Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

At the Palace of Versailles in the French Empire, after Napoleon III heard the news, he directly threw the cigar he was smoking on the ground. Besides Prime Minister Olivier, there were also Foreign Minister Gray, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd, Secretary of Commerce Bedud, Chief of General Staff Simon, Secretary of War Chasid, and Secretary of the Navy Arsnow.

"Ahem, prime minister, let's talk about it, ahem."

Olivier was hesitant to speak, but finally, especially when he saw His Majesty's already hunched back, he held back.

Perhaps, after the crown prince takes office, it will be time for France to make another big move. Napoleon III, who was born in 1808, is now 70 years old.

Age has become the best reflection of his body. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry about His Majesty's health.

Because, His Majesty's addiction to cigarettes is killing him.

Thinking of this, Olivier couldn't help but think of England. The British kings who died from excessive smoking before Queen Victoria.

Although the British royal family has never released any medical files of British kings, as the Prime Minister of the French Empire, he knows more or less something, that is, the orders of the three British kings before him What shocks people is that their deaths are closely related to smoking.

It is said that although Crown Prince Edward, the heir to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, is only 26 years old now, he has a tendency to outshine his ancestors. He almost never leaves his hands on cigars, and his favorite tobacco smell is everywhere.

The same goes for Napoleon III. Like the three British kings and Crown Prince Edward, he played a very important role in promoting the popularity of smoking among the aristocrats of the French Empire and making it a recognized aristocratic habit in the French Empire.

Napoleon III was even crazier because he actually diversified the cigar factories of the French Empire into more types on the basis of a single cigar, producing products with different flavors and uniqueness. The cigars of the French Empire even competed in the international market. It beats the British and occupies a huge market. It is said that in the global cigar market of more than 2 million pounds, the French Empire occupies more than 800,000 pounds, leading the way, while the United Kingdom only occupies 500,000 pounds.

The rest was divided among the Netherlands, Prussia, the United States and other countries.

Therefore, Napoleon III was called the "smoking pioneer" and "smoking industry manufacturer" throughout Europe. Napoleon III was extremely proud of this and enjoyed these titles.

Smoking immediately after dinner has become his habit.

Not long ago, Magnus, the author who was still writing about His Majesty's life, said, "Since the rise of the King, he has always had a light cigar and two cigarettes before breakfast, but after breakfast , but smoke an average of 12 thick cigars and 20 paper cigarettes every day."

These have aroused widespread concern in society.

As a result, Napoleon III suffered from severe bronchitis when he was 40 years old.

The doctors at the Palace of Versailles advised him to reduce his smoking, but he turned a deaf ear to the doctors' words and ignored them.

After reaching the age of 60, it becomes difficult to breathe.

In the past ten years, when he participated in many hunting trips by nobles, he could not even chase the deer and the wilderness in person. He proudly held the gun and glared at the entourage to drive the prey to him.

Olivier witnessed his Majesty's several consecutive episodes of bronchitis with his own eyes. The first thing he said was that the increasing number of episodes would make it more difficult for him to breathe.

Moreover, he has been smoking for many years, and he suffers from an incurable lung disease. Even the imperial doctors have been unable to do anything for these years.

In order to relieve his pain, he had to be injected with painkillers.

Alas, senior French government officials, including Olivier, began to worry and did not know whether he would be able to accompany the crown prince, who was born in 1856, until he reaches adulthood. After all, it is still 7 years away.

"Your Majesty, this matter was premeditated. Originally we estimated that their target was the Kingdom of Siam, but now we were caught off guard. It turned out to be the Pacific Ocean. They are really hard to guard against."

Olivier had to sigh at the other party's broad thinking. Even when he received this information, he was thinking that if Britain had tried such a trick with him, the French Empire would never have remained in the earth. As the most powerful country, the Eastern Mediterranean might have been taken over by Britain long ago, and the North Atlantic was also in the hands of Britain. The French Empire would never want to be so calm now.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I think this is actually a bad thing." The words of Navy Minister Arnov made people look over.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, he continued: "Let me ask, have we ever fought a war with the Netherlands in these years? No, we have not had any sword-to-arms confrontation with them. On the contrary, we have had five years of fighting with them. Covenant, although this has become obsolete this year.

Regarding the relationship with the Netherlands, I think from our point of view, it is definitely not an exaggeration to describe him as complicated. We are worried that the Netherlands will be too powerful to contain, but the relief of interests makes it more suitable for us to choose to be friends with them. interests, but there are still worries in our hearts. In this case, why don’t we take advantage of this opportunity to see how the combat effectiveness of the Netherlands, which has not had a war between the two countries for decades, is like? How can we deal with the Netherlands? Make an assessment of the overall military”

Admiral Arnoff is a well-known hawk in France, so he is very tough and conservative. Looking at his confident look, everyone can't help but be infected by him. Olivier was secretly proud after seeing the praise of others. His choice was right, this was his student.

