Chapter 338: The Holy Roman Empire Surrenders (2/2)

”Emperor Balsamo Corsini, I must say, this is the first time meeting you in person, and yet I am dreadfully underwhelmed. I thought for sure a man of your position would have the courage to stand before me, yet here you are kneeling like a cowardly child.

Allow me to make things simple for you, Your armies are broken, your capital is in ruins, and your wealth now belongs to me. You have nothing left! This is the result of your actions and yours alone! My demands are simple, the Kingdom of Austria shall henceforth be an Independent Nation, and the Empire will recognize its legitimacy. You shall also recognize Austria's annexation of the Swiss Confederation.

Everything North of Rome and Sardinia shall henceforth become the Kingdom of Lombardy and will be established as a protectorate beneath the suzerainty of Austria where they will provide a tribute to their new masters in the form of currency and raw materials. They shall be allowed a standing army of no more than 10,000 soldiers to act solely as a means of Defense.

Malta will be ceded to Austria, where all current residents will be evacuated from the island and returned to the Italian Mainland. As for the rest of Italy, it will remain in the hands of you and your Dynasty, and you are free to do as you wish with it, under the stipulation that your Empire refrains from attacking my Kingdom for the next five years.

You are to pay us reparations in the form of Gold and Silver worth a total of 1,000,000 Austrian Guldens. This, of course, is on top of the wealth we have seized from the Medici Bank and the cities we have since plundered. I expect this to be paid to Austria within a hundred years.”

The demands that Berengar had made were excessive. For instance, the reparations alone would account for over 30 tons of gold. In Berengar's past life that would be worth over a billion US Dollars, with a limited amount of Gold in Europe in 1421, the sheer volume of payments Berengar was asking from the Holy Roman Empire was enough to ensure that the Empire was in debt to Austria for a hundred years or more!

However, despite the insane demands that Berengar had forced upon him, the Emperor was in no position to reject them. His army was utterly annihilated, and his capital was in ruins. If he resisted, the only thing that would happen would be his death; one way or another, Berengar would get what he wanted.

As such, the once-mighty Holy Roman Emperor nodded his head in defeat, agreeing to the terms presented. At this moment, the Holy Roman Empire had officially surrendered to the Kingdom of Austria. The War for Austrian Independence was over, and with it, significant changes were about to occur within Europe.

However, at the moment Berengar could not care about such matters; his attention was needed elsewhere. As such, he and his troops departed from the Palace; in a few days, he would sign an official peace treaty with the Emperor where all of his terms would be written in the contract.

Berengar returned to the Medici Bank and watched as his troops began to haul the substantial amount of gold and silver out of the bank and into supply wagons; it would take weeks, possibly even months to transport all of this wealth back to the Austrian National Treasury in Kufstein. As such, Berengar would leave behind an army of 25,000 men within the ruined City of Florence to ensure that the gold and silver were successfully transported back to Austria.

While Berengar's soldiers spent the next few months ensuring the assets gained in the war completed their journey, the young Monarch would depart for Kufstein immediately after the treaty was signed. With the war over, The young King had essential matters of State to attend to.

Austria had gained a sizeable amount of land and wealth from this conflict. Berengar had also crippled the financial backing of his greatest enemy and ensured that his southern rivals could not attack him for a period of five years.

With these gains, Berengar fully intended to utilize the time and resources he had acquired in this war to bring forth the fires of industry. When he finally returned from Florence, a new age would await the young Monarch. The era of Steam and Steel was about to descend upon the newly found Kingdom of Austria.

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