Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1155 - 169: Not Afraid of Causing Trouble

After a series of verbal skirmishes and bargaining of interests, on June 16, 1905, countries around the world signed the "Vienna Convention" in Vienna, thus drawing a satisfactory full stop to the World War.

In general, the terms of the treaty were generous to most countries. Even for the defeated nations, the stipulations were not overly harsh.

The countries that had previously defected from the war and joined the Continental Alliance were reluctantly considered members and were no longer held accountable for their wartime responsibilities.

The ones held truly accountable were only the three nations: United Kingdom, Japan, and United States. The Great Britain Empire suffered the worst fate, having paid a hefty price as the main force in the World War.

The treaty terms are as follows:

1. The defeated nations (UK, Japan, US) admit defeat and take full responsibility for the World War;

2. Cede all their colonies to the Continental Alliance;

(This includes: Shinra receiving British-Australia, Canada, New Zealand, parts of the Indochina Peninsula, as well as various overseas islands including Hawaii, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, etc.;

Spain regains the Strait of Gibraltar;

Spain, Portuguese, Dutch, Belgium, Northern Europe, Sardinia, Greece... and other countries jointly divided British-India;

...)

3. Pay a total of 660 billion Divine Shields as war reparations, repayable over 99 years with interest; monthly interest at 0.5% of the principal; (This is divided as follows: Britannia 330 billion, the United States 325 billion, Japan 5 billion)

(Allocation is as follows: Holy Roman Empire 79.6%, Russian Empire 8.8%, Spain 4.9%, Netherlands 3.5%, Belgium 0.7%...)

Note: Considering the financial situation of the nations, the annual repayment must not be less than 15% of the government’s fiscal revenue; the unpaid portion will automatically accumulate, with compound interest being calculated.

4. In order to maintain world peace and stability, the defeated nations are prohibited from developing any military industries; all weapons and equipment must be purchased from countries of the Continental Alliance;

5. The armed forces of the defeated nations must be restricted so as not to disrupt the balance of the region, including the army, police, militia, and other armed forces. The size of the force will be determined annually by the soon-to-be-established International Alliance;

6. Starting from the date of the treaty signing, all countries must complete the handover within one year, and the armed forces of the UK, Japan, and US must all withdraw to their home countries;

7. Starting from the date of the treaty signing, within one month all countries will begin to exchange prisoners of war, and for the excess prisoners, ransom will be paid in accordance with international practice;

...

More than a hundred clauses in total, though more numerous in content, the stipulations were much more lenient than the punishment dealt to the French back in the day.

You lose half if you surrender, and the French can only blame themselves for surrendering too late. When the British surrendered, they still had the Royal Navy in their possession, whereas when the French surrendered, the Allied Forces were almost at the doors of Paris.

Of course, this is just a superficial reason, the real reason being that the French posed a greater threat, and once the British, who were isolated overseas, lost their colonies, they no longer had any influence.

You can tell from the contents of the treaty that even the Royal Navy was of no interest to the Vienna Government for conscription. Everyone understands the reason - even the landlord’s home has run out of surplus grain.

The scale of the Shinra Navy is already vast, and the era of aircraft carriers is coming. Adding a bunch of outdated battleships would be pointless, serving no better purpose than for target practice or to be dismantled for scrap metal.

After all, post-war Britain can’t even afford to maintain them, and one would be hard-pressed to find a country in the entire world that could, considering the annual maintenance costs alone are more than most countries’ fiscal revenues.

Even if they were to be sold at tearfully low prices, no one would want them. Due to restrictions imposed by the Vienna Treaty, post-war Britannia will lose its military industry, meaning spare parts are now obsolete.

For most countries, buying such disposable warships would just be a waste of space.

Being at a disadvantage sometimes has its benefits. After paying the price of losing colonies, paying war reparations, and sacrificing their military industry, Britain successfully retained the British Isles.

However, this success was only temporary; five years later, they would have to face referendums in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Extending the time frame of the referendums by five years was the result of hard work by the British Government. Who let them offend so many in the past?

The Vienna Government was bought off, but other countries were unwilling to let them off the hook. It’s foreseeable that the British Isles are destined for unrest in the coming years.

A Britain restrained hand and foot was clearly unable to deter other countries. Revenge for past grievances was, naturally, inevitable.

No matter how much unrest was caused, as a defeated nation, Britain would be unable to start a war for retaliation.

None of the other terms mattered as much as the indemnity, the most eye-catching clause. It’s not that the amount was huge – in fact, it was several billion less than the reparations France had to pay back in the day.

What’s truly surprising is the distribution of the indemnity amounts among the UK, US, and Japan; everyone can understand why Japan was only required to pay five billion.

The Japanese Government was already notoriously poor; 5 billion Divine Shields were equivalent to more than ten years of their fiscal revenue, and any more would just be an easy burden.

Moreover, although the Japanese had backed the wrong side, they had contributed significantly to the actions against the Russians.

However, such contributions cannot be openly acknowledged. A little consideration was fair, especially since they had lost all their colonies and were also restricted in terms of military capabilities.

Yet such preferential treatment was probably something the Japanese Government would not be able to appreciate. It’s estimated that once the contents of the treaty spread, there would be calls for punishing the national traitors.

By contrast, the treatment of the United States was decisively unfriendly. Both countries were accomplices, yet while Japan had to pay five billion, they had to pay 325 billion, nearly the same terms as Great Britain.

