Without a doubt, the Government of London chose to compromise with the French in the end. This was a decision of interest.
The timing of the French candidate was too good. If the Government of London did not compromise, the Government of Paris might turn around and make a deal with Austria.
Although the French were also worried that Austria would grow after annexing the Osman Empire and the possibility of making a deal with the Government of Vienna was very small, the Government of London still did not dare to gamble.
If it really happened, it would mean that the Fao and the French had reached a strategic understanding. This would be a disaster for the British.
At the same time as the compromise, the Government of London also increased their vigilance against the French. The Government of Paris could still play with them during the internal strife. If the internal strife ended, what would happen?
…
At the London Peace Conference, Minister Hummel was also a little tired in the face of the joint pressure from the British and French.
"For world peace, we can end this war, but the Osman Empire must return our land and take responsibility for this war."
Many people breathed a sigh of relief when Austria gave in. If they really insisted, things would be difficult. It was easy to talk about military intervention, but it was troublesome to do.
It was fine for the European countries to wave flags and shout, but to ask them to fight for the Osman Empire, then forget it! Sometimes, spittle could also kill. For the sake of their reputation, the politicians also had to think twice before they acted.
The gloomy Minister Hummel also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This show was finally coming to an end. In order not to reveal any flaws, he had to be tense every day. This kind of life was not easy.
Without waiting for the Osman Empire representative to speak, Marquis Maclean first made the decision for them. "Thank you for your efforts for world peace. History will remember all of this.
War is cruel, there are young men falling all the time. For their safety, I propose to first sign an armistice agreement to stop the war. We will discuss the rest of the issues later. "
From the British's point of view, it was enough to protect the Osman Empire. As for returning the land and pursuing responsibility for the war, these were all small issues.
The defeated should bear responsibility for the war. This was the European tradition. Although the demand for returning the land was a bit ridiculous, it was not impossible to discuss. Who asked the Osman Empire to lose?
In this era where the strong preyed on the weak, being weak was the original sin. Instead of dwelling on these problems, it was better to end this war as soon as possible. It would be more beneficial to the Osman Empire.
Minister Hummel nodded. "No problem, but we will only sign the armistice for half a month. If we can't reach an agreement within half a month, the war will continue. "
From the beginning to the end, he didn't ask for the opinion of the Russia representative. It was not because of Hummel's dictatorship, nor was it because the relationship between the two countries had deteriorated. The main reason was that the two countries had an agreement before the war broke out that Austria would be responsible for resolving diplomatic issues.
If Russia wanted to participate, it would be after the armistice treaty was signed and it would involve the distribution of benefits. Before that, the two countries had to maintain the same diplomatic stance on the Near East.
Marquis Macklin argued, "Half a month is too short. There are too many problems involved in this war. Why don't we stop the war for half a year?"
Minister Hummel shook his head. The deadline of half a month was to exert pressure and force the Osman Empire to make greater concessions.
"Minister, don't forget that war has a cost. Every day it drags on requires a large amount of money.
Based on the current Allied Army's 336,000 troops, even if we don't launch an attack, we will have to spend 586,000 DH a day.
This cost will have to be borne by the Osman Empire. If the Osman government feels that it can afford it, we can discuss it slowly. "
Without a doubt, the number of troops was roughly correct. The cost was just what Minister Hummel said. If they didn't launch an attack, spending 586,000 DH a day would have long been investigated.
Although Austria wasn't poor, they weren't rich to this extent. When they didn't launch an attack, the main cost was the living costs of the soldiers and their pay.
The Government of Vienna promised to provide the Russian Army with supplies, but they didn't say that they would pay them. Not everyone in the Austrian army in the Middle East needed to be paid. The pay of the cannon fodder troops was just spoils of war.
Only tens of thousands of regular soldiers received their pay. This included the conscripts who only needed to pay a small amount of combat allowance. It was only 20,000 to 30,000 DH in total.
The cost of living was easy to calculate. The 300,000 troops would consume at most 200 tons of food a day. Including some vegetables and meat products, 500 tons of supplies would be enough. Even if they added the transportation, it wouldn't be too expensive.
Others could watch the show, but the Osman Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albiach, couldn't. According to this figure, it was enough to make the Osman Empire lose its pants.
"Minister, this figure is too exaggerated. Even if all the soldiers ate steak every day, they wouldn't be able to spend so much."
As soon as he finished speaking, Albiach realized that he had been led astray. The worst thing to do in a negotiation was to be led by the nose by the opponent.
Hummel smiled and made up a story. "I'm worried that the soldiers won't be able to adapt to the climate. All the supplies, including drinking water, are transported from the soldiers' hometowns. Therefore, the cost is naturally higher."
