1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 139 The Trojan Horse of the New Era

Sir Harding left the palace satisfied with his "generous" blueprint.

No sooner had he left than the atmosphere in the royal conference room of the palace became extremely tense.

Professor Andreas was the first to stand up. The scholar, who had just been immersed in the joy of victory, was now flushed and his voice rose with anger.

"Your Highness, this must not be agreed to!"

His fist slammed heavily on the conference table, making a dull thud.

"This isn't aid; this is blatant economic colonization and intelligence infiltration! We just regained our financial sovereignty at a bloody cost, are we really going to hand over the nation's energy and information lifelines to them in the blink of an eye?"

"Control of the power plants, management of the telegraph office, and that so-called General Intelligence Directorate! Once we agree, the British can cut off our electricity at any time, just like they control their colonies, and eavesdrop on all our secrets! This will be a far more devastating disaster than a financial defeat!"

Andreas's words were resounding.

"The professor is right!" Chancellor of the Exchequer Melas also stood up. He was a rising star who had stood firmly on Constantine's side during the financial war and had been promoted as a result.

"The British have no good intentions! This is clearly revenge after our defeat! They want to use this method to put the shackles back around our necks!"

"I second that! This is the Trojan Horse of the new era! Beautiful on the outside, but hiding soldiers within to destroy us!"

Another newly appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry echoed his sentiments with great enthusiasm.

The meeting room was filled with righteous indignation. Most of those present were reformist stalwarts who had replaced the old oligarchs under Constantine's patronage. Their wariness and hatred of Britain ran deep. Their most direct and instinctive reaction was to denounce Harding's proposal as a conspiracy.

To everyone's surprise, Constantine remained unusually calm throughout.

He did not speak, but listened quietly to the ministers' argument.

As the noise in the conference room gradually subsided, everyone's attention returned to him, awaiting his final verdict.

He raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

Then he stood up and slowly walked to the huge map of Greece on the wall.

Instead of answering directly, he turned around and asked a question to everyone.

"Everyone."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"What do we lack most right now?"

The ministers looked at each other, discussing amongst themselves.

"It's the money!" Chancellor of the Exchequer Melas answered first. "Although we have won a lot of money, it is far from enough to support the nation's industrialization."

"It's technology!" The Minister of Industry and Commerce shook his head. "We don't have our own generator technology, we don't have qualified engineers, we have to start from scratch."

"It's all about talent!" Professor Andreas added. "We lack a large number of modern management talents and highly skilled technical workers."

The meeting room erupted into discussion once again.

Constantine did not interrupt them, but simply waited quietly.

When all the sounds had ceased, he slowly spoke, each word like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart.

"You're all right. But none of that is the most important thing."

"What we lack most is time."

The entire conference room fell silent instantly.

Constantine's finger traced across the map.

"How long does it take to build a thermal power plant of the scale described by Harding, from geological exploration and engineering design to equipment procurement, construction, and finally grid connection?"

He looked at the Minister of Industry and Commerce.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce opened his mouth and uttered a number with difficulty: "If we start from scratch and figure it out ourselves, it will be absolutely impossible in less than five years."

Constantine's finger moved to the other side.

How long would it take to train a group of qualified engineers and technicians capable of maintaining and operating the national telegraph network?

"It will take at least three to four generations, more than ten years," Professor Andreas replied in a deep voice, as he knew the state of education in Greece best.

"Five years, ten years," Constantine repeated the two numbers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what will the world be like in five years, ten years? The Second Industrial Revolution is changing rapidly. By the time we figure it out ourselves, others will have already overtaken us. We will forever be left behind, eating their dust."

His words silenced everyone.

Yes, time.

This is the most precious and luxurious resource for small and weak countries.

Constantine's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Professor Andreas, who remained deeply worried.

He walked back to the head of the table and sat down.

Then, he announced a decision that shook the entire conference room.

"I agree in principle to Sir Harding's 'gift'."

This decision was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake.

"Your Highness!"

Professor Andreas's face was filled with disbelief. He stood up abruptly, wanting to dissuade him again.

Constantine raised his hand to stop him.

Meeting adjourned.

He looked at the surprised and uncertain eyes of the crowd, and his tone left no room for argument.

"We'll discuss the specific details of the collaboration tomorrow."

The crowd in the conference room dispersed, leaving only Constantine and Andreas.

Andreas stood there, his face full of anxiety and confusion.

"Your Highness, I still don't understand. This is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house."

Constantine stood up, poured Andreas a glass of water himself, and handed it to him.

"Professor, sit down and talk."

Once Andreas was seated, Constantine sat down opposite him, leaning slightly forward.

"Professor, imagine a lion tossing a piece of meat at us. Should we cautiously dodge it, or should we accept it with a smile?"

"But that piece of meat is poisoned!" Andreas replied immediately.

“That’s right.” Constantine nodded. “But how we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat are up to us.”

Seeing Andreas's puzzled look, he lowered his voice and explained his true thoughts.

"The British want controlling stake, they want management control, fine, give them that. They want to build a power plant, we'll pick our brightest young men from the Royal Institute of Technology and send them to the construction site to be apprentices and assistants to their engineers. Our people will learn their management style, their technical standards, and dig out everything from their heads!"

"They want to build a telegraph office? Even better. We can use it to transmit the messages we want them to hear. An open intelligence channel is the best cover. They think they're eavesdropping on us, but in reality, we're feeding them information."

A hunter's glint flashed in Constantine's eyes.

"Professor, you see this project as a trap. But in my opinion, it's an excellent 'starter village'."

"A free 'starter village' that uses British money and British technology to train our own talent, set standards, and accumulate experience!"

"Once our talent pool is developed, the technology is mastered, and enough experience is accumulated, will this contract still be important?"

Professor Andreas was completely stunned.

He stared blankly at the young crown prince before him.

That seemingly gentle blueprint, in the Crown Prince's interpretation, became a textbook that could squeeze every last drop of value out of the British people.

Risk has turned into opportunity.

Poison has been transformed into a tonic.

He finally understood where the difference lay between himself and the Crown Prince.