Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Austria-Hungary, Vienna.

Franz Joseph I, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Archduke Ferdinand, and Foreign Minister Reichberg sat around a conference table.

They were distraught as they looked at recent accusations of intelligence gathering between Britain and Germany vis-à-vis the Netherlands.

"The Netherlands leads the Seven Eyes Alliance, which is composed of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Siam, Ecuador, and Spain, and has begun to respond quickly. Currently, the Netherlands has taken the lead in comprehensively collecting intelligence from our three countries. The public does not know how much of this The spies of the seven countries. Britain and Germany are said to be comprehensively investigating foreign spies in the country."

Archduke Ferdinand said with a little uneasiness: "The Dutch battle is a bit big this time, and both Britain and Germany are dealing with it carefully."

That's right, no country will be indifferent to a group of seven countries, especially when there are powerful countries like the Netherlands and Spain among these seven countries. If you really want to calculate it, the Austro-Hungarian Empire may not be really stronger than Spain. It just has a slightly larger population and a slightly larger army. However, in terms of navy, Austria-Hungary is not Spain's opponent.

Coupled with the five other medium-sized countries, especially Sweden, Denmark, and Greece, the three middle-level powers in Europe, Austria and Hungary feel pressure, not to mention the Netherlands and Spain.

Foreign Minister Reichberg also said dullly at this time: "These seven countries are all over the world. There are five countries with territory in Europe, and the five countries are all in the coastal areas of the European land. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, please look at the map."

Reichberg drew circles on the map of the five countries.

As he finished the painting, both Franz Joseph I and Archduke Ferdinand felt cold.

I really don’t know if I don’t see it, I’m shocked when I see it.

Spain is in the southwest of Europe, Greece is in the southeast of Europe, and the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway is at the northern tip of Europe. The three points of these three countries are connected together and can almost form an equilateral triangle that surrounds Europe. Looking down, the Netherlands is Located in the center of the equilateral triangle of Europe, and with Denmark connecting Sweden and the Netherlands, it can almost be said that Denmark's role is to advance, attack, retreat and defend. Coupled with the relationship between the Netherlands and the Russian Empire, Russia is also a peripheral intelligence partner of the Seven Eyes Intelligence Alliance.

Thinking of this, Franz Joseph I and Archduke Ferdinand were immediately frightened.

Then I saw that Reichberg then drew the symbol of the Kingdom of Siam. This Kingdom is in Southeast Asia, in the center of Southeast Asia; the other is Ecuador in Latin America, which is also in the middle of America, on the Pacific side. Coastal area.

These countries are connected together, almost blocking global intelligence, and almost forming a perfect global surveillance network.

"Your concerns are good, but it seems that the intelligence collection of these seven countries in our country of Austria-Hungary is still too frequent," Franz Joseph I said displeased, "Of course, compared to the German Empire, we are still lighter."

"Why did the Netherlands start to attack the German Empire with all its strength this time? Instead of us or the United Kingdom? Have you ever understood?" Franz Joseph I asked Archduke Ferdinand. After all, he is the current prime minister of Austria-Hungary. Compared with Reich, Berg came to find out more.

Archduke Ferdinand: “Since the establishment of the Seven Eyes Intelligence Alliance in 1865, the United Kingdom has actually been the most carefully monitored country by the Netherlands. After the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire’s unification of Germany greatly increased its strength, even threatening the Netherlands’ European territories and allies. Denmark, the important target country for intelligence collection by the Seven Eyes Alliance, is naturally the German Empire. Germany surpassed the United Kingdom and rose to the first place.

Although the United Kingdom is also a target country for surveillance and information collection, it has been suppressed a lot, or it may be said that the United Kingdom does not have much room for growth and has been finalized. On the contrary, when the Netherlands faces the rapidly rising power of the German Empire, it needs Be more careful, especially if the other side imitates Dutch industrial technology for research and development, which poses a greater threat to the Netherlands than the UK.

It's ridiculous to say that the economy and technological strength of our Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time was not more developed than that of the Netherlands, its international exchanges and influence were limited, and its comprehensive national strength was not yet prominent. Therefore, the Netherlands was not the focus, and the threat to the Netherlands was not among the top five. . Moreover, during this period, the Seven Eyes Alliance's intelligence against Britain and Germany was comprehensive, and its intelligence acquisition on the Austro-Hungarian Empire mainly focused on military security and political security, rather than economic and technological aspects. "

Although Reichberg's words were unpleasant, they were telling the truth.

“In 1871, France was defeated by the German Empire, and Germany replaced France as the land hegemon in Central and Western Europe. As Germany’s economy continued to prosper and its industrial technology continued to advance, especially after 1871, the population and area of ​​all German states that had the right to unify Berlin increased. The economy has quickly reached the third place in the world. In terms of industrial technology, it is almost on par with the United Kingdom. It even surpasses the United Kingdom in new inventions in the electrical age, second only to the Netherlands.

As a result, the Seven Eyes Alliance led by the Netherlands began to shift the focus of intelligence collection and penetration from the United Kingdom to the German Empire and its surrounding areas. This also formed the background for the Seven Eyes Alliance to shift the focus of information intelligence to the German Empire in recent years. "

Reichberg: "Your Majesty, I feel that our war in Mexico seems to be in line with the strategic interests of the Netherlands."

Joseph I's expression changed drastically and he asked hurriedly, "How do you say that?"

Reichberg: "In the past, most of the twelve Latin American countries were actually submissive to the Dutch leader. Even Mexico and the five Central American countries were somewhat dissatisfied with the Dutch dominance. Not only them, but also Colombia and Venezuela. There are complaints, after all, they still have fresh memories of Spanish colonial rule, but now the Netherlands actually has Ecuador as the core, slowly expanding to Bolivia and Peru, forming a triangle strategy, which has caused a great shock to the threat to Colombia." He added: "Especially in 1878, the Netherlands and Britain defeated Britain and Southern Chile in the Chilean Civil War, and became the de facto backer of Chile. No one in the Netherlands knows how many troops were stationed in Santiago in Chile.

Therefore, this is also the reason why Argentina was unhappy and finally turned against the Netherlands.

Now look at the practice of Mexico and the five Central American countries directly inviting troops to the Netherlands to safeguard their own security. Are we becoming the Netherlands’ foreign aid? "

"Not to mention, if the Netherlands stationed troops in Central America because of this, would the five Central American governments become puppets of the Netherlands? Although Mexico, as a big country, is worried, it still has to accept it silently, otherwise its own security will also be manipulated by the Netherlands. deal with."