Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Mark Rudd asked William IV in confusion: "Your Majesty, if you tell them such an important oil storage location, will it make Prussia more threatening to the Netherlands when it becomes stronger?"

William IV shook his head and said: "Look at the countries around you. The Ottoman Empire will never let others touch its cake easily. I don't know how good it is, but if you know it, it will be desperate.

The Tsarist Empire in the north is very poor in fuel every year. Now that they know that the fuel they dream of is across the Black Sea, what do you think Alexander II will do? "

Mark Rudd swallowed his throat and said in horror: "I will definitely rush forward even if I risk my life."

"Hate combined with desire, the kind that is full of motivation, right?"

William IV added: "The east is the Indian subcontinental peninsula occupied by the British. On the side of the bed, the British naturally do not want to see Tsarist Russia go south and obtain that area, and they do not want the Ottoman Empire to rise with this resource and even threaten the British. The dominance of the Suez Canal broke Britain's back.

Nor did he want Prussia to threaten Britain's presence in the East Indian Ocean while gaining a foothold in Europe. "

Now, as Mark Rudd clearly listed the oil storage areas that His Majesty had just revealed one by one, his original thought that the Netherlands was at a huge loss was instantly overshadowed by the possibility of a battle among these countries.

"If these countries really end up fighting for energy because of this, it will be another opportunity for the Netherlands."

William IV spoke earnestly to his Chief of General Staff: "The Netherlands needs space and time for peaceful development, especially the Far East, and as I said in the Privy Council, what the Netherlands now lacks is talent.

These countries have top-notch talents. Only when war breaks out in these countries can the Netherlands be able to extract them from these countries and bring them back to the Netherlands. We have already captured some of Austria's talents. After they have been trained for several years, we will continue to come back. Second time. "

Mark Rudd heard this and silently felt sad for Austria.

"Prussia has a lot of talents, and now the entire German Confederation is even more talented, and so is Britain. If we can get talents from these countries, there is no need for the Netherlands to become popular in the world."

"But these two countries are among the top countries in Europe. Their countries are developing rapidly and they are full of pride. Their citizens will not leave their countries easily."

Mark Rudd deserves to be a soldier and speaks straightforwardly.

William IV said in shocking words: "So, I am creating the trigger for their war. As long as they declare war, then the Netherlands, which is also a Germanic country, will be the best choice. You know, Sweden is too It’s cold. Denmark, Iceland and Greenland are also extremely cold. Denmark itself is too small and no one goes there.”

Mark Rudd: "I'm afraid they won't fight each other. As you said, they are Germanic just like the Netherlands."

William IV said calmly: "Who said they should take action directly? Didn't you say that the current war between Britain and Tsarist Russia is not a war?

If Prussia and France fight, what if the one with the upper hand provokes Britain? "

"Britain will naturally suppress the other side," Mark Rudd couldn't help but said.

"Can't I suppress it?" asked William IV.

"Can't hold it down?"

Mark Rudd said tremblingly: "Then the European war is coming."

William IV smiled and said: "That is our hope. Imagine that because of the long-term war in the big countries of Britain, Germany, and France, all the talents finally fled the war and went to the Far East of the Netherlands to escape the war in Europe. Then they settled down. That’s what we most want to see.”

"But didn't His Majesty just tell King William I that the Netherlands can make sacrifices for Germany?"

William IV looked at Mark Rudd funny and said: "Of course we are willing to make sacrifices, but we in the Netherlands are willing to sacrifice other Germanic brother countries."

ah!

Mark Lud suddenly realized that what His Majesty just said was actually deceiving people, and even he believed it. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed for what he had just thought.

In the residence prepared by William IV for William I and Moltke, William I still had shock on his face, and Moltke was almost the same.

Moltke couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, William IV actually told us such a big secret. What exactly is he planning? I always feel that things are not that simple."

William I: "This little guy's character of never taking advantage of anything is obviously something he has planned."

Moltke: "Could it be that he knew that it was difficult for the Netherlands to snatch it away from big powers such as the Ottoman Empire and Britain, so he wanted to use Prussia to get a piece of the pie?"

William I thought the same thing just now, but vaguely, he felt that William IV seemed to be more than that simple. Because he dared to challenge the British position in South Africa, William I would not think that the other party was willing to give in easily. people.

However, he couldn't figure out what this guy was thinking.

By this time, William I had unconsciously transformed from a little guy into a guy. It was obvious that William IV was placed at eye level.

In his opinion, he could only see what Bismarck was thinking after going back and analyzing it together.

Thinking of this, William I asked Moltke: "What do you think of him compared with Crown Prince Frederick?"

Moltke did not expect that William I would ask this question, and was about to give a neutral answer, but in the end, under the gaze of William I, he said: "William IV is really a young talent."

When William I heard this, he already knew what it meant.

The visit of William I and Chief of General Moltke to the Netherlands attracted the attention of all countries in the world, especially the United Kingdom, France, Tsarist Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They even asked reporters in Amsterdam to report to the Netherlands non-stop on a 12-hour basis. Countries play with the latest intelligence.

On May 25, 1866, William IV and William I held a press conference in Amsterdam. At the press conference, the two sides agreed that the two countries would recognize the border line of Denmark and that the two countries would jointly manage the security of the Principality of Nassau.

At the same time, the two countries signed a number of agreements for cooperation in Africa. Among them, Prussia will later purchase five colonial territories from the Dutch Far East. The Netherlands will not allow other countries to use Dutch territory to launch any unfriendly actions against Prussia.

The Netherlands has also received support from Prussia. Starting next month, it will use Prussian ships to help the Netherlands speed up its immigration to the Far East. The Netherlands will obtain Prussian industrial technology, including steelmaking and ironmaking, to develop and improve the Dutch industry. technology.

William IV and William I also signed an exchange of educational talents between the two countries. They will regularly introduce Prussian talents to the Netherlands for teaching activities to help the Netherlands improve the education level in the Far East.

Prussia gained employment opportunities for Dutch talents and improved the quality of life of Prussian citizens.

At the same time, many people believe that Prussia will even use talents to infiltrate the Netherlands, and sooner or later the Netherlands will become Prussia's vassal ally.

Many people in various European countries expressed this view with "concern", most of them in Britain and France.

Even many people in the Netherlands have begun to express such concerns.

Seeing this, William IV secretly laughed: "Many people think that the world is a world where big fish eat small fish, but in the animal world, there is another kind of legend, that is, the miracle that crocodiles can also swallow elephants."