the British Empire is very clear. It does not want Greece to participate in the war between Serbia and Bulgaria."

Ambassador William Walter walked straight towards George I, looking arrogant.

"About your country's military mobilization, Your Majesty the King, do you have anything to say?"

Constantine frowned. The ambassador's arrogant attitude was annoying, and he violently interfered in Greece's internal affairs.

"Your Excellency Ambassador, the Greek people have made their own choice." In any case, as a king, he could not openly oppose his country's public opinion in front of foreign ministers.

"Your Majesty the King, you'd better stop the actions of your country's army that extremely endanger European peace. Once Greece participates in the war, it is likely to trigger a melee between countries."

"Otherwise, the British Empire will have every reason to be free to take effective measures, as appropriate, to stop the madness of the Greek war fanatics."

After that, he turned around and left the reception room.

King George I was stunned when he heard these words.

I didn't expect that the British would react so strongly.