Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 1151: 165, Surrender and Lose Half

Chapter 1151: Chapter 165, Surrender and Lose Half

The British referendum is still ongoing, yet ceasefire negotiations have already been initiated. Even a rotten boat has three pounds of nails, let alone the Great Britain Empire.

The Continental Alliance does hold the upper hand, but if they really want to push forward, it can’t be accomplished within a year and a half.

Especially the overseas colonies, Canada and Australia are typical examples of vast territories; if war were to break out, it would be difficult to control the regions without an army of one or two million.

Franz simply does not have the energy to spend three to five years catching mice after winning the war; a big family and business are not squandered like this.

One must realize that war is a huge drain on money, and continuing to fight is extremely taxing on a country’s strength. Wasting too much power on the British is not conducive to Shinra’s future strategic layouts.

War is only a means, not the final goal. Weighing advantages and disadvantages is a basic ability for a politician.

…

Austrian Grand Hotel Conference Room

Upon receiving the ceasefire conditions, Adam was enraged. Announcing surrender was a minor issue; they had lost anyway, and conceding was just a matter of time.

The problem arose with the territorial concessions and reparations. Following Europe’s long-standing tradition, demanding territory and reparations after a defeat is natural, and Adam was prepared for it.

But when he saw the specific amounts of reparations and the demanded territories, Adam couldn’t help but lose his temper.

The territorial demands were nearly the same as previously discussed—all overseas colonies, plus the independence of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, only this time, a small piece of England was taken as well.

Dismembering the British Isles was unacceptable, let alone further weakening England; there was no room for negotiation.

80 Billion Divine Shields of reparations, even the Great Britain Empire at its peak couldn’t cope with that, to say nothing of the weakened Britannia.

Even if they gave up all the wealth plundered over the centuries, the current British Government could not possibly gather such a massive amount of wealth.

One can look to France as an example; merely war reparations have suffocated France.

The Paris Government has been paying it off for years, not even covering the annual interest, let alone the principal.

Unless the Divine Shield significantly devalues, France will not escape the debt crisis this century. Naturally, Adam cannot allow a similar scene to happen to Britannia.

Unlike France of those days, Britannia still possesses Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and a robust Royal Navy at home; they still have the strength to fight back.

Although it can’t reverse the overall situation, it’s still possible to inflict hundreds of thousands of casualties on the Allied Forces.

Having the capital means having something to negotiate; international politics is always realistic.

“Your Excellency, these terms are far too harsh for the Great Britain Empire, exceeding our capacity to bear. Forty million British people cannot accept such humiliation.”

Hearing the word “humiliation,” the Shinra representative Leo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Across world history, how many defeated nations haven’t suffered “humiliation”?

Not all countries are the Far Eastern Empire; the Vienna Government isn’t such a naive benefactor who wins without pursuing accountability, those are always a minority.

Raising his coffee, Leo calmly said: “Doing wrong has its price, your country is merely paying for its past mistakes.

Your Excellency, if you find the ceasefire terms harsh, it’s because you have not realized the disaster this war initiated by your country has brought to the world.

Since the outbreak of the war, international trade of all the European countries has been disrupted, the global economy has experienced negative growth, and the death toll from this war is in the millions.

If we go back further, the damage your country has caused to the world is even greater. Let’s talk about the European Continent—in the past two or three hundred years, which great European war did not involve your country?

Committed so many sins, money alone cannot atone for them. Eighty billion Divine Shields, already considered your country’s ability to pay. If one were to deeply investigate, your country would only deserve hell.

As for the colonies, they were never yours to begin with; we are merely taking them back for their rightful owners.

Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were all forcefully occupied by your country, and all righteous people worldwide have a duty to rescue them.

…”

Politics is just this realistic; whoever loses the war, bears the accountability of the war, and the victors are not blamed.

Although it was Vienna and London who pushed for the war together, now all the war responsibilities fall on the British Government.

Arguing is pointless; in this survival of the fittest era, strength ultimately speaks.

As for the losses caused by this war, it’s somewhat biased. Millions of casualties, true, but most come from the Oceanic Alliance side; India alone contributed the majority.

The Continental Alliance, except for the unlucky Russian Empire that suffered hefty losses in the Far East, haven’t fought many tough battles.

The few battles that were fought were one-sided. The real evenly matched battles occurred at sea.

Tens of thousands of casualties might be termed as “heavy losses” at other times, but during a world war, it might not even be enough for one day’s losses.

At least on the Indian front, there have been several battles where tens of thousands died in a single day. But every tragic loss was from the Colonial army, not considered by the Vienna Government.

Adding all these together, it still doesn’t surpass the need to address past grievances. Britannia has committed too many hateful acts, like coal that no matter how much it’s washed, can’t be turned white.

If all the damage caused by these actions were added up, eighty billion in reparations is really not much; another zero at the end would also be reasonable.

