The Vienna State Opera, built in 1869, is one of the four famous opera houses in the world. Its interior decoration is very gorgeous, with an audience seat that can accommodate more than 1,600 people. There are five floors of private rooms surrounding the theater, and the most impressive one is the emperor's private rooms in the middle.

On the last day of January 1915, the opera house was packed, and the content of the opera performed today was nothing special, but the Viennese gave it a good name: "Song of Victory". Therefore, not only the noble politicians of Vienna, but also representatives of various countries who came to participate in the Vienna peace talks were invited. The organizers also generously left several private rooms for the Italian representatives, but somehow they did not attend.

When the 84-year-old Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I appeared in the opera house, everyone present stood up and applauded, which was a respect for the emperor and the respect for the victor. Joseph I had spent 67 springs and autumns on the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian Emperor. Under his rule, Vienna became a world-famous city. He ordered the demolition of the city walls, the building of a luxurious and grand ring road, and invited the most famous European architects to build brilliant buildings.

Although he became the winner of the war at this moment, Joseph I did not make this huge and chaotic empire really powerful after all. In its territory, the nobles and wealthy lived in luxury, a large number of poor people were unable to feed, and the states were independent, and different nations hated each other. They had rich resources and good industrial strength but lacked economic power. The number of troops was astonishing, but the quality of officers was low, and the soldiers of all races lacked cooperation. The equipment was far from the title of a great army power. Now the army relied heavily on German aid in both command and equipment.

In fact, from the moment of birth, the misfortune of Franz Joseph I was doomed. The country he ruled seemed huge but had internal and external troubles, and the education given to him by his mother, Empress Dowager Sophie, was obsolete and outdated. She believed that her son's primary task was to maintain the noble tradition of the Habsburg family for hundreds of years, strive to maintain the rule of this perpetual dynasty, and then consider governing Austria, if possible, to make it powerful. Because of this boring education from a young age, Emperor Franz Joseph's intelligence

Generally, he has a mediocre personality, is concentrating on details, and is indecisive, and often changes his orders every day. Although he has no military talent, his greatest hobby is wearing military uniforms. He believes that he is first a glorious imperial soldier, followed by a noble German prince, and finally an Austrian emperor. The only thing that the emperor deserves to be praised is probably his language. In addition to German, he also knows Magyar (Hungary), Czech, Italian, Latin, Greek, as well as English and French.

God was cruel to Joseph I. In 1867, his younger brother, Mexican Emperor Maximilian, was executed by President Juarez, and his sister-in-law, Charlotte, daughter of Belgium King Leopold, became a lunatic. In 1889, he and Sisi's only son, Rudolph, the crown prince of Austro-Hungarian Empire, committed suicide outside Vienna; in 1898, Sisi, whom he had always loved, was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist by Lake Geneva; in the end, the emperor's nephew, Crown Prince Ferdinand, was stabbed in Serbia.

The exhausted Joseph I had been in a deteriorating condition in recent years, so a few brave men predicted that the old emperor, the only bond that maintained the huge empire, was about to pass away, and his nephew, the crown prince Carl, who lacked reputation and mediocre qualifications, was unable to take on the heavy responsibility. The Austro-Hungarian Empire would soon fall into a state of fragmentation.

Before the prophecy was confirmed by history, the flatterers began to give more and more praise to the new crown prince of the empire, and the young Carl was also trying his best to show himself. During the war, he went to the front line to comfort the officers and soldiers many times, and personally commanded several medium-sized battles. After Serbia was defeated, his footprints were spread all over the capitals of European countries such as Berlin, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Madrid. His efforts also achieved some results, at least he became familiar with the royal families in Europe.

In addition to the Austrian Emperor and the Crown Prince, there are many distinguished guests sitting in the Vienna State Opera today. The most eye-catching are the Tsar couple who are visiting Vienna, as well as the politicians from all countries who come to participate in the Vienna Peace Conference, including German Prime Minister Bateman and Army Minister Rupresit, Russian Prime Minister Kokovsov and Army Minister Marshal Ivanov, Turkish President Kemal and Defense Minister General Turan, and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Totlov.

When Emperor Ao and the crown prince took their seats, the opera began. At this time, snow was flying outside the opera house.

