The Greedy Napoleon
The next morning, before dawn, Metternich arrived early at the French Army's encampment. Then, escorted by a troop of the French Army cavalry, he went to Napoleon's headquarters again and met Napoleon, who was having breakfast.
"You've come very quickly," Napoleon said with a smile.
"That's because I'm using your time now, General, so I have to be careful," Metternich replied, removing his hat to salute Napoleon.
"It's so early, you probably haven't eaten yet. Why don't you have breakfast with me, and we can talk as we eat?" Napoleon said.
"Thank you very much then." Metternich did not stand on ceremony and sat down at Napoleon's dining table. An orderly brought him breakfast as well.
"Mr. Metternich, you've arrived so early, you must have brought me some good news?" Napoleon said.
"Regarding the peace terms you proposed," Metternich quickly sat up straight and replied, "The Grand Duke and I are not opposed in principle. However, we have some other requests that we would like to discuss with you, General."
Napoleon frowned slightly and said, "I hope you're not intentionally stalling for time. One suggestion, one counter-suggestion, another suggestion, another counter-suggestion, and then time—my time—is wasted like this."
"General, please don't worry. I believe our suggestions and your requests are aligned in direction," Metternich said.
"Tell me about it," Napoleon said, seemingly uninterested, and deliberately took out his pocket watch to glance at it.
"Your Excellency General, your country's technological level is the best in the world. We very much hope to purchase relevant technologies from your country and hope to obtain the same rights as your citizens in this regard," Metternich said.
"Our country has a Patent Law. If you wish to purchase the technology patent, you can talk to the patent holder," Napoleon said, seemingly unconcerned.
"However, the patented technologies we hoped to acquire are basically all in your possession, General," Metternich said.
"This issue, well, in principle, is not a problem. As for the specifics, you can speak with my brother, Joseph Bonaparte." Napoleon then passed the matter on to Joseph. In any case, if Joseph was unwilling to sell, he would naturally refuse them.
"In addition, we hope that your country can impose certain restrictions on arms exports," Metternich said.
"That won't do," Napoleon said immediately. "It would harm our commercial interests. That's unacceptable!"
"We can guarantee that orders from our government will fully compensate for this loss and will also allow your country's relevant companies to obtain greater profits."
"This isn't about money; it's about our business reputation and our political reputation. Our business reputation and political reputation are worth far more than this little bit of money," Napoleon said firmly.
"However, this would constitute interference in my internal affairs, which would also violate the principles of 'mutual respect for territory and sovereignty and non-interference in each other's internal affairs' in the peace treaty signed between your country and the Kingdom of Spain. I believe that these two principles should be the more important political credibility."
"You are right, we must indeed abide by these two principles. However, these two principles are far inferior in legal status to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and the principle of 'human rights above sovereignty' derived from the Declaration of the Rights of Man. We are concerned that if we ban the civilian arms trade, it will bring humanitarian disaster to some areas. I hope your government can understand this perfectly reasonable concern of ours."
The two then engaged in a heated debate on this issue. Finally, Napoleon stated:
"How about this? Based on the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, let's temporarily set aside our differences. Regarding this issue, we can issue a joint statement, in which we individually pledge that France will not seek to implement a long-term policy of selling weapons to certain regions of your country. The weapons we sell to these regions will not exceed the levels of supply in the years immediately following the peace agreement, and we are prepared to gradually reduce arms sales to these regions, leading to a final resolution over time. In return, you pledge to resolve the outstanding issues between you and the local people as peacefully as possible, avoiding a humanitarian crisis caused by non-peaceful means. What do you think? This is the biggest concession I can make."
"General Bonaparte, we have one last request," Metternich said.
"What are the requirements?"
"Some influential figures in our country hope to have the opportunity to invest in the 'Military-Industrial Consortium'," Metternich replied without changing his expression.
Napoleon thought for a moment and replied, "The Military-Industrial Consortium is a consortium of enterprises, but there is no such thing as a 'Military-Industrial Consortium' company or stock. You can invest in some of its companies, as long as you can get the consent of the other shareholders; that's not a problem."
