Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"Oh my god, except for the nearby Tsarist Russia, which has not yet been dealt with, several other countries have been taken advantage of by them in turn.

I even suspect that the current British foreign policy of Viscount Palmerston was inspired by Kaunitz.

Austrian Prime Minister Kaunitz has also become a famous diplomat in Europe and the originator of modern European realism diplomacy.

Because of his leadership, the Austrian Empire's several changes in European diplomatic relations in the 18th and 19th centuries were almost always driven by Austria.

One of his successors, Metternich, is the most famous figure.

From the early 19th century to the middle of the 19th century, he led Austria to become the most powerful diplomatic country in Europe.

Austria may not win every time it forms an alliance, but its superb diplomatic skills allow Austria to remain evenly matched with other powerful countries.

It is precisely because of its diplomatic maneuvering that the Austrian Empire still maintains its position as one of the five major powers in Europe despite its obvious weakness in hard power. "

When Jason Ma stopped, others also sighed very much. Austria's foreign policy has been so successful that people have forgotten that they have actually begun to decline and need to compete with Prussia for the leadership position in the German Confederation.

William IV also felt sad for Austria.

It is Xiao He who succeeds and fails!

Diplomatic skills concealed the fact that Austria was weak, but could not help Austria become stronger.

In this century of the 19th century, the sense of honor and self-preservation caused the German nation to launch a vigorous unification movement. In order to preserve the remains of the empire, the Austrian Empire stood firmly on the opposite side of the German national unification.

In the end, when Britain, France, and Russia were busy expanding their colonies, nationalism arose in the north led by Prussia, and Austria could no longer be allowed to bargain. Under the strong pressure of Prussia, which had just defeated Denmark, Austria was also brought in by Prussia to join the Northern German Confederation. Defeated in confrontation, diplomacy can no longer save this paper tiger.

After Austria's disastrous defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Kingdom of Bavaria no longer dared to stand up for Austria and chose to acquiesce in Prussia's leadership.

As a result, Austria was so miserable that it was directly kicked out of the national family of the German Confederation. Later, after Prussia defeated France, the various countries finally accepted the merger into one country after Prussia defeated France. The German Confederation without Austria became the German Empire and Prussia. Officially annexed other countries.

Austria never had a chance to make a comeback.

Seeing that everyone was lamenting the current situation of the Austrian Empire, which once dominated Europe, William IV said: "What has been created by the struggle for European hegemony? This is a question I pose to everyone. All students at the China Foreign Affairs University must write an essay based on this His own paper, Haysbet" Feng personally reviewed and graded"

The latter nodded, but smiled bitterly in his heart, His Majesty took revenge!

"Let me give you a reminder. The brutal struggle for hegemony in Europe did not result in the destruction of lives. During this process, Europe's military technology, production technology, and governance technology have all developed rapidly."

"Dramatic changes in society gave rise to modern political ideas, such as humanism, citizenship, political freedom, national self-determination, etc. The concepts were born in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.

What impact will these seeds of thought have on the Netherlands, Europe, and the world in the future? Will they ultimately change the face of global politics? "

"At the level of international relations, the five European powers that won the hegemony in the 18th century dominated the global order on this page in the 19th century. Although we have to accept the fact that the Netherlands was kicked out of this group, reality is reality and we must bow our heads.

The rise of Prussia, the decline of France and Austria's land power, Britain and Russia's respective expansion of colonies on land and sea, etc.

Now that the German Confederation is too powerful, the European powers are running out of room for diplomacy if they continue to play balanced diplomacy.

Second-class countries like us can still use it, but building our own strength and growing stronger is the ultimate goal.

The Netherlands has been developing externally again and again during this period, which is why I feel a sense of urgency. Before the Netherlands’ diplomatic space becomes smaller and smaller, or even closed, we need to obtain enough benefits so that we can develop independently and become a leader in the face of any big country. , you don’t need to rely on others, you can face each other directly.

Everyone, the Netherlands is too small, so it is difficult to develop. If it develops, it will be easily destroyed. After all, the Netherlands is a low-lying plain. Although such a place is fertile, it is difficult to guard, and there are many big countries around it.

So, in this Foreign Affairs University course, what I just wanted to tell you is that my future plan for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is to run parallel to Europe and the Far East, with a European store here and a Far East factory model over there.

We will develop scientific and technological strength in the Far East, including weapons research and development, urban construction, military strength, etc. The Far East is the most advanced, and the mainland will use the Far East's secondary retaliation capability to remind European countries not to have any influence on the Netherlands. The ambitious idea is to form an alliance with France and Prussia in order to establish relaxed diplomatic relations with the surrounding areas.

The purpose of moving north to form an alliance with Sweden is to leave a way for the Netherlands to retreat north. Many people do not understand why we are quarreling and making peace with Britain now. In fact, it is also a reminder to France and Prussia and other countries that we have not pushed ourselves too hard. If the two countries have ambitions towards the Netherlands, then the British mainland will also be a transit point for the Netherlands to retreat. "

In short, the European mainland is the Netherlands' brand. For actual development, we still need the Far East, because there is sufficient strategic depth there.

If you are studying diplomacy, you should have a clear idea of ​​the current land area of ​​the Netherlands in the Far East.

There, there are the East Indies, New Guinea, Hawaiian Islands, South Pacific Islands, etc., plus the newly joined Australia, their area exceeds 200 times the mainland of the Netherlands! "

Ignore the people in the audience sucking the air conditioner.

He continued: "In addition to Africa, which no one is paying attention to now, we are actually not much weaker than Britain, Russia and France in terms of area. Therefore, what the Netherlands needs now is not to expand new territories, but how to calm down and develop these existing territories. There are resources.

The population development can keep up with the world trend, the economic scale and technology can keep up with the world trend, and even go further than them. These are what we need to promote. This is the future direction of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The development of the Far East is the key development direction of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the next 50 years, because according to the current contradictions between countries, a European war is inevitable. The Far East is where our Dutch strength is preserved, and it is also where we re-establish ourselves. Opportunities to Rise”