The autumn wind swept up the yellow leaves, bringing the joy of harvest. The European War that had lasted for more than a year had ended, and now it was time to reap the fruits of victory.
The Vienna Hotel, which used to be out of reach, was now packed with people. The sudden increase in customers gave Droste, who was the lobby manager, a headache.
Working in the most luxurious hotel in the world, he had to come into contact with important people from all walks of life every day. Droste was used to big storms and waves.
It wasn't like the Vienna Hotel had never been full. In the past, there would always be a full house no matter what major events or celebrations were held.
Anyway, the hotel had its own rules. The rooms belonged to whoever made the reservation first, and no one dared to cause trouble here.
It was different this time. Ever since the news of the peace conference in Vienna spread, the phone for reservations had been exploding with calls.
According to incomplete statistics, the confirmed guests included seven kings, hundreds of nobles, and dozens of dignitaries from various countries.
Without a doubt, it was impossible for there to be only one person participating in the peace conference. These dignitaries all came with their delegations. Choosing to stay in the Vienna Hotel was naturally for the sake of face.
Even though the Vienna Hotel's room rates seemed unreachable, it was actually only for the average nouveau riche. Naturally, the prices for the dignitaries weren't the same.
This was also a win-win situation. The sky-high room rates and high-end service served as a foil to everyone's noble status. In any case, as long as he didn't say anything, no one would know about the discount. Great nobles staying in the hotel also raised the standard of the hotel.
Top nobles like kings and grand dukes were always free of charge when they checked in. Fortunately, the dignitaries cared more about face these days. If it was in the future, there might be a bunch of exiled monarchs who would come here to eat and drink for free.
With the gathering of the dignitaries, problems arose. Dignitaries were also people, and there were conflicts between them. Conflicts were inevitable.
That was fine. Dignitaries also cared about face. Unless they drank too much, they could still maintain their composure under normal circumstances. If there really was a conflict, it wasn't something that a hotel manager could intervene.
Looking at the rows of names, Droste was so worried that he was about to go bald. There was no other way. There weren't enough rooms that matched their status!
The dignitaries also cared about face. If their status and treatment didn't match, they would turn hostile at any moment.
Despite his headache, he still had to do his work. If he couldn't even settle such a small matter, Droste's position as manager would be over.
…
At the Royal Opera House in Vienna, the countries of the anti-French alliance gathered for a closed-door meeting. If nothing unexpected happened, this loot-sharing meeting would end before the representatives of the various countries arrived.
As for the following Vienna Peace Conference, it was just a procedure to implement the contents of the conference.
"Sir Marquis, the European War has just ended. Isn't it inappropriate to auction off the French warships?"
Bejdad Salimi, the Spanish Foreign Minister, questioned. It couldn't be helped. The war on the European continent had ended, but the war that belonged to Spain had yet to end!
As an old powerhouse, the Spaniards still had their pride despite their decline. It was fine if he suffered some grievances in Europe, but that was because he was not strong enough. However, the Japanese also came to cause trouble. That was unacceptable.
In the past few months, the Philippine fleet had been almost completely wiped out, and even the Philippine islands had been lost. However, the Spanish government still refused to give in.
It was the anti-law alliance that gave them confidence. According to the previous agreement, Austria gave a promise: after the victory of the European War, Spain would get a part of the French fleet.
The warships suddenly became an auction. Bejdad Salimi naturally couldn't accept it. After all, the Spanish government was still waiting to get the warships to teach the Japanese a lesson!
Wesenberg smiled and immediately promised, "Sir, please rest assured that Austria's previous promise is still valid. There is no other way to auction off the French warships.
Everyone knows how large the French navy is. In the European War that just ended, Austria paid a heavy price and has no plans to expand their navy in a short time.
We won't participate in the distribution. It will all be divided up by everyone. I'm afraid that the financial pressure of each country will be very great.
Moreover, the essence of the French navy is the hundred ironclad warships, and the rest of the auxiliary warships can only be regarded as chicken ribs. If they don't sell them in bundles, they won't be able to find buyers.
If you want to get a part of the warships, you can just take them directly from the auction. Don't worry too much about the price. We can operate under the table.
Of course, if someone offers a sky-high price, we don't have to fight for it. If the auction fails, we can sell a batch of active warships to you at a low price afterward. "
Wesenberg didn't keep it a secret. Austria was indeed not interested in the French warships. As for whether or not the British would believe the news once it got out, no one knew.