This winter of the Italians was miserable. Not only did they lose a large tract of land, but their country's economy and industry were hit hard. Their savings over the years were emptied, and the 50 billion lira compensation would make them carry a heavy mountain in the next 20 years. According to the Vienna Peace Treaty, 90% of the locomotives, 80% of the caravans and 100% of the trucks in Italy across the country must be paid to the Allies, and the army must hand over 2,000 cannons, 2,000 machine guns and all aircraft. The fleet that the navy has worked hard on will no longer exist. 10 battleships, 42 cruisers and large destroyers, and 25 submarines will be removed from the Italian Navy's battle sequence.

After the Vienna peace treaty was signed, all the Italians had to do was to travel honestly under the surveillance of the Allies, while the representatives of the victorious countries sat around the table to discuss how to divide the spoils.

The so-called Vienna Peace Conference, to be more precise, was a spoil-sharing conference held by the allied states - the representatives of Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and Turkey discussed how to distribute spoils; Bulgaria, which signed the alliance treaty and declared war on Italy, the German Egyptian Kingdom, the German Sudan Republic, and the foreign ministers and ministers of the German South African Federation came to "come guest appearances in a friendly manner".

As the initiator of the war, the representative of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Crown Prince Carl, spoke first as the master:

"First of all, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, I thank all countries for their support for our country in the war. It is precisely because of the cooperation between all countries that we can defeat the Italians in such a short time. For the Italian indemnities and compensation stipulated in the peace treaty, in addition to warships, the suggestion of our government is that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is 60%, Germany 25%, Russia 9%, Turkey 6%! As for the Italian fleet, we believe that German allies should get the heavy cruiser Brunetti, light cruiser Betini and three destroyers, and Turkish allies should get the heavy cruiser Vizali, light cruiser Piasano and four destroyers, and four submarines. We are also preparing to donate the light cruiser Gozo and two submarines to Russian allies!"

As soon as Carl's speech ended, the delegates expressed dissatisfaction with the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupying too much spoil, especially warships.

"my country sent 300,000 troops to fight directly, and also provided a large amount of arms to allies. The 25% ratio is too low! Our country cannot accept it at all!" German Prime Minister Bateman was the first to stand up to oppose it.

"How can this be done! Our Navy has made a lot of efforts in its operations against the Italian Navy, and it has lost no fewer sailors than other countries! And before joining the war, we said, "Dantine Aligicheri' should belong to us, Turkey, and we have left a place for it in the military port!" Kemal's purpose is very clear. His country needs new main battleships, but Turkey currently has limited economic capabilities and cannot build battleships by itself. The Italian Navy completed its construction in 1913 and was put into service the following year, which was obviously a good choice.

"Don't be so excited for everyone!" When Kokovsov just said this, everyone thought he was going to be a peacemaker, but he changed the subject. "His Highness Karl's suggestion is questionable, so we should sit down and negotiate calmly. In terms of compensation ratio, considering that Russia suffered more than 7,000 casualties in combat operations with Italians, based on the overall casualties, we Russia should receive 20% of the compensation!"

Faced with the collective opposition from Germany, Russia and Turkey, Carl was unwilling to give in. This time, the Austrian Emperor let him take full responsibility for this matter, and it was also to allow him to establish his prestige.

"Why should we invite them to join the war? With the strength of the imperial army, it should be easy for us to wipe out Italy!" Long before the Italian war began, Carl asked Grand Duke Friedrich this way.

"War is not judged based on numbers, otherwise we would not have struggled or even lost in Serbia. Although we are confident of winning the final victory when facing the Italians alone, the war may be delayed for several months or even a year!" After experiencing the nightmare of the Battle of Belarus, Grand Duke Friedrich seemed much more cautious, and his confidence in his subordinates' combat power was far less than as strong as before.

During the Italian battle, Karl asked the Austro-Hungarian coalition commanded by Grand Duke Friedrich to speed up the offensive more than once, and more records meant a stronger confidence on the negotiating table. However, as Grand Duke Friedrich expected, the German army once again became the protagonist of the battlefield. The Western offensive of the Hausen Army forced the Italians to retreat continuously, and the German armored troops in the Eastern Coalition became a dazzling sharp blade. Ninety percent of the fighter jets and pilots in the coalition were provided by Germany, and millions of shells provided by Germany throughout the war.

