Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Chapter 143 Isabel II: I believe in the Orange family of Nassau

After Louis I looked over in confusion, William I said leisurely: "William III is commendable for his loyalty, no one will deny it, but Karl XV recommended him to Greece, but it does not represent his change of loyalty to the Netherlands. , to transform those who have misbehaved, just like you and me. Loyalty to one's own country is the best character, and this is also the most important thing for professional ethics.

He has given the throne of the Netherlands to his eldest son, William IV, and the development of the Netherlands has proved that his approach was right. In other words, I also really want to have such a descendant who can make me retire early, but unfortunately I don't."

These words made Queen Victoria frown. His son, Crown Prince Frederick, William I, was not her son-in-law.

She glanced at William I dissatisfied, and finally looked at William IV behind William I, and she recovered instantly. That's right, in front of William IV, her eldest son Edward didn't seem to be enough.

William I didn't know that he had just made Queen Victoria angry.

He continued: "To give you a general overview, you must be loyal when loyalty is needed, but when you change the object of your loyalty, your loyalty also needs to change. Then I think William III can also make such a change.

After all, the Netherlands can inherit Greece without any worries. This is not a good thing for William III. After all, his son is the King of the Netherlands, his father is the King of Greece, and his youngest son is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. , this is also a good story in Europe.”

Louis I smiled faintly and said unconcernedly: "I do not deny that William III has problems with his loyalty and moral character, but I think that since there are better candidates, why bother yourself and find someone who has been a leader?" Where is the king’s choice?”

Does he have a candidate?

William IV looked at Emmanuel II next to him, thoughtfully.

Everyone else looked at Louis I in surprise.

William I narrowed his eyes and asked, "I wonder who His Majesty Louis I thinks is a suitable candidate?"

Louis I said: "Since the Greeks need a king who can do practical things for Greece, and countries also need a Greece with a king, I think the scope of candidates can be expanded. Frederick VII, I heard that your Danish Crown Prince Christian There is a 19-year-old King Frederick and a 17-year-old King George, I don’t know, right?”

When Frederick VII heard this, his expression changed, and he was secretly annoyed that the other party had brought this fire to him.

Despite this, he admitted it because it only required a little investigation, but he did not deny it.

"good"

Louis I smiled at Emmanuel II and said, "I heard that there are 18-year-old Crown Prince Umberto and 17-year-old Prince Amadeo in Italy?"

Emmanuel II pretended to hesitate for a moment before saying: "Indeed"

King Louis I looked around at everyone, and then said: "Look, this is the candidate. I won't say anything about the crown prince. This prince or king is either over 18 years old or almost 18 years old. Compared to William III, who is already 45 years old. At this age, the future rule of Greece may be more stable for a longer period of time. How do you feel? I have said this, and the rest is up to you."

King Louis I was about to walk back to his seat, but suddenly turned around and said to William IV with a slightly provocative expression: "I wonder what the King of the Netherlands thinks, haha?"

When everyone saw this scene, they didn't know that Louis I was deliberately provoking William IV of the Netherlands, and it was obviously for William IV.

The people here are all people with powerful handles. There is no translator here because the whole process is speaking French, the most widely spoken official language of the upper class in Europe.

Nowadays, in Europe, if you say you don’t speak English, maybe no one will criticize you, but as an upper-class European aristocrat or powerful capitalist, if you don’t speak French, many circles will refuse your participation. This is the reality.

Queen Victoria whispered to Alexander II opposite: "Do you think that little guy William IV will die out because of this?"

After hearing this, the leader Napoleon III and the Austrian Joseph I who she attacked couldn't help but pricked up their ears, wanting to hear Alexander II's opinion.

At the same time, this is actually an attitude, because from Alexander II's words, they can find useful information about whether Tsarist Russia, which has not expressed its position so far, will support William III of the Netherlands.

After all, the Tsarist Russian Empire is now slowly taking their lead as the Orthodox Church. Greece, which has established itself as the Patriarch of Istanbul, is gradually moving closer to the branches of the Tsarist Russian Orthodox Church, and there is a tendency for branches to overwhelm the main body.

Tsarist Russia's influence on Greece is growing, not to mention that Tsarist Russia's land military strength has always been huge in the Balkans. Whether Alexander II supports it or not will directly affect the final selection of Greece's new king.

In terms of this influence, Britain is not even as good as Tsarist Russia.

"I have cooperated with him. At this point, I think you, Queen Victoria, have cooperated with him, and even His Majesty Napoleon III. This little guy is very smart. I don't think he is a person who does not fight back when he is beaten. This It’s not his style. Look, when faced with the provocation of Louis I, his calm and composed expression looks like he is encountering difficulties?”

A few people looked at it and saw that it was really like this.

William IV didn't know that the people above him were taking turns talking about him.

When he stood up, everyone looked at him.

He came to Louis I, first greeted Joseph I as a gentleman, and then just when everyone thought he would challenge Louis I, he continued to have a conversation with Joseph I.

