Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"It is difficult to advance. Your Majesty should know that weapons supported by the British are currently being imported continuously through British-occupied Lower Burma, and the Netherlands has also sent military officers and instructors to help the Kingdom of Siam train new recruits, making it possible for the Kingdom of Siam to have a population of 7 million. The new troops all have certain combat capabilities, but it makes it difficult for us to move forward in the Tonle Sap Lake and the Senhe River in the north.

You know, it is a tropical place, and our soldiers are inherently at a disadvantage in front of the well-trained Siamese soldiers who are familiar with the weather and adapted to the geographical environment."

Napoleon III naturally understood what his prime minister said, but he was still unwilling to accept it.

Napoleon III reluctantly asked: "How much military strength do we have in the Far East at present?"

Olivier had already guessed His Majesty's thoughts, so he said: "120,000, which accounts for almost one-third of the current French Empire's 400,000 standing army."

Napoleon III frowned and said: "120,000 is already a lot. How to distribute it?"

Olivier answered without thinking: "Among them, there are 70,000 in the Cambodian territory of the Kingdom of Siam, 20,000 in the southern part of the Laos region of the Kingdom of Siam, and 30,000 in South Vietnam. The navy has deployed a fleet of 5,000 people totaling 20,000 tons in South Vietnam."

Napoleon III asked again: "Where is the Kingdom of Siam? How are they distributed?"

Olivier took a breath, and then said: "The Kingdom of Siam currently has 200,000 troops, and 80,000 troops are deployed around Bangkok. There are more than 80,000 troops in the three cities of Madewang, Bodhisattva, and Siem Reap in the west of Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia. 50,000 people, more than 40,000 people are deployed towards Myanmar in the west, and more than 40,000 people are deployed around Vientiane, the largest city in Laos in the north."

"It actually has 200,000 troops. One person out of 35 people joins the army, and it is deployed so tightly? It seems that the Kingdom of Siam is planning not to give in."

Napoleon III did not expect that the Kingdom of Siam actually had 200,000 troops. Even in Europe, it has 200,000 troops. Currently, the only conventional armies are the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the French Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, the British Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Empire and other countries, and the only other countries with the universal soldier model are Spain, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. The United States of America currently has only 80,000 regular troops.

A small kingdom of Siam actually reached an astonishing 200,000 people, which made Napoleon III feel as if he had just eaten a fly, making him very sick and uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, I think if we insist on taking over the Kingdom of Siam now, we may be in trouble."

Olivier looked at Napoleon III and saw his expressionless face, so he dissuaded him with a little anxiety:

"I think we might as well stop. I think the Kingdom of Siam is unsustainable with all the people in arms. After all, they also need to produce massively to ensure the sowing and harvesting of food. If all the strong men are wasted on this, there will definitely be a famine in the coming year. That’s when we have the opportunity to take action.”

Napoleon III agreed with this statement and worried: "The victory of the Netherlands has caused many people in the French Empire to criticize your cabinet government. The opposition has begun to criticize you and me. If you achieve something, you will It will be very difficult for both of you and me in the future.”

Olivier naturally knew this, but with the current situation in the Kingdom of Siam, it was obvious that it would be difficult for the French Empire to win quickly, so he was also very worried about this.

It seemed that he could see Olivier's helplessness, which made Napoleon III feel proud. He said: "Everything is easy first and difficult later. Since the Kingdom of Siam is difficult to win now, why don't we first win an easier place?"

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Olivier's heart moved, and then he thought of a place.

Napoleon III saw Olivier waking up and nodded to him, "Many forces in North Vietnam are in chaos."

Olivier got a clear answer, hesitated for a moment, and asked carefully: "It is a vassal state of that big country in the north. Will it cause their dissatisfaction?"

"Don't worry, I just received news a few days ago that one of their generals named Zuo has sent their most powerful military force to the west of their empire. According to the telegram sent back by our missionaries in their country, It is said that the fight may take about 10 years. So haven’t you seen that the British are already attacking Northern Burma, which is also a vassal state of the northern power. Apparently London has no fear because of this.”

Seeing that Napoleon III was so sure, Olivier breathed a sigh of relief, and then he was overjoyed.

So he hurriedly entered Napoleon III's thinking, and the two conspired together to change the strategy of the next offensive in the Far East.

On April 30, 1868, the sixth day after former President Lincoln of the Confederate States of America was assassinated, a move by the French Empire suddenly diverted the attention of many people in North America. Even William IV and Queen Victoria couldn't help but He frowned and looked at the telegram in his hand.

"The French Empire actually gave up attacking the Kingdom of Siam in the west, Cambodia, and instead attacked North Vietnam on both land and sea in the north?"

William IV was shocked when he saw the news. It was actually different from history. The French Empire attacked the north before taking over the entire Cambodia.

Aren't they afraid of the Far Eastern superpower in the north?

William IV was very puzzled. It was not thirty or forty years later. Although the current big country had just experienced ya-pian-zhan-zheng, its national power had not weakened much, and Japan had not yet risen, and the Meiji Restoration had not yet begun. It has just been launched. At this time, the island country is still just an indigenous country, although the major Western powers have already penetrated into it due to their domestic plunder-xing-exchanges.

I have never experienced the Tai-ping-Tian-guo-movement. Even if the British were in Myanmar at this time, it was only after they signed the contract that the country did not care about Western Myanmar and Lower Myanmar that the British dared to take action openly. Obviously, as the strongest The largest global power, Britain, is so unwilling to offend the northern superpower. Could it be that Napoleon III wanted to rely on the hundreds of thousands of troops in the Far East of the French Empire to take over a country that had been a vassal for hundreds of years?

Puzzled, he summoned Foreign Minister Hesbert von to inquire about the trends in the Far East. He wanted to get a glimpse of where Napoleon III's courage came from.

He did not believe that Napoleon III was a reckless man.

"What, you said, there is a rebellion at the northwest end of the superpower in the far northeastern continent? That country's General Zuo mobilized the entire country to conquer the west."

William IV immediately understood where Napoleon III's confidence came from.

Historically, it seems that this battle lasted until after 1878!

The old boy Napoleon III actually saw that nothing could be done to him in the short term, so he wanted to win a quick victory. By then, the rice would be cooked. When the superpower returned from the Western Expedition, France had consolidated its rule. At the same time, with Napoleon You don’t have to think about the cunning of the French such as III. They might unite with other countries to try to suppress the northern superpower. However, the northern part was exhausted and maimed due to the Western Expedition, and its vitality was severely damaged. In the end, when its own weaknesses were seen through, in order to protect their The rulers could only endure the pain of cutting their flesh and recognize the status of the French Empire as the colonial master in North and South Vietnam.

What a good calculation.