No matter what the British thought, the Vienna Peace Conference was held as scheduled. Without any surprises, Britain, France and the Austrians became mediation countries.

With the arrival of the negotiating delegation, Vienna became more and more lively. The representatives of Pratt-Russia were like hardworking bees, flying around in embassies of various countries. Hot news was produced every day, which made the people who were eating melons talk about it.

The British supported the Berlin government, and the French were a little hesitant and barely stood on the side of the Popo Federation, but their support was limited.

As the host, Austria has never made a stand and now it is the main goal of the two sides' competition. Whoever gets the support of the Vienna government will be able to gain an advantage in the negotiations.

Putting down the worthless negotiation minutes, Franz asked: "Have you roughly figured out the bottom line between Pratt and Russia?"

I don’t know when it started, but everyone learned to speak loudly in diplomatic negotiations. Usually, the conditions proposed for the first time are too much more than the other, and there is no consideration for feasibility at all.

For example, now: the Russians demand that the Berlin government ced the two principalities of Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Schleswig-Holstein, and also demanded a war reparation of 960 million ASUS.

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

The end of the war does not mean that the troubles of the Tsarist government ended. On the contrary, their troubles have just begun. In the years to come, the Russians have to start a long career in repaying debts.

Since the war has been going on, the Russians have already owed huge debts. Austria alone has a debt of 670 million.

Now the Russians have to pay nearly 4 million ASUS every month for Austria, and they need to pay for decades to pay off all their debts. The final principal and interest sum will exceed 1.4 billion ASUS.

The annual fiscal revenue of the Tsarist government is only about 100 million Aegis, and nearly half of Austria's debts are taken away, which is obviously not something that Russian finances can afford.

As far as Franz knows, in addition to Austria, the total foreign debt of the Tsarist government in other countries is not less than 200 million Aegis, mainly the Nordic Federation and the United States of America.

The Nordic Federation used Finland to mortgage loans, and the United States was one of the few diplomatic achievements of the Tsarist government.

There is no way, people are afraid of loneliness, and countries are made up of people, so naturally they have inherited this. It is not surprising that two countries isolated by the world are grouped together.

During the Civil War, the Tsarist government supported the Northern government, and now it is naturally going to receive rewards. It is not that the Americans are so loyal, but that the United States is also forced.

After being jointly suppressed by Britain, France, Olympiad and Western countries, European countries stayed away from them. Except for the equally unpopular Russians, they could never find any better partners.

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

This is just a foreign debt. In addition, the Tsarist government also owed a large amount of domestic debts. Franz had no way of knowing the specific number, but it was an astronomical number anyway.

After the war, the casualties of soldiers, the retirement and resettlement of officers and soldiers, and the economic reconstruction of the war-affected areas were another huge expense.

On this issue, the Tsarist government is not much better than the Berlin government, and it is the kind that goes bankrupt every minute.

Today is different from the past. Most of the debts this time are mortgaged by territory. If you can't afford to pay back the money, you have to cede land. This trick of financial bankruptcy is not easy to use.

Not to mention other regions, Finland must not be abandoned, otherwise the strategic security of St. Petersburg will become a problem.

In terms of economic value, the two principalities of Schleswig-Holstein are valuable than Finland in the snow. If you use these two principalities to pay off their debts, you can exchange them for some pocket money.

By the way, strengthen the strength of the Danes, make the internal relations of the Nordic Federation more complicated and remove possible threats in the north.

Franz understood the Tsarist government's desire to get rid of the financial crisis, but the conditions they put forward were not desirable.

Let’s not only divide the German region, the question is that the Berlin government is also a poor man. After being slaughtered by them, how can they pay for war reparations?

If the Russians have the conditions, after all, they are a victorious country, and it is nothing to say a lion, then Franz was too lazy to look down after a glance at the conditions proposed by the Berlin government.

The first one is to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Popo Federation. The future is no longer important, so this one cannot be discussed.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied: "It is initially certain that the Russians' goal is to ced the land and demand war reparations.

In addition to reclaiming the original territory, they also wanted to swallow the occupied Prussia and Poznan regions, which was not a big problem.

The key is war reparations. The Tsarist government really has no money and wants to take the opportunity to make up for the fiscal deficit.

Judging from the current situation, if the Berlin government gives enough compensation, the Russians would probably accept it without cede the land.

The situation in Prussia is a bit complicated. The Berlin government is unable to pay war reparations, and wants to save East and West Prussia, but only ceded the Poznan region."

After thinking about it, Franz smiled and said, "The situation is better than we expected. It seems that the Tsarist government, which is short of money, is the best Tsarist government, otherwise they can swallow Prussia in one bite.

As for the idea of ​​the Berlin government, it is not important at this time. As a defeated country, they have no choice. It is simply unrealistic to try to make people spit out the territory that has been eaten by the Russians.

The finances of Pratt and Russia are not good. Every day the war lasts, they will increase the military expenditure of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, which they can't afford to delay.

We should not intervene too much for the time being. The negotiations have just begun. I guess neither the PAS and Russia representatives have entered the state. It is necessary to calm them down first.

You can meet with the Prussian representatives in private and suggest that they use physical goods to repay the debts of various countries. I believe everyone will not refuse,"

"In-kind compensation" is the biggest pit. Prussia does not produce a lot of resources and uses "in-kind" to pay off debts, and only industrial and commercial products can take advantage of it.

Franz has seen how harmful this thing is. When World War II broke out in the original space-time, the industry of the three German empires actually exceeded the sum of Britain and France.

You should know that before World War I, the German Empire accounted for 14.8% of the world's total industrial volume, while the British Empire accounted for 13.6% of the world's total industrial volume. The two countries were very close, and Britain and France combined far surpassed the German Empire.

