Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

The Dutch submarine brought the deepest shock. In addition to Britain, the largest navy, the top leaders of both sides of the Franco-Prussian War could not help but be stunned.

On November 11, 1869, Queen Eugenie in Paris, France, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because not long ago she had dismissed the Netherlands from helping Prussia with the small islands in the Indian Ocean. The relationship between France and the Netherlands had begun to thaw, and the Netherlands and France The diplomatic envoy returned to his post again.

Therefore, the emergence of the Dutch submarine at this time brought Paris more than a shock but also a sense of luck. No one wanted to deal with the unknown evil. France was already exhausted facing Prussia. This When facing the Netherlands, which is a level below them, they will naturally not act condescendingly.

Even Napoleon III, who was in Reims, was originally dissatisfied with Queen Eugenie for secretly trading territory with Queen Alexandra of the Netherlands, the regent of the Netherlands. This moment also changed from gloomy to sunny. Instead, he was grateful for Eugenie's actions.

For this reason, he could not help but speed up the deployment of troops in Reims. He wanted to organize a large-scale counterattack to completely drive Prussia out of French territory and save his lost face.

However, compared to Napoleon III, who had forgotten about it, Bismarck and the others had extremely solemn expressions.

"I didn't expect that William IV would have such a backup plan. It's really wonderful."

At this moment, William I felt helpless.

It has to be said that Bismarck and others were actually planning before, and they also had ambitions for the Netherlands that could be advanced or retreated.

However, Bismarck and William I had always been hesitant, because William IV seemed harmless to humans and animals but was actually very dangerous.

Moltke, the Chief of General Staff, said with admiration: "I borrowed the Principality of Luxembourg before. I was still wondering why the Netherlands proposed an expiration date of October 20. Who knew that the Netherlands actually blackmailed France for the Indian Ocean without saying a word? Two small island groups”

Moltke said to William I: "Around October 20th, the Netherlands made the French empire have a mixture of love and hate. It can be said that they used the method of playing with people's nature very well, and other countries were also surprised that the Netherlands was so good at playing.

Now that the submarines have emerged, it is no longer appropriate for major countries to look down at the Netherlands. "

William I also said: "Yeah, before I didn't understand why William IV would let the Netherlands move to those inhospitable islands in the Far East for development. That was because I was still thinking about whether the Netherlands was not afraid of making wedding clothes for Britain. ?

Now I finally understand that William IV has something to rely on. The world's third largest surface warship tonnage, coupled with the world's unique 50,000-ton underwater submarine force. Even the UK, the strongest naval power, faced with such a Dutch combination, I believe only those with some brains would know that this is not the right time to express any ambitions towards the Netherlands."

William I took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and stared at Prime Minister Bismarck meaningfully; "Prime Minister, it is not suitable for the Netherlands to go east at the moment. I do not want all Prussian coastlines to face a joint blockade by the Dutch on both the surface and underwater sides."

Bismarck did not object when he heard this, and he was bound to be stronger. Although William IV was not in the Netherlands, he had to admit that the hand left by William IV really shocked the whole of Europe and even the world.

At this time, Bismarck was still thinking about the one-third of an acre of land in the Netherlands, which was really not worth the gain.

"Your Majesty and Moltke, please rest assured. Naturally, I will not impulsively touch the Netherlands, which is soaring to the sky. But speaking of it, Britain is the country that should be most worried about the rise of the Dutch naval power."

Bismarck sneered: "I think London must be having a headache now. After all, even if the most powerful navy does not lose this time, it will be pulled down from the altar."

Mao Qi heard this and said: "That guy Davidson actually called on the United Kingdom to upgrade its surface warships to the second and third competitors in combined tonnage. I think this should be a very important suggestion when the United Kingdom has not yet established submarines. Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I think it is time for Prussia to increase its surface ships. With all due respect, if we compare according to its international status, our navy should be called the third or second strongest navy in the world, even if it cannot compare with the Netherlands and France. , we should also occupy the fourth position.

In this way, our army will not face threats from the sea."

Moltke's statement was endorsed by Wilhelm I and Bismarck.

Obviously, in the face of the rapid expansion of the navies of various countries around Europe, Prussia only ranks as the seventh naval power alongside Portugal and Italy, which no longer matches its own status. They all realized that the navy would be one of the directions of Prussia's future military.

Bismarck nodded and said: "Holland, Holland, you know how to scheme."

William I and Moltke looked at him in confusion: "?"

Bismarck: "Prussia's current shipbuilding capability is similar to its current status. Chief of General Staff Moltke, you should know more about it than I do. It is true that the Netherlands supported Prussia's warship construction before, but they were all fifth-level battleships, fourth-level battleships, etc., and then The third, second and first level battleships all slowed down our learning speed, but we still learned it.

However, this also puts us on guard and deviates from our development route towards steam battleships. Therefore, Prussia's current shipbuilding progress is only in the mid-tonnage segment, and high-tonnage construction still requires the support of the Netherlands.

Your Majesty, the launch of submarines by the Netherlands this time reminds us that we still need to rely on Dutch maritime support and warns us not to act rashly against the Dutch mainland."

Following Bismarck's "confession", William I's face darkened and he smiled bitterly: "Co-author, are we all in the calculation of William IV?"

"That's not true." Bismarck shook his head and objected: "The rise of Prussia is the general trend. Queen Viglia of the United Kingdom clearly cannot stop it, nor is she willing to stop it. And William IV of the Netherlands also sees it clearly, and even more They promote profit-seeking, so they just hitch a ride on the rise of our kingdom. They just say that William IV's effect of pulling chestnuts from the fire is better and the cake he gets is bigger."

He also pointed out: "The strategic agreement between the two countries currently signed by William IV and Joseph I in the Austro-Hungarian Empire must be taken seriously."

He said sternly: "The Netherlands and the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot form an alliance, and the Tsarist Russia Empire in the north and the French Empire in the south will be enemies for Prussia from both sides. Now crippled the French Empire is the key, so the Netherlands is suitable Focus on comforting”

Next, the three people successfully challenged each other again, and the Netherlands temporarily stayed still. Not only that, the three people also agreed to win over the Netherlands. And William IV embarked on a visit to Prussia from November 11, 1869, and it was Prussia that won over the Netherlands. best chance.

Therefore, the three top Prussian political figures decided that after William IV arrived in Berlin, they would persuade the Dutch-Prussian relations to cooperate more closely.

Naturally, William IV, who had just set foot in Dresden, the capital of Saxony under the Kingdom of Prussia, did not know that the top figures of power in Berlin who were waiting for his arrival had already planned the content of the next meeting.

What he may not know even more is that because of the emergence of Dutch submarines, the Netherlands, which is second in arms sales in the world, is already impacting its number one position in the world, and has customers all over the world.