Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

July 27, 1862.

A small cruise with big scenery is the best way to appreciate the charm of Amsterdam on the water while cruising!

"No wonder all the people in the world who live in the palace will feel as if they have just escaped from the prison the moment they walk out of the palace. The air outside is fresher."

Today, William IV took a rare break from his busy schedule and walked out of the Royal Palace of the Netherlands for a short trip in Amsterdam.

Bill Charlie, Director of Royal Dutch Intelligence, accompanied him, as well as a number of hidden personal guards.

It was also rare for Bill Charlie to accompany His Majesty the King out of the palace, with a rare expression of contentment on his face.

"Your Majesty, when it comes to coming to the Netherlands, it would be in vain if you don't come to Amsterdam and take a boat to wander the major canals."

William IV laughed, "Is there such a thing?"

"Well, there are countless literati and poets from all over Europe who come here every year, and they all admire the canal zone of the Netherlands.

You must know that our canal zone in Amsterdam has a history of more than 300 years. It has developed into a 75-kilometer-long canal network linking more than 100 small islands, consisting of more than 160 canals and 1,281 bridges. It is a well-deserved 'water city' "

"Be careful of this title being heard by the Venetians who used to belong to the Austrian Empire and now belong to Italy. Be careful of being scolded."

"Your Majesty, our structure is different from theirs, and the construction structure was also different back then.

Our side is centered on the current central railway station of Amsterdam, and is spread out through the arc-shaped Singel, Gentleman's Canal, Kaiser's Canal, Prinsengracht and the outermost Singel Canal. Its main attractions are concentrated in about 1.5 kilometer radius canal belt”

“Nowadays, people from all over the world, especially from Northern Europe, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and even from the Russian Empire, Prussia, Belgium and France, come to Amsterdam for water sightseeing and appreciate the charm of Amsterdam’s water.

Most of them will choose the best way, which is to take a canal sightseeing boat. Through the glass boat top and glass windows, they can admire the rows of 17th-century gabled buildings on both sides of the canal.

Almost everyone will be surprised by their colorful, different shapes, gorgeous and historical vicissitudes after sightseeing.”

Looking at the dazzling streets of Amsterdam with people coming and going, and seeing the pride on people's faces, it seems that at this moment in my heart, I feel that being a king, besides fighting for hegemony, there are more things that need to be done.

For example, developing the economy improves people's livelihood, and converting military technology into civilian technology improves Shandong's competitiveness in the world with Dutch private technology.

The Netherlands can do more in this regard.

Many Amsterdam street floors in this era were made of stone slabs cut in half.

Different from the street markets in that country in the Far East, here in Amsterdam, the mainstream is still mainly shops. Silk ceramics are occasionally available, but more are glass products and other European industrial products, such as the latest rubber products in the Netherlands, celluloid washbasins, and celluloid washbasins. Barrels and a range of finished celluloids are the most purchased throughout the streets.

"Has the scale of plastics grown so huge?"

"Sir, you don't seem to be from another place, but you don't know that celluloid has become a part of our daily life?

Are you a foreigner? But when I heard what you said just now, it didn’t sound like a foreigner. By the way, I heard that many people immigrated to North America in the past few years, a country where the war was going on. You didn’t escape from North America because of the war. "

"Wentson, please stop meddling in other people's affairs. You have forgotten that you came with me today to purchase goods and take them back to Zindert City to sell in the center."

"How can this old man Sikes talk and sell such tiring things? Only you old guy can think of such tiring things. I won't do such tiring work."

What caught William IV's eyes was an old man in his 60s, Sikes, and a little boy of about 10 years old named Vincent.

It was the little boy who asked him about it just now. I saw that his features were handsome and his eyes were full of agility. When he looked around at people, his eyes were bright and focused, but when he looked elsewhere, his eyes were like moving colors. Like a child, he is very clever.

This is a child who is both sensible and restless!

As for the old man, William IV narrowed his eyes slightly, because he saw that the other man was different from ordinary old men, and had a sense of vicissitudes after experiencing many tortures.

There must be many stories behind this man, this was William IV’s first feeling.

