Reincarnated as Nikolai II - Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Each to Their Own Survival (5)
I haven’t seen a treaty this severe except perhaps the Boxer Protocol that Qing signed.

‘But mathematically, reparations aren’t entirely impossible.’

Meaning though it contains many unreasonable contents, Germany might be able to fulfill it if they’re determined.

The Boxer Protocol also set 40-year installment payments for reparations, so why couldn’t Germany do it?

Historically speaking, France was just crazy paying all reparations out of pride after losing the Franco-Prussian War – originally reparations are closer to a device for parasitically eating away at that country.

Setting aside all the political purposes hidden behind the economic clauses, evaluating this from our position.

“Still not bad.”

“…Will Germany really pay reparations?”

Though Count Fredericks harbored doubts about feasibility, I asked him:

“Is that important?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Well, why worry about others when I’m not the one paying?”

If all these words translate to reality and Germany gets beaten, who will they sharpen their revenge blade against?

Obviously the Western world, right?

Above all, what I like is:

“Even pushing such a treaty, it’ll be hard for them to parasitize within Germany. No, they don’t even show the will to parasitize.”

France wanting extermination rather than parasitism, and Britain with already extreme public sentiment.

The two countries decided to eat the corpse instead of rebuilding Germany to suck up their growth.

These clauses are the result.

But I’m different.

“Though fallen, Germany is still an industrial nation. We’re barely shedding our agricultural nation status. Haven’t we confirmed in numbers how well our goods sell in that country even now?”

“…Isn’t that natural to avoid starving to death?”

“Let them starve more. It’s fine if they’re ruined more. Looking at it, food will sell very well going forward.”

We were originally a country with only food to export.

Though we’re now showing somewhat of a middle power appearance, it means we never even fantasized about occupying the fallen German market or pushing them out with technology.

“Then I’ll tell the Prime Minister we don’t oppose this draft.”

“Do so.”

They say a child who’s picky about side dishes only comes to their senses when starved.

After starving for 4 years, Germany has finally returned as a beggar banging their rice bowl.

When Western nations try to tear off Germany’s flesh.

We will feed them.

==

Pyotr Stolypin.

Born in ’62. Participated in agricultural reform in his mid-thirties.

Thus recognized as a member of the “early reformers” from his youth, moved through various key positions and was selected as Minister of Interior, the cabinet’s second-in-command position.

Though still in his fifties, he had become the rotten water in the deep abyss of the imperial government beyond staleness.

That was Stolypin.

Since he joined the cabinet just as Nicholas II began his full reign, his entire career was the empire’s history.

Such oil-like Stolypin, looking at the current Balkan situation.

‘Hmm, must finish and nail everything down before disarmament.’

Those Balkans still had embers remaining despite shedding so much blood.

When such a massive war ends, disarmament is bound to become a global paradigm, a trend beyond fashion.

Naturally the empire is no exception.

“Though it’ll take at least 3 years for lower active duty to push up, ultimately we’ll return to peacetime forces.”

Then 3 years, or conservatively 2 years.

Within these 2 years, must create a plausible structure and unity of Slavic peoples. Even if not unity, must eliminate things causing division.

However, as can be seen just looking at Versailles, treaties satisfying everyone don’t exist in the world.

Especially while there exists a very visible and clear compensation concept called ‘land’, perhaps this dissatisfaction might develop into future hostility.

Even for victorious great power Russia, this post-war settlement was close to high-level surgery that might destroy the worldview of “Slavic peoples.”

Pan-Slavism.

National self-determination applying this concept to all.

But reality was completely different.

“Hard to divide by ethnicity. Hard to divide by historical territory. Frankly, aren’t there no pure nation-states in those Balkan lands?”

Though they roughly grouped South Slavs, East Slavs, West Slavs, everything into Slavs, their language, script, lifestyle, etc. all differ slightly and some even have different skin colors due to long Ottoman Empire influence.

Moreover, though they fought together for nearly 2 years, originally they had fought two consecutive wars before the Great War.

Public sentiment still couldn’t be good, and it was clear they would become violent if not satisfied.

The Balkan reestablishment that will start immediately when Prime Minister Kokovtsov returns.

However, the Balkan Peninsula won’t grow just because Stolypin worries.

In the end, Stolypin felt national self-determination was insufficient to completely extinguish these Balkan embers.

Need something more radical. More threatening claims.

Just as the British Empire always blamed Western Front defeats on the Eastern Front, and Germany randomly grabbed and beat innocent Jews and reds.

Here too in the Balkans, new claims were needed for this national self-determination.

Historically, the Balkans only united when opposing the Ottoman Empire or Austro-Hungarian Empire.

These enemies were external threats that unified the Balkans into one.

And just then, one country caught Stolypin’s eye.

“Hey, Sazonov. What did Britain promise to give Italy for joining the war?”

“Many things? Trentino, South Tyrol, African colonies and ports, Austrian Littoral. I understand they named pretty much everything visible on the map.”

“But we never agreed to such contents.”

“Well, rather than not agreeing, we just didn’t care. After all, Italy’s entry into war at Isonzo in 1915 was ultimately to turn Western Front attention to the Balkans and Constantinople. Well, wasn’t it thanks to the fierce battles of Isonzo that Serbia held on?”

They were useful, but looking back after the war, not entirely welcome guests.

“Even if we block just Albania Kingdom region and Croatian coast Dalmatia from Italian hands, after taking everything else…”

“Beyond backlash, they’ll clearly have a fit. They claim to be masters of the Mediterranean after all.”

This couldn’t be more perfect.

Though increasing enemies couldn’t be good for the empire…

‘Better than the Balkan Wars starting again.’

The more Italy reacts full of anger, the more the Balkans will unite.

And honestly speaking.

‘…How can they not cross one Isonzo in three years.’

In Stolypin’s view, Italy was a country that militarily couldn’t be a threat compared to their weight class.