Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"We don't want to go to war, but God is my witness, if we go to war,

We have plenty of warships, we have plenty of people, and we have plenty of money.

We have fought this bear before, and the Russians will not have Constantinople as long as Britain lasts."

This is the sound that could be heard in a London street music hall in 1865.

Ten years later, the Tsarist Empire once again filled the Balkan Peninsula. This time Alexander II was much smarter and no longer went it alone.

In addition to just taking over Bessarabia in early July, Alexander II was secretly ready to support local opposition figures and teams who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Ottoman Empire. So before July 15, 1865, Bosnia and Herzegovina Uprisings occurred simultaneously in three Ottoman Empire provinces, including Bulgaria and Bulgaria.

The Ottoman Empire was caught off guard, so it ignored the invasion of Tsarist Russia in the north and could only send out large armies to suppress the three places near the Mediterranean.

This provided the Russian Empire with an opportunity to intervene.

So after completely occupying Bessarabia on July 20, the Tsarist Russia was dissatisfied with the Ottoman Empire's methods of suppressing these three places, and there were also letters of distress from opposition figures in the newly revolted Moldavia. The empire officially announced that it would send troops to Moldavia to prevent the Ottoman Empire from violently suppressing the Moldavia.

When the Ottoman Empire had just finished suppressing Bosnia and Herzegovina and was about to advance to Bulgaria in the north, the Bulgarian region mutinied under the arms of the Tsarist Empire.

The Ottoman Empire was once again only able to fight with the Bulgarian armed forces, and just like watching its enemies cut flesh on itself, the Ottoman Empire's army was blocked in the south of Bulgaria, while the army of the Tsarist Empire was in the north. Advance in Romania. It felt so painful.

And my Ottoman army in Bosnia in the west was unable to provide effective support to Romania in the north because it was separated by Hungary. So when the last day came at the end of July, the Tsarist Empire occupied almost half of Romania's territory.

By this time, the faces of European countries began to change, especially the British and Austrian empires. Every day's progress of the Tsarist Russian army was a needle prick in the hearts of the two countries.

Both countries were afraid of Tsarist Russia's expansion in the Balkans.

So when Tsarist Russia began to arm Serbia and Montenegro, preparing to do what Bulgaria had done to these two principalities, the Austrian Empire hurriedly intervened.

Britain also sailed its fleet in the Middle East to the Black Sea for wandering.

Trying to create a tense atmosphere for Austria's mediation, let the Russian Empire understand that enough is enough, and the tolerance of Britain and Austria has reached its limit.

Be ready for a war to break out at any time.

But Alexander II was not one to give up easily.

On August 3, 1865, the Tsarist Empire stated that it would not repeat the tragic defeat of the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1856, and hoped that the people would support the opposition policies of resource arming currently implemented by the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Balkan Peninsula.

At the same time, they also called on European countries to change their support for the Ottoman Empire's suppression of the Balkans and support Tsarist Russia's war actions for justice.

However, the British refuted this statement. They stated that this was just a ridiculous excuse made by Tsarist Russia for its own invasion.

"It is ridiculous for a robber to steal other people's food and claim that he was doing so just to prevent the original owner from dying from eating too much food.

I called on the rulers of St. Petersburg in London to immediately stop invading the Ottoman Empire and then negotiate peacefully to resolve the disputes between the two countries. This is the current attitude of the British Empire.

Our Mediterranean fleet is currently patrolling the Black Sea. As long as London gives an order, it can immediately join any challenging battle mode.

We hope that countries will respect the British Empire and not disregard our ideas. "

However, when the spokesperson of the British Foreign Office had just finished saying that Europe was looking at his metaphor and found it interesting, the situation in the Balkans was not moving in the direction they thought.

On August 10, 1865, the Tsarist Empire completely occupied Romania, and with the support of the local opposition, it announced its annexation as the territory of the Tsarist Russian Empire, and together with Moldavia and Bessarabia, it became the three principalities of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Opposition figures who had previously opposed the Ottoman Empire formed a provisional government.

At the same time, 136 Turkish officers stationed in Bulgaria were brutally killed on August 11, which triggered brutal revenge from the Ottoman Empire.

The situation took a sudden turn, and with European countries stunned, on August 15, 1865, more than 20,000 Bulgarians were massacred in retaliation by the Ottoman Empire in the infamous "Bulgarian Terror".

This incident was widely reported by newspapers in Europe, and European countries were dumbfounded.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander II took the opportunity to condemn the Ottoman Empire and appealed to major powers such as Britain and Austria, asking these countries not to support the tyrannical Ottoman Empire, but to stand on the side of the just Tsarist Russia.

