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Body:

Paris is the romantic capital, Vienna is the musical capital, Berlin is the political capital, but what about Rome?

A thousand years ago, that invincible empire once had a legion known for its infantry combat power, but a thousand years later, the army of their descendants has become the laughing stock of the world, and even the most advanced weapons can become scrap metal in their hands.

In the eyes of the Allied generals, the Italian army was even inferior to the Serbs.

"Your Majesty the Emperor!" In the face of Chentian, Karl, the Austro-Hungarian crown prince and deputy commander of the coalition forces fighting against Italy, said politely and cautiously, "Our government and people hope that the great coalition army will be able to march straight into Rome and teach those arrogant Italians a profound lesson!" ”

Chen Tian nodded, Italians can play football, military and political are really not flattering, and the performance in the two major wars in history is extremely disappointing. Fortunately, in his hands, Germany would not become a military alliance with such a country.

"After that, we can negotiate to force the Italians to surrender all the colonies and most of the territory, and the battleships and cruisers should also be included in the terms of peace talks, and at most the Italians can keep a few light ships, so that the threat of the Italian Navy to our Mediterranean shipping routes and African colonies can be eliminated." When talking about the Italian Navy, Karl showed a look of expectation and eagerness, although the quality of Italian soldiers is poor, but they have a lot of advanced equipment in their hands, and aircraft and warships are lacking in Austria-Hungary. In the eyes of the Emperor and his generals, with the fleet of the Italian Navy, the re-emergence of the empire as a sea and land power was just around the corner.

"Oh......" Chen Tian did not answer directly, and he was not surprised by the Austrian appetite. Austria and Italy have a long-standing dispute, and although the two countries formed an alliance at the end of the 19th century due to European politics and German co-optation, the two sides are constantly eyeing each other's territories. In particular, the Roman government tried to swallow and disintegrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the help of the Entente after the war, as the Russians best demonstrated.

Chentian had a special feeling, and Karl's casual expression just now Aglini and Kemal also saw it in their eyes.

When the Allies were at war with the Allies, everyone wanted a strong ally, but as the war drew to a close, a strong ally could become a "sweet burden." Looking at the world atlas, Austria-Hungary is bounded by Germany and Italy to the north and west, Russia to the east, and Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey to the south. After the end of the Italian War, there was no room for the vast empire to develop on land, and British Egypt, French Libya, ******, and Italian Libya across the Mediterranean had fallen to the German-Turkish coalition in recent months. Before the end of the war, the redivision of the colonies was already visible, and Austria-Hungary, which had spent a lot of time and military strength in the fierce wars with Russia and Serbia, was far behind Germany. Even if Italy had been swallowed whole, Austria-Hungary would have gained less than one-tenth of the benefits of the war from Germany.

"The Italians can't do it!" Chen Tian said vaguely.

After Kemal relayed his intentions, Aglini disdainfully commented: "Italian soldiers are inherently useless cowards!" ”

"A war without suspense can completely prevent the soldiers from continuing to bleed at the negotiating table!" Kemal chose Russian, Russian that Karl did not understand.

Karl didn't seem to care much about the Turks' assertions, as Austria-Hungary and Turkey had always had friendly relations with the Republic during the Ottoman Empire and the Republic, and they had common enemies in the Balkans – Serbia (a growing power in the early 20th century, which gradually threatened Austria-Hungary and Turkey), Romania (a country rich in oil that Austria-Hungary had always wanted to annex, and Turkey wanted to acquire its territory on the Black Sea coast).

On the issue of Romania, Chentian and Germany naturally will not sit idly by, after all, there is the closest oil producing area to Germany. Whether it is Xiaoxi or Chentian, their military ideas require a lot of oil, and although oil from eastern Turkey is stable, the long transportation routes are obviously not as convenient as extracting oil from Romania. If Austria-Hungary or Turkey annexed Romania, the land would be included in the Allied sphere of influence, and all Germany had to do was exchange political and military support for the right to exploit oil there. In this regard, the Turks will clearly be more obedient.

"The defeat of the Italians was inevitable, and the most important question for us now was where the coalition forces were going to fight, and what to do with the defeated Italy after the war." It was Agliini who spoke, Kemal who nodded in agreement, and there were more than 50,000 Russian soldiers and nearly 10,000 Turkish soldiers on the battlefield in Italy at this time, who had reason to express their opinions on the Italian war. Italy was understandable in paying reparations to the Central Powers that had entered the war, but no one wanted to see these benefits left to the Austro-Hungarian family except Austria-Hungary. At the same time, as a kind of guarantee of political and military balance, it is still necessary for the Italian government to maintain a certain military strength. As for the Italian Navy, which was not weak, if it was all incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian Navy, then the Mediterranean would be completely under the control of Joseph I, which would not be a good thing for Germany, Russia, and Turkey.

In fact, neither Chentian nor Germany wanted to have a close neighbor with such a huge military power as Austria-Hungary in peacetime, and if this large and fragile empire were to split into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, it would be a good guarantee for the stability of the situation in Europe, and Germany could also wait for the opportunity to annex some of these useful territories, such as Austria and Czechoslovakia.

On the surface, Italy did not seem to have much at stake in the war with Russia and Turkey, but the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Central Europe was actually very important to them. Aglini's Russia had been Austria-Hungary's greatest potential enemy, but with Russia's turn to the Allies and the shift of strategic focus from the Balkans to the Far East and the Asia-Pacific region, and the annexation of Serbia, Austria-Hungary's attention now shifted to the Apennine Peninsula.

No one can guarantee that Austria-Hungary will be willing to live like a rich man after annexing and digesting Italy, but if Austria-Hungary breaks up and becomes a buffer zone between Germany and Russia, Germany and Turkey, the monarchs will obviously feel much more at ease.

