Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On October 16, 1869, the wedding in the Kingdom of Greece was finally completed after the religious ceremony. Princess Louise also changed from the British Protestant Episcopal Church to the Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church in accordance with the custom. The wedding Officially over.

However, the wedding in Greece ended, but the Franco-Prussian War in Western Europe started again today.

At 5 o'clock in the morning in Paris on October 16, 1869, the Prussian army launched an attack on Sedan, where Marshal McMahon's Army of Chalon was located in eastern France. In this attack, the Prussian army dispatched more than 150,000 troops, while Charles The Dragon Army only has 60,000 defenders.

The war between the armies of both sides was fierce, and the war lasted until October 18, 1869. Although McMahon led the Châlons Army to resist, strangely, there were no reinforcements in the direction of Paris, and McMahon finally fought alone. Still defeated by the Prussian army.

McMahon died in the battle, and he was also killed on the battlefield by the commander of the 7th Army, Félix Douai. The commander of the Fifth Army, De Fay, led the remaining nearly 20,000 troops, mainly the Fifth Army, back. Unexpectedly, the retreat did not go to Reims, where Napoleon III was located, but to Saint-Quentin, the capital of the Aisne province in the northwest, which puzzled many French people.

But at this time they quickly put this aside, because they faced a more interesting problem, because now that Prussia has occupied Sedan, the direction of the invasion of the Prussian army that the French Empire will face next becomes particularly special. It's noticeable.

Kingdom of Greece, Port of Piraeus, Athens.

Two days after the wedding in the Kingdom of Greece, William IV finally embarked on the road back to the Netherlands. However, this time he did not go all by water. Instead, he chose to go north through the Austro-Hungarian Empire and continue west through the Kingdom of Prussia.

William III asked worriedly again: "Are you sure Europe will return from the Austro-Hungarian Empire by then?"

Facing the strong sea breeze from Piraeus Port, my hair was a little messy.

William IV nodded and smiled: "The French Empire is currently very angry, and Alexandra would not agree to taking the water route."

William III reminded: "It seems that you haven't been to Australia in the Far East for a few years. In fact, it is more suitable for you to go to the Far East at this time. You can not only escape embarrassing issues, but also win people's hearts in the Far East."

William IV shook his head. Seeing William III's inquiry, he said with hot eyes and pride: "This trip to Pu'ao is a must-do trip that I have made."

After William III glanced around and saw no one around, he said worriedly: "But Prussia is ambitious. Now that the French Empire has been defeated by them, the Netherlands will be a fleshy bone for Prussia. William I and Bismarck If you are a little greedy, your safety index will definitely be huge."

William IV: "You can't catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den. It is precisely because of Prussia's ambition that I need this trip to Prussia even more."

He comforted William III and said: "Father, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not as powerful as Prussia, it is not bad at all. In addition, Denmark and Sweden are allies of the Netherlands in the north."

William IV wisely said: "When everyone thought that the Netherlands would face a more terrifying Prussian kingdom, they did not realize that the Netherlands' circle of allies was also actively and rapidly expanding. Perhaps this Austrian alliance After the visit of the Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was originally ignored by the Netherlands, will become a powerful ally of the Netherlands."

He licked his mouth, as if there was a table of delicious food in front of him, "Visit Vienna first, and then Berlin. I think these two European powers will know what the Netherlands means.

What's more, Alexandra is currently doing a good job regenting the Netherlands. I think Bismarck will know how to choose. "

William III was stunned when he heard this. Although the actions performed by his eldest son William IV (Hendrik) in the Netherlands in recent years have shocked him and made him even more proud, many of the actions were unfamiliar to him, so He only sees the results but doesn't know the process, so he doesn't have much feelings.

But now that William IV expressed his thoughts, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the German Confederation also have a certain influence, because the Principality of Luxembourg and the Principality of Nassau are the two small principalities of the German Confederation.

However, because the Netherlands has never taken a side in the Prussian-Austrian competition for the leadership of the German Confederation and remains neutral, it has also become a neutral.

It was not until William IV succeeded to the throne that the relationship with the Kingdom of Prussia became closer, and even became an ally for a time. This made the Austrian Empire and the Austrian Empire have certain opinions on the Netherlands.

Last year, the competition between the Netherlands and Prussia for influence in North America worsened. William IV began to win over Austria-Hungary, and finally became a partner country in the Nordic Alliance.

William III connected these together, and he suddenly discovered that it seemed that all of this was William IV's intention to proceed according to the plan.

If it is true, then the eldest son himself is too generous.

It seems that Bismarck and others are being plotted.