And Bill Charlie behind him warned in his ear: "Master, I feel the evil spirit from that old man. He should have been a soldier before, or even the kind who has killed countless souls with guns. Do you want to call him people"

"Need not"

William IV stopped.

"Sir, you have been looking at these celluloid products for a long time. Do you want to buy them or not? If you don't, I can pack them all up and take them back to Zundert. There are people in need there."

William IV did not answer directly, but asked with interest: "If I buy all the celluloid supplies here, will your trip be in vain? After all, the distance between the two places will take you almost a day. Rush back and forth”

Vincent expressed dissatisfaction to William IV: "Sir, you are doing this to embarrass me, but there are so many plastic products on this street, you can't buy them all, right?"

"Do you really think so?"

William IV didn't say anything, but Bill Charlie, who was next to him, walked over to the owner of the store and whispered a few words in his ear.

I saw the boss trotting over anxiously, and after performing the etiquette when facing a nobleman to William IV, he said to Vincent and the 60-year-old man:

"Both of you, I will sell these celluloid products to you without the consent of this gentleman. Please forgive me."

Hearing this, Vincent and the old man's expressions changed, and they showed fear when they looked at the smiling William IV and the upright Bill Charlie beside him.

"Look, I told you that if you don't answer me, your trip will be in vain. You should believe it now, right?"

William IV said sincerely, but the threat revealed by this meaning did not weaken at all. On the contrary, because of his smile, Vincent and the two felt a little coercive, but it was the momentum brought by the superior.

Sikes bent down a little. He was older and knew better than to offend the person in front of him.

He casually pulled Vincent next to him and said with a kind old man's face: "I don't know, what is this gentleman asking about?"

Although Vincent was dissatisfied, he did not refute. Although he was young, he was smart and understood the importance of assessing the situation.

Bill Charlie sighed in relief with a sullen face when he heard this, but he stood between William IV and the two of them, in order to prevent the two of them from accidentally offending each other, so that he could block them in time.

"Just now, little brother, you said that these quantities of finished products are not for sale yourself. I am curious, what are you going to do with them?"

Vincent showed a child's unique smile and said:

"Selling by yourself naturally requires a store. The store fee is so expensive, and we also need to use a sum of money to buy them. However, there are few stores in Zindert City and every inch of land is precious. It is too risky for us.

The turnover of other small shops is too small. I think you are not an ordinary person. I understand that when you open a shop, you will encounter some hooligans who ask for protection/fees and pay taxes to the government."

William IV said indifferently: "As a citizen, isn't it normal to pay taxes to the government?"

"But we are just a small business."

"So you think" William IV suddenly became interested in the child with his forehead. A child of about 10 years old actually understood this. His family was either an extraordinary family. If it was an ordinary family, then this child would be a business genius. .

For a genius, William IV, who is only 22 years old, will not think that it will be confusing if he takes action to train the other party.

He guessed some of the child's next thoughts, but if he really thought so, then William IV felt that the child named Vincent was smart enough to attract his training.

Vincent paused and said, "After that, are you really going to stop interfering with us?"

"Naturally," William IV affirmed, "but it depends on whether you are satisfied with your answer."

Still satisfied?

Vincent's face darkened, and he did not dare to vent his dissatisfaction to William IV, so the target was changed to the old man Sikes.

"Actually, my purpose is to purchase goods from here at a low price, and then take them back to Zindert City to sell them in bulk at a high price."

The old man Sykes suddenly said: "Well, Vincent, didn't you want me to accompany you to purchase the goods, and then take them back to set up a stall, rent a store, and sell them yourself?"

Vincent said proudly: "I'm not going to lie to you, why are you willing to accompany me all the way to this wholesale street in Amsterdam?"

"You" Sykes was so angry that he almost stood upright.

William IV looked at this combination with amusement, especially the child.

"They will definitely receive your goods by then? Aren't you afraid that they will regret it then?"

"Of course not," Vincent said confidently: "Because before I came here, I had already accepted a deposit of 30% of their total price. If they regret it, all of their deposit will not be returned to me."

"I'm so angry, Vincent. All the expenses you spent on the road were mine. Even the train tickets were poor and I bought them for you. I didn't expect you to take a big round trip ticket." The deposit for the pen is actually mine.”

