On October 18, 1918, the Treaty of Madrid for the European Armistice was officially signed, and the four-year European War was finally over. Germany, Britain and Austro-Hungary dominated the peace negotiations, while the Americans appeared in the venue as mediators.

Germany and Austria finally made a step back in the negotiations, and the British were able to retain their colonial rule over Egypt, and the Suez Canal was handed over to the United Kingdom, Germany and Austro-Hungary. In exchange, Germany gained control of the Sudan. The British took back the negotiation table and lost most of the colonies on the battlefield, but sacrificed the interests of France and Italians.

The only thing that made the British resent was that the Austro-Hungarian side refused to hand over control of the island of Malta, and even went to war again for this.

As defeated countries, France and Italy lost their ability to bargain at the negotiating table. France's North African colonies in Tunisia were handed over to Germany for "management" and the French Annan colonies were handed over to Germany and Austria for joint management as part of the war reparation.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire took over the Italian Ripolitania and Cyreneca, and obtained Rhodes and Corfu. As a victorious country, the Ottoman Empire received nothing in this war except for huge sacrifices, and finally restored its rule over the Mesopotamian region.

The Bulgarians were also quite dissatisfied. The Austro-Hungarian Empire refused to meet their request to annex Macedonia and only allowed them to occupy the Thracian region. Instead, they established a Macedonian Kingdom, including Thessalonika, which was supervised by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The decision of the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly offended the Bulgarians and the Greeks. However, given that the Habsburg dynasty is currently in a strong position, the two countries only dare not speak out, but their relations with Vienna have also deteriorated sharply.

Surprisingly, Austro-Hungarian side allowed Peter I to return to Serbia to continue his rule and promised to withdraw his troops in Serbia and Montenegro within three years. However, as Belgrade was razed to the ground in the war, the Serbs waited for the capital to Kralevo in the south.

Japan was busy in this war and had to return all the German colonies it occupied during the war. However, under the protection of the United States and Britain, its war compensation was reduced to 1.7 billion yen. This happened to be ten times the cost of building the Yamato-class battleships thereafter.

Since China "remains neutrality" during this war, the Madrid Peace Association naturally had nothing to do with the Beiyang government, so it did not trigger large-scale domestic protests because of the "unfair treatment" during the Peace Association. This was more conducive to maintaining the stability of the Beiyang political situation.

"The Madrid Peace Conference is just a truce for twenty years, just a dirty deal between the British and German and Austrians. It sacrificed the interests of the French and Italians and made the two countries full of hatred for Germany and Austrians. The British are trying hard to maintain their hegemony, but it is obvious that they are also extremely dissatisfied with the loss of control of Malta and the Suez Canal. The fierce confrontation between Britain and Germany and Austrians on the other side has not ended, and sooner or later it will lead to another war!"

Since no more benefits were gained in this war, especially the so-called fourteen-point peace claim of US President Wilson was not recognized by Madrid and clubs, the American Christian Monitor was maliciously criticizing the results of the Madrid Peace Treaty. Unfortunately, the future results were actually hit by them.

Due to dissatisfaction with the outcome of the Madrid Peace Conference, large-scale riots broke out in Japan and Turkey. In Japan, soldiers began to take power, while in Türkiye, this was just the beginning.

Now, the eyes of all countries are still focused on Russia. Due to fear of the red Soviet regime, various imperialist countries are actively interfering in the Russian civil war. The British were supporting Yudengi and Denikin. They provided assistance to Yudengi, the rebels of the Baltic Sea by sea, and even dispatched "volunteers" and provided arms for Denikin's so-called "Caucasus Federation" through Persia.

Germany and the Austrian side supported the Ukrainians and the Don Cossacks. With their support, the Ukrainian Republic and the Greater Don Cossacks were established.

In Siberia, the United States and Japan support Kolchak. In order to restrain Japan, Americans with insufficient troops brought the Chinese to take military intervention in the Far East.

In the Chambrun Palace, the young crown prince Carl was accepting the emperor's summons.

"Sit, Carl." Lee Haydn sat behind a large desk, signed a document, and then placed it on a large stack of documents on the desk. He looked up at his nephew, "I called you this time because I wanted you to be the new governor of Annan in the empire."

"What do you mean? If you have any dissatisfaction with me, I can willingly give up the position of crown prince to Maximilian." said Grand Duke Carl.

"You are wrong. I asked you to be the governor of Annan, not to deprive you of your inheritance. On the contrary, this is to train you into a qualified heir to the throne." Lee Haydn looked a little angry, and Carl was still a little too straightforward in his speech. He was not a qualified politician. "Maxmilian's interest is not a qualified heir to the throne in science and art. He is not interested in politics and military at all. I asked you to go to Annan to let you know more about the East and deal with the Chinese. The future of the empire is not in the Atlantic, it has been divided up. The future of the empire is in the East, I just want you to have a deeper understanding of the East. Can you understand this? "

"Why is the East?" Carl said with his head raised.

"If you don't understand and understand the market and interests in depth, you will never understand them. The empire's territory and population are so large, and the natural resources are not very rich. The world is very big, Carl, I hope you have the opportunity to go to the United States every year. The English-speaking people dominate the entire ocean, but we are their enemies. Yes, as long as we still want to be a world power, they will always be their enemies." Lee Hayden said, "British and the United States have the most abundant resources in this world. The only thing we can fight for with them is the market. Now, a war without gunpowder has begun. If we are defeated here, then in the next war - perhaps 15 to 25 years later, we will be completely dismembered and divided."

"Why? The next war?"

"Yes, unless we completely dissipate, or the British completely decline and have no current ambition to dominate European affairs, the conflict will sooner or later break out." Lee Hayden said, "this is why I have been under the pressure of the queen and insisted that you inherit the throne. You have rich military experience, and what you need now is to strengthen your political mind and economic vision."

"Well, I follow your decision, when will I go?" said Grand Duke Carl, "Can I bring my family with me?"

"Of course, the Navy will need to escort a group of Chinese fleets next month. I originally planned to send a cruiser fleet to escort, but now I have changed my mind and will send the 3rd Battleship Fleet. If you go on the Istria Grand Official Account, why is it the crown prince of the empire? You need to maintain the face of the empire, right?" Li Haidn said with a smile.

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Chapter completed!