Thinking of this, he looked at William IV and finally smiled and said: "Well, I'm old. This world belongs to your generation after all. Nassau-Orange belongs to you. I only hope that in the future... When Redrick encounters difficulties, you can help him."

William IV nodded and said: "I will, provided that he can understand dignity and inferiority."

"Okay, father, it's getting late. I think those in Vienna are also eagerly awaiting my arrival."

After saying that, he and William III couldn't help but smile knowingly.

At 11 o'clock in the morning on October 18, 1869, William IV left Athens and boarded the Dutch fleet at the port of Piraeus. However, what surprised the world was that he did not return from the original route, but announced that he was leaving Athens. Then we took a boat to the west through the Strait of Kythira and then headed north, which surprised everyone.

Many people in the French Empire believed that William IV was afraid that the French Empire might intercept in the Western Mediterranean or the English Channel, and many people ridiculed this.

Internationally, many people agree with this.

Queen Victoria, who had returned to London, was also puzzled. Like everyone else, she was guessing what William IV was planning.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon on October 18, 1869, Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, suddenly announced that at the invitation of Franz Joseph I, King William IV of the Netherlands would attend the ceremony from October 19 to November 1869. On the 10th, he visited the Austro-Hungarian Empire and went to Vienna to meet with Franz Joseph I. Vienna also announced that the two kings would discuss further developing friendly relations between Austria-Hungary and the Netherlands.

After the news came out, the previous chaos in the world suddenly changed. It was obvious that Franz Joseph I of Vienna was helping William IV of the Netherlands to overcome the difficulties. To put it simply, he ignored the feelings of the French Empire and insisted on Sold to Holland as a favor.

This statement from the Austro-Hungarian Empire immediately caused many people in Paris to yell at each other.

However, Vienna was naturally not to be outdone, and they began to open up old accounts. This old account was naturally caused by the fact that when the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia (later Italy) competed for Venice in 1859, Napoleon III mobilized the French army to help Emmanuel II's Sardinia. The Kingdom of Din, where the Austrian Empire finally suffered a defeat and lost Venice and other places.

When this old account came out, the Italian royal palace was a little embarrassed because they seemed to be the beneficiaries of France's help. However, when the French Empire Napoleon III clumsily and greedily wanted Italy to provide territorial compensation, the two countries fell out. .

Therefore, Italy's current position is that it is unhelpful and stuck there.

Therefore, public opinion in the French Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire became heated.

As William IV's fleet entered the Adriatic Sea, the quarrel between France and Austria entered a fierce situation.

On October 19, 1869, King William IV of the Netherlands landed at the port of Rijeka, the northern port of Kvarner Bay in the Croatian region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Rainer Ferdinand, personally represented him at the Rijeka pier. Emperor Joseph I of Austria greeted him.

On October 19, 1869, the Kingdom of the Netherlands released a news that surprised everyone in Europe. It turned out that the news from the Netherlands was that the Kingdom of the Netherlands would close all borders of the Principality of Luxembourg at 00:00 on October 21, 1869, Amsterdam time. Any military or militia from other countries is prohibited from entering.

Paris and the whole of France cheered when they heard the news.

But other countries are indeed puzzled by the Dutch approach, and at the same time, they are also very interested in what Prussia's attitude will be.

Will Berlin be angry about this? Will the consequences of being angry be serious for the Netherlands?

However, to their disappointment, Prime Minister Bismarck expressed respect for the Dutch approach in Berlin and said that the friendly relations between the Netherlands and Prussia remained unchanged and that he would continue to promote the development of relations between the two countries.

At this time, in Berlin, the Kingdom of Prussia, the spokesperson of the Berlin Palace announced that at the invitation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia, he would visit the Prussian Palace from November 11, 1869 to December 1, 1869. The two kings would attend two meetings together in Berlin. The first science and technology exchange festival held in China.

Well, at this time, no one would ridiculously think that William IV was hesitating in the eastern Mediterranean for fear of the French Empire's revenge.

On the contrary, all French people thought of a question. Is the king of the Netherlands preparing to invade Prussia and Austria-Hungary in tandem with French territory? Is this preparing for a larger war to invade France?

No one knows, because those who know are currently preparing their own work.

On October 25, 1869, after a long and bumpy six-day carriage journey, William IV finally arrived in Vienna.

William IV and Joseph I held a king's conference immediately after William IV's day of repairs.

The topic was naturally the Franco-Prussian War.

When the two kings in Vienna met, whether it was London, Paris, Berlin, or even Milan, Rome, St. Petersburg, etc., they couldn't help but turn their attention there.

Because, what kind of changes in the situation in Europe will be brought about by William IV's trip to Vienna this time? It’s really worth looking forward to and worrying about.