Chapter 718 The Newly Dug Pit

No matter what the British thought, the Vienna Peace Conference was held as scheduled. Without any accident, Britain, France and Austria have all become mediators.

Vienna became more lively as the negotiating delegation arrived. The representatives of Prussia and Russia are like hard-working little bees, flying around the embassies of various countries, and there are hot news every day, which makes melon eaters talk about it.

The British supported the Berlin government, while the French were hesitant, barely standing on the side of the Pope Federation, but with limited support.

As the host, Austria has not shown 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 the upper hand in the negotiations.

Putting down the worthless negotiation minutes, Franz asked: "Have the bottom lines of Prussia and Russia been roughly figured out?"

I don't know since when, everyone learned to speak loudly in diplomatic negotiations. Usually, the conditions put forward for the first time are too much, without considering the feasibility at all.

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

Among them, the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein were returned to the Danes. Although it was not known whether the Russians had an agreement with the Danes, Franz knew that it was "money" to blame.

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

The war has been going on until now, and the Russians have owed a huge debt. Austria's debt alone is as high as 670 million Aegis.

Now the Russians have to pay Austria's principal and interest sum of nearly 4 million Aegis each month, and it takes decades to pay off all the debts. The final principal and interest sum will exceed 1.4 billion Aegis.

The tsarist government's annual fiscal revenue is only around 100 million Aegis, and Austria's debt alone has taken nearly half of it, which is obviously not what Russia's finances can bear.

As far as Franz knew, in addition to 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 Commonwealth 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 a country is made up of people, and it naturally inherits this. It is not surprising that two countries isolated by the world are united.

The tsarist government supported the northern government during the Civil War, and now it must be rewarded. It's not that the Americans are so loyal, in fact, the United States is also being forced.

They were jointly suppressed by the British, French, and Ossi countries, and all European countries turned their backs on them. Except for the equally unpopular Russians, they could never find a better partner.

Although the post-divided United States did not have the wealth and wealth of 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 owes a lot of domestic debt. Franz has no way to know the specific number. Anyway, it is an astronomical figure.

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

On this issue, the Tsarist government is not much better than the Berlin government, both of which go bankrupt in minutes.

Today is different from the past. Most of the debts this time are mortgaged on the territory. If you can't pay the money, you will have to cede the land. The 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 duchies of Schleswig-Holstein are worth more than Finland, and it is possible that these two duchies can be used to pay off their debts and exchange for some pocket money.

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

Franz understood that the Tsarist government wanted to get out of the financial crisis, but the conditions they put forward were not desirable.

Regardless of whether the German region is divided or not, the question is that the Berlin government is also a poor ghost. After being slaughtered by them like this, what will they use to pay the war reparations?

If the conditions of the Russians are good, after all, they are a victorious country, and the lion's opening is nothing, then Franz glanced at the conditions proposed by the Berlin government and didn't bother to look down.

The first is to order the Russian army to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Pubo Federation. The latter is no longer important, and this one cannot be discussed.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied: "It is preliminarily established that the Russians' goal is to cede territory and demand war reparations.

In addition to taking back the original territories, they also want to swallow the occupied East and West Prussia and Poznan areas, which is not a big problem.

The key is the war reparations. The tsarist government is really out of money and wants to take the opportunity to make a fortune 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 can accept it without ceding territory.

The situation in Prussia is a bit complicated. The Berlin government was unable to pay the war reparations, but also wanted to keep East and West Prussia, but only ceded the Poznan area. "

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

As for what the Berlin government thinks, it doesn't matter at this time. As a defeated nation, they had little choice. 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. Every day the war continues, they will increase their military expenditure by hundreds of thousands of Aegis, which they simply cannot afford.

We should not intervene too much for the time being. The negotiation has just begun. It is estimated that the representatives of Prussia and Russia have not entered the state. It is necessary to let them calm down first.

You can meet with the Prussian representatives in private and suggest that they pay off the debts of various countries in kind, and I believe everyone will not refuse.”

"Repayment in kind" is the biggest pit. Prussia is not rich in resources, and it is only possible to use "in kind" to pay off debts.

Franz had seen how dangerous this thing was. When World War II broke out in the original time and space, the industry of the three German empires exceeded that of Britain and France combined.

You must know that before the First World War, 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. In the early stage, the three German empires accounted for 13.2% of the world's total industrial volume, the British fell to 9%, and the French only had a pitiful 4.5%. After the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, Germany The Three Empires surpassed Britain and France combined.

