Questioning the Emperor

"God! Have those French gone mad? They actually agreed to such harsh demands from the Germans. Did they not know that agreeing to those terms was no different from losing their country? They had lost all their colonies and then half their territory. On top of that, they had been saddled with enormous war reparations. France would utterly sink into a third-rate minor nation!" Crown Prince Karl wore an expression of bitter disappointment, as though he truly regretted that France had agreed to Germany's demands.

"Your Highness, the French had no choice but to accept the Germans' demands! If they refused, the German military would continue its offensive. On the battlefield, the French could no longer withstand the German assault. If they rejected Germany's demands and caused the negotiations to collapse, they would soon be wiped out by the Germans!" Ambassador Juluch said.

"Indeed, Your Highness. If that was the case, then it was understandable. After all, if they accepted Germany's terms, France could still drag out a miserable existence. If Germany declined one day, they might yet have a chance to reclaim their land. But if they were destroyed by Germany, the consequences would be even more severe." Baron von Berchtold, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, said.

"But those damned Germans actually signed a peace treaty with the French behind our backs. Among the benefits France surrendered, there should clearly have been a share for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Yet now, the Germans had swallowed it all alone! They were far too greedy, far too shameless. The Alliance Treaty had stipulated that no country could make a separate peace with the enemy. Yet now, the Germans had gone back on their word!" Crown Prince Karl said through clenched teeth.

After learning that Germany had extracted so many benefits from France, he