Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"Your Majesty, after more than half a year, we have now established a firm foothold in North Kalimantan Province in the Far East."

Diplomacy Gorchakov said: "The fleets between Vladivostok and Vladivostok have begun mutual patrols."

Alexander II said with satisfaction: "Not bad."

Then he frowned and pointed at the map and said: "However, the place is still too small, and the location is such that we are almost surrounded by it. This is very difficult for the expansion of influence."

Alexander II's words attracted Gorchakov's approval.

Yes, the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Far East has surrendered the province of North Kalimantan to the Netherlands. Will Tsarist Russia be willing to be trapped there?

the answer is negative.

Going south, the current relationship between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia makes it impossible for Tsarist Russia to take action. Even if they want to make a move, they have to consider the strength of the Netherlands there.

Although they can't figure out the strength of the Netherlands now, all countries are speculating that the strength must not be underestimated, otherwise the United Kingdom would not have repeatedly made concessions to the Netherlands.

To the west and north, they will face the United Kingdom. Tsarist Russia will never do this. Then, to the east on the Sulawesi Sea, there is Spain and the Philippines.

Alexander II and Gorchakov looked at each other and saw the heat in each other's eyes.

"Your Majesty, there is some internal turmoil in Spain right now."

"That's not good, they can't control it, but we can help them. In other words, the burden of a female like Isabel II is too heavy. I will help her share it. I think she should be grateful to me."

Gorchakov nodded and said with certainty: "This is indeed the case."

"Hahaha"

In just a short moment, the monarch and his ministers completed something that would determine the fate of Spain's Far East colonies. At this time, they in Madrid did not know it.

Nowadays, the struggle for power in Madrid is still going on, and Isabel II is still sitting on the sidelines.

Naturally, Louis I would not be willing to be frustrated several times when facing William IV at the Paris Conference, so he made a lightly bold decision.

Intervening in Spain's internal affairs pointed at Isabel II, who in his opinion was the accomplice who made William IV proud at the Paris Conference.

Louis I was very smart and did not directly choose political power. Instead, he used rumors to attack Isabel II first.

On December 25, 1862, a piece of news appeared in many Spanish tabloids.

According to news reports, it turned out that after the First Carlos War, Maria Christiana, the mother of Isabel II and the then Queen Mother of Spain, who was opposed by many people, handed over the regency power to the Spanish military. The representative of the party, General Baldomero Espartero.

But he and his lover went to Paris to stay together.

Espertro carried out some radical reforms, which resulted in a conservative backlash, and the Spanish prime minister was later overthrown by the conservative General Narvaez.

Espertro went into exile in England, and later, with the help of Britain, returned to Spain and reorganized a pro-British political party.

The Narvaez faction formed a cabinet led by Joaquín Maria Lopez, which was pro-French.

At that time, the Lopez cabinet induced the Spanish Congress to declare Isabel to be an adult, when she was actually only 13 years old. Three years later, conservatives from Castile forced the 16-year-old Isabel II to marry, even to her cousin. Brother-Francisco de Assisi de Bourbon.

Isabel II actually had many suitors in the European royal family at the time, but Francisco won out due to his support in France, so he was finally forced to agree to marry this sissy husband.

After the marriage, the queen also discovered that the husband had more lace on his clothes than she did, and the two even lived separately after the marriage.

What major Spanish media reported this time was this life after separation.

These newspapers, based on rumors, said that all the children of Isabel II were not her husband, Prince Francisco, because the prince was a lover.

The media still believes that the only boy who survived Isabel II, the father of the 6-year-old Crown Prince Alfonso, is actually the daughter of Queen Isabel II and her lover, Enrique Puerto, the commander of the Guards. children.

It's okay, the Spanish cabinet quickly came out to refute the rumors and criticized these media as fabricating things out of thin air.

The royal matron, the spokesperson of the Queen of Spain, even stood up and said that she scolded these media for doing this. She was heartbroken and asked the cabinet to bring the author of this article to justice. On behalf of the Queen, she asked all major Spanish media to report all The newspaper was destroyed and an apology was issued to the Queen.

At the same time, the Queen personally clarified her innocence in the Madrid Journal and the Spanish Herald, and asked the people not to be fooled by the despicable people.

Unfortunately, there are still many small newspapers that continue to run reports privately.

Among them, there are pro-Portuguese places such as Merida and Seville, which are close to the Portuguese side.

