"Number three, we will not interfere in your internal matters. You are free to manage the territory of Europe as you see fit, as long as you do not covet the land of the allies."
Vijay quickly pulled out a map and showed it to everyone. His eyes contained an evil glint, because the third point was an open declaration: 'Kill each other, fight amongst yourselves, divide land however you want, I will not interfere.' Obviously, many people, including William, understood this was a temptation of the devil, but even if they understood, what could they do? This was an open conspiracy.
Everyone had greed. Just because they chose to remain rational and talk it out with their fellow colleagues with some influence in parts of Europe, did it mean everyone else would remain rational? What would happen if someone went on a conquest spree? Should they still sit in their own comfy territories and wait until the butcher was at their doorstep?
William's eyes widened, not only because of the ruthless and cold-blooded methods of the man in front of him, which made him feel both scared and in awe, but also because on the map, the entire kingdom of Slavic Byzantium was silently marked under the land of the allies.
'Did they give it to the Greeks?' he speculated. 'But isn't it too generous?' Then he suddenly remembered the relationship between the Devaraya dynasty and the Romanov dynasty. 'Are they going to give it to Russia?' He was startled because that would mean the buffer between Hamburg and Russia was smaller than ever. He could already imagine the conqueror monarch Peter eyeing the whole of Europe with a covetous gaze, so would he be safe even if the Bharatiya Empire retreated? He began to worry.
Vijay could tell that everyone had their own thoughts and considerations, but he did not concern himself with them and proceeded directly to present the demands.
"In order for me to fulfil my promise, the demands are as follows."
"Military industries across Europe will be dismantled."
"All warships and battleships will be confiscated, and the naval strength of each region will be capped at only a few dozen vessels, sufficient to protect trade lines."
"The manufacturing of advanced artillery and war weapons will be prohibited for the next ten years. Any violation of this rule will result in execution, and the offending state will be required to pay heavy penalties for breaching the condition."
"And finally, reparations amounting to 500 billion Varaha/ 541.35 billion euros, or approximately 5,014 tonnes of gold, will be paid to the Bharatiya Empire in the form of minerals and hard monetary resources such as grain and gold within the next ten years."
Everyone's hearts dropped, but at the end of the day, no one had the guts to talk back. The person standing in front of them was simply too intimidating, and what he represented was too horrific. They could only grit their teeth and accept the loss.
Looking at everyone signing the treaty titled The Treaty of the Atlantic, one by one, Vijay was not too surprised.
The conditions might look harsh at first glance, but with a little thought, in actuality, and with hindsight, they were not too bad. There were restrictions on manufacturing a certain number of warships and battleships, but not on the technology of warships and battleships; they could still research propulsion systems like turbines and steam engines.
It placed restrictions on artillery technology and projectile technology, but not on aviation technology. Now that he had opened Pandora's box of flight, it was foreseeable that the Europeans would be busy mastering this new technology and climbing the ladder of internal combustion.
And finally, the amount of reparations, 500 billion, might look like a lot, but spread out over 10 years, it was only a fraction of Europe's GDP. He asked one of his men to calculate, and it turned out that for the last two decades, Europe had a GDP growth of at least 10%, so when they were at their strongest, just before the war on the eastern front started, they had a GDP of 256.5 billion Varaha, or simply 277.7 billion euros.
Even though this economy had already collapsed, it was still possible to rebuild it from the ground up within 10 years; they should be able to pay back the reparations with some effort.
One reason he was so keen on so few reparations was that he did not want to repeat the situation of First World War Germany from his past life. In fact, if it were not for the extremely harsh reparations demanded by the victorious side, Hitler probably wouldn't have come to power, and the Second World War most probably would not have started either.
In fact, ironically enough, the Germans had only finished paying back the reparations of the First World War in 2010, and they had not even finished paying reparations for the Second World War, even when he had been assassinated.
He obviously wanted to avoid such a situation, and he also wanted to avoid a scenario where Europe became too weak and turned into a chick on the plate of Russia, waiting to be slaughtered. As much as he would love for an opponent to rise up like a whetstone against the Bharatiya Empire and the Eastern Hemisphere, a Tsarist Russian Empire that had unified the entirety of Europe was simply too close to the sun, even for him.
So, leaving a little leeway to the Europeans would give them some ability to resist the Russians, and if the Russians really attacked, the Bharatiya Empire could once again come forward to support them. This would not only alleviate the hostility of the common European people against the Bharatiya Empire to a great extent, but might even bring the world to a new equilibrium with two major powers and a superpower.
Anyway, he had not left any obvious loophole behind; he had already set up a foundation for a millennium empire. What happens next was left to the one above.
After the treaty was signed and everything ended, Vijay felt the weight on his shoulders lift. It was as if the boulder he had been carrying all his life had disappeared; feeling free and easy all of a sudden.
The goal he had set out to achieve, the goal that may be the spirit of his civilisation wanted him to achieve by sending him back to this world, had finally been completed. A wave of relief washed over him, and a feeling of ease and satisfaction spread through his very being.
Looking at his eldest son, who was diligently handling the military affairs, Vijay called out,
"Agni."
"Father!" Agni turned around, but froze for a moment because the aura around his father had changed. It was no longer the bright and dazzling gold he remembered, so dazzling that it seemed like the sun itself. Now it was white, pure white, untouched and untainted, as if nothing in the world could stain it. The memories of his childhood teacher, Saint Tukaram, surfaced in his mind, and a faint sense of foreboding crept into his heart.
"Quickly hand over the affairs to the relevant officers and come back to the empire with me."
Agni hesitated for a brief moment, that strange feeling still lingering in his heart, "What happened, father?"
Vijay let out a deep breath, "I have decided to abdicate the throne." He looked at his son with an encouraging gaze, "You should quickly prepare for the elections."
"Father!" Agni was taken aback, his eyes widened like a pair of saucers, but at the same time, he was not entirely surprised. That lingering feeling in his heart suddenly made sense. He already knew his father wanted to step down; he had told him himself, but he did not think that it would come so soon. He suddenly became nervous, but in the depths of his heart, he also became excited, "As you wish, father." He solemnly nodded and offered a salute.
Vijay smiled, nodded, patted his back, turned around, and left.
As for whether Agni was worried about winning the elections, hehe, he was not worried at all. Currently, there was only one titled king in the empire, that was HeyRam alone, and he was already half a step in the grave. There was a chance that the war against Europe might produce one or two titled kings, but Vijay was confident that they would rather choose to establish their own vassal kingdom, either in Africa or America, instead of vying for the throne, and even if someone challenged Agni for the throne, what was there to be afraid of?
He was very confident in his son's abilities, who had been proving himself since he was a teenager. Besides, Agni had already started to be called the young prince very early on, despite the empire not officially recognising any prince, and he tacitly agreed. Was that not proof enough that the people trusted his son?
Agni stood still, his gaze fixed on the receding back of his father, a figure as straight as a pine tree and as unyielding as a spear. That pure white aura lingered in his mind, stirring something deep within him.
His fists clenched. A silent resolve took root in his heart, heavy and unshakable.
"I will never let you down, father," he swore within himself. "The Ashoka Chakra will not fall. As long as I draw breath, the wave of saffron will not fade from this worldโฆ and even in death, I will ensure it endures."
