Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"As the news of the arms purchase was published in the "European Times", newspapers from other countries have republished it. Now, countries are beginning to pay close attention to the weapons of the Netherlands. I have to say that this approach of the Netherlands is so incisive that sometimes it cannot be ignored. I don’t admire William IV, he is always able to use all kinds of wild ideas to do amazing things.”

Bismarck, who had just returned to Berlin from Vienna, was being received by Kaiser Wilhelm I at the Berlin Palace.

Just after reporting on his work, William I gave the newspaper to Bismarck and started talking about it.

Bismarck: "Britain lost from the beginning, and Queen Victoria was calculated to death by the Netherlands."

William I stared at him, waiting for his explanation.

Bismarck: "Among Britain's allies in 1868, only Belgium was loyal. Of course, Saxe-Coburg and the Kingdom of Hanover, which had just been occupied by Prussia at that time, were also Britain's allies in Europe.

But after 1867, it just became a small principality below us. The other seemingly distant kingdoms of Portugal, Italy, etc., you will know now if you take a look. On the contrary, the Netherlands has hardcore allies Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe.

In South America, not only did it have allies in the five countries that are now in South America, but Argentina and the United States, which are now at odds, also used Dutch weapons to boost their export markets.

With an arms trade that has no fixed market, a global presence, and solid allies, the Netherlands will naturally have an advantage over the UK when the quality is no less than that of the UK."

William I: “The current diplomacy of Isabella II + Spanish Prime Minister Praxades is more radical than the previous period of Isabella II + Ramon Narvaez, and they are following the same path. The farther we go, the more clear the road to military training.

This time Spanish Prime Minister Praxades visited Sydney and had a summit with King William IV of the Netherlands. This can be said to be the climax of his "alliance journey" after he came to power. It is also the largest event in Spain in the past 60 years since the end of the Napoleonic War. Diplomatic changes. "

Bismarck said seriously: "Yes, when I was in Vienna, His Majesty the Austrian Emperor Joseph I was also shocked by this. No one expected that Spain would be so determined to participate in the conflict between the Netherlands and Britain.

From the time he was in Madrid before his visit to Sydney, Praxades kept repeating a theme to the public of Congress and the Prime Minister's Office: Yuan Dong understands that attempts to unilaterally change the status quo have become more and more intense, and the security environment has become increasingly tense, without naming names. Read: Britain and France relied on their military superiority to besiege the Kingdom of Siam in Southeast Asia, forcing the Netherlands to issue a warning.

This shows that Spain has great interest in cooperating with the Netherlands in the military field. "

Bismarck continued: “The Dutch East Indies and the Spanish Philippines also expressed interest in launching a joint cruise project in the waters around the Bay of Bangkok area outside the Kingdom of Siam.

The military offensives of Britain and France in the region have aroused the vigilance of countries such as Spain and the Netherlands, and have also intensified the ambitions of these countries in the region, and intensified the game between these countries."

"The Netherlands signed a "Reciprocal Access Agreement" to significantly expand defense cooperation between the two countries during the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister, allowing both sides to station troops in each other's territory. This is a victory for Prime Minister Praxades of Spain, because relying on the Netherlands, Spain migrates The project of some Spaniards to the Far East is very important for Spain to become a big country across the Far East and Europe. Having the Philippines with a better surrounding security environment than Spain is definitely a boon for Spain, and this agreement with the Netherlands is not only Safe migration after support in the Netherlands and more importantly”

William I duly asked: "What is more important?"

Bismarck: "What's more important is that Spain is recognized by the Netherlands."

William I: "?"

Bismarck smiled bitterly in his heart. William I was now 81 years old. As he got older, his energy was still not as good as before.

This made Bismarck more determined to train William, and time was running out.

Bismarck: "The Netherlands is everyone's default hegemon in the Pacific. The entry of Spain, a maritime power, shows that the Netherlands is willing to share the hegemony of the Pacific with Spain, at least part of the hegemony of the Western Pacific."

William I: "So, the Netherlands is about to be unable to withstand it?"

Bismarck was stunned and asked: "What does your Majesty mean?"

William I: "Otherwise, given the strength of the Netherlands, it would normally vomit out what it eats. The previous dominance in the Nordic Alliance was partially given to Spain. The Netherlands' strength in Europe was greatly reduced, which made the Netherlands in the Europe is a first-class player, second only to Britain, France, Germany and Russia, and Austria-Hungary's influence in Europe is not even much lower.

However, after that, the influence of Europe that came over was even lower than that of the Ottoman Empire, similar to that of Italy and Spain. This time in the Western Pacific of the Far East, if it gives up part of its power like Northern Europe, will the Netherlands In terms of influence, it repeats the appearance of Northern Europe.”

William I said excitedly with sharp eyes: "Spain can do it, why can't we? My Prime Minister, I think it is time to show our existence to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Otherwise, in a short time, after Spain has established a foothold, there will be When there are too many monks and too few people, it will be difficult for us to find a place to stay.”

Bismarck was slightly moved.

William I's meaning was very clear, that is, the German Empire should show its claws in front of the world. If we don’t take advantage of the troubled waters of the Far East to fish at this time, by the time everything is settled, it will be too late and nothing will be caught.

"But Your Majesty, if we wade through this muddy water too quickly now, even if the British and Dutch forces have not been reduced, our value will drop a lot, and there will be a lot of gaps with our original plan."

Bismarck was really reluctant to participate in the Anglo-Dutch conflict at this time, because the benefits were too little and it was too different from his ideas.

What he didn't know was that in the history of William IV's previous life, he had too many calculations. In the end, although the German Empire rose to an existence second only to the United Kingdom, the surrounding areas of the German Empire had already been calculated by the British.

The German Empire was surrounded by enemies, and Bismarck ended tragically not long after Wilhelm II came to power. After his death, Britain and other countries pounced on the German Empire like hungry wolves. This great power that had been rising for a century collapsed overnight.

But neither of the two people in front of them knew that.

William I was old and mature, so he couldn't clearly understand Bismarck's reluctance. In the past, he would not refute Bismarck, but today he was a little unusually serious and said: "Spain's participation is an earthquake for Europe, and, my Prime Minister, maybe you don’t know yet, but the big bear in our north is already preparing its armaments. That guy Alexander II has decided to build the Siberian Railway to connect the Far East, and on the Pacific coast of the Far East, the Pacific Fleet and The Army also undergoes frequent changes.”

Bismarck heard this and took a look at the information from William I, with surprise and doubt on his face.

Bismarck: "Alexander II, is he helping the Netherlands?"

William I: "Who knows, anyway, we are really going to show our face."

Bismarck looked at the intelligence and finally compromised: "It seems that this is the only way to go. Far East? Germany is coming."