After the end of the purge, the Tsarist government put more energy into the negotiations, and the Prussian negotiations quickly entered a critical moment.
The focus of the dispute between the two sides was on the ceding of land and reparations. Compared to reparations, ceding land was actually easier to solve.
The most serious dispute between Prussia and Russia was the East and West Prussia area. This was the nest of the Juncker nobles, and the Government of Berlin didn't dare to let go easily.
But now that these areas were in the hands of Russia, as a defeated country, Prussia had no ability to take it back.
There was a kind of "ceding" that was an established fact, and this issue could be temporarily put aside. After a long time, everyone would get used to it.
No matter how dissatisfied the Juncker nobles were, they couldn't change the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia didn't have the strength to take back these areas.
Now the Government of Berlin was still fighting for it. On one hand, it was because they had expectations of the great powers, hoping to rely on the power of international intervention to force Russia to make concessions, and on the other hand, it was for political show.
Compared to the dispute over the territory, the real problem was reparations. Both Prussia and Russia were short of money, and no one was willing to make concessions.
The Tsarist government wanted as much war reparations as possible to make up for the government's financial deficit, but the Government of Berlin thought the opposite. They themselves were in financial difficulties and simply couldn't afford such a huge amount of reparations.
The real contradiction appeared, and it was the kind that couldn't be reconciled. No matter how much advantage the Russians had, the Government of Berlin only had one word – no money.
The Government of Berlin really didn't have money, and it wasn't fake. No matter what they did, they couldn't squeeze anything out of it.
Not only could they not afford to pay the reparations, but the Government of Berlin also suspended the payment of the debts owed to the British.
It was said that the Minister of Finance of Prussia had already set off for London, seemingly to lobby the creditors to extend the debt, or accept payment in kind.
This lobbying operation was bound to be difficult. The Kingdom of Prussia was short of resources, had limited industrial technology, and the competitiveness of industrial and commercial products was limited.
Even if there was a certain discount for "payment in kind" goods, but with the high quality of British industrial and commercial products, it was still a problem to sell them.
Simply being "cheap" was still limited in terms of competitiveness. Unless there was a huge disparity in price, high-quality goods would still be more popular.
In fact, the Kingdom of Prussia did not have enough resources and needed to import industrial raw materials from overseas. The cost of industrial and commercial products had already increased.
The only advantage was that the labor was cheap. Unfortunately, labor costs in the world were not high these days. Except for some labor-intensive industries, labor costs in most industries were only a small portion of production costs.
In fact, the Government of Berlin also proposed to pay war reparations in kind, but it was rejected by the Russian representative.
It couldn't be helped. What the Tsarist government lacked now was money, not industrial and commercial products, especially when it came to foreign exchange.
This war brought a huge trade deficit to the Russian Empire, and they had to rely on foreign debt to maintain their balance.
Now that the war was over, the Tsarist government urgently needed a large amount of foreign currency to repay the debt. Otherwise, they could only use real money to fill the hole.
The British didn't have this pressure. They could get cheap industrial and commercial products and sell them to the colonies. The creditors wouldn't lose money.
The Tsarist government could only get these things for their own use. They could only sell them in the market as self-printed rubles, and they couldn't exchange them for precious foreign currency.
Russia's representative, Nikita Titov, stretched out five fingers. "500 million BD. This is our bottom line. We can't go any lower.
You know, for this war, the Russian Empire spent at least 3 billion BD in military expenses, causing tens of billions of BD in economic losses.
These are all caused by you. The amount of reparations we're asking for now is less than 4% of the losses. It's already very low. "
There was no problem. Adding up the two Prussian-Russian wars, including the expenses for suppressing civil strife, the Tsarist government did pay more than 3 billion BD in military expenses.
Not to mention the economic losses. The Poland-Lithuania region was almost razed to the ground, the Russian Western Ukraine region was in ruins, and the two wars caused more than 10 million population losses to the Russian Empire.
Adding up all these losses, 10 billion BD was more than enough. In this respect, the Tsarist government's request for reparations was really not high.
At least, they didn't ask the Government of Berlin for compensation. Otherwise, even if they sold the Kingdom of Prussia, they wouldn't be able to pay for the compensation of tens of millions of people.
Politics was so realistic. If the Government of Berlin won, they would be just. The war could be defined as fighting to liberate the minorities enslaved by the Tsarist government.
The international community would define Poland, Lithuania, Russian Western Ukraine … These areas were all forcibly occupied by the Tsarist government.
Since they lost, there was nothing more to say. These areas were the territory of the Russian Empire. The destruction of these areas by the war was damaging the property of the Russian Empire.
Prussia's representative, Gillian von McKeith, decisively cried, "Your Excellency, the disaster brought about by this war is not only borne by your country, we are also victims.
Now the people of the Kingdom of Prussia are dying and suffering is everywhere. Even the most basic life of ordinary people is a problem. The government can't make ends meet and really can't come up with the money. "
"No money" was an all-purpose reason. Gillian von McKeith was not afraid that the Russians would further exploit the Kingdom of Prussia. Now the area controlled by the Russians was the bottom line that the European powers could accept.
If the Tsarist government wasn't satisfied and wanted to swallow the Kingdom of Prussia, the UK, Fao, and other countries would let them know who was the master of Europe.
Being unable to annex the Kingdom of Prussia didn't mean that the Kingdom of Prussia couldn't be destroyed. As long as the Russians were willing to pay the price, it wouldn't be difficult for them to fight all the way to Berlin and change the government.
