November 4, 1919.
After several more weeks of arguments and adjustments, Britain, France, Germany, and Austria finally made enormous progress on the question of peace.
"Lord Freer, once this conference ends, peace should truly be achievable, shouldn't it?" Dutch Prime Minister Keppel said with some emotion.
Freer, his face showing slight fatigue, smiled faintly. "It should be. In truth, this World War was essentially another European War. So long as European society reached a unified consensus, peace would naturally follow."
Since time immemorial, Europeans had either been fighting wars or marching toward one. From the age of ancient Rome to the Middle Ages, then to modern times and even the future, Europe's large-scale wars had never ceased.
The Hundred Years' War between England and France, the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars, the Byzantine-Arab Wars, the Roman-Persian Wars, and the Spanish Reconquista all lasted more than a century. England's conquest of Wales spanned eight centuries—eight hundred full years.
War had become even more frequent in modern Europe, with more participating nations and armies, and deadlier weapons. This World War—what Ernst regarded as the First World War—had once again driven European warfare to a new peak.
Freer sighed deeply. "To keep this conference moving forward, I haven't slept well for over a month. It's hard to imagine what the previous peace conference must have been like."
Prime Minister Keppel smiled bitterly. "I experienced the first peace conference. That one was far more difficult than this one. At the time, the Central Powers and the Entente Powers were both brimming with fury."
"After all, because of the war, everyone's hearts were filled with hatred. The representatives of Britain, France, Germany, and Austria were like explosives that could detonate at any moment."
"Those of us assigned to mediate stayed beside them with our hearts pounding in unease