Greece’s Roman Road

Constantine, who got up in the morning and had breakfast, met Cape's butler who was walking in the garden.

"Good morning, Your Excellency, have you heard? Nina has completed her studies and graduated from the University of Athens," said Butler Capet with relief.

"Ah? Nina has finished her studies?" Constantine said in surprise.

In recent times, Constantine has been concentrating on things in the colony, and he really didn't expect Nina to graduate.

"Also, yesterday, Prime Minister Terry Kupis sent an invitation letter to invite you to attend a meeting today, which is said to be a meeting with business people."

Butler Capet was also a little surprised to receive this invitation. He knew that in the past, Constantine hardly asked about politics, and few government officials communicated with Constantine.

Sitting in the royal carriage, I was walking slowly on the forest path in the north of Athens leading to the city. The shadows of the trees swept across the window quickly.

In the car, Constantine was thinking about the meeting with Trikupis.

The reason why the previous Constantine had little contact with politics was because he understood that he couldn't do anything.

At first he was still young and had just left the school.

Second, the current King George is in his prime, and it is not his turn to worry about political affairs, and there is no room for manipulation.

As for the third, Greece's chaotic politics, the frequent changes of prime ministers are only superficial, the real problem is the economic downturn. If there is no way out economically, even Constantine, a traveler, can do nothing.

It is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.

Therefore, he has rarely been involved in politics, and there is no solution to the fundamental problem. He is unable to avoid the quagmire of Greek politics.

This kind of scene reflects in the eyes of Cape Steward, that Constantine seems to be not very interested in politics.

But now, the matter of the Congolese Commission's acquisition of the management rights of the Congo River Basin must have been a scene of uproar.

This is a clear signal that Constantine must be involved in politics, and there is no way to avoid it.

Such a large territory, not to mention other things, just those ivory, in the eyes of Greek businessmen, is a good piece of fat.

As for the management and operation of the Congo, Constantine's involvement in Greece's political economy is unavoidable.

As for Greece's economic problems, it's really frustrating to say that 65% of Greeks are engaged in agriculture, and now the mainstay of Greece's economy is the export of raisins.

Peloponnesian raisins are Greece's main export.

The reason is that in the 1860s, the world wine industry experienced an unprecedented catastrophe - phylloxera.

This major event that has affected the world wine pattern has almost completely changed the future wine growing, and its influence has not been shaken off even now.

Phylloxera, which originated in eastern North America, destroyed most of the European vineyards at the end of the nineteenth century, with France suffering the most.

French wine is divided into "before phylloxera" and "after phylloxera" eras because of this disease.

It is said that it was because a British botanist brought back a bunch of vines infected with phylloxera from the United States in 1858.

European grapes, due to the long-term human planting activities, have severely damaged their genetic diversity, and have no resistance in the face of these foreign pests.

And the phylloxera is so contagious that it can even spread to other vineyards through the soles of growers.

This grape disaster has been raging in Europe for decades.

It first spread in England, then landed in France, and spread throughout the European continent.

Phylloxera has become the world's first quarantine pest through its powerful destructive power.

Because of its spread and damage, the world's first international treaty to prevent the spread of dangerous pests, the Grape Phylloxera Convention, appeared in 1881.

However, although the grape disaster spread to the entire European continent, some vineyards were blessed by the goddess of luck and were able to escape the disaster.

And Greece is such a lucky one.

For a time, the export of raisins in Greece became popular, and growing grapes became a profitable business.

However, such grapes are not common fruit grapes in life, but refer to dried wine grapes.

Air-dried wine grapes have rich flavors and are very suitable for making some unique wines.

For example, Vinde Paille is the French name for air-dried wine.

The reason why the word straw is used is that the wine grapes of this type of wine are usually placed on a straw mat indoors to dry after picking.

In Europe, especially in wealthy Western Europe, wine is consumed in huge quantities and is a common drink on the table.

In the Christian tradition, wine and bread, regarded as the blood and flesh of Christ, are inseparable from Europeans.

The grape disaster caused a shortage of grapes in Europe, the price of raisins rose, and the people of Greece flocked to grape planting.

The land in Greece is barren and suitable for growing grapes.

Vineyards are also suitable for small plots of land like Greece.

In 1860, the output of raisins in Greece was about 40,000 tons.

By the 1880s, guided by external markets, this production reached 120,000 tons.

Originally, farmers made money, and Greece exported raisins to earn foreign exchange. This is a good thing.

But nothing is too far.

No matter how bad the phylloxera~www.wuxiax.com~ is to the grape growing in Western Europe, it is impossible for him to last.

Once they find a way to deal with phylloxera, they will immediately impose high tariffs on raisins from foreign countries to protect the stable recovery of the domestic grape market.

Greece, on the other hand, has poor land, and the yield of wheat is extremely low, and a large amount of wheat needs to be imported.

Grapevine is different from wheat. It is not an annual plant. It takes a certain number of years to grow grapes.

It takes farmers years to take care of them so that the vines they plant can produce grapes normally.

And once the raisin market goes wrong, it means that several years of hard work by grape growers will be in vain.

Faced with this situation, there is no doubt that what awaits them will be the tragic fate of bankruptcy.

Once the farmers who grow grapes go bankrupt on a large scale, the economic pillar of Greece will also collapse, and the economy of the Greek country will also experience ups and downs.

Greece, which has no way out economically, can do nothing no matter how clever its politicians are.

Thinking about Greece's troublesome economic problems, the carriage gradually came to the urban streets of Athens.

In front of a cafe, the carriage stopped, and four heavily armed knights guarded the four corners of the carriage.

Constantine walked into the gate with his attendant, Schmidt, and the oncoming attendant respectfully guided, "Your Excellency the Duke, the Prime Minister and other distinguished guests are already waiting in the box."

He nodded and motioned for him to lead the way. The three walked through the garden at the back and came to the door of a small building.

After entering, I saw a group of men and women dressed up, talking and laughing.

When they saw Constantine coming in, everyone restrained their expressions and stood up in a panic.

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