It's just that this would increase the military expenditure by a huge amount. If Prussia was destroyed after the war, then they wouldn't even need to think about reparations.
No rational government would disregard the national interest for the sake of justice, especially a poor country like Russia, which couldn't resist the charm of money.
How much money the Tsarist government lacked could be seen from the currency used in the negotiations.
Generally speaking, when it came to war reparations, everyone would pay in their own currency.
The Tsarist government had no choice but to choose "Aegis" instead of "Rubles".
Due to financial pressure, the Tsarist government had no choice but to issue more currency, and Rubles continued to depreciate.
In order to ensure their own interests, it was necessary to specify a currency with a stable value, and the only options left were British pounds and Aegis.
The biggest creditor of the Russian Empire was Austria, so it was inevitable that they would lean towards Aegis when reserving foreign exchange. The original financial model of Rubles and British pounds had long been abandoned during the war.
Nikita Titov shook his head and sternly refused: "This is a problem that your government needs to consider. If you do something wrong, you will always have to bear the responsibility.
If you can't afford the reparations, then find a way to borrow. I think your country definitely has a way to raise enough funds.
If it really doesn't work, then we will use our own method to get it. In short, this 500 million Aegis can't be less. "
In theory, if they received 500 million Aegis as war reparations, the financial crisis that plagued Russia would immediately be solved.
Paying the debt in advance could save a lot of interest expenses. If all of it was used to pay off the debt, the debt could immediately be cut.
In order to force Prussia to compromise, Nikita Titov began to threaten without hesitation. If they went to get it themselves, could they get so much money?
The answer was no!
The current Prussia was not the German-Russian Empire at its peak. If they wanted to rely on dismantling machines to make up for the war losses, even if they removed all the screws, they wouldn't be able to get 500 million.
…
They couldn't give in. They didn't have money. The two sides were evenly matched, and the negotiations quickly reached an impasse.
In the Vienna Palace, Franz, who was closely watching the Prussian-Russian negotiations, also had a headache at this time.
The Prussian-Russian negotiations dragged on like this, and it was also very disadvantageous for Austria.
Not to mention anything else, how could the new Vienna system be established if they didn't put an end to this war?
With the British's style, if they didn't take the opportunity to stir up trouble, then they wouldn't be British. Otherwise, how could they have the reputation of "shit stirrer"?
As the saying goes, a long night is fraught with dreams. No one knew if Austria's advantage could be maintained if it dragged on.
If they missed this opportunity, Austria's loss would be great. The Vienna system brought not only fame but also huge political benefits.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, Russia's appetite is too big, and Prussia can't afford it.
500 million Aegis as war reparations, this is probably more than the sum of all the war reparations in the history of Europe. Even if all the war reparations in the world were added up, it may not be as much. "
How much?
In this era, it was indeed a sky-high amount of reparations. In the Franco-Prussian War in the original timeline, the final war reparations were only 5 billion francs, which shocked the world.
Based on the current exchange rate, 5 billion francs was only 400 million Aegis.
Of course, taking into account the different era, 400 million Aegis ten years ago was really not less than 500 million Aegis now.
However, Prussia and France were two completely different concepts. The French easily raised 5 billion francs, and it was said that it exceeded 1 billion francs.
The Franco-Prussian War also destroyed several eastern provinces, and economic losses exceeded 20 billion francs. The Government of France itself had a huge debt of tens of billions of francs, which was no less than what the Government of Berlin owed.
A solid foundation was so awesome. They could afford the losses, and if it was the Kingdom of Prussia, they wouldn't be able to do it.
Franz wasn't moved because he had seen the reparations of World War I and World War II, and his heart was already very strong. This amount of money was difficult to move him.
After a moment of contemplation, Franz nodded. "For the Government of Berlin, it is a bit too much. Can we get the Russians to make concessions?
For example, waive part of the reparations, or extend the payment period. Limit the amount of reparations paid every year to the range that the Kingdom of Prussia can afford. "
Wesenberg shook his head. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that will be difficult. The damage caused by the war is too great, and the Kingdom of Prussia has almost no ability to pay.
Moreover, the Russians still owe us a huge debt. Any suggestions for waiving or delaying the payment are not suitable for us to propose. "
After listening to this explanation, Franz helplessly rubbed his forehead. When it involved his own interests, it meant that there was no room for discussion.
If the Government of Vienna suggested that the Tsarist government waive the reparations, and the Russians also asked Austria to waive the debt, it would be embarrassing.
How was it possible that the financial situation was not good enough to not lose money? Based on this logic, how was Austria going to collect the debt from the Russians?
Franz asked, "Based on the current situation, how long can the Tsarist government's finances last?"
The armistice between Prussia and Russia did not mean that the war was over. As long as the treaty was not signed, the war was not truly over.
Right now, there were still millions of troops from Prussia and Russia at the border. Even if there was no war, just the daily expenses of feeding these millions of mouths would not be a small figure.
For the financially poor Prussia and Russia, there would definitely be pressure.
Prime Minister Felix replied, "It can probably last for two to three months. The threat of Russia's military force did not scare the Kingdom of Prussia, which is directly related to this.
If the war between Prussia and Russia continues, at most a month, the Tsarist government will run out of money again.
It is not only the Russians who are short of money, but Prussia is not much better. If it was not for the fact that the Prussian army is stationed in Prussia, reducing the consumption of transportation, the Government of Berlin might have gone bankrupt first. "
The two poor people were competing in patience. Franz was also speechless. Based on the current situation, it was no longer a question of how much the Kingdom of Prussia had to pay, but how much money they could take out.
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