Chapter 151: The Reflection of the English

Sir Tom leaned over to the Austrian envoy Izvér and whispered softly, "Your Excellency, I believe redeeming over 60,000 battle-hardened veterans for 60 million francs is indeed a very cost-effective measure! After the defeats in Italy, I imagine your country is also in need of manpower. Recruiting new soldiers would also cost money, so why not invest in these ready-made soldiers?"

"We are willing to offer 25 million francs as the ransom. This is our final offer. Anything above this price would be extortion against Austria, and we would rather abandon these soldiers," Lansovici shouted loudly.

The price of 25 million francs was Austria's bottom line. However, this price was clearly insufficient to satisfy France.

"25 million francs is simply too low," Talleyrand shook his head.

After some bargaining, Talleyrand finally relented and agreed to let Austria redeem the prisoners for 30 million francs. This was also France's bottom line, and they would not concede any further.

"Very well," Izvér nodded in agreement.

He knew that at this point in the negotiations, both sides had revealed their bottom lines, and further haggling would be futile.

"Excellent! It looks like both sides have reached an agreement. We can finalize the peace treaty today," Sir Tom said excitedly.

He felt like he was dreaming. The negotiations between France and Austria had been so difficult that Tom felt physically exhausted. Fortunately, this long negotiation was finally coming to an end.

Both France and Austria had resolved all their differences and agreed to terms acceptable to both sides. With the final disagreement over war reparations settled, the negotiations had reached their conclusion.

The next day, the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand and the Austrian Foreign Minister Izvér signed their names on the "Franco-Austrian-Italian Peace Treaty."

The signing of the "Franco-Austrian-Italian Peace Treaty" marked the end of the war between France and Austria. Nearly half a million soldiers from both sides had been involved in the conflict, and the losses on both sides had been devastating.

According to the treaty, the northern Italian region of the Apennine Peninsula, with Venice as the boundary, would belong to Austria. The rest, including Rome, would belong to France. This provision allowed France to regain the territories lost in the previous battles.

At the same time, during the war, France also received a large amount of financial compensation. Austria's payment of 30 million francs to redeem 60,000 prisoners of war was almost equivalent to half a year of France's gross domestic product. With this money, France could undertake extensive infrastructure projects. Even Napoleon's coveted new artillery factories could begin construction.

When the news of the signing of the "Franco-Austrian-Italian Peace Treaty" was reported by the French newspaper "Le Parisien," the entire country rejoiced. Celebratory parades took place in almost all major cities, with people cheering and celebrating the victory their country had achieved in the war.

The Holy Roman Empire was the dominant power in Europe! Now that France had defeated even such a strong country, did this not mean that France had replaced the Holy Roman Empire as the strongest country in Europe?

Although, due to the recent war, people's lives were not yet prosperous; one could even describe them as poor. However, the victory in this war gave the French people hope. They believed that under the wise leadership of Napoleon, France would surely become stronger and that one day they would live better lives.

While the French were celebrating the signing of the "Franco-Austrian-Italian Peace Treaty" and the victory in the war, the Austrians, as the losers of the war, were undoubtedly much more subdued. Austrian newspapers and other media hardly reported any related news. They simply proclaimed that Austria had won the war, claiming they had thwarted France's conspiracies and used diplomatic means to regain Venice.

Indeed, the Austrians also claimed victory in the war. Venice, which France voluntarily relinquished, was portrayed as being recaptured through the cleverness of their diplomats. As for the other regions of Italy, they were deliberately ignored.

On September 11th, the day after the signing of the "Franco-Austrian-Italian Peace Treaty," the French government held a grand banquet, ostensibly to celebrate the end of the war. However, everyone knew it was to celebrate France's victory in the war.

Cabinet ministers, military officials, social elites, and foreign diplomats from various countries were all invited to attend the banquet. Even the defeated Austrians did not refuse to participate in this event.

Austrian diplomat Izvér reluctantly attended the banquet despite his deep anger. After all, the war had ended, and Austria and France had concluded hostilities. For Austria, the hope was to maintain peace for the long term. With Austria's focus shifting to the Middle East, they couldn't afford to deploy too much strength in the West. Improving relations with France was crucial.

The grand banquet was set to take place in Paris, the capital of France. France spared no effort in organizing the event, aiming to showcase their victory across Europe.

In a luxurious building on the Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin in Paris, British diplomat Sir Tom was meticulously arranging his attire. As a British gentleman, he wouldn't allow any missteps in his appearance.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Sir Tom noted that it was only five o'clock in the afternoon, with two hours remaining until the start of the banquet. There was no need to rush.

"Prepare the carriage; we'll depart in half an hour," Sir Tom instructed.

"Yes, Your Excellency," the secretary immediately arranged everything.

Half an hour later, Sir Tom descended the stairs and boarded the carriage. Slowly, the carriage made its way towards the Palace of Versailles, the venue for the banquet.

Through the carriage window, Sir Tom observed the bustling crowds on the street. The sun was beginning to set, and workers were heading home, making the streets quite crowded. Sir Tom could sense the deep excitement and joy in the hearts of the French people from their faces.

Yesterday, the entire city of Paris had held a massive victory parade, with countless Parisians voluntarily taking to the streets to cheer for their triumph. All of this made Sir Tom, as an Englishman, realize that the French had emerged from the chaos of the Bourbon monarchy and the French Revolution.

Having escaped the chaos, there was no doubt they had embarked on a path of resurgence. But for the British Empire, would this be a threat?

"France has always been a powerful nation, and now this ancient country has been awakened once again. This may not be a good thing for the British Empire. British interests in Europe will face a huge threat. If possible, Europe should unite and form an alliance to contain this country, suppress France, and cut off their hopes of rising. Otherwise, this could become a disaster for the entire Europe," Sir Tom murmured.

As an old adversary of France, the British understood the potential of this country more than anyone else. Although the Bourbon monarchy had caused chaos, France had managed to overcome it with its inherent resilience.

"Ah! It's all because of those damn Turks. If they hadn't started the war and invaded Egypt, Britain could have joined Austria in opposing France. If Britain and Austria, these two powerful nations, had united, France would surely have been suppressed without even a chance to turn over," Sir Tom muttered.

From a British perspective, he attributed all the blame to the Turks, and rightly so.