Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

In the Berlin Palace, when William IV expressed his worries about the collapse of Napoleon III, William I couldn't help but ask what William IV was worried about.

William IV's face was unprecedentedly solemn and he said: "After the catastrophe in 1848, Paris rose again after 20 years. There are many remnants of those people. Your Excellency is also a person who has personally experienced that era. In other words, I remember His Majesty William I came to power and succeeded the Prussian throne after the catastrophe of 1849. I think His Majesty must have vividly remembered the horror of the catastrophe that ravaged European royal families and nobles."

William I's eyes suddenly widened.

The final result of the catastrophe in 1848 was that the French Empire became the Second Republic of France. The aristocracy was severely suppressed and the capitalists rose. It was not until 1853 that Napoleon III, as president, suppressed the opponents and ascended the throne forcefully to become the Napoleon family. The second emperor led to the life of the Second French Empire for the next 16 years.

Bismarck also looked at William IV with a changed expression. He knew what William IV meant.

William IV warned: "If Prussia drives away Napoleon III, then these remnants of 1848 will rise again. At that time, France's influence may continue to spread under their rule. The old revolution of 1848 No one knows whether it will happen again, but the probability is still very high. After all, there are many people in various countries who are hostile to the nobility, especially those at the bottom of society who are most likely to be incited."

William IV stared at William I: "The Netherlands has prepared for this many years ago. Our large-scale development projects in Australia and the Dutch East Indies are just to find a pure land for the Netherlands. We are almost finished now."

As he said that, he turned back to stare at Prime Minister Bismarck who was attacking across from him, and snorted: "The Netherlands' attitude towards East Oman is that we gain and lose our lives, but if Prussia thinks that the Netherlands can be bullied, it can be considered that we have gained a good thing." The lessons learned, come to think of it, this is a big gain for the Netherlands, Prime Minister Bismarck, you won’t object, right?”

Facing Bismarck's sharp gaze, William IV responded without blinking.

Everyone, including William I, chose to remain silent.

After a long time, Bismarck said: "I think your Majesty is right. The French Empire cannot be beaten to death with a single stick. Napoleon III should be left with a way to survive. Of course, we will ask the French Empire to retreat in East Oman, and Prussia will fulfill its promise." Yes, but Prussia is also very interested in Dutch submarines."

William IV: "We are willing to help Prussia build 10 ships"

Seeing that Bismarck was about to speak, he immediately smiled bitterly and said: "The British Empire keeps a close eye on this aspect. For this reason, we have ranked the British Empire's submarines at the front, and they also have the largest number."

When William I and Bismarck heard this, they were immediately speechless.

However, I have long experienced the British hegemony, so it is not surprising.

The dispute in East Oman has finally come to an end.

This is just an issue.

William IV and William I then began to discuss other issues between the two countries.

When William IV left Berlin and returned westward through most of Prussia on November 20, 1869, Prussia once again launched an encirclement and annihilation campaign against Napoleon III's Reims.

On November 23, 1869, the remaining main force of the Metz Army, the temporary commander of the 4th and 5th Army, Radmiro, was defeated in Chaumont. The remaining 40,000 troops were surrounded and annihilated by the Second Army of Prussia's Crown Prince Frederick and Prince Karl. ,completely annihilated.

On November 25, 1869, the Reims garrison where Napoleon III was located was also under Prussian artillery fire. Napoleon III formally led the Prussian army of 83,000 officers and soldiers to surrender to the Prussian army. In this battle, the French army lost more than 67,000 people, and the Prussian army lost more than 67,000 troops. The army only lost 19,000 people. After the news came out, the world was shocked again. Reims, the guardian of the eastern part of Paris, was actually captured, and Chaumont in the south was also occupied. Now, Paris was facing the Prussian army. A direct love for a place.

William IV, who had already arrived in the Hanover Province of Prussia on his way back, became silent after learning the news.

The people next to William IV were also shocked.

Nicholas Pearson said: "I guessed it right. Bismarck will definitely take down Napoleon III directly. Instead of facing an opponent who can arouse the unity of the French Empire, it is better to let a group of bourgeois who don't know the so-called come to power. Your Majesty, this Bismarck and His Majesty William I seems to be determined to replace the French Empire."

William IV nodded, and then pointed out the mistakes of the French side in this war: "In this battle, Napoleon III's side made three mistakes that led to Napoleon III's disastrous defeat. The first one was the position the French army mentioned when facing the enemy's attack. Yes, the victorious Prussian army was able to enter the scattered armies of the French army. As a result, the French Gleevec army was divided into two independent troops, making it impossible for them to join each other or even cooperate in fighting.

Second, Bazin's Rhine Army hesitated to move in Metz, and was only besieged in Lorraine and other places, losing mobile troops in vain and hurting itself.

Third, all the troops supporting Bazin and the routes along them are just to instigate the enemy to capture all the reinforcements."

Speaking of this, William IV mocked: "The reason is not only the wrong strategic guidance of the Paris government, but also related to the mistakes of the supreme commander on the front line.

First of all, when the French army was defeated in the initial battle on the border and decided to retreat, but the Paris government did not allow the main force of the Rhine Army to retreat, McMahon, as the French army's intended commander-in-chief, should assess the situation, proceed from the overall situation of the war, and lead his troops to the Rhine River. The legion was forced to fight in order to coordinate operations, so that the Rhine Army could avoid being encircled by the Prussian army. However, this army mechanically moved closer to the Chalon Army alone, thus providing the Prussian army with the opportunity to divide the entire French army into two parts and then defeat them one by one. "

He further pointed out: "Secondly, the tens of thousands of troops who retreated to Sean, if it were not for the occupation and Napoleon III's setbacks, it is entirely possible to overcome the obstruction of the Paris government and safely retreat to Summer before falling into a tight siege. Long area, but they were hesitant and still wanted to hold on to Metz Fortress without hope. As a result, they were blocked by the Prussian army. After being surrounded, they faced the reinforcements of General Bazin who were passively waiting for support and were not active. Organizing a breakout, etc., this became the knot in an endless loop, tightening tighter and tighter, eventually bringing Napoleon III himself and the Paris government into it."

When William IV mentioned this, he suddenly laughed and said: "However, isn't the Prussian army's attack on Paris the result we want to see?"

Cantur, director of the Dutch National Security Council and coordinator of Atlantic affairs, said: "Who would have thought that His Majesty is actually playing a big game of chess. In fact, Prussia and other countries are just the targets of His Majesty's use. His Majesty's ultimate goal is the British Empire."

Several other people were shocked when they heard this, including Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicholas Pearson, who was hailed as the new ace of Dutch diplomacy by the outside world. They were also stunned by these words.

It turns out that everything was part of His Majesty's plan?

William IV said proudly: "The Netherlands' advantage in the next few decades will be at sea, so we naturally need to open up the British arrogance and recognize the rise of the Netherlands. Only then can we use this Franco-Prussian War to establish a foothold for the Netherlands. The foundation of the Franco-Prussian War is our most important weapon to leverage British identity."