Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 962 - 225: The Dividing Loot Meeting

Chapter 962: Chapter 225: The Dividing Loot Meeting

The autumn wind swept up yellow leaves, bringing joy of harvest. The war on the European Continent had lasted for over a year, but now it was time to reap the fruits of victory.

The once elusive Vienna Grand Hotel was now overcrowded. An explosive increase in guests left Droste, the lobby manager, with a splitting headache.

Working at the world’s most luxurious hotel, Droste was used to dealing with bigwigs from all walks of life on a daily basis.

It wasn’t that the Vienna Grand Hotel had never been fully booked before; major events and celebrations had always led to a full house.

Anyway, the hotel had its rules: whoever booked first got the room, and no one dared to make a fuss here.

This time was different. Ever since the news spread that Vienna was to host a peace conference, reservation phone lines were inundated.

According to incomplete statistics, the confirmed guests already included seven kings, over a hundred nobles, and dozens of dignitaries from various countries.

Undoubtedly, those attending the conference wouldn’t be coming alone; these big shots brought their delegations. Choosing to stay at the Vienna Grand Hotel, naturally, was a matter of prestige.

Despite seeming unattainable, the hotel’s room rates targeted only the ordinary tycoons. For the significant figures staying at the hotel, it was naturally not the same price.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Astronomical room rates and high-end service underlined the guests’ noble status. As long as they kept it to themselves, no one would know about the discounts. The presence of nobles, in turn, elevated the hotel’s status.

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For top-tier nobles like kings and grand dukes, their stay had always been complimentary. Luckily, in those days, the high nobility cared about face. If this were to happen in future times, there might be a bunch of exiled monarchs coming to freeload.

With so many bigwigs gathered, problems arose. Nobility were human too and inter-personal conflicts were inevitable.

That aside, nobles cared about their reputation. Unless they were drunk, they would normally maintain their decorum. Should an actual conflict occur, it wasn’t something that a hotel manager could intervene in.

Looking at the long list of names, Droste was so worried that he nearly went bald. There was no way around it; there weren’t enough rooms that matched the status of the guests.

The big shots were also vain; if their status and accommodations didn’t match, they could flip out at any minute.

Despite the headache, the work still needed to be done. If Droste couldn’t handle such a small issue, it would be the end of his career as a manager.

…

At the Vienna Royal Opera House, members of the Anti-French Alliance gathered for a closed-door meeting. If nothing unexpected happened, this profit-sharing meeting would conclude before the arrival of the various national delegations.

As for the upcoming Vienna Peace Conference, that was merely a procedure to implement the contents of the profit-sharing meeting.

“Your Grace, the European war has just ended, and it’s not right to auction off the French naval ships immediately,” questioned Spanish Foreign Minister Behedad Salimi. There was no other way; the European war had ended, but Spain’s war hadn’t!

As an old colonial power, although in decline, Spaniards still retained their pride. They could endure some humiliation on the European Continent; that was a consequence of their own lack of strength. But when the Japanese also started causing trouble, that was intolerable.

In recent months, the Philippine fleet had been nearly annihilated, and the Philippine Islands were largely lost, but the Spanish government still hadn’t given in.

Their confidence naturally came from the Anti-French Alliance. According to the agreement, Austria had promised that after a victory in the European war, Spain would receive a portion of the French fleet.

When the promised ships suddenly turned into auction items, Behedad Salimi naturally found it unacceptable. The Spanish government was awaiting these ships to teach Japan a lesson!

Wessenberg smiled faintly and assured him on the spot, “Rest assured, Your Grace, Austria’s previous commitment remains valid. The auction of the French ships is out of necessity.

As everyone knows, the size of the French Navy is enormous. Austria paid a heavy price in the recent war and has no plans to expand its navy in the near future.

If we don’t partake in the division, and simply let everyone carve it up, the financial burden on the countries would be immense.

Moreover, the essence of the French Navy lies in about a hundred ironclad ships; the remaining auxiliary vessels are of little use. Without bundling them for sale, it would be impossible to find buyers.

If everyone wants a portion of the ships, they can simply acquire them during the auction. There’s no need to worry too much about the price; we can manipulate the process covertly.

Of course, if someone offers a sky-high price, there’s no need for bidding wars. Should the auction fail, we could sell a batch of active-duty ships to you at a low price afterward.”

Wessenberg did not keep it a secret; Austria really wasn’t interested in the French ships. As to whether the British would believe the news when it got out, no one knew.

But that was a minor issue. Tricking the British would be a win, but it was no loss if they weren’t fooled. Sell as many as possible—whatever couldn’t be dealt with could simply be kept from the French fleet.

