Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On November 25, 1880, the British Prince of Wales and Crown Prince Edward made a strong statement on behalf of the Buckingham Palace in the House of Commons on Monday: "The continued maneuvers around the British Isles are a powerful insult to the British and a slap in the face to the British. , this will block the possibility of resuming negotiations and restoring the rapprochement between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Our enemies are doing this. They refuse to understand that their goals will inevitably lead to a complete defeat. This will lead to everyone losing, falling apart, and world tragedy. will be born"

In the House of Commons, he even called on everyone in the UK to support the decision of the cabinet government, and also called on the cabinet government to respond to the Dutch-led solution surrounding the British mainland as soon as possible.

"We have never conducted local coastal exercises against the Netherlands. What the Netherlands is doing now has brought them into a state of moral decay. We need to formulate a counterattack plan. If we deny the British, they will not be able to hold their head high in the world. This is an issue related to Britain's status in the world. Gladstone's cabinet government must have the unshirkable responsibility to safeguard the national dignity of the British Empire. To this end, he will not hesitate to launch a war."

Crown Prince Edward's speech was passed out from the House of Commons, and all countries immediately obtained the entire speech content from their embassies and intelligence agencies in the UK, and responded to it one after another.

The first is the Netherlands. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands stated that the Netherlands' continued pressure on the UK is a signal to prevent the UK from taking risks and launching a war against the Netherlands and its allies. It is also a signal to the UK's partners not to support the provision of weapons and troops to fuel the UK. British war ambitions.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that if the United Kingdom and its partners cross this red line, they will face more serious consequences than those currently surrounding the British Isles.

The specific consequences are not stated, but the current artillery battle exercise 30 nautical miles away from the UK is self-evident. It is a warning that the threat of possible attack on the British mainland and bringing the war to the British mainland will be realized.

It was not just the Netherlands that reacted like this. On November 27, 1880, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, the Dutch ally, revealed that the Netherlands was discussing with Sweden and Denmark to prepare for joint defense exercises on the Nordic land and the entrance to the Baltic Sea in response to the British Crown Prince Edward's attack in the United Kingdom. A threatening signal from the House of Commons.

On the other hand, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Spain will continue to act responsibly as a member of the Nordic Alliance and participate in all activities together.

In this regard, Cantur, Director of the Dutch National Security Council and Coordinator of Atlantic Affairs, said in an interview with the European Times in Melbourne on the afternoon of November 27: "We will continue to send a strong and powerful signal, that is, we believe that in this It would be a serious mistake to provide military assistance to the UK at this time, which is already destroying the peace. Everyone must have expected that we would treat the accomplices like the principal offenders and hit the opponent hard."

If the foreign ministry's statement represents the Dutch government, then the appearance of Cantur, director of the Dutch National Security Council and Atlantic Affairs Coordinator, made everyone aware of the Dutch attitude. After all, Mr. Cantur is the king of the Netherlands. The attitude of the chief think tank of William IV's most important think tank has clearly shown the tough attitude of the Dutch royal family, which complements the Dutch cabinet government.

In response to the strong statements made by Cantur and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the accusation that the UK and its partners are undermining world peace, the spokesperson of the British Prime Minister's Office at No. 10 Downing Street accused the Netherlands of spreading false news and stated that the UK has no right to accuse the UK and its partners. The United Kingdom will never accept coercive tests and pressures. At the same time, the spokesperson of the British Prime Minister's Office also said that the United Kingdom does not believe that the Netherlands can harm the interests of the United Kingdom and its allies without harming itself.

The Netherlands has repeatedly mentioned the issue of British allies supporting the UK in recent days, which has aroused the attention of partners with close relations with the UK. Faced with pressure from the Netherlands and its allies, all countries are feeling tremendous pressure.

As Britain's staunchest ally, many people in Belgium's domestic capital, Brussels, have begun to oppose the one-sided support for the United Kingdom in the last election. More than 50% of the people in Brussels even said that Belgium should choose diversification in diplomacy instead of death. Loyalty to Britain.

Britain's other major ally, the Ottoman Empire, although the latter has been showing off as an ally and partner to Britain, with the pressure from the Netherlands and other countries, doubts about Britain have emerged in the Ottoman Empire. If it hadn't been for the recent Tsarist Russia The empire launched the Pan-Slavic Movement with the help of Serbia in the Balkans, which increased the Ottoman Empire's sense of crisis. Maybe Constantinople would have already stood up to express its neutrality towards the Netherlands at this time.

In particular, last week on November 29, 1880, when Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Jules Danetang visited Constantinople, he was greeted by the Sultan (Emperor) of the Ottoman Empire and the Khalifa Abdullah Hamid II received him as a courtesy, and he presented Abdul Hamid II with a letter of greetings from William IV.

Juldanetang later held talks with Prime Minister Midhat Pasha of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople. Juldanetang clearly stated at a public press conference that the Ottoman Empire should not support Britain in launching any war. , he also does not believe that the Ottoman Empire will provide any weapons and troops to support Britain, and he has not seen the Ottoman Empire do this so far.

But he did not care that the Ottoman Prime Minister Midhat Pasha was standing nearby, and he warned that any such action would provoke a response from the Netherlands and its allies.

At the same time, Nicholas Pierson, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands who was accompanying him, said publicly that we will not pursue the support provided by British partners and allies before, but from now on, we will keep a close eye on this type of support around the world. action and we will respond to it.

In addition, Nicholas Pierson, who had been the Dutch ambassador to Prussia 17 years ago and was admired by Bismarck, then Prime Minister of Prussia, the Dutch diplomatic elite revealed in an interview with "European Times" that the relationship between the cabinet government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French cabinet government There has been no formal contact, but he expects talks between the two countries to begin in the near future.

The Dutch suppressed France left and right, making France scrupulous, causing cracks in the Anglo-French alliance, and then trying to win France over, and the latter had to bow its head, which shocked the world.

In addition, there was no news at all about the Deputy Prime Minister Jourda Netan before arriving in Constantinople for a visit, and it was only after arriving that the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands were publicly exposed. This leaves no doubt that Britain’s role in the Middle East and The Ottoman Empire, an ally in southeastern Europe, also rebelled.

At this moment, everyone understood that Britain's situation was getting more and more difficult.

The Dutch offensive against Britain is becoming more and more sharp, and the world seems to be becoming more and more elusive. Is this the result that everyone in Zhuhai wants to see?

Not necessarily. The German Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire, both of which were capable, would not let the Netherlands do this.

On November 28, 1880, when the world was paying more attention to Britain and the Netherlands than this year, the Tsarist Russian Empire finally couldn't help but take action first.