Chapter 600: Planning Greece

The discussion about the United States lasted for a long time. As a common concern of Australasia and Britain, Arthur and George V still had a lot of respect for the United States.

Although it was clear that such preparations would not completely disintegrate the United States, it would be a sure win for Britain and Australasia to weaken it a little bit.

After talking about the United States, Arthur and George V naturally turned their attention to the current situation in Europe.

With the independence of Finland and the three Baltic countries, the situation in Europe has become much more lively.

Although there are no superpowers (European continent) as a whole, the overall situation is that powerful countries coexist.

The most powerful country on the European continent is currently France, but Germany still has a certain countervailing power.

The most powerful country in the east should be Russia, but Russia is restrained by Poland and Soviet Russia, and neither of the two powerful countries in the east nor the west can play their own advantages.

Looking at the most chaotic Central European region at present, the internal situation of the two powerful German countries is not very good.

The Bohemian region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also seeking independence. Although the overall situation is better than that of Germany, the independence and unity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is the most difficult to maintain.

No country can maintain a comprehensive lead, which is the real reason for the chaos and complexity of the European situation.

"Arthur, what do you think of the newly established Republic of Turkey?" George V asked Arthur with a smile.

"It is obvious that the new Turkey does not have the possibility of becoming a great power at all." Arthur replied.

"The establishment of Turkey may not be a bad thing for us. At least the expansion of Soviet Russia in the Caucasus can be curbed, and the Balkans will become easier to control." Arthur said with a smile.

Russia used to be the controlling country of the Balkan countries. But with the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, Russia has lost control of the Balkans.

As a famous powder keg in Europe and the culprit who directly ignited the entire World War I, the situation in the Balkans has always been unclear, and conflicts have occurred from time to time.

At present, the most powerful country in the Balkans should be Serbia. After annexing the entire Bosnia, Serbia's population surpassed Bulgaria and Romania in one fell swoop, and its industrial and economic levels were also the strongest in the Balkans.

As for Romania, the original Balkan power, it actually gained very little territory in World War I, and its overall strength did not grow rapidly.

The remaining two original Balkan powers, Bulgaria and Greece, have experienced defeat in the war and have lost hope of competing for hegemony in the Balkans.

Bulgaria was a defeated country in World War I, and its hope of rising again is very slim unless it can rely on another huge war.

Greece had just failed in the Greco-Turkish War, and even the Greek king was deposed. Although Greece is currently the strongest in the Balkans in terms of land area, it is impossible to restore its peak state without more than ten years of recovery.

George V nodded, mentioned Greece, which had just lost its monarchy, and smiled and said, "After George was deposed, did Charlotte come to you to cry?"

Charlotte is Arthur's biological sister and the youngest daughter of the old Duke Arthur. Arthur also has an older sister named Patricia. Both sisters married into European royal families, but one in Sweden and the other in Greece.

Compared with Charlotte, who married into Greece, where the throne was more bumpy, Patricia, who married into a more stable throne, was luckier.

Although Patricia's husband Gustav Adolf had a relatively long-lived father, at least his father's throne and his own position as crown prince were relatively stable, and Patricia had no problems in her life.

Charlotte's fate was not so lucky. Although she also married into the Greek royal family and her husband was also the former Greek Crown Prince George, Greece's fate during this period was not good, and the Greek throne and political arena also experienced many ups and downs.

The king before World War I was still Constantine I, the father of Crown Prince George, but because he was educated in Germany and married Sophia, the queen of William II, he was unwilling to join the Allied Powers in the war and forced the Greek government at the time to remain neutral.

But it is obvious that under the propaganda of many countries of the Allied Powers, the Allies at that time had been promoted as the big villain.

Constantine I, who favored the Allies, naturally received opposition from all walks of life in Greece, and even caused the actual division of Athens and Thessaloniki, which almost caused Greece to become two countries.

The final result was naturally that Greece joined the Allies, and Constantine I, who supported the Allies, was forced to give up his throne to his son Alexander.

It is worth mentioning that Alexander was not the crown prince of Greece at that time, but the younger brother of the Greek Crown Prince George, the second son of Constantine I.

The main reason for this was that Crown Prince George had served in the German army in Prussia, which also made Crown Prince George regarded as a member of the supporters of the Allies.

After Alexander succeeded to the throne, he immediately became a puppet of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, who was controlled by the Allies.

The former King Constantine I and the former Crown Prince George were also forced to go into exile in Switzerland, where they received assistance from Britain and Australasia.

This also has to sigh at the complex blood relationship between European royal families. The Greek royal family and the British royal family are related by blood, and George is also one of Queen Victoria's great-grandchildren.

In addition, George and Charlotte received support from Australasia after their marriage, which also made Constantine I and Crown Prince George live a relatively wealthy life in Switzerland.

The turning point came in 1920, when King Alexander was bitten by a monkey in the palace and became infected a few days later. Because of the worsening of the disease, his life was in danger.

This seems a bit exaggerated, but it is what really happened in Greek history.

The penicillin in Australasia has not yet been made public, and the only way for the world to fight infection is to fight it hard.

Obviously, King Alexander was not favored by the goddess of luck, and he soon ended his short career as king.

King Alexander did not have any male heirs, and the Greek throne eventually fell into the hands of the former King Constantine I, and he and Crown Prince George finally returned to Greece.

The story after that is very familiar. Greece under the rule of Constantine I lost the Greco-Turkish War, and the pot was also placed on the royal family.

Constantine I was deposed again, and Crown Prince George succeeded to the throne and was called George II.

But the story of George II is different from that of his grandfather George I. George I ruled Greece for 50 years. Although he did not make any great achievements, he was still quite popular in Greece.

George II did not have high support in Greece because of his father and brother, and was forced to abdicate because of a revolution this year.

The current full name of Greece is the Second Hellenic Republic. The former Greek royal family no longer exists. George II and Charlotte, as well as some members of the Greek royal family, have also gone into exile in other European countries, waiting for the opportunity to restore the throne at any time.

Hearing George V's inquiry, Arthur smiled and nodded, and said helplessly: "Greece's affairs cannot be changed by Australasia alone. How can I forcibly start a war to turn Greece into a monarchy for her personal interests?"

Interfering with the Greek revolution will cause many troubles, and European countries are unwilling to see Australasia forcibly interfere in Europe.

Even thinking about the bad side, doing so will damage Australasia's reputation cultivated in European countries, and European countries' goodwill towards Australasia will also fade.

And the situation in Greece is not as simple as imagined. George II lost the throne because Constantine I before him had already lost the trust of the people.

Unless multiple powers can interfere in Greece together, Australasia alone cannot guarantee the monarchy of Greece.

Instead of pushing George II back to the throne, it is better to protect the lives of Charlotte's family as much as possible, so that they can become a rich man after losing their noble status, and they don't need to worry about basic food, clothing, housing and transportation.

"That's true." George V nodded and said with a smile: "But this situation is not impossible to change, Arthur."

"The position of Greece is too important to us. Only by controlling Greece can we control Constantinople. According to the joint declaration of European royal families we signed, we have a chance to restore the Greek royal family, right?"

Arthur nodded silently in his heart, without any reaction on the surface, quietly waiting for George V's next speech.

In fact, George V was not wrong. After all, the European Royal Joint Declaration did protect the interests of the royal families of various countries, and other monarchies did have legitimate reasons to intervene in the revolution in a certain country, at least to protect the status of the royal families of various countries.

But this also has a prerequisite, that is, at least most of the monarchies agree to interfere in the revolution, and at least one or two powers are willing to start a war for a certain monarchy.

According to what George V said, it seems that the British government has the idea of ​​helping George II to restore the throne, which is what Arthur is most curious about.

"Cousin George, do you mean to directly help the Greek royal family restore the throne?" Arthur asked with a smile.

George V nodded and explained: "The situation in the Balkans has always been unstable, and this is also one of the areas where war is most likely to occur. In any case, it is still necessary to control the situation in the Balkans. We need to control as many Balkan countries as possible and help the Balkans find a way to be in peace."

In addition to Bulgaria, the defeated country, the three most powerful Balkan countries should be Serbia, Romania and Greece.

At present, Greece is the easiest to intervene, and Greece also had a government close to Britain before, so it is relatively easy to control it.

If George II can be supported to take office in exchange for a Greek government that fully leans towards Britain, it will not be a loss for George V.

Greece's support will not only make it easier for Britain to control Constantinople, but also make the Suez Canal not far to the south more stable.

This will also strengthen the British control over the entire Mediterranean. Whether the French fleet in the Mediterranean can enter the real ocean will also be decided by the British.

Arthur nodded, and he was not surprised by the British idea.

Although countries like Greece are far inferior to the great powers, they can sometimes provide considerable help.

Especially since Britain is not on the European continent, it should win over more small European countries to form a huge force, which is sometimes more useful than its own military force.

Compared with the British, the French control fewer European countries. This also led to the fact that although the French are the most powerful country on the European continent, they are restricted. The British are no longer worried about France, far less than Germany, which was once the most powerful country on the European continent.

"Arthur, are you interested in joining our action? Let George return to the Greek throne, I believe you can also relieve some of your troubles." George V said with a smile.

Supporting the restoration of George II is not actually of great benefit to Australasia, but it still has a little effect on Arthur.

After all, Arthur's sister Charlotte is the wife of George II, and the princes and princesses of the Greek royal family in the future will also be Arthur's nephews and nieces.

Although there is no saying in Europe that the mother's uncle is older, the blood relationship between such close relatives is still relatively reliable, and they will help when they can.

Overall, if the Greek royal family is restored, it will not be bad for Britain and Arthur.

Especially for Arthur. The strength of a country is measured by its comprehensive strength and military strength, which is nothing more than economic, industrial and real battlefield performance.

Whether a royal family is stable and strong depends more on its status and reputation in the European royal family and the degree of support it receives from the European royal family.

If Arthur wants to establish an empire in the future, he must obtain as much support from the European royal family as possible to make his title of emperor worthy of its name.

Only when Arthur's own title is recognized by the European royal family, the nobles he enfeoffs, including future dukes and princes, will be recognized by the European nobles and become a member of the European nobles.

At present, the German nobles still have a good impression of Arthur. In addition to the British royal family, the Greek royal family, and the Russian royal family with in-laws, Arthur can be said to have won over the most important royal families in Europe. This is also the real reason why Arthur's position in the European royal family is relatively stable and high.

It is precisely because of this that Arthur did not reject George V's proposal. If the British take the lead, Australasia will not have to worry about the criticism of other countries.

It is very easy for two powers to unite to control the political situation of a country, not to mention the most powerful country in Europe like Britain.

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