novelSusiti Chapter 143 The Prelude to Wind and Water
Chapter 143 The Prelude to Wind and Water
Several months later.
The night in Athens was illuminated by a brand new light.
No longer a dim, flickering kerosene lamp, but a steady, bright electric light.
From Syntagma Square to the old town of Plaka, utility poles rise from the ground, casting threads of light across the ancient streets.
As night falls, one electric light after another illuminates the city of Athens, making it appear as if the entire city is draped in a garment woven from pearls.
People came out of their homes and gathered under the streetlights, children chasing their own shadows, their faces filled with unprecedented surprise and joy.
"Bravo, Your Highness! Bravo, Great British Empire!"
"This is the light of civilization!"
Pro-British newspapers used the most ornate language to celebrate this historic moment.
At a banquet at Zappeun Palace, Sir Charles Harding, the British ambassador, was enjoying the highlight of his life.
He stood in the center of the crowd, holding a glass of champagne, receiving compliments from Greek politicians and businessmen.
"Sir, your generosity has brought new life to Greece!"
"Yes, with electricity and the telegraph, our industry will experience a leap forward!"
Sir Harding wore a reserved and proper smile.
He is satisfied.
All of this is in his script.
A power plant, controlled by British capital and operated with British technology, is like a beating heart, supplying life to Athens.
The telegraph network connecting the entire country was his tentacles for controlling the nation's nervous system.
He looked at Constantine, who was talking with several ministers not far away.
The young crown prince looked much more mature, but he ultimately walked onto the path he had laid out for himself.
A country tightly bound by electricity and information is like a tamed wild horse, unable to break free of its reins.
In his eyes, Greece had returned to the chessboard, becoming a docile and useful pawn in the British Empire's Eastern Mediterranean strategy.
Sir Harding raised his glass in a gesture of respect to Constantine.
Constantine returned the toast with a perfectly measured smile, revealing no other emotion.
The banquet ended, and the night was deep.
The gardens of the royal palace are filled with the fragrance of tuberose.
Constantine and Sofia strolled side by side along the pebbly path.
Sofia took off her gorgeous gown and changed into a comfortable loungewear dress, her long golden hair gleaming softly in the moonlight.
She turned her head to look at her husband's profile, her eyes filled with love and pride.
"Connie, you did it."
Her voice was filled with genuine joy.
"Look, Athens is really lit up. Every time I look out the window and see those lights, I feel full of hope for the future."
It's been several months.
During this time, she witnessed the changes in the city firsthand.
Electric lights dispelled the darkness, and telegraphs shortened the distance.
The technology brought by the British did indeed revitalize the country.
In her view, Constantine traded a contract for valuable time and opportunities for national development, making it an incredibly worthwhile deal.
Constantine stopped in his tracks.
He didn't look at the dazzling city lights in the distance, but turned around to face his wife.
The moonlight illuminated his handsome face, and his eyes, though gentle, held a deeper meaning.
He reached out and gently stroked Sophia's smooth cheek.
"Darling, this is just the beginning."
His voice was soft, yet it reached Sophia's ears clearly.
Sofia's smile faltered slightly; she sensed something unusual in her husband's tone.
Constantine's fingers slid down her cheek and grasped her slightly cool hand.
"These lights are beautiful."
He finally looked at the lights in the distance, but his tone became calm.
"But they were lit by burning British coal."
"Every turbine in the power plant is engraved with the name of the British factory. The operating manuals in the control room are all in English."
"What do you think will happen if they stop supplying coal, or if the engineers all take a 'vacation' one day?"
Constantine's words extinguished Sofia's joy as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.
"Athens will return to darkness."
Constantine said, word by word.
"This is not the future I want. A light that is given to us by others can be taken away at any time. That is not true light; it is a gleaming chain around our necks."
Sofia's heart sank.
She then realized that what she had seen was only the most superficial prosperity.
Her husband, however, saw only the deadly dependence and hidden dangers beneath the surface of prosperity.
Constantine saw the realization and worry flash across his wife's eyes, and he gripped her hand even tighter.
His eyes shone with a light brighter than the lights of countless homes in the distance.
"I want to give our country a truly our own, eternal light."
He raised his other hand and pointed it into the night sky.
A gentle evening breeze blew by, ruffling the hems of their clothes and the tips of their hair.
"Sophia, look."
His fingers traced the direction of the wind.
"And there too."
He pointed to the distance, to the Ilissos River flowing ceaselessly under the moonlight.
"Wind, and water."
Constantine's voice carried a grand, awe-inspiring power.
"These two things are found in every inch of our Greek land. They don't need to be imported from England, and they don't need to depend on anyone else."
"These are the inexhaustible energy resources bestowed upon Greece by the gods!"
"This is our next goal."
Sofia stared blankly at her husband.
At that moment, the chaotic thoughts in her mind suddenly cleared up.
She finally understood.
It turns out that from the very beginning, the coal-fired power plant that Sir Harding was so proud of was just a transitional project in Constantine's blueprint!
A smoke grenade used to distract the opponent!
A "stepping stone" to buy time and train the team!
The British thought they had built a fortress to control Greece, but little did they know that they were using their own money and technology to train a group of crucial engineers for Greece's true rise!
Over the past year, while everyone's attention was focused on the power plant billowing thick smoke, Constantine's true pawn had already been quietly moved elsewhere.
Those young people who were sent as apprentices have grown into qualified engineers.
What is Dimitrios, the genius whom Constantine hid away, doing now?
One thought after another flashed through Sophia's mind.
Looking at the magnificent blueprint in her husband's eyes, she was filled with immense awe and pride.
The real trump card is only just beginning to unfold.
She could no longer speak, but instead gripped Constantine's hand tightly in return.
The future is slowly unfolding before them.