novelSusiti Chapter 196 Arming the Peasants in the Name of the Crown Prince
Chapter 196 Arming the Peasants in the Name of the Crown Prince
While the "Fire Seed" troops infiltrated Thessaly like ghosts, Constantine waged another war without gunfire in Athens.
The atmosphere inside the parliament hall was solemn and dignified.
Constantine, dressed in military uniform, personally attended the special parliamentary session. His presence put an unusual amount of pressure on all the members of parliament.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you have probably heard about the tragedy that is taking place on the Thessaly border."
Constantine cut to the chase without any pleasantries.
"Our compatriots are being slaughtered by a group of bandits of unknown origin. Our land is being burned. And our national treasury cannot afford to build a sufficiently strong border defense force."
His words made the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was present, lower his head in shame.
Some members of parliament representing the interests of the old aristocracy and oligarchs began whispering among themselves. They were secretly pleased that Constantine's new policies would fail and that the dire situation on the border was actually a welcome development.
"Your Highness, what do you mean?" an old member of parliament with close ties to the faction of former Prime Minister Zaimis asked hypocritically.
Constantine's gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing straight ahead.
"My point is simple. Since the country has no money, let the people protect themselves!"
He submitted a draft bill to the speaker.
"I propose that the 'Local Self-Defense Militia Law' be enacted immediately!"
The contents of the bill were read aloud in public. There are three core provisions:
I. The Thessaly local government is formally authorized to organize local people on a voluntary basis to form a "local self-defense militia" to deal with bandits and protect the autumn harvest.
Second, the weapons of the militia will be provided free of charge by the Ministry of National Defense from its inventory of a batch of "obsolete" old-fashioned rifles and ammunition.
Third, the daily training and command of the militia shall be the responsibility of the local government, and the Ministry of National Defense may send "military advisors" to assist.
As soon as the bill was read, the entire parliamentary hall erupted in chaos.
"This is outrageous!" The old councilor was the first to object. "Distributing weapons to civilians? Your Highness, you're creating a second Spartacus! Once the banditry is quelled, these armed peasants will become a far more terrifying threat than the bandits!"
"That's right! They'll use these guns to fight tax collectors and the law!"
"This is opening Pandora's box!"
Opposition was widespread. What they feared was not the so-called "threat," but the rise of an armed force beyond their control on Greek soil.
Constantine watched all of this with a cold eye.
He waited until the noise subsided before speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Gentlemen, your concerns are very valid."
His tone was surprisingly gentle, which surprised even his opponents.
"But I would like to ask you all: Where were you when the farmers of Thessaly were being slaughtered? What were you doing when the nation's granaries were being burned?"
He paused, his voice suddenly turning cold.
"You've done nothing! You've just sat here, spouting empty talk about so-called 'threats' and 'hidden dangers'!"
"Now, I'm giving you a choice. Either approve this bill immediately and let the people take up arms to defend their homes, or vote now and take enough money from your precious pockets so I can build a 100,000-strong border defense army!"
Please select!
The lawmakers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Making them pay? That's worse than killing them.
Constantine had put them in a difficult position. It was a choice they couldn't refuse.
Ultimately, under Constantine's unwavering gaze and with the full support of Venizelos-affiliated members of parliament, the Local Self-Defense Militia Act passed by a narrow margin.
Constantine walked out of the parliament hall, a cold smile playing on his lips.
What he wanted was this veneer of "legality".
A few days later, trains loaded with weapons and ammunition departed from Athens and headed for Thessaly.
On the surface, the wagons were loaded with antiques unearthed from the bottom of warehouses—Glas single-shot rifles, and even muzzle-loading guns. These weapons were beneath the notice of even the Ottoman Empire's second-line troops.
However, in a heavily guarded secret warehouse at Larissa train station, these weapon cases were opened one by one.
Alexandros personally oversaw the entire process.
His men carefully retrieved several brand-new, long objects, tightly wrapped in tarpaulin, from under each box filled with old rifles.
The tarpaulin was lifted, revealing the gun barrel, which gleamed with a cold metallic luster.
