Chapter 795: The Helplessness of Small Countries
Chapter 778 – The helplessness of a small country
Autumn was in full swing, and it was another bountiful year.
Franz has been in a good mood lately, Russia and Austria have reached an agreement, and the Near East War is considered settled.
As for the Greeks, it wouldn’t take more than a few days for them to come to terms with reality. Had it not been for the nationalists’ clamor at home, King Ludwig would have compromised long ago.
Ambition needs strength to back it up. Ordinary people can be unaware of this, the ruling class must be awake.
King Ludwig, who was originally from a small country, naturally knew exactly what was the way for a small country to survive.
The Wittelsbach dynasty was able to rise again in the Kingdom of Lombardy after losing the Bavarian throne, relying on more than just kinship.
If they hadn’t recognized the time, seen that the tide had turned and decisively conceded defeat to Austria, even if they had paid more attention to their eating habits, Franz would not have been able to arrange a good place for them.
……
Athens, the atmosphere inside the Greek royal palace was very depressing, the full face of Ludwig I in these recent days made the palace people have to be careful.
In fact anyone else would not have been much better off than Ludwig I. The burgeoning nationalism in Greece was really big trouble.
The “Magna Graecia” was a huge pit to jump into, but the Greek nationalists made it a target and were ready to put it into practice.
According to the idea of Magna Graecia, the territory of Greece, including Constantinople, would be about five or six times larger than the present one.
The prerequisite for the realization of this goal was to “punch Austria and kick Russia”.
Frankly speaking, such a great strategy could not be conceived by ordinary people, at least Ludwig I did not dare to think of it.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Greek nationalism once again boiled over, and each one of them asked the government for this and that, without any consideration of whether they had the “strength” to fight for the spoils of war.
As soon as it was rumored that the government intended to give up the struggle for the territories of Asia Minor, the nationalists launched a huge demonstration.
In the palace, Ludwig I could hear the cries of the Greek people. Nay, even if the cry was loud, it had to be able to be realized, didn’t it?
Ludwig I asked, “Do the people outside still refuse to disperse?”
Prime Minister Cariociu replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. The government has already sent people to explain, but unfortunately they have not been able to convince them.
These people have gone mad and have completely lost their thinking. I really don’t know what kind of chaos will be caused after the treaty is signed.”
A news that is not known to be true or false can trigger mass protests, and if the news turns out to be true, the consequences can be imagined.
Ludwig I shook his head, “All of these people are just pawns pushed out by those bastards, I don’t believe they don’t know the consequences of doing this.
If they really angered the Austrians, there would be no benefit in exterminating Greece for them. Just look at the route of the demonstration, the organizers are intentionally avoiding the embassy district.
Do they think they can make us compromise? Or perhaps they think they can use nationalism to oust me, the hated king?”
Nationalism was only one side of the equation; the bigger conflict was the industrialization reforms being pushed by Ludwig I, which were seriously undermining the interests of vested interests.
Greece was only a small country, with neither a sufficient market for the sale of goods nor a source of raw materials. If it wanted to complete the primitive accumulation of capital, it had to intensify its internal exploitation.
Against this background, Ludwig I, who promoted industrialization, was naturally unpopular.
Prime Minister Cariociu suggested: “Your Majesty, in fact, you don’t have to be like this. There is no harm in taking a step back and slowing down the industrialization process.”
As a Greek born and bred prime minister, Cariociu was still very attached to this country.
Being in a high position, he naturally knew that pushing industrialization was the best option, and that the faster the better, dragging it out would only make it more difficult.
However, what looks good is not always practical.
The conservatives, in opposition to the reforms, unleashed even crazier nationalism in an attempt to force the government to give in.
The madness of capital was beyond imagination, and the common people suffered even more. Not being in favor of the king, Ludwig I’s reforms soon came to a standstill.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ludwig I sighed helplessly and said, “It’s just that, since everyone doesn’t like the reforms, why should I be the villain!
Cancel all industrial programs, liberalize cotton exports as they wish, and be honest ……”
There is no way around it, reality is so hopeless. The benefits of industrialization are in the future, but the benefits of cotton exports are in the present.
Don’t look at the world growing cotton in many places, but the international market is still in short supply. Almost all of the cotton exporting countries, are making a lot of money.
In order to promote the process of industrialization in Greece, not long ago Ludwig I ordered a ban on cotton exports, which became a trigger to intensify the conflict.
……
On October 13, 1883, Greece relinquished its territorial claims to the Asia Minor Peninsula, and the four countries of the Anti-Turkish League agreed on the distribution of post-war benefits.
