When the Duke of Zhou came to Athens, he was met by astonishing poverty, and there were slums not far from the port.

During the haunting of the emaciated Greeks, many of them did not even have shoes, and scrawny children ran around in a chaotic scene.

This made him unbelievable that this was the place where a Chinese prince who was considered to be very capable was in power.

He couldn't believe that the one who came to greet him was wearing ordinary cotton clothes, even obviously old clothes, was his uncle Zhou Chenggong.

"Nephew, I've seen my uncle!"

The uncle's smile was very relaxed, his face was wrinkled, and his hair was gray. The last time we met, it was five years ago, and that year was when Concubine Jin died, and he never saw his uncle again, because Concubine Jin was his mother. After his mother's death, he had no reason to return to China.

"Well, I'm getting taller. Let's go, let's get in the car. It's a mess here. ”

Uncle patted him on the shoulder.

A carriage that is not broken, nor gorgeous, without any king's emblem on it, I wonder if it is for fear of being discovered.

Walking through the port area, the most people you see are the poor, followed by the military police. But it can be seen that it is in order, and there are porridge sheds everywhere.

"See? This is Greece! ”

The uncle couldn't help but look out when he saw his nephew open the curtain.

Zhou Chun was a little embarrassed: "Why are there so many homeless people? ”

Zhou Chenggong sighed: "Alas, I'd rather be a peaceful dog than a chaotic person!" All of them fled a few years ago, more than 1.5 million people, most of them in this vicinity. ”

Zhou Chun said: "Why don't you send them to the countryside for resettlement." ”

Zhou Chenggong said: "There has been no land in the countryside for a long time, and less than 500,000 people have been resettled. There are many mountains in Greece and little land, where is there so much wasteland. It's good to be alive. For the first two years, people starved to death every day. ”

Zhou Chun sighed.

More than a million Greeks and Armenians fled from the Ottoman Empire, and Greece had a population of only three million. Of course, a lot of people is a good thing, but suddenly there are too many people, but it is a disaster. With 1.5 million refugees pouring into Greece, it is impossible for two Greeks to feed one.

Zhou Chenggong tried his best, but he still couldn't stop starving to death, he saved all the palace and administrative expenses he could, and tried his best to borrow money, but the size of Greece could not make so many people not produce.

Sending people to the countryside is not much land to be cultivated, and there are resettlement costs. That's why Zhou Chenggong was forced to give up the Greek throne at that time, because everyone felt the pain, and someone had to be responsible for the pain they bore. Therefore, when the Serbian army took advantage of the weakness and Greece was unable to resist, Zhou Chenggong announced his abdication to calm the anger of the people.

Fortunately, in the past two years, it has finally been relieved, the government has increased relief, and the church has called for donations, and people have finally survived. But in the past two years, more than 100,000 people have died of starvation.

The entire province of Athens was hit, law and order was chaotic, and wages fell sharply. But the good thing is that industry swelled rapidly, and the capitalists met a spring. In the past, it was impossible to recruit people, but now it is overcrowded, and basically the wages paid are rations to feed one or two people.

The real estate industry and the size of the city in Athens also swelled, and the refugees were not all poor, but the Ottoman Greeks, with a high proportion of businessmen and savings, also injected a strong investment into Greece. It also gave birth to the development of the city. Wages have fallen sharply, but house prices have ballooned.

In contrast, the situation was better in Bulgaria, where the Bulgarians had a vendetta against a large number of Turkic landowners, and a large part of the population became propertied and small yeoman farmers. Two million Bulgarians, it is enough to survive on the Danube plain, not to mention the huge mountainous valleys.

So in the past two years, he tried his courage in Bulgaria, trained 100,000 troops, and finally promised Serbia and captured Macedonia.

After the recapture of Macedonia, contradictions arose between Greece and Bulgaria. Bulgaria wants to get a piece of coastal land in southern Macedonia so that Bulgaria can have access to the Aegean Sea at the same time as it has access to the Black Sea. But Greece categorically disagreed, and the Greek army controlled all of South Macedonia all the way to the Ottoman border, blocking all access to the sea.

The two sides were at a stalemate, and in the end Greece was even willing to give up most of the Macedonian plateau, that is, it refused to give Bulgaria an outlet to the sea.

During this period, the king never expressed his position, because these circumstances were secretly manipulated by him.

He did not give Bulgaria access to the Aegean Sea, and the most convenient way for the interior of Bulgaria to enter the Aegean Sea was through Greece, and the most convenient way for the northern non-coastal areas of Greece to enter the Black Sea or the Danube Valley was also through Bulgaria. In this way, the two countries can rely on each other and be more closely united. Even if neither side is happy with the other side's approach, they can only join forces with the other side.

After the partition of Macedonia, the Greek population returned to 5 million before Serbia lost South Macedonia, of which the province of Athens accounted for half of the population, which is about the same proportion as before. Bulgaria's population has grown to three million, and the United Kingdom, which is now run by Zhou Chenggong and his wife, has surpassed the Ottoman Empire as the most populous country in the region.

