Frankfurt, temporary conference center of the German Confederation.
(This place changed often; otherwise, the other states in the Confederation wouldn't agree. This mainly referred to Prussia.)
What did ten million pounds amount to? It was equivalent to two years of U.S. government revenue at the time, or half a year's revenue for Prussia. Even for the entire German Confederation, it was no small sum.
"One million florins."
Prince Metternich, representing the Austrian Empire, immediately countered with another figure. One million florins was equivalent to one hundred thousand pounds, or one-tenth of what Palmerston had proposed.
The moment negotiations began, the two sides' exchange left many people dumbfounded. The representatives of many small states thought there was no way they could reach an agreement and that, in the end, they would still have to go to war.
But that had nothing to do with them. After all, they didn't even have navies. Only a few of the German States had navies: Austria, Prussia, Hanover, and Denmark. The rest either had none or had ones that were a joke.
In truth, most countries not only didn't want to fight a war, they were even less willing to pay for one. It was just that the situation at home left them no choice but to show up.
As a result, the delicatessens near the meeting hall sold out of food. After all, when these gentlemen had nothing to do, they liked to gnaw on a pig's trotter or tuck into a chicken leg.
And where there was meat, how could there not be fine wine? With wine and meat, how could there not be a beauty to keep them company? That, however, was something they truly didn't dare do. Women had very low social status at the time; if they actually called in