This was just a small problem. If they could scam the British, it would be a profit. If not, it didn't matter. They could sell as much as they could. If they really couldn't get rid of it, they could just take the French warships.
They couldn't increase their combat power, but they could still take it out to scare people. As long as they didn't fight with the Royal Navy, there was no risk. The only drawback was that it would hurt money.
"The warships are just a small problem. We can deal with it however we want. Let's discuss how to deal with France!"
The representative of Belgium spoke. As the biggest victim of this war, Belgium was now in a mess.
Not only did they suffer heavy economic losses, but even their citizens were tossed around. At this moment, the Belgian government was busy calling for the exiled people to return to rebuild their homes. They really couldn't care less about the warships.
If they couldn't get enough compensation from the French, it would be difficult for Belgium to rebuild their homes.
After glancing at the crowd, Wesenberg stood up, picked up a pen, walked to the map on the wall, and directly drew a curve on the French mainland.
"Let's talk about the territory first. The map is here. If anyone is interested, you can circle it first. If there are no questions, pass it. If there are objections, we can discuss it later.
This is Austria's goal. We want to take back the homeland of Shinra that was previously occupied by France, which is the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Duchy of Lorraine, and the province of Alsace. "
(Kingdom of Burgundy: today's Franche-Comté)
In terms of territory, the above areas added up to less than 50,000 square kilometers, less than one-tenth of France.
However, the value couldn't be calculated by just looking at the territory. Looking at the economy, Alsace and the Kingdom of Burgundy were important industrial and resource areas of France. Lorraine was an important agricultural area.
If Austria took the above areas, France's industry would directly shrink by a third, and the overall national strength would drop by at least a quarter.
Oscar Jimenez wanted to say something but hesitated. From the standpoint of the Russian Empire, he naturally didn't want Austria to continue growing, but now was clearly not the time to intervene.
The Russian Army was only a bystander in this war, and they didn't have much say in it. Moreover, Austria wasn't eating alone. They dragged Belgium, Switzerland, Saxony, and Spain to divide up France.
Jumping out to be the bad guy at this time, other than offending people, there was no use at all.
Oscar Jimenez looked at the others drawing circles on the map with his own eyes, and he suppressed his desire forcefully. There was no other way. Even if they got an enclave, the Russian Empire didn't have the ability to manage it.
Everyone's direction of expansion was along the territory. There was no conflict of interest, and no one was causing trouble. Naturally, the scene was harmonious.
"If there are no objections, then this will be the draft for the disposal of France's territory after the war. The specific details will be determined later."
Negotiating the division of spoils was a complicated job, and it wasn't something that could be done by one or two people. Every country came with a team.
Everyone present was a high-level official of each country. They had to conduct themselves with dignity and finalize the general direction. The specific details of the negotiation and the exchange of interests were still carried out by the people below.
After a pause, Weissenberg raised his head and saw the complicated expressions on everyone's face. He didn't care what everyone thought. It was enough as long as no one objected.
"Now, let's move on to the next topic — war reparations. In principle, we still respect the wishes of each country. Based on the actual situation, as well as everyone's contributions and sacrifices for the war, we will determine each country's share.
Now, we will determine the total amount of reparations and calculate the war losses of each country. I will start with the beginning.
In the past year, Austria lost 742,300 people in the war against France, 2,141,600 people were injured, 15.46 million tons of strategic resources were consumed, and 6.698 billion DND was spent. The direct economic losses reached 18.6 billion DND, and the indirect economic losses reached 56.4 billion DND … "
There was definitely water injection. Austria's losses hadn't even been calculated, so how could there be accurate data?
Other than the casualties, which were hard to fabricate and were basically true, the other data were seriously inflated.
The only thing everyone was sure of was that as the main force in this war against France, Austria definitely paid a heavy price.
"Belgium lost a total of 200,000 soldiers in this war, more than five million people lost their homes, and more than 500,000 civilian casualties. The economic losses are impossible to calculate. Initial estimates are no less than 10 billion DND …"
Halfway through his speech, the Belgian representative couldn't help but tear up. There was no other way. Belgium was really too miserable after the war.
It could be said that they had returned to a primitive society. The cities were in ruins, and the factories and mines that were in the sunset were now full of grass and birds.
Compared to Austria's 50 billion DND loss, Belgium's 10 billion DND loss was the real deal.
It wasn't that they didn't want to inject water, but they really couldn't. The entire country was gone, and the plate was only so big. Everyone knew how much they could lose.
Given Belgium's tragic experience, everyone wanted to say something to comfort them, but they didn't know what to say.
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