Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

The New Zealand Fleet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands set off from Wellington, New Zealand, on August 27, arrived at the Chatham Islands in eastern New Zealand on the 1st, arrived at the Marotiri Islands on the 4th, arrived at Easter Island on the 7th, and arrived at the Juan Fernandez Islands on the 9th. Twelve days later, on September 8, the New Zealand fleet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands finally arrived in Santiago, Chile, after a long journey.

Including the steam battleship New Zealand, the steam battleship New South Wales, the sailing battleship, etc., arrived one after another. Intelligence personnel from various countries in Chile unexpectedly discovered that more than 16 Dutch warships had arrived in Chile this time, concentrating many of the main forces of the Dutch navy. With the support of the Dutch fleet, Chile immediately ranks among the top 15 navies in the world in terms of tonnage. If calculated in terms of the vitality of the standard warships, it has become at least the top ten, comparable to the Italian navy. force.

What is curious is that the British Navy actually hid in Puerto Montt and stood still during this period, which is puzzling.

However, as the Dutch fleet entered Santiago, the British actually dispatched, yes, went directly north.

During this period, President Mascaiano also counterattacked from land with the support of Britain. Currently, the Southern Army led by President Mascaiano has entered the river area from Puerto Montt to the north, captured the local capital Valdivia, and further threatened the Araucanía region.

With the arrival of the Dutch fleet, Arturo Lauzon, who had been retreating steadily, also launched a counterattack on September 10, 1878, and the two sides launched a hot gun battle with a total of about 5,000 people on land (no choice, who The population of Chile is only 800,000).

Both sides suffered losses. As a result, the North held on to Zamco in the Araucanía District, while the Southern Army took Longcoche in the Araucanía District and completely stood firm, consolidating its position in the river area. rule.

At the same time, the British and Dutch navies also faced off offshore in the River District and Araucanía District.

Neither side fired a single cannonball, but the silent sea made both sides feel that a pre-dawn storm seemed to be gathering pace.

The international community also understood that the reason why Britain had stood still was to wait for the arrival of Dutch warships.

Chile's long and narrow geographical location along the coast means that this country is absolutely defenseless against many attacks from the sea. This was the case when Chile faced the British's strong ships and cannons. Now if the British do not defeat the Netherlands, then Even if a pro-British government comes to power in the future, it will be the same when facing the Dutch navy. Therefore, it is a clear approach for Britain to support Chilean Mascaiano and just stick to the south, waiting to compete with the Netherlands before heading north to regain Santiago.

Otherwise, even if Chile is captured, as long as Britain is defeated by the Netherlands, Chile will be taken away in minutes.

Because of understanding. So everyone is paying close attention to the news about the confrontation between the Netherlands and Britain at sea.

"Your Majesty, will Britain launch a surprise attack on us?"

Prime Minister Gerrit looked at William IV worriedly.

Originally, he thought that the decisive confrontation between Britain and the Netherlands in the Strait of Malacca was the biggest threat that the Netherlands should face, but now the battlefield was suddenly moved to South America, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Grit was still full of worries in the face of such a change. At this point, the other party was still far inferior to Torbeck.

William IV secretly said.

However, as the king of the Western world, he must adapt to this normality. After all, the prime minister's four-year term, even if he is re-elected for eight years, is always just a transitional figure for the king, a passerby in life.

Moreover, although William IV was able to have a certain influence on the candidates for the general election with the power in his hands, he still could not fully control that each candidate was his favorite.

Therefore, survival of the fittest, and correct posture when faced with different candidates, is fundamental.

Falling out and fighting with the current Prime Minister will not happen to William IV at present. After all, his strength is still formidable.

"It's hard to say, but at present, it seems that Britain is not ready to give up Chile to us easily, but this is also the style of the Whig Party that we have always understood."

Seeing Griet's confusion, William IV smiled and said: "The Whigs have always been famous in the British political arena for negotiating to check and balance other countries. Their most familiar technique is naturally offshore balancing, so Clay As the heir to Viscount Palmerston, there is no reason why Stone should not implement this approach.

But your worries are reasonable. After all, the military has always been in the hands of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria has always been unpredictable. Women's thoughts are unpredictable, like needles in the sea. And a woman who has been the king of a great country for 40 years has even more different thoughts, so we need to pay attention."

"Currently, all countries are staring at us, so if we make a mistake in Chile, it will definitely be a huge loss to our national prestige of the Netherlands. This time in Chile, there is no room for failure."

William IV said this, stared at Gerrit and said: "According to the previous plan, arrange for our submarine force in Lima, Peru to secretly go south. This time, I will make the British Empire suffer a big loss."

Grit's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and his mouth moved. But knowing that things were irreversible at this point, he finally accepted the order firmly and said: "Yes."

Watching Gerrit leave his king's office and close the door, William IV walked to a lockbox and opened it, pulling out a document. A name was displayed on it. Faced with this name, William IV was stunned. After hesitating for a while, he finally picked up the pen next to him, drew a circle, and then wrote the word exposure.

Sarmiento was Argentina's ambassador to the Netherlands from 1858 to 1864, Argentina's finance minister from 1865 to 1870, and Argentina's interior minister from 1870 to 1875.

1875-1878, Vice President of Argentina.

William IV murmured: "Chile has now allowed Arturo Lauzon to come to power. As long as it stabilizes its position and drives the British away, it will almost be possible for the Netherlands to completely stand firm and become Chile and the Netherlands. The current sphere of influence of Argentina is that Miter, the current President of Argentina, is too strong. He has been an ally with me since 1858. It has been 20 years now. As he has aged, he has indeed become more diplomatic, timid and fearful of death. Well, in the face of the Netherlands on the Chilean issue, Argentina has not expressed any opinions so far, which already explains something.

Hehe, if that's the case, don't blame me.

Argentina is currently the leader of the Netherlands' allies in South America. If it does not become a model of Dutch friendship, there is no need for its existence. Similarly, there is no need for the old guy Mitre to sit above the president.

After speaking, William IV picked up the pen and wrote directly next to Sarmiento, on October 1, 1878, Sarmiento became the president of Argentina. "