Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Back in time, February 15, 1862.

Pacific Ocean!

On Wake Island, a small independent island in the northern part of the Marshall Islands, a Dutch Pacific Fleet consisting of thousands of people is temporarily docked on this island that has been flying the Dutch flag for less than 20 days, and is repairing the nearby coast.

"The Hawaiian Islands are almost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are the largest secondary archipelago in the Polynesian Islands. The area of ​​this archipelago and the gateway to the Tropic of Cancer is equivalent to one-third of the area of ​​the mainland of the Netherlands."

"How many islands are there in this Hawaiian archipelago? Also, is there a natural harbor that is most suitable for establishing a warship port?"

"Yes, this island is called Kauai. The natural harbor there only needs a little construction to accommodate the current political fleet of our Netherlands. Hawaii is mainly composed of 8 islands, including four large ones and four small ones. , there are 124 small islands, surrounded by seashores and stone-cut spiers. The islands are Kauai, Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe Island, big island.

The natural harbor I just talked about is located in a small harbor on the west side of a town called Honolulu in the southern part of Oahu in the western Hawaiian Islands. The local indigenous people rely on it for fishing. "

Theo von Linden smelled the sea breeze of Midway Island blowing slowly by his ears, and looked at the ship in front of him, which included one level 1 sailing battleship, three level 3 battleships, and one level 4 battleship, plus three level 5 battleships. The 1313 fleet of battleships totaled more than 4100 people.

Open the introductory map of His Majesty William IV. The central Pacific Ocean of Noda is lined with islands and reefs. The main body is the Polynesian Islands, one of the three major archipelagos in the Pacific. The Hawaiian Islands, with more than 130 islands of various sizes, is very eye-catching on the map. Just like A string of pearls placed in a bathtub with clear water is very attractive to soldiers like Lyndon whose life-long goal is to be in the navy.

Linden looked at the rough map. In almost the east-west direction, Hawaii was equidistant from Japan and the United States.

In the north-south direction, with the Hawaiian Islands as the center, it is symmetrical to the Alaska Peninsula, the North American territory of the Russian Empire in the north, the Fiji Islands just occupied by the Netherlands in the south, and the island of New Guinea in the west.

"The Hawaiian Islands are simply the best place for warships to stop. If the Netherlands can capture it, it will greatly increase its power in the Pacific. Even the Mega Pacific and South Pacific only need to be in It’s just a matter of increasing investment in warships.”

After Theo von Linden finished sighing, he turned to look curiously at the side, the French submarine expert Gerrit de Vries, who had been captured by him for more than two months, "Aren't you a submarine expert? Why? Are you so familiar with this place?"

Gerrit De Vries did not answer immediately, but fell into bitter memories.

“At the end of the 18th century, the British Empire, which emerged through the first industrial revolution, was leading the global colonial expansion boom. In 1778, a Frenchman, Cook, accidentally discovered the existence of the Hawaiian Islands during his colonial expedition in the Pacific. However, after landing, After going to these islands, there were conflicts and they died. The remaining crew members brought the records of this expedition back to Paris and guided more fleets to come here for exploration and trade.”

Gerrit De Vries followed: "Because this place is too far away from the surrounding continents, the indigenous people in Hawaii have maintained their primitive tribal civilization for a long time. They also believe in Kapu religion and restrain the islanders with canons. They are also noble. It is divided into nobles, commoners and slaves, but there is no written language of its own, and inheritance is passed down orally. This was the life of our ancestors thousands of years ago, but unfortunately it was broken with the arrival of explorers.

As the French expedition team made a comeback, adventurers with a keen sense of smell from the British Empire also came. Even Americans joined in. Unfortunately, the coordinates of this place could not be found at the time, but later with the technology of other countries, He became more advanced and found it quickly.

"Although I don't know how you know how you here communicate with King Kamehameh IV on the islands, I still thank you for your sincere help for His Majesty William IV and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, just like you As I said, the opportunity is fleeting, so this time we must capture the Hawaiian Islands, and we also need to send a fleet, and this fleet will be the permanent fleet in Hawaii in the future, so I asked His Majesty to arrange it. , Pearl Harbor, must be the harbor garrison of one of the most powerful Dutch fleets.”

Linden stretched out his hand and shook it in invitation. After Gerrit de Vries put it on, he held it tightly. Lin waited and said: "The Dutch Navy needs your sincere joining. I hope we can work together for even 5 years." , No matter how long it takes, we hope that we can happily cooperate with Gerrit and you?"

Gerrit De Vries observed Linden carefully, and Linden greeted him sincerely. After a moment, Gerrit De Vries nodded heavily and said, "I like the Dutch team. Fleet, now, I like the Kingdom of the Netherlands more. Of course, I am more curious about His Majesty William IV who is currently serving. What kind of person is he? How can a great naval admiral like you admire him so much?"

Linden laughed and said proudly: "When I saw him, I was afraid that you would be worse than me and surrender to the ground."

Gerrit De Vries smiled and said: "I will wait for the day to come."

"Actually, the Frenchman Cook who first landed in the Hawaiian Islands was actually my grandfather."

Lyndon was silent, everyone had a story, and his grandfather probably had one too, so he understood why Gerrit De Vries didn't want to tell more about his grandfather.

“For countries around the world that want to develop global trade and military layout, because the Pacific is vast, and trans-oceanic voyages often require the supply of fresh water and food midway, the Hawaiian Islands have become an excellent supply with the economic development of the United States. At the same time, it can form an island chain guarding the Pacific Ocean with the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in North America, the Dutch Guam in the southeast of the Western Pacific, and the Philippines occupied by Spain. His Majesty said that as long as we seize this island chain, we can advance through By strategically withdrawing from East Asia and Southeast Asia, the Netherlands can maintain its sphere of influence in the South and South Pacific. Therefore, we have made a decision with this vote."

"The order is given to us to set off. It is now 10 o'clock in the morning on February 15, 1862. I want to see the Hawaiian Islands within one day, that is, at 10 o'clock in the morning on February 16, 1862, right behind our fleet. It appears in front of you, can you do it?"

"Yes" the voices of 4,100 people echoed through the newly occupied Dutch island called Wake Island.

Immediately, as Theo von Linden took the lead in singing the "Ode to Wilhelm", the national anthem that must be sung before the Dutch march, everyone including Gerrit reboarded the fleet with fighting spirit and began to set sail again. Heading to the next stop—the Hawaiian Islands!

Back to Amsterdam.

William IV only said three words, but they were surprised and delighted, and they all lost their composure, because William IV's three words hit their inner thoughts, no, it should be said that the current bottleneck of the entire Tsarist Russian Empire.

"Pacific Ocean!"

"To be precise, I want to help the Russian Empire get closer to the southern Pacific or Indian Ocean."

What?

The three of them looked at William IV, wondering why he mentioned the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Also, how can I help?

The first chapter is presented. Chapter 2: I am working hard on writing, and I ask for continued support in terms of recommendations, collections, and monthly passes. There is no other way, and new books are in the queue. It currently ranks 13th on the all-time new book signing list. .

ps: Keep updating twice a day.