The war was over. Once the news spread, all of Europe erupted in jubilation. Over the past year, it was not only the British who had been living on bran and swallowing chaff; the lives of Europe's common people had not been easy either.
Though food was not in short supply, everyone's pockets had taken a severe beating.
The war was to blame. With maritime routes cut off, many industrial raw materials could not be imported. Even when they could be brought in, they had to take detours, and costs inevitably rose.
Apart from the largely self-sufficient Holy Roman Empire and Russia, every other European country had been plagued by shortages of raw materials, forcing enterprises to lay off workers and cut production.
Rising unemployment plus soaring prices naturally made life hard for ordinary people.
Fortunately, Emperor Franz had principles. Not only did he refrain from looting a burning house, he promptly opened the granaries and released vast quantities of food onto the European market, snuffing out the capitalists' hopes of speculation.
The governments of various countries also introduced emergency measures one after another, distributing relief grain to the unemployed and solving the people's problem of finding food.
It was precisely because the food problem had been resolved that the British conspiracy failed to succeed. Otherwise, with the revolutionaries stirring things up, flames of war might truly have risen everywhere.
After enduring a year of hardship, they had finally won the war just as Christmas arrived. It was impossible not to be excited.
Other than the Russian Empire, embroiled in civil war, and defeated Britain, the whole of Europe was immersed in an ocean of celebration.
While the public celebrated, the governments of every country had already become busy. Winning the war did not mean everything was over; one most