Everyone rolled their eyes. All the supplies were transported from the soldiers' hometowns. Not to mention the soldiers, even the officers didn't have such treatment.
Moreover, with the transportation in this era, even if someone really went to transport the supplies, the vegetables and fruits would have rotted along the way.
The British Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marquis Macklin, frowned and brought the topic back. "Minister, your country's navy has blocked the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Now, our trade with the Osman Empire has come to a halt. Can we restore the trade routes during the armistice?
The situation in the Osman Empire is very bad, especially with the imminent food problem. There are human tragedies happening every day. "
"Lifting the blockade" was the core of the problem. As for the issue of military expenditure, it could be slowly negotiated after the armistice. The Austrians could ask for as much as they wanted. Anyway, the Osman Empire didn't have the money.
Even if they signed a sky-high compensation agreement, they just had to say that they didn't have the money.
The British weren't prepared to pay for the Osman Empire. The Austrians were dreaming if they wanted to get compensation from the poor Government of Sudan.
In comparison, lifting the blockade was much more important. There were refugees everywhere in the Osman Empire. If there were no supplies, who knew how long the Government of Sudan could last?
Hummel shook his head. "No, the blockade of the coastline is mainly for everyone's safety. Now, we have placed a large number of mines around the Osman Empire's ports. There is no way to ensure the safety of the ships.
If the Osman Empire lacks food or other supplies, they can communicate with us. We can sell a batch of agricultural products at a low price to them for emergencies. "
Wasn't lifting the blockade giving the Osman Empire a chance to recover? The Government of Sudan's human wave tactic wasn't carried forward. The biggest problem was the lack of weapons and equipment.
With the British's style, it was almost inevitable that they would open the arms warehouse and sell a batch of antiques to the Osman Empire to increase the difficulty of the negotiations.
Minister Hummel's promise of selling supplies at a low price was a joke. Buying supplies from the enemy who was at war was the biggest joke in the world.
Not to mention, the Government of Sudan lacked arms now. Would the Government of Vienna be willing to sell?
Well, this question was really hard to answer. If the price was high enough, maybe the Government of Vienna would also sell. After all, it was the Russians who were fighting hard in Asia Minor.
Marquis Maclean didn't dwell on the issue of lifting the blockade. Although he was sure that the Austrians didn't throw mines everywhere, as long as the merchant ships passed, they would definitely hit a mine.
Some capitalists who didn't believe in heresy had already tried it. Except for a few lucky ones who escaped the disaster and made a fortune, the rest went into the sea to feed the fish.
Whether or not he had encountered a mine, no one knew. In any case, the ship was destroyed and the people died. It didn't matter how it was destroyed.
After some haggling, the armistice was extended to a month. At the same time, Minister Hummel also promised to sell 10,000 tons of food at a low price to the Osman Empire to avoid another humanitarian crisis.
This was really a low price, 10% lower than the international food price. Of course, the price of food could be lowered, but the cost of transportation couldn't be reduced.
During the war, everyone risked their lives to transport food. How could transportation be saved? If they didn't increase it dozens of times above the normal level, it wouldn't be in line with the business rules.
…
Hummel: "Our demands aren't high. The goal of starting this war is to recover the land of Jerusalem.
As long as your country returns the Kingdom of Jerusalem and compensates us for the losses caused over the years, we can end this war.
It's been 357 years since 1517. Based on one million DND per year, it's a total of 357 million DND.
In these 357 years, at least three million people have died in your country's hands. The compensation is calculated at 600 DND per person, which is a total of 180 million DND.
Before your country occupied Jerusalem, it was a fertile land. Now it has become a desert, causing irreparable damage to the geographical environment. You need … "
When Hummel stated his conditions, everyone was dumbfounded. With such a calculation, the Osman Empire couldn't even afford it.
As expected, the final figure was a shocking 3.062 billion DND. Perhaps realizing that it was a little too much, Hummel took the initiative to reduce the number and only asked for 3 billion DND.
Everyone knew that this wasn't for compensation. The Osman Empire couldn't afford it anyway. Their main goal was to cede territory. Everyone was still stunned by Minister Hummel's shocking actions.
The Osman Empire's Foreign Affairs Minister Albiach immediately retorted, "Your Excellency, you can't calculate it like this. We didn't take Jerusalem from your country. There's no such thing as compensation between us. "
The crown of Jerusalem had been in the House of Habsburg for less than 300 years. From the beginning to the end, the House of Habsburg had never ruled Jerusalem. There was no need to talk about Austria. There had never been a so-called sovereignty relationship between them.
…
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