Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne Chapter 18

"However, Your Majesty, he is not simple, although over the years,

He doesn't seem to have made many noticeable moves in the position of the crown prince, but the Netherlands has developed rapidly in recent years, and even surpassed us in individual industries.

Among them, in terms of bearings and their own steel forging technology, their quality or efficiency output surpasses ours.

In 1860 alone, the Dutch denim clothing company backed by the crown prince sold more than one million pieces of denim clothes, jeans, and cowboy hats in Europe and America in the past two years, with a unit price of £1. For a pair of jeans, the income exceeds 100 million pounds, you must know that the cost of a powerful first-class sailing battleship was only 100,000 pounds.”

Queen Victoria's eyes shone brightly when she heard the words, and her original intention to recruit him as her son-in-law suddenly increased a bit.

But everything will be discussed after the young members of the Rotterdam royal family meet next month.

Just when they were about to change the subject, a piece of news came, which disrupted their rhythm just now, and also interrupted their goodwill towards him.

From January 1, 1862, the Netherlands swept the small islands in the South Pacific on the East Indies side, especially from January 15, 1862, the Dutch first-class sailing battleship East India led the fleet, from the last After just occupied Port Moresby, East New Guinea at the end of the month, all the way to the east and south, occupied the New Britain Islands and the Solomon Islands,

On January 20, 1862, the island of New Caledonia was occupied. According to the telegram sent back from India, from the 23rd of 1862, the repaired fleet was encircling the island of Fiji, intending to force the island. 2,000 British and 10,000 Aboriginals surrendered, the situation is urgent, please give instructions from London!

Time back to the beginning of January 20, 1862!

While everyone in Europe was watching what was going on in Belgium, it was in the Pacific Ocean in the Far East.

The Dutch are expanding their territory there.

A first-class sailing battleship hangs the flag of the Netherlands, which is connected from top to bottom by three parallel and equal horizontal rectangles of red, white and blue. Blue represents the country facing the ocean and symbolizes the happiness of the people. White represents freedom, equality, Democracy, and the simple character traits of people; red represents the victory of the revolution.

Sailing toward the southeast of New Guinea.

"Report to General Linden that there is still 10 nautical miles from New Caledonia."

"The British Imperial Navy didn't find us?"

"No, but we have investigated, and now there are 2,000 residents on New Credonia, of which there are more than 200 British and more than 200 French. Will this affect our relationship with France?"

"Don't worry, don't forget, this is an order from His Majesty William himself. As a soldier, follow the orders from above and obey the arrangements. That's your mission. For the rest, you are fighting against your own uniform. Do you understand?"

"Yes, General!"

"Go on, remember to prepare to land directly. If we encounter a British warship, we should not show weakness."

As the captain left, Theo von Linden turned back and looked at the special advisor next to him with a wry smile.

That is, the submarine maker Gerrit de Friston who chose to compromise and join the Netherlands.

"It seems that the Netherlands is determined to expand in the Far East this time," said Gerrit De Friston.

"Europe is too small, and some in the Netherlands are caught in the cracks, and they were forcibly torn into three pieces."

De Friston knew that he was referring to the fact that the Kingdom of the Netherlands was led by the United Kingdom to be divided into the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Principality of Luxembourg, especially Luxembourg, although it still belonged to the Netherlands, but was separated by Belgium, surrounded by Belgium, France and Luxembourg. Prussian Austria is an enclave.

"The British are indeed very cunning and always offensive"

"Yeah, I think this is the greatness of the Viscount Palmerston." Leaving Luxembourg there, obviously made the word "fat" in the eyes of other great powers. Napoleon III has proposed it for more than ten years. After buying Luxembourg, the former King William III was moved several times, but because of Prussia's dissatisfaction, the business always failed at the last minute. It has to be said that it is a great irony.

De Friston seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and was really willing to submit to the Netherlands, so he worried about the Netherlands: "Will this march into the South Pacific arouse the dissatisfaction of the British, and directly dispatched the most powerful battleship of the Netherlands, it seems that Some are overkill."

"You think so too?" Lyndon said mysteriously.

"Isn't it?"

"That's right, we just want everyone to think so." Seeing that he was puzzled, Linden did not explain further, but the two of them talked about European warships.

"This is a first-class sailing battleship, and apart from the two in the Netherlands, this is the only one of the Netherlands in the East Indies.

Three-layer artillery deck, with 106 artillery pieces, a crew of more than 900 people, and a displacement of 3,500 tons, it is simply a sea fortress. Victory number one grade.

However, because warships of this class are expensive, each costing as much as £100,000, there were only about 10 ships in active service in the Royal Navy, the most powerful maritime hegemon at that time in the last decade. "

Gerrit De Friston said everything in a straight line, and when he said this, he looked at the Dutch Vice-Chancellor in front of him. After all these days, he understood that this person was second only to the Admiralty in the Dutch Navy. He is also the main person in charge of naval manufacturing.

Therefore, he understands that he will be in charge of the manufacture of his submarine, which means that he will return to his management in the future. To put it bluntly, he will be his future boss.

Therefore, he breathed a sigh of relief, at least Linden's knowledge made him willing to cooperate, although there was still a little bit of resistance in his heart.

"According to the last issue of the "Amsterdam Peace Research Institute",

Among the countries in the world that have first-class sailing battleships, the British Empire has 10 ships, France has 3 ships, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands also have 3 ships, and the Ottomans, Tsarist Russia, Denmark and America have 2 ships.”

At present, the countries that can be manufactured include the British Empire, France, Spain, the Netherlands, the Ottomans, etc.

The United States purchased 2 ships from the French Empire, Russia bought 2 ships from the Netherlands, and Denmark bought 2 ships from the United Kingdom.

The second-class sail battleships are slightly smaller than the first-class battleships, with three decks running on the deck, and the popularity is between 86 and 98. The crew is about 750 people, and the displacement is about 2,000 tons. Their disadvantage is that under the stormy cloud weather , The third-tier artillery of warships cannot be opened. Warships of this level are rarely equipped in the British Navy, but in France and other countries, due to the lack of enough first-class battleships, Dalian is equipped with such battleships.

"The second-class sailing battleship France is equipped with 20 ships, Spain 13 ships, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands also have 8 ships, Tsarist Russia and America have 9 ships, and Denmark and Austria have 5 ships."

At present, the countries that can be manufactured include the British Empire, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, the Tsarist Russia Empire, the United States, etc. Italy purchased 8 ships from the British Empire, and Austria purchased 5 ships from the Netherlands.

Seeing that Linden was noncommittal, De Friston continued: "The third-class sailing battleship is divided into several types, the second to third floor running decks (most are second-floor, the artillery is between 64 and 80, and the number of people is limited). Around 500-720 people, with a displacement of 1,300 tons and 1,800 tons, this is the largest capital ship of the British Empire Navy.

During the Napoleonic Wars, among the 175 main battleships of the British Imperial Navy, there were 117 third-tier battleships.

In this class of battleships, it was a combination of profit, speed and moderate cost at that time, and it was the backbone of battleships.

It is also the main force of the British Empire in several oceans. At present, in the Battle of Trafalgar, 20 of the 27 battleships are third-class battleships, while 29 of the 33 French combined fleets are of this class. "

At present, the countries that can be manufactured include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, the Tsarist Empire, the United States and Italy, etc.

The four-tier battleship has two decks, 50 guns for fish, a crew of about 350 people, and a displacement of more than 1,000 tons. This kind of battleship is cheap, generally only £26,000, with a crew of 350 people. The firepower of this level of battleship is weak. , is not suitable for a decisive battle between fleets, so it mainly serves as the flagship of the overseas cruise squadron, just like the several squadrons of the Dutch East Indies now. "

At present, the countries that can be manufactured include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Ottoman, Tsarist Russia, the United States, and Italy, etc.

Linden said, "You are very familiar. If it weren't for the fact that we checked you carefully, I would have suspected that you were a spy sent by France on purpose to spy on us."

De Friston's color changed slightly when he heard the words, and then he smiled wryly.

"The fifth-class battleship is a cruise ship, generally between 130 and 150 feet in length, with 32 to 44 artillery pieces, a displacement of between 600 and 800 tons, and a crew of about 250 people. They are mainly used for attacking maritime merchant ships and inspecting, ocean-going Cruising, etc., act as a forward and clear the way for the main ship.

Because of the inspections, there are bonuses, etc. It is one of the coastal defense ships, so it is a fat poor, and many people are keen.”

At present, the countries that can be manufactured include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Ottoman, Tsarist Russia, the United States, and Italy, etc.

As for the smallest tonnage of the sixth-class warship, this is an agile single-masted schooner. There is only one artillery deck, only 20 guns, and a displacement of 450 to 550 tons. It only needs about 180 crew members. It is generally used to send letters or **** in various countries. Such warships generally cost as little as £10,000 to manufacture.

The most common warships in navies around the world, and the easiest to buy.

The sales are hot, and the countries that can currently manufacture include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottomans, the Russian Empire, the United States, Argentina, and Italy, etc.!

There is also the ultimate steam ironclad. Before he came to the East India, De Friston thought that only Britain and France could build it in the world, but he was wrong, and Europe was wrong. When the six luminous figures were towering and tall, he knew that the pattern of Europe was going to change, and the Netherlands, rising again, was no longer a pipe dream!

Chapter end