The Prussian Empire also stood up at the right time, saying that it could not believe this was true, and stated that it would impose sanctions on the Ottoman Empire. Berlin did not make it clear what sanctions and how they would be carried out.

But Berlin's attitude has played a role in following the trend.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Kingdom of Denmark all announced sanctions against the Ottoman Empire. Later, Spain, Italy, and Portugal also joined the team.

Seeing that so many countries had formed a condemnation team, London finally changed its attitude and reluctantly joined.

In London, Foreign Secretary Russell angrily said: "There is only one way for the Ottomans to wash away the accusations against them, and that is to wash themselves away and call on Constantinople not to do more harm to civilians."

Lift it high and put it down gently.

"This is the British attitude.

Many countries understand Britain's intentions, and this is why the Ottoman Empire has no fear, because Britain needs the Ottoman Empire to help Britain guard the Black Sea and Mediterranean passages, as well as the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, to prevent the Tsarist Empire from breaking through here.

The Suez Canal was maintained by Britain only because the Ottoman Empire did not oppose and supported British rule.

Therefore, seriously speaking, the relationship between Britain and the Ottoman Empire is more in need of the Ottoman Empire than other European countries.

The Ottoman Empire played a more important role in British strategy than many countries.

Therefore, the British superficially condemned, but in fact, they may be doing the opposite, providing a steady stream of weapons to support the Ottoman Empire to prevent the Tsarist Empire from further invading the south. "

Wilhelm IV expressed his views at a January lecture to all teachers and students at the newest Diplomatic Academy.

He continued: "Britain needs the Ottoman Empire, which can be used with more confidence, because compared with other European countries, the Ottoman Empire is a country of different nationalities and beliefs. For the UK, there is no moral restraint. Expedient cooperation.

And even if the Ottomans are supported and strengthened, as long as the British foreign policy changes, they can unite European countries to declare war on the Ottoman Empire based on differences in race and belief. This is Britain's balanced policy. "

In fact, as William IV said, the Ottoman Empire was a country held captive by the British to guard southeastern Europe.

The gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire was consistent with Britain's original intention to control a great power, something that was difficult to achieve on the European continent. By controlling the Ottoman Empire, Britain could use the transit goods in the Middle East to continuously transport raw materials from the Indian Ocean back to the British Isles through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

Therefore, once the Tsarist Empire seized large areas of the Ottoman Empire, according to the imperialist temperament of the Tsarist Russian Empire, Britain would not be allowed to interfere with the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Then Britain would lose control of India in the Far East and further rely on naval force to oppress it. The Qing Dynasty, a famous country in the Far East, had the opportunity to further open up the country's market.

This will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Britain with its capital structure.

Therefore, while the British Empire condemned the Ottoman Empire, it also repeatedly warned the Tsarist Empire, explicitly or covertly, asking the country to stop its southern invasion. However, the Tsarist Russian Empire not only ignored it, but even threatened Varna in eastern Bulgaria.

The Tsarist Empire's lack of face completely angered the British Empire.

At this time, the Austrian Emperor Joseph I was worried about his own situation because of the hatred of the Austrian Empire within the German Confederation, so he chose to show favor to Britain at this time.

The performance of the Austrian Empire on the Balkan Peninsula satisfied Britain, and Britain believed that Austrian military power, especially the army, could be used.

Prussia, which was originally supported by Britain, has become like a wild horse out of British control in recent years. Many times, the policies it adopts are not in line with Britain's interests. Therefore, Austria's olive branch is a surprise to Britain. happiness.

Moreover, Austria's weakness makes it easier for Britain to control it. His Four War Lands (surrounded by the Russian Empire, the Prussian Empire, the French Empire, and the Ottoman Empire) fit the best model of Britain's need for balanced diplomacy.

In particular, Britain is very dissatisfied with the expansion of the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Near East. If Tsarist Russia occupies the two straits of Ottoman Turkey, Britain's power in the Mediterranean will be seriously damaged, so Britain cannot abandon the two straits.

Supporting the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire would help stop the Tsarist Empire. Therefore, while Britain was determined to support the Ottoman Empire, it also began to tilt its diplomatic support and military resources toward Austria.

On August 20, 1865, Austria and Britain were dissatisfied with Tsarist Russia's invasion of the Ottoman Empire, so the two countries made peace and reached a decision in Vienna to aid the Ottoman Empire.

At the same time, the relationship between the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire will become more tense.

For this reason, the Tsarist Empire had no choice but to face the threat of the Austrian Empire. The Tsarist Russian government announced that the Austrian Empire was included in the country's list of hostile countries. The other country on the list was the Ottoman Empire.