Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"What do His Majesty Chulalongkorn think of this Defense Plaza?"

William IV asked Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of the Kingdom of Siam (ruler of the future Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia).

"The 1-kilometer wide area, the tidy ground, and the relief patterns are all shocking. I have to say that only a global economic power like the Kingdom of the Netherlands can accomplish such a large project."

Chulalongkorn also said: "The Netherlands is indeed one of the few countries with the most financial resources in the world. In my opinion, even the United Kingdom is incomparable."

Chulalongkorn was secretly envious.

Internationally, in front of the Kingdom of Siam, the British encroached on India and incorporated Burma into British India through two Anglo-Burmese wars.

To the south of the Kingdom of Siam, Britain established the Straits Settlements on the Malay Peninsula, closing in on the southern gate of the Kingdom of Siam.

In the east, the Second French Empire remained stubborn and through two wars, North Vietnam and South Vietnam became its protectorates, which were actually colonies, and further extended its giant claws to Cambodia in the west.

Neighboring countries fell one by one, and the Kingdom of Siam seemed unable to protect itself.

The state machinery of the Kingdom of Siam is still imprinted in the Middle Ages and is operating inefficiently.

As early as 1870, Chulalongkorn himself had already proposed that "the most difficult thing at present is to defend the intact territory of the Kingdom of Siam. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen relations with the Netherlands and integrate into the Netherlands' global alliance system."

As the threat from Britain and France, especially France, became more and more serious, Chulalongkorn emphasized in the Siam Parliament that if there was no reform, the Kingdom of Siam might lose its independence and freedom and develop further relations with the Netherlands.

He also warned in 1876, "Foreign powers are now threatening the security of Siam. If we cannot block the administration, then I think that endangering our security will also cause us to lose our independence." national status”

As a result, the Kingdom of Siam and the Netherlands finally established the Kingdom of Siam, which became the global core ally of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and one of the few countries most trusted by the Netherlands.

At the same time, Chulalong Ou struggled to deal with Britain, France and Germany, taking advantage of the fact that Britain and France both wanted to annex the Kingdom of Siam, but they were worried about the situation in the Netherlands, making the Kingdom of Siam

It became a buffer zone between the British and French spheres of influence, and also became a bridgehead for the Netherlands to march into Indochina and fight against Britain and France.

As a result, Britain and France began to be eager for the expansion plan of the Kingdom of Siam, but they did not dare to act rashly.

Of course, Chulalongkorn would not be willing to sit back and wait for death, and relying on the Netherlands could not be a long-term solution for the Kingdom of Siam. Only by reforming and striving for self-improvement and adapting to history could it survive in the 19th century under the law of the jungle.

This time, he came to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Naturally, he was not here to recuperate or to visit William IV. He was here to seek to gain favor from the Netherlands and further develop the Netherlands' investment in the Kingdom of Siam. , to further attract Dutch capital to improve the economic and industrial development of the Kingdom of Siam. Of course, when he came to the Netherlands this time, he also wanted to obtain Dutch arms technology, develop a small arms supply chain in Bangkok, and allow the Kingdom of Siam to compete with arms dealers. We will not rely entirely on imports.

William IV suddenly spoke at this time, interrupting Chulalongkorn's thoughts.

"Your Majesty, do you think we should start a war in Indochina?" William IV looked at the exquisite patterns on the floor and asked without raising his head.

It seemed casual, but it made Chulalongkorn's heart tremble, and his face became extremely solemn.

He answered cautiously: "Britain and France shouldn't be fighting, right?"

William IV: "Why do you think so? Are you so sure? You have to know that everything in this world has accidents. For example, 20 years ago, few people in the Netherlands would think that the Netherlands could develop into a top power in the world. After all, in We are surrounded by big countries in Europe, and there are strict checks and balances, but what is supposed to happen is still happening?"

Chulalongkorn did not dare and did not think he should oppose it.

The rapid rise of the Netherlands in the past 20 years has even exceeded that of the Kingdom of Prussia (the German Empire after 1871), which was originally thought to be the number one rising country in this century.

In the first half of 1800, Prussia was rising, and in the second half of the century, the Netherlands was rising, even faster and more thoroughly than Prussia.

It took three wars for Prussia to establish its current land hegemony in Western Europe, surpassing France and Austria-Hungary.

However, there was no real war in the Netherlands during the whole process, except for the monthly African colonial war with Portugal in 1863.

The peaceful rise of the Netherlands has made the world envious. After all, the Netherlands' current international status is more convincing than the German Empire.

Regardless of its economic status or arms export industry, it is the world's top technology owner, even surpassing the United Kingdom. It is the world's number one arms exporter, accounting for nearly 55% of the export arms trade.

On the contrary, the UK currently has less than 18%, and Germany only has 8%.

Looking at this data, you can see how powerful the Netherlands' alliance system is.

The Kingdom of Siam purchases more than 20 million guilders (£2 million) in weapons and maintenance services from the Netherlands every year.

Bicycle legion packages, semi-automatic rifles, machine guns, etc. are all major purchases. Of course, the Kingdom of Siam purchases surface warships from the Netherlands every year. Although the number is not large, the victory is continuous, and it has not stopped for more than ten years.

A large number of second-hand sailing warships in the Netherlands have become cheap purchase targets for the Kingdom of Siam Navy.

However, in the past, the Netherlands was only willing to produce sailing battleships and below.

This is no problem for patrolling the coastline, but if it goes into the depths of the sea, it will be insufficient for supplies.

It is said that the Netherlands' Latin American allies are seeking to purchase third-class, second-class or even first-class sailing battleships from the Netherlands. If successful, then the Dutch second-hand resources that the Kingdom of Siam is interested in will come from there.

Therefore, Chulalongkorn hurriedly came from Bangkok to visit this time. The purpose is, of course, to strike first and gain the upper hand.

I originally thought that I would meet with William IV at the Royal Palace in Melbourne, and then get down to the topic of negotiating arms sales.

However, he was assigned to the Defense Square. William IV even talked about other things, even the possibility of a recent war between Britain and France, knowing his purpose.

Chulalongkorn was extremely helpless about this, but he was also wary of it.

There are no unreasonable problems, especially when William IV is the dominant one.

But will Britain really go to war with France in the near future?

If a war breaks out, how should the Kingdom of Siam handle itself, and how should it end in the future so that the Kingdom of Siam can survive this crisis safely and happily.

Thinking of this, he was extremely upset and couldn't help but raise his head, only to see William IV looking at him with a smile.

Suddenly, Zhu Lalong's heart moved.

Because William IV's smile was so calm, so calm that the war between England and France did not make him frown at all.

Chulalongkorn understood that the Dutch king in front of him had a plan, and he seemed to just need to execute it.

This was Chulalongkorn V's judgment. Although he was unhappy, he had to compromise.

"Your Majesty, how does the Kingdom of Siam need to cooperate with the Kingdom of the Netherlands? Don't worry, I will definitely stand on the side of the Netherlands and fight against Britain and France."