The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 816: The Empire Has No Way Out

The dusk of Unter den Linden shrouded the Chancellery. Friedrich's leather boots made a dull echo on the marble floor. Weng Tongjue, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ambassador who had helped him connect with Bismarck, followed behind him, his eyes sweeping across the portraits of successive Prussian kings hanging on both sides of the corridor - those cold eyes seemed to be examining the negotiations that were about to begin.

Bismarck stood at the window with his back to them, the cigar in his hand curling with smoke. Outside the window, the Berlin garrison was training.

"Mr. Prime Minister," Friedrich put his briefcase on the table, "the workers of Paris have taken over the City Hall, and the French Workers' Association has become the most powerful pillar of the National Defense Government."

Bismarck did not turn around, but sneered: "So you represent France now?"

"We represent the new order that is about to be born." Friedrich unbuttoned the brass button and took out a document sealed with wax by the French Workers' Association. "This is the land reform draft prepared by the Workers' Association - confiscate the land of the church and the Bourbon nobles and divide it equally among the peasants."

Bismarck finally turned around, walked to the desk, and picked up: "The Bishop of Bavaria will go crazy."

"For this reason," said Friedrich calmly, "the Catholic nobles of southern Germany will need Prussian protection more than ever before."

Bismarck flipped open the document and glanced over the shocking clauses:

Land reform: Confiscate the country's church estates (accounting for 35% of arable land) and the land of exiled nobles (20%), and redistribute them free of charge to landless peasants.

Industrial policy: Private factories will be retained, but an eight-hour workday and minimum wage system will be implemented, and foreign-invested enterprises will be subject to supervision by workers' committees.

"French factory owners will go bankrupt, right?" Bismarck sneered. "Wages have risen by at least 30%, while working hours have been reduced by almost 30%?"

"Actually, no," Friedrich said with a smile, "Everyone knows that French industrial products are expensive and not easy to use. Most of the products are not competitive in the international market. The ones that can be sold, such as perfumes, expensive women's handbags and clothing, have never been known for their high quality and low prices. Even if the price increases by 20 or 30 percent, there will still be fools who will buy them!"

Bismarck laughed: "You really are an expert!"

Friedrich went on to say, "In addition to these industrial products that are expensive and difficult to use but are still purchased by fools, France is also a major exporter of agricultural products. Last year, 45% of France's exports were agricultural products. Land reform will greatly improve the situation of French farmers, allowing them to have stronger productivity and purchasing power. This will not only ensure the international competitiveness of French agricultural products, but also increase the purchasing power of French farmers - to buy those ordinary industrial products with high prices and low quality! Therefore, the cost of rising wages and reduced working hours is actually borne by the nobles, landlords and the church. French factory owners can still maintain a certain profit."

"But this requires higher tariffs," Bismarck pointed out to Friedrich, "otherwise imports would take over the French market."

Friedrich nodded: "Yes, just like what the Americans did! Their wages are twice as high as those in Britain, and the efficiency of their workers is even lower than that in France. Can't they still maintain their income through high tariffs?"

Bismarck's face suddenly darkened: "If I'm not mistaken, French factory owners will still get a lot of military orders from you, right?"

"That's for sure!" Friedrich laughed. "France has to recover lost territory, take revenge, and guard against further invasion by a Greater German Empire. In the face of national survival, every Frenchman has to make sacrifices and do things they were unwilling to do before. For example, workers and farmers will have to undertake compulsory military service, factory owners and businessmen will have to pay more taxes and give employees higher wages, the nobility and the church will lose their land, and even French children will get more difficult textbooks and longer compulsory education. Will the children in Alsace and Lorraine get Prussian textbooks that will make them collapse next year?"

Bismarck said coldly: "So in order to deal with our German Empire, the French upper class has to endure the rule of the French Workers' Association?"

Friedrich shrugged. "Same here. In fact, your Greater German Empire needs a France led by a workers' association even more! If there is no France that makes the Tsar and British capitalists feel disgusted and fearful, your Greater German Empire will have to face so much resistance, both from outside and from within!"

Bismarck snorted coldly: "Who told you that we want to establish a Greater Germany?"

Friedrich smiled and said, "We don't know. This is your problem, not ours. We only know that the German Empire has no way out! Because it has demonstrated its revolutionary power and has forever broken the balance of power in Europe.

