1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 131 The Teeth of Athens!

The square was deathly silent.

The villagers looked at the unrecognizable thugs being led out, then at the bag of silver coins gleaming temptingly in the sunlight, and finally, their gaze settled on Constantine's young and resolute face.

Anger, lingering fear, shame, and a hint of relief at surviving a disaster were intertwined on their weathered faces.

"It's him! It's him!" An old woman pointed a trembling finger at a man in the crowd. "He came to my house the night before last and said that if I just stood in the street, I could get ten drachmas!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

"And that one! I saw him talking furtively with those thugs from the city!"

"They lied to us, saying the factory would bring plague, but it turns out they themselves were the plague!"

Public opinion, like a flood bursting its banks, reversed completely in an instant. The oligarchs' agents, who had been lurking in the village and responsible for inciting and distributing money, were dragged out one by one by the angry villagers and handed over to the royal guards.

Constantine watched this scene with no expression on his face.

This is the result he wanted.

He did not use a single soldier to suppress the rebellion, but instead let the villagers carry out the internal purge themselves.

Now it's the turn of the people in Athens.

His target wasn't the mastermind Mavrokodatos himself. Constantine knew he couldn't touch that old fox yet.

His target was the small oligarchic families who were jumping around in this incident, thinking they could profit from the chaos.

The first business to be raided was the Skozes family's cotton trading company. Their eldest son was the very man who, just two days prior, had been clamoring in parliament to "respect tradition" and oppose industrialization. Investigators stormed into the business and publicly announced their charges: "Suspected of funding violence, sabotaging important national projects, and endangering national economic security!"

The business was sealed off, all the account books were confiscated, and family members were restricted from leaving the country.

Next came the Larlis family's shipping company in the port of Piraeus. It was discovered that it was their ships that transported "The Jackal" and his thugs from elsewhere to Athens.

One after another, once-powerful families in Athens crumbled under the swift action of the "Royal Special Investigation Bureau." There was no trial, no defense, only a confiscation order jointly signed by the King and the Crown Prince.

The entire elite circle of Athens smelled blood.

Inside the most luxurious ward of Athens Municipal Hospital.

Hermann Schmidt awoke from his coma. His head was wrapped in thick bandages, and his face was pale, but his eyes had regained their clarity.

The door to the ward was pushed open, and Constantine walked in.

He offered no empty apology, nor did he explain what had happened. He simply placed a document gently on Schmidt's bedside table.

That was a land deed.

“Mr. Schmidt,” Constantine’s voice was calm but powerful, “this is an estate in the Corfisia district, north of Athens, with gardens and stables. Its original owner was Mr. Skozes.”

Schmidt's pupils contracted slightly. Although he was an engineer, he was aware of the Scythians' status in Athens.

"It is yours now," Constantine continued. "This is an apology from the Greek royal family, and a punishment for the sinner. I assure you, the blood you shed on Phoenix Mountain will not have been shed in vain."

Schmidt looked at Constantine, the proud Prussian engineer, and for the first time felt a deep sense of awe in front of this young prince.

This is hardly an apology.

This is to wash away the humiliation he suffered by destroying a prominent family!

This swift and decisive action, this sincere yet bloody "spiritual compensation," is far more likely to touch the heart of a German than any money or verbal promise.

When the news reached the German embassy, ​​the ambassador, who had initially been furious, remained silent for a long time after hearing the report. He personally called Berlin, detailing Crown Prince Constantine's handling of the situation.

Ultimately, Berlin's reply consisted of only one sentence: "We respect His Highness the Crown Prince's decision and will fully cooperate with the subsequent construction of the Phoenix Mountain project."

A diplomatic crisis that could have shaken the very foundations of both countries was averted under Constantine's iron fist.

At the Phoenix Mountain construction site, all obstacles have disappeared.

The workers injured by the thugs received double the compensation. The villagers who had participated in the protests became the most enthusiastic labor force, eagerly signing up to help build the factory. Having witnessed firsthand the Crown Prince's swift and decisive actions and generous benevolence, they were filled with awe and gratitude.

With the combined efforts of German engineers and Greek workers, the construction of the steel plant was progressing at an unprecedented pace. The foundation for the first blast furnace was completed in just a few days.

In the secluded mansion of the Fanar district, Alexius Mavrokodatos smashed his most beloved set of Chinese porcelain teaware.

He suffered heavy losses. Several important peripheral pieces were uprooted, and a huge gap was torn open in the sphere of influence he had built up over many years.

But none of these are the most important.

Most importantly, he realized that he had underestimated Constantine from beginning to end. He thought the other man was just a somewhat clever idealist, but he never expected that beneath that handsome face lurked a cold, cunning, and ruthless beast.

At dusk.

Constantine stood atop Phoenix Mountain, overlooking the brightly lit and bustling construction site below. The roar of the steam engines mingled with the workers' chants, creating a powerful symphony.

Sofia came up from behind and draped a warm coat over his shoulders.

"You scared them," she said softly, a hint of worry in her voice.

Constantine took her slightly cool hand in his, his gaze sweeping over the construction site and landing on the dazzling lights of Athens in the distance.

"My dear," he began, his voice carried by the wind, "the meekness of sheep is useless against hungry jackals. I must make them understand that my Greece has grown teeth of steel."

He paused, his eyes becoming deep and unfathomable.

"However, that's not enough."

"To truly tame these wolves, we must remove their most crucial fang." He gazed at the distant bank buildings, his eyes deep and unfathomable. Violence and land are merely the visible forms of power in this era. What truly chokes a nation, rendering all monarchical power and violence ineffective, is the invisible flow of capital. This is the oligarchs' true lifeline, and the sharpest blow he is about to deliver.

Sofia looked at him.

Constantine's gaze fell upon the National Bank building in the heart of Athens, a symbol of Greece's financial lifeline.

"--finance."