Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On March 22, 1868, the press secretary of the royal family of the Tsarist Russian Empire stated at local time that if Sweden and Denmark applied to join the South American Union, the Tsarist Russian Empire would support them.

The sudden stance of the Tsarist Empire made King William I of Prussia change his mind when he first heard about it. He urgently summoned Bismarck, Moltke and other close people to discuss the Tsarist Empire's move to tilt its stance towards the Netherlands.

Denmark and Sweden joining the South American Union caused dissatisfaction in Prussia. The press secretary of the royal family of the Russian Empire once again stated that it has understood Prussia’s position on Sweden and Denmark’s application to join the South American Union. However, the Russian Empire still believes that no country should be prevented from freely joining any country. organize.

William I's face was very gloomy. "In the early days, Prussia relied on the secret support of the Tsarist Russia to fight against Austria. After 1850, Tsarist Russia chose to either be neutral or win over Austria to suppress us because it was worried about us. However, we successfully persuaded the United Kingdom to support us in dealing with it." Oo.

Although our relations with Tsarist Russia have eased over the past decade or so, they have generally maintained a good-to-bad relationship. But now the Russian Empire has openly stood up to support the Netherlands. This will cause unnecessary trouble for our strategy. Everyone, we must conduct necessary research on this. How should we deal with it? "

After saying that, he turned his attention to Bismarck and Moltke.

"Your Majesty, I feel that the Tsarist Empire is asking for directions by throwing stones at people." Moltke was worthy of being the Prussian Chief of General Staff. He was unique in both marching and strategic planning.

Seeing the two of them looking at him questioningly, Mao Qi said calmly: "I think the reason why Tsarist Russia supports the Netherlands is that Gorchakov, the old fox, is actually throwing bones between two wolves who are fighting for prey. It’s easy to determine which one is passive and active.”

Seeing the continued questioning expressions on the two men's faces, Mao Qi took a deep breath and said: "To put it bluntly, the Tsarist Empire saw the dominant side, so it could benefit from its side."

William I couldn't help but ask: "Now the Russian Empire knows which side has the advantage?"

Moltke: "Waiting"

William I: "?"

At this time, Bismarck said: "What the Chief of General Staff means is that the Russian Empire is encouraging the Netherlands to take action and wait to see how the Netherlands will deal with us?".

Moltke: "Well, so the Tsarist Empire will not directly stand against us. After all, Nicholas I was almost forced to death by Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he was the murderer of Alexander II. The enemy, while having to face the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the south, is completely at odds with Prussia. It is not in the national interest of the Tsarist Russia. Unless"

"Unless what" asked William I.

Moltke: "Unless the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire reconcile, it is possible. However, the United Kingdom will probably not allow the Ottoman Empire to reconcile with the Tsarist Russian Empire."

William I nodded, put aside his worries, turned to Bismarck, and asked: "Prime Minister, what's going on in the Commonwealth of America? Lincoln's impeachment case failed. Should the influence of the Netherlands have dropped sharply?

As long as the Dutch influence in North and South America is eliminated and replaced, Prussia can quickly establish a foothold overseas, and then be able to expand its territory in the east of the Indian Ocean and the west of the Pacific, catching up with great powers such as Britain and France."

William I was Bismarck's boss and Bismarck's most trusted boss. Bismarck could ignore anyone, but he valued the relationship with Bismarck extremely highly.

Although many people seem to think that his power in Prussia seems to be more important than that of William I, and his reputation is comparable to that of William I in Europe, but there is harmony between their monarchs and ministers, because this comes from the trust of William I.

He replied solemnly: "When we first formulated the 'Snake Swallows the Elephant' plan, the selected target country was the Netherlands, so we supported the Dutch-Prussian alliance in 1862. On the surface, we relied on the Netherlands to develop Prussia's navy. And in the end, the three countries in Africa successively supported each other in carving up African colonies.

It was originally thought that through the alliance relationship, Prussia could slowly penetrate into the Netherlands, and then accumulate enough to use a fatal blow. However, we took everything for granted. Unexpectedly, William IV and the Dutch government were already prepared. Our deployment encountered obstacles almost every time. In the end, we gave up the mission of invading the Netherlands as a last resort.

Moreover, the strategy of integrating the German Confederation finally gave up the plan of the Principality of Nassau and the Principality of Luxembourg. "

Bismarck seemed to be gritting his teeth when he said this.

They were all William IV. If it hadn't been for him, his plan might have already been launched.

King William I asked worriedly: "The confrontation between the Netherlands and Prussia is very detrimental to our future strategy against France. Should the plan of the French Empire be changed or suspended?"

"No" Bismarck and Moltke said at the same time.

William I looked at the two of them.

Moltke: "Your Majesty, we have invested a lot of resources, including on the Mexican issue. In fact, we also guided the French Empire to invade on the Mexican issue, and the French invasion of the Kingdom of Siam has long been established between us. In the deal, Napoleon III promised us to be silent about the occupation of Holstein and Schleswig and the integration plan of the German Alliance, but we selectively turned a blind eye to the actions in France.

Originally, we wanted to consume France's strength to a certain extent, and Prussia's plan was able to proceed smoothly. However, the Netherlands repeatedly sabotaged our actions, and I found that the Netherlands seemed to be able to see into many of our actions, which had to be worrying. "

Bismarck's heart moved. Moltke's words were shocking. Bismarck suddenly thought of a question that required great vigilance. Is the North American plan really as smooth as it seems?

Bismarck's calm heart was suddenly filled with annoyance, and he said: "It is not appropriate to take action against the Netherlands at the moment. As for North America, which His Majesty is concerned about, Lincoln is currently cooperative. I believe that with the cooperation between Lincoln and Seward, the next presidential election will be better." , Seward may really be elected. What we need is to appease the Democrats, and of course, the votes of other ethnic groups. For this, I have already prepared for the next wave of measures."

Mao Qi asked: "What method?"

Bismarck: "It's already happening in North America, and everyone can see it right away."

On March 25, 1868, King William I of Prussia attended a meeting of German nobles at the Berlin Palace and said that "there is no problem" between Prussia, Denmark and Sweden. Therefore, Denmark and Sweden's joining the South American Union did not pose a direct threat to Prussia, but the establishment of If the joint training of the military infrastructure of the three countries of the Nordic Alliance is expanded near the border with Prussia, it will inevitably trigger a response from Prussia.

The Prussian king said, "The specific response depends on the threat to Prussia."

William I also said that the alliance of the three Nordic countries was entirely due to problems artificially created by a certain country's diplomatic and strategic interests. Prussia did not want the Nordic Alliance to become a foreign policy tool of a certain country and cause the security situation of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea to deteriorate.