Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

After the British government learned that the Dutch Liberal Party was in Parliament, it ordered the Royal Navy to prepare for war. Once the other party declared war, it was prepared to ban Dutch industrial products from being sold in the British market.

However, the overseas sales of British domestic industrial products have been hindered, and the domestic supply of food has been deteriorating. The unemployment rate in London and other places has doubled in the past two years. People are becoming more and more excited, forming an anti-government movement, which even led to September 18, 1878. On the same day, Spencer, the Under Secretary of the Navy in the British Cabinet Government, was assassinated on the streets of London.

The whole of Britain was immediately shocked, and after an all-out arrest, it was discovered that the main culprit was an anti-war activist. He did not want to see the British Navy waging war overseas, because his father and brother were both soldiers of the British Royal Navy, but they lost their lives in the American Civil War in which Britain participated, so he has had a passion for war since then. Fear and try to prevent war from happening.

However, the main criminal's wish failed and even had the opposite effect.

However, British public opinion was led by the Creston government to change its attitude.

On September 20, 1878, Prime Minister Creston of the British Empire formally asked Parliament to declare war on the Netherlands in London. Three days later, the British House of Commons passed it by 613 to 37, with all Whig MPs and most Tory MPs voting in favor. .

In the British House of Lords, among the 650 members of the House of Lords, although there was not an overwhelming scene with the House of Commons, it was enough to pass the draft.

530 to 120, of which 80 votes came from independent members, and 40 votes came from the Tories. Most of these people voted against the Whigs.

At the same time, the United Kingdom decided to adopt a soft policy towards the Tsarist Russian Empire. It was preparing to carry out large-scale procurement of food from the Tsarist Russian Empire, and proposed maritime cooperation between Britain and Russia in the Baltic and the North Atlantic where the North Sea is located. .

German Empire, Berlin.

“After 54 years since the Anglo-Dutch Naval Battle of Malacca in 1824, the Netherlands and Britain finally entered a state of war again.

Starting from Melbourne, King William IV of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Gerrit de Vries, and Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd already knew that the arrow was on the string and had to be fired. This war has reached the point where it is inevitable.

The British Empire needed a war against the Netherlands. Although they had been busy dealing with the strong rise of the German Empire and the Russian Empire that had been recuperating in the north of Eurasia for many years, the last war was a bit unfair in the Balkans. The British Empire had been He dreamed of turning America into a colony again, and now he also dreamed of taking back Australia, which had been developed and prospered by the Netherlands, from the hands of the Netherlands, and strengthening Britain itself.

The Netherlands needed a war against Britain even more, because William IV and Gerrit de Vries knew that without this war, the Netherlands would not be able to win the awesome status of a true great power. "

Kaiser Wilhelm I said with excitement on his old face: "Now that the Anglo-Dutch War is about to happen as we originally imagined, the German Empire should not let go of such a great opportunity. Where does the Prime Minister think the German Empire's goal is?"

"His Majesty and I lurked in Europe step by step, which gave Europe a peaceful atmosphere in the past eight years. The economy and military of various countries are developing by leaps and bounds. In comparison, the UK, which was once unparalleled, is now in a state of peace. We are already closely catching up in the fields of science and technology and industry. If it were not for the fact that Britain has vast overseas territories in Canada, the fertile Indian subcontinent, and South Africa's metal minerals, we would have already caught up with each other in terms of total economic output."

Bismarck said proudly: "Your Majesty, the reason why the Netherlands has been able to rise rapidly is that it has a large area of ​​territory in the Far East. Australia, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea and the South Pacific Islands alone already have more than 10.7 million square meters. kilometer.

The United Kingdom has 9.04 million square kilometers of Canada (except for the Commonwealth of British Columbia, which occupies 940,000 square kilometers), and 4.3 million square kilometers of the Indian subcontinent (divided into India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh in 1948). - 5 countries - Rabat, Bhutan) and Myanmar with 680,000 square kilometers.

Together these cover a total area of ​​14.02 million square kilometers.

Note that the United Kingdom has not yet added the territories ruled by Africa, and the Netherlands has not added the mainland, the Alaska Peninsula, Africa, South America, the Middle East, etc.

The German Empire only had 540,000 square kilometers of its mainland, except for its African colonies and Guyana, which was snatched from France in South America."

Speaking of this, Bismarck happened to see the somewhat embarrassed old face of William I, so he followed the trend and said: "The Tsarist Russian Empire also has the largest territory in Eurasia and because of its strategic depth, it makes the Tsarist Russian Empire a powerful country. Since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 established great power status, it has never been denied.

Even the British colonial Confederate States of America, which used to be ignored, have used their powerful local resources to achieve their rise due to their huge territory. After losing nearly one-third of their territory to the Southern Confederate States of America, they are now It was actually able to become the fourth economic power in the world after the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the German Empire, surpassing the total of north and south France, and also surpassing the Austro-Hungarian Empire. , the industry also firmly occupies the fourth place.

