xymnovel Chapter 279 The Pasha's Blade and the Queen's Promise
Chapter 279 The Pasha's Blade and the Queen's Promise
Chapter 279 The Pasha's Blade and the Queen's Promise
"However," Venizelos's voice echoed in the vast conference hall, each word like the tolling of a bronze bell, "the core legal basis of His Excellency the Marquis's proposal is the premise that Greece has disrupted the existing order in the Balkans."
"I completely agree with that."
He spread his hands, his posture surprisingly candid.
"Law and order must be respected. The Kingdom of Greece has always been a staunch defender of international law and civilized order."
The Marquess of Salisbury stopped just as he was about to drink. He detected an unusual smell.
Venizelos surveyed the entire room, his gaze sweeping over the faces that were either arrogant, greedy, or indifferent.
"Therefore, I urge you all present, before we begin our discussion on this peace plan, to first review together the glorious and sacred treaties that you, the great powers present, especially the British Empire, have spearheaded in signing since the Greek people regained their freedom, in order to maintain peace, order, and humanitarianism in the Balkans."
He didn't look at any documents or flip through any notes.
Those years, those agreements, those terms—they seemed to be etched into his very bones. Now, they flowed from his lips, precise, fluent, and undeniable.
"Let's start from 1830."
His gaze first fell upon the Marquess of Salisbury, who was in the main seat.
"According to the London Agreement jointly signed by your country, France, and Russia, the legal foundation for Greece's existence as an independent nation is based on the fundamental premise of protecting Christians under Ottoman rule from further barbaric oppression and slaughter." This is the birth certificate of the Kingdom of Greece, bearing the holy signature of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
His voice rose a few decibels, carrying a questioning tone.
"Then, Your Excellency, in the past sixty years, has the Ottoman Empire fulfilled its promises?"
"In Crete alone, my homeland, three massive uprisings broke out! Each time, the Ottoman Pashas responded to our cries for freedom with swords and gallows! Each time, thousands upon thousands of Christians, men, women, and children, fell in pools of blood! At that time, where was the sacred Agreement of London? Where was the promise of the protectors?"
The Marquess of Salisbury's expression darkened, and he put down his water glass.
Venizelos turned to his right towards the French ambassador. The ambassador's relaxed expression had vanished, replaced by a somewhat uneasy look.
"Your Excellency, Representative of the French Republic," Venizelos bowed slightly, his tone carrying an unyielding sharpness, "According to the Treaty of Paris of 1856, which was signed under the leadership of His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III after the Crimean War, the Ottoman Sultan, in his own name and that of his descendants, personally promised all of Europe that all peoples under his rule, regardless of religious belief, would enjoy completely equal rights in law, taxation, and military service."
"A great promise! A promise that shines with the glory of liberty, equality, and fraternity!"
He paused, his voice turning low.
"Then, Your Excellency, is this clause being observed in the Epirus region? Where are the equal rights of the Greeks who, because they crossed themselves, had to pay three times the poll tax as infidels? Where are the property rights of the Greek families who were stripped of their land and reduced to serfs for refusing to convert?"
The French ambassador opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He could only pick up the documents on the table and use the motion of flipping through the papers to hide his embarrassment.
Venizelos didn't stop. His gaze, like a spotlight, shone on the Ottoman delegation opposite him. The elderly Pasha instinctively shrank back.
But Venizelos's target is not that empty shell.
His gaze passed through Pasha and landed on the young man behind him wearing gold-rimmed glasses, Ahmed Riza.
"Your new army is equipped with the most advanced Krupp artillery in Germany, wears Prussian-style uniforms, and even employs German military advisors. It looks very modern, doesn't it?"
He took a step forward, leaning slightly forward, like a black panther about to pounce on its prey.
"But what have you done with this army? Have you used it to practice the spirit of equality in the Treaty of Paris? No! You've sent it into the mountains of Macedonia, into the plains of Thessaly, to suppress unarmed civilians, to burn down their villages, to desecrate their churches!"
His voice grew increasingly impassioned, filled with morally compelling force.
Finally, his gaze returned to the center of attention, to the most powerful man at the conference table.
Marquess of Salisbury.
"Your Excellency, Marquis!"
Venizelos's voice, like the gavel struck by a judge, pounded heavily on everyone's hearts.
"Right here in this city, in Whitehall not far from Lancaster House, under the leadership of one of your country's greatest prime ministers, Mr. Disraeli, the Treaty of Berlin of 1878 was born! Article 23 of that treaty, in black and white, clearly states: The Ottoman Empire must implement substantial administrative reforms in the European provinces of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus, modeled after the organizational laws of Crete, to guarantee the safety of the lives, beliefs, and property of the local inhabitants!"
"Your Excellency, thirteen years have passed! Where is the reform?!"
"Is it reflected in the army of Edhem Pasha, which only slaughtered civilians? Is it reflected in the ever-increasing special taxes levied on Christians in Epirus? Is it reflected in the Greek priests arbitrarily executed by Ottoman judges on charges of treason?"
The entire conference hall was completely silent.
Only Venizelos's voice echoed.
He slammed a stack of documents he had personally compiled, recording the atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire over the decades, onto the table.
"Snapped!"
A sharp crack sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
"So, everyone!"
Venizelos spread his arms, and a compassionate expression appeared on his face, like that of a martyr.
"The military action of the Kingdom of Greece is not a war of aggression that disrupts order!"
"This is after all the sacred treaties have been torn to shreds by the Ottomans! After all the promises of peace have become empty words!"
This was after our compatriots had been slaughtered, enslaved, and cried out in agony for half a century without anyone paying attention! It was a necessary undertaking to enforce forgotten international law and to protect our endangered compatriots.
He spoke each word clearly and forcefully.
"Humanitarian armed intervention!"
"We are not disruptors of order!"
His gaze swept across the room, finally settling on the Marquess of Salisbury's face.
"We are the final enforcers of the European civilized order!"
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
What was originally designed as a feast to divide the spoils was transformed by this lawyer from Crete into a public trial about international law, human rights, and the bottom line of civilization.
The subjects of the trial were neither the defeated Ottomans nor the "lucky" Greeks.
Instead, it is the great powers present who set all the rules but turn a blind eye to the breaking of those rules!
For the first time, the Marquess of Salisbury's face, which always wore an air of arrogance and composure, turned ashen.
His hands, which were resting on the table, slowly tightened and clenched into fists.