Of the four countries, only Austria-Hungary had the most peculiar model of government, and this "co-op" country also appeared to be the most unstable. In this regard, Chentian and Aglini and Kemal tacitly agreed.

"I also think it's time to make peace with the Italians!" Chentian's opinion, together with the support of the tsar and the Turkish president, has actually made a summary of the Apennine war. Although he was reluctant, Karl did not have much to say, not to mention that the economic situation in Austria-Hungary was no longer optimistic, the people's lives became increasingly difficult as the war continued, and military supplies had to rely on German assistance to a considerable extent.

Taking this opportunity, Chentian, Aglini, Kemal, and Karl met with the Duke of Aosta, the envoy sent by the King of Italy, before the dinner, and in fact Chentian had already had a secret conversation with the brother of the King of Italy, and the two sides exchanged some preliminary but crucial opinions.

This informal meeting lasted only an hour, and the Allied side led by Chentian proposed a rough armistice structure, and the Italians, who were forced to breathe by the powerful offensive of the coalition forces, had long since lost the courage and intention to bargain, and the Duke of Aosta, on behalf of the King of Italy, immediately agreed to negotiate an armistice with the armies of the two sides on the line of the Corno Mountains as the boundary. The German, Russian, and Turkish rulers immediately expressed their acceptance, and Karl did not raise objections, but expressed his dissatisfaction and depression in silence, which was the first time he felt political pressure since he came to Berlin. Compared to the other three rulers, he was quite inexperienced in international politics.

"In fact, the Austro-Hungarian army already ran out of fuel and ammunition!" On the way to the banquet, Chen Tian lowered his voice and said to Agreni and Kemal in Russian, and the two exchanged glances with understanding. In fact, after the coup d'état, before the official coronation, Chen Tianbian had already begun to issue orders to the generals as the supreme commander. The German 3rd Army and other troops that had entered Italy stopped the offensive on the grounds of ammunition and supplies, and the supplies to Austria-Hungary were delayed because of "railway reasons", and the more than 2 million Austro-Hungarian soldiers on the front line soon ran short of shells and fuel.

In addition to the support of Russia and Turkey, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II has always been proud of all countries, and Germany's allies and enemies have long been accustomed to this. Chen Tian's move is nothing more than to tell his Austro-Hungarian allies: After the emperor is changed, we Germany are still the boss!

At 7 p.m., a grand banquet was held at the Imperial Palace in Berlin, to which the monarchs, royal nobles, and envoys were invited to participate in the parade, and the magnificent banquet hall was once again a place for dignitaries to raise glasses after the death of Wilhelm II.

Regardless of whether those who had attended the New Year's Day dinner hosted by Wilhelm II a few days earlier were apprehensive, Chen Tian raised his glass in his hand where Wilhelm II had stood. Behind him at this time, the real Assassin, the captain of the new Kaiser's guard, Rainey, dressed in the uniform of a Praetorian Colonel, stared at the crowd with extreme indifference, ensuring that no one could assassinate the new master of the empire like him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to Germany and Berlin for the funeral of His Majesty King Wilhelm II and for my own coronation!" Chentian's polite words were nothing brilliant, and his speech was a far cry from that of the unassuming and unwitting Kaiser Wilhelm II (who was notoriously unabashed, and German politicians were often so nervous that they did not know what astonishing statements their emperor was making). At this time, most of the dignitaries of various countries did not have a particularly intuitive impression of him, and what they saw was basically a small but very athletic emperor with few smiles on his face but not melancholy, and the new emperor would not consult his entourage of generals or ministers in public on any occasion, nor would he be paranoid about his own opinions.

Wilhelm II's arrogance is not visible in these respects, at least, but politicians are still unsure about the future direction of Germany.

"The New Year has arrived, may God grant you all good health, and may peace return to us!"

The applause rang out, and it was believed that the Kaiser's previous blessing was sincere, and that peace was just a good wish that mankind had always prayed for but could never fulfill.

"Here, I would like to announce good news to everyone!" Chentian's words did not attract much speculation, and most people had already guessed when they saw the Duke of Aosta standing beside him.

"Thanks to the joint efforts of His Majesty the Austrian Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Karl, His Majesty the Russian Emperor, Mr. the President of Turkey, His Majesty the King of Italy, His Excellency the Duke of Aosta, Special Envoy of the King of Italy, and myself, the war in Italy has taken a peaceful turn. Just this afternoon, the two sides reached a preliminary intention after talks, and there will be a truce for negotiations in the next week! ”

This was clearly what the neutral countries wanted, and there was a long applause in the hall after fearing that the Italian war would affect the stability of Europe.

Afterwards, the dinner officially began with the sound of light music.

It was probably from the announcement of an armistice between the Allies and Italy that saw the dawn of peace, and King Frederick of Denmark, King Haakon of Norway, Prince Henry of the Netherlands, and American envoy Davis conveyed the intention of peace talks with Germany on behalf of King George V. On this beautiful night, Chen Tian did not directly undermine everyone's hope for peace, he said that the German government did not rule out peace talks with the British government, but did not propose the time and conditions for peace talks. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Germans could not easily give up the enormous benefits they were about to gain from the British at a time when no one in the world could put pressure on Germany and its allies politically and militarily.

As the hosts of the banquet, the Chentian couple obviously became the center of attention, and Aglini, who also ascended to the throne through an accident during the war, walked among the monarchs and dignitaries of various countries accompanied by Linda. Linda, who was fluent in German and English, became the Tsar's best translator, and her performance was much more eye-catching than that of the slightly dull Aglini.

All this, Chen Tian silently watched in his eyes, he wanted to know which side of the interests of this woman, who was both the Russian empress and the Austro-Hungarian princess, would prevail, Russia? Austria-Hungary? Or both?