In addition to some shortcomings in the military, with a population of 30 million, the Commonwealth of America has leapt to second place after the Netherlands and the country with the greatest potential for great power, surpassing Italy and ranking second with Spain.

The current major powers include Britain, Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France in the north and south, and the half-powerful Ottoman. "

William I couldn't help but nodded after hearing the words. Yes, Italy, needless to say, is a newly emerging regional power in Europe, but Spain is a superpower in history. Even now, due to the division of the French Empire between the north and the south, Spain has become the most powerful country in southern Europe. A powerful country, even with greater war potential than the Second French Empire controlled by Napoleon III.

The fact that the United States of America can rank with Spain, and even far surpass Spain economically and industrially, is shocking. The Kingdom of the Netherlands above it has become almost as powerful as William I in less than 20 years under the eyes of William I. The German Empire was comparable, which made William I speechless.

After all, he worked hard and used all his conspiracies and tricks. The original Kingdom of Prussia almost swallowed up the entire German Confederation to create the current German Empire.

For this reason, it has also received a lot of infamy, and various countries have developed a sense of distance from the German Empire.

What about the Netherlands? It seems that the journey has been smooth and steady, and the transformation has been completed without any commotion or restlessness. It can be said to be a blockbuster.

In comparison, it seems that the rise of the German Empire was too cumbersome.

At this time, Bismarck did not know William IV's self-pity. He made a shocking statement: "With so many living good examples in front of us, the German Empire naturally needs more fertile land, so our next territory in Europe Expansion can be stopped, but overseas, it can be started.”

When William I heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and he pretended to smile calmly and asked: "Where is the target?"

Bismarck smiled lightly: "It is said that Paraguay used to rely on the French Empire and now it has become weak, and it can no longer stand up straight in South America. We, the German Empire, are experts in this field, so we can help them cure it."

William I asked energetically: "What kind of treatment?"

"The German Empire has excellent medical skills, so it naturally uses the simplest methods."

Bismarck said confidently: "It is said that Paraguay is obsessed with Uruguay, which originally belonged to the same family, and Brazil and Argentina are also greedy for this. In the past, Uruguay was established as a country by Brazil and Argentina because they wanted to grow Paraguay. Now Uruguay is under Paraguay. After the sound became quieter, Brazil and Argentina began to compete against Uruguay again. This was a three-nation dispute.

Your Majesty, I feel that the United Kingdom is currently unable to cope with the competition between Brazil and Argentina when facing the Netherlands. I think the United Kingdom will agree to our intervention in Uruguay. After all, the reason why Uruguay became independent from Paraguay was , the UK also occupies a big reason, so the UK’s influence is still not small. If we make up for the UK’s influence and cooperate with France’s former ally Paraguay, I think we have the opportunity to successfully blend into southern South America. Successfully The chances are still relatively high.”

After hearing this, William I was silent for a while, then walked to the side and looked at the simplified global route map on the wall. This was a vague map, but the routes and the geographical location of major places were still relatively detailed.

He turned his attention to South America, the southwest corner of Europe across the Atlantic Ocean, and found the location of Uruguay.

He said: "Uruguay's territory is too small. Even if we occupy it, our influence and interests there will not be very great. Compared with the large areas of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, it is difficult to compare."

Obviously, when you see the small map of Uruguay on the map, it is even more pitiful when compared with Argentina and Brazil next to it. William I suddenly lost much interest.

However, Bismarck said: "Uruguay is small, but your Majesty has obviously forgotten what I just said. We will be entrusted by Paraguay."

William I's eyes suddenly revealed a golden light, "You mean, by then we will also take care of Paraguay?"

Bismarck nodded and replied: "It's not just Paraguay. Your Majesty, please look here. It extends from south to northwest at 50 degrees to Paraguay and then to Bolivia. This is the route of the North and South Andes that traverses South America. As long as we occupy these three countries, even only Uruguay and Paraguay, then we control the channel of communication between Argentina and Brazil, and Argentina has fertile land on the side close to Paraguay and Uruguay, and even the capital Buenos Aires is next to it. The southern part of Brazil is sparsely populated, and even the capital Buenos Aires is next to it. Paraguay occupied nearly one-sixth of Brazil's southern territory with only 20,000 people, not to mention the soldiers of our German Empire?"

William I smiled and asked: "So?"

Bismarck said firmly: "So Your Majesty, in addition to the Anglo-Dutch-Chilean disputes in South America this time, it seems that with us, war will really be inevitable in the region."

William I and Bismarck looked at each other and laughed. However, Britain and the Netherlands had declared war, but they did not know that a third party was ready to intervene.