Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On November 12, 1869, when the world was talking about the advent of the Dutch military submarine, the Franco-Prussian War continued to rage.

On the morning of November 12, the Prussian army occupied the sand between Reims in the Marne Province, where Napoleon III was stationed, and Chaumont, the capital of the Haute-Marne Province, where the remaining main force of the Metz Army, the temporary commander of the 4th and 5th Army, Radmiro. Long City is the capital of the Marne department.

The sudden occupation of Chalons, the capital of the Marne department, successfully cut off the connection between the military towns of Reims and Chaumont in eastern France. It also allowed the quality and Prussian troops in the east to gather more and more armies into France. These two The city is like an isolated island, and the situation is precarious.

On November 14, 1869, the three major Prussian armies came out and suddenly intercepted the French army from the west of these two cities.

Napoleon III and Radmiro, commander of the Metz Army, both made a very embarrassing breakthrough.

However, the three major armies of the Prussian Army also launched a counter-breakout.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Prussian army also completed its attack on the French army and attacked with powerful artillery.

In the afternoon, after several attempts by the French army to break through failed, Napoleon III was forced to send a letter to William I at 5 p.m., expressing his willingness to hand over the sword in his hand, which represented the symbol of the French Emperor, to His Majesty King William I of Prussia. in hand.

On November 16, 1869, the news that Napoleon III was besieged in Reims and that the remaining troops of the Metz Army were also besieged in Chaumont swept across Europe like a tornado, and the whole country of France was in an uproar.

Paris, near the edge of the city of Reims, was even more panicked. On November 18, 1869, Queen Eugenie, the regent of the French Empire, and Prime Minister Charles of France asked William I and Bismarck respectively for Franco-Prussian peace talks.

To everyone's surprise, Queen Eugenie actually invited Britain to play the role of armistice coordinator.

For this reason, Berlin stopped the attack and adopted a siege but not attack. However, Prussia continued to mobilize troops into the French territory of the King of Prussia.

Obviously, Prussia is unwilling to give up the advantage of the current victory that is just around the corner.

At the same time, on November 18, 1869, King William IV of the Netherlands arrived in Berlin for the most important stop of his state visit to the Kingdom of Prussia - Berlin.

He was greeted outside Berlin by Prime Minister Bismarck.

Bismarck was only 54 years old at this time, which was when the politician was at his most energetic.

William IV and Bismarck smiled in a tacit understanding. After completing the required etiquette, Bismarck began to take the lead in leading William I and his party to their destination.

This trip could have been arranged by a special person, but what puzzled William IV was that Bismarck actually did it himself.

William IV turned his eyes and realized that he couldn't afford to be too early. The old Prussian fox in front of him must be the kind who never goes to the Three Treasures Palace for anything.

Forget it, the soldiers will come to cover up the water and earth.

The temporary residence of Bismarckian William IV was a palace in Prussia. We learned from the Dutch Consulate in Prussia that this was originally the palace of the previous king and the eldest brother of William I, Frederick William IV.

This surprised William IV.

But don’t mention it, this palace has a nice view.

After everything was arranged, William IV and William I held a meeting the next day.

"Our East Oman believes that Prussia will not break its promise and forget it."

In the Berlin Palace, William I and William IV were divided into two rows at the top and left, and their subordinates held talks face to face.

William IV got right to the point.

"Now Prussia has taken over the entire north and east, occupying almost one-fifth of France's territory. When Reims and Chaumont, two important military towns in the east, have been almost taken by you, I think you have achieved It should be pretty easy to make a promise."

"Anyway, the Principality of Luxembourg has borrowed Prussia from you, and you guys caught France by surprise. I think we should get the reward I deserve."

William IV preemptively showed that he was here to collect debts, rather than the previous speculation that he had traveled overland from Greece to escape the wrath of France. Moreover, the dispute between the Netherlands and France has been settled, and there is nothing wrong with William IV's words.

William I knew what William IV was thinking, but it was difficult to refute William IV's words, so he turned his attention to Bismarck.

Bismarck understood the situation and said, "Your Majesty's statement is not bad, but I believe that your Majesty also knows that we are in trouble now."

William IV pretended to be a little annoyed and said: "That is your problem. The United Kingdom has come to mediate, do I still have to intervene? Didn't we agree that we will only provide the Principality of Luxembourg with an excuse? After your victory, you will force the French Empire to cede East Oman. Give it to us, this is our deal."

"But in the agreement, there is no agreement on what the so-called victory refers to?" Bismarck retorted.

After Bismarck finished speaking, the entire venue fell silent instantly.

Is this a sign that Prussia should link victory to entering Paris?

The expressions on the Dutch side became embarrassed.