After a short contemplation, Adam quickly came to his senses.

“Problems must be looked at forward, past issues are historical legacies, let historians discuss them, there’s no need to drag politics into it.

Today, being able to sit here represents peace-loving people around the world who are collectively discussing how to end this war.

We have already shown the greatest sincerity and hope that Your country can also show sincerity, carefully address this issue and quickly come up with an agreement that all parties can accept.

Britannia can relinquish most of the colonies and will pay a reasonable war indemnity, but the sovereignty of the homeland must be respected, and post-war international status must also be guaranteed without discrimination.”

Sincerity is indeed evident, even if it is not, with the decline in domestic food reserves, the British Government must show sincerity.

The Vienna Government also shows significant sincerity; otherwise, they wouldn’t agree to a ceasefire for a week to give the British Government a chance to shift blame.

But sincerity alone cannot fill the stomach, negotiations always revolve around interests.

Leo shook his head without hesitation: “Sorry, Sir Adam. Such truce conditions are not only unacceptable to us, but our allies will not agree either.

Over the past years, Your country has left too many bad impressions. If Your country is not weakened, the whole world might not be able to sleep.

If Your country really wants to end the war, surrendering all colonies, paying war indemnities, and limiting armaments are necessary.

Of course, if Your country shows more sincerity, we can also make some concessions.

For example, the independence of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can be determined by local referendums after the war.

Sir, you don’t have much time left, Your country’s government must make up its mind quickly.

Once the seven-day truce expires without reaching a preliminary agreement, Your country will have only the option of unconditional surrender.”

It is proven that allies are just to be used. At the final moments of the Great War, the Vienna Government first considered its own interests.

By comparison, punishing Britannia became secondary. Once the colonies are cut off and armaments are limited, Britannia, as an island, really can’t make much waves.

“More sincerity” is essentially demanding benefits. As long as the interests are significant enough, satisfying Holy Roman Empire first makes subsequent non-principal issues negotiable.

Finally reaching this step, Adam secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not afraid of the Vienna Government’s greed, but afraid of it having no desires.

After all, satisfying one country is easier than satisfying dozens. It’d be like another France if he had to negotiate with the Continental Alliance.

After a moment of silence, Adam asked cautiously, “What does Your country want?”

The foundation of the Great Britain Empire is still substantial, even at this stage, there are many desirable things.

If not for the rush for time, Adam would not want to be so direct. Negotiating step by step might reduce the costs further.

Holy Roman Foreign Minister Leo: “We don’t have many demands, just asking Your country for a small favor, nothing difficult.

As you know, we don’t like trouble. Just take all the troubles with you when withdrawing from Canada, New Zealand, Australia.

Also, the old fellows at the Academy of Sciences are interested in some of Your country’s technologies and want to exchange ideas.

Finally, just a bit of advertising, as you know, for the long-term development of humanity, we have always been committed to environmental protection, conserving resources.

For example, in the military industry, the market is small, participants are numerous, and their technologies are subpar, leading to a significant waste of raw materials every year.

To change this situation, we have been striving to promote global integration of weapons and equipment, and we have already achieved phased results.

Over seventy percent of army equipment, nearly forty percent of navy equipment worldwide have been integrated, saving at least tens of thousands of tons of raw materials each year.

All are progressing positively, except for issues in Your country. Post-war, Your country’s military industry production will be restricted, and existing military enterprises will be closed down.

If possible, when Your country makes foreign purchases of military equipment, it could give some preference to our military products.

Rest assured, our military products are guaranteed in quality. They are highly regarded worldwide and have received favorable reviews.”

A small favor that is not small at all, every one of them digs at the roots of the Great Britain Empire, yet Adam cannot muster the courage to refuse.

Snatching colonies, technology, and even monopolizing the military market. Once these plans are completed, the future advantage of the Holy Roman Empire over other countries will become insurmountable.

More despairingly, these plans are nearly finished, and the outside world is still unaware.

But all of this is no longer Britannia’s concern. Having suffered a devastating defeat in this World War, it is already quite an achievement for Britannia to keep its homeland, competing for supremacy is a task for future challengers.

Adam had no intention of bursting the bubble, with the decline of the Great Britain Empire, no country in the world could balance against Shinra.

Even if Vienna Government’s ambitions were unveiled, in face of established facts, everyone could do nothing but acquiesce.

…

On December 16, 1905, the London Government publicly announced the voting results, “Stopping the war” was approved by an overwhelming majority.

A total of 27.345 million people participated in this vote, 21.494 million supported stopping the war, accounting for more than 90%.

As for how the voting and counting were completed so quickly in such a short time, that can only be attributed to the British-style “efficiency” during special periods.

On the same day, the British Parliament declared the vote valid, and Britannia officially withdrew from the war.”

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