Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Kingdom of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, in the private office of William IV at the Royal Palace of the Netherlands.

There was no one around William IV except him, and outside the door were Bill Charlie, Director of the Royal Dutch Intelligence Service, and McKay Sean, Director of the Dutch International Intelligence Service.

At this moment, William IV had a very wonderful expression on his face, but his eyes were fixed on the letter in his hand. Obviously, his expression was driven by the content of the letter in his hand.

What was written in this envelope that made him show such a vivid expression?

“.By this time, everyone’s previous stereotype that the Kingdom of the Netherlands would not dare to use force against the British Empire and would not easily use force against the British Empire will be broken.

On the one hand, the strength of the Netherlands is getting stronger day by day. On the other hand, the British Empire is increasingly diluting its hegemonic influence with the rise of the Netherlands, Prussia, and the American Commonwealth. Many people actually understand this, but there is not much clear impact yet. , if Huntington's visit to Spain is successful and Britain's actions are more thunderous than rainy, it will become a kind of evidence of Britain's strength and influence. This seems to be the reason for the Netherlands' toughness, and it seems that the international community is carefully observing Britain's reaction.

This trend must not get worse, and London has reached a point where measures must be taken.

Any misfire between the three countries of Britain, the Netherlands and Spain may trigger a war. If they are not prepared for the worst, no one can act rashly.

However, the Netherlands does not seem to believe in evil. Amsterdam did not hesitate to use the excuse of turning a blind eye to Huntington's visit, and even did not pay much attention to the British interception and sinking practices. This confirmed a problem from the side, that is, the Netherlands can dispatch troops to protect it at any time. For their own interests, no matter where the other party comes from, the Dutch naval fleet is already ready and can be launched at any time.

There is no sensitive time in the Kingdom of the Netherlands that should not be mentioned, and there is no saying that it should not use force when it is rising. There is no fear of all parties talking about the Netherlands being small and big. At this point, it is obvious that the Netherlands already considers itself a big country. It has the strength of a great power. Although few people in Europe believe that the Netherlands, which has only a population of 3 million in Europe, can assume this position. At least they do not think that the Netherlands can compete with the United Kingdom in Europe. However, the Netherlands' approach is obviously not what the outside world does. become a limiting factor.

It seems that people across Europe, including London, have discovered that Amsterdam's unprecedented boldness shows that the Netherlands' fear of conflict with the British Empire is a thing of the past? "

William IV's letter, but in my mind I seemed to see a young and beautiful noble girl who kept a solemn face while talking eloquently, and I couldn't help but sigh to myself.

"If she were a man, maybe there would be a different pattern in Europe. At least I want to use the UK as a stepping stone to send the Netherlands to become a great country. It seems that there are still more twists and turns to face.

William IV murmured, "In a few months, she will be a member of the Nassau family, and she can be considered one of her own. Although she is a woman, she is still a woman with huge ambitions."

William IV, who was a little afraid, thought a lot. He was worried about whether his younger brother could subdue the other party. Looking at the letter in his hand, he thought of the timid and submissive look of his younger brother, the current Crown Prince of Greece, Frederick, and couldn't help but shake his head. .

"Fortunately, my father William III is still there, and if history goes by, my cheap father William III will live as king until 1890, which means he still has 20 years to live."

“In the history of his previous life, his predecessor, Willem Hendrick, lived from 1840 to 1879 as the first heir to the Dutch throne.

The second brother, William Carrel, lived from 1843 to 1850.

The third brother, William Frederick, lived from 1851 to 1884.

He inherited the throne of the Netherlands after the death of his predecessor. Unfortunately, he lived shorter than his father, William III, and his mother, Queen of the Netherlands, passed away in 1878. In 1879, William III married Princess Emma of a small principality in the German Empire as his queen. , and gave birth to Wilhelmina in 1880. Yes, it was Queen Wilhelmina who became the Queen of the Netherlands at the age of 10 in 1890 after her father and brother died in her previous life, and she remained the queen for 58 years. "

Thinking of this, William IV couldn't help but change his mind, "Now I have successfully inherited the position of King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands is now firmly in my hands, and I have undergone medical examinations from time to time, and there is nothing wrong with me. .

The strangest thing is that after his mother passed away in 1878, his predecessor died inexplicably the following year in 1879, and his third brother Frederick also died five years later in 1884.

In the end, Wilhelmina was left and was promoted to the position of king of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although there is no evidence to show any conspiracy, I believe that people in later generations who are familiar with palace fighting will not think that this is a natural thing. In just five years, the queen and her two legitimate sons died. "

William IV thought coldly: "Looking around the Netherlands, only Britain and Germany have reached this level of ability. Judging from the fact that William III, his cheap father, took the princess of a small German principality as his second wife in 1879, Bismarck had already , William I and others were infiltrated, and they were still the kind who did not dare to resist after his wife and two direct sons were killed.

