NOVPUBThere is no doubt that the London Government ultimately chose to compromise with the French, a decision dictated by interests.
The French had chosen an opportune moment; had the London Government not compromised, the Paris Government might well have turned around and dealt with Austria.
Although the French were also wary of Austria growing too powerful after absorbing the Ottoman Empire, the possibility of making a deal with the Vienna Government was very slim, yet the London Government dared not gamble.
In the event that such a deal did materialize, it would mean that France and Austria had reached a strategic understanding, which would spell disaster for the British.
While compromising, the London Government also raised its guard against the French. If the infighting Paris Government could manipulate them as such, what could happen if the internal strife ended?
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At the London Peace Conference, faced with the joint pressure from the Alliance of England and France, Hummel Envoy found himself somewhat overwhelmed.
"For the sake of world peace, we can end this war, but the Ottoman Empire must return the lands it has occupied and bear responsibility for this war."
Austria conceded, and many breathed a sigh of relief. Had they persisted in tough resistance, matters would have been difficult. It’s easy to talk about military intervention, but acting upon it is troublesome.
It’s one thing to have the European nations cheer from the sidelines, but another to have them fight for the Ottoman Empire—better not. Sometimes words can kill, and politicians must think thrice for their reputation’s sake.
The gloomy Envoy Hummel also secretly sighed in relief, as the play was finally coming to an end. To avoid slipping up, he had to stay tense every day, a state of being far from pleasant.
Without waiting for the Ottoman representative to speak, Marquis of McLin took the lead for them, "I thank Your Excellency for your efforts toward world peace, history will remember all of this.
War is cruel, and every moment young men are falling. For their safety, I propose we sign a ceasefire agreement first to halt the war. We can discuss the remaining issues afterward."
From the British standpoint, it was enough to preserve the Ottoman Empire. Issues like territorial restitution or assigning war responsibility were minor matters.
It’s a European tradition for the vanquished to bear the responsibility of war. Even though the demand for returning territory is somewhat absurd, it’s not beyond negotiation—who made the Ottoman Empire lose?
In an era of survival of the fittest, weakness is a sin. Rather than fixating on these issues, it is more advantageous for the Ottoman Empire to end the war sooner.
Envoy Hummel nodded, "No problem, but we will only sign the ceasefire treaty for half a month. If no agreement is reached within half a month, the war will continue."
All along, he hadn’t asked the Russian representative’s opinion. It wasn’t that Hummel was autocratic or relations had deteriorated. It was because before the war, the two nations had an agreement that Austria was in charge of handling diplomatic issues.
The Russians would get involved only after the ceasefire treaty was signed and when it came to the distribution of interests. Until then, in matters concerning the Near East, the two nations had to maintain a diplomatic front.
Marquis of McLin bargained, "Half a month is too short given the many issues involved in this war; let’s cease fire for half a year instead!"
Envoy Hummel shook his head, the half-month deadline was meant to exert pressure, to coerce greater concessions from the Ottoman Empire.
"Your Excellency, the Minister, do not forget that war has a cost, and every day of delay incurs a massive amount of money.
Based on the current strength of the Allied Forces of 336,000 soldiers, even without mounting an attack, we must expend 586,000 divine shields each day.
This expense should be borne by the Ottoman Empire. If the Ottoman Government thinks it can afford the delay, we can proceed to negotiate slowly."
Without a doubt, the troop numbers were roughly accurate; the expenditure was something Envoy Hummel stated offhand. If daily costs reached 586,000 divine shields without any offensive, the quartermaster would have long been under investigation.
Although Austria was not poor, it was not extravagant to this extent either. Without an assault, the primary costs comprised soldiers’ living expenses and military pay.
The Vienna Government had pledged to supply the Russian Army with material support, not to pay their wages. Not every member of the Austrian forces in the Middle East Region needed military pay; for the cannon fodder army, payment was just the spoils of war.
Only a few tens of thousands in the regular army truly received military pay, including conscripts who only needed a small combat allowance. Even calculating on a daily basis, it didn’t exceed 20 or 30 thousand divine shields.
Living costs were even easier to calculate—more than 300,000 troops consumed at most 200 tons of food daily, adding in some vegetables and meat products, 500 tons of supplies were enough. Even including transportation costs, the price couldn’t be exorbitant.
Others might enjoy the spectacle, but Ottoman Empire Foreign Minister Albij couldn’t afford it. If calculated with these numbers, it’d be enough to bankrupt the Ottoman Empire.
"Envoy Your Excellency, this number is too exaggerated; even if every soldier ate steak daily, it couldn’t cost that much."
No sooner had Albij finished speaking than he realized his error, having been led astray. In negotiations, one must avoid being led by the opponent, as it results in a passive position.
Hummel, with a faint smile, bluffed, "This is out of concern that the soldiers might not acclimatize, so all the supplies, including drinking water, are transported from their hometowns, hence the slightly higher cost."
