Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On December 30, 1869, when British Foreign Secretary Russell was hosting the "British + International Tribunal Summit in The Hague" in London, which attracted global attention, "European Times" reported the news and published a masterpiece on the second page. , but it has attracted the attention of many countries throughout Europe and even the world.

It turned out that "European Times" actually reported the content from "The Ten-Year History of Jakarta after 1860". The editor, Song Wangxiang, was a third-generation immigrant from that ancient country in the north. He had witnessed the grace of William IV with his own eyes.

Song Wangxiang was studying in Jakarta, the largest city in the Far East of the Netherlands, at the age of 19. In the spring of 1858, he traveled with his mentor Dr. Legge and his daughter at the University of Jakarta. In Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, he was unexpectedly awarded the title of King William IV, who was still the crown prince at the time. During the reception, Crown Prince William spoke kindly to the children, encouraging them to become good believers and loyal to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

From this masterpiece, readers from all over the world know that when William IV ascended the throne on December 1, 1861, new immigrant elites and students from the Far East minority groups arrived in Amsterdam one after another, and finally at the Royal Palace of the Netherlands, these Most of the students have received the King's Scholarship established by His Majesty William IV. The 24-year-old Song Wangxiang and his mentor's daughter are among the King's Scholarship recipients.

The elites of the Far East were awed by the prosperity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and greedily absorbed the rich and colorful Dutch cultural nutrients driven by William IV.

On December 1, 1866, the 5th anniversary of William IV's accession to the throne, the 31-year-old Song Wangxiang arrived in Amsterdam again. However, by this time, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was already strong, especially the impact of many arm-wrestles with the British and their victories. , but it shocked this third-generation overseas immigrant from the ancient northern power. Even his father, Song Danian, currently the leader of the northern Xia people in Jakarta, has repeatedly expressed the loyalty of the Xia people in Jakarta to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In order to celebrate the 8th anniversary of King William IV's succession to the throne of the Netherlands, Song Wangxiang published an article "The 10-year History of Jakarta after 1860" in Europe's largest weekly magazine "European Times", praising the greatness of King William IV's regime and the Dutch influence in the country. Achievements in all aspects, and suggested that all Dutch overseas territories outside the Netherlands should establish a college to commemorate it. At the same time, as a member of the House of Representatives for the Province of the Dutch East Indies, Representative Song Wangxiang soon served in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. At the special meeting held to celebrate the 8th anniversary of William IV, the joy, praise and loyalty of the minority people of the Dutch East Indies, which was originally a colony, were expressed.

In his "Ten Years' History of Jakarta after 1860", Song Wangxiang spared no effort to record the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and the entire Far East ruled by the Netherlands, including the Australian mainland, on the 8th anniversary of William IV. Remembrance Day Celebrations.

In the "European Times", his writing skills allow readers to imagine the nighttime float parade in the Far East and the reading of congratulatory messages from minorities expressing their loyalty at the city hall celebration.

In his masterpiece, the scenes described are even more lively. All churches in the Far East of the Netherlands held thanksgiving ceremonies, the Xia people held a 5-mile float parade in Jakarta, representatives of various ethnic groups presented congratulations, and people from various islands Children entertained on the seafront, the poor were entertained everywhere with universal celebration, inpatients were entertained in hospitals, balls were held in government buildings, the streets were decorated with lights, fireworks were set off in some places, and special sessions of local legislative assemblies passed a pledge of loyalty to William IV. Draft resolutions, etc.

In the article, William I, the great-grandfather of William IV, went to Jakarta to carry out many people-friendly measures. Therefore, when William I passed away in 1840, people in Jakarta could see the scene of nostalgia for William I.

However, compared with 30 years ago, the international status of the Netherlands was not very high at that time, and it was not comparable to the bright sunshine of the Kingdom of the Netherlands now.

The status of the Netherlands as a major power before William I had been destroyed after the four naval battles between the UK and the Netherlands. The foundations of European powers were successively destroyed, and the control of the Dutch kingdom's huge colonies was weakened. South Africa was robbed by the British as a typical example. In the process of gradually losing the colonies, the loose federal structure of Dutch politics composed of large capital conglomerates (the United Kingdom of the Netherlands composed of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) made William I, who had just restored the Dutch national status after the defeat of Napoleon I, very unhappy. Passive, so it could only cling to the Dutch East Indies, while giving up South Africa and Belgium.

After 20 years of development, the Kingdom of Belgium has completely left the Netherlands, and the Principality of Luxembourg is beyond its reach. With the rise of Prussia, the overseas territories were in a mess by the perpetrators. It was at this time of internal and external troubles that William IV came out of the blue and cut through the mess with a sharp knife, allowing the Netherlands to retreat from the South Africa issue and allowing the United Kingdom to make decisions against the Netherlands in the Far East. compensate.

Later, the colonies in Africa doubled the territory of the Netherlands. With the confrontation between America and Prussia, the Dutch already had great power in governing the United States.

These were all highly praised by Song Wangxiang in his "Ten-year History of Jakarta after 1860". With his words this time, William IV's complete 8th anniversary achievements were put before everyone's eyes for the first time.

It can be said that with this wave of assistance from Song Wangxiang, William IV's name once again resounded throughout Europe and the world, and William IV became even more famous in the area ruled by the Netherlands.

So at this time, as the initiator and leader of the new generation of ethnic minorities in the Far East, he proposed in the Dutch House of Representatives that more streets, buildings and universities be named after His Majesty William IV in various provinces and cities in the Netherlands. etc.

At the same time, he also proposed that the Dutch Parliament should make every effort to promote the positive image of His Majesty William IV by requiring local governments to carry out more education loyal to His Majesty William IV.

His proposal was passed at an emergency congressional meeting on December 31, 1869, and was implemented on January 1, 1870.

For a time, William IV's popularity rapidly increased overseas in the Netherlands, which disgusted many people, including Queen Victoria.

Many countries outside the Netherlands have begun to study the Dutch secret recipe for managing overseas territories, trying to use the Dutch approach to win over the colonial people. But they were destined to fail, because William got the result after making a lot of foreshadowing, but other countries learned the same thing.

On January 2, 1870, the Financial Times first reported the results of the Russell + Hague International Tribunal Organization Summit.

Britain will join these countries in demanding peace negotiations between Prussia and Paris. At the same time, all countries will unite to state that they will not recognize the French Third Republic in the south.