Mediterranean Hegemony Road

During the Paris Peace Conference, Paris can be said to be a riot of demons, with countries cooperating vertically and horizontally, and means emerging one after another.

In just a few days, the Bulgarian delegation has been in contact with all the delegations, some of them are very happy, and some are glaring at each other. There are all kinds of expressions in the world!

On October 21, 1917, the Paris Peace Conference officially kicked off at the Palace of Versailles. French President Poincaré took the opportunity of delivering the opening speech to give a long speech.

Especially the sentence Born out of injustice, die in disgrace! The peaceful atmosphere of the peace meeting was completely destroyed. Everyone knew that the French would not let the Germans go this time!

Constantine's face was also very embarrassed at this time. Although Bulgaria's strategy was to allow the French to expand in Europe, the French couldn't make food so ugly, right?

No matter how much you are dissatisfied with the Germans, don't say it now, you can wait until later at the meeting to slaughter the Germans, and everyone will be more able to accept it!

Dissatisfaction returns to dissatisfaction, and no one bothers with the French over this trivial issue.

As the host, French Prime Minister Clemenceau was elected president of the conference as head of the French delegation.

Clemenceau said solemnly: The weather is good today! The world war provoked by the ambitions of the Allies has finally ended with the joint efforts of all of us!

But the culprit is still at large, I propose to give the brains of the Allies - Germany, with the most severe sanctions!

1. Explain all the armies of the German government;

2. Confiscation of all German heavy weapons;

3. Demolition of German military facilities and military industrial enterprises;

4. Let Poland and Bavaria become independent;

5. France takes back Alsace and Lorraine,

Move the borders of France eastward to the Rhine and combine the German provinces on the left bank of the Rhine into a single independent state;

6. The Germans must pay war reparations of 8ooo billion gold marks;

7. Arrest all war criminals, and the Allied nations will jointly form an international tribunal for trial;

 …”

Konstantin just sat quietly and did not speak out, but the venue had already exploded, and the delegations of various countries were already whispering to each other and discussing.

There is no doubt that according to the requirements of the French, the German Empire is finished this time. A Germany that has been divided into four and has also been emptied of its wallet has no ability to threaten the French any more.

At the same time, the purpose of the French to restore European hegemony is also revealed.

There are no Americans who strongly oppose it in this space and time, and there is not even a US delegation in the venue. Long before the meeting began, the three countries of Britain, France, and Bulgaria had restricted their eligibility to participate in the meeting, only limited to members of the Allied countries.

Seeing that there was no objection, Clemenceau turned his attention to the British and Bulgarian delegations. As long as they did not object to the Germans this time, it was over.

Metev, who was looking through the list of war criminals, suddenly said, Mr. Clemenceauyan, there is no problem with holding the war criminals accountable, but isn't this list too much?

According to international law, the monarchs of various countries have immunity, and we cannot take the German emperor to court. Therefore, we propose to remove members of the royal family such as Wilhelm II from the list of war criminals, and just pursue others!

Clemenceauyan, who originally thought that Bulgaria would oppose it, was relieved. Obviously, the Bulgarians were showing their favor.

Of the so many conditions proposed by the French, any rejection would be troublesome for the French. Only war criminals can be negotiated. Anyway, letting someone go will not affect the interests of France.

Clemenceauyan smiled and replied: The list of war criminals is only a preliminary draft by us, and everyone can continue to discuss and negotiate, and then make a final decision!

Then Metev nodded in satisfaction, and the Bulgarian delegation fell silent again.

This made the British vomit blood, and it was not their family's business to restrict the French from dominating Europe. I didn't expect the Bulgarians to let the French go so easily.

Thinking of the British Lloyd-George's face suddenly gloomy, did the Bulgarians and the French have reached a deal to join forces to carve up the European Big 6?

This is the worst possible outcome, they have to stop the French from dominating Europe anyway, so who are their allies now?

Russia? The three Russian delegations gathered in Paris a few days ago, and the jokes that have been made are still not over yet, because they simply have no strength to stop the French.

What about the Austro-Hungarian Empire? This time the Austro-Hungarian Empire has offended the Germans badly. They now think that they want Germany to die. How can they give the Germans a chance to make a comeback?

