Despite what the British thought, the Vienna Peace Conference was held as scheduled. Without any surprise, Britain, France and Austria all became mediators.

With the arrival of the negotiating delegation, Vienna became more and more lively. The representatives of Prussia and Russia are like industrious little bees, flying around the embassies of various countries, and hot news is produced every day, so that the people who eat melons talk about it.

The British supported the Berlin government, and the French hesitated, barely siding with the Pop-Po Confederation, albeit with limited support.

Austria, as the hosts, has not taken a position and is now the main object of contention between the two sides. Whoever has the support of the Vienna government will be able to gain an advantage in the negotiations.

Putting down the worthless minutes of the negotiations, Franz asked: "Have the bottom lines of Prussia and Russia been roughly clarified?" ”

I don't know when everyone learned to open their mouths in diplomatic negotiations, and usually the first conditions put forward were more excessive than one another, without any consideration of feasibility.

For example, now, the Russians demanded that the Berlin government cede the Duchy of East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Schleswig-Holstein, and that they also demanded war reparations of about 960 million Aegis.

The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein was to return to the Danes, although it is not known whether the Russians had an agreement with the Danes, and Franz knew that it was the fault of "money".

The end of the war did not mean the end of the troubles of the tsarist government, on the contrary, their troubles had just begun, and the Russians had to start a long life of paying their debts in the years that followed.

By the time the war had been going on, the Russians were already in huge debt. Austria's debt alone is as high as 670 million Aegis.

Now the Russians have to pay Austria nearly 4 million Aegis in principal and interest every month, and it will take decades of continuous payments to be able to pay off all the debts, and the final sum of principal and interest will exceed 1.4 billion Aegis.

The annual revenue of the tsarist government was only about 100 million Aegis, and Austria alone took nearly half of its debt, which was obviously not something that the Russian treasury could afford.

As far as Franz knew, the total foreign debt of the tsarist government in other countries was not less than 200 million Aegis, mainly the Nordic Confederation and the United States of America.

The Nordic Confederation was a loan secured by Finland, 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, and naturally they have inherited this. It is not surprising that two countries isolated from the world are united.

The Tsarist government during the Civil War supported the government of the North, and now it is natural that it will be rewarded. It's not that the Americans are so righteous, but the United States is also forced.

Suppressed by the combined efforts of Britain, France, Austria and Spain, the countries of Europe turned away from them, and they could not find a better partner except for the equally unpopular Russians.

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

This is only foreign debt, in addition to which the tsarist government owes a large amount of domestic debt, and there is no way for Franz to know the exact number, anyway it is an astronomical amount.

After the war, the compensation for the casualties of soldiers, the resettlement of retired officers and soldiers, and the economic reconstruction of the war-affected areas were also huge expenses.

In this matter, the tsarist government was not much better than the Berlin government, the kind that went bankrupt in minutes.

Today, unlike in the past, most of the debts this time are pledged by the territory, and if they can't repay the money, they will have to cede the land, and the trick of financial bankruptcy is not useful.

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

In terms of economic value, the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein is worth as much as Finland in the snow, and it is possible to exchange the two principalities for some pocket money.

By the way, strengthen the Danes, make the internal relations of the Nordic Confederation a little more complicated, and remove possible threats from the north.

Franz understood the desire of the tsarist government to get out of the financial crisis, but the conditions they put forward were undesirable.

Regardless of whether the German regions are divided or not, the question is that the Berlin government is also a poor ghost, and after being slaughtered by them like this, what will it use to pay war reparations?

If the conditions of the Russians are okay, after all, they are victorious countries, and it is nothing for the lion to open his mouth, then the conditions put forward by the Berlin government, Franz glanced at them and did not bother to look down.

The first is to order the Russian army to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Pubo Federation, and the rest is no longer important, and this one is not negotiable.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg replied: "It is prima facie certain that the Russians' goal is to cede land and demand war reparations.

In addition to recovering the original territories, they want to swallow the already occupied regions of East and West Prussia and Poznań, which are not much of a problem.

The key is the war reparations, the tsarist government is really out of money, and wants to take the opportunity to make up for the financial deficit.

Judging from the current situation, if the Berlin government pays enough reparations, it is estimated that the Russians will be able to accept the non-cession of land.

The situation in Prussia was somewhat complicated, the Berlin government could not afford to pay war reparations, and at the same time wanted to keep East and West Prussia, only ceding the Poznan region. ”

After thinking about it, Franz smiled: "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 would have been able to swallow Prussia in one gulp.

As for what the Berlin government thinks, it doesn't matter at this time. As a defeated country, they had little choice. The territory that has already been eaten by the Russians, it is simply unrealistic to want people to spit it out.

The finances of both Prussia and Russia are not good, and every day the war lasts, they will increase their military spending by hundreds of thousands of Aegis, and they simply cannot afford to drag it out.

Let's not get too involved for the time being, the negotiations have just begun, and it is estimated that the representatives of Prussia and Russia have not entered the state, so it is necessary to calm them down first.

I can make a private appointment with the representatives of Prussia and suggest that they pay off the debts of various countries in kind, and I believe that they will not refuse,"

This is the biggest pitfall, Prussia is not rich in resources, and only industrial and commercial products can take the "in-kind" debt.

Franz had seen how harmful this thing was. At the outbreak of World War II, the industry of the German Reich exceeded that of Britain and France combined.

Before World War I, the German Empire accounted for 14.8% of the world's total industry, while the British Empire accounted for 13.6% of the world's total industry.

