Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 18 The Dutch Army’s Expansion in the Pacific
"But Your Majesty, he is not simple. Even though he has...

He doesn't seem to have made many eye-catching actions in his position as crown prince, but the Netherlands' economy has developed rapidly in recent years, even surpassing ours in certain industries.

Among them, in terms of bearings and their own steel forging technology, their quality or efficiency and output exceed ours.

In 1860 alone, the Dutch denim clothing company supported by the crown prince sold denim clothes, jeans, cowboy hats, etc. in the past two years.

More than one million pieces have been sold in Europe and America. Calculated at a unit price of 1 pound for a pair of jeans, the revenue exceeds 100 million pounds. You must know that a powerful first-class sailing battleship cost only 10 pounds. "

Queen Victoria's eyes overflowed with light after hearing these words, and her original desire to recruit him as her husband suddenly increased.

But everything will wait until next month's meeting of the young members of the royal family in Rotterdam.

Just when they were about to change the topic, a piece of news came, disrupting their rhythm and their good impression of him.

Beginning on January 1862, 1, the Netherlands conducted a sweep of small islands in the South Pacific in the East Indies. Especially starting on January 1, 1862, the Dutch first-class sailing battleship East India led the fleet. After just occupying Port Moresby on the island of East New Guinea at the end of the month, he moved all the way east and south and occupied the New Britain Islands and the Solomon Islands.

It occupied New Caledonia on January 1862, 1. According to telegrams sent back from India, starting on 20rd of 1862, the renovated fleet was encircling Fiji Island with the intention of forcing the island to invade. 23 British and 2000 indigenous people surrendered. The situation is urgent. Please give instructions from London!
Time goes back to January 1862, 1!
While everyone in Europe was paying attention to the storm unfolding in Belgium, they were in the Pacific Ocean in the Far East.

The Dutch were expanding their territory there.

A first-class sailing battleship flies the Dutch flag, which is composed of three parallel and equal horizontal rectangles of red, white and blue from top to bottom. Blue means that the country faces the ocean and symbolizes the happiness of the people. White represents freedom, equality, Democracy, as well as people's simple character traits; red represents the victory of the revolution.

We are sailing southeast of New Guinea.

"Tell General Lyndon, there are still 10 nautical miles to New Caledonia."

"The British Imperial Navy didn't detect us?"

"No, but we have investigated and found that there are now 2000 residents on New Caledonia, including more than 200 British and French. Will this affect our relationship with France?"

"Don't worry, don't forget, this is an order given by His Majesty William himself. As a soldier, obeying orders from above and obeying arrangements is your mission. Others who hesitate before and after are fighting against your own uniform. Do you understand?"

"Yes, General!"

"Go down, remember to prepare to land directly. If we encounter a British warship, we must not show weakness."

As the captain left, Theo von Linden turned back and looked at the special adviser next to him with a wry smile.
That is the submarine builder Gerrit de Friston who chose to compromise and join the Netherlands.

"It seems that the Netherlands is determined to expand in the Far East this time," Gerrit de Friston said.

"Europe is too small, and the Netherlands is caught in the middle and was torn into three pieces."

De Friston knew that he was referring to the fact that the Kingdom of the Netherlands was divided into the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Principality of Luxembourg by the British. Especially Luxembourg, although it still belonged to the Netherlands, it was separated by Belgium, surrounded by Belgium, France and Prussia and Austria can be called an enclave.

"The British are indeed very cunning and always offensive"

"Yes, I guess this is the great thing about Viscount Palmerston." Leaving Luxembourg there will obviously make other big countries look at the word "fat". Napoleon III has proposed it for more than ten years. Former King William III was tempted several times to buy Luxembourg, but in the end the business always failed at the last minute due to Prussia's dissatisfaction. This has to be said to be a great irony.

De Friston seemed resigned to his fate and was really willing to submit to the Netherlands, so he worried about the Netherlands: "Will this march into the South Pacific cause dissatisfaction with the British, and directly dispatched the most powerful battleships of the Netherlands? It seems that It’s probably overkill.”

"You think so too?" Linden said mysteriously.

"Isn't it?"

"That's right, we just want everyone to think so." Seeing his confusion, Linden did not explain further, but the two of them started talking about European warships.

"This is a first-class sailing battleship. Except for the two ships in the Netherlands, this ship is the only ship in the East Indies of the Netherlands. It has three artillery decks, 106 guns, a crew capacity of more than 900 people, and a displacement of At 3500 tons, it is simply a sea fortress. This ship is on the same level as Admiral Nelson's flagship Victory in the British Battle of Trafalgar.

