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Hello! This is a little idea I had after reading that France had offered Indochina to Germany after the Franco-Prussian war. The POD is that Napoleon III escapes during the battle and surrenders quicker, so Wilhelm and Pals have a harder time pushing the annexation of A-L and settle for colonies like Bismarck had intended.
Chapter I: An Interesting Proposal
The Dilemma:
"If we choose to annex Alsace and Lorraine, we set ourselves up for disaster. We play right into the hands of those devilish Frenchmen - the German people become the enemies of Europe, an aggressive and brutish nation. We give the French an excuse to plunge us into war again. Believe me when I tell you, your majesty, the war has done what it was supposed to do. The German people are united in a single nation under yourself. What I, what we have worked so hard for has finally been accomplished! Why risk something that could tear us apart? Why set up the Reich for what could only lead to our failure? If the French war machine strikes again, who is to say they will not defeat us? And if this war machine is fueled by a choice that we ourselves have made, who will stand on Berlin's side in our darkest hour?"
That was the short speech given to the Kaiser by Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck as the princes of the newly formed German Empire decided how to punish the French after their loss in the recently fought war. It had Bismarck's flair and overly dramatic wording, but Wilhelm did see the logic in it; the German nation coming together had already upset the balance of power in Europe. If parts of France proper weren ripped away from her, it would set the Germans up as the villains of Europe. Not London nor Moscow nor Rome or even Vienna would receive them with open arms if they took the Alsace. But just as the Kaiser was leaning in the Chancellor's favor, others had sought to turn him against it. The King of Bavaria argued that Alsace was needed as a buffer between the southern German states and France, and that the war wasn't fought for the glory of smashing France to bits (although that was quite glorious indeed). No, for forcing the German people into war, France needed to pay with something that mattered! Bismarck wasn't surprised; he'd always known the southern German states were backwards and foolish. Simple catholic minds that could not look ahead more than a few days time, it was no wonder they couldn't see the consequences of their actions. Nonetheless, the people of this Reichstag continued to argue about the road smarter to travel, but during the verbal battle, a most interesting proposal was brought up by the French ambassador who was sent by Emperor Napoleon III in order to help work out terms for the French surrender. This proposal would not only alter Franco-German relations, but change the political stage and policies of the German Empire.
The Proposal:
The French Ambassador walked to the center of the room and addressed the people of the Reichstag with a bow. He started his proposal with an apology for the damage the French had done in a war "that could only be described as the fragile ego of the French Empire". Although many in the room were buying the charade, Bismarck could tell the Ambassador was playing them all like a fiddle. The Ambassador then went on to convey a counter offer made by the Emperor in exchange for leaving the Alsace. The French Empire would cede their territories in south Indochina, their protectorate over the Kingdom of Cambodia, and their treaty ports along the Vietnamese coast to the German Empire. Along with that, they would pay an extra 50% in reparations to the German people, totaling a hefty 7.5 million francs. Bismarck was intrigued by the offer and saw it as a way to both appease the land hungry members of the Reichstag as well as placating the faction that wanted to stay away from any lasting French-German hostilities. Taking a small colonial sphere of influence was hardly as punishing as annexing part of a countries mainland. And to put the cherry on the pie, it would allow the German state to kickstart a colonial empire of their own, which would heavily validate their status as a great power and add a huge boost to German prestige. Testing the waters, he sent the Ambassador back to the Emperor with another counter proposal - without the Kaiser's knowledge. Instead of the extra reparations, the French Navy would hand over a large forty percent of their fleet to the Kaiser in order to safeguard their colonial interests. For days Bismarck and Napolen III sent each other counter offers until they decided on a thirty-five percent of the French Navy would be handed over to the German Empire. Satisfied with the results, he brought the offer to Wilhelm, and managed I convince him to accept it. Alsace and Lorraine were stile in French hands, and the German colonial empire had begun.