Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Back in Sofia, Solovyov thought of something a Bosnian poet once said.
Anyway, although he was very happy to see Demetrius come to Sofia again and bring him news of the great uprisings in Macedonia and Greece, he probably wasn't happy to see the Turks mobilizing.

The Ottoman Empire had ruled some of these areas for more than three hundred years, so naturally there was a group of loyal lackeys in the local area.

In places like Serbia where resistance is relatively strong, or in Bulgaria where it is easy to find guides, there are many loyal lackeys, and even the Turkish Association Army still exists within Serbia.

This kind of opponent could be seen when fighting with the Russian army in Vidin and Sofia. Moreover, the different local beliefs in Bosnia divided the Yugoslavs into several different ethnic groups. The situation in Serbia and Croatia is easy to explain, but it is difficult to say how much of the situation in Sarajevo was caused by the Ottoman Empire and Austria.

"Demetrius, did the Turks really mobilize a group of Serbs loyal to them to go to Thessaloniki?"

"Not only the Serbs, but also the Albanians, Kurds and Tatars. It's not so bad in Morea. If we succeed, we may be able to stop the Turkish offensive in Corinth. But in Thessaly and Macedonia, it's another matter."

"I know, that's why you came to me again this time. But we just fought another big battle. Although we killed a lot of enemies, we still need to replenish our personnel and supplies. Moreover, during this period, we armed a group of Serbian soldiers, so the material support we can bring to you is still limited."

"It doesn't matter. You just need to cut off the two transportation lines of the Turks, which will be the greatest support for us. Although we are the farthest from the Russian army among all the forces, there are few external forces that can interfere with us."

At this point, Solovyov remembered that the Austrians not only made trouble in Serbia and squeezed out the brothers they had recruited, but also made the relationship with Greece very tense.

Even if the Greeks are willing to trust the British, they will no longer trust the Austrians. It’s just that they didn’t create a feud like they did with Serbia.

"But the sea transportation lines have been cut off, and you will also be trapped and die there."

From the Balkans to Greece, it's all this terrible terrain. It's hard to imagine how so many Gauls could have reached the capital of Macedonia in one breath, and sacrificed a Macedonian king along the way, even changing the historical direction of the Eastern Mediterranean world.

The Greeks today do not have the large number of ships that they did in the classical era, nor will they be able to produce a shipping king in the future. This is precisely the time when their maritime power is the weakest.

Therefore, it was somewhat difficult to get help, although the Greeks had always been able to rebel vigorously with the help of fellow villagers or friendly forces.

Solovyov was recently reading about this matter and came across the works of Diodorus of Sicily. In addition, there was also the record by Herodotus about the Persian king coming to Asia Minor and fighting against the local Greek city-states. Just a few lackeys who had worked for the Persians were able to cause a big stir and even attract the Athenians.

The outbreak of the Greco-Persian Wars was also related to this incident. Some Greek traitors were later sent to Central Asia by the Persian king. Alexander encountered these people when he expeditioned all the way to Bactria.

Solovyov's trouble was that he came from the Black Sea. This time, the main force of the Black Sea Fleet, except for those detained by the British and those who went to France for ship repairs because they did not pay, was still in Sevastopol. The purpose of the deployment was to cover the Russian army's actions on both sides of the Black Sea and to provide support from the sea when besieging several fortresses.

It is impossible to get out of the strait. The Black Sea Fleet has always been in this awkward situation because of the strait's special geographical location. It is not like the Strait of Dover where the guards are not tight and there are still opportunities for sneaking.

For the French, the English Channel is too wide; for the Russians, the two straits of the Black Sea are too narrow. However, this is the magic of nature; you will never get what you want.

As long as the ship passes through Constantinople, it will be a live broadcast, which is really uncomfortable.

Therefore, Solovyov had to complain that Alexander had given the Island of Corfu, which he had in his hands, to Napoleon in the Treaty of Tilsit. This was a very big pit.

Otherwise, the Black Sea Fleet at least has a place to pass through in the Mediterranean.

Although this place is not very auspicious, it is the hometown of Odysseus, and it was also the site of the largest and longest city-state war in Greece, the fuse of the Second Peloponnesian War, and the next war will also be fought here.

After all, it was the British who played tricks first in Paul's case in Malta, but here, it was too easy for Alexander to do so.

But think about it, Russia does not have the conditions to hold on to its overseas colonies, so if they are gone, they are gone.

But right now, it's a weak spot, and it's difficult to support the Greeks in the hinterland.

It is no wonder that the Greeks later restored their country with the help of the British, but they were still polite to Russia. After all, when these Slavs came out to help, they were like the clowns in an opera, and they really worked hard.

Let’s take Serbia. It has always had good relations with Russia, no matter which regime it is.

Tito is not among them. He has colluded with Chiang Kai-shek and has always been at odds with my uncle.

"Demetrius, the line you drew looks so familiar to me."

"Very familiar? Sir, the last time you saw me, you said at the salon that you were mainly studying the French."

"It's just that this route always looks familiar. I stopped Skopje. Karageorge is in Užice and Visegrad, and the route from Bosnia to Greece is cut off. The Serbs have never been able to open a road to Montenegro, and we have blocked their way."

To put it bluntly, although it does not involve changing bases, this is a more traditional tactic of cutting traffic lines, a tactic commonly used by the Prussians.

"This still doesn't take care of the coastal route. You don't plan to come out from the mountain road in Sofia, even though this road is the shortest."

"Look, Demetrius. The road from Sofia to Thessaloniki is very difficult. If someone were to stay in the fortress in the middle, it would be difficult for us to pass. Even if it is the Turks, we must not be careless when fighting them."

