Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"Italy does not believe that relations with Britain and France will affect relations with the Netherlands. I do not think that Italy's foreign relations must be firmly hung on one tree."

Emmanuel II looked at William IV and emphasized with a smile: "Italy will continue to strengthen its relations with France and the Netherlands, and its relations with France and the Netherlands are not mutually exclusive."

William IV smiled noncommittally and said: "The Netherlands has never thought that it can influence Italy's diplomatic views. We respect the views and practices of our partner countries. However, we have the right to express our views. In fact, the Netherlands has always been Do this"

"Say the same thing about Spain?" Emmanuel II squinted his eyes and looked at William IV with a smile.

Anyone with a discerning eye would know that this question of his was a kind of temptation.

Obviously, Emmanuel II was somewhat curious about William IV's secret conversation with Queen Isabel II of Spain in the morning. He was also interested in the fact that the two countries faced each other across the sea in the western Mediterranean and the central Mediterranean.

Italy is ambitious, but it is currently difficult to match Britain, France, and Austria. However, Italy's current goal is to be on par with Spain and even the Ottoman Empire.

William IV said: "Her Majesty Queen Isabel II thinks that the Netherlands is safer?"

Emmanuel II: "?"

"The strength of the Netherlands gives Spain more control over itself. Compared to France, the Netherlands and Spain feel more like allies."

Emmanuel II agreed very much after hearing this.

"So, wouldn't Italy and the Netherlands be very compatible allies?" Emmanuel II joked.

William IV chuckled and nodded, "Actually, I think so too."

Seeing what Emmanuel II wanted to say, William IV said: "Italy can cooperate with us in the Indian Ocean."

Immanuel II, who was about to object, was suddenly stopped by the words Indian Ocean.

In the Indian Ocean, Italy's current interests in the Indian Ocean are in Eritrea and the eastern part of Yemen in the Ottoman Empire.

The Netherlands is second only to the United Kingdom in the Indian Ocean. The Netherlands not only owns the Dutch Indonesian Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, but also owns the Australian continent and the United Arab Emirates in the north.

In the west, it has coastal areas such as Madagascar, Northern Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya. In the Indian Ocean, its sphere of influence is second only to the British Empire, which has the unique colonies of the Indian subcontinent, Lower Burma, the Bay of Bengal, Western Yemen, Sudan, and South Africa.

If Italy can get help from the Netherlands, which is the second largest force in the Indian Ocean, Italy will have great potential in the Indian Ocean.

However, although his heart was moved, William IV still chose to remain silent until he had no specific interests to show.

William IV saw through his mind and said with a smile: "The Netherlands actually wanted Italy to occupy Ethiopia, but Prussia wanted to ask the Netherlands to sit on the sidelines. Your Majesty should know that we, the Netherlands, were in the Franco-Prussian Alliance at that time. , only belongs to the bottom, so the Netherlands has no choice but to listen to its advice."

Hearing William IV talk about Ethiopia, Emmanuel II was shocked. Italy tried its best to conquer this indigenous African country, but in the end it got a bad one that could no longer be conquered. Bad results. William IV actually mentioned Ethiopia at this time. What did he want to do?

William IV smiled and revealed his plan.

After listening to this, Emmanuel II finally weighed one side and chose to establish closer relations with the Netherlands.

After William IV defeated the kings of two quasi-first-class powers in Europe, he finally met Sultan Abdul Aziz I on the morning of January 28, 1869.

Regarding the Ottoman Empire Sultan, the current public opinion in Europe is that Abdul Aziz I Sultan is the master of the resurgence, and the special existence of the Ottoman Empire has made all countries wary of the threat to other countries after the country's re-emergence. However, currently Countries are still mainly close to the Ottoman Empire, among which Britain, Austria-Hungary and the Netherlands are the most active in this regard.

After Sultan Abdul Aziz I was born in 1830, he succeeded to the position of Sultan (Emperor) of the Ottoman Empire in 1861 at the age of 31. During his nearly 9 years in power, he had considerable political achievements. In terms of domestic affairs, Establish universities and formulate legal codes. In terms of diplomacy, it initially maintained an equal distance between Britain, France and Russia, but was slightly tilted toward Britain. However, starting in the late 1960s, it became closer to the Netherlands, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Prussia.

However, with the war with the Tsarist Empire and the ambitions of Britain and France, the Ottoman Empire has now turned to the latter, namely the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary and Prussia.

To defend against the three old powers, Prussia, the Netherlands and Austria-Hungary were approaching. It is precisely because of its proper use internally and externally that it can meet the domestic food supply. Coupled with the rapid progress of industry, yes, even the forces opposing him gathered around him.

William IV remembered that Sultan Abdul Aziz I seemed to have suffered from food problems until 1876. When the people were dissatisfied with the demonstrations, he was suppressed with huge pressure and was eventually ousted by the people and died of depression.

Sultan Abdulaziz I said: "The Netherlands is currently our largest trading partner, and the Ottoman Empire is a huge oil producing area that has yet to be developed. It will also be a huge market in the future. The Netherlands is a major investor in the Ottoman Empire. The Netherlands is of course our number one partner in terms of security and politics, as well as Dutch-Ottoman investment and trade.”

William IV laughed, "The ancient Ottoman Empire is a country that the Dutch royal family is very curious about and friendly to. We all see the Ottoman Empire's friendship with the Netherlands, and the close relationship with the Ottoman Empire is also very important to the Netherlands." of.

This is also the reason why the Netherlands has always been willing to continue to sell to the Ottoman Empire, including the most advanced Dutch active guns. "

The Ottoman Empire had a very close relationship with the United Kingdom, but the Ottoman Empire purchased these cutting-edge high-end army guns from the Netherlands at high prices because they had tried to obtain the same guns from their allies in the British Empire. However, in the end, many people in the UK had dissatisfaction with the Ottomans. Prompted by vigilant parliamentarians, strict export controls were implemented on the export of Ottoman arms, which ultimately became unavailable.

This is also the reason why the Dutch fishermen benefited and gradually became the main supplier of weapons to the Ottoman Empire.

This time, Sultan Abdul Aziz I was actually planning to purchase a Mauser gun from the Netherlands that had just arrived in the Netherlands from William IV. This gun is currently a sensation around the world.

At present, it is because the Netherlands sold this most advanced Mauser gun to the Kingdom of Siam that the French Empire suffered heavy casualties in the Far East. It is said that the current Dutch ambassador has been summoned by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris no less than 10 times in the past six months. It can be seen that Gaul Chicken is really anxious. "