“It may not increase combat effectiveness, but it can still be intimidating. As long as it’s not pitted against the Royal Navy, there’s no risk. The only downside is that it’s rather costly.”

“The warship issue is a minor one, it can be dealt with in any way. Let’s focus on discussing how to handle France instead!”

The speaker was the French delegate, and as the biggest victim of this war, Belgium was now in complete disarray.

Not only had the economy suffered tremendous losses, but even the populace had been worn down. At this moment, the Belgian government was busy calling on exiled citizens to return home and rebuild, having no time to concern themselves with warships.

Without sufficient compensation from France, Belgium would find it difficult to rebuild.

Scanning the room, Wessenberg stood up, took a pen, and approached the map on the wall, drawing a curved line directly on mainland France.

“Let’s start with territory. The map is here for all to see, whoever is interested can circle it first. If there are no objections, it shall pass, any dissent can be discussed afterwards.

This is Austria’s goal—we wish to reclaim our ancestral lands previously occupied by France, namely The Kingdom of Burgundy, the Grand Duchy of Lorraine, and the Alsace province.”

(The Kingdom of Burgundy: today’s Franche-Comté region)

In terms of land area, the regions mentioned total less than fifty thousand square kilometers, not even one tenth of mainland France.

But in calculating value, you can’t just look at land area. Consider the economy and you’ll see—both Alsace and The Kingdom of Burgundy are important industrial and resource areas for France, while Lorraine is a key agricultural area.

Should Austria acquire these regions, France’s industry would shrink by one third, reducing her overall national power by at least a quarter.

Oscar Hemenes bit back his words. As a representative of the Russian Empire, he naturally did not want to see Austria continue to grow stronger, but it was clear that this was not the time to intervene.

The Russian Army was only a sideline player in this war, and as such, did not have much say in the matter. Furthermore, Austria was not going solo—they had garnered the support of Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, and other countries to partition France.

Speaking out now would only serve to create enemies, and it would be utterly pointless.

Oscar Hemenes watched helplessly as the others drew circles on the map, forcibly suppressing his own desires. There was no choice—even if the Russian Empire received an exclave, they didn’t have the capacity to manage it.

The expansion directions for everyone were along their respective homelands, with no conflicts of interest, and with nobody causing trouble, the atmosphere was naturally harmonious.

“If there are no objections, then this will serve as the draft for post-war territorial dispositions. The specifics will be determined later.”

Dividing the spoils is a complex activity, not something just one or two people can accomplish. Each country had brought teams.

Those present were the upper echelons of their nations, who had to maintain their status, setting overarching directions, while the specific details and exchanges of interests were left to their subordinates.

After a pause, Wessenberg looked up and took in the complex expressions of everyone present. He was unconcerned with what they were thinking, as long as there were no objections, that was enough.

“Now, let’s move on to the next item—war reparations. In principle, we still respect the wishes of each nation, determining shares based on the actual situation, as well as the contributions made and sacrifices incurred during the war.

We will now establish the total amount of reparations, starting with the tally of each country’s war losses. I’ll start.

In the past year, Austria in the Anti-French war totaled: 742,300 dead, 2,141,600 wounded, 15.46 million tons of strategic materials consumed, and 66.98 billion Divine Shield spent on war expenses. The direct economic losses amount to 186 billion Divine Shield, with indirect economic losses reaching 564 billion Divine Shield…”

Inflation certainly exists, as Austria’s losses were not fully tallied yet, so how could there be accurate figures?

Aside from casualties, which are difficult to fabricate and largely accurate, the other figures were heavily inflated.

The only certainty everyone could agree on was that, as the main force in the Anti-French war, Austria had indeed incurred substantial costs.

“Belgium in this war totaled two hundred thousand soldiers killed, over five million civilians displaced, civilian casualties surpassing five hundred thousand, and economic losses that are incalculable, preliminarily estimated to be no less than one hundred billion Divine Shield…”

Halfway through speaking, tears involuntarily began streaming down the face of the Belgian delegate. There was no helping it; post-war Belgium was just too miserable.

One could say they had been set back to primitive times overnight, cities turned into ruins, and now, where factories and mines stood against the evening sky, the grass was green and birds sang freely.

Compared to Austria’s inflated losses of over fifty billion, Belgium’s hundred billion loss was the real deal.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to inflate their losses; it simply wasn’t possible. The entire country was gone, the size of the loss was self-evident to everyone.

Out of sympathy for Belgium’s tragic situation, those present wished to offer words of comfort but did not know how to begin.