I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1345 Entering the game
It should be noted that although Venice was one of the main battlefields of the last anti-French coalition, its relatively prosperous areas such as the city of Venice and Treviso were not affected by the war.

Moreover, the fighting in northern Italy was mainly carried out by Austrians, while the Russian army only passed through a few times. As a result, France demanded 1200 million francs in reparations for Venice.

Segur continued with an arrogant expression, "Pay Milan 400 million francs in war reparations..."

The Milanese foreign minister was somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.

During the last war, the Russian army did not set foot on Milanese territory at all. They only raided a few Milanese caravans in Switzerland and killed more than 20 Milanese soldiers in the fighting.

That's a whopping 400 million in compensation, that's really too much.

Segur then read out the largest sum of reparations: "3200 million francs in war reparations to our country."

He coughed lightly and glanced at the Russian Foreign Minister: "And Russia immediately withdraws from the anti-French coalition and pledges never to form any kind of alliance with Britain or Austria."

"Russia must prohibit the sale of any military supplies to Britain. The Mediterranean Security Organization will set up a checkpoint in Riga to inspect all Russian ships entering the Baltic Sea..."

At this point, the agreement was referred to as "military supplies," but if such an agreement were actually signed, France would ultimately decide what would qualify as military goods. Timber could be used to build warships, iron ingots to make guns and cannons, and furs to make military uniforms—meaning France wouldn't sell anything to Britain.

With France taking the lead, other member states of the Mediterranean Security Organization have been making exorbitant demands, ranging from trade terms and military strength to diplomatic restrictions, treating Russia like a third-rate country to be "abused".

After all the countries had finished speaking, Vorontsov's face had turned ashen.

In fact, the war reparations were already beyond Russia's acceptable range. If Russia could come up with more than 70 million francs, it would have already beaten Poland and the Ottoman Empire to a pulp. Why would it need to come here and suffer humiliation?
As for limiting troop strength, that's even more impossible.

Keeping Russia's army below 12 is harder to bear than not letting them drink alcohol.

Vorontsov gritted his teeth and continued the negotiation process, reading out Russia's demands: "...no country in the Mediterranean Security Organization shall provide assistance to Poland, the Ottomans, or Persia."

"All countries must recognize Russia's territorial claims to the west bank of the Dnieper River, as well as to Moldova, the Transcaucasus, and other regions..."

"Russia has been granted unrestricted navigation rights in the Mediterranean Sea...and normal trade with the countries that participated in the negotiations has resumed..."

And so, the first day of negotiations came to an end.

It was a complete misunderstanding; no agreement could be reached on any terms.

Yes, Joseph knew very well that Russia would never accept such conditions. What he wanted was for Russia to drag Britain down step by step through the process of constant bargaining.

That afternoon, Vorontsov transmitted the terms offered by the Mediterranean Security Organization to Udine via the Shap signal tower in northern Italy. Meanwhile, a Russian diplomat, already waiting there, rode to Klagenfurt, where the information was relayed via an Austrian signal tower to Iasi on the western Black Sea coast.

Two days later, Alexander I saw these outrageous terms of the armistice and flew into a rage, yelling at his guards, "Summon Lord Hawkesburg to see me!"

The British Foreign Secretary arrived in St. Petersburg two days ago, demanding that Britain and Russia continue their joint anti-French efforts and promising to lend Russia £40.

At the time, Alexander I considered the situation on two fronts and believed that £40 was simply not enough to reverse the defeat, so he politely declined the offer from the British.

But now, the harsh conditions imposed by France, Spain, and those small Italian countries have changed his mind. Three hours later.

In St. George's Hall at the Winter Palace, Lord Hawkesburg's eyelids twitched as he looked at the clause "Russia is prohibited from selling any military supplies to Britain."

He immediately bowed to the Tsar and said, “Your Majesty, it has been proven that only Britain is your most loyal friend. And these people only want to destroy the great Russia.”

Alexander I was also furious and immediately revealed his trump card: "But the assistance you have provided is far from enough for me to repel the enemies of Minsk and Ganja."

Yes, the Gudvich Legion has now retreated to Ganja, and behind them lies Tbilisi, the core city of the South Caucasus.

Lord Hawkesburg breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "I can request Parliament to increase the loan amount to £70, while also providing General Kutuzov with supplies from the Baltic Sea."

Once the British fleet arrives in Riga, it will be able to travel south along the Dnieper River to resupply Minsk, which will be far more efficient than transporting supplies from St. Petersburg.

Alexander I then summoned officers such as Arakcheev and Rumyantsev, and after a detailed discussion, concluded that the British conditions were acceptable.

That evening, Alexander I sent Vorontsov the British terms and ordered him to immediately terminate the negotiations if the French did not make significant concessions.

Lord Hawkesburg also sent a message to Sir Grey, who was in Milan, instructing him to sabotage the negotiations there as much as possible.

Milan.

After two days of repeated bargaining, Vorontsov suddenly raised his voice, demanding the cancellation of all war reparations and restrictions on military strength, or he would immediately return to St. Petersburg.

Count Segur immediately concluded that the British had entered the game.

Immediately after the negotiations concluded that day, he secretly arranged a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister.

The Crown Prince tasked him with holding off the Russians as long as possible, but without scaring away the British.

He felt like a shill at an auction, having to drive the price up to the maximum and make sure he wasn't the last one to bid.

In a carriage outside Milan, Segur looked earnestly at Vorontsov: "You know, the Crown Princess has done a lot of work for the peace between our two countries."

"At her urging, His Highness the Crown Prince has largely agreed to your demands, but the prohibition on the sale of military supplies to Britain must be retained. In exchange, our country will also cease supporting Poland."

"Of course, the matter of resuming trade is unlikely to be passed in the short term, as it requires a unified vote from the member states of the common market."

Vorontsov's eyes lit up immediately. He hadn't expected that Princess Alexandra could persuade France to back down so much. If that was the case, reaching a ceasefire agreement would certainly be more advantageous.

After all, this was "in-stock," and accepting British aid meant continuing to fight two very difficult wars before it was possible to defeat Poland and other countries.

(End of this chapter)