The so-called Small Germany Plan is just deceiving oneself. Do you think that Britain and Russia will ignore the "strength" of Germany just because it is "small"? And will France give up the idea of ​​revenge and recovery of lost territory just because Germany is "small"? Mr. Prime Minister, now the whole of Europe praises you as the "Iron Chancellor". You can't possibly not understand this, right? "There was silence in the office of the Prussian Prime Minister. Bismarck and Friedrich looked at each other without saying a word. It was not known how long it had passed before Weng Tongjue coughed and broke the silence: "I believe both of you understand the principle of keeping the enemy for your own safety. In this case, let's discuss the terms of peace."

"Lorraine, Alsace, and five billion francs," Bismarck said suddenly, "not a centime less."

Friedrich said, “There are eighty tons of gold in the vault of the Bank of France, and that’s all!”

"Not enough!" Bismarck said, "Five billion gold francs is equivalent to 200 tons of gold. This is already the lowest price!"

"Without that much gold, Germany cannot possibly get gold that does not exist!" Friedrich's voice suddenly lowered. "In addition, the Workers' Association has another condition - not to sign the peace treaty."

Bismarck's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Prussia will withdraw from French territory except Alsace and Lorraine," Friedrich continued, "but will declare a 'temporary ceasefire'. The gold will be transferred in batches through Swiss banks, and you -" he looked directly into Bismarck's eyes, "can continue to use the 'state of war' and Red France to intimidate the southern German states."

The room fell into silence again.

"I cannot agree to your conditions!" Bismarck suddenly said, "I can take less land in Alsace and Lorraine. I only want the German-speaking area, but not an ounce of gold! As for the peace treaty, you don't have to sign it. If you don't agree to my conditions, the Prussian army will march into Paris in ten days!"

"Ten days?" Friedrich laughed. "Prime Minister, do you think I'm a three-year-old child? If I'm not mistaken, the main force of the Prussian army is now marching towards Prague and Vienna, right?"

Bismarck did not give a direct answer, but said coldly: "Ten days. Or three months, does it make any difference?"

"Yes!" Friedrich said, "Three months is enough for us to organize an army of 300,000 to defend Paris. If we can hold Paris, the cost of peace will be lower! Once Britain and Russia see that the Prussian army is blocked outside Paris, they will try to intervene. Before Paris is held, the Workers' Association will not adopt any radical policies."

The Prussian Prime Minister said nothing. He recalled the secret report he had received yesterday: the British Foreign Secretary boarded a warship bound for Petersburg yesterday.
"Then let's take three months." Bismarck finally spoke, "In three months, the Prussian army will appear outside Paris! If you can really defend Paris, you don't have to pay the 80 tons of gold!"

Friedrich understood Bismarck's mind - this old gambler wanted to test the quality of Red France and also wanted to show the nobles of southern Germany Prussia's ability and determination to safeguard their interests!

If Red France easily disintegrated under the attack of the Prussian army, then this regime would not be able to pose a threat to Britain and Russia, and it would not even be able to withstand the counterattack of the Bourbon nobles and the French bourgeoisie. If this is true, the new Greater Germany will certainly take the opportunity to slaughter France.
Tianjing, General Staff Operations Room.

Luo Yaoguo's fingertips gently slid across the bend of the Seine River on the Paris defense map. The gas lamp in the operations room cast his shadow on the wall, overlapping with the hanging Pacific Ocean chart.

A Red France and a Greater Germany were both on the eve of their birth. As long as one of these two monsters could land smoothly, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would be able to win the crucial twenty or thirty years. With these twenty or thirty years of growth, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's chances of winning a "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" for itself in the future world war would be greatly increased.
"The Prussians have taken action!" Chen Yucheng's voice suddenly rang in Luo Yaoguo's ears, "Moltke personally led the First Army to break through the Austrian defense line. Prague is under fire from the Prussian army. Joseph Franz was caught off guard again."

"Great Germany has been established!" Luo Yaoguo exhaled, "The next step is to look at Red France"

"Your Highness," Chen Yucheng reminded, "The British may not be fully aware of the true colors of the French Workers' Association. If the British government can provide some assistance to Paris before Prussia completely conquers Austria, the Workers' Association will still have a great chance of winning!"

Luo Yaoguo nodded and whispered: "Whether the British recognize the Workers' Association or not, they have to give Paris some assistance now. If Greater Germany swallows France in one bite, what is the point of Britain playing offshore balancing?" He paused and said: "Send a telegram to the South American Legion and let the Inca Kingdom's army advance to the Atacama Desert!"

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

(End of this chapter)