Chapter 1058 Treaty of Strasbourg

The members of the German Confederation were already familiar with the entire process of joint colonies joining the Confederacy. It was almost as if a family in Texas had discovered that their ancestors had German ancestry.

They had endured unfair treatment for a long time. With all kinds of helplessness, they finally crossed the ocean and came to Europe. Then they happened to go to the Confederate Parliament with the help of a certain congressman, crying about their experience and asking the Confederacy to send troops to take back their homeland. .

Since Christmas 1842, when Old Couldre accused the Confederacy of inaction in the Confederate Assembly and successfully regained his homeland after triggering the Luxembourg crisis, countless people wanted to follow suit.

King William IV of the Netherlands, the Boer chiefs Andres Pretorius, Louis Philippe, Archduke Leopold I of Belgium all had success, and now even the Texans were joining in the fun.

Among them, Luxembourg was originally a member of the German Confederation, and the old Kurdre also understood politics, people's hearts, and the general trend.

Although they were forced to participate by nationalists, the states had little opinion on the Luxembourg crisis.

The Dutch, Boers, and Alsace-Lorraine can generally be classified as Germans. Archduke Leopold I of Belgium was born into an orthodox German aristocracy.

But what the hell are Texans? A Yankee speaking garbled German with a French accent? The members of the German Confederation were numb.

There was no other way. The actor who was originally prepared suddenly had diarrhea, and the stand-in happened to be blocked halfway. In desperation, he had no choice but to let the native Texas people get on.

According to Franz's original plan, the Austrian Empire would create a family in Texas out of thin air to cooperate with the Confederacy in ruling the area.

But this is not important. Shared colonies are just one of Franz's sociological simulation experiments. And if everything works perfectly, how does it reflect the importance of the Austrian Empire as the chairman of the confederation?

Of course, Cavaignac would not know Franz's next plan, and he himself had no opinion on the Texas issue.

However, Cavaignac was a little surprised by the division of the Texas colonial territory. That is, the German Confederacy did not monopolize it, but divided it into three parts.

Mexico took back the land annexed by France during the Mexican-American War. In addition, it also obtained the area of ​​northwest Texas, while the United States obtained the northeastern part of the Texas colony.

Although the land area obtained by the German Confederacy was not very large, it was the most elite coastal plain area of ​​the Texas colony.

Moreover, after this operation, Mexico and the United States once again bordered each other. It is difficult to say that this was not intentional.

But what does that have to do with France? Cavaignac doesn’t think France can ever return to North America.

In particular, the Texas colony has become increasingly independent in recent years. Even without the events of 1848, it would have followed the footsteps of the British North American colonies sooner or later.

Rather than hurting his muscles and bones in the future, it would be better to cut him off now.

But he still has the desire to fight for the interests of France.

“Archduke Franz, France can make concessions on the issue of the Texas colony and handle this matter according to your wishes.

But I hope you will also show your sincerity. "

"If the French soldiers can return to France safely without any ransom, I think this is our greatest sincerity."

Franz said it lightly, but Cavaignac was very angry in his heart. If it weren't for those damn cowards, the situation in France would not be so critical at this time.

"Bullshit sincerity? You are obviously trying to force us to submit! Freaks who marry close relatives! You have no good intentions!"

Cavaignac roared in his heart, but he did not dare to say it with his mouth.

"We have felt your sincerity. But after all, Texas is a territory purchased legally by our country, and we still hope that you can make corresponding compensation."

(On October 26, 1836, in the timeline of the book, Mexico sold Texas to France for 100 million francs.)

"As far as I know, your country only paid one-third of the actual price, while your country stole all of Texas for 12 years.

We are entrusted by Mexican President Tasan Anna to recover this debt from your country. The total amount including principal and interest for 12 years is 208,088,600 francs. "

In fact, during the Mexican-American War, Mexico borrowed a large amount of money from the Austrian Empire. After the war, Tasan Anna mortgaged this bad debt to the Austrian Empire.

Of course, it is impossible for Franz to buy it at the original price. This bad debt can only be offset by one-tenth of its original value, which is 6.7 million francs.

As soon as he heard the money, Cavaignac suddenly withered.

At this time, the debt of the Second French Republic exceeded 1.5 billion francs, which was higher than the total debt of the Orleans Dynasty in the past 18 years.

Not to mention taking out 200 million francs in one breath, he doesn’t have 20 million francs.

At this time, Cavaignac already regretted raising the issue of compensation with Franz. In fact, the latter had long known that the French would come to this scheme, so he purchased the debt from the Mexican government at a low price.

Looking at Cavaignac's frown, Franz knew that he could not afford to pay back the money.

"Mr. Cavaignac, for the sake of peace on the European continent, I hope that both of us will take a step back. We can grant your country another twenty years of grace with an annual interest rate of 8%."

After much thought, Cavaignac reached out his hand and said excitedly.

"Thank you! But I have one more request."

The content of the Treaty of Strasbourg has been basically finalized.

1. The Second French Republic acknowledges the defeat of the war, and the two sides will formally cease fire on August 1, 1848.

2. The Second French Republic recognizes the independence of the Duchy of Belgium and the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine.

3. The Duchy of Belgium and the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine join the German Confederation as independent countries and enjoy all the rights of formal members of the Confederation.

4. The Second French Republic and the Algerian Directory will immediately stop all hostile acts for a period of three years after the formal implementation of this treaty.

5. France will return the illegally acquired Texas colony to the Mexican government, and all rights and interests of the remaining part will be transferred to the rule of the German Confederation.

① The personal safety and non-real estate of French survivors in Texas will be reasonably protected.

② French survivors have the right to freely choose to stay or leave, and neither side shall interfere.

③ The German Confederation has the power to deal with French survivors who violate the laws and treaty provisions of the Confederation and violate the general morality of mankind in the Texas colony.

6. The Second French Republic shall not merge with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Duchy of Belgium, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine.

7. The Second French Republic shall withdraw its troops from the Kingdom of Sardinia and restore the territorial and sovereignty integrity of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

8. The Second French Republic shall transfer the rights of the northern part of Saint Martin to the German Confederation.

(Saint Martin is a very small island in the Caribbean, which has always been jointly managed by the Netherlands and France.)

Secret agreement:

1. The Second French Republic recognizes the German Confederation and the southern Italian region as the sphere of influence of the Austrian Empire, and shall not conduct secret infiltration and economic invasion.

2. The Second French Republic shall repay a debt of 208,088,600 francs to the German Confederation, which shall be repaid in 20 years with an annual interest rate of 8%.

3. The Austrian Empire shall defeat the Bellevue Corps before the entry into force of the Treaty of Strasbourg and ensure the death of Bellevue himself