Greece has established a standing army of 200,000 men, and Bulgaria has 100,000 men and 300,000 standing troops, which is also second to none in this region, so even the Austrian Empire did not intervene in this short war to seize Macedonia, because it would be difficult for this army to cope with Austria if it went north to Austria, or approached the Danube, and fell into Austria, which was in a bitter war with Prussia.

Despite poverty, it is thriving, production is expanding, finances are increasing, the country is still teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, it is able to feed everyone, no one is starving to death, and the number of people who depend on handouts is less than 200,000 people, all old people, women and children.

Zhou Chenggong believes that in two years, the expanding industries in the surrounding area will be able to provide jobs for these people, women will be able to enter textile factories, and children will be able to grow up. If the elderly are still alive, the government can afford to support them.

In two more years, Greece will not have to look at other people's faces, and even now, he will no longer have to look at other people's faces, and big countries like Britain and France will not dare to shout at Greece.

It's just that Greece seems to have lost the direction of expansion, and if it attacks the Ottoman Empire and occupies the strait area, it will challenge the countries of the Straits Pact, and Greece can't afford to provoke any of them.

"What did your father tell you to do in Austria?"

It was only in the Greek royal palace, which was significantly smaller than all the European countries, that the Greek king began to ask questions.

Zhou Chun did whatever he wanted when he went to European countries, but when he arrived in Greece, he was much more restrained, although it was a small country, but the king was his father's brother, and it was okay to beat him in a hurry. Therefore, his food, wine, and beauty are separated from him in France.

Drinking the green tea that the king made for him, Zhou Chun smiled and said, "It wasn't my father who asked me to go, I went to play by myself." ”

Zhou Chenggong snorted coldly: "You kid, don't be sloppy with me." Without your father's permission, you dare to abandon the country and run around? ”

Zhou Chun smiled bitterly: "I really went by myself, and it has nothing to do with anyone." My dad doesn't care about me. I'm not a kid anymore, and he still cares about me playing? ”

Zhou Chenggong was silent for a moment and sighed: "You are more blessed than Lao Tzu." I'm not as laid-back as you are. ”

Zhou Chun was embarrassed, this uncle did suffer injustice, and it was because of his father, this was the misfortune of being born in the royal family.

He is very sympathetic to this uncle, he has worked hard to make such a small country for himself, and he has worked hard for so many years, but there is no improvement, Zhou Chun knows that he can't endure this hardship, and he doesn't have the patience to govern the country.

Zhou Chun comforted: "Uncle is eloquent, and the little nephew is out of reach!" ”

Zhou Chenggong glared at his nephew: "If someone else said this, I would think it was sarcastic about me." ”

Zhou Chun hurriedly waved his hand: "The words of the little nephew, the words of the heart." ”

Zhou Chenggong smiled: "I know. However, it is better not to have so many talents in small countries and widows. Harm others and yourself! ”

Zhou Chun said: "The little nephew is taught!" ”

Zhou Chenggong sighed: "That year, I was almost the same as you now." is really ambitious, thinking that he can rely on himself to create a foundation. Now that I think about it, it's a joke. ”

Zhou Chun said: "What will I do?" Uncle is now in the prime of spring and autumn, and it is the right time to make great achievements and achievements. ”

Zhou Chenggong snorted: "This is the purpose of your kid's toss?" Took a spin around Austria and came to me. Is it to tell the world that Greece has plans against Austria? ”

Zhou Chun nodded, told his uncle what he had seen and heard in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and told him that the Hungarians were now full of ambition and that the Yugoslavs in the territory had left Germany. Austria-Hungary was effectively separated from the lower Danube, and wherever it was either annexed by Russia or seceded.

"If my uncle doesn't take it, it will be taken by Russia!"

Zhou Chenggong sighed: "Does Greece take Wallachia? After that, we will be neighbors with Russia, and there will never be peace! ”

Zhou Chun persuaded: "If Greece does not take Wallachia, it will also be taken by Russia, and it will still be a neighbor of Russia." ”

Zhou Chenggong said suspiciously: "Are you worried about Russia or China?" ”

Zhou Chun said: "I'm worried about myself!" ”

Zhou Chenggong understood: "You want Wallachia? ”

Zhou Chun pinched a gap with his fingers: "A little." I just need Dobroga! ”

"Oh!"

Zhou Chenggong pondered, and he began to think about it seriously. The lower Danube region, to the north is the arc-shaped Carpathian Mountains (Eastern and Southern Carpathians), to the west of the mountains (Eastern Carpathians) is the Transylvanian Plateau, which is now part of the Kingdom of Hungary, to the east of the mountains is the Moldovan hills, the territory of the Principality of Moldova, ruled by the Austrian Emperor, and to the south (Southern Carpathians) is the Wallachian Plain.

The Wallachian Plain, the area is not small, the key is that almost all of the plain terrain, the land is mostly fertile black soil, countless rivers flowing from the Southern Carpathians, and finally converge to the Danube, forming good irrigation conditions on the plain, if water conservancy facilities can be built, hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land can be reclaimed here, and the shortcomings of the lack of agricultural land that plague Greece will be solved.

This is the foundation on which an empire is built!

As for the Dobroga that his nephew Zhou Chun wants, to be honest, he doesn't want it here, and Zhou Chenggong doesn't dare to ask for Wallachia.