After looking around, he could only go on his own, otherwise the French's goal would be achieved. Under Lloyd-George's suggestion, British Foreign Secretary Gray objected: Mr Clemenceauyan, your country The conditions put forward are too harsh, and the Germans have no way to do it!

First, once the German government disbands the army, the country will soon fall into chaos, and a chaotic Germany is not in everyone's interest.

Secondly, the German Empire is a unified country, we cannot break them up, it is very inhumane.

In the end, for the indemnity of 800 million gold marks, even if you sold all the Germans, you can't come up with this huge sum of money!

God taught us to be generous, why can't we give the Germans a chance?

Clemenceau said tit for tat: There is always a price to be paid for wrongdoing, otherwise will the latecomers follow suit?

Mr. Gray's fear of chaos in Germany was overthinking. As a friendly neighbor, the French army could help them maintain order free of charge.

In this way, they save the military expenditure, and can also use it to improve people's livelihood!

As for worrying about the repayment ability of the Germans, don't worry about this, they can make installments, and they can also use physical mortgages. With the economic strength of the Germans, I believe they will be able to pay off the arrears soon!

Gray glared angrily and said angrily, Don't forget that we are here today for peace, not for revenge! Now your country's demands are completely forcing the Germans to a dead end, please put away the aggressor's face!

Clemenceau sneered and said, If you say that, who can compare with your country? Could it be that your country's tens of millions of square kilometers of colonies fell from the world?

...

Seeing the quarrel between Britain and France, the delegations from various countries directly laughed at the joke. Constantine couldn't stand it any longer, and once became a peacemaker: The two of you should calm down first, the German issue is too controversial. Big, you might as well calm down and think about it first, we will discuss it later, now that the time is almost up, let’s go to the congregation today!”

Everyone naturally agreed with kindness, and then everyone started diplomacy again, but the result still did not change.

For several days, Britain and France were quarreling at the meeting, and their little brothers were waving flags and shouting. The chaotic meeting place was tiresome, maybe everyone was tired.

On October 25, Constantine proposed to put aside the German issue for the time being and deal with the Italian issue first, which was unanimously approved by everyone.

Or maybe everyone felt that the number of people was too large, which delayed the process of the meeting. In the end, everyone decided to reduce the size of the meeting, that is, two from each of Britain, France, and Bulgaria, one from each of the Russian Empire, Japan, and Belgium, and this nine-member group discussed.

The Italian issue was undoubtedly only a matter of Britain, France, and the three countries. In the end, the three countries closed their doors and negotiated on their own, excluding the representatives of the other three countries.

The process of this meeting will be much faster. Since the Italian battlefield is dominated by Bulgaria, Constantine spoke first on behalf of Bulgaria: This time I will start first, Italy is one of the culprits of this war. , we propose to cede part of their territory, and then divide it up among our three countries, and let them pay a war reparation!

This request is expected by everyone, and it is a European practice to cede land and pay indemnity. It is not surprising.

After a pause, Constantine continued: As the party who contributed the most to the Italian war, we demand the Sarentina Peninsula and Sicily, and demand that the Italians pay 300 million pounds of war reparations!

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, John Bull jumped out and objected. Lloyd-George objected: Your request, Your Excellency Constantine, is too much. This has already harmed the interests of the British Empire. We cannot accept it!

Constantine said with a smile: Don't worry, Mr. George, everyone may put forward their own requirements, everyone is negotiating, and try to satisfy everyone as much as possible. If it doesn't work, you can make compensation elsewhere!

Lloyd-George is like swallowing a fly now, feeling very disgusting. If you could discuss it, you would have said it earlier, he thought Bulgaria was going to come out and compete with them in the Mediterranean?

Lloyd-George thought about it and said, Well, we in the British Empire demand Sicily and Sardinia, and we demand that the Italians pay 1.5 billion pounds in war reparations!

Poengale also said: We, the French Republic, demand the acquisition of Sardinia and the Duchy of Milan, push the French-Italian border along the Ada River, and demand that the Italians pay 2.5 billion pounds of war reparations!