Everyone rolled their eyes. Supplies were transported from the soldiers’ hometowns. Not to mention the soldiers, even the officers didn’t get such treatment.
Moreover, given the transportation of that era, even if someone really did transport the goods, the vegetables and fruits would have rotted away en route.
The British Foreign Minister, Marquis MacKinnon, frowned and brought the topic back, "Envoy Your Excellency, your country’s navy has blockaded the Eastern Mediterranean, and now trade with the Ottoman Empire has stalled. Can the trade routes be restored during the ceasefire?
The situation in the Ottoman interior is very bad, especially with the food crisis being extremely urgent. Everyday, human tragedies continue to unfold."
"Lifting the blockade" was the crux of the problem. As for the issue of military expenses, they could squabble over that slowly after the ceasefire. No matter how exorbitant the Austrians’ demands, the Ottoman Empire was broke anyway.
Even if a treaty with an exorbitant reparation clause was signed, just saying "no money" would suffice.
The British were not prepared to pay for the Ottoman Empire. If the Austrians thought they could get reparations from the impoverished Sultan Government, they were dreaming.
By comparison, lifting the blockade was much more important. Refugees were everywhere in the Ottoman Empire. If no supplies could get in, who knew how long the Sultan Government could hold out?
Hummel shook his head, "No, the blockade of the coastline is mainly for everyone’s safety. We have deployed a large number of mines around the Ottoman ports, and we cannot guarantee the safety of the ships.
If the Ottoman Empire is short on grain or other supplies, they can communicate with us, and we can sell them a batch of agricultural products at a low price for emergency relief."
Lifting the blockade would just give the Ottoman Empire the chance to recover, wouldn’t it? The Sultan Government’s human wave tactics had not managed to gain momentum, mainly due to a lack of arms and equipment.
In the style of the English, opening an arsenal to sell some antiques to the Ottoman Empire, making the negotiations more difficult, was almost inevitable.
The low-priced goods promised by Envoy Hummel were a joke. Buying supplies from an enemy that you are currently fighting with is utterly ridiculous.
Not to mention, does the Sultan Government lack munitions now, and is the Vienna Government willing to sell?
Well, that question is not easy to answer. If the price is high enough, maybe even the Vienna Government would sell. After all, it’s the Russians who are struggling on the Asia Minor Peninsula, aren’t they?
Marquis MacKinnon did not dwell further on the issue of lifting the blockade, although he was certain the Austrians had not scattered mines everywhere, any merchant ship that went would surely encounter mines.
Some capitalistic daredevils had already tried it. Aside from the very few who got lucky and made a fortune, the rest ended up feeding the fish in the sea.
Whether they were destroyed by mines or not, nobody knew. After all, the ships were wrecked and the people lost; how it happened was not important.
After a bit of haggling, the ceasefire was extended to one month. At the same time, Envoy Hummel also promised to sell 10,000 tons of grain to the Ottoman Empire for relief, so as to avoid another humanitarian crisis.
This was a genuinely low price, ten percent below the international food price. Of course, while the price of food could be reduced, the cost of shipping could not possibly be spared.
In wartime, when transporting food at the risk of one’s life, how could shipping costs be spared? Not increasing it by several times over the normal rate would not conform to commercial rules.
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Hummel: "Our demands are not high. The goal of launching this war was just to recover the ancestral land of Jerusalem.
As long as your country returns the Kingdom of Jerusalem and compensates us for the losses caused over these years, we can end this war.
Starting from the year 1517, up to the present makes it 357 years. Calculating at a million Divine Shields per year, the total comes to 357 million Divine Shields.
Over these 357 years, at least 3 million people have died at your country’s hands. If the compensation per person is calculated at 600 Divine Shields, that totals up to 180 million Divine Shields.
Before your country occupied Jerusalem, this place was fertile. Now, it has turned into a vast desert, causing irreparable damage to the environment, and it requires..." n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Once Hummel laid out the terms, everyone was stunned. Calculating reparations this way, selling the entire Ottoman Empire would not cover the debt.
As expected, the resulting figure reached a staggering 3.062 billion Divine Shields. Perhaps realizing it was a bit much, Hummel took the initiative to round down the number, asking for only 3 billion Divine Shields in reparations.
Everyone understood this was not about seeking compensation; the Ottoman Empire couldn’t pay it. The main purpose was territorial annexation. Still, everyone was shocked by Envoy Hummel’s brazen move.
The Ottoman Empire Foreign Minister Albij immediately retorted, "Envoy Your Excellency, this is not how the accounts can be calculated. Jerusalem was not taken by us from your country, and there is no such thing as an obligation to make reparations."
The Crown of Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Habsburg dynasty for less than three hundred years, and the Habsburg Family never ruled over Jerusalem. Austria, let alone, there was no sovereignty relationship between the parties.
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