The situation changed during World War II, when the German Reich accounted for 13.2% of the world's total industry, the British fell to 9%, and the French had only a pitiful 4.5%, and after the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, the German Reich surpassed the British and French combined.

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

Judging purely from industrial data, Britain and France are more like defeated countries. Germany's share of total industry declined, when Alsace-Lorraine, rich in coal and iron, was returned to France, and Silesia, the textile center, was ceded to the newly independent Poland.

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

The capitalists found that it was more profitable to be a second-hand dealer than to produce it themselves. I don't have to say, of course, it's the interests first.

Soon, the homeland and colonies of Britain and France were full of German manufacturing, and the market that the German army did not get on the battlefield actually got it in the post-war reparations.

I have to say, the world is really sometimes.

aside, Franz was very much looking forward to this happening.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Secretary Wesenberg replied

……

Chancellor Felix: "The British have been very active lately, preaching the benefits of building North Germany, and they have not taken us seriously at all, and the impact has been very bad.

In the Kingdom of Hanover, in particular, many newspapers preached North Germanism. Under the pretext of religious belief, they deceive people and try to divide the empire.

……”

What should come will still come, and such a big thing as the establishment of the North German Empire cannot be decided by a few people at the top with a pat on their heads.

If it could not gain popular support, then there would be no difference between the North German Empire and the current "comedy empire", nominally a country, but in reality the central government could not control anyone.

If the institutional structure were as loose as it is now, it would be more appropriate to call it an alliance of states rather than an empire.

This is not what the British wanted, and even less what George I wanted. If it does not increase the centripetal force of the people, the value of this empire can only be to serve as a buffer zone for the great powers.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "You can cause them a little trouble, but you have to pay attention to the strength and not scare them."

It's best to be able to lure everyone out and just sift through who our friends are and who are our enemies.

The British wanted a North German Empire, so give them a North German Empire, but it had to be a North German Empire that met our requirements.

The Kingdom of Prussia was a good pawn, and no matter how weakened they were, they were even stronger than Hanover.

The central government is weak and the local government is strong, and it has been the way to take trouble since ancient times.

As long as the post-war period of decline has passed, the Junker aristocracy, who is not willing to be lonely, will encourage the Berlin government to challenge Hanover, and then there will be a lively view.

Perhaps there is no need to wait until then, for the Kingdom of Prussia is in dire need of money to save its life. I don't believe that when they were asked to pay for it, these activists wanted to build the North German Empire. ”

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

It doesn't matter if the Kingdom of Prussia can't afford it, it's a big deal to pay it back in a hundred years, but it can't be paid back in two hundred years.

If necessary, the debts of the Berlin government could also be transferred to the central government of North Germany.

There is a precedent for this, after the establishment of the Pop-Pop Federation, the Berlin government wanted the Pop-Pop to completely integrate and directly unify the military and government on both sides, and the debt of 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 former Kingdom of Poland and leave them to the Russians who occupied the Kingdom of Poland.

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

The Berlin government had no choice but to continue to meet these debts. Something similar could be replicated in the North German Reich.

No matter how much the British promised, a debt pass-on, and the countries that supported them would choose to jump ship.

If you can draw a salary from the bottom of the kettle, why worry? Take advantage of this opportunity to drain John Bull's excess energy, lest they secretly engage in conspiracy.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg was worried: "Your Majesty, the situation may not develop according to our will. Judging by the current situation, the Kingdom of Prussia will certainly be greatly disarmed after the war.

Affected by this war, the losses of the Junker nobles were very large, with thousands of noble officers on the battlefield, and more than 300 noble families facing the crisis of extinction because of the war.

The younger generation has suffered a lot of losses, and when the older generation retreats, the Junker aristocracy will face the crisis of having no successor, and its control over the country will definitely decline significantly.

Maybe you don't need to wait for the future, this war is an opportunity.

Someone always needs to take responsibility for defeat, and if William temporarily abdicates after the war, these high-ranking Junker nobles will have to step aside.

The time was too short, and they didn't have time to raise an heir. The places they leave behind will be filled by their deputies or subordinates.

After this round of political reshuffle, the Junker aristocracy will lose control of the government. The new government will most likely act to continue to weaken the Junker aristocracy.

For example, under the pretext of financial pressure, most of the country's armed forces will be dismantled, and the deformed political structure of the army owning the country will be eliminated. ”

Not possibly, but it will happen. The political struggle was brutal, and if William I did not take advantage of this opportunity, it would not have been William I.

William I was over eighty years old, and he did not have a few years to live, and his health was already very poor due to the defeat in the war.

There is no reason why he would refuse the opportunity to take away political opponents and clear the hidden dangers of future generations taking power.

And this is still a conspiracy, it is not the emperor who forced everyone to resign, but the glory of the nobility that makes everyone embarrassed to be in a high position.

For the sake of the war, the core of the Junker aristocracy was mostly in the army. Most of those who remain in the government, except for a few high-ranking ones, are not military Junckers.

After the political reshuffle, the military lost control of the government. Whoever comes to power will not give them a second chance to take control of the government.

The same scene was also staged in the original time and space. After the First World War, the power of the Junker aristocracy was greatly reduced, and after being suppressed by all sides, they were squeezed out by the "Greek ***" 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 the "militarism", which habitually speaks with fists, politicians prefer compromise. This undoubtedly adds to the uncertainty, and no one can guarantee that the Berlin government will not compromise with Hanover.

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

It's good for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to keep an eye on them, and we can take extraordinary measures when necessary. ”

Frankly, Franz wasn't too worried. To do this, it is necessary not only to be highly politically skillful, but also to have a suitable international environment.