Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Just as the eight countries were forming the "Deep Blue Pacific Partnership", to everyone's surprise, the British Governor of India, Sir John Laird Mile Lawrence, openly visited South Vietnam, a colony of the French Empire, on December 15, 1868.

There he was warmly welcomed by the French Governor.

In a public speech in South Vietnam, Sir John Laird Mile Lawrence stated that he represented a personal position and was not opposed to France's position, but from a moral standpoint, the British Empire must oppose France's invasion of the Kingdom of Siam.

In response to this, the Dutch Deputy Prime Minister for the Far East, Flos Arane von Hall, who is based in Sydney, said that the Dutch government’s diplomatic contacts have received positive responses from relevant countries around the Pacific.

After attending the wedding of the Crown Prince of Denmark and the Princess of Sweden on December 16, 1868, William IV met in Copenhagen with Emperor Alexander II of Russia, who also visited Denmark to attend the wedding. He was also accompanied by King Carl X of Sweden. V and King Christian IX of Denmark.

William IV said: "The Netherlands undoubtedly competes with anyone, and has no interest in participating in geopolitical competition. The Netherlands does not want to build a so-called sphere of influence."

In this regard, Alexander II expressed that he understood the difficulties of the Netherlands. He agreed that the Netherlands must take a certain initiative in the political situation, so as to ensure that the Netherlands obtains sufficient security leadership.

"We are not opposed to the actions of the Netherlands. The Russian Empire has had many years of exchanges with the Netherlands, so everything the Netherlands does is understood by Tsarist Russia," Alexander II responded.

"Thank you very much for your Majesty's consideration." William IV looked at Alexander II and said word by word; "The Norwegian Sea is too narrow, and the Baltic Sea seems to be heavily guarded by various countries. The Netherlands directly encouraged the Tsarist Empire to increase its maritime operations, especially its military operations. Action, I think the Far East will be a breakthrough for the Netherlands and the Russian Empire to make a breakthrough," William IV said politely.

After the two said this, they looked at each other and then laughed.

Next to him, King Carl XV of Sweden showed joy, and King Christian IX of Denmark was also extremely satisfied.

If the Tsarist Empire focuses its energy on the Far East, the threat to Sweden from Tsarist Russia in the Norwegian Sea or the Baltic Sea will plummet, and Sweden will benefit the most from this.

Denmark is also in danger of fighting Tsarist Russia to a certain extent because of its joint military defense policy with Sweden and the Netherlands.

At this time, the agreement reached by the Netherlands reduced the crisis of the war to a certain extent. Sweden could use more labor to develop the economy and develop the economy of the maritime colonies. The same goes for Denmark.

As a result, the Netherlands has turned more strategic crises into opportunities. The agreement reached by the four countries will create a semi-encirclement state for the Kingdom of Prussia, which is a neighbor of the four countries.

This provides Denmark and the Netherlands with more political leverage to sway Britain.

What the world doesn't know is that because of this meeting between the four people, the Netherlands has gained more living space. The future political watershed of the world emerged from this.

In addition to attending the wedding this time, William IV also signed multiple agreements with Denmark and Sweden, covering military training, marine fishery cooperation, economic cooperation management, etc. among the three countries.

The Netherlands signed an agreement with the Russian Empire. The Netherlands will help the Russian Empire build two steam battleships at the Dutch East India Company's warship manufacturing plant base on the island of New Guinea in the Far East. The delivery time is 1872-1875.

In addition, the Tsarist Empire also purchased several sailing battleships from the Netherlands as supporting equipment. It can be said that it almost ordered a small-scale fleet from the Netherlands. The total amount exceeded 300,000 pounds after discounts.

It can be said that all four countries are happy.

Tsarist Russia gained a more powerful navy.

Sweden and Denmark were relieved to see that the powerful fleet that Tsarist Russia was about to acquire was deployed to the Far East.

The Netherlands not only obtained huge orders, but also gained an important ally in the Far East, which can effectively check and balance Britain and France. Prussia could also be intimidated in Europe itself.

It can be said that it achieves multiple things with one stone.

On December 19, 1868, Dutch Minister of Justice Ross attended a meeting of the member states of the International Hague Tribunal. At the meeting, he was unable to sign a joint statement with all member states condemning the British Governor-General of India for supporting the French invasion of the Kingdom of Siam.

Unlike France, countries have diverged in their stance towards Britain.

The Netherlands, Sweden, the Commonwealth of America, the Kingdom of Siam, Spain, and Argentina strongly supported condemnation of the United Kingdom, while Denmark, Greece, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru held a moderate attitude.

Opposing opinions are Peru, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Brazil.

At this time, Britain's influence suddenly became apparent. At this moment, everyone suddenly understood that Britain was indeed greater than France.

In response to this matter, the British Empire promised to support countries to better understand the British Empire's position, and said that the failure to sign the relevant agreement showed how opaque and anti-British suggestions made by the Netherlands during consultations with member states of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. unwelcome.

However, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Netherlands has the same position as other countries and has a strong consensus in promoting the decision-making between countries and the Netherlands on justice and values, as well as where to place strategic priorities.

Kingdom of Prussia, Berlin, Berlin Palace.

"After more than 10 years of dedicated management, the strategic landscape of the Pacific region has undergone profound changes, and the Netherlands' influence may be far ahead."

Prime Minister Bismarck said to William I: "Your Majesty, this is undoubtedly a deeper relationship, and it goes far beyond trade and involves a more all-encompassing relationship."

"The Netherlands has established ongoing economic and diplomatic relations on a bilateral basis with many influential countries in the Pacific. But the draft document recently released by the Netherlands goes beyond normal relations and looks to be an important configuration for the region. political, security and economic framework”

Steven, director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the University of Berlin, the Kingdom of Prussia's most influential think tank, said: "In addition to causing more economic cooperation, what is even more worrying is that this agreement has the potential to undermine the Pacific region. balance, affecting the interests of countries there.”

Bismarck praised the channel: "The Netherlands has clearly expressed its intentions, as have the intentions of Britain and France, and the same is true for Spain. These countries obviously hope to bring new power and strength to the Pacific."

He said with an unhappy expression: "Among the big countries, Prussia doesn't have many colonies, especially in the Pacific region."

In this regard, several people were silent.

Steven said with pity on his face: "If it weren't for the Dutch, we would just have allowed Secretary of State Seward of the Commonwealth of America to continue to consolidate his strength and take over the Hawaiian Islands and the original Alaska Peninsula according to his original plan.

Then according to our original plan, the Germans came to power and held power in the United States, and then formed an alliance with Prussia, which merged with the German Confederation. As powerful countries on both sides of the Atlantic, the two countries would change the situation of British industrial dominance, and they would even be able to dominate the sea power in the near future. It is not impossible to challenge the opponent, but unfortunately, now it is possible for the Netherlands to do so."