Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Nicholas Pearson, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Martinas, Deputy Minister of War (former leader of the Transvaal Republic of South Africa) jointly visited Berlin, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, on February 4, 1869. They both represented the Dutch cabinet. The government and the Dutch military came to visit, especially Martinas, who was warmly received by Prussian Chief of General Staff Moltke as soon as he arrived.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands announced that Nicholas Pierson would be received by Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bismarck on February 5, 1869. This attracted the attention of European countries before the two met.

You know, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Netherlands fought to the death for influence in North America, but the Dutch eventually won the final victory. The Prussians even implicated the Germans and became the Commonwealth of America. Although the population was large, the influence did not match. pattern.

Now the Netherlands has taken the initiative to send people at the level of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit Berlin. Especially this time, in addition to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, there were also people at the level of Deputy Minister of the Dutch Army participating in the visit. This shows a lot of potential. The stuff of people's imagination.

When facing the three major powers of Britain, France and Prussia, the Netherlands finally couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to retreat?

If this is the case, should members of the International Hague Tribunal that previously sanctioned the French Empire follow the Netherlands and withdraw from sanctions against France?

Or are there people who are dissatisfied with France and continue to implement it?

Many people speculate that Queen Isabel II of Spain, who just visited Amsterdam in the Netherlands, has previously vowed to adopt a tougher policy towards France. If Spain's ally the Netherlands seems to back down, Spain's position will enter an embarrassing situation. What a dilemma!

Many people have even heard that the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish royal family have been contacting the Dutch embassies in various countries, intending to understand the Dutch government's thoughts.

But the answer was no comment, but the Netherlands still had no intention of loosening its sanctions on France as always.

This makes people very curious.

On February 4, 1869, Parker, the Army spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, announced the itinerary of Martinas, the Deputy Minister of Army of the Netherlands, on the first day of his visit to Berlin.

As the leader of the former Transvaal Republic of South Africa, he defeated the British to a pulp in South Africa. He defeated the British Empire that dominated the world with an army that did not count as a country. In total, he disabled more than 150,000 British troops. It can be said that it shocked everyone. Some people even became a well-known "evil" in Britain.

He actually visited Prussia, which made both William I and Bismarck of the Kingdom of Prussia panic. It doesn’t matter if it’s not chaos, this is a killing god.

No one would think that Britain was too weak, because no matter how weak the British land war was, it could not withstand the Transvaal Republic's 500,000-30,000 conventional army, which exceeded the 150,000 British army. The latter was beaten and the mainland was panicked. This made At that time, the countries suppressed by the British in Europe were all surprised. Because of this, although it was not stated explicitly, William IV later recruited Martinas to the Netherlands and became the chief instructor of the Dutch Army's field warfare. From then on, for five or six years, He almost disappeared, but this time he was actually sent to participate in the Hope-Prussia bilateral diplomacy + military deputy minister level talks.

This made Bismarck and William I have to send a more senior person to participate in the meeting.

In the end, William I and Bismarck chose to directly let Chief of the General Staff Moltke take over.

Before the Dutch Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicholas Pearson could meet with Bismarck, the Dutch military announced the results of the meeting between Martinas and Moltke.

"The Netherlands and Prussia held military talks at the level of first deputy minister on Sunday. The Dutch Ministry of Defense stated that the Netherlands and Prussia agreed to maintain security and stability on the northern and eastern borders of the Netherlands and Prussia and continue to maintain close communication and dialogue through diplomatic and military channels. Resolve many security issues between the two countries and reach a solution acceptable to both parties."

According to the spokesperson of the Dutch Ministry of Defense Parker on February 5, 1869, Deputy Minister Martinas of the Netherlands, on behalf of Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd, met with Chief of General Staff Moltke and held practical talks. On a stable basis, we will continue to explore relevant issues in a constructive and forward-looking manner to promote the resolution of possible conflicts between the Netherlands and Prussia.

The Dutch Ministry of Defense said that guided by the mutual trust and consensus established by the two kings and prime ministers, the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on resolving the remaining issues this morning. The two sides reiterated that resolving the remaining issues will help the Netherlands and Prussia recover. The stability of the border between the two countries will promote the economic development and international cooperation between the Netherlands and Prussia, and effectively promote the development of bilateral relations.

After Prussia invaded Denmark in Schleswig and Holstein in 1865, the relationship between the Netherlands and Prussia took a turn for the worse. After the Netherlands and Denmark were upgraded to allies, Prussia became more and more wary of the Netherlands. Even after the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden formed the Nordic Alliance, Prussia gradually supported France and Britain's efforts to put pressure on the Netherlands. This made the Netherlands seem to be squeezed by the big powers in the south, east, and west. Therefore, many people believed that Prussia would complete the annexation. After the small German Confederation became a small country, they took action against the Netherlands or Denmark again to improve their reputation.

But at present, it seems that Prussia's William I and Prime Minister Bismarck are unwilling to do this.

Unlike the Netherlands and Prussia, Prussia has taken the initiative to continue dialogue with Sweden at various coastal locations on both sides of the Baltic Sea since last year. On January 15 this year, Sweden also held its first dialogue with Prussia. High-level officials from the two countries have also had multiple contacts.

With Nicholas Pearson and Bismarck meeting and holding talks this year, this represents a gradual increase in contact between the two cabinet governments.

Wouldn't Britain and France feel good about it?

After all, the level and history of Martinas and Moltke are there, and the result of the meeting between the two was also a "surprise". Bismarck shouldn't let the Netherlands down, right?

During the meeting, Nicholas Pearson and Bismarck had multiple newspapers placed on the table in front of their seats. Nicholas Pearson's eyelids jumped when he saw this arrangement and Bismarck, who had already pretended to be a new discovery. He suddenly understood in his heart. , which is a warning and threat.

However, he will naturally not be timid or flinch.

Picking up the top copy of the "European Times", the headlines above were the portraits of Martinas and Moltke and the news headlines yesterday. It's on the front page, so it takes up the entire page.

"Britain and France are tense, the Netherlands and Prussia are settling their grievances with a smile, and the international situation will usher in major changes."