Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On September 2, 1867, when the Director General of the International Red Cross, ElBaradei, who had a Dutch background, met with the French Emperor Napoleon III and negotiated arduously with Prime Minister Olivier, what disgusted the French Empire was that the Dutch Ross, the Minister of Justice and President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, visited various countries to win over countries to increase sanctions on the French Empire.

This made various countries surprised to find that the Netherlands was actually running a policy of contact and pressure testing at the same time, and it was successful? This is simply amazing.

All countries can't help but look at the Netherlands with increased dignity.

Obviously, the reason why the French Empire invaded the Kingdom of Siam this time was just a common event for France to invade other countries for hundreds of thousands of years, not to mention that it was far away from Europe, the most economically developed and industrially technologically advanced region in the world.

Compared with Mexico, which the French Empire withdrew from some time ago, the Kingdom of Siam should be very common among European countries in terms of economic value and geographical location. After all, Britain and America were involved in the civil strife, let alone a small country in the Far East. It can be seen that its status is very high. There's so much difference.

Such an invasion by a country should not have caused concern about a European invasion.

But now the Netherlands has not only intervened in the French Empire's invasion, but has also launched a group attack mode, linking a number of small and medium-sized countries together to collectively test the French Empire, making the French Empire feel as uncomfortable as eating a fly.

The British Empire, which has always been Europe's offshore balancer, took the opportunity to join in sanctioning the French Empire to make up for the fact that Britain has brought the French Empire closer to Britain's national power due to foreign wars in recent years, and to prevent the French Empire from challenging Britain's strongest power. status.

This made the invasion of the Kingdom of Siam rise to a wrestling situation among European powers. As the initiator, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally only a medium-sized power. During this French-Siamese invasion and anti-invasion war, it actually launched an invisible war and relied on the International Court of Justice in The Hague from the beginning to make up for its own shortcomings. , resisted the French Empire, and once shocked European and American countries.

William IV and the Dutch government used sophisticated geese attacks, leaving the extremely powerful French Empire with no choice but to parry.

The Netherlands suffered a lot from the British during the war in South Africa, and those Afrikaners made the French Empire fearful. Therefore, whether it was Napoleon III or other countries, they believed that if the French Empire went to war with the Netherlands in anger, a pair of In this case, the final winner must be the French Empire, but considering the cost, I believe Napoleon III and others also believe that everyone in Paris will think it is easy to win, and the Franco-Dutch War will be very tragic. , and may even affect the future destiny of the French Empire.

After all, surrounded by "powerful enemies" such as Britain, Prussia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the French Empire's war in Europe will affect the whole body. The surrounding tiger and wolf divisions may not let anyone go to replace them and take away France. Opportunities for the largest country in imperial Europe.

Therefore, when the French Empire was unable to attack by force, it was unable to defend against the Dutch attack by force. Napoleon III and others could only resort to tricks in Paris.

This has also caused the current French Empire to fall into a difficult situation, and at the same time, the reputation of the Netherlands has fallen and risen. The Netherlands' move to suppress the French Empire has fallen into the eyes of other countries. Regardless of the outcome, the international status of the Netherlands is no longer known. In the dream, it has risen to the point where it can compete with the largest country in the European continent. Therefore, various countries cannot help but place the Netherlands alongside the six major European countries: the British Empire, the French Empire, the Tsarist Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Ottoman Empire.

The Netherlands has a population of tens of millions, and the mainland of Europe is a fraction of all other countries. Such an identity has reached the point of being tied with the major countries, making many small and medium-sized countries in Europe and the United States envious. The Dutch are even more proud wherever they go. .

Because of this, the Netherlands' road to advancement has officially entered the first step on the stage of competition among European powers. As for whether it can stand firmly in this step, it depends on the follow-up actions of William IV of the Netherlands and the Dutch government. action.

On September 10, 1867, it has been almost nine and a half months since the French Empire invaded the Kingdom of Siam in November 1866. The French Empire has established a firm foothold in eastern Cambodia, with Sihanoukville and Kampong in the south of the central region. Shibei, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Longfa, etc. fell one after another.

The battlefield has been steadily advanced by the French Empire to the front lines of Koh Kong, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, and Stung Treng in the west of the center.

But here, due to the complex mountains here, it was difficult for the French Empire to advance, so the pace began to slow down.

Obviously, the French Empire is unwilling to lose too many troops here. Unlike most plain areas in Europe, the terrain here and the relatively hot weather in several months are enough to hinder the advancement of many French troops. As the war continues, , this is a kind of torture for the French Empire.

Therefore, the war between the two countries began to enter a period of relaxation.

At this time, Ross, the Minister of Justice of the Dutch government and president of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, visited Bangkok for the first time. The French Empire even suspended all attacks when Ross landed.

