"Of course there are benefits, because what is the biggest cake after the war? That is the plan for national reconstruction!"
"How many railways, bridges, telegraph networks and other infrastructure need to be rebuilt? Shouldn't the cities and factories destroyed by the war be rebuilt?"
"Who should be responsible for such a big business? Who should manage the bidding? Who should the National Bank's reconstruction loan be issued to? Aren't these benefits?"
"Choose me, and your interests will be guaranteed! Yes, you will indeed lose your noble title for a period of time at the beginning, but I can guarantee that as long as you support me, I will not let you lose your noble capital again. !”
"I will make you richer than when you were in the empire. The power of capital will control this country invisibly, but you will still be the best among men!"
"What is the ideal of reviving the empire? As long as we have the power of capital, as long as we indirectly control the empire, there will always be opportunities in the future!"
"Don't hesitate. You don't have any other candidates. Choose Trochu? Or choose the 26-member group? They have failed and their reputation has been completely destroyed!"
"After repeated failures, the people no longer believe in them, and no more votes will be cast for them!"
"What other choice do you have? Who else but me? Don't forget, it was me who supported the Republic with dignity that night when the empire collapsed. Without my help that night, I am afraid that the internal strife in Congress would have destroyed the temporary government!"
"Me! It was me, Thiers, who stabilized people's hearts at the most critical moment, and it was me who saved the lives of countless members of Congress in times of crisis! That's why I have the support of the most members of Congress!"
"Who else has such a high prestige as me? Please tell me, who still has it!"
"Haha, I saw a name in your eyes. Is it Gambida? I have to admit that Gambida did work hard and made great achievements. He did play very well in the south!"
"It's a pity that he has always been outside the center of power. He has no foundation in Congress! It is difficult for him to form an overwhelming advantage in Congress. Therefore, it is said that Gambetta can only be prime minister, but absolutely not president. This is There’s a big difference!”
"The more important point is, can Gambetta guarantee the interests of your royalists? You need to think carefully about this!"
They are all smart people, so there is no need to talk for this reason. The royalists finally joined Thiers' chariot at the end of 1870. The biggest gambler in France during the Franco-Prussian War finally got the final bargaining chip.
It was already mid-December, and the fighting in Paris was intermittent. It was not that both sides had good intentions, but that the heavy snow that had lasted for several days had frozen people's will to fight.
With the support of the Royalists, a huge force, Thiers confidently watched the negotiations between the Provisional Government and Bismarck.
This was a very difficult negotiation. The Bismarck Lion asked for a war compensation of one billion francs. At the same time, Xiao Letian also joined in the fun and asked France to provide a compensation of 600 million francs.
Even Councilor Favre could not accept such conditions even if he died. The two sides launched an arduous tug-of-war, often nagging like a woman haggling in a vegetable market.
Negotiations are always characterized by quarrels, stalemates, and cold wars... and even fierce quarrels. There have even been violent clashes with negotiators from both sides throwing documents at each other.
This drama lasted from November to the end of December, and it was not until three days before Christmas that an agreement was finally reached. The French Provisional Government agreed to compensate Prussia for war compensation of 200 million francs, while the Chinese only received 60 million francs in compensation.
Such armistice conditions made many Prussian and Chinese officials very dissatisfied. For a while, the Palace of Versailles was filled with protests.
However, Xiao Letian and Bismarck calmed down uncharacteristically, and instead of refuting, they signed the temporary truce draft with Congressman Favre in the Hall of Mirrors.
On the day the draft was signed, the Palace of Versailles was filled with murderous atmosphere. All the officers except Xiao Letian and Bismarck glared angrily. Even when Senator Favre's carriage stopped at the entrance of the palace, more than 500 officers and soldiers gathered at the gate and shouted: Demonstration without saying a word.
Even at the same time as the draft was signed, a small military parade was temporarily organized in the garden of the Palace of Versailles. More than a thousand officers and soldiers performed murderous formations and fired live ammunition at the same time.
It was the end of December, and in such a cold weather, Councilor Favre kept wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and shouting that he was really afraid that those crazy Junker military nobles would rush in and start a mutiny.
Bismarck saw Favre's timidity and said with a smile, "Dear Mr. Congressman, no soldier in Prussia or the Chinese dares to disobey my orders and the orders of the Führer!"
"As long as we sign the military order, they will execute it unconditionally. Please don't worry!"
Xiao Letian's interest didn't seem to be in the treaty at all. After signing it hastily, he stood up and looked at the murals on the wall, not even bothering to give Favre a good look.
"The treaty has been signed. The city walls and all the bastions of Paris will be handed over to us this afternoon... Let us provide security for this Christmas!" Xiao Letian said coldly.
Favre and his secretary put away the draft of the armistice agreement and stood up, "We will return to the city immediately to rule General Trochu... But we need supplies. The citizens in the city are already very hungry. Please..."
At this time, Old Moltke suddenly raised his hand to stop him, "We will open up railways and roads and allow supplies from all over France to enter the city. That's it. Do you still expect us to give you military rations?"
"You know, your compensation is not enough to protect our military expenses! Don't imagine that we will give in again!"
Hitting a hard nail, Favre sighed, "Then please connect the telegraph line first, and at least restore the telegraph network in Paris and France..."
Bismarck nodded, "That's okay, I'll give the order right away! I hope the people in the French provinces haven't forgotten you yet!"
Amidst the sounds of acting practice, the pale Favre returned to Paris. The big shots in the Hall of Mirrors stood in front of the windows and watched Favre's carriage go further and further away, and people's expressions became more and more relaxed.
Marshal Steinmetz had just arrived in Versailles ten days ago. He had been clearing out the resistance forces in northwest France. At this moment, there were no large French troops with regiments or above in northwest France, and basic order had been restored.
The old marshal had not experienced previous negotiations and was very puzzled when faced with this compensation: "Why only 200 million? Why only 200 million francs?"
"It's only eight million pounds, what is this enough for?"
Xiao Letian chuckled, "It's not a lot. Eight million pounds is enough for Prussia to build a deep blue navy that can attack and defend. You must know that the actual cost of my Zhiyuan, an experimental warship, does not exceed 600,000 pounds. In the future, It’s no problem to control the mass production cost at 4 to 50 million!”
"Eight million pounds is still too little? That's fifty million taels of silver, which is equivalent to more than seventy million Chinese dragon-patterned silver coins!"
Marshal Steinmetz frowned and said, "Not enough, too little! We in Prussia have spent more than this amount for this war. We cannot do business at a loss!"
