Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 23 The unexpected Dutch-French alliance

On February 1862, 2, the Netherlands and France officially announced that after careful discussions and negotiations, the two countries had reached a "Mutual Defense Act."

The content is as follows: When a country is attacked by another country for no reason, the other party that signed the bill has the obligation to send troops to help the other party without hesitation and protect the safety of the other party's citizens and territorial integrity. The bill is valid for 5 years. It can be extended at your discretion after the year.

This bill will be implemented immediately after it is passed by both houses of Congress of the two countries later this month.

This bill came so suddenly that it was reached and announced without even knowing it, without any preparation.

Even King Leopold I of Belgium looked embarrassed. This was already stressful, but the Netherlands and France had always been wary of each other, which was his entry point.

He had always believed that as long as he persisted and the British Empire was behind him, the current pressure would soon disappear. However, when he saw the emergency telegram he received today, he knew that he had made a mistake in everything. The two countries were just playing around, but now they realize that they are serious about it.

It seems that Belgium is really unable to escape this time.

As ugly as Leopold I were Queen Victoria, Henry John Tapper, and John Russell.

"Minister Russell, why didn't our Ministry of Foreign Affairs receive any information about this information? Is it possible that the discussion on such a big matter of forming an alliance between France and the Netherlands was not disclosed at all?"

Queen Victoria was very angry. In recent times, her anger and sadness have increased several times more than before.

Her husband died, her eldest son Edward was beaten, and her uncle's Belgium was now in danger. It was bad enough originally, but the little one named Louisa, the sixth daughter, actually argued and wanted to leave the Isle of Wight and resume her previous life. This made her even more dissatisfied.

However, for this daughter, whom her husband loved most and often praised as the brightest and brightest, Queen Victoria could only scold her for her ignorance and feel sad in secret.

She originally thought that it would just be like this and it would pass slowly, especially in Belgium where it was just a small fight and not worth a big fight for her.

But she was wrong, and very wrong.

France and the Netherlands openly formed an alliance?

How ridiculous was this before?

No one would believe that this prediction would come true, but looking at the serious faces of Tapper and Russell, one was powerful and the other was powerful in the world, the expressions of the two people let Queen Victoria know that everything was not fake, the Netherlands, the real thing. Allied with France!
John Russell answered concisely and clearly: "Because the Netherlands and France have already completed this plan, but they are just releasing it now."

After a pause, Russell became more vigilant than ever before and said: "Your Majesty, several colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I have speculated that the two countries may have completed the alliance plan before launching a public opinion war in Belgium, and Belgium is them. The first litmus test for a common alliance"

Queen Victoria was shocked when she heard this and looked at Prime Minister Tapper in disbelief.

Tapper nodded and sighed seriously:
"We underestimated the enemy. France actually formed an alliance with the Netherlands, and recent events have followed suit.

But we can find that the actions against Belgium were coordinated, and even the attack on our consul was part of their planning.

The reason is that they want their people to draw us into their sight, and then when the attention reaches a certain level, whether it is pity or sympathy, we will be deeply remembered by them, and then it will be revealed that we are going to build a military base in Belgium. The incident at the naval base shattered their original sympathy and turned it into hatred and anger."

call!
Prime Minister Henry John Tapper, who was nearly 80 years old, took a deep breath of air-conditioning and said with a slight tremor in his voice:
"Both of you, no matter what the outcome of this operation is, the person behind this operation will be one of the most formidable opponents of the British Empire in the future. From now on, he may also be the most difficult enemy of the British Empire in the future. No one"

Both of them are veterans of the political arena, and they do not feel that Tapper exaggerates his opponents. Even they now feel that there is a thorny side in front of them.

"After the alliance between the Netherlands and the French Empire, what kind of situation will the empire face?" This is what Queen Victoria wants to know most this time. This is one of the few times in so many years that she has actively asked for prediction results.

John Russell said worriedly:

"There will be a coastline of this alliance on the sea opposite us. At the same time, France is the second largest army in Europe, second only to the Russian Empire, but it has obvious advantages in equipment.

The navy is also under the British Empire, 23 tons versus 20 tons, but the Netherlands has 9 tons. If these two countries are added together, then for us, can we completely maintain the sea and suppress other countries? sovereignty is still unknown.”

Speaking of this, Russell also had doubts. Although compared to France, the British Empire had an absolute advantage in first-class sailing battleships, 10 to 4.

Even if the three first-class battleships of the Netherlands are included, it is only 3 to 10.

What's more, in terms of the construction of steam ironclad battleships, the British Empire now has 3 ships in service and 3 ships under construction.

According to the schedule, it will be completed and launched in three years. Compared with France, which currently has only one armored battleship, it can be said that it has an advantage.

The Netherlands, like other countries except Britain and France, is still in the exploratory stage.

However, the Netherlands is a country with hundreds of years of shipbuilding history. We originally suspected that the Netherlands would take at most 2 years to start building their ironclads.

But with the signing of the alliance treaty with France, perhaps with the help of France, the process in the Netherlands will be accelerated."

The Netherlands is now the third largest warship builder in Europe. The warships they build even compete with the British Empire for business. For example, five years ago, they sold a first-class sailing battleship to Argentina, which caused dissatisfaction in Spain.

Therefore, there is not much doubt about the Netherlands' shipbuilding capabilities.

"The area of ​​the Netherlands is too small, and when you split Belgium up, Viscount Palmerston, it was equivalent to cutting off its wings. No matter how strong its shipbuilding capabilities are, so what, it can still only compete in various parts of Europe. Surrounded by big powers, you can only bow your head and admit defeat and form an alliance with France? Be careful not to leave any bones left."

Although Tapper wondered why those in the Netherlands made such a decision, he did not think that an alliance with France was a good idea.

Like him, there was also William I of Prussia.

Now they are also talking about the future variables of the Dutch-French alliance and assessing what impact this will have on Prussia?

Facing William I's concerns, Bismarck smiled slightly and said calmly:
"The direct alliance between the Netherlands and France, in my opinion, is just a temporary compromise between the two countries. Perhaps as some newspapers said, the Netherlands joined France because it was afraid of the British Empire's revenge. The ship seeks protection.

But no matter what, this is a sideways statement that compared to other countries, the Netherlands is too weak, with less than 600 million people. No matter how good the economic development is, the gap is still too big in terms of size. "

“But don’t you think this is not like the style of Hesbert Feng we saw some time ago?
And that Pearson you mentioned, their cleverness has proven that the Netherlands will not be a fool, nor a foolhardy person."

Bismarck agreed with this, especially when he thought of the two people mentioned by William I, he felt curious. With such talents in the Netherlands, what kind of person would their William IV be?
Crazy, really crazy!
Although many people knew that the multiple attacks in the Kingdom of Belgium would not end so quickly, they did not expect that there would be so many twists and turns and so many results.

It's just like a drama in a theater. The plot has ups and downs and makes your heart beat up and down. It's really "amazing"!

　There are now 483 collections, and there are still 17 votes left to reach 500 collections. The Netherlands and France have formed an alliance, so don’t hide your votes, everyone supports it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)