Holy Roman Empire

No matter what the British thought, the Vienna Peace Conference was held as scheduled.There is no accident, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria have become mediation countries.

With the arrival of the negotiating delegation, Vienna became more lively.The representatives of the two countries are like hard-working bees flying around in the embassies of various countries. Every day, hot news is generated, which makes the people who eat melons relish.

The British support the Berlin government, and the French are hesitant. They are barely on the side of the Commonwealth of Pope, but with limited support.

As the host Austria, it has not stated its position, and now it is the main goal of the two sides.Whoever has the support of the Vienna government will be able to gain an advantage in the negotiations.

After letting go of the worthless negotiation minutes, Franz asked: "Are the bottom lines of the two countries roughly clear?"

I do n’t know when it started. Everyone learned the lion ’s opening in diplomatic negotiations. Usually, the first condition proposed is one-to-one excess, without considering feasibility.

For example, now: the Russians demanded that the Berlin government cede East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Schleswig-Holstein, and also demand a war of 960 million Aegis. indemnity.

Among them, the two principalities of Schleswig-Holstein returned to the Danes. Although they did not know whether the Russians had an agreement with the Danes, Franz knew that this was the scourge of "money".

The end of the war does not mean that the troubles of the tsarist government have ended. On the contrary, their troubles have only just begun. In the years to come, the Russians have to start a long debt repayment career.

Now that the war is in progress, the Russians have owed huge amounts of debt.Austria ’s debt alone amounts to 670 million Aegis.

Now the Russians have to pay the principal and interest of nearly 4 million Aegis per month in Austria. They need to pay for several decades in a row to pay off all their debts. The final principal and interest will exceed 1.4 billion Aegis.

The annual revenue of the Tsarist government is only about 100 million Aegis, and almost half of Austria ’s debt is taken away, which is obviously not affordable by the Russian finances.

To the best of Franz ’s knowledge, apart from Austria, the total foreign debt of the Tsarist government in other countries was not less than 200 million Aegis, mainly the Nordic Federation and the United States of America.

The Nordic Federation is a loan secured by Finland, and the United States is one of the few diplomatic achievements of the Tsarist government.

There is no way, people are afraid of loneliness, the country is composed of people, naturally inherited this.It is not surprising that two countries are isolated in the world.

During the Civil War, the tsarist government supported the northern government, and now it is natural to receive a return.It's not that Americans are so loyal, in fact, the United States is also forced.

After being jointly suppressed by the four countries of Anglo-French-Ossie, all countries in Europe respected them. Apart from the equally unpopular Russians, they could no longer find a better partner.

Although the divided United States was not as rich as the original time and space, it sold tens of millions of war bonds for the Russians.

This is just external debt. In addition, the tsarist government also owes a lot of internal debt. Franz has no way of knowing it. Anyway, it is an astronomical figure.

Post-war soldiers ’casualty allowances, retired officers and soldiers, and the economic reconstruction of war-affected areas are another huge expense.

On this issue, the Tsarist government is not much better than the Berlin government.

Different from the past, this time most of the debt was mortgaged by the territories. If you ca n’t afford the money, you will have to cut the land.

I wo n’t mention it in other regions. The Finnish region ca n’t be abandoned. Otherwise, St. Petersburg ’s strategic security will be a problem.

In terms of economic value, the two principalities of Schleswig-Holstein are comparable to Finland in the snow and ice. It is possible to exchange some pocket money for the debt of these two principalities.

Increasing the strength of the Danes by the way has made the internal relations of the Nordic Federation more complicated and lifted the threats that may appear on the north side.

Franz understands that the tsarist government wants to get rid of the financial crisis, but the conditions they put forward are not desirable.

Regardless of whether or not to divide the German region, the problem is that the Berlin government is also a poor ghost. After being slaughtered by them, what do they pay for war compensation?

If the conditions of the Russians are OK, after all, it is a victory over the country, and the lion ’s big mouth is not a big deal, then the conditions proposed by the Berlin government, Franz glanced at it and did n’t bother to look down.

