Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

August 6, 1867.

The stubborn resistance of the Kingdom of Siam resulted in the loss of more than 60,000 French troops in South Vietnam, which made the French in the French Empire furious.

The streets of Paris were filled with demonstrations.

And there are two extremely different camps. One camp advocates stopping the war and demands that the cabinet government formed by Prime Minister Olivier step down. They even go one step further and demand that Napoleon III abdicate.

Although the number of people was only one-third of the number of participants, their attitude was very firm.

The other faction is the main war faction, demanding that the French Empire must increase its troops to participate in the war in the Far East. In order to maintain the great glory of France, this war must be won. To this end, they focused on domestic stability, supported the foreign policy of Napoleon III, and even pressured the Olivier cabinet government to be bolder in the use of foreign troops. For this reason, they also used the Tsarist Empire in the Balkans and the eastern Black Sea as examples.

This group accounts for more than 50% of the total. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for countries to have hope that Paris will soften their stance in the short term. This is what worries the outside world.

As expected, on August 9, with the nod of Napoleon III, the French Empire officially launched the second phase of its offensive against the Kingdom of Siam, and it was no longer the "polite" kind.

Countries around the world provided a large amount of intelligence and weapons to the Kingdom of Siam, which caused heavy losses to the French Empire. It made the French Empire feel that its opponents were European and American anti-French countries rather than the Kingdom of Siam. However, this anger could not be vented on these European and American countries. I can only vent my anger on the Kingdom of Siam.

At this time, King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam withstood the attack of the French Empire, so when he sent it to European countries, he even suggested that he underestimated the strength of the French Empire, explained the historical reasons for the war to various countries, and criticized France and Napoleon III's behavior. This disrespect for France's status as a great power is considered a provocation in the eyes of the French.

If there is no comparison in strength, if a small country angers a big country, it will only cause the big country to retaliate, and it will not really reverse the situation. The angered French Empire will no longer be "courteous" in selling. Therefore, the French Empire's strategy in the second stage is to let the big country retaliate. The world was shocked. After learning the lesson of losing 60,000 soldiers and casualties in the first time, and following the Dutch way of fighting Portugal in Africa, the French Empire actually chose the mode of artillery bombing to clear the way, and bombed major cities in large numbers in various offensives along the way. As a result of the city, the losses of the Kingdom of Siam expanded dramatically. Not only did the Kingdom of Siam suffer staggering military losses, but even the collateral damage to civilians would also increase in serious proportions.

On August 10, 1867, the city of Sihanoukville on the southern coast of the Cambodian region of the Kingdom of Siam was first captured. This city of about 100,000 people had lost its original vitality, and the entire town was covered with black marks of charcoal. , corpses can be seen everywhere, and the cruelty of war is revealed without any concealment at this moment, which is really tragic.

Subsequently, the central anti-French front from Pakse to Saravan in Laos was successively occupied.

The remaining cities of Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Cham and Stung Treng are also in danger.

The victory of the French Empire made Paris jump with cheers, and Europe had mixed expressions.

However, good fortune and misfortune depend on it, and things that appear to be beneficial may actually be harmful. This is how the Kingdom of Siam withstood the pressure before, and it is the same now with the French Empire. As countries pay more attention to the battle of the Kingdom of Siam being invaded by France, There was an endless stream of news collectors from various countries. The French Empire's artillery bombardment operations, regardless of military and civilians, although advancing rapidly and causing huge losses to the Kingdom of Siam's reserves, had a great impact on the future of the French Empire in this battle. , is it really beneficial?

On August 12, 1867, a novel called "The Ugly French" appeared in the literary circles of Europe and the United States. It mainly described the diplomats of the French Empire who were stationed in Southeast Asia. The book was introduced with self-righteous and arrogant words. Uninhibited and unwilling to understand the customs and people of the host country, the failure of the foreign policy of the French Empire, the owner of the island, even extends to the evil behavior of many French Empire diplomats overseas and at home in the novel. People, in this novel, believe that most French people are kind, but the successive French imperial governments are open to question.

Not to mention, after the United States and the United Kingdom signed the "Jay's Treaty" in 1895 at the end of the 18th century, the French Empire believed that the treaty of the United States of America to avoid continued war with Britain was incompatible. France's interests were dissatisfied with the fact that America negotiated with Britain without France's consent, which was a betrayal of the French Empire. The arrogant French Empire diplomats did not listen at all. Charles Pinckney, the American diplomat sent to Paris by America, He directly refused the request for a meeting, which directly led to the extreme deterioration of relations between the two countries.

Although he even agreed to meet in the end, he put forward conditions that made the Americans angry: he wanted to meet with the Prime Minister and the United States paid France enough huge compensation to repair France's losses in helping America fight against Britain.

This is the famous "kyz incident", and the three letters are the reason why the letters of the three American diplomats replaced their names.

The novel is the arrogant and unreasonable approach of France, which has lost the trust of European and American countries. For this reason, readers from all over the world have followed this point of view.

After that, the novel finally talks about the evacuation of Mexico some time ago, which caused Maximilian I to lose his advantage and die in Mexico. This made the Habsburg family very dissatisfied. Coupled with the current war in the Far East, the war in Europe and America has made countries in Europe and the Americas very unhappy. have joined the ranks of sanctioning the French Empire. The author has shown that the French Empire is a typical party where the good ones help more and the unjust ones help less. Therefore, the author calls on the French Empire to face up to its own problems in the book. Problems, improving international outlook, withdrawing from the Kingdom of Siam, and reconciling the deteriorating relations with surrounding areas are the most urgent tasks of Napoleon III at present, not those other people's territories in the Far East.

After reading this, many readers agreed with it and became more interested in the following content.

The author emphasized that there are no winners in wars.

The French Empire seems to be under pressure that it cannot afford to lose in this war, the Kingdom of Siam cannot afford to lose its territory, and the members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague + the United Kingdom, which are aiming for sanctions, cannot afford to lose.