"Isn't your family the largest shareholder?"
"In some companies, yes, but in the entire consortium, our shareholding is not particularly high," Napoleon explained, then added, "If that's the case, can we consider that we have essentially reached an agreement?"
"Yes, Your Excellency General," Metternich replied.
Napoleon glanced at his pocket watch and said, "Because of these negotiations, I have wasted more of my time, so I now need more compensation, both for France and for myself..."
On that very day, Archduke Karl and General Napoleon Bonaparte initialed an agreement on peace between the two countries. According to this agreement, peace would be restored and closer trade relations established. Austria troops would withdraw from all France territory and the territories of France's allies, and Austria would offer its deepest apologies to the France people and other nations who had suffered during the war. Austria also pledged that it would never allow any person or force to use Austria land to engage in activities that endanger the security and stability of France.
By letting Austria go and signing an agreement that neither ceded territory nor paid reparations, France naturally faced some criticism. However, the newspaper Le Soir (Science Truth Daily) was prepared for this. They quickly published an article analyzing the current military situation and pointing out the crucial importance of getting Austria out of the war as soon as possible for France's ultimate victory. Furthermore, France didn't gain nothing; at least, those Royalist Party hiding in Austria would likely have to find another place.
If anyone else had signed this treaty, even with the * Science Truth Daily * newspaper's vehement defense, they would likely have been branded a traitor. However, considering that the initialer was General Napoleon Bonaparte, the republic's war god who had just achieved a great victory and saved the republic more than once, what could anyone say? At most, some might whisper that General Bonaparte's diplomatic skills were perhaps... well, his overall direction wasn't problematic.
After initialing the agreement, Archduke Karl immediately led his army away from Luxembourg and retreated to Kaiserslautern. Napoleon left all the Britain cannons, more than 10,000 experienced Army of the North soldiers, and Soult in Luxembourg to guard against Austria, while he led the rest of his army toward Prussia.
A week later, Napoleon's army approached Cologne, and the Cologne garrison surrendered without a fight. Napoleon stayed in Cologne for a day, where he met the first Prussia envoys seeking peace. However, the Prussia's sincerity in seeking peace failed to sway Napoleon. So Napoleon continued eastward, advancing with unstoppable momentum. Half a month later, his army reached the vicinity of Hanover, where he encountered the newly formed Britain and Prussia allied forces led by Field Marshal von Mollendorf.
The Allied forces numbered approximately 100,000 men, but due to the losses of Britain most elite troops at the Battle Prussia Verdun, this force consisted mostly of poorly trained recruits and was severely lacking in weaponry. They were short of even old-fashioned smoothbore muskets, let alone brand-new Minié Rifle. Their artillery was far fewer than Napoleon's. The prospects for this battle were naturally very bleak for both the Britain and Prussia.
That afternoon, Prussia envoys, carrying authorization from King Frederick William III, arrived at Napoleon's camp to plead for peace.
However, Napoleon's peace terms became even more demanding than in Cologne. He immediately demanded that the Prussia pay 150 million francs, recognize France control over the Rhine River region, including Hanover, and declare war on Britain.
The demand to immediately declare war on Britain was something the Prussia would agree to without batting an eye, and recognizing France control over the Rhine River region, including Hanover, was even less of a problem. However, the 150 million francs in reparations was something the Prussia couldn't afford even if they sold everything they owned. If they had that kind of money, Prussia wouldn't be in such a dire state. In fact, a major reason Prussia was persuaded by the Britain in the first place was precisely because of its financial crisis.
The Prussia envoy pleaded with Napoleon to be Napoleon, explaining that they simply could not afford such a large sum. Napoleon responded that France could lend Prussia the money to cover the huge debt, but only if Prussia used all its national tax revenues as collateral. To put it more precisely, from that moment on, all of Prussia's financial power would be managed by the France.
Finance is the mother of all governance; losing this power is tantamount to the demise of a nation. The Prussia naturally could not agree to such conditions, so Napoleon roared, "Let the cannons and rifles debate with you!" and then drove the Prussia envoy out.