Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

However, he was known to be cautious throughout his life, but he could not get rid of such sadness, so he was planning to go to London recently to have a good talk with his niece.

But before that, we should sort out the dilemma Belgium is facing now.

If I don’t show off my power, do you really think I’m a sick cat?

Until now, he has not really sought British support to fight against France and the Netherlands, but now it has reached this point. British intervention will definitely have an impact on the security situation in Belgium and Western Europe, especially the current situation in Belgium. The focus is on the prime ministerial election, which is ongoing and fiercely contested by all parties.

However, there are advantages and disadvantages. Before the intervention of the Netherlands and France, Belgium and the United Kingdom could condemn each other.

Once the UK itself joins in, the referee, the whistleblower, will be replaced, and there will be a lot of moral losses.

Therefore, this is why he and I, Queen Victoria and Viscount Palmerston, have always been cautious.

Now that Britain has joined, it just gives the Netherlands and France more excuses to participate.

At that time, Belgium will truly enter the three countries, using the general election as the battlefield, and each elected agent will conduct the general election campaign in Belgium.

It’s so confusing to think about.

I also feel sad for the small country.

At the same time, anxiety was also deeply born.

The clear cooperation between several parties will not only intensify the situation in Belgium, but also escalate the already contradictory relations between Britain, France and the Netherlands.

However, in this game, Britain seemed to be caught off guard by the successful surprise attack by the tripartite agreement between France, the Netherlands and Prussia.

Moreover, it may also increase the price and bargaining chips of the three countries to the United Kingdom. In particular, it will strengthen the influence of the two middle- and upper-class countries, the Netherlands and Prussia, in Western Europe. France is trying to reduce the pressure on facing the United Kingdom alone. This was to undermine the prestige of the British and increase the leadership of Napoleon III of France.

This is one of the consequences of the three-party challenge to the United Kingdom, which of course includes obtaining the "fat" that the three countries want on Belgian territory.

February 26, 1862 at 16:00.

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom signed a special military expenditure bill, announcing the purchase of five additional naval steam ironclad battleships for Britain's own defense. The contract expires in the 10 years from April 1, 1862 to March 30, 1872, and is worth 1 million. Sterling contract.

At the same time, Belgium, a friendly ally of the British Empire, announced that it would sell two first-class sailing battleships that were about to be retired at a 50% discount, with a total contract price of 100,000 pounds.

At the same time, as the military expenditure bill was passed by the House of Commons and signed by Queen Victoria to take effect, there was also a warning letter from the British Foreign Office regarding the recent formation of the Franco-Hope Three Kingdoms Agreement Alliance, an anti-British organization.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the British Empire emphasized that it regards the alliance of intentions composed of the Franco-Prussian tripartite agreement as a major competitor, which involves concerns about the erosion of British influence in Western Europe on the European continent;

Concerned about future cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the three-nation statement;

They are also worried about the possibility of secret operations by the three countries in Belgium to jointly suppress the influence of Belgium and the United Kingdom there.

To this end, the British Foreign Office has responded by:

Strengthen military cooperation between the United Kingdom and Belgium, and assist Belgium in developing a sizable asymmetric combat force that has certain power over neighboring countries to ensure that Belgium can use it to deal with short-term threats at sea before the arrival of the United Kingdom. ,

At the same time, it is ensured that Britain makes the Belgian navy a navy with retaliatory capabilities. If it wants to attack Belgium, it needs to consider the consequences and intimidation effect.

At the same time, Britain can invite Belgium to participate in the development of overseas colonies at the appropriate time, thereby showing the British's friendship towards Belgium.

However, this powerful diplomatic report also showed that Queen Victoria and the British government cabinet were indeed worried about the possibility of war in Belgium.

Benjamin Disraeli, a member of the Military Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and leader of the opposition Tory party, said that the United Kingdom is facing the threat of the three countries of France, the Netherlands and the Netherlands, which are close to each other and are closely related to each other.

He said that the reason why he led the Tory Party to agree to this bill proposed by the Whig Party was to see the tools that the British military needed to deal with threats. This new military spending bill by the King is mainly based on the British annual military spending. above, providing the basis for legal basis,

As for other alternative points of disagreement between the two parties, Disraeli said it was up to the executive branch of the ruling party and the Queen to have the final say.

Take inviting Belgium to participate in overseas colonies as an example. The British House of Commons has proposed this proposal for several years. However, due to the battle between the two parties in Congress, these proposals failed to pass in the end.

Many people even speculated that the purpose of the Tories' cooperation this time was to please Queen Victoria. After all, in Belgium, the Queen's only biological uncle was there.

On the one hand, the passage of this proposal was a warning from the British to the three countries of France, Prussia, and the Netherlands, warning not to bully Belgium excessively. On the other hand, it was Disraeli's attempt to change the past situation of inconsistent relations between the Tories and the royal family in order to seek victory in the next general election. , let alone the support of the royal family, and only seek neutrality from the royal family, including Queen Victoria, is better than the current excessively pro-Whig pattern.

The Tory Party faces the prospect of a distant government.

With the passage of the "Special Military Expenditure Bill" signed by the Queen and taken into effect by the British House of Commons, coupled with the warning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, combined with the pre-existing British huge influence in Belgium, this will affect the general election that Belgium is facing. What role will it play?

The current impact is unknown, but with the UK passing the bill, at least many people speculate that the three countries of France, Prussia and the Netherlands do not dare to directly invade Belgium because they may face the wrath of the UK, which they are not willing to bear. situation.

At the same time, the passage of these bills also acted as a brake on Prussia.

Herman Van Rompuy, a strategic expert on the European situation in "European Times", assessed:

As long as the Belgian soldiers can form a certain degree of loyalty, or be loyal to Belgium instead of France, the Netherlands, or Prussia, with the support of the British, it is possible that Belgium’s current 50,000-strong army will have the same combat capabilities as the Dutch Southern Army. The powerful team is also capable of fighting with the French Northern Army.

But the premise is that the equipment sold by the British can be mined and utilized by Belgian soldiers, and there are still those who really dare to point guns at their compatriots.

However, Herman Van Rompuy is not optimistic about Belgium because of the ethnic differences, the confrontation between the north and the south, and the fact that the king is not one of the ethnic groups. It is difficult to unite a single party and there is not enough loyalty from people.

It is even very likely that the firearms in the hands of Belgium will soon be in the hands of France, the Netherlands and other countries.

In short, Herman Van Rompuy does not think that Britain's arms sales will change the situation in Belgium's deep sandwich position.

Belgium should be self-aware and never dream of becoming a flag bearer. Britain can quickly establish an anti-three-nation agreement, and is even planning to pressure Austria and other countries that have no territorial disputes to participate behind the scenes, in order to check and balance France, Poland and other countries.

Finally, Van Peyron warned Belgium: Britain was able to resist the three countries because it had a strong foundation and sufficient capital, but Belgium could not act rashly and cause trouble on its own.

The Belgian general election is continuing, and the province of West Flanders is also fiercely contesting the election. It seems that they don’t want to give the rising star Joseph Beit, who is also a liberal, an advantage.

After seeing that Joseph Beit from the eastern constituency won the only qualifying match for the eastern election, Danetang from the western constituency stopped arguing with him.

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