The only thing to blame is that the geographical location of the Netherlands is too important, and it has become a territory that the military strategists of Britain, France and Germany are fighting for. Especially the coast and excellent ports there are not ordinary greedy things for Germany.”

Britain maintained its hegemony always to check and balance the balance of power in Europe.

France and Xinni maintained their status as great powers.

Prussia or future German wolf ambitions.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was waning.

The Tsarist Empire is slowly updating while it lasts.

Italy fakes China-Xing.

Spain's revival preceded it but failed to succeed.

Portugal was in decline.

The rise of the Commonwealth of America like a rainbow.

Ottoman Türkiye fell apart.

Where does my Dutch future lie?

William IV was just about to fold the letter paper when his face suddenly changed slightly. He looked at the letter paper with a strange expression when it returned to the state facing the garden road. He didn't look down just now, and he didn't even notice that on the other side of the rectangular shape the letter paper was folded into On one side, there was an oval-like pattern on it. The reason that made William IV look weird was that the pattern turned out to be a lip mark, and it was printed with lipstick. William IV didn't know why, but suddenly thought The girl came and read the handwriting.

William IV naturally understood what this lip mark meant. Suddenly, he thought of the scene where he and her were alone at the European royal blind date meeting in 1862. The little girl was only 15 years old at the time. She was born in 1847 and is now 22 years old.

Thinking that she would marry her brother Frederic and become the Crown Princess of Greece in a few months, her heart throbbed.

Thinking about the monthly correspondence between her and him over the years, even a person with a short circuit in emotional intelligence can understand what Princess Louise, Queen Victoria of England, means.

"Maybe she is ambitious, but maybe she really means a little bit to herself."

But when he thought that she was about to be his sister-in-law, William IV felt a sense of sadness in his heart for some reason.

Shaking his head, he put the letter in one of the innermost safes and locked it.

This secret will be the biggest in his opinion at present, obviously at least in his opinion for now.

"But Princess Louise's current relationship with me may be able to further influence Greece in the future."

After putting this aside, William IV thought of the recent visit to Spain by Huntington, the speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives, which has caused a lot of turmoil among the three countries of Britain, the Netherlands and Spain, and he couldn't help but show his pride.

If any allusion from later generations is applied to the British Empire, a rogue country in the West today, it can be regarded as avenging one's motherland.

I felt a little happier in my heart.

However, this is not enough. The current situation has followed the route set by itself. What is left is to continue on and let the Netherlands enter the eyes of the world with a strong image for the first time and let everyone understand , The Netherlands cannot be bullied, not even by the British Empire, the most powerful country in the world today. Conversely, the Netherlands can also pull out a few of Britain's tiger whiskers.

On the afternoon of February 18, 1869, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the British Empire were in high tension because of the visit of Huntington, the Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives, to Spain to support Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar. Prime Minister Tolbeck of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Prime Minister Disraeli of the British Empire discussed this issue. The two communicated via telegraph to ease the rapidly intensifying conflicts between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Tolbik and Prime Minister Disraeli sent 10 telegrams each. It was also stated that this telegram communication involved Anglo-Dutch issues in North America, the Far East, the Malay Peninsula, France and Siam. They exchanged views on the issues of the Kingdom War, African colonial issues, and the situation in the Balkan Peninsula.

The two also had a frank and direct communication about Huntington, the Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives who is currently most concerned about the international community, for his possible support for Spain's Gibraltar bamboo stick.

The Prime Minister's Office at No. 10 Downing Street in London announced that Prime Minister Disraeli focused on elaborating on the UK's principled position on the Gibraltar issue, emphasizing that it "firmly opposes" Spain's ambition to claim Gibraltar and opposes the unrealistic support of Spain by other countries. Britain will not make any compromise on this issue.

Although this telegram communication is unlikely to bring actual improvement to the British and Dutch, many people believe that the first communication between the two after Disraeli took office as British Prime Minister will help avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Analysts believe that the British Empire is currently suffering heavy losses due to the South African War, the North American War and the Balkan Peninsula War. Almost half of the army has been abolished and is currently in the recovery period. Therefore, the Disraeli cabinet government does not want the British to follow suit. The two major naval powers, Spain and the Netherlands, have been upgraded at this moment. After all, the combined naval tonnage of the two countries has exceeded the total tonnage of the United Kingdom. The loss of the army, for the Netherlands and Spain, which have strong navies, may make these two countries in the Although it is somewhat exaggerated to land on the British mainland in one direction from the south and one from the north, it is indeed risky for the United Kingdom. And don’t forget that except for the two countries of Jose, which are barely among the first-class countries, there are several others that can almost rival the United Kingdom. France, Prussia, Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary, etc. are still eyeing it.

So this is why London is hesitant.