Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1439 - 1345: Entering the Game

Chapter 1439: Chapter 1345: Entering the Game

It should be noted that although Venice was one of the main battlefields in the last Anti-French Alliance, its relatively prosperous Venice City, Treviso, and other places were not affected by war.

Moreover, the main force fighting in Northern Italy was the Austrian Army, while the Russian Army only passed through a few times. As a result, France demanded a war indemnity of 12 million francs for Venice.

With a proud demeanor, Count Saigul continued, “Pay a war indemnity of 4 million francs to Milan…”

The Foreign Minister of Milan felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this.

In the last war, the Russian Army never even set foot on Milan’s territory. They only intercepted a few Milanese merchant convoys in Switzerland and killed over 20 Milanese soldiers in battle.

Demanding 4 million for that is truly a bit harsh.

Count Saigul then read out the largest indemnity: “Pay a war indemnity of 32 million francs to our country.”

He gave a light cough and glanced at the Foreign Minister of Russia: “And, Russia must immediately withdraw from the Anti-French Alliance and promise to never form any alliance with England or Austria in any form.

“Russia must prohibit selling any military supplies to England. The Mediterranean Security Organization will set up an inspection station in Riga to inspect all Russian ships entering the Baltic Sea…”

This refers to “military supplies,” but if such an agreement were indeed signed, France would have the final say on what counts as military supplies. Timber can be used to build warships, iron ingots to make guns and artillery, and fur to make military uniforms, so nothing should be shipped to England.

With France taking the lead, other member countries of the Mediterranean Security Organization began making exorbitant demands, from trade terms, military scale, to diplomatic restrictions, treating Russia like a third-rate country to “bully.”

By the time all countries on the French side had finished speaking, Voronzo’s face had turned livid.

In fact, the war indemnity proposal alone already exceeded Russia’s acceptable range—if Russia could produce more than 70 million francs, it would have defeated Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and other countries long ago, without needing to endure this humiliation here.

As for military force restrictions, it was even more impossible.

Restricting Russia’s army to less than 120,000 men is more painful than not letting them drink alcohol.

Voronzo gritted his teeth and continued the negotiation process, reading out Russia’s demands: “…No country in the Mediterranean Security Organization should aid Poland, the Ottoman Empire, or Persia.

“All countries must recognize Russia’s territorial claims to the Western Dnieper River, Moldavia, Transcaucasia, and other areas…

“Russia should have unrestricted navigation rights through the Mediterranean Sea routes… and resume normal trade with the countries involved in the negotiations…”

Thus ended the first day of negotiations.

Completely speaking different languages, no conditions reached any agreement.

Yes, Joseph knew very well that Russia would never accept such terms, so his aim was to drag England down into negotiations gradually.

That afternoon, Voronzo sent the terms offered by the Mediterranean Security Organization via the Sharp Signal Tower in Northern Italy to Udine. The Russian diplomat, who had been waiting there, then took the negotiation details on horseback to Klagenfurt, where an Austrian signal tower relayed the message to Iasi on the Western Black Sea.

Two days later, Alexander I saw these outrageous ceasefire terms and immediately flew into a rage, shouting to his guard, “Bring Lord Hawkesburg to see me!”

The British Foreign Minister had arrived in Saint Petersburg two days prior, proposing to continue the Anglo-Russian anti-French alliance and offering Russia a loan of 400,000 pounds.

At the time, considering the two-front situation, Alexander I believed 400,000 pounds was far from enough to turn the tide, so he politely declined the British proposal.

But now, the harsh terms proposed by France, Spain, and those small Italian countries made him change his mind.

Three hours later.

In the Saint George Hall of the Winter Palace, Lord Hawkesburg looked at the clause “Russia is prohibited from selling any military supplies to England,” and his eyelid couldn’t help but twitch.

He immediately bowed to the Tsar and said, “Your Majesty, the fact is, only England is your most loyal friend. These people only want to destroy the great Russia.”

Alexander I, still angry, directly laid his cards on the table: “But the aid you offer is far from enough for me to repel the enemies in Minsk and Zanjan.”

Yes, currently the Gudovich Corps had retreated to Zanjan, with the core city of Tbilisi in Transcaucasia just behind them.

Lord Hawkesburg secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “I can request Congress to increase the loan amount to 700,000 pounds and simultaneously provide supplies to General Kutuzov from the Baltic Sea.”

Once the British fleet reached Riga, it could supply Minsk through the Dnieper River with much higher efficiency than transporting from Saint Petersburg.

Alexander I summoned Arakcheev, Rumyantsev, and other officers for a detailed discussion, concluding that the British terms were acceptable.

That night, Alexander I had Britain’s terms sent to Voronzo, ordering him to cease negotiations immediately if the French did not make significant concessions.

Meanwhile, Lord Hawkesburg also sent a message to Sir Greg, who was in Milan, urging him to disrupt the negotiations there as much as possible.

Milan.

After two days of back-and-forth bargaining, Voronzo suddenly raised his demands, calling for the removal of all war indemnities, military limitations, and other conditions, or else he would immediately return to Saint Petersburg.

Count Saigul immediately judged that the British had entered the game.

After that day’s negotiation meeting ended, he immediately arranged a secret meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister.

The Crown Prince’s task for him was to delay the Russians as much as possible without scaring off the British.

He felt as if he were a decoy at an auction, needing to raise the price to the highest while making sure he wasn’t the last bidder.

In a carriage on the outskirts of Milan, Count Saigul earnestly looked at Voronzo: “You know, the Crown Princess has made great efforts for the peace between our two countries.

“Under her persuasion, the Crown Prince has broadly agreed to your demands, but the clause prohibiting sales of military supplies to England must be retained. In exchange, our country will also stop supporting Poland.

“Of course, the resumption of trade, due to the need for a unified vote by all members of the common market, might be difficult to pass.”

Voronzo’s eyes immediately brightened, not expecting Princess Alexandra could make France significantly retreat in its stance; if so, reaching a truce agreement would undoubtedly be more beneficial.

After all, this was “in hand,” while accepting British aid would require continuing to fight two very tough wars to possibly defeat countries like Poland.