Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

British Empire, London, Buckingham Palace.

Queen Victoria was calmly having a current conversation with her sixth child and fourth daughter, Princess Louise.

But it's not just a small talk at home, it's a matter of national importance.

Queen Victoria seemed to ask casually: "If you marry into the Kingdom of Greece, will you focus on the interests of Greece? Or the interests of the British Empire?"

Princess Louise also seemed not to care and replied: "In Europe, all women will give priority to the interests of their husband's family after marrying. This is a sincere allegiance. I don't think the European royal family will be an exception. On the contrary, I After looking through the history of Europe, almost no queen has betrayed her country, so I feel that my mother's question seems to be a criticism of history."

Queen Victoria continued to ask noncommittally: "If your husband becomes the king of Greece in the future, will you actively guide him to promote a closer relationship with Britain?"

Princess Louise smiled and said: "Britain is our mother country, so I naturally hope that Britain and Greece will be harmonious."

Queen Victoria followed up: "The current King William III of the Kingdom of Greece and Crown Prince Frederik are both from the Netherlands. If a war breaks out between Britain and the Netherlands one day, how do you think you will choose your stance between the UK and the Netherlands at that time? After all, , is it possible that your king’s husband will choose his home country, the Netherlands?”

Princess Louise was silent for a moment, then raised her head and said, "I think what I can do is to educate the future ruler of the Kingdom of Greece to become a pro-British person."

Queen Victoria finally smiled.

She said: "Yes, the queen does not exist to interfere in the politics of the country where she is. Her purpose is to nurture the next generation and help the royal family cultivate their values. In the future, you will be a British princess and a Greek queen. This dual identity can You are destined to be the center of attention, so you can talk about raising the next generation. Obviously you understand the use of high-profile and low-profile."

As she spoke, Queen Victoria sighed: "When your eldest sister Victoria first married to Prussia, she suffered a lot in Berlin just because she didn't understand this principle."

Princess Louise paused after hearing this, "That's because Bismarck was too strong and was wary of and suppressed the elder sister Victoria's family."

Queen Victoria smiled and said: "Do you really think so? Although I do not deny that hiding Zhuo is a good knowledge, but some people who hide Zhuo have lost the original intention of hiding Zhuo."

Princess Louise: "Okay, I admit that I have some thoughts. On the one hand, just like Bismarck's strong suppression just mentioned, but more eldest sisters themselves have just arrived in Berlin and are wreaking havoc in Prussia as a British princess and the Crown Princess of Prussia. Promoting the benefits of British freedom highlighted Prussia's autocratic power. The rising Prussians were extremely arrogant. Victoria's move did not succeed in promoting the benefits of Britain, but it triggered the They are against the scales, so Sister Victoria will naturally be generally disgusted by the Prussians led by Bismarck."

Queen Victoria glanced at Princess Louise with admiration and secretly thought that she really had extraordinary political talent and sensitivity. Among all her children, no one could match her.

She changed the subject and said: "Then what do you think is the main purpose of the Kingdom of the Netherlands' desire to annex Belgium?"

Princess Louise was slightly stunned. She didn't understand why Queen Victoria discussed this hottest political topic in Europe with her.

But she didn't have time to think about this, because she had already been stimulated by this topic and had some thoughts, and she didn't feel happy about it.

So she pointed out: "I think this is a shot by the Netherlands that combines real and fake, and the purpose is to probe the UK's bottom line. If the UK behaves weakly, the Netherlands may use this to further demand from the UK." If Britain becomes stronger, the Netherlands may not retreat, but it will stand still and look at other countries or push other countries to continue to challenge Britain's position."

Queen Victoria: "What is their purpose?"

Princess Louise: "It's just a great power status. The Netherlands needs other countries to be in chaos while it needs long-term peace and stability. Obviously, this is no different from the offshore balancing act that we in the UK have implemented for hundreds of years."

Queen Victoria smiled and did not say whether she agreed or disagreed: "What an interesting answer."

The British and Dutch diplomatic teams negotiate at the scene.

Dutch Deputy Foreign Minister Nicholas Pierson then laughed and said: "But the Dutch royal family has always done things that conform to public opinion. With 80% of the public opinion, there is nothing wrong with the Netherlands' actions to conform to public opinion. On the contrary, it is the United Kingdom that forces People continue to support Belgium’s current behavior, which makes people feel that the UK seems to be trying to coerce public opinion, and the impact is not good.”

British Foreign Secretary Russell secretly said: "No wonder even Bismarck admired the man in front of me. He is really difficult to deal with."

But he said firmly: "No matter how fanciful your words are, Belgium will not allow the destruction of the country. This is the bottom line of the British royal family and the British government."

The tail has finally been revealed, and the overall situation for this trip to London has been decided!

Nicholas Pearson was secretly proud in his heart, but said with surprise on his face: "We never thought about destroying Belgium. The Netherlands is just preparing to fulfill the will of the Dutch people. It's that simple."

Russell's heart suddenly trembled and he asked, "What do you mean?"

Nicholas Pearson: "The original intention of the Netherlands is not to destroy Belgium. Our Majesty actually has a good relationship with Leopold II. The two of them often communicate by telegram. I believe Minister Russell can also tell Leopold about this. De II asked for confirmation, so we naturally have no intention of harming our friends."

Russell sarcastically said: "I don't think it means any harm, but it does mean a fatal blow."

Nicholas Pearson expressed his true intention: "After investigation by our Dutch government and the Belgian Dutch, the final conclusion is that several provinces occupied by the Dutch must return to the Netherlands. As a concession, we also respect Leopold II. Therefore, we strongly oppose the idea put forward by some people of Belgium joining the Netherlands as a whole, because this is wrong, and our Majesty and the Prime Minister also fully agree with this view."

Russell asked in a deep and uneasy voice: "What exactly does Holland want to do?"

Nicholas Pearson: "What we mean is that Belgium does not have to be destroyed. The Netherlands can retain the existence of the Belgian royal family in Wallonia-Brabant and strongly support the rule of Leopold II."

What!

Russell's whole body was shaken, and he looked at Nicholas Pearson with an extremely bland face in disbelief.

The Netherlands actually had this idea, which was inconsistent with the momentum they had shown before.

Is this a negotiation strategy? First put forward the biggest request, and then use the name of concession to get the opponent to agree to your bottom line requirements.

Suddenly, Russell thought of his request that the Queen and the British government would not allow the Kingdom of Belgium. What Nicholas Pearson was doing in front of him seemed to be in line with the conditions he set.

Thinking of this, his mind suddenly started to work rapidly, and he was rapidly calculating Britain's gains and losses.

Nicholas Pearson seemed to know how impactful the "answer" he provided was, so he was not in a hurry to urge the other party, but drank the tea brewed by the British tea leaves from India.

After a long time, Russell looked at Nicholas Pearson with complicated eyes.

Finally, he said helplessly: "The negotiations are suspended. I will ask our queen for instructions."

Nicholas Pearson said kindly: "Please say hello to her on behalf of our Majesty William IV."