The first one is to make the Russian army immediately withdraw from the territory of the Federation of Popo. The latter is no longer important, and this one has not been discussed.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg replied: "It can be determined initially that the Russians' goal is to cede the ground and demand war compensation.

In addition to recovering the original territory, they also want to swallow the occupied Prussia and Poznan regions, which is not a problem.

The key is war compensation. The tsarist government is really running out of money and wants to take advantage of the opportunity to make up for a fiscal shortfall.

Judging from the current situation, if the Berlin government pays enough compensation, it is estimated that the Russians will be able to accept it without cutting the land.

The situation in Prussia is a bit complicated. The Berlin government is unable to pay war compensation and wants to keep East and West Prussia, but cedes the Poznan region."

After thinking about it, Franz said with a smile: "The situation is better than we expected. It seems that the tsarist government lacking money is the best tsarist government, otherwise they can swallow Prussia in one go.

As for the ideas of the Berlin government, this time is not important.As a defeated country, they have little choice.The territories that have been eaten by the Russians are unrealistic to try to spit out.

The finances of both Russia and Russia are not good. Every day the war continues, they will have to increase the military expenditure of hundreds of thousands of Aegis, and they simply cannot afford to delay it.

Let's not intervene too much for the time being. The negotiations have just begun. It is estimated that the representatives of Pu Russia have not entered the state. It is necessary to calm them down first.

I can meet with the Prussian representatives in private in Rio, suggesting that they should pay off the debts of various countries in kind. I believe everyone will not refuse, "

"In-kind compensation" is the biggest pit. Prussia is not rich in resources, and "in-kind" indemnity can only be obtained by industrial and commercial products.

How harmful this thing is, Franz has seen it.When the original World War II broke out, the industry of the German and German empire actually exceeded the sum of Britain and France.

Before World War I, the Second German Empire accounted for 14.8% of the world's total industry, and the British Empire accounted for 13.6% of the world's total industry. The two countries are very close, and the sum of Britain and France far exceeds the German Second Empire.

The situation changed during World War II. In the early days, the German and Three Reichs accounted for 13.2% of the world ’s total industry, the British fell to 9%, and the French were only a poor 4.5%. The three empires surpassed the sum of Britain and France.

(The data is for reference only, the answers given on different materials are different)

From the perspective of industrial data alone, Britain and France are more like defeated nations.The proportion of Germany ’s total industrial output declined. It was the return of coal- and iron-rich Alsace-Lorraine to France, and the textile center Silesia was ceded to the newly independent Poland.

The main reason leading to all this happening is the compensation in kind.In order to repay war compensation, Germany has to pay a large amount of industrial and commercial products at a discount every year.

The capitalists found that being a second trader was actually more profitable than producing by themselves.Needless to say, of course, interest comes first.

Soon the British and French homes and colonies were filled with German manufacturing, and the markets that were not available on the German battlefield were actually obtained in the post-war compensation.

I have to say that this world is sometimes really nonsense.

Nonsense, nonsense, Franz is very much looking forward to this scene.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Minister Weisenberg replied

...

Prime Minister Felix: "British people have been very active recently, and the benefits of the establishment of North Germany have been promoted everywhere. We have not put our eyes on them at all. The impact is very bad.

Especially in the Kingdom of Hanover, many newspapers are advocating North Germanism.They used the pretext of religious belief to confuse people and attempt to split the empire.

... "

What is coming is still coming. The establishment of such a big German empire is not something that can be decided by a few people in the top level.

Without the support of the people, there is no difference between the Northern German Empire and the current "Comedy Empire". It is nominally a country, and in fact no one can control the central government.

If the institutional structure is still so loose, it is better to call it an alliance of states rather than an empire.

This is not what the British want, nor is it what George I wanted.If the centripetal force of the people cannot be increased, the value of this empire can only serve as a buffer zone for the great powers.

Franz thought for a while and said, "You can cause them a little trouble, but pay attention and not scare them.

It would be better to lead everyone out, and just screen out who is our friend and who is our enemy.

The British want a North German Empire, then give them a North German Empire, but it must be a North German Empire that meets our requirements.

The Kingdom of Prussia is a good piece, no matter how weakened, their strength is above Hanover.