"What do you think?"

"If we take Skopje, the road will obviously be smoother, and we can drive all the way to Thessaly, and we will reach Athens very quickly. But... How is Athens now?"

"Don't think of Athens as a Greek city-state from the classical era. It has fallen into disrepair and even the reliefs of the Parthenon have been stolen."

"I know about this, but after Elgin returned to England, he was also condemned for a long time. He wanted to cash in on these reliefs, but he failed in the end."

The young men of this generation still have some morals and can be considered decent gentlemen. But the young men of later generations are really worse than the previous one and are in a very messy state. Even a golden retriever can be prime minister. Maybe one day a cat will be able to become a permanent secretary or prime minister.

The British kept these reliefs, and because the situation on the Ottoman Empire's side was too complicated to describe, they did not return them.

After the establishment of Greece, this became a confusing case.

Unlike in Russia, many of the stone tablets dug out in Crimea are also local products, lying in Russian museums, and still need epigraphers to study them. Yes, European archaeology also has epigraphy, and with China, except for the different texts on them, the contents inside have many similarities.

However, it was not appropriate for him to discuss the inscription at this time, as the focus was still on the deployment on the front line.

"In that case, you can consider taking the main road, but it's too far."

"There's nothing we can do if we're blocked by the mountains. This time I'm going to go to Skopje. If we can take it, the rest of the way will be much easier. We can even have whatever we want from Greece."

"Okay, we are all waiting for your action."

"It's just that in winter, it rains a lot in your place. The climate along the Mediterranean coast is not like that of inland areas or the Atlantic coast."

Solovyov thought about it and decided that his knowledge of meteorology was still there and would always be useful.

He told Demetrius what he meant, and the other party understood it.

"In that case, we will have a secret meeting in a while. The elders are waiting to hear from me."

"I'm worried that there might be traitors among you. After all, it's not uncommon for informers to appear at meetings."

Solovyov knew very well that the most similarities between Russia and the Ottoman Empire were that there were probably still many spies. Even the Greeks had differences among themselves. The interests of the Phanario Greeks in Constantinople and the Greeks everywhere were inconsistent.

“But the communication aspect.”

"If you knew the situation in Skopje, would you know the situation of the post stations where the merchants from the mainland passed by?"

"I am very familiar with the road from Skopje to Larissa. It would be more convenient for you to take the main road here instead of going directly to Thessaloniki from Sofia."

"That's good. When I was in Switzerland, I fought with the French at Ghost Gate Bridge. It's not a pleasant feeling to be stuck in the mountains."

Solovyov was also a person who sought stability. Although he had a serious speculative mentality during combat, he never hesitated when it came time to take action.

But the Russian army also needs a guide for the route here, as many of the paths here have not been traveled before.

Greeks came out to help from the south, and there were also Greeks on the Russian side. Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias was an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and his rank was not low.

Solovyov met him through Prince Alexander Saltykov, but because he was only in the embassy for a short time under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was just an acquaintance.

Although he is also the future Foreign Minister, Solovyov will not have conflicts with him. After all, it is not like Małopolska, where he has to compete with him in front of the Queen.

Although he is the winner.
And what’s interesting is that he is a Corcyra native, which means that the land that Russia gave to France is his hometown.

But he and his brother Augustin were not at the front line, and it was difficult for Solovyov to get any clues through them, after all, they had been in Russia for a long time.

Even if he came, he would probably be on Kamensky's side. In terms of seniority, Kamensky the Younger was the commander-in-chief of this southern expedition. Although he commanded a legion, he was actually only the deputy commander-in-chief. As a senior civil servant, Ionis would not be on his side.

If there is any reliance, it is probably the connections left by Prince Peter the Elder of Greece.

After all, his wife and old Prince Peter are relatives, and Prince Mikhail is also his good friend. The Greeks still recognize him as a "distal relative" to some extent.

From Demetrius's two activities during this period, as well as the fact that many Greeks in the north came to petition, he could also understand the extent to which the Ottoman Sultan lacked virtue.

This is the first sentence a Cossack used to curse, so it should be fine to use it to describe the situation.

The Russian army might be invading in other directions, but in the Balkans and the Caucasus, as long as it is an area populated by Christians, it can be considered a royal army.

Moreover, compared to other religious believers who are a bit crazy and keen on missionary work, there are still many pagans in Russia. Therefore, even if Colonel Ka wants to see a funeral in Moscow, he can still see it if he is in a hurry.

Against this background, the Russian army was returning from Philippopolis and, after a short rest, set out on the journey to Skopje.

According to the information learned before the war, there were at least 20,000 defenders in Skopje. At this time, Karageorge really needed to divide his troops and act.

Soon, Duric and Peter Jokic arrived at the front with four cavalry regiments and four infantry regiments.

Duric Solovyov has seen Jokic. This Jokic has a beard and is tall and strong. He should have nothing to do with the fat Serbian man who loves to drink Coke.

The Russian army finally had 50,000 troops. This was after the Russian army had recovered from losses and the wounded had returned to the army. Another 10,000 Serbs were added to the army. This meant they could fight a decent offensive.

After all, this time, the Turks were definitely prepared, unlike the last time when Solovyov sneaked in and unethically pulled out Vidin, and then won two more battles.

This time, because the Turkish army had suffered such a bad defeat before, there would probably not be any reinforcements arriving in Skopje too early.

Just some people came, probably from Bosnia.

In order to win this battle, Solovyov specially sent Karadzic back to Karageorge to explain the current movements of the Russian army.

The Serbs only needed to paralyze the road from Sarajevo to Thessaloniki for a period of time to complete their mission.

A new phase of the offensive has thus begun. (End of this chapter)