"We think it should be the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany gets 40%, Russia gets 30%, and Turkey gets 17%!" Batemann then proposed the proportion expected by the German government, which obviously made the Russians and the Turks happy.

"Anyway, the Austro-Hungarian Empire should receive 60%. We have no objection to how to allocate the remaining compensation and materials!" Carl's opinion was very firm. In fact, the proportion he proposed at the internal meeting of the Austro-Hungarian central government was as high as 80%. However, because the generals felt that this proposal was too unrealistic, he barely reduced the number to 60%.

In this case, the proportional allocation proposals proposed by the Russians and Turks were also denied by Carl one by one, and the meeting was once deadlocked.

In the next two days of meetings, Carl still refused to give in on the compensation ratio.

On the 4th day of the meeting, Bateman suddenly made a new suggestion:

"If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince receives 60% of the reparations and supplies from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, our government requires the Italians' "Da Vinci", "Duke of Cafur" and "Julian Caesar", plus 5 designated light cruisers and 10 destroyers!"

"Battleship?" Carl looked at the German Prime Minister opposite in surprise. He obviously did not expect that the Germans would have such a big appetite for Italian ships. The Cafur-class battleship is currently the latest Italian battleship, with a displacement of 22,000 tons and equipped with 8 305mm main guns. It is one of the strongest battleships in the Mediterranean region. There are 3 battleships of this class, namely the "Da Vinci", the "Duke of Cafur" and the "Julian Cafur". They all participated in the Adriatic Battle on December 22, 1914, and stayed in the Taranto military port for most of the time.

The Russians and Turks did not comment on Bateman's proposal, perhaps they had known it long ago.

Carl had to reconsider this very important issue. Three of the 10 Italian battleships stipulated in the treaty are currently under repair, and two need further equipment to be installed. Only three Cafur-class battleships can be set sail normally, the "Dantine Alegericheri" battleship and an old-style armored battleship. The Germans obviously would not use Italian battleships to strengthen the strength of the high seas fleet. They are most likely to remain in the Mediterranean Sea and become part of the German Mediterranean fleet, which is not a good thing for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

What made Karl feel depressed was that the Russians then turned their targets to Italian warships. Kokovsov said, "Russia can only have 9% compensation and supplies, but we need 3 cruisers and 10 destroyers to strengthen the naval power of the Black Sea!"

Immediately afterwards, Kemal also proposed that Türkiye could accept 6% compensation and supplies on the condition that 1 battleship, 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers and 12 Italian submarines.

Obviously, Carl encountered the trouble he encountered last time in Berlin, and once again reached some kind of agreement in private.

At the same time, Emperor Agren met with Tsar Agreni at Hofburg in Vienna (the palace in Austria). During the conversation, Agreni expressed concern about the progress of the peace talks in Vienna, but Emperor Agren had to personally mediate.

Two days later, Germany, Austria, Russia and Turkey finally reached an agreement. In terms of compensation and materials, the Austro-Hungarian Empire still accounted for 60%, while Germany, Russia and Turkey accounted for 20%, 12%, and 8% respectively; in terms of naval ships, the Germans obtained the battleships "Da Vinci", "Julian Caesar", heavy cruiser "Brunetti" and 3 light cruisers, 7 destroyers, the Turks obtained the battleships "Dantine Aligicheri" and 4 destroyers, 9 submarines, the Russians obtained the light cruiser "Gozo", "Bettini" and 7 destroyers, the remaining 7 battleships, 19 cruisers and large destroyers, and 16 submarines were assigned to the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

After obtaining the relatively satisfactory spoils, Germany, Russia and Turkey agreed that the land that Italy handed over to the Allies in the treaty was fully responsible for sending troops to station the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Politicians from various countries have different opinions on the results of the peace talks. Some believe that the Austro-Hungarian Empire has gained the most, while others believe that Germany's strategy is quite successful. The practical significance of those ships is stronger than the Italians' installment compensation. Of course, it is undeniable that the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's naval has been greatly enhanced. 17 battleships and 26 cruisers have enabled them to successfully enter the ranks of world-class naval powers, and the number of main ships even exceeded that of the United States and Japan.
Chapter completed!