There is no doubt that this was the result of insider trading. The total indemnity of 660 billion was a collective decision of the Continental Alliance, but the allocation of the war reparations was the result of negotiations by the three countries involved.

With the intention of fracturing the relationship between the three countries, the Vienna Government deliberately indulged all this, and naturally, it was the cunning Britannia that emerged victorious, successfully offloading half of the debt onto its ally.

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There are still people who are displeased with them, deliberately tripping them up; otherwise, the United States would have had to pay even more.

No matter what others think, Franz doesn’t understand how the Americans dared to sign the treaty.

You must know that, in protest against the unfair treatment at the Vienna Peace Conference, the Japanese representative refused to sign.

But after the Allied Forces blockaded Japanese waters and a Tokyo bonfire party, the Japanese representative promptly signed his name.

It is said that the poor soul wanted to commit seppuku after signing, but since there was no samurai sword at hand, he had to give up the idea temporarily.

Then, naturally, he was warned by the diplomatic officials. Seppuku doesn’t matter, they said; cut whatever you want back in your own country, but if you make trouble in Vienna, the Southeast Asian Fleet will have to visit Tokyo.

The "Vienna Convention" was signed, and half of the conference’s mission was completed; next was the establishment of the United Nations and a new international order.

Unlike the past competition among great powers, this time it was entirely dominated by Shinra. Theoretically, Franz can construct the international order according to his own will.

Obviously, this is impossible. Though the strength of the countries individually isn’t great, without everyone’s cooperation, it’s truly difficult to establish the international order.

As the victor of this war, the Holy Roman Empire now needs a stable world.

Stirring up trouble and manipulating relationships between nations like Britain, that island country, is not something a strong continental superpower needs to indulge in; it’s better to employ direct stratagems.

Looking at the map on the wall, the Eagle Flags scattered across the world have become a magnificent sight, and Franz slowly said, "The establishment of the United Nations needs to be accelerated; however, there is no rush to finalize its organizational structure and functions.

The World War has just ended, and international tensions are in a period of easing. Right now, nations don’t need an organization acting above them; being overbearing is likely to provoke resistance.

For the short term, the United Nations can act as a liaison organization, with its specific functions to be filled out as needed later on.

This world has never been at peace. As long as mankind exists, conflicts are the eternal mainstay; when international tensions escalate, nations will naturally realize the value of the United Nations."

It’s not easy being the leader, and for the sake of long-term peace, Franz must consider the feelings of various nations and not alienate them completely.

The United Nations must exist, but it must not let everyone think that this is a scheme of Shinra, intending to interfere in internal affairs and dominate the world.

As the only superpower and one that is far ahead of its rivals, Franz is in no hurry when it comes to establishing an international order.

Take it slow; if we finish everything all at once, what’s left for the next Emperor to do?

Prime Minister Chandler: "Your Majesty, the matter of the United Nations is easy to handle. As long as we don’t grant this organization substantial powers, nations won’t refuse to join.

The trouble is the follow-up. The countries may have signed the accord, but whether they will abide by the agreements remains uncertain.

Britain should not pose a big problem. In this recently concluded World War, Britain lost at least three million people, and there’s a strong anti-war sentiment among the civilians.

Moreover, our punishment for the Great Britain Empire isn’t too harsh; aside from a somewhat larger amount of reparations, it doesn’t greatly affect the ordinary British public.

Japan and the United States are different. From the Japanese representative’s behavior, you can tell that Japan cannot accept such conditions for a ceasefire; there will surely be more commotion to follow.

Not to mention the United States, with its plethora of internal conflicts; it started causing trouble even before the Vienna Peace Conference began.

The treaty’s terms for the United States are too harsh; once it spreads back home, there’s likely to be another storm."

Big picture considerations are for politicians. The response of ordinary people has always been to follow their hearts; dissatisfaction is just that, dissatisfaction.

The fragile Japanese nationalism and the chaotic and muddled beliefs of the United States clearly cannot withstand the blow of the "Vienna Convention."

Civil unrest inevitably affects politics.

With Japan showing signs of madness this year, if they launch a coup to overthrow their traitorous government, Franz would not be surprised.

While the nationalism in the United States is explosive, each of the states has the power that is not much smaller than the Sub-States kneeling to Shinra.

A coup is unlikely, but impeaching the president and changing the government can happen in minutes.

If the political situation is unstable, the treaty is no more than wastepaper. To get Japan and the United States to comply with the treaty is uncertain; it’s unclear who to even contact.

Tapping the table, Franz calmly said, "Let them make some noise; unexpected gains might even arise.

Russians suffered heavy losses in the war and did not acquire India as they wanted, boiling with indignation; it would be tough for Nicholas II to swallow this without retaliating against Japan.

Didn’t the Far Eastern Empire want to reclaim the colonies occupied by Japan some days ago?

In that case, if the Japanese start making trouble, sell the Japanese colonies to the Far Eastern Empire. Order the Southeast Asian Fleet to blockade Japanese waters and let them send troops to recover the lost territories.

The United States is easier to deal with; we’re not afraid of their troubles, we’re afraid if they don’t make trouble. Add fuel to the fire, incite conflicts between the states.

Why should the Western and Middle states foot the bill for a war that the Eastern states initiated for their own interests?

If it comes to the point of the United States splitting, discussing the waiver of reparations is not off the table. The responsibility is Washington’s; newly independent states don’t need to answer for this."

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