"This is what you owe our family, and your payment is only a small part of the repayment."

Hearing this, Sikes immediately shut up, fearing that Vincent would say those unpleasant words again, so he chose to stare and remain silent.

William IV gave Sikes a thoughtful look, and then asked:

"Well, it's really good to get a deposit, not to mention it's 30%.

But how do you know that the prices here will be lower than those in Zindert or that you can make a lot of money after excluding your shipping costs? "

After saying that, not only William IV, but also Sikes and Bill Charlie among them also looked at him curiously.

Making money will never feel like a redundant thing, and listening to people who have made a lot of money talk about how to do it is what people like the most.

The 10-year-old boy in front of him had already made these people interested in him and making money after what he just said. However, the other two were doing it to make money, while William IV was concerned about this child's potential. .

Vincent: "I mean, Sykes, you old man has forgotten that in the newspaper "Holland Handelsblatt" you gave me on July 20, there was a price list for celluloid products. This pair makes a lot of money. Don’t you know if you don’t make money?”

When Sikes heard this, his face suddenly brightened and he smiled bitterly.

Bill Charlie looked at the boy seriously. He knew that from then on, the boy had fallen into the eyes of King William IV. It was not an exaggeration to say that the boy had a bright future.

William IV lamented that genius is also expressed based on actual conditions.

"Charlie, this little boy is very clever. I think you should accept him."

Accept me?

Looking at the strong figure of Bill Charlie in front of him, they were both men. Although he was young, he also knew the dirty things in some churches in Europe. He couldn't help but shuddered. So he was about to refuse, but found that The "sir" had already walked away. When he saw Bill Charlie approaching, he was about to refuse.

"My name is Bill Charlie, a member of the Privy Council of the Netherlands. My position is Director of Royal Intelligence of the Netherlands. The person just now is our King William IV of the Netherlands. You also heard that His Majesty is very optimistic about you and thinks you are a good prospect. , so I want to focus on training you and ask me to accept you as my apprentice."

"Privy Council? What kind of institution is this?"

"Director of Royal Dutch Intelligence? Is this a very high position?"

"And the one just now is actually our King of the Netherlands. Is he great?"

"And you want to accept me as your apprentice? What benefits will I receive?"

As this series of questions came out, Bill Charlie suddenly had the urge to curse. All these things were nothing. Compared with this, the first disciple he received, Jules Danetang, was better.

However, the things His Majesty ordered, just like Danetang back then, he could only do them seriously.

"Perhaps this boy really has a talent that I don't know about, and His Majesty sees it, but I don't know about it?"

Thinking of this, Bill Charlie quickly made a decision, so he spread knowledge about these aspects to the other party.

However, when Bill Charlie lowered his head, Sikes, the man next to him, had a different expression. After he finished telling the story, he smiled at Sikes and said.

"Please old gentleman, please send him back, Vincent. I will go to Zindert City on business in a while, and I will find you there then. You must study hard during this period, and don't let me and Your senior brother is embarrassed, let alone disappoint His Majesty William."

"Senior brother? Teacher, my senior brother doesn't know who he is"

Vincent wanted to ask how this senior brother was doing. If he couldn't do it, then he would be at a huge loss this time as a teacher. Even though he was so shocked by the name he explained to him just now that he recognized this teacher, now I still have some regrets.

Sikes also looked at Bill Charlie with interest.

"Your senior brother," Charlie said proudly: "He is now the Prime Minister of Belgium. You should have heard of him. His name is Jules Danetant."

It's him!

It's him!

Vincent's heart almost jumped out of his chest, and he hurriedly said to please: "Teacher, my full name is Van Gogh. William Vincent, you remember, I only tell people who are close to me, as close as Only you can call me Van Gogh"

"what about me?"

After the three heard this, they turned around and found William IV's eyes staring at Vincent, no, the little boy who should be called Van Gogh at this moment.

William IV secretly sighed: "It turned out to be the pioneer of Post-Impressionist Expressionism in European painting circles, the great Dutch painter Van Gogh? I came out this time, and it seems I have found a treasure."

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