Great Warlord: The Second Ancestor of the Empire

After calming down, George V turned his head to look at William II, who still had not spoken.

"Dear Majesty William, what are the conditions of your Hans Empire?" George V asked, looking at the initiator of all this.

William II smiled even more when he heard George's resentful tone.

"Our Hans Empire's requirements are much simpler. We only want southeastern Africa and Madagascar."

With that said, William II asked someone to hang the map on the wall.

"Of course, our Hans Empire is still very reasonable. We only need Southeast Africa and Madagascar, as well as Cameroon and Togo in Central Africa. We will give them as gifts to the John Empire and the Gallic Empire."

Looking at the map hanging up by William II, George V and Poincaré looked at each other, and both of them saw a trace of unwillingness in each other's eyes.

But, how to put it, although the Hans Empire's demands for territory made them feel painful, compared with Karl I and the Ottomans, William II's requirements were not so difficult to accept.

In the entire Southeast Africa, the only valuable one is South Africa, which is located in the southernmost part of Africa.

There are gold and diamond mines there.

However, South Africa is another tough problem, and rebellions break out from time to time, requiring the John Empire to send troops from the mainland to suppress it.

Especially the Zulu and Boer people in northeastern South Africa, they were also a headache for the John Empire.

It is worth mentioning that the Boers are white people, formed by the immigrant descendants of the Dutch, Gauls, and Hans.

Among them, Hans descendants account for the vast majority, so the Boers are naturally inclined to the Hans Empire.

This is very uncomfortable.

Behind every Boer rebellion, there seems to be a shadow of the Hans Empire.

Therefore, when William II proposed that he wanted southeastern Africa, George V only felt a little pain in his heart, but he did not feel that this was a condition that could not be negotiated.

When William II saw that George V and Poincaré did not object to his first point, he knew that there was something wrong with this matter.

However, his conditions were more than just these, and then he continued: "In addition, the second one is that our Hans Empire also wants to go to the territories of the three Low Countries."

"Third, dismantle the defensive fortresses of the Gallic Empire on the borders of Sedan, Metz, Lorraine, and Alsace."

"Fourth, the Gallic Empire reduced the size of its army, and the total number of the army could not exceed 30."

"Fifth, the John Empire reduces the size of its navy. The total tonnage of the navy cannot exceed 150 million tons."

"Sixth, the Allies need to pay a total of 10.8 billion Imperial Marks to the Hans Empire."

William II did not give George V and Poincaré any time to react, and stated all his demands in one breath.

William II and George V were stunned.

First, let’s analyze all the terms of Wilhelm II.

The first of them has already been mentioned. The Hans Empire demands southeastern Africa. Both the John Empire and the Gallic Empire feel that this item can be discussed.

But the second one is that the Hans Empire seeks the territory of the three Low Countries. From this point on, the John Empire and the Gallic Empire feel that they cannot talk.

The Three Low Countries refer to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg between the Hans Empire and the Gallic Empire on the northern border.

Although these three countries were not large in area, they effectively separated the Hans Empire and the Gallic Empire. The only direct border between the Gallic Empire and the Hans Empire was the more than two hundred kilometers in eastern Gaul.

If the Three Low Countries were surrendered to the Hans Empire, not only would the border between the two countries be more than doubled, but the border would also be only about 200 kilometers away from Paris.

Moreover, these two hundred kilometers are still a large plain, which is easy to attack but difficult to defend.

Therefore, the Gallic Empire would not agree to this.

Apart from this, after a series of operations such as dismantling defensive fortresses and disarmament, the Gallic Empire has really become a dish in the bowl of Hans Empire.

The national borders have increased, there are no defensive fortresses, and there are insufficient troops. Doesn't this mean that the borders of the Gallic Empire may be breached by the Hans Empire?

If William II's request is really followed, once there is another conflict with the Hans Empire, the soldiers of the Hans Empire can easily break through the defense line and reach Paris within three days.

Therefore, except for the first one and the subsequent one of compensation, the Gallic Empire cannot agree to any of these conditions.

The same is true for John Empire.

The first and last items can be discussed, but the rest cannot.

Especially the one about limiting the size of the navy. You must know that the reason why John's Empire is still the world's hegemon is because he still has a powerful navy in his hands.

If even the navy, the foundation for its survival, is given away, what capital does the John Empire have to become a world hegemon?

Therefore, regarding the conditions of the Hans Empire, George V was only prepared to discuss the first and second items with William II.

And as William II who proposed all this, doesn’t he know?

No, of course William II knew, but he still had to put forward these conditions.

why? Because he was afraid that if he only proposed what he wanted, the John Empire and the Gallic Empire would bargain with him.

Therefore, he planned to directly raise the conditions, and then use some harsh conditions to make concessions to the John Empire and the Gallic Empire in exchange for the territory and funds he wanted.

In fact, William II knew very well before the start of this peace negotiation that he was unlikely to get European territory.

Therefore, his bottom line is to guarantee compensation for Southeast Africa and one billion Reichsmarks.

This is his bottom line.

The empire needed overseas territories, and it also needed a lot of money to restore the national economy.

Otherwise, it would be meaningless for the Hans Empire to fight this war.

This negotiation method of asking for extremely high conditions and then bargaining was something Lin Yi taught him when he and Lin Yi were chatting in the past two days.

Looking at George V and Poincaré who wanted to overturn the table just after hearing the conditions, William II raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Then, he pressed his hands down to signal George V and Poincaré to calm down.

When the two saw William's gesture, they also stopped and looked at William.

William II smiled lightly, and then said: "Everyone, please be patient, this is just a condition of the Hans Empire."

"And in negotiations, shouldn't it be for me to put forward my conditions, and for you to put forward yours, and then the two parties keep communicating, and finally reach a treaty?"

"Why, you two want to overturn the table after hearing the conditions? Are you so insincere?"

"If there is really no sincerity, then why did you call us here? Can't we just go back and continue fighting?"

After hearing William II's words, Poincaré and George realized that whether it was the Hans Empire or the Ottomans, what they proposed was only their conditions. Which of these conditions can be agreed to, and which ones can be agreed after modification, will only be known after negotiation.

When they thought of this, William II and Poincaré also calmed down.