Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Kingdom of the Netherlands, Melbourne, Diplomatic Academy. Today all the teachers and students of the school gathered in the lecture hall.

Because today is the 20th anniversary of His Majesty William IV's annual speech of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the twentieth consecutive time.

Moreover, the theme of His Majesty's speech today is very attractive.

Today's theme for His Majesty William IV is: The German-Austrian Alliance and Bismarck!

This is not only a topic of interest to the Netherlands, I believe that most people around the world like to talk about this topic.

William IV ignored the thoughts of the people below. He stood on the podium and said: "In my opinion, Bismarck is the initiator of the German geopolitical revolution. I call him the white revolutionary Bismarck!"

Bismarck, the white revolutionary!

People including Nicolas Pierson, the First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, sat in contemplation.

Pearson murmured to himself: "Sure enough, Bismarck knows His Majesty better than I did during my several years of diplomatic mission in Berlin."

Others nodded in agreement.

On the stage, William IV continued his analytical explanation:

“We should realize that in the turbulent diplomatic world of the 19th century, nothing was stable.” In 1863, France still tried to continue to dominate Europe. However, after 1871, the French’s attention shifted to France’s internal affairs. Part of it was split from China, or moved to colonies around the world."

“Before 1866, the Austrians tried to focus on the Greater German Confederation. After losing the Austro-Prussian Seven-Week War, Austria had to compromise with Hungary and established Austria-Hungary, and became restrained.

Later, after the Franco-Prussian War, Germany was established and France was defeated. Austria-Hungary no longer looked north or west to buy this newly formed Austro-Hungarian Empire, and wisely focused on the Balkans."

""Ono's head-turning incident also happened in the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1848. The Tsar firmly believed that he was the savior of Europe. However, in Nicholas I's Crimean War in 1856, Britain, France and Italy supported the Ottomans against Tsarist Russia and won the invasion. In Crimea, Austria, Tsarist Russia's ally, chose neutrality, and even slightly favored Britain, France, Italy and other countries. In the end, Nicholas I came with hatred. Alexander II succeeded to the throne in 1856, and 25 years later, Alexander II carried out political reforms in the country. He touched other people's interests and was assassinated. My cousin four generations later became Alexander III.

The Tsarist Empire seems to be much more docile now. Of course, this is only what we see on the surface. Whether it is true or not is still unknown. In short, all the Tsars in the past only had some idea in their hearts that they could break through the Black Sea Agreement."

As William IV eloquently described the changes in the international situation, all the teachers, students and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carefully compared their inner thoughts.

William IV: "So which diplomat can confidently propose a long-term plan at this time? When Bismarck became Prime Minister of Prussia in 1862, did he foresee that he could successfully launch three dynastic wars and unify Germany?"

This question raised by William IV made people stunned. Many teachers and students have remembered this question.

Because William IV had said before in his opening remarks that at the end of the speech, teachers and students would be asked their own questions to see if anyone was not serious.

So this time many people gathered their energy and energy and concentrated on the podium.

Seeing them taking notes, William IV smiled slightly, and then said: "Obviously this cannot be done, but these three wars and the unified unification were all completed in less than ten years. If he can't do anything for several years in a row, To say that he foresaw it when he was Prime Minister clearly means that he has no long-term strategic planning ability worth boasting about."

"Of course, I don't think this is a disparagement of Bismarck himself. I think this so-called long-term planning ability is something that exists in romance novels.

At least, it doesn’t exist with some recognized European diplomats. Didn’t Talleyrand, the diplomat of the French Empire, ridicule? Metternich, Prime Minister of the Butterfly Kingdom (Austrian Empire) at the Congress of Vienna, could not even foresee what would happen a week later. We are not sure whether this sarcastic statement was an exaggeration, but Metternich did not foresee Napoleon I in 1813. The Bonaparte Empire is about to end, that’s for sure. If he doesn’t let him, he won’t send the Habsburg princess to Paris. He wants to continue to make peace with Paris.”

William IV looked at the audience and said: "Look, so no diplomat really expected external things to happen. We should not mythologize diplomats. All of you here have already done so or are still doing so." Waiting to sit in this position, in the future, please don't myth yourself to the point where you can't step down. At that time, you will harm others, yourself and the country.

What I need is your pragmatic attitude, not personal worship."

William IV: "Of course, these diplomatic experts also have their own skills. At this point, the diplomatic masters are like the chess masters. They are not lost in guessing the long-term consequences of their actions, but asking questions. Ask yourself whether this step can change our own situation. If it can, then take this step. In other words, the ability to adapt to changes in practice is the key to the success of diplomats. This is my understanding."

This is His Majesty's view

Everyone's notebooks were rustling and recorded.

"Let's go back to Bismarck and take him as an example. What is the reason why Bismarck was still able to achieve his reputation in the end of the Franco-Prussian War? He was better at adapting to circumstances than the diplomats of his generation."

“On the basis of the Second Reich seeking death, the deliberate leakage of the Ems secret telegram between Bismarck and Napoleon III further angered the French to appear as an aggressor in the world, putting the French in a desperate diplomatic situation. Even if Bismarck didn't predict the result beforehand, so what? As long as the result can be numbered under Bismarck's operation, that's fine.

Bismarck was obviously very proud of his ability. His diplomatic route was full of various political secrets. He completely regarded diplomacy as backroom politics. He presided over cabinet politics with obvious Bonapartist characteristics. The characteristic of Bonapartism was precisely that Bismarck could speculate. Bismarck would never firmly choose anyone. For example, he admired the friendship between the Russian Empire and Germany in his heart, but privately, in order to meet the requirements of the German-Austrian Alliance allies, he was not willing to fight against the Russian Empire. The choice will not be excluded”

William IV picked up the water glass, took a sip of water, moistened his throat, and then said: "In other words, Bismarck can make often contradictory choices in order to achieve his strategic goals, and all this reflects the German state of Bismarck's era. The empire’s diplomatic stance will not strongly support anyone, but at the same time it does not receive strong support from any party. The reason why his line can be persisted is because the interests of all parties are intertwined and they are unable to implement their wishes to the end.”

"Then the question is, how should the Netherlands respond when faced with such a Bismarck, such a fierce prime minister who has presided over the establishment of the German Empire for ten years?"