Chapter 525 Supply Point
The current Ottoman Empire still occupies large areas of land including Albania, Macedonia and Serres.
George does not want the above-mentioned areas, but only the Black Sea outlet. After the war, the Marine Corps of the Black Sea Fleet will be a surprise force to attack Constantinople.
It is also Peter's wish to capture the Black Sea outlet.
After learning about George's plan, Peter returned to Crimea to take charge of the work of the Black Sea Fleet, while George continued to be based in St. Petersburg.
At the end of December, the Kingdom of Greece changed its ambassador to the Russian Empire. The new ambassador was the Greek prince Georgi who had accompanied Nicholas on his travels around the world.
Georgi’s mother, Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna, was the daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Josephna of Russia. The lady's eldest daughter,
Before that, Georgi served in the Danish Navy and married Princess Marie Bonaparte in 1907.
When Georgi accompanied Nikolay around the world, he had just turned 20 and was in his prime.
Georgi, who is just 40 years old this year, has a weathered face and looks much older than Nikolai, who is only one year younger than him. He is literally two generations older.
"You have finally left Denmark. I have told you before that if you are not happy in Denmark, come to St. Petersburg. Now that George is the Lord of the Navy, he can give you a fat job."
Nicholas does it every summer. Accompanying Queen Mother Maria on vacation in Denmark, she often meets Georgi.
Georgi's situation in the Kingdom of Greece was not good, otherwise he would not have served in the Danish Navy.
"It's better soon, I still want to live a few more days."
Georgi and George never see each other, and he heard many rumors about George in Copenhagen.
Since 1883, Georgi rarely lived in Greece, spending most of his time living in his uncle Prince Waldemar's Bernstorff Palace near Copenhagen.
Prince Waldemar is the youngest son of Nicholas's grandfather, Christian IX, and an admiral of the Royal Danish Navy.
"If you come to the Imperial Navy, you can save a lifebuoy."
George joked that Georgi's belly was a bit big.
Since Alex went to Amur, Nikolai has become more and more independent. There are banquets in the Winter Palace almost every night, and old friends reunite, so naturally it is no exception.
Anyone else would probably think Nicholas was extravagant and wasteful.
In fact, Nicholas did not use the Russian government's money at all. He had too much money to spend. He held a banquet in the Winter Palace as a way to stimulate consumption.
Although Georgi's wife is French, she doesn't like French champagne very much, but has a special liking for rose wine produced in the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
“If you want to drink, go to George. He is the most powerful wine merchant in the empire and can get you all kinds of fine wine.”
Nicholas doesn’t care about this little money at all. .
"Compared with you, I am completely poor."
Georgi laughed at himself, saying that he did not have a strong desire for money.
When Georgi proposed to Princess Bonaparte, he promised not to interfere with Princess Bonaparte’s finances, which is rare.
Compared with Georgi, who is not favored by the Greek royal family, Princess Bonaparte is a little rich woman. The inheritance left by her mother alone can provide Princess Bonaparte with an income of up to 800,000 francs every year. .
“If you want to make money, go to my office tomorrow.”
George wants to show Georgi a clear path.
Georgi’s brother is Constantine, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Greece, and the princess is Princess Sophie, the sister of William II.
Because of this relationship, between the Russian Empire and the German Empire, Constantine was more inclined to Germany and less interested in the Russian Empire. That is to say, Constantine has not yet become king, otherwise the Kingdom of Greece will probably not join the Balkan Alliance.
George did not want to provoke Georgi to rebel against his brother.
Instead, he seeks more benefits for the Kingdom of Greece within his own scope of authority.
For a long time, the Greek Kingdom hoped to regain Constantinople and restore the glory of the Roman Empire.
George will not give up Constantinople to the Kingdom of Greece, but in the distribution of interests after the war, as long as George is slightly biased towards the Kingdom of Greece, the benefits of the Kingdom of Greece will be greatly increased.
"Sorry George, I'm afraid I can't be of much help."
Georgi is self-aware and does not want to get involved in disputes between major powers.
When Princess Bonaparte married Georgi, she had hoped that Georgi and Princess Bonaparte would live in France after their marriage.
Although Georgi is not popular with his father and brother, as a member of the Greek royal family, he still has to perform royal duties.
Fortunately, Princess Bonaparte understood Georgi's situation, and the two got married.
If you change someone else, the marriage will probably be ruined. There are many princes who want to marry Princess Bonaparte.
“Don’t refuse in a hurry. Do you think Greece can survive the upcoming big changes alone?”
George is not in a hurry. Even without Georgi's cooperation, George can achieve his goal.
Of course it would be better if there were.
The location of the Kingdom of Greece is too important. If the Russian Navy can obtain a supply point in the Aegean Sea, then the Russian Imperial Navy can rush out of the Black Sea even if it does not control the Black Sea outlet.
It is actually not difficult to do this.
In 1897, a massacre against Christians broke out in Crete. The Greek government sent troops to land on Crete, took over the island in the name of the Greek King, and announced the merger of Crete with Greece.
In response to the rebellion in Crete, and with the aid provided by Greece, the Ottoman Empire redeployed most of its forces in the Balkans to northern Thessaly, and the First Greco-Turkish War broke out.
Since the strength of the Kingdom of Greece was far inferior to that of the Ottoman Empire, Greece's defeat resulted in several small but strategically important areas along the northern border of Thessaly being ceded to the Ottomans and required bear huge financial compensation.
In order to prevent a larger-scale conflict, the European powers headed by Britain and France decided that four countries, Britain, France, Russia and Italy, would jointly take over the island of Crete.
The Kingdom of Greece did not abandon Crete, and the representative sent to Crete happened to be Georgi's brother, Crown Prince Constantine.
In the first Greek-Turkish War, Crown Prince Constantine was the supreme commander of the Greek army.
At the beginning of this year, a modest coup broke out in Greece. Constantine was dismissed from all military posts and his prestige plummeted.
If George can't move Georgi, he will go to Constantine and obtain a supply point in the Aegean Sea through Constantine.
This definitely requires some exchange of interests.
Compared with the benefits obtained, it is worth paying some costs.
Georgi did not reply to George immediately.
George was patient and gave Georgi enough time to think.
(End of this chapter)