Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On October 4, 1869, when the French Empire diverted the Châlons Army retreating to Paris from Reims to support the eastern Metz Fortress, neither Napoleon III in Reims nor Empress Eugenie in Paris as regent expected that they would In fact, they had fallen into the trap that Bismarck had already prepared for them.

At the same time, King William IV of the Netherlands summoned Foreign Minister Hesbert von.

"In fact, the Third Army led by Crown Prince Frederick of the Prussian Army is still continuing to pursue the McMahon Army, and is making a bold detour to the right. It seems that it is preparing to cooperate with the newly formed 4th Army to attack McMahon. The Charon Army he led was annihilated in Sedan together with Napoleon III, or was besieged in Sedan."

William IV thought of this and knew the time had come.

He said to Hesbert von, the foreign minister standing next to him: "Immediately contact Prussia and say that I will visit Spain, Italy, and Greece from October 7 to October 21, and will Greece is attending the wedding of my biological brother, Prince Frederik, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Greece. This half-month period is the time when the Principality of Luxembourg borrows access to Prussia."

William IV's words made Hesbert Feng's eyelids jump.

He felt that this was the most exciting time in his life. It seemed that the Netherlands was in his hands between peace and war. The Netherlands was so close to war.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands suddenly used the Principality of Luxembourg to allow the Prussian army to pass through Great France. Just thinking about this matter is exciting and scary.

Although Hesbert von knew in advance that he had already confronted Prussia and promised Prussia. But he didn't expect that at this moment, he was still trembling in his heart. Looking at William IV who looked extremely calm, he could no longer deny that His Majesty was indeed the most ruthless.

The question is, isn't Your Majesty afraid that after Prussia enters Luxembourg, Bismarck and Moltke will prevent the Prussian army from leaving?

In the end, Hesbert Feng expressed this concern.

When Hesbert von spoke, William IV not only showed no anger on his face, but also smiled. The smile made Hesbert von, the top official of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tremble with fear.

He suddenly noticed the murderous intent surging in William IV's eyes.

At that moment, Haysbet Feng's scalp went numb.

He realized something

Was William IV really sincerely helping Prussia against France?

Hesbert von has been the Dutch Foreign Minister for 8 years. Would he believe that Prussia, which occupied France, would be more friendly to the Netherlands?

He didn't believe it, so wouldn't His Majesty be worried?

William IV glanced at Hesbert von firmly and said: "It is precisely because I do not believe in Prussia that for this three-nation naval exercise, I not only arranged the Pas de Calais, but also arranged the Baltic Sea and the northern Netherlands. The North Sea serves as the exercise area. I think Bismarck will understand our 'difficulties'."

No one in this world knows that he will understand the future history,

At this moment, perhaps no one knows that the Netherlands has taken a different path from its previous history, so no one cares. The Netherlands has gained many opportunities for strategic changes that it did not have in its previous life.

Haysbet Feng didn't know what William IV was thinking. He only felt his scalp numb and exclaimed in his heart: Europe is going to change!

At 8 o'clock in the morning on October 5, 1869, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amsterdam announced that King William IV of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and his 4-year-old eldest son Prince Albert (Queen Alexandra) were pregnant with their third child, and their eldest daughter Princess Anna 2 years old, so the two will not go together), will officially set off from Amsterdam at 1 pm on October 5 to take the sea route to Greece on the Mediterranean Sea to attend the sixth child of Prince Frederik of Greece and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The wedding of the fourth princess, Princess Louise.

On the way, after entering the Mediterranean on October 8, he will stop by and visit the Balearic Islands, Spain's most important island in the Mediterranean. In the capital Palma, he will be solemnly received by King Isabella II of Spain. People will have a strategic dialogue between the two royal families.

After a day of rest, William IV left on the morning of October 9 and continued eastward, finally paying a one-day visit to Sicily in the Kingdom of Italy. During this period, William IV met with King Emmanuel II of Italy in Sicily. The two also held talks, but the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not discuss the content of the talks. William IV will leave Catania, the capital of Sicily, on the morning of October 10th, land in Athens, the capital of Greece, on the morning of October 11th and attend the wedding of the Greek Crown Prince on October 15th.

With the announcement of the formation of William IV, the world began to squeeze some of its attention away from the Franco-Prussian War and fell on the Kingdom of Greece.

On the morning of October 6, 1869, the Russian Empire announced that Alexander II would send Crown Prince Alexandrovich to participate in the marriage between the Kingdom of Greece and Britain.

At the same time, as both Orthodox churches, the Slavic Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire will have personnel interactions with the Greek Orthodox Church.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately aroused concerns in Central and Western Europe, including Britain and Austria-Hungary.

As if unwilling to let the beauty of the Tsarist Empire prevail, on the same day, Sweden's Carl XV and Denmark's King Christian IX personally attended the wedding.

Or maybe it’s because they don’t want to see the Orthodox Church reconcile between the North and the South.

Queen Victoria of the British Empire went to Athens to attend the wedding in person.

The French Empire, which was in the ongoing war, sent the French Speaker to participate instead of Napoleon III.

Prussia was visited by Princess Victoria and Prince William (later William II).

Royal families from various countries traveled to Athens to attend weddings but did not slow down the Franco-Prussian War.

"Your Majesty, we are about to arrive at the location of the naval exercises of the Netherlands, Denmark and the Netherlands."

In addition to Prince Albert, William IV was accompanied by Cantur, Director of the Dutch National Security Council and Coordinator of Atlantic Affairs, Joseph Karls, Chief of Staff of the Dutch Navy, and McKay, Director of the Dutch International Intelligence Agency. Sean, Deputy Foreign Secretary Nicholas Pearson and others.

The person who organized the joint military exercise of the three fleets this time was Dutch Navy Minister Jan Peter.

"When they arrive, give them the naval salute."

William IV followed: "They will be our most important weapon to leverage other countries to give profits to the Netherlands. They are our heroes."

On the afternoon of October 6, 1869, the fleet accompanying William IV on his visit to Greece passed through the Pas de Calais. After their fleet arrived here, they conducted a coordinated combat exercise with the combined fleet. Although they joined temporarily, they It went perfectly.

This took countries by surprise.

Has the Dutch Navy actually reached this level of combat tactics?

I don’t know about other places, but the relevant naval departments in London are in a mess about this, and the Royal Navy is holding various meetings for this.