William IV: "Your Majesty Joseph I, I heard that the Austrian Empire is recruiting 50,000 soldiers recently?"

Many people don't understand why William IV asked this.

Joseph I: "Yes, the world is too chaotic. It's just to increase self-defense capabilities. Why, does the Netherlands have any objections?"

Does the Netherlands have a problem with the Austrian conscription? Many people don't think so. If anyone has an opinion, it should be Prussia and Italy. What about the Netherlands and Austria, which are several countries apart?

William IV shook his head: "Of course I have no objection, but I heard that after Austria showed its strength in the Gulf of Guinea in Africa, I was just curious. The place has been divided by various countries, but the Austrian army of ten thousand people is Where are you planning to invest? Is it Ethiopia?"

Joseph I's expression changed drastically, and he looked at William IV in disbelief.

When others saw this, they still didn't understand that what William IV said should be true.

It doesn't matter to a small country, but it doesn't matter to a big country.

Prussian William I, who occupied Somalia in the east, was busy rolling his eyes, quickly calculating the gains and losses. He was also shocked that Austria had ambitions for Ethiopia in the east. He even doubted that Austria was like a dog-skin plaster, and Prussia followed it wherever it went. The purpose is not pure, is it to deal with Prussia?

Or is it just a deliberate excuse to block the mouths of other countries?

After all, after Prussia captured Cameroon, Austria captured Nigeria; Prussia captured Somalia, and now Austria is setting its sights on Ethiopia next door. Isn't this following Prussia's footsteps?

In addition to the sudden change of color of William I, Emmanuel II also looked unsightly, because Italy was scared away by Prussia on the Somali issue and retreated to Eritrea and Libya. It originally wanted to take Somalia in order to win After going there, they formed a joint attack with Eritrea from the north and east and west to move south to capture Ethiopia. But now Austria actually wants to strike first?

For Emmanuel II, this was being cut off.

However, he had been in politics for many years and had ruled Italy for many years, so he suppressed the idea of ​​opposing Austria's march south to Ethiopia.

However, William IV seemed to have noticed his idea, but he provoked him again and dug a deep hole for him, and it was a hole that made everyone present deeply fearful of Italy.

William IV changed his mind when he saw Emmanuel II and William I.

But he seemed dissatisfied and smiled at Napoleon III, Queen Victoria and others who were calm at the front:

"Look, everyone, Italy is indeed the new upstart in European politics. Somalia can be given to Prussia without changing its color. Ethiopia, it is said that many Italians have already stationed heavy troops in Eritrea and are ready to go south at any time. But now that Austria has done this, Ethiopia His Majesty Manuel didn't even care, how magnanimous he was.

But yes, it is reasonable to believe that His Majesty Emmanuel II is not worried. Now the Kingdom of Italy almost rules the Apennine Peninsula and occupies the huge colonial territory of Libya on the south side of the Mediterranean. With a joint attack from the north and the south, who among the European countries would dare not to attack in the Mediterranean? Give Italy some face.

Not long ago, His Majesty Emmanuel II married his eldest daughter to our Majesty Louis I. This powerful alliance in the Mediterranean, if at this Paris conference, His Majesty Emmanuel II’s eldest son or If the second son becomes king of Greece"

William IV smiled thinking of Louis I, and said coldly, although his tone was not cold: "Your Majesty Louis I, your father-in-law and brother-in-law, together, occupy a huge power in the earth. No wonder your son-in-law is so powerful. At my father-in-law’s house, you are so fierce in waving flags and shouting. If it were me, I would do the same. However, I don’t know if all the kings and emperors here will be able to fulfill your wishes."

Louis I stared at William IV with an embarrassed expression: "You"

Emmanuel II's expression also changed drastically, but he still suppressed it, but his fists were clenched, showing that he was now uneasy.

William IV sneered back, but said nothing and walked straight back to the second position on the second floor on his right hand.

The elegant Isabel II of Spain turned her head and said in a loud voice: "I have long heard that William IV has an unforgiving mouth, but today I finally saw it."

William IV asked: "How is it?"

Isabel II smiled and said: "It's really extraordinary."

William IV smiled and said: "Spain's Philippines has developed too slowly in recent years. After the meeting is over, wouldn't Her Majesty the Queen be willing to talk about the cooperation between the Netherlands and Spain in the Far East?"

Isabel II laughed and said, "Of course I do."

William IV: "What about my father's inheritance of the Greek throne?"

Queen Isabel II saw Louis I and Emmanuel II staring at her closely, and even Queen Victoria across from her put down her tea cup. She smiled slightly and said loudly on purpose:

"Spain and the Netherlands have been friendly for generations, and when the Netherlands became independent from Spain, we separated peacefully. In this case, William III is not bad. I think William III of the Netherlands is qualified for this position. The Nassau-Orange family, on the other hand, is A top noble worthy of the trust of all European countries."