novelSusiti Chapter 2: In one month, Greece will lose everything!
Chapter 2: In one month, Greece will lose everything!
"Bang!"
The heavy, carved wooden door of the royal conference room was suddenly pushed open with tremendous force.
The heated argument inside the door abruptly stopped.
All eyes, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, instantly focused on the uninvited guest at the door.
Crown Prince Constantine of Greece!
He stood ramrod straight at the door, his cold gaze sweeping across the entire room.
King George I, his father, sat on the main seat with his brows furrowed and his face full of displeasure.
A fleeting, undisguised contempt crossed Prime Minister Depplis's plump face.
How dare a kid who's not even twenty years old barge into a meeting of this caliber?
After a brief silence, the argument erupted again, even more intensely than before.
"War mobilization is imperative!"
An army minister wearing a general's star was shouting loudly, his face red and neck bulging.
"This is an opportunity given to us by God! While the main force of the Ottomans is still on the Bulgarian border, we can recapture Thessaly!"
"Let those Turks see the resolve of Greece!"
A general beside him echoed, "That's right! The will of the people cannot be defied! We must declare war immediately!"
"Declare war? On what grounds can we declare war?"
The Chancellor of the Exchequer was ashen-faced, and he pounded the table as if wailing.
"All the cash in the national treasury combined can't even cover the army's expenses for a week!"
"Our soldiers' pay has been two months overdue!"
"War? We don't even have the money to buy bullets!"
"Coward! This is typical cowardly talk!" the Minister of War shouted angrily.
"That's reality! You're just a wasteful idiot!" the Chancellor of the Exchequer retorted without backing down.
The entire conference room was in complete chaos, and King George I's expression grew increasingly grim.
Just then, a clear but penetrating voice pierced through all the noise.
"If we declare war, Greece will lose everything within a month."
Constantine had already walked to the huge military map in the center of the conference room.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of all the fanatics.
The generals were instantly in an uproar.
"Your Highness! What are you saying!"
"This is capitulationism!"
Prime Minister Deliplis even let out a cold laugh.
"Your Highness, it is unbecoming of you to utter such cowardly remarks in front of the King and his ministers."
Constantine didn't even glance at him.
His finger slowly traced across Thessaly, a region on the northern border of Greece, on the map.
"Our army is said to have five divisions, with a paper strength of 50,000 men."
"But in reality, no more than 20,000 men could be immediately deployed to battle."
"The soldiers are still using French Grass rifles from fifteen years ago, the rifling is almost worn down."
"Our artillery has fewer than a hundred old Krupp field guns, and more than half of them are unusable due to lack of maintenance."
His finger moved to the other end of the map and pointed to the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
"Our opponent, waiting in the Thessaly region, is the Ottoman Sixth Army."
"One hundred thousand elite troops trained by German military advisor von der Goltz were equipped with the latest German-made Mauser rifles."
"Their heavy artillery numbers are five times that of ours."
"Generals, what do you intend to use to fight them? The flesh and blood of your soldiers?"
Constantine's voice was eerily calm, but every word struck the hearts of the Secretary of War and the generals like a heavy hammer blow.
The fervor on their faces quickly faded, replaced by shock and embarrassment.
This data is all top military secret! Some of it they themselves only know the general outline of!
How did this young crown prince know so accurately?
Constantine turned his gaze to the Minister of the Navy.
"Our navy has three ironclad warships that we are very proud of."
"But their boilers were too old to break through the Dardanelles Strait, which was heavily guarded by the Ottomans."
"Moreover, the moment we make a move, the supposedly 'neutral' British Mediterranean Fleet will immediately appear in the Aegean Sea to 'protect' their shipping lanes."
He deliberately emphasized the words "neutrality" and "protection," making his tone full of sarcasm.
Finally, his gaze fell on the ashen-faced Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"Your Excellency, if I remember correctly..."
"We owe a joint loan of 500 million drachmas to Rothschild Bank and BNP Paribas, and the principal and interest payment is due next month, right?"
"Once war breaks out, a nation's credibility will be wiped out instantly."
"At that time, we will not be facing defeat in war."
"It's the country going bankrupt."
A series of incredibly precise military and financial data flowed from Constantine's mouth.
Much of this information was top secret in the cabinet, known only to the ministers involved, and some of it was even painstakingly unearthed from dusty archives by historians over decades!
The entire conference room was deathly silent.
Everyone stared at Constantine as if he were a monster.
Prime Minister Deriplis's expression shifted from disdain to surprise, and then to horror.
He simply couldn't understand how this young prince, who had always seemed so ordinary to him, could suddenly become so... omniscient and omnipotent?
Amidst everyone's shock, Constantine finally unveiled his earth-shattering plan.
"So, my suggestion is—"
"In foreign affairs, we must be more aggressive than anyone else! Immediately issue the strongest ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire, call for war, and even declare a nationwide mobilization!"
"We want to show all of Europe our 'madness' and 'irrationality,' to make them believe that Greece is completely out of control and could ignite the Balkan powder keg at any moment!"
"What?!"
Everyone thought they had misheard.
Constantine did not pause, and continued:
"But, internally—"
"Not a single soldier is allowed to be actually transferred to the front lines! Not a single penny of additional military spending is permitted!"
"We pointed our guns at the Ottomans, but handed the triggers and bullets into the hands of the great powers like Britain, France, Germany, and Russia!"
"Let them have their headaches, let them weigh the options, and let them, in order to maintain the balance of power in Europe, have to step in and mediate, forcing the Ottoman Empire to give us benefits!"
A young officer who had been standing silently in the corner suddenly had a brilliant glint in his eyes.
He stammered, "This is...this is political blackmail!"
Constantine gave him an approving look and recognized him as Ioannis Metaxas, an artillery lieutenant who had just returned from studying in Germany.
He is a promising talent.
Finally, Constantine turned around and looked at his father, King George I, for the first time in a formal and solemn manner.
"Father."
His tone was incredibly firm.
"Please give me a month."
"If I cannot use this method to secure greater benefits for Greece without bloodshed than by fighting a war I am destined to lose..."
"I am willing to take full responsibility."