The situation changed during World War II. In the early stage, the three German empires accounted for 13.2% of the world's total industrial volume, while the British dropped to 9%, while the French were only pitiful 4.5%. After annexing Austria and Czechoslovakia, the three German empires surpassed the sum of Britain and France.

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

Judging from the industrial data alone, Britain and France are more like defeated countries. Germany's total industrial share has decreased, and that is, the coal-rich, Alsace Lorraine, which is iron, is returned to France, and the textile center Silesia was ceded to the newly independent Poland.

The main reason for all this is "in-kind" compensation. In order to repay war reparations, Germany has to pay off debts at a discount every year with a large amount of industrial and commercial products.

Capitalists found that being a second-hand dealer is actually more profitable than producing it on their own. There is no need to say, of course, interests come first.

Soon, the British and French local colonies were filled with German-made, and the market that the German army had not obtained on the battlefield was actually obtained in the post-war reparations.

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

No matter how nonsense, Franz is looking forward to this scene.

"Yes, your majesty!" Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied

...

Prime Minister Felix: "The British have been very active recently, and have promoted the benefits of establishing North Germany everywhere, and have not taken us seriously at all. The impact has been very bad.

Especially in the Kingdom of Hanover, many newspapers advocated North Germanism. They used religious belief excuses to demagogue people and attempted to split the empire.

…”

What should come will come. Such a big thing as a matter of establishing the North German Empire cannot be decided by a few senior officials.

If the support of the people is not obtained, then there is no difference between the North German Empire and the current "comedy empire". It is nominally a country, but in fact no one can control the central government.

If the institutional structure is still so loose now, it is more appropriate to say that it is a state alliance rather than an empire.

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

Franz thought for a while and said, "You can cause them some minor trouble, but you have to pay attention to your strength and don't scare them."

It is best to attract everyone out and just screen who is our friend and who is our enemy.

If the British wanted a North German Empire, they would give them a North German Empire, but they had to be the North German Empire that met our requirements.

The Kingdom of Prussia is a good pawn. No matter how weakened, their strength will be higher than Hannover.

The central government is weak and the local government is strong, and it has been a way to cause disaster since ancient times.

As long as the post-war decline period is over, the unwilling Junker nobles will inspire the Berlin government to challenge Hannover, and then there will be a fun time.

Maybe there is no need to wait until then, the Prussian Kingdom is in urgent need of money to help. I don’t believe that when they ask them to pay, these activists want to establish the North German Empire.”

Deep down, Franz had made a decision to ask the Russians to get a sky-high compensation for the Kingdom of Prussia.

It doesn’t matter whether the Prussian Kingdom can afford to pay back or not. At most, it can be paid for one hundred years. If it doesn’t work, it’s okay to pay for two hundred years.

When necessary, the debts on the Berlin government can be transferred to the North German central government.

This is a precedent. After the establishment of the Popo Federation, the Berlin government wanted to completely integrate Popo and directly unify the military and political affairs of both sides. The debts on the Polish government fell on 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 Kingdom of Poland, which will be borne by the Russians who occupied the Kingdom of Poland.

But this is a world where the strong prey on the weak. The will of the great powers is international law. Creditors do not have the ability to force the Russians to pay back the money and can only bully the weak Berlin government.

The Berlin government had no confidence to refuse and could only continue to fulfill these debts. Similar things could also be copied from the North German Empire.

No matter how many promises the British make, a debt transfer will be transferred, and the state that supports them will choose to change jobs.

Why should we be anxious if we can cut off the firewood from the bottom of the pot? Taking advantage of this opportunity to consume John Bull's excess energy, so as not to secretly engage in conspiracy.

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

Affected by this war, the Junke nobles suffered great losses. Thousands of noble officers arrived on the battlefield, and more than 300 noble families were facing the crisis of extinction due to the war.

The younger generation suffers a lot of losses. After the older generation retreats, the Junke nobles will face a crisis of no successors, and their control over the country will definitely decline significantly.

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

Someone always needs to bear the responsibility for defeat. If William announced his abdication after the war, these high-ranking Junker nobles would have to retreat.

Time is too hasty, and they don’t have time to train their heirs. The positions they leave will be filled by their deputy or subordinates.

After this round of political reshuffle, the Junker nobles will lose control of the government. The new government will most likely take action to continue to weaken the Junker nobles' strength.

For example: Using financial pressure as an excuse, most of the domestic army will be abolished and the deformed political pattern of the army owning the country."

It is not possible, but it will definitely happen. Political struggles are cruel. If William I did not take advantage of this opportunity, it would not be William I.

William I was over 80 years old and had not had a few years of life. He was hit by the failure of the war and his health was already very poor.

He had no reason to refuse if he had the opportunity to take away his political opponents and clear away the hidden dangers of future generations' power.

And this is still an open conspiracy. It is not the emperor who forces everyone to resign, but the glory of the nobles makes everyone embarrassed to hold a high position.

Because of the war, the core of the Junker nobles was mostly in the army. Except for some senior officials in the government, most of them were not Junker.

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.

The same scene was also staged in the original time and space. After World War I, the Junker nobles' power was greatly reduced. After suppressing all parties, they were excluded by the "Hizhao" during World War II, and even lost control of the army.

...

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

Unlike "military-nationism" who habitually speaks with fists, politicians prefer to compromise. This undoubtedly increases uncertainty, and no one can guarantee that the Berlin government will not compromise with Hannover.

Franz nodded: "This is indeed a problem, but the benefits involved are too great. Even if both sides really compromise, they cannot complete it in a short period of time.

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

Frankly speaking, Franz was not very worried. To do this, you must not only have superb political skills, but also have a suitable international environment.
Chapter completed!