Napoleon III seemed to have been persuaded, and therefore, just like this, the French Empire began to show toughness towards the Netherlands, which became the consensus of France's top leaders.

Prussia, Berlin.

Bismarck said: "If we are defeated by the French Empire all of a sudden, I think the alliance between our Kingdom of Prussia and them can be torn off. If the Netherlands wins this round on the issue of the Kingdom of Siam, I think that the relationship between our two countries will be broken." The relationship is closer. In short, this battle for the Kingdom of Siam is the best testing ground for us to see clearly the organizational capabilities of the Netherlands and the military power of the French Empire, even"

Bismarck said with profound meaning: "This will benefit Prussia's future strategy a lot."

"But don't forget, our interests are also there. If the French Empire rapidly expands its power there, it will not only be a simple strategic threat to us, but France will also grow stronger and have more resources. Supplement the local area. It is not impossible that the Netherlands will even be unable to recover due to this. I hope everyone will consider the problem in more detail."

Crown Prince Frederick's words were obviously aimed at Bismarck. Everyone knows about the relationship between the two. Bismarck sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, while Crown Prince Frederick was afraid of letting the fire catch on and setting himself on fire, threatening himself.

The relationship between the two is also well known.

One was pro-British, the other anti-British.

The former is anti-Russian and the latter is pro-Russian.

The former a moderate and a hawk.

Crown Prince Frederick's advice to reduce the defense budget also angered Prime Minister Bismarck. This fact was well known to the British government. Of course William I also understood it, but from beginning to end, he pretended not to know.

And it was the same this time, I didn't hear Crown Prince Frederick's tone.

Despite the Crown Prince's provocation, Bismarck's face did not change. He was still as calm as ever. He said: "Don't forget, we can also appear as mediators. Didn't William IV of the Netherlands refuse Prussia's intervention in the Far East before?" Affairs? Maybe the French Empire can help us this time? By then, Prussia, which has no place to stay in the Far East, can take advantage of it and break the current vacuum of our influence there. That is what we need most of"

Bismarck looked at Crown Prince Frederick and said earnestly: "Prussia needs to follow Britain and France and become a global power. But now, in terms of international colonies, we are not as good as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain, or even Portugal. Therefore, Establishing a Prussian colony in the Far East is what we need most, and now is an opportunity. I think the Netherlands will make concessions. Everyone knows that William IV is very smart."

The others became interested, but their faces were silent, obviously agreeing with Bismarck's statement.

On September 28, 1867, the Chief of General Staff of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Chief of the General Staff of the Kingdom of Prussia, Moltke, communicated for the first time after the war in the Kingdom of Siam. telegram conversation.

In the telegram, Dutch Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd shouted to Moltke that the Netherlands asked the French Empire to stop military operations in the Kingdom of Siam, stop damaging the Netherlands’ huge investments there, and not use war to threaten the Netherlands in the Kingdom of Siam in the Far East. influence, for which the Netherlands will cooperate and coordinate with Prussia.

According to news materials released by the Dutch government, Mark Rudd sent the telegram at the invitation of Chief of General Staff Moltke of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Mark Rudd said that the two countries should take the status of the Kingdom of Siam seriously, and take care of the interests of each country there, respect each other, coexist peacefully, and avoid confrontation between the interests of European countries in the Far East. The French Empire should take care of the interests of the Netherlands and Prussia. Worry and not harm the interests of the Netherlands and Prussia. This is what the Paris government should do.

The Netherlands hopes to establish stable and healthy relations with Prussia and France, just like the friendly relations between allies a few years ago. Although the Netherlands looks forward to this with a friendly attitude, the Netherlands will also prepare for the worst and will defend it. Dutch national interests and dignity, the French Empire should not underestimate the determination and capabilities of the Netherlands.

He also said that the French Empire needs to enhance mutual trust with neighboring countries including the Netherlands, strengthen dialogue and exchanges, manage risks and crises, and carry out practical cooperation to ensure the normal and stable development of relations between the French Empire and other countries.

The two countries will maintain smooth communication channels in the international situation and contribute to the stable development of the world.

The two countries simultaneously announced that Prussian warships were allowed to dock at the port of Jakarta in the Far East, which brought benefits to Prussia's voyages in the Far East.