Meanwhile, King Ferdinand received a telegram from Berlin, by which he was warned that the Austro-German Government would not discuss peace terms with a Cabinet which included M. Bratiano or any member of his former Cabinet. The feelings of the King of Rumania--when he saw that even before peace discussions had begun the enemy had begun to interfere in Rumania's internal politics--can be appreciated. But King Ferdinand carried his head high, as he had done all through the tragic misfortunes of his country, and was indifferent to German arrogance. He replied to Herr von Kühlmann that Rumania was an independent country, and had a right to any Government she pleased. But none of the members of the former Cabinet came into the new one. General Averescu formed a Government which had the tragic task of concluding peace, and thus of annihilating, temporarily at least, all the tremendous efforts that Rumania had made during the preceding fifty years to become, economically as well as politically, the leading power in the Balkans. THREE HUNGRY ENEMIES The peace negotiations were supposed to last for a fortnight at most. In fact, they were nothing more than a farce, for the Germans allowed no discussion at all. They simply laid their preliminary conditions before the Rumanian delegates, and, taking advantage of the military helplessness of Rumania, told them: "You can take it or can leave it." The Rumanian delegates made a few attempts to discuss the German terms, but they soon found that it was useless and that the only thing to do was to yield. The fact was that Rumania had to satisfy three hungry enemies. Each had his own object, but in each case the result was the same from the point of view of Rumania--subjection to the German yoke. The Bulgarians were eager to accomplish their ideal of "a great Bulgaria" by the annexation of the Dobrudja. Therefore, Rumania had to give up the Dobrudja. The Austrians, under Magyar pressure, demanded the surrender of the Carpathian passes--a condition which was pressed by Count Czernin, who remembered with bitterness the rebuff that he had suffered from the Rumanian King and Government at the time when Rumania came into the war. The Germans were determined to seize the immensely rich oilfields of Rumania and to secure for an unlimited period Rumanian wheat for Germany at a price to be fixed by German authorities. For years Germany had tried to get control of the Rumanian oilfields. Where bribes and the offer of a heavy price had failed, the chance of war now insured success. The oilfields were seized nominally by way of a monopoly for ninety-nine years. GERMANY'S SHARE OF BOOTY