Greece to roman road

Constantine was convinced by Emmanuel's statement.

If Bulgaria really recruits a large number of troops in the next war against Greece, as long as the Greek army persists until Bulgaria's initial strength is exhausted, by then, it will be the Greek army's turn to take the lead in the war.

Bulgaria is an agricultural country, and most of the country's wealth consists of crops grown on farmland.

The output of crops is subject to strict seasonal restrictions. Farmers' farming must conform to the seasons and climate, which also leads to restrictions on the material output of agricultural countries.

The limited material output determines that Bulgaria simply does not have the capital to supply 400,000 troops on the front line for a long time.

Moreover, Constantine was not impressed by Bulgaria's completely reckless behavior of increasing the number of troops.

Easily pulling most of a country's young and middle-aged labor force almost exclusively into the army will produce extremely bad war sequelae for a country.

In the original time and space, Bulgaria's population in the 21st century was only about 7 million, which was far lower than Greece's 12 million. Bulgaria's population was almost half of Greece's.

As one of the few places in Europe suitable for agricultural production, Bulgaria's flat land located on the lower reaches of the Danube River is fertile, rich in food, and has a mild climate. It is not comparable to the endless barren hilly terrain of Greece.

But the populations of both are so large.

One of the important factors that caused this situation was Bulgaria's unusually high mobilization rate in previous wars.

"Your General Staff should draw up a battle plan against Bulgaria as soon as possible. However, the war has just ended. No matter how anxious the Bulgarians are, the war will take several months to prepare." Constantine said to Emmanuel said.

From the bottom of his heart, Constantine did not want to see this war between Greece and Bulgaria competing for hegemony in the Balkans happen in the near future.

After all, the Greek army had just concluded a war against the Ottoman Empire, and the public's enthusiasm for the war had been exhausted. Instead, they hoped that their children who had enlisted in the war would return home and reunite their families.

After the soldiers who participated in the 1912 War witnessed the bloodshed and cruelty of the war, their original passion for defending their homes and country has gradually subsided. They missed their relatives at home and longed for a calm and leisurely life in their hearts.

Long-term wars or frequent wars will arouse people's war-weariness.

The wars that Greece participated in ranged from the Greco-Ottoman War in 1897 to the previous War of 1912, with a gap of more than ten years.

The ordinary Greek soldiers who participated in the last war, except for a very small part who became officers, almost all retired.

Now, ordinary soldiers in the Greek army, except for officers with experience requirements, are almost all participating in a war for the first time.

Ideally, Constantine hoped that there would be a long transition period between war and peace, allowing the Greeks to forget the trauma of the war and at the same time accumulate abundant strength for the next war.

Constantine wanted Greece to maintain a steady rhythm between war and peace.

After all, human nature is like this. When you live in peace for too long, you will feel stagnant and bored, and instead hope to seek some excitement and freshness.

After witnessing the bloodshed and cruelty of war, the soldiers' initial war enthusiasm will be quickly exhausted, and they will then hope to restore peace.

It's not that Constantine was a war maniac and ambitiously longed for war, but Greece's location and era determined that Greece could not escape the devastation of war.

The Balkans are a place full of contradictions. Religious conflicts, ethnic conflicts, conflicts of economic interests, rivalry between major powers, and other negative factors are intertwined together. It is simply a mess. It is absolutely a luxury to hope for peace.

Since you will be dragged into the war whether you like it or not, it is natural to find ways to win the war.

Therefore, Constantine hoped that the war with Bulgaria could be postponed rather than come soon.

After all, Greece, which has just gone through a war, both high-level government officials and ordinary people hope to usher in a period of peace.

The top government officials hope to gain enough time to digest the results of this war and make Macedonia an important source of power for Greece.

Emmanuel, who looked gloomy, slowly said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, even though the Bulgarian army performed well in the war against the Ottoman Empire, as the Chief of General Staff of Greece, I still have great confidence in defeating Bulgaria. However, after all, the war between the two countries is not simply decided by the two countries themselves."

"According to reports from the military attache stationed in Sofia, there have been military trains sent from Vienna to Sofia recently, carrying a lot of weapons and ammunition."

"Combined with Bulgaria's actions, it is not difficult to imagine that Bulgaria must have received the support of major powers. Otherwise, it cannot be explained that Bulgaria, which has just experienced a fierce battle, has the strength to fight again so quickly."

"Without the support of major powers, it would be impossible to rely solely on Bulgaria's military strength."

Bulgaria has the support of a big country, which is not beyond Constantine's expectations. It would be strange if it wasn't.

As the belly of Europe, the Balkans are the gaming field for major European countries, and all major powers are scrambling to exert their influence here.

"In addition, there is no problem for our General Staff to formulate military operations against Bulgaria. However, Your Highness, you also know that if our staff wants to formulate practical combat plans, we need real intelligence as the basis." Emmanuel Er continued.

"The staff must know the attitude of Serbia, another important country in the Balkans. In this war between Greece and Bulgaria for hegemony in the Balkans, what will Serbia's attitude be? This may require consultation with the prime minister (Venizelos also serves as Greek Foreign Minister)" Emmanuel frowned, his face full of doubts.

After hearing the chief of staff's questions, Constantine was also unsure about Serbia.

In the original historical time and space, during the Second Balkan War, Greece and Serbia indeed formed an alliance to jointly deal with the Bulgarians.

It's just that this alliance was established after Bulgaria's strength expanded after the First Balkan War. Not only did it gain huge prestige, but it actually became the overlord of the Balkans.

Bulgaria relied on its 400,000 troops to defeat the Ottoman Empire and acquired the territory of Thrace after the war. Its strength has greatly increased, and neither Greece nor Serbia in the original historical time and space can match it.

The less powerful Greece and Serbia formed an alliance against Bulgaria. In essence, they were opposing Bulgaria's bid for hegemony in the Balkans, and the weak united to fight against a strong enemy.

But things are different now.

In terms of comprehensive strength, Greece, which owns Albania and almost all of Macedonia, and has developed light and heavy industries earlier, is even better than Bulgaria.

Serbia has become the weakest among the three countries.