Chapter 638: Reparations
With 200,000 gold coins and 30,000 tons of high-quality grain, the result of this negotiation shook the ruling class of the Paris Empire again. Such a huge amount of war reparations has set a precedent for the entire continent, and the Principality of Pritz is about to go down in history as the first country to receive sky-high compensation from an empire as a principality, and correspondingly, the Paris Empire will also become the laughing stock of the entire continent.
"This damn Hank Norris, without the teachings of old Carey, this kind of chick who doesn't know the height of the sky and the height of the earth also wants to fly into the sky, and dares to negotiate with the Grand Duke of Pritz! Look at it, this is really humiliating!" Words like these were spread by nobles with ulterior motives after Count Hank Norris brought back the results of the negotiations.
200,000 gold coins are equivalent to two full years of tax revenue in the empire, even those big families with a long tradition can't take out so many gold coins, so they give them to the Pritzians for nothing, how can this make the people of Paris happy? And as the special envoy to reach this negotiation, Count Hank Norris naturally bears an unshirkable responsibility.
All of a sudden, the whole of the Paris Empire was full of emotion, countless nobles jointly wrote a letter demanding that Hank Norris, who betrayed the country and seek glory, and ordinary people who did not know what was going on also took to the streets under the guidance of a large number of public opinions, protesting against the compensation treaty that humiliated the country.
However, no matter how fierce the turmoil in the empire was, Emperor Paris, Princess Sophia, and Hank Norris remained indifferent. As the most sensible people in this series of events, His Majesty the Emperor and Princess Sophia understood that the conditions that Hank had brought back were already the best outcome for the Paris Empire.
In fact, as long as the Pritzians can stop the threat to Paris City, maintain temporary peace and stability, and allow the empire enough time to recover, a mere 200,000 gold coins is not much in the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor. Even the 500,000 gold coins proposed by Leo at the beginning may not be unacceptable, and Hank's ability to press the conditions to such an extent is already considered a meritorious service, but these things are not enough for outsiders.
"Hank, you have done a very good job in negotiating this time, and you have been able to appease the Pritzians and buy enough time for the Empire, which is already a great achievement!" His Majesty the Emperor said in a private meeting with Hank, and did not hesitate to praise him.
"That's right, how difficult that Grand Duke of Pritz is, I also deeply understand that Hank was able to reduce the conditions to such a level, and he has already saved a lot of losses for the Empire, which is enough to become a hero of the Empire. Those pedantic and ignorant nobles can't share the worries of the empire at all, but they are so disgusting to slander you one after another!" Princess Sophia also praised Hank uncharacteristically, which made Hank's heart happy, and he felt that everything he had paid was worth it.
"Well, I have to wronged you next, those nobles and the people are making too much trouble, even the royal family has to worry about them, so I can't give you any reward for the time being, I can only compensate you after the matter is over, I hope you don't mind!" Princess Sophia blinked her big watery eyes and said softly to Hank.
Where have I seen Princess Sophia so petty and charming since I was a child, Hank felt that his body and bones were lighter, and hurriedly replied to Princess Sophia: "It's okay, sharing worries for Your Majesty and Her Royal Highness the Princess is what I should do, and being able to get your praise is the best reward for me!"
"Hee-hee!" Princess Sophia couldn't help but smile when she saw Hank's nervous and expectant look. Seeing Princess Sophia's flower-like smile, Hank couldn't help but be infatuated.
It's a pity that Princess Sophia has no interest in such a mediocre suitor with mediocre ability, if it weren't for Hank's need to do things, I'm afraid Princess Sophia wouldn't bother to look at him at ordinary times. In the eyes of the haughty Princess Sophia, only the handsome and successful Grand Duke Pritz is the only one who can be worthy of him.
Although Hank reduced the war reparations demanded by the Grand Duke of Plitzer to 200,000 gold coins, this is still not something that the treasury of the Paris Empire can afford, and if the treasury of the Paris Empire is really allowed to bear it, I am afraid that the various taxes of Paris will be so high that people will hang themselves this year.
After appeasing Hank, His Majesty the Emperor took Princess Sophia to the vault of the Paris royal family, which stored the accumulation of countless generations of Emperor Paris, if the land could be traded and purchased, I am afraid that the wealth reserves of the Paris royal family were enough to buy most of the Alpha Continent.
This time, the war reparations could only be paid from the inner treasury of the royal family of Paris, which made Emperor Paris feel humiliated once again, he was the only emperor among dozens of generations of emperors to take his wealth out of the secret vault.
"Move! Since you want to move, let's move more out, the empire must recover its strength as quickly as possible, and gold coins are indispensable. Princess Sophia's arrangement once again made His Majesty the Emperor's heart ache, but fortunately, His Majesty the Emperor also understood that what Princess Sophia said was very reasonable.
The people of the Paris Empire have long been eroded in a rich life, and they have long lost that tenacious will, and they are not qualified as soldiers, so the Paris Empire can only recruit soldiers from the surrounding neighboring countries, which requires a large amount of gold coins. However, the current Emperor Paris doesn't care about gold coins anymore, as long as he can keep the empire, it is worth losing some money.
Truckloads of gold coins were sent to the Pritz barracks outside Paris like a long line, and bags of grain were piled up around the barracks like a hill. The bear tribe has never seen so much food, and now almost every bear man grins like a fool, they have been shocked by happiness and don't know how to live.
The patriarch of Old Modo once again felt that his decision to lead his people to join the Grand Duke of Pritz was absolutely wise. Being able to fill the stomach and eat a full meal for the clansmen is the biggest wish in the heart of every orc patriarch, and he didn't expect that this wish would be fulfilled by himself, and the face of the old Modo patriarch cried with joy again.
Every coachman and porter who came to transport the people looked at the Pritzians with hatred in their eyes, and under the instigation of the nobles, a wave of hatred of Pritz was set off among the people of the Paris Empire, like a small principality paying indemnities, which made every Parisian Empire feel humiliated from the bottom of their hearts.