According to the agreement: the Greek government was compensated with one first-class battleship (ironclad of 8,000 to 10,000 tons displacement), one second-class battleship. (Displacement 5,000 to 7,000 tons ironclad)
Then there was no more then, don’t look at the Greek government contributed much more troops than the Duchy of Montenegro, but unfortunately their battle record was really not good.
If they hadn’t contributed to the post-war policing, I guess one battleship would have gotten rid of them.
As for high casualties? Sadly, high casualties that’s Greece’s own problem and can’t be counted as a contribution.
Of course, the Vienna government took care of it. It promised to sell them 2 battleships and 5 destroyers at half price for 2 years.
Not only Greece and Montenegro’s compensation was warships, even the Russians were not exempted.
According to the treaty, in addition to the financial compensation paid, the Vienna government had to deliver to the tsarist government three first-class battleships, two second-class battleships, and four destroyers within the next five years.
They were all sent out by Austria, so naturally they couldn’t be too picky. Parameters of the gods can be omitted, want to good goods that is the need to add extra money.
Deep down, Ludwig I did not want these warships. If he had a choice, he would rather be compensated in cash.
Unfortunately, the Vienna government did not agree to give two ships as compensation, do not want to automatically give up the compensation.
Putting down the treaty in his hands, Ludwig I asked with concern: “What about the Greek population in the Ottoman Empire, did the Austrians not give an answer?”
Foreign Minister Nislav replied bitterly: “The Vienna government has put the Ottoman territory of the immigration work, all contracted to the Russians, including the Greeks in the class.
This issue needs to be discussed with the Russians, and in Constantinople I have already been in contact with the Russian representatives, but the results are not optimistic.
The Russians told us to take the people ourselves, or they would unify the migration arrangements after they had relocated the other peoples.”
The resettlement money is out of the question, what goes into the pockets of the Tsarist government cannot be taken out again.
The Russians also saved an expense when the Greek government was willing to get rid of the people, otherwise the Tsarist government would not have kept the Greeks until the end.
Ludwig I hesitated, there was no compensation and to resettle hundreds of thousands of people was beyond the limits of the Greek government’s ability.
The Greek population was just over a million, so where was the government going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs?
Prime Minister Kariosiu vetoed, “We must not hand over our compatriots to the Russians, and according to the style of the Tsarist government, it is doubtful whether half of them will reach their destination alive.
It would be best to convince the government in Vienna to agree to let these compatriots stay in the Asia Minor Peninsula, or if that’s not possible arrange to go to their overseas colonies.”
This was the impression left by the Tsarist government to the outside world, that instead of going to icy Siberia, it would be better to go to the barbaric lands overseas.
At least the Austrian immigrants were experienced, and the death rate of immigrants at sea was basically controlled within 1 point.
In contrast to the Russians’ emigration on foot law, a boat ride was just too comfortable.
There was no way around it, the Russian railroads hadn’t been built over yet. The Tsarist government couldn’t spare so many animals to transport the emigrants.
Except for a few essential supply points along the way, the Tsarist government was only responsible for sending soldiers to “protect” the safety of the emigrants.
Even if they traveled on foot, the immigrants had to carry their own food for a week.
Many parts of the Russian Empire were deserted for thousands of kilometers, and it was not known whether there were any people between the two supply points, so they could not expect to be resupplied in the middle of the journey.
If you don’t bring enough supplies, if something happens along the way, whether or not you survive depends on the integrity of the escorting officials.
Foreign Minister Nislav shook his head: ”We have already tried to communicate with the Austrians, and they suggested that we divert.
They suggested that we should divert some of the immigrants to our own country, communicate with the Armenian Kingdom to resettle some of them, and find a way to get the American countries to accept some of the immigrants.
For humanitarian reasons, the Austrians have promised to take in some of the old and infirm, but not the recalcitrants.
They suggest that the recalcitrant elements, who are diehard Ottoman, be handed over to the Russians for penitentiary purposes, in which the Tsarist government is the professional.”
The Ottomans were a multinational state, and not all nationalities were enemies. In fact, apart from not admitting the most hateful part of the population, Austria also admitted minorities.
Only the ones who were accepted were the old, the weak, the women and the children, and there was rather less interest in the young and strong laborers whom everyone liked.
Ludwig I nodded, ”It is acceptable to just give up a portion of the hardcore elements.
Unfortunately ……”
The words came to an abrupt end here, there are some things that can only be done and not said.
The Greek government intervened in the resettlement of immigrants, and not simply for the sake of compatriot love, but more still wanted to centralize the Greeks in the Ottoman territory in order to increase their influence.
However, this kind of thing can be seen by anyone, and the Vienna government naturally will not accept this kind of small hilltop and make trouble for themselves.
(End of chapter)