The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 2332: Banquet in Sanssouci Palace 2



"Actually, at least, we must ensure the atmosphere of the banquet." It is naturally impossible for the Grand Duke of Baden to analyze Mackensen's attitude through a few words from Xiao Maoqi, but he reminded Xiao Maoqi that we must pay attention to the atmosphere of the banquet tonight. , It’s really not good, everyone just eat and drink.

Before the banquet, the Grand Duke of Baden coordinated with the Kaiser for the last time, and after explaining the precautions, the banquet began. The German emperor naturally sits in the main seat, the first on the left is the Grand Duke of Baden, the second is the small Mochi, the first on the right is Mackensen, and the second is Albrecht. This is not to say that the current candidate for the chief of staff of Mackenson has a higher status than the latter. This is completely proposed by the Duke himself. After all, during the war before, Mackenson’s position was higher than that of the Duke. There is no war anymore, but it can be regarded as a face to the former colleagues! Anyway, this is an informal banquet, so don’t be so serious.

After a brief greeting and a few symbolic mouthfuls, after a few drinks, the Kaiser signaled that Duke Baden could start, and the Duke stabilized his emotions and prepared to talk about today's topic.

"Just two days ago, the German Empire won another major victory. The British had agreed to our request in principle and provided the first compensation according to our plan. Within a month, the Empire will receive more than 1 Billion pounds of funds, raw materials and equipment."

"So how to allocate the funds has become a very important issue. On behalf of His Majesty the Kaiser, I have discussed with representatives of various parties and won the support of the Reichstag. However, in the end some discussions with Bavaria emerged. Question.” After Grand Duke Baden finished speaking, he paused for a while, and then looked at the reactions of Duke Albrecht and Mackensen sitting opposite.

"Of course, we did not compress the part that the Kingdom of Bavaria deserves, and we will not attack other German countries on the issue of reparations. We just think that the reparations on the Western Front should be used in the participating countries on the Western Front, and the Austria-Hungary Empire obviously does not How much contribution he has made on the Western Front. His Royal Highness Ruprecht disagrees with this." The two opposing faces were so flat that the Grand Duke could not see their attitude, so the Grand Duke continued.

"In your majesty's plan, how much can the Austro-Hungarian Empire get from the compensation on the Western Front?" Mackensen suddenly said. His question surprised the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke always believed that it should be Duke Albrecht. After all, the latter’s political color is more obvious, and Mackenson, isn’t he a soldier? A soldier who doesn't like politics.

"We give 5% compensation to Austria-Hungary. 5% of 4.5 billion pounds." Baden said openly and honestly.

"If calculated according to the exchange rate before the war, then it would be around 200 million pounds, which would be 4.5 to 5 billion marks when replaced by marks." Mackensen wiped his mouth with a napkin. The tone was full of a strange tone.

"During my fighting career on the Eastern Front, not counting the Bavarian Army that I fought under my command, but the Bohemia Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army, they have paid at least 200,000 casualties. The wasted war materials are at least also 2 billion marks. We seem to make a lot of money. "Marshal Mackensen's words changed the atmosphere of the venue!

"Fuck! What's the situation?!" The Kaiser glanced at Marshal Mackensen in shock, then looked at Grand Duke Baden opposite, expressing his incomprehension of this situation!

"Damn it, how could this be?" Grand Duke Baden was also stunned. He didn't expect Mackensen to stand on the side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire! If it is understandable that Crown Prince Ruprecht is close to Austria because he is the husband of Prince Mary, then you, a native German military officer, a noble loyal to the German emperor, why are you close to Austria? They didn't give you any benefit! This TM shouldn't be! As a politician, Grand Duke Baden expressed his incomprehension.

"I can understand your thoughts." After half the payment, Xiao Maoqi said to Mackensen with a complex expression: "Do you think the empire's approach is ashamed of its colleagues who fought together on the Eastern Front? Is that true? We are all soldiers. , I all hope to give a decent funeral to the soldiers who died in the war, and to give the soldiers who survived the war a fairly happy future. I understand you very well, but sometimes, this kind of personal feelings should be transferred to the interests of the country. "

As a small Maoqi who has also brought soldiers, he naturally knows the root cause of Mackensen's approach to "reverse" attitude. How to say it, the First World War can be said to be the continuation of the last chivalry, such as Lawrence, known as Arabia in history, this buddy did not accept the British official canonization because the British refused to give the Arabs a promise to stand after the war. .

And now, for Mackensen, if he agrees with the distribution method of the Kaiser, then he really cannot face the Austro-Hungarian counterparts who have fought alongside him before, just like Ruprecht What is said, the reason why the gangs of the German Empire can share the territories of the Eastern Front on the map a few months ago, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Bohemian Army definitely made a huge contribution!

After the Polish Pocket Battle, a large number of German troops on the Eastern Front returned to the Western Front. After that, Ruprecht led his troops into the Balkans and fought in Turkey~www.novelhall.com~ The remaining Bavarian elites were used for frontal combat, so they could Only the Bohemian Army and the Austrian Army were assigned to Markenson. The Bohemian Legion is elite and its combat effectiveness is very high. Although the Austrians are worse, they have no credit and hard work. Therefore, in Marshal Mackensen's mind, this compensation for Germany was not even enough for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to pay for German territory. This is too harsh for allies.

Mackensen is also a traditional German military aristocrat. He will not interfere too much with politics. He will be dissatisfied, but he will not ask the empire to increase compensation to Austria-Hungary. After all, he does not have this right and does not want to do politics. , If someone wants to convince someone through him, then sorry, this behavior has touched Mackenson's moral bottom line, he is unwilling to do it.

"National interest? I don't know what the money can bring to the empire, but I can be sure that a few years later, when the war returns, I am afraid that no one is willing to help the empire, because this is a completely lost business. "Mackenson said coldly.

"But the Austro-Hungarian Empire has already gained a lot of benefits on the Eastern Front. Without the support of the empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been killed by the Russians a long time ago. Isn't the Bavarian Army considered the Imperial Army?" Grand Duke Baden said patiently. He found that Mackensen's brain circuit is really similar to Ruprecht.

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