The moment Russell landed, he attracted the attention of the world. After all, during this period, the head of the International Tribunal in The Hague has frequently appeared on the front pages of major European and American newspapers. Some good people even said that he has landed in newspapers in various countries this year. The number of times is more than that of Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck. His influence in international diplomacy even overwhelms the Dutch Foreign Minister Hesbert von, who is in charge of foreign affairs in the entire Netherlands.

It has become a new flag in the Dutch diplomatic window.

King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam even sent Crown Prince Chulalongkorn to personally conduct a grand welcome event at the landing port in Bangkok. This shows how important the arrival of this world-class figure is to the Kingdom of Siam. .

Even the Minister of Justice, who was only a member of the Dutch cabinet, enjoyed a welcome ceremony at the level of the Prime Minister of the European Cabinet. After all, Ross's other identity attracted even more attention from the Kingdom of Siam.

Rama IV revealed that the Dutch Minister of Justice will meet with Ross, President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. This will be the highest-level Dutch official to visit the region since the outbreak of the war. Rama IV said that he will discuss with Ross the powerful advanced measures required. weapons and the speed of delivering weapons to the Kingdom of Siam. He also said that once the Dutch weapons and other European weapons supporting the Kingdom of Siam are obtained, if the training is in place, a counterattack will be launched immediately.

It is not difficult to infer from these words that the Netherlands and members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague appear to be preparing to provide the Kingdom of Siam with more important and advanced equipment and weapons systems. Britain even publicly stated before that it would provide unique British war horses to the Kingdom of Siam, and was considering providing the Kingdom of Siam with guns used by British active troops, so that Bangkok could defend central Cambodia and Laos and weaken the French Empire as much as possible.

When Rama IV met with Ross, he publicly expressed the hope that the Netherlands and other countries, members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and the United Kingdom would become security guarantors of the Kingdom of Siam to ensure that the future security of the Kingdom of Siam would no longer be threatened.

Rama IV also said that although he had proposed several negotiations with the French Empire to resolve the war, they were rejected by Paris. It seemed that Paris felt that negotiations would not help end the war conflict, but he still expressed his willingness to negotiate with the French Empire to Ross. Conduct peace talks, but the premise is that the French Empire must withdraw from all the territory of the Kingdom of Siam, so that the two countries can have long-term peace and stability.

In this regard, Ross told King Rama IV that countries supporting the Kingdom of Siam, including the Netherlands, were ready to assist the Kingdom of Siam in negotiations with the French Empire. Ross also stated that countries, including members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the United Kingdom, It has been proposed to him privately that it will support the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Siam and that the French Empire will not be able to occupy the territory of the Kingdom of Siam.

Rama IV said that he and Ross discussed the immediate and difficult evacuation of civilians from the areas occupied by the French Empire in eastern and central Cambodia, and asked for support from various countries to help evacuate civilians.

Ross said he would try to pressure Paris to cooperate with the Kingdom of Siam's move.

During the meeting between the two men, the French Empire suspended its attacks, giving the international community a glimmer of peace.

Chulalongkorn, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Siam, said that after the French Empire previously tried to capture the central region by land with the help of shelling and large-scale invasion,

Then complete the breakthrough point that can expand the scope of entry. By that time, the French Empire will be able to fully bloom in the direction of breakthrough in the west, south, and north. Therefore, the central part will be the key to the Kingdom of Siam. If it is lost, the Kingdom of Siam will It is even possible to lose the entire Cambodia and southern Laos, so it is very important to the Kingdom of Siam and cannot be lost.

Chulalongkorn said that the Kingdom of Siam is currently developing defenses around Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in the Cambodian region of the Kingdom of Siam, in Kampong Chhnang, Bodhisattva, and Kampong Thom. Try to stop the French Empire here.

The Kingdom of Siam has deployed more than 50,000 troops in this area. As long as this area is blocked, the French Empire will face the tip of a needle piercing the entire eastern Cambodia, and can counterattack the occupied areas in the east at any time, such as the largest city, Phnom Penh.

Rama IV told Ross that it was good that the French Empire's offensive had made some progress, but the Kingdom of Siam continued to resist, especially in central Cambodia. He produced data showing that "the morale of the French Empire's army is low and it has lost its vigor during the offensive. These may affect the combat effectiveness of the French Empire."

Therefore, King Rama IV told Ross that the Kingdom of Siam was confident in the next counterattack and hoped that the member states of the International Court of Justice in The Hague represented by Ross would continue to provide more support to the Kingdom of Siam.

Ross agreed, but hinted that the Kingdom of Siam should be more cooperative with Dutch diplomatic actions.

Naturally, King Rama IV will not object to this. The two represent the interests of both countries, and they have tacitly begun to prepare for tomorrow's grand joint press conference.