Harsh Conditions (Please Vote)

"Your Excellency, 20 billion marks are nowhere near enough to compensate for the Empire's losses. 100 billion marks—that is The Empire's Conditions." Wachth shook his head repeatedly.

This was a perfect chance to fleece the French mercilessly. How could they let it slip away so easily? If they did, they might never get another opportunity like this. The Emperor of the Empire's demand was to squeeze every last drop of oil from the French. Even after winning the war, Germany still needed vast sums to restore its domestic economy and absorb the newly acquired territories.

For example, the vast territories Germany had obtained from Russia mostly had poor transportation conditions but abundant resources. To develop those places and make them contribute to Germany's strength rather than become a burden, massive investment was required. Germany could not produce that money itself, so it could only look to war reparations. That was precisely why Germany intended to squeeze these defeated nations dry and obtain as much compensation from them as possible.

"Your Excellency, the reparations your country obtained from Russia totaled only 20 billion marks, did they not? Why should France pay reparations five times greater than Russia's?" Théophile Delcassé said.

"Your Excellency, I can answer that question. First, the harm and losses Russia inflicted upon the Empire were far less than those caused by France. Second, Russia is much poorer than France. Third, although Russia's monetary reparations to the Empire were not much, it compensated us in other ways. For instance, territory. Russia ceded vast tracts of land to the Empire. If France wishes to use territory, like Russia, in exchange for reduced reparations, I have no objection to that." Wachth said with a smile.

Théophile Delcassé immediately fell silent. France's homeland totaled only 500,000 square kilometers. How could it be