Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

The author of "The Ugly French" emphasized that if the French Empire lost and was withdrawn from Cambodia and even South Vietnam, the final colony in the Far East, would be seen through by the world, even though it was known as the second most powerful military country in the world, it turned out to be nothing more than a paper tiger. The status of Napoleon III is bound to be challenged within France. Prime Minister Olivier's status is even more difficult to protect. The international status of the French Empire will also decline. This is also the case for European and American countries. However, Napoleon III and Olivier took desperate risks in order to win. , the reason why they chose to launch a full-scale war against the Kingdom of Siam.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Siam did not resist the invasion of the French Empire alone, but was backed by the members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague + the United Kingdom, especially the strong assistance of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. After all, the two countries were under the Dutch East Indies and the British in the Far East. Burma and the British Malaya Islands were among the places closest to the Kingdom of Siam and were very convenient for support.

Therefore, even if Rama IV intends to give in and ask for a ceasefire, if Queen Victoria and William IV have the idea of ​​weakening the French Empire, they may not agree.

Because Britain and the Netherlands, whether in their colonies in the Far East or on the mainland of Europe, are facing the situation that France has not had a major war in recent years. The rapid economic and military development has threatened the two countries, and Britain and the Netherlands are even at war with each other in southern Africa. After that, the two countries also fought with other countries.

France has settled down in Mexico, so the silent development of France has made the two countries vigilant. This time the Kingdom of Siam's trap is an unexpected surprise for both countries. Many people speculate that the reason why the sanctions were so fast In particular, Britain’s allies in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Belgium and Portugal, readily agreed to vote in favor, and the United Kingdom also independently joined the sanctions outside this organization. This has demonstrated the United Kingdom’s clear anti-law attitude, and Needless to say, the Netherlands is the first country to promote this.

Therefore, the idea that Britain and the Netherlands jointly promoted the weakening of the French Empire began to spread in Europe.

The earliest reports were from Prussian newspapers and were carried by other countries.

In 1867, Bismarck, Prime Minister of the Prussian Palace, published his views on the war between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Siam in the country's newspaper Berliner Zeitung.

This was the first time that a prime minister of a major European country had expressed a public opinion on this matter. Therefore, it attracted the attention of various countries. Even the French Empire and the Kingdom of Siam at that time made new and rapid assessments of this matter, speculating that the Prussian had already won the The intention of Bismarck, who was nicknamed the Iron-Blooded Prime Minister.

In a Prussian newspaper, Prime Minister Bismarck introduced that as early as 1863, a few years ago, the British in India and the Dutch in East India had secretly trained to receive soldiers from the Kingdom of Siam for training in the two countries' territories, and the British and Dutch military Instructors also often go to Bangkok to train the troops of the Kingdom of Siam on the spot.

When the Kingdom of Siam was attacked to the west by the South Vietnamese colony in the east of the French Empire, the two countries not only invested in military aid, but also provided accurate intelligence and logistics information on the French Empire on the battlefield. The two countries even jointly promoted the Hague International The various countries that are members of the tribunal are dragging them down. Under the massive sanctions imposed by these dozen countries, if Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam withdraws midway and lets go, it will be difficult to explain to these countries that helped them.

Neither Britain nor the Netherlands wanted this war to end prematurely, because they wanted to use the war between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Siam to once again resemble what happened during the Napoleon I period at the beginning of this century, preparing to gather the forces of all European countries to support the Kingdom of Siam. Once again, France was brought down. At the same time, through the war between France and Siam, the strength of the French Empire could be assessed, and the performance of arms exporting countries such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands could be tested as a reference for designing the next generation of firearms and artillery.

Because both countries are countries with a military-industrial complex system, they occupy a large share of the national economy and are one of the main sources of product benefits for the British and Dutch exports, namely Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck and British Prime Minister Disraeli. If they want an early truce, I am afraid that the arms dealers of the two countries will not agree. Regardless of the outcome of the French-Siamese War, Britain and the Netherlands will both be big winners, and the countries that impose sanctions will only win a small amount. As for Prussia, Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary and other countries, It will therefore grow faster than France.

Because of this, the possibility that Europe will become more fragmented, grouped, and hierarchical increases.

Although the British and Dutch arms dealers made profits, this war also achieved the international status of King Rama IV of Siam and Crown Prince Chulalongkorn and his son, making European countries unforgettable and even forgetting that they did not belong to Europeans but to Asia. person's identity.

The two people's international publicity has made them the subjects of discussions and interviews in major newspapers in Europe and America recently, greatly exposing the visibility of the Kingdom of Siam. Many people predict that if the Kingdom of Siam is really safe enough when it ends If so, then the Kingdom of Siam will even become one of the headquarters of large European and American companies in Asia, and the economy will take off as a result.

If the two of them can continue like this and make other European countries treat them kindly, then the French Empire will face increasing pressure. At that time, as long as they can assess the situation, balance the overall situation, and make the most powerful decision for the Kingdom of Siam In addition to joining the International Court of Justice in The Hague, it can also continue to apply to join the South American Union. Depending on the situation, the Kingdom of Siam will be able to avoid and stop wars, and at the same time, it will become a country with considerable influence in the world. of Far Eastern countries.

William IV deeply understood that in later generations, the Russia-Ukraine war would leave all countries to take sides, but in the final analysis, all countries would carry out the best and most beneficial foreign policy based on their own interests and sovereignty.

And many countries are yes-men and generally implement various sanctions around the overlord America. It sounds nice, but in fact it is a manifestation of the sovereignty of those countries that have been castrated, such as Japan, Germany, South Korea, Poland, etc. , all have strong military garrisons in America.

Except for France and the United Kingdom, other countries have even been deprived of military power, the most important condition for expressing their country's sovereignty. This is not chemical castration. What is even ridiculous is that these countries proudly show how powerful the military garrison of America is. Great diplomatic achievements are generally publicized everywhere for fear that others will not know about them.

Isn't this a sign that when people are guilty, they like to cover up their shortcomings and flaunt them everywhere?

Therefore, William IV deeply understood that small countries actually have a certain degree of servility, and just like the weak, they will automatically find strong ones to rely on. The Netherlands is not strong enough now, so it initially involved Britain in a series of sanctions. Although Most of the time, the fox faked the power of the tiger, but William IV preferred to use the word borrowed power to describe it.

On August 14, 1867, the International Red Cross suddenly sent a telegram to various countries. A large amount of data and content appeared in the telegram, including the French people who were very frightened and angry after seeing it, because in the telegram, details The telegram described France's burning, killing, looting, unfriendly treatment of women, and unfriendly treatment of civilians. The telegram immediately made France mutter that the invasion of the Kingdom of Siam was completely "stigmatized." ".

Invading other countries - hurting others - treating others cruelly - abusing others - inhumane French soldiers - condemned by the world, etc. Step by step, the image of the French has been refreshed, people's view of human nature has no lower limit, and France has officially become the target of criticism by various countries. As a result, various countries have isolated the French government and French people.

The image of the International Red Cross was thus officially established, because in the report, they rescued 50,000 Siamese who took risks, but the French army also opened fire on them, killing and wounding more than 200 people in the organization.

Neutral international organizations were also beaten, making it difficult for France to gain forgiveness from the world.