The weak in the center and the strong in the center have been the cause of misfortune since ancient times.

As long as the post-war decline has passed, the unwilling Junker nobility will encourage the Berlin government to challenge Hannover, and it will be lively.

Perhaps it is not necessary to wait until then, the Kingdom of Prussia urgently needs money to save lives.I do n’t believe that when they were asked to pay, these people ’s activists wanted to build a North German empire."

Deep down, Franz had already decided to let the Russians pay a high price for the Kingdom of Prussia.

It ’s not important that the Kingdom of Prussia can afford it. It ’s not even a hundred years, but it ’s not a two hundred year.

When necessary, the debt of the Berlin government can be passed on to the central government of North Germany.

This is a precedent. After the establishment of the Pupo Federation, the Berlin government wanted Pupo to completely integrate and directly unify the military and political affairs on both sides. The debt of the Polish government fell to the central government.

Theoretically, now that the Kingdom of Poland has fallen, the Berlin government has the opportunity to refuse to fulfill the debts of the previous Kingdom of Poland, which will be borne by the Russians who occupied the Kingdom of Poland.

It's just that this is a world of weak meat and strong food. The will of the powers is international law. The creditors have no ability to force the Russians to pay back, and they can only bully the weak Berlin government.

The Berlin government has no confidence to refuse and can only continue to fulfill these debts.Similar things can be replicated in the North German Empire.

No matter how little promises the British give, a debt-transferring country that supports them will choose to change jobs.

Why worry about being able to get paid?Take advantage of this opportunity to consume the excess energy of John Bull, lest they secretly conspiracy is king.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg said worriedly: "Your Majesty, the situation may not necessarily develop according to our will. Judging from the current situation, the Kingdom of Prussia will definitely undergo substantial disarmament after the war.

Affected by this war, Junker ’s nobles suffered great losses. Thousands of noble officers arrived on the battlefield, and more than 300 noble families faced a crisis of heirs because of the war.

A lot of losses for the younger generation. When the older generation retreats, the Junker nobility will face a crisis of no one succeeding, and the control of the country will definitely decline significantly.

Perhaps there is no need to wait for the future, this war is an opportunity.

The defeat always requires someone to take responsibility. If William announced his abdication after the war, these high-ranking Junker nobles had to retreat.

Time is too short, and they have no time to train heirs.The positions they leave will be filled by deputies or subordinates.

After this round of political reshuffle, the Junker nobility will lose control of the government.Most of the new government will take action to continue to weaken the strength of the Junker nobility.

For example: using fiscal pressure as an excuse to abolish most of the army in the country and get rid of the deformed political pattern in which the army owns the country."

Not possible, but it will happen.The political struggle is cruel, if William I does not take advantage of this opportunity, it will not be William I.

William I was over eighty years old, and he had not been alive for several years. He was hit by the defeat of the war and his health was already very poor.

He had no chance to take away his political opponents and eliminate the hidden dangers of coming to power.

And this is still a conspiracy, not that the emperor forced everyone to resign, but that the glory of the nobility made everyone embarrassed to occupy a high position.

For the sake of war, the core of the Junker nobility was mostly in the army.Except for some high-level officials, most of them are not Junkers.

After the political reshuffle, the army lost control of the government.No matter who comes to power, they will not be given a second chance to control the government.

In the same scene, the original space-time was also staged.After the First World War, Junker ’s nobility was greatly reduced. After the suppression of all parties, during the Second World War, they were excluded by the "Greece", and even the control of the army was lost.

...

Prussia controlled by politicians and Prussia controlled by the army are not a concept at all, and the bottom line is much lower.

Unlike "military politicism" who habitually speak with fists, politicians prefer compromise.This undoubtedly increases uncertainty, and no one can guarantee that the Berlin government will not compromise with Hanover.

Franz nodded: "This is indeed a problem, but the benefits involved are too great. Even if the two sides really compromise, there is no way to complete it in a short time.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is staring at them, and we can take extraordinary measures when necessary."

Frankly, Franz is not very worried.To achieve this, not only the superb political skills, but also a suitable international environment.