Originally, Poengale still wanted to play Sicily, but seeing that the British and Bulgarians were both fighting, and seeing that the opportunity was small, he decisively chose to give up.

Constantine smiled and said: Mr. George, it seems that the disputes between us are not big. The contradiction between us is Sicily, and the dispute between President Puengale and you is Sardinia, so other proposals Passed, we just need to discuss the ownership of these two islands now!

Poengale immediately echoed: Yes, the dispute between our three countries is the issue of the ownership of these two islands!

Lloyd-George immediately reacted. This was a trick. The French and Bulgaria had reached an exchange of interests on the Italian issue and recognized each other's interests.

However, I am not willing to be manipulated like this. If they continue, maybe they will have to fight soy sauce this time, and immediately retorted: No, although the Italians have made some mistakes, we can't beat them to death with a single stick. , should give them a chance, we propose to keep the Italians intact!

Constantine said very dissatisfiedly: Mr. George, your actions are typical of harming others and not oneself. If we all demolish each other like this, in the end, everyone will get nothing, and only bystanders will benefit!

Instead, it is better for everyone to cooperate. We have all suffered heavy losses in this war, and we urgently need to make up for our vitality. If we don't make a fortune from the defeated country, we will have no chance in the future!

Many times, when the window paper is pierced, things become simpler. Constantine's meaning is very obvious. If the British continue to tear down the platform, everyone will break up, and no one should think about splitting the spoils after this war. , get enough benefits!

And it also won the support of the French. Lloyd-George knew that if he continued to oppose it, it was estimated that the Bulgarians and the French would forcibly divide Italy. Now that the Mediterranean Sea is still the territory of the two countries, they can do it!

Lloyd-George thought about it, and now it's a good compromise. After all, Sicily and Sardinia are two pieces of fat, especially Sicily, which is in the center of the Mediterranean. After getting it, they have a crumbling dominant position in the Mediterranean. , and stabilized again.

But it is not so simple to really get it. After all, Sicily is very high in terms of economic value and strategic value. It is impossible for the Bulgarians to let go without enough interest in exchange!

Well, we can recognize your interests, but the British Empire must get Sicily and Sardinia! Lloyd-George said beyond doubt

Constantine said calmly: Then Mr. George will make an offer, you know the value of Sicily, even ten Sarentina Peninsulas can't compare!

If your country wants to get Sicily, you must pay enough compensation to Bulgaria, or we can share Sicily!

Lloyd-George's face collapsed instantly, sharing Sicily, how is this possible? The mainland of Bulgaria is so close to Sicily, if the two countries share it, it is estimated that it will become Bulgarian in a few years!

However, it is not so easy to compensate for the benefits. The value of Sicily is too great, and they cannot let them go.

Lloyd-George said tentatively: All the colonies in Italy belong to your country, including the colonial rights of Ethiopia!

Constantine smiled and said: If that's the case, why don't you give us Sicily, how about your country get those areas, and our colonies can be chosen by your country except for the peninsula of Asia Minor?

Lloyd-George rolled his eyes, the meaning is very obvious, the only thing that is worthwhile in Bulgaria's colonies is the Asia Minor peninsula, and the rest of the area is a piece of rotten land. If it weren't for the British Empire, it would be your share. What? As long as he is not stupid, it is impossible to exchange with Bulgaria!

After thinking about it, Lloyd-George asked back: Mr. Constantine, tell me straight, what do you want? If possible, I think we can still cooperate!

It would be Konstantin's turn to be dumbfounded. He wasn't ready for this. He was testing it today, but he didn't expect the French to cooperate so well!

Bulgaria and France have reached an agreement directly on the Italian issue. This time the British will not give in, but what to exchange with the British is another problem!

If the asking price is too high, John Bull will definitely disagree. If the asking price is too low, Bulgaria will suffer too much. I can't think of it for the time being, so I can only drag it!

Constantine thought for a while and said, I think it will be better for our two countries to communicate slowly on this issue. Now it's better to finalize the Italian issue first!

Lloyd-George nodded, acquiescence!

...

Genius website address: . Mobile version reading website: