Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne Chapter 205

Britain joins the war in North America?

This is the latest headlines in European newspapers.

Since the loss of more than 100,000 people in the South African war in 1863, the United Kingdom has rarely used foreign troops. Even if it is to manage the mutiny of the colonial indigenous people, the United Kingdom will often use the local indigenous army to suppress it. prevent damage to your own army.

Therefore, in the past two years, the British military has been very quiet.

But now the Lincoln government's punishment of Britain has touched the British gunboat diplomacy, business establishment and governance structure.

Even because of Lincoln's ban on British industrial products, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK lost their jobs and millions of people's lives were affected.

The British sent troops to fight, with the intention of making the Lincoln government withdraw its decision and become the UK's dumping market again.

Although many people are behind the protests in the streets of the United Kingdom, there are reasons for the Tory Party to fuel the flames. Disraeli, the new leader of the Tory Party, took this to attack the Whig Party's ability to govern the country in the British Parliament. And the foreign policy has been too weak recently, so that even the small United States of America dares to touch the tiger's whiskers of the British Empire.

In any case, Disraeli offered the domestic dissatisfaction to the Viscount Palmerston in Parliament.

With the participation of the Tories in various places against the foreign policy of the Whig government, the Tories' popularity in the UK has recently risen rapidly.

Many predict that if the government of Viscount Palmerston does not make changes to regain public opinion. In the UK general election in September this year, it is very likely that the Tories will win.

Immediately everyone saw that the Whig party, which had a sense of crisis, finally sent troops to fight the Northern Federation.

But of course the Tories would not give up and wait for the Whigs to go there to "pacify the chaos" and return.

Therefore, when the general election was about to be promoted for 4 months, the Tories began to bombard the policies of the government of Viscount Palmerston in an attempt to maintain the public opinion in favor of the Tories.

But what the British, including the Viscount Palmerston and Disraeli, did not know was that they were falling into a conspiracy carefully prepared for them. object of mockery.

On May 15, 1865, when the domestic situation in the United Kingdom was chaotic and the intention of sending troops to North America to transfer immigrants was dissatisfied, King William IV of the Netherlands set foot on the territory of the Russian Empire for the first time for a short visit to St. Petersburg.

"In terms of the number, population and size of the big states, the Austrian Empire has an advantage. But in terms of military strength, Prussia is obviously stronger than the other."

The person in front of Alexander II was King Willem IV of the Netherlands.

The two shielded left and right, leaving the two alone. Alexander II upheld his ancestors and was familiar with Dutch, so the dialogue between the two was very natural, without the participation of a third party.

William IV paid tribute to the Tsarist Russian emperor who was born in 1818 and succeeded to the throne in 1856.

He said: "Now the total strength of the Prussian side has reached 630,000, while the strength of Austria's heavy artillery can only be more than 580,000.

However, if Prussia were to attack Austria, then Austria would be in an interior position, and its cavalry and artillery were numerically superior to Prussia and facilitated maneuvering."

William IV looked up at Alexander II and said, "Therefore, in my opinion, the Austrian authorities can only passively defend themselves and wait for the opponent's attack, and even Joseph I and others will think of making up for their weaknesses, so that they can Delay the progress of the war, in order to expand its domestic force, accumulate strength, and then choose the right time to counterattack, and then defeat the invading Prussia with its superior force in one fell swoop."

Alexander II watched the Prussian-Austrian war deduced by the two on the map and kept his eyes on it.

In the end, he set his sights on Bessarabia in the eastern part of the Austrian Empire, and Romania over there, and his eyes were hot.

William IV saw this scene in his eyes. In fact, he is still very envious. In fact, according to his ideas, the Netherlands can actually take some territory in Eastern Europe or even the eastern Mediterranean.

However, the population of the Netherlands is too small, and the management of today's territory has become a tight population, not to mention the most complex regions such as Eastern Europe where people are placed. When he thinks of the Balkans, even if it is a chaotic situation 150 years later, he Just put out this heart, whoever loves it will go.

In fact, the Netherlands now looks at a small population, and other big countries have a large population, but thinking of the next major wars, the French Empire and Prussia (later the German Empire), the Austrian Empire, the Tsarist Empire, etc. have been affected in the wars one after another. , The huge loss of the population made William IV feel less pressure, which is why he moved Dutch nationals to the Far East, away from the mainland, which was the best way to protect population growth.

At the same time that countries suffered a sharp loss in the millions during the war, the Netherlands was as far from the Continent as the post-Civil War calm America, and its population continued to grow.

He believes that within two generations at most, it will be possible to keep up with the population of Britain, France and Germany.

One and the other. This is also his strategy with the Dutch Privy Council.

European countries can fight if they like it, if they don't, the Dutch government will also let you join in the fight.

That's right, William IV just wanted to turn the Netherlands into the role of the world-political scumbag in the previous life of the United Kingdom. Instead, let the British fishermen take advantage of their own affairs again and again, come to the Netherlands, and let the British Eat ashes.

William IV's thoughts were only a momentary thing, he followed Alexander II's gaze and smiled: "Actually, the Netherlands has always felt that the Russian Empire is too conservative in its territory.

Your Majesty should be more proactive. I think that, in the Mediterranean Sea and even in the direction of the Indian Ocean, the Tsarist Empire should have a free access to the sea, instead of being limited to the northern part of the Black Sea after the Crimean War. Your Majesty, do you think my statement is correct? "

right?

Alexander II suddenly felt that William IV in front of him was very interesting.

This man knows what he thinks.

"The Tsarist Empire does feel that it should be more convenient for Tsarist Russia to have a port in the south, but you know, the British would not agree to be able to"

"Britain is too busy to take care of itself, how can it be meddling in the affairs of the Russian Empire?" William IV said.

Alexander II: "How?"

William IV: "Because according to the information we have received~www.mtlnovel.com~ just as deduced just now, Prussia is going to attack"

Alexander II was shocked and looked at William IV in disbelief. The latter nodded heavily.

The pressure of Shanda II became active, "In this case, we should think about it."

Subsequently, the two had a secret negotiation, which was not enough for outsiders.

On May 20, 1865, the Great Battle of Richmond took place. Britain entered the war for the first time. The North was defeated and forced to let the South retake their capital.

Just when the British fever was relieved. When they were about to show off their moment of glory, the situation from the European continent shocked them.

It turned out that Prussia attacked a third-party force in Austria, and its first target was the Kingdom of Hanover.

In just three days, Hannover was attacked by Prussia from the east and south, occupying more than half of its territory.

Europe was in an uproar.

Chapter end