Many people here have close ties with Portugal. When Spain was strong, these areas were the frontiers for absorbing the Portuguese. But when Spain gradually declined, this area became the center of Portuguese influence. Therefore, many families have been associated with Portugal for generations. Interested allies.

Moreover, they have long been disdainful of the Queen, which makes many people ignite like kerosene as soon as they are provoked by Portugal.

This craze is getting bigger and bigger.

Just like spilling blood in the sea, it quickly attracted a swarm of sharks to attack.

London direction.

The Downing Street cabinet even made a decision to support Louis I of Portugal after a cabinet meeting held by Viscount Palmerston.

Viscount Palmerston suggested to the Queen: "Spain has always been dissatisfied and resentful of Gibraltar being in British hands. Spain cannot rise again, otherwise our strength in the Mediterranean will be severely reduced."

In the end, the Queen agreed with Viscount Palmerston.

Santiago de Compostela, Oviedo and other places in northern Spain, which have always been pro-British, also began to join this crusade against questioning the Queen.

Britain and Portugal have always had close relations. Although Queen Victoria did not express support for Louis I at the Paris Conference, she still clearly understood Portugal's actions as a compensation.

What's more, as many people in the British political arena worry, the Spanish's unwillingness to give up on Gibraltar is the main reason why the United Kingdom supports the fight against Spain.

As pro-British people joined in, many people in pro-Italian Spain also began to agitate, especially in the Balearic Islands offshore the Mediterranean. Many people had a bad feeling for the queen.

With the attacks directed at Isabel II from several directions, Isabel II naturally became anxious, and the entire royal family was immersed in panic.

It seemed that at this moment, she felt that there were enemies everywhere.

That night, she unexpectedly received requests from several people.

Originally, at this time, she was no longer in the mood to meet anyone.

But when she knew who the visitor was, she summoned them urgently, because they were the French ambassador to Spain, the Dutch ambassador to Spain, and the Russian ambassador to Spain.

Isabel II was overjoyed. Almost half of the provinces in Spain were shouting against her and were dissatisfied with her style. Each one was more radical than the other, and she could hardly stand it anymore.

This round was obviously being manipulated by someone, and judging from what happened from the beginning, it was Portugal that was causing trouble, and Louis I obviously couldn't run away.

It is not difficult to guess that when she was in Paris, she did not give face to the other party and supported William IV of the Netherlands. It is understandable to take revenge on her at this time.

A few days ago, Netherlands! , Amsterdam.

"The telegram just sent back from Keynes shows that the situation in Spain is very unstable now, and the status of Queen Isabel II is in jeopardy. If things continue to develop, it is very likely that she will flee. Your Majesty, should we stand up and express our support for Spain? "

Hesbert von asked.

"After all, the Queen of Spain has just signed a Far East Alliance Agreement with us. It would be unreasonable not to make any statement at this time."

Prime Minister Tolbeck said: "No, it's not time yet"

Everyone looked over, and Tolbeck said: "Don't forget, the pro-French forces are in power in the Spanish cabinet now. I think France will not let Spain have huge fluctuations at will. This is a big problem for France." A risky move.

Moreover, this is obviously aimed at the Spanish royal family, and don’t forget, the Queen Mother is still in Paris. This move raises questions about the legitimacy of the future royal family of Spain. This is a radical move. How could France do this? Give up vested interests. "

"What does the Prime Minister mean?"

"Ask Keynes to join the heads of the French and Tsarist Russian embassies there to visit the Royal Palace of Spain. At this time, Isabel II will obviously agree to our conditions. The other two countries thought the same thing, but they raised the conditions. , but it should not be us, but Tsarist Russia.”

After hearing this, William IV nodded, "Yes, the Netherlands and France have an alliance with Spain, so it is indeed not appropriate to gain too much, but Tsarist Russia does not have this burden."

"Where's the benefit?"

Tolbeck's eyes glowed with gold and he said with a mysterious smile: "The Philippines is good, it is where the interests of our countries converge."

France!

Paris!

Napoleon III was also discussing this matter with his Prime Minister Olivier.

"Prime Minister Olivier, compared to Britain, we have too few colonies in the Far East. We need a broader port group."

"What does your Majesty mean?"

Napoleon III: "Isn't there an opportunity now? The Philippines has a population of more than 7 million and is a good market. Unfortunately, Spain will not let this piece of fat go.

Well, we can get some benefits elsewhere. I think we can ask the person in charge of our embassy in Madrid to make demands on Isabel II.

Um!

I see on this map that Balabac Island is pretty good, and I think Spain will agree with it.”

Will Spain agree?