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Théophile Delcassé stared at von Giedlen Wachth with a face full of panic. Beyond the panic in his eyes was sheer disbelief. He had never imagined that the Germans would propose such terms! The first two conditions alone—55 billion Marks in war reparations and the transfer of all overseas colonies—were already harsh enough.

Yet compared with Germany's demand that France cede the territory north of the Loire River and Corsica, they were like a witch before a giant. France's territory was not large to begin with; if it gave up the land north of the Loire River, it would be tantamount to losing half its territory. What was more, northern and central France were among its most industrially developed regions. Lose those lands, and France would be finished, reduced from a world-class industrial power to an industrial weakling.

Such a France could no longer be considered a world-class power. It could only count as a third-rate small country. By then, France would have no choice but to live under the Germans' thumb, much less seek Vengeance against them. Having lost its most prosperous and developed central and northern regions, France would no longer have the capital to seek Vengeance against Germany.

Only now did Théophile Delcassé understand that Germany had never intended to go easy on France from the very beginning. Their fixed intention had always been to weaken France to the utmost, ensuring that France would no longer pose a threat to Germany.

From the German perspective, this was only proper in order to safeguard their own interests and position. But from the French perspective, such harsh terms were impossible to accept. Accepting them would make France no different from a fallen nation.

"Foreign Minister, aren't these terms far too harsh? You are demanding half of France's territory outright,