Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

June 5, 1864, in the Royal Palace of Denmark.

Andersen, the famous Danish fairy tale master in Europe and also the tutor of Christian IX's six children, is teaching the children of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Everyone was present except Princess Alexandra (born in 1844), who was married to William IV of the Netherlands.

They are the eldest son Crown Prince Frederic born in 1843, Prince George born in 1845, Princess Dagma born in 1847, Princess Tila born in 1853, and Princess Tira born in 1858 and now only 6 years old. Prince Valdemar.

Next to them sat King Christian IX of Denmark, who was listening with a smile on his face, and Queen Louise of Denmark (formerly Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel).

After Andersen finished telling the fairy tales that Princess Tiela and Prince Valdemar liked, and answered the questions of the two little princes and princesses about whether they would continue to write new fairy tales, he was asked by Crown Prince Frederic about the recent international affairs. Political issues, and the most popular London conference recently, were naturally not spared.

With Christian IX watching, Andersen answered.

"The London Conference was held in May 1864. 17 countries, including the host British Empire, sent representatives to attend. The dominant ones were the British Empire, France, the Kingdom of Prussia in the German Confederation - the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, At the meeting, the Kingdom of Portugal and other six countries tried their best to plan how to carve up Africa in an elegant manner.

It was this meeting that opened the curtain on the crazy colonization of Africa by the major European powers, allowing the world to see the ugly transactions behind the scenes, and it was still fresh in the memory of Latin American countries.

This is just like what is described in my fairy tales. The fables of many stories have their own ideological transmission. For example, when I often write fairy tales, I integrate Christian ideas of kindness, fraternity, and devotion into the fairy tale world. , I have not forgotten to convey the Christian consciousness of original sin and the salvation of the soul to the world during the phone call.”

"For example, in "The Red Shoes" written by the teacher, the cute and beautiful girl couldn't restrain her desire to wear red shoes and forgot to sing hymns and say prayers?"

Andersen looked up and saw Princess Dagmar, who was already 17 years old and already tall and beautiful.

Princess Dagmar asked Andersen again:

"My sister Alexandra once said that in Mr. Andersen's "A Story" all the houses have the names of several mortal sins written in flames on the walls.

Hale in "The Marsh King's Daughter" is a beauty during the day but very cruel at heart, and a frog at night but very gentle and kind.

The prince in "The Evil Prince" loves war.

In "The Girl Who Walked on Bread", Inger walked on bread because he was afraid of getting his shoes and clothes dirty.

The mother in "Anne Lisbeth" was greedy for vanity and became a nanny in a noble family while abandoning her own child.

Sister Alexandra said that this is the teacher's character in the story that highlights their selfishness, vanity, arrogance, greed, evil, cruelty and other characters."

Christian IX and Queen Louis were stunned when they heard this, and they both thought of their second child, the eldest daughter Princess Alexandra, who had been married to the Netherlands.

Thinking of everything between William IV and her, these two children can be regarded as lovers and finally got married. Alexandra is now the Queen of the Netherlands, which is quite happy.

Andersen was also stunned, then smiled slightly and praised: "Princess Alexandra is indeed the most talented woman I have ever seen. Her keen insight is the most talented."

"This is the original sin inherent in human nature. Only by redeeming the soul can one have the purity of a child, so as to be close to God and enter heaven. This is the punishment the characters in my story received for disobeying God's sacred teachings. .

Just as God's words are verified in the Bible, in my book "The Wicked Prince", the prince was finally driven crazy by a small mosquito that got into his ear.

Inger, who walked on bread, fell into a swamp because of his arrogance and vanity, and became a company of cold and ugly toads, fire snakes, and flies.

Naturally, the little girl in "The Red Shoes" could not escape the severe punishment. The pair of red dancing shoes clamped on her feet, so she kept dancing. There was no way to stop, so she had to let the executioner chop off the feet wearing the red shoes. . "

"Why do teachers criticize so harshly the owner of the story?" asked 19-year-old Prince George.

When Andersen said this, he raised his head and said to these young Danish princesses and princes: "The reason why I let them do this is to let the children face up to the sinful thoughts and ugly behaviors in human nature, self-reflection and self-discipline, stay away from evil, and realize The salvation of the soul”

Crown Prince Frederick asked: "Going back to the London meeting just now, so the teacher thinks that this transaction held in London will cause a humanitarian crisis in Africa?"

"No, it's about Europe. Have you noticed?"

Andersen warned: "Both the Netherlands and Portugal obtained a large number of colonies from Africa, and they obtained them with a small number of soldiers and warships. This created a very intuitive point of view, that is, European countries occupied other countries' territories in Europe. It is very difficult, and even the benefits paid are not proportional to the benefits, but Africa has made huge profits.