—The most advanced Commission Rifle of the German Empire, the Model 1888! It also comes with a bayonet and matching smokeless powder bullets.
Even more surprisingly, hidden in the interlayer of some boxes were oval-shaped, cast-iron-cased objects carefully wrapped in sawdust—German-made stick grenades.
"His Highness's order," Alexandros said to the officer in charge of distribution in a detached tone, "is that these 'good hunting rifles' must be personally delivered to the 'good hunters'."
The officer understood immediately and nodded emphatically.
A massive "makeover" is quietly taking place on the Thessalian border.
Meanwhile, the "Spark" instructors, who had taken on various identities, began to demonstrate their value in different villages.
Deer Hunting Village.
The old village chief, Elias, was leading the villagers in reinforcing the village's defenses with stones and wood.
A lame man who claimed to be a retired engineer appeared in the village at some point. He watched the villagers struggling to dig the trench and simply shook his head.
He stepped forward, picked up a shovel, and without saying a word, personally demonstrated how to use it.
He taught the villagers how to dig zigzag trenches to minimize the damage from artillery fire. He also taught them how to set up a mixed obstacle of pointed wooden stakes and barbed wire in front of the trenches.
His technique was professional and efficient, leaving Elias speechless.
That evening, the lame man gathered the village hunters together again.
He took out a brand new German-made rifle.
"This kind of gun shoots farther and more accurately," he said succinctly.
He personally demonstrated how to quickly pull back the bolt and how to complete five shots within five seconds.
He explained the principles of ballistics and aiming, knowledge that the hunters had never heard of before.
The hunters soon discovered that, under the lame man's guidance, their marksmanship had become even more deadly.
Then, the lame man took out a few more grenades.
He demonstrated to the villagers how to pull out the fuse and how to accurately throw it to a target fifty meters away after three seconds.
When the grenade exploded and created a large crater in the open ground, all the villagers gasped in shock.
Their gazes toward the lame man shifted from initial unfamiliarity to utter awe and reverence.
Elias, the respected old village chief, for the first time, voluntarily lowered his proud head to a stranger.
"Sir, please... take charge and lead us!"
The lame man shook his head.
"I am not here to lead you. I am here to help you better protect your home."
The changes in Deer Hunting Village spread like wildfire throughout the surrounding villages.
Soon, a second and a third "local self-defense militia" were established in different villages.
A self-proclaimed traveling merchant instructor known as "Tinder" taught the villagers how to use carrier pigeons to transmit information in the shortest possible time.
A "Torch" instructor, disguised as a surveyor, drew an incredibly detailed military map for more than a dozen nearby villages, marking every path that could be used for ambushes and every cave that could be used for hiding.
During the day, they are farmers working in the fields.
At night, they transform into warriors wielding sharp blades, patrolling the countryside.
Simple but practical outposts sprang up like mushrooms after rain along the vast Thessalian border.
In Larissa's secret command center, Metaxas stood before a huge map, his expression focused.
The map is now covered with small red flags representing militia outposts.
He used a red thread to connect these outposts one by one, forming a complex yet clearly structured giant network.
Just then, an intelligence officer strode in.
"Report! Enemy activity detected at A3 outpost! Approximately fifty men are moving along the dry river valley towards Blackwater Village!"
Metaxas didn't even look up, picked up the small blue flag representing the enemy, and planted it in the Dry River Valley.
He glanced at the map and tapped lightly on the three red flags surrounding Blackwater Village.
He walked to the pigeon coop, took down three pigeons, and tied three small paper rolls to their legs.
On the scroll of paper was only one short command:
"When a wolf enters a sheepfold, it is surrounded on three sides; the gate is closed and the wolf is beaten."
He opened the window and threw the three carrier pigeons vigorously into the sky.
The homing pigeons flapped their wings and soared into the darkness before dawn.
Metaxus watched the direction they had gone, as if he could already see the flames of revenge about to be ignited.
A vast net, woven by the people themselves, guided by the Crown Prince's will, and deployed by professional soldiers, has quietly been unfurled on the Thessalian border.
The hunt is about to begin.