Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On April 25, 1868, Bismarck called on Andrew Johnson's cabinet government in Berlin to calm down.

"None of us wants to see turmoil. The death of President Lincoln is very regrettable. We also condemn the assassin. Prussia does not want the friendship between Prussia and America to be seriously damaged because of individual reasons. At the same time, we appeal If Prussians and Germans are willing to stay in Milicia, please respect the local laws. At the same time, we also make a statement here. If people are willing to return to Prussia, they can return to Prussia. We welcome this. Great Prussia welcomes it. Your return”

Prussia's statement seems to be asking the Andrew government to treat Prussians and Germans well, but in fact, another appeal is to provide another choice for these Prussians and even Germans. Obviously, Prussia was taking the opportunity to poach the Germans, which made the Andrew government very dissatisfied.

On April 27, 1868, President Andrew Johnson nominated the New York capital tycoon Alton as the new Secretary of State. Due to the situation in America, a vote was held in the Senate the next day and it was quickly passed. After all, it was Andrew's former state. The base camp.

Addon became Secretary of State, which made many people in America change their minds. Even many high-level officials from European countries showed solemn expressions about this.

Why, it turns out that Alton’s new Secretary of State has a good background. He is a 35-year-old Dutchman, and he is only a second-generation Dutch immigrant. The most important thing is that the Randy family has always been closely related to the royal family of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They have close contacts. Their grandfather, Randy Alton, just celebrated his 80th birthday a few days ago and is currently an earl of the Netherlands. His 58-year-old father, Randy Blish, is currently the helmsman of the New York Consortium, the largest consortium in the Commonwealth of America. people.

It operates the oil, coal mining and banking industries in the United States, and has shares in nearly one-third of the large companies in the Federal Republic of America.

It can be called the economic giant of the American Commonwealth.

Now the second generation of the Randy family has entered a high position in the Andrew government. Obviously, the Randy family is clearly expressing its support for Andrew Johnson, which is helping to consolidate the presidential status of Andrew Johnson, who is of Dutch descent.

French Empire, Paris.

"The Netherlands is so smart. It uses private power to control the political power of the Commonwealth of America. This not only avoids the resentment of ordinary Americans, but also blocks the mouths of other countries that want to intervene."

Prime Minister Olivier sighed: "Your Majesty, the Netherlands has made a good move. Prussia and the Netherlands are advancing and retreating. In this way, the strength of the Netherlands in the Federal Republic of Mili will be further expanded. I am afraid that now Mili Within the Commonwealth, the most influential country at present is the Netherlands."

Napoleon III was silent for a long time. He was envious in his heart, but he was helpless.

"Similarly, if the French Empire is allowed to do what the Netherlands does, because the French Empire is too powerful, everyone in the United States will be very vigilant, so every move of France will be magnified, making it difficult for France to move forward. No wonder, the French Empire is too powerful Stronger”

Olivier also agreed very much, "Ever since Washington carried out the tea-pouring movement to establish the Commonwealth of America, America has been very wary of big powers. In order to win over the Commonwealth of America to deal with British hegemony in North America, our French Empire chose in 1803 After selling Louisiana to the Confederate States of America, Jefferson, the third president of the United States at the time, consolidated the status of the Confederate States of America in North America. From then on, they established their position in North America. The French Empire later followed The Americans turned against each other due to their differences in policy towards Britain, which further weakened the anti-British front between the two countries.

Nowadays, the Americans do not believe in major powers, that is to say, the Netherlands fits the image of an ally to the Americans. It is difficult for other major countries to replace the Netherlands.”

Napoleon III was certainly not a fool. If he were, he would not have been able to slowly grow from a down-and-out nobleman to the first president of the French Empire, and later restore the Napoleonic dynasty and become the emperor of the Third French Empire.

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said solemnly: "Perhaps this is the atmosphere deliberately created by the Dutch?"

Olivier's face changed slightly and he looked at Napoleon III in disbelief.

"Don't look at me. After eight years of dating, aren't you familiar with William IV's ulterior motives during our relationship?"

"After the alliance between France and Prussia, the Netherlands took advantage of it to win many colonies in Africa and consolidate its position in Africa. For a while, the United Kingdom was wary of France and Prussia and did not dare to make any changes. Later, it took advantage of the opportunity of the Tsarist Empire to expand its territory in the Alaska Peninsula in North America. To gain a foothold, Britain could only wait silently for this normal deal. In the end, Britain was afraid that the Russian Empire would gain too much foothold in the Far East and affect Britain's dominant position there, so it even chose to take over the western and northern parts of Kalimantan. Traded out of Queensland to Holland.”

Napoleon III paused and then said: "The Netherlands is advancing their intentions step by step and in a planned manner. Under our eyes, they have completed the move of ants, moving more than 60% of the population of the Netherlands in just five or six years. It has moved to the Far East, especially the Australian continent, which has migrated nearly 6 million people. As a result, it has developed rapidly and now has become the most dynamic economic zone in the Far East.

Comparable to the entire European land, it is a natural and safe environment surrounded by the sea, plus the Dutch East Indies in the west, New Guinea in the north, the South Pacific Islands in the east, Tasmania in the southeast, and Southwest Amsterdam Island and Kerguelen Islands, etc., almost the entire Australian continent is dominated by these surrounding islands. Under such circumstances, the development of the Netherlands seems to have become secondary. "

The more Napoleon III himself talked about it, the lower his ambition became.

Is this the Netherlands' rebirth after the Anglo-Dutch defeat in four wars? Under the leadership of William IV, the Netherlands has made rapid progress and achieved today's achievements, which can be said to have shocked the world.

But what is the future path for the French Empire?

Thinking that the Netherlands had not only established a firm foothold in the Far East, but also gained huge influence throughout the Americas, the emperor of the French Empire could not help but feel jealous, and at the same time he felt his face heat up.

In contrast to the Netherlands, a sense of urgency hit him. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Is the resistance in the Kingdom of Siam still that strong?"

The tone of Napoleon III's question made Olivier, the French prime minister, understand that Napoleon III's patience had almost worn out. Obviously, the impact of the Netherlands' success had made his emperor lose face. Napoleon III, who has always been unwilling to lag behind, seems to be trying to earn face elsewhere when the Commonwealth of America has no way to deal with it.