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

From a purely industrial point of view, Britain and France are more like defeated countries. The proportion of Germany's total industrial volume fell, that is, 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 to happen is the compensation in kind. In order to repay the war reparations, Germany has to use a large number of industrial and commercial products to repay its debts every year.

The capitalists found out that it is more profitable to be a second-order dealer than to produce it by themselves. Needless to say, of course, interests come first.

Soon the mainland and colonies of Britain and France were full of German manufacturing, and the market that the German army did not get on the battlefield was actually obtained in the post-war indemnity.

It has to be said that the world can be a real bullshit sometimes.

Nonsense, nonsense, Franz was looking forward to this scene.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Foreign Secretary Wesenberg

...

Prime Minister Felix: "The British have been very active recently, preaching the benefits of building North Germany, completely ignoring us, and the impact is very bad.

Especially in the Kingdom of Hanover, many newspapers are advocating North Germanism. Under the pretext of religious belief, they demagogic and attempt to split the empire.

 …”

What should come will still come. The establishment of the North German Empire is not something that can be decided by a few people at the top.

If you can't get the support of the people, then the North German Empire is no different from the current "comedy empire". It is a country in name, but in fact the central government has no control over it.

If the institutional structure is still 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, much less 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 for the great powers.

Franz thought for a while and said, "You can cause them a little trouble, but you have to be careful and don't scare them.

It is best to draw everyone out, just to screen, 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 has to be a North German Empire that meets our requirements.

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

The weak in the center and the strong in the place have been the way to bring misfortune since ancient times.

As long as the post-war decline period is over, the unwilling Junkers nobles will encourage the Berlin government to challenge Hanover again, and then there will be excitement.

Maybe it doesn't have to wait until that time, the Kingdom of Prussia urgently needs money to save lives. I can't believe that these people activists wanted to build the North German Empire when they were asked to pay. "

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

It doesn't matter whether the Kingdom of Prussia can still afford it, the big deal is that it can be repaid in a hundred years.

When necessary, the debts of the Berlin government can also be passed on to the North German central government.

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

In theory, now that the Kingdom of Poland has fallen, the Berlin government has the opportunity to refuse to honor the debt of the former Kingdom of Poland, to be borne by the Russians who occupied the Kingdom of Poland.

It's just that this is a world where the strong eat the weak. The will of the foreign powers is international law. The creditors have no ability to force the Russians to pay back the money. They can only bully the weak Berlin government.

The Berlin government had no reason to refuse and could only continue to meet these debts. Similar things can also be replicated in the North German Empire.

No matter how many promises the British gave, a debt to be passed on, the states that supported them would choose to switch jobs.

If you can draw wages from the bottom of the pot, why worry? Use this opportunity to consume John Bull's excess energy, lest they secretly engage in conspiracy is the kingly way.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg said with concern: "Your Majesty, the situation may not be as we will.

develop. Judging from the current situation, the Kingdom of Prussia will definitely be disarmed substantially after the war.

Affected by this war, the Junkers nobility suffered great losses. Thousands of aristocratic officers arrived on the battlefield, and more than 300 aristocratic families were facing the crisis of extinction because of the war.

The younger generation has suffered a lot of losses, and when the older generation recedes, the Junkers nobles will face the crisis of no successor, and their control over 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 suddenly announced his abdication after the war, these high-ranking Junkers nobles would have to retire as well.

Time is too hasty, and they don't have time to cultivate heirs. The positions left by them will be filled by their deputy or subordinates.

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

For example: using the financial pressure as an excuse to dismantle most of the military in the country and get rid of the deformed political structure of the military-owned country. "

It's not possible, it's bound to happen. Political struggles are brutal, and if William I didn't take advantage of this opportunity, it wouldn't be William I.

William I was over eighty years old, and he didn't have a good life for a few years. He was hit by the defeat of the war and his health was already very poor.

He has no reason to refuse the opportunity to take away political opponents and clear the hidden dangers of future generations in power.

And this is still a conspiracy, not the emperor forcing everyone to resign, but the honor of the nobles makes everyone embarrassed to be in a high position.

Because of the war, the core of the Junkers aristocracy was mostly in the army. Remaining in the government, apart from a few high-ranking ones, are mostly not Army Junkers.

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 Junkers aristocracy was greatly reduced. After being suppressed by all parties, during World War II, they were squeezed out by the "Hexis" 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 "militaryism" habitually speaking with their fists, politicians prefer to 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 interests 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 keeping an eye on them, and we can take extraordinary measures when necessary. "

Frankly, Franz wasn't too worried. To achieve this, not only superb political skills, but also a suitable international environment is necessary.