The agreement does not specify the stage of victory, but it is obvious that the Netherlands has used the Duchy of Luxembourg to support Prussia in its attack on the French Empire. What happens after that is your Prussia's business. Do you think the Netherlands still wants to let you take advantage of it? Will you give it after you download the entire French Empire?

Bismarck's words suddenly chilled the atmosphere in the entire living room.

At this moment, William IV suddenly burst into laughter, as if a big stone was thrown into a pool of stagnant water, and the waves revitalized the stagnant water.

William I and Bismarck looked at each other and understood that it was different to fight against a master.

Seeing that the condensed atmosphere of the other party was broken, William IV smiled and said: "I also think that the French Empire will not easily compromise and transfer East Oman. Therefore, I think that in this case, the Netherlands can carry out its own plan B."

"What does His Majesty William IV mean?" William I suddenly stared at William IV with a puzzled expression.

"Naturally, it is not cutting off flesh from the Kingdom of Prussia," William IV pointed out: "Recently, the British Empire is intensifying its contact with the Dutch naval department."

After speaking, he looked at Joseph Karls, Chief of Staff of the Dutch Navy next to him.

The latter stood up knowingly and said: "Yesterday, the British Empire officially placed an order for 20 submarines in five years to the Dutch Navy. Currently we are hesitating whether the Netherlands should strengthen cooperation with the British Empire in this regard.

Not only the British Empire, but also the French Empire has made the same request to the Netherlands. Currently, more than 10 countries around the world have placed orders for no less than 80 submarines, and the order volume has been queued up to 1880."

Joseph Karls: "However, His Excellency Mark Rudd, Chief of Staff, is currently hesitating whether the British Empire has any other intentions in making such a purchase application, so he is waiting for our Majesty's reply."

William IV said casually at this time: "You may not know that news just came from Mackay Sean that Queen Victoria of the British Empire agreed to our request, but did she ask that the Netherlands must be allowed to purchase Dutch submarines?"

The Netherlands made a request to the UK? How could the Queen of England obtain a submarine at this Dutch request?

any request? Judging from the appearance of William IV, it must be very important, right?

The hearts of William I and Bismarck could not help but beat, and they suddenly had a bad premonition.

William IV: "Britain agreed to cede the New Zealand Islands to the Netherlands"

New Zealand Islands? It turned out to be it?

Both William I and Bismarck were shocked. They had been keeping a very close eye on their neighbor, the Netherlands, in recent years. Whether it was the mainland or the Far East, they were all under their eyes.

Therefore, they are very familiar with Dutch territories in the Far East, Africa and other areas.

The New Zealand Islands are the tail of influence that Britain has always retained. There is even a small fleet composed of several battleships that constantly roams in the South Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. It also interacts with Chile, the British ally in the east, at sea. Therefore, the role of the New Zealand Islands to the United Kingdom is not small. It can be said that it is the best springboard for the British Empire to monitor the Netherlands.

Coupled with the Malay Island in the north and the combination of north and south, the Netherlands was like a turtle in a urn, unable to escape from the British surveillance range.

But now they actually hear that Britain is willing to transfer the New Zealand Islands to the British Empire?

Moreover, King William IV in front of the Netherlands legitimately told them that this was because of the New Zealand Islands obtained in exchange.

But when he thought of the 20 Dutch submarines that even the British Empire was willing to exchange for a large archipelago, William I couldn't help but feel itchy, and he also wanted to get it.

Who is Bismarck? He said that he naturally knew that William IV was reminding Prussia that we don't need East Oman, which you broke your promise to, but don't worry, we also have the means to check and balance you. Other countries such as the British Empire will ask the Netherlands to buy submarines. In front of them, the Netherlands has plenty of means to retaliate against Prussia, but it's just not retribution in this world, or to put it more simply, the good show is yet to come.

While talking and laughing, William IV reversed the atmosphere that William I and Bismarck had created for the Netherlands to seek Prussia, and instead caused Prussia to compromise with the Netherlands. And what everyone noticed was that William IV But it came directly and violently.

This time, it was the Prussian side's turn to sink.

On the contrary, the Dutch side has raised its head a lot.

Stay safe as a human being so we can meet again in the future!

William IV, who deeply understood the truth, broke his silence at this time and said to King William I of Prussia: "Actually, I think that the French Empire still needs more repressive measures. Otherwise, Prussia will mobilize so many troops this time. , but it’s a bit uneconomical.”

Changing the topic is also a type of chat.

Naturally, the two Bismarcks would not refuse to come down this kind of stairs.

Bismarck asked: "What does His Majesty Wilhelm IV mean?"

William IV: "It is difficult for Napoleon III to survive. It is not difficult for Prussia to defeat him. The difficulty lies in one thing that worries me."

William I asked: "What happened?"