However, because warships of this class are expensive to build, with each ship costing up to 10 pounds, the Royal Navy, the most powerful maritime overlord in the last decade, only has about 10 ships in active service. "

Gerrit de Friston talked about everything. When he said this, he looked at the Dutch Vice Minister of the Navy in front of him. After these days, he understood that this person was second only to the Navy Minister in the Dutch Navy. He is also the person directly responsible for naval manufacturing.

Therefore, he understands that he will be responsible for the manufacturing of his submarine. In other words, he will return to his management in the future. To put it bluntly, he will be his future boss.

Therefore, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least Linden's knowledge made him willing to cooperate, although there was still a little resistance in his heart.

“According to the last issue of the Amsterdam Peace Institute,
Among the countries in the world that currently have first-class sailing battleships, the British Empire has 10, France has 3, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands also have 3, the Ottomans, Tsarist Russia, Denmark, and the United States all have 2."

Countries currently capable of manufacturing include the British Empire, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Ottomans, etc.

The United States purchased two ships from the French Empire, Tsarist Russia purchased two ships from the Netherlands, and Denmark purchased two ships from the United Kingdom.

The second-class sailing battleship is slightly smaller than the first-class battleship, with three running decks, between 86 and 98 guns, a crew of about 750 people, and a displacement of about 2000 tons. Their disadvantage is that they can survive in stormy weather. , the third-tier artillery of warships cannot be too large. Warships of this level are rarely equipped in the British Navy. However, due to the lack of enough first-class battleships in France and other countries, France equips a large number of such battleships.

"France has 20 second-class sailing battleships, Spain has 13, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands also have 8, Tsarist Russia and the United States have 9, and Denmark and Austria have 5."

Countries currently capable of manufacturing include the British Empire, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottomans, the Russian Empire, and the United States. Italy purchased 8 ships from the British Empire and Austria purchased 5 ships from the Netherlands.

Seeing Linden's noncommittal, De Friston continued: "There are several types of third-class sailing battleships, with two to three decks (most are two-story), with guns between 64 and 80, and a crew capacity of between 500 and 720. With a crew of about 1300-1800 and a displacement of [-] to [-] tons, this is the largest number of battleships in the British Empire Navy.

During the Napoleonic Wars, among the 175 main battleships of the British Empire Navy, there were 117 third-class battleships.

Battleships of this class were a combination of profitability, speed and moderate cost at the time, and were the backbone of the battleships.

It is also the main force of the British Empire in several oceans. Currently, in the Battle of Trafalgar, 27 of the 20 British battleships were third-class battleships, while 33 of the 29 French combined fleets were of this class. "

Countries currently capable of manufacturing include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottomans, the Russian Empire, the United States, and Italy.
The fourth-level battleship has two running decks, 50 guns, a capacity of about 350 people, and a displacement of more than 1000 tons. This type of battleship is cheap, usually only 2.6 pounds, and has a capacity of 350 people. This level of battleship has weak firepower. , is not suitable for decisive battles between fleets, so it mainly serves as the flagship of the overseas cruising squadron, just like several small squadrons in the Dutch East Indies today. "

The countries currently capable of manufacturing include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the United States, and Italy.

Lin Deng said: "You are very familiar with me. If we hadn't checked you carefully, I would have suspected that you were a spy sent by France to spy on our internal affairs."

De Friston changed color slightly when he heard this, and then showed a wry smile.

"Fifth-class battleships are cruisers, generally between 130 and 150 feet in length, with 32 to 44 guns, a displacement of between 600 and 800 tons, and a crew of about 250 people. They are mainly used to attack merchant ships at sea and inspect, ocean-going Cruising, etc., acting as a vanguard to clear the way for the battleships.

Because it conducts inspections, you can get bonuses, etc. It is one of the coastal defense ships, so it is a good job, and many people are keen on it."

The countries currently capable of manufacturing include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the United States, and Italy.

As for the sixth-class warship with the smallest tonnage, it is an agile single-masted schooner warship with only one gun deck and only 20 guns. It has a displacement of 450 to 550 tons and only needs a crew of about 180 people. It is generally used in various countries to deliver messages or escort. This kind of warship generally only costs 1 pounds to manufacture.

The most common warships in navies around the world, they are also the most affordable.

Sales are booming, and the countries that can currently manufacture it include the British Empire, France, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, the Ottomans, the Russian Empire, the United States, Argentina, and Italy, etc.!
There is also the final steam ironclad. Before de Friston came to the East Indies, he originally thought that only Britain and France could build it in the world. But he was wrong, and Europe was wrong. When he saw it at the naval port in the Netherlands in Shrike Bay When those six towering luminous figures appeared, he knew that the pattern of Europe was about to change. The Netherlands would rise again, and it would no longer be a pipe dream!
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(End of this chapter)