Greece’s Roman Road

Hearing Metaxas' sincere request, Constantine was thoughtful.

"Metaxas, your assertion is based on purely military considerations, without taking into account the domestic and international situation," Constantine explained.

"Let's not talk about other factors, just after the Treaty of Berlin in 1881, all countries have reached an agreement on the territorial issue of the Balkans: unless the countries reach a unified consensus, it is forbidden to unilaterally change the status quo in the Balkans", Constantine said helplessly.

Even if it is as strong as Russia, after the victory of the Russo-Turkish War in 1878, the British fleet sailed to the Sea of ​​Marmara. When the British-Russian naval battle was about to break out, it had to give up the achievements and succumbed to international pressure.

The original issue between Russia and Turkey has turned into an international issue.

"Without the approval of the foreign powers, it would be impossible for us to take military action," Constantine said helplessly.

As for forcing a war against the pressure of the foreign powers, Constantine did not mention it at all, because it is absolutely impossible.

Although Constantine thought Metaxas' suggestion was unrealistic, the other side's keen insight into changes in military power still impressed Constantine.

After all, the other party is only a division-level staff officer. It is too embarrassing for him to consider the issue from the perspective of the government and the international political situation.

"Alright, Chief of Staff Metaxas, tell me about the general situation of our Thessaly 1st Division."

"Yes, sir, the first division consists mainly of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, stationed in Lamia. The 4th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Larissa. The 5th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Trikala. The 1st Field Artillery Regiment 1st and 2nd Squadrons, stationed in Larissa. Engineering Battalion, headquartered in Larissa" Metaxas replied.

"The total number is about 11,000 people"

As one of the main divisions of Greece, the 1st Division of Thessaly Legion was undoubtedly the ace division of Greece.

After that, Metaxas led Constantine to the playground to watch the army.

The neatly queued soldiers, the rifles in their hands, and the bright silver curved bayonet made people feel chills.

"Is this a Chaposse rifle?" Constantine said, pointing to the special rifle in the soldier's hand.

The reason why Constantine could recognize this is the Chaposser rifle at a glance is because the bayonet of this rifle is very special.

One is the length. The Chaposser rifle with a bayonet has reached 1.88 meters, which can be used as a long spear.

The second is its unique shape, borrowed from Turkey's Atkan machete.

Metaxas, who accompanied the inspection, stepped forward and said, "Yes, it's an improved model, using all-metal copper shells."

The Chaposse rifle was the main rifle used by the French army in the Franco-Prussian War. Even if the French failed, countries still believed that the Chaposse rifle was more advanced than the German Dresser rifle.

Xia Saibo's most convincing innovation is the rubber air-tight sleeve on the surface of the bolt to prevent gas leakage.

Although this method is not perfect, because after each shot, the rubber will shrink and harden due to the effect of gas and eventually lose its function, and it needs to be replaced at any time, but compared to the fiery firing pin of the Dresser rifle, where is this a problem?

"What cannons are our artillery armed with?" Constantine asked curiously.

Because the artillery's cannon is huge and heavy, it is inconvenient to move casually, just to inspect the troops, there is no need to go to war.

So the cannon did not appear.

"Since the Germans won over the French, the Germans' Krupp breech artillery has become famous and famous all over the world," Metaxas replied.

From the Shaposser rifles and Krupp cannons equipped by the 1st Division, we can see its important position in the Greek army.

These weapons are carefully selected from the active weapons in various countries and purchased from overseas with a lot of money.

The total number of the Greek army is about 50,000. Although this number is not large, the Bulgarian army next door has nearly 100,000 people.

However, for an agricultural country like Greece with a population of just over a million, this is already a heavy burden.

........

After two months of exploration, the Matadi-Kinshasa railway route in Congo has been determined.

Banning telegraphed the news to Constantine, and according to the plan to develop the Congo River Basin, a Congolese Railway Corporation was established.

It is estimated that this railway company will need to raise 25 million francs of founding funds to build a railway in the deserted tropical jungles of southern Africa.

Facing such a huge sum of money, Banningshou's head was about to be bald. He knew very well that the wealth of the Greek royal family was limited, and it was impossible to invest as much in Congo as before.

As for the bankers in Greece, their capital is weak, and it is impossible for them to collect such a huge sum of money.

This means that the new Congo Kingdom must rely on its own strength to raise sufficient development funds.

Under Constantine's prompting, Banning first came to Belgium and made contact with bankers in the Belgian banking industry.

Although King Leopold II of Belgium had previously expressed to Constantine that he was willing to contract the rights of the Matadi-Kinshasa railway, Constantine, who understood its importance, did not agree.

If the Belgians can get completely independent railway rights, out of their own interests, Belgian bankers are willing to bear the risks ~www.novelmt.com~ relative to the broad future earnings prospects.

But the current situation is that the Congolese Railway Company is only seeking financial support from them for this project. They are only one of the shareholders, and risk is an important factor that they need to consider.

According to Banning's reaction, the reaction of bankers in various countries was lukewarm.

The status quo of Congo is that the main export commodities, namely ivory, rubber, and palm, are all primary products, and the total amount is about one million francs.

Building a railroad in such a densely virgin jungle, lacking vital commodities, it is hard to imagine how the initial capital raising of 25 million francs would have worked.

The Congo is rich in mineral reserves and varieties, and the contemporary people do not know about the experience of Constantine in later generations.

Moreover, a considerable part of Congo's mineral deposits are rare metals, and when the second industrial revolution is in the ascendant, the market demand is not strong.

Such as the uranium mines in Congo, which are now used to dye porcelain.

Congo Railways needs more enticing news to grab investors' attention.

Sitting in the office, Constantine racked his brains thinking about ways to raise funds.

"Your Highness, the tea you want." Schmidt placed the exquisite tea cup in front of the frowning Constantine.

Seeing the restless Constantine, Schmidt kindly came up with an idea; "Duke, now that the news of the discovery of a large gold mine in South Africa has made gold prospectors from all over Europe flock to it, can we also release some news, just say the Congo region There are also new gold mines being discovered.”

"In this way, under the temptation of gold, there must be someone willing to pay for the Congolese railway"

Hearing Schmidt's prompt, Constantine's eyes lit up.

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