Small price, big reward, this is how human greed grows rapidly. "

Prince George: "But that's Africa. It's too far away from us. After all, as many people say: We eat fish, so we can't feel sad for the fish."

Andersen was surprised by such a profound statement from Prince George. He glanced at him appreciatively, and then sighed: "I'm afraid, what is happening in Africa is that greed will not shrink as time goes by, but will eventually It will come back to bite you and me on the land of Europe.”

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Andersen saw that the atmosphere had been dragged into such a situation, which was obviously inconsistent with the content of his lecture topic "London Conference" today, so he said:

“During this nearly week-long meeting, it was nominally to resolve the Dutch-Portuguese War issue, but in reality several countries were leading the fight for Africa and its internal distribution.

After resolving the nominal issues, the participating countries began to discuss a number of general principles for coordinating their relations.

However, in the London Agreement, the term "sphere of influence" appears, which means that a country can not only control the coast of Africa, but also unlimitedly penetrate into the hinterland of Africa. In order to protect legitimate rights and interests and reduce conflicts, countries have proposed effective According to the principle of occupation, the occupying country can only truly own a colony when it effectively controls the area, rather than just setting up a stronghold and declaring its ownership to the outside world. "

Prince George said: "Teacher, now that the London Conference has ended, the rules of conduct of the 17 countries in Africa have almost all been confirmed, although there are still differences in the powers of each country.

We in Denmark also have a colony in Africa, that is Sierra Leone. I learned that Denmark’s main interest there now comes from fisheries, where Bangga fish, tuna, croaker, herring, prawns, etc. are all very abundant.

It is also good to produce mahogany and red ironwood.

Of course, the indigenous labor force also contributes to our economy.

But none of this seems to be worth the energy consumption of our ships from Copenhagen to Freetown every year, as well as the thousands of soldiers we send there.

It seems that income and expenditure are not proportional. What can Denmark get from this?

By analogy, it seems that the gains of various countries in Africa are not much different, so why are all countries so enthusiastic about Africa now? "

Upon hearing this, Christian IX glanced at George, then at Crown Prince Frederik, and finally communicated with Andersen, and fell silent for a moment.

Crown Prince Frederik knew that George was not involved in the governance of Denmark, so he did not understand their father's plan, so it was understandable that he had this question.

"Going back to the allusion from the fairy tale just now, greed has no limits."

Andersen paused and said: "People like to occupy things. No matter whether it is useful or not, they all feel that they are the darling of the world. Sooner or later, they will be favored by God and surprises will come.

Africa is much larger than Europe and is ancient. There, countries in Africa feel that they are surprised by unknown things before they have a thorough understanding of them.

Of course, individuals and countries are different. Countries need to deploy national strategies in response to the international situation and surrounding situations.

Taking Denmark as an example, we may not gain much economically from Sierra Leone, at least for now.

But sending troops there is a strategy in itself. Everyone knows that Denmark is cold in winter and cool in summer, so we are considered to belong to Northern Europe.

As for Denmark's current colony of Sierra Leone in Africa, it is summer there during winter in Europe. This in itself has military significance and can enable our country's army to maintain the different states of winter and summer in the north and south.

Don't underestimate this small change. Just look at the Netherlands, Portugal, Britain, and France. You will know why Tsarist Russia was so happy to gain a colony in the Far East. It has crucial strategic significance. "

Andersen said: "Africa is not only a transit port, but also a manifestation of our actions to join the ranks of European powers. It is also Denmark's stronghold in the southern hemisphere, breaking our sphere of influence only in the northern hemisphere.

The balance of power among European countries has also accelerated as Africa has become the scope of power of various countries, accelerating the change in the balance of power among European countries."

"good"

Christian IX also joined this topic at this time, and sighed with envy: "The Congress of Vienna 50 years ago recognized the status of the three empires of the Austrian Empire, the British Empire, and the Tsarist Russian Empire, and also recognized the rise of the Prussian Palace. In addition, the strength of the French Empire has been stable for a long time, confirming its status as the five major European countries.

The establishment of the London Conference was the biggest change in European countries in decades and was of great significance to the world. The status of the British Empire has risen the fastest. Now almost no one will deny its position as the first empire. The French Empire has been in the process for decades since the Congress of Vienna. It has fully recovered its strength, ranking only behind the Tsarist Russian Empire. The Austrian Empire can now only be compared with Prussia, and can be called the empire with the fastest decline in influence.

As for Osman.