Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 74 Rookie showdown between Tories and Whigs?

"The Netherlands dares to complete such a deal with the Russian Empire. This is already provoking the British Empire. We should directly send the First Fleet directly outside Amsterdam, Netherlands, to bombard the country. Only in this way can the British Empire maintain its Dignity and core interests are what matters.”

"Yes, although the Netherlands has a good navy, it is just a good one. Moreover, the country currently does not have steam ironclad battleships, so it does not pose much of a threat to Britain. As long as we grasp the direction of the wind and attack on that day, we will definitely give the Netherlands an unforgettable memory. lesson"

"Don't forget that the Netherlands has just established an alliance called the Three Kingdoms Agreement with Prussia and France not long ago. This alliance is designed to deal with the British Empire. Now that the situation has become clear, I guess that this may be the early outcome of the Netherlands. Just prepared the trap, now with the deal between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia, this alliance seems to have become a guarantee. Don’t forget, the three countries have agreed to cooperate together in the Indian Ocean.
Not long ago, the two countries assisted the United States in the Pacific to fight against the threats posed by Britain, France and Spain to the United States, and gained the favor of the United States. Didn't you see that the United States, which has always respected the Monroe Doctrine, did not oppose the Dutch occupation of Alaska this time for the first time. This shows that the Netherlands Successfully gained the favor of the United States.

Unknowingly, the Netherlands has become a strategic partner of various countries. Although the UK has a superior navy, far superior to other countries, it can do well against a single opponent. However, facing the Netherlands' current layer-by-layer alliances, the UK may be able to cope with it. It's a bit difficult.

In fact, this may even lead to other countries benefiting from a war with the Netherlands.

Coupled with the current cooperation with the Tsarist Empire, the Netherlands seems to have become a trend. If the UK wants to deal with it, the price it has to pay is not small. "

"But it is impossible for our British Empire not to give the Netherlands some color to scare the monkeys. After all, with the Russian Empire settling in Kalimantan, the situation there will be unpredictable in the future. The UK may be the only one. Therefore, And being broken is very possible,"

"It's not very possible, but very possible. Sometimes I have to sigh. Originally, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom had disputes over many issues in the Pacific islands, but now they have added such a move as Kalimantan. , now, Britain and the Netherlands seem to be enemies.

However, by doing this, the Netherlands has revitalized the British super-monopoly structure in the Far East. This move is not unsatisfactory. Even as a British person, I have to lament that this is a brilliant move.

I decided that the Oxford University School of Politics should teach this incident as a course.”

"Yes, our University of Cambridge should also follow suit."

"The University of London will not be left behind"

“What I love most about the University of Edinburgh is innovation”

"The University of St Andrews agrees with this approach"

The Russell Group of universities was founded in 1855 and consists of the top six first-class comprehensive universities in the British Empire.

The first organizer of this university alliance was none other than the current Foreign Secretary of the British Empire, John Russell.
Of course, it is also named after the research funding conference held every spring at the Russell Hotel in Russell Square, London.

This university alliance is called the National Brain of the British Empire and represents the most intelligent source of brain potential in the UK. Queen Victoria and every cabinet attach great importance to it, so they attend their meetings every year.

The Queen is also a trustee of these universities, because she provides 10% of the funding support for these universities every year.

The Alliance Round Table Meeting will be held this year on March 1862, 3.

Present were Queen Victoria, Prime Minister Henry John Tapper (Viscount Palmerston), Foreign Secretary John Russell, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Creston.

In order to show fairness and to treat these domestic academics at the two-party level, Queen Victoria always invited both parties to attend every convening. This time, the opposition Tories attended, including leader Edward Smith Stanley and the second party. Leader Benjamin Disraeli.

Hugh Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Rowan Elson of the University of Oxford, Tim Elliott of the University of London, Lois Carroll of the University of Edinburgh, John Hooker of the University of Manchester, and Andrew of the University of St. Andrews. Wise.

Seeing the Queen's increasingly ugly face, John Russell interrupted a few people and said: "Guys, if the Netherlands does this, it will indeed make us somewhat wary. However, as Mr. Lois Carlo, the president of the University of Edinburgh, just said, As we said, the Netherlands has committed a crime against us. Therefore, we need to punish us so that we can maintain the majesty of the British Empire and maintain the inviolable red line of the interests of the British Empire in the world."

"Wait a minute, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Russell, although I agree that your statement is correct, the relationship between the Netherlands and several other big countries is not weak. If the British Empire rashly attacks the Netherlands, not to mention other countries, Tsarist Russia The empire will definitely lose face. At that time, it may retaliate against the British Empire. At that time, the union may cause a war because of this. I don’t think France next to the British Empire will mediate. On the contrary, I think they will watch the show. From a perspective, it looks at everything that is beneficial to it that is happening before it.”

The speaker was Benjamin Disraeli.

"Humph, Your Excellency Disraeli said it nicely and worried well, but has it occurred to Your Excellency that if Britain does not retaliate, then our majesty will be gone. If it is because of concern for Tsarist Russia, it will If we have concerns, then we will be afraid of Tsarist Russia in front of the outside world. In this way, in China and the Indian subcontinent, will we have to let Tsarist Russia go all the way south and cut off our interests there?"

The speaker was Disraeli's natural enemy, Clayton, now Chancellor of the Exchequer of the British Empire, retorted.

Seeing the two people arguing so hard, everyone at the conference table shook their heads with a wry smile, but they were also stopped.

The two of them were considered good friends at the beginning.

Because before 1859, the Tory Party had two outstanding successors, namely Disraeli and Creston. When George Hamilton Gordon was elected to form the cabinet in 1853, Disraeli was Home Secretary, and Crichton was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Both men were strong contenders to succeed the Tory Party. However, slowly, as the Tory Party competition deteriorated seriously, especially Cranston found that the Tory Party was different from the free trade he advocated, so after several After experiencing the twists and turns between the two, and discovering that many people in the Tory party had secretly determined Disraeli's first successor, he received an invitation from the Tory rivals Viscount Palmerston and Russell, so he In 1859, he actually led his team in the Tory Party to leave the Tory Party and join the Whig Party, and directly became the Whig Viscount Palmerston's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

As a result, the Tories all considered Creston a traitor, and Disraeli even criticized Creston for being ungrateful and forgetting that their family had been a Tory for generations.

But Creston was dissatisfied with the Tories' attacks on him, so he rebutted and fought back many times.

Therefore, in the past two or three years, these two successors of the two parties in the British Empire have now been engaged in a battle of wits here, and others have become accustomed to it.

Especially those in the political arena, but this is a big pain for the presidents of several universities. What they fear most is to draw fire and burn them.

Disraeli was indifferent to Creston's provocation. Instead, he asked Queen Victoria: "Your Majesty, now that the Netherlands has damaged the majesty of the British Empire, it stands to reason that the Netherlands should directly bear the wrath of Britain. But I have a doubt, that is, have you noticed a problem?"

Everyone including Queen Victoria and the leaders of the two parties were attracted, even Creston.

He was satisfied in his heart, but said with worry on his face: "After careful research, I found that the Netherlands led by William IV of the Netherlands seems to have broken away from the constraints of their consortium and business capitalists. Especially after careful investigation, I found that he During his period as the crown prince, he began to integrate himself into the ranks of capitalists and became the biggest presence in this team. He can be found in all major industries."

As he told the story, the faces of those who were doing it changed drastically, even the presidents of the universities. They understood that this meant that what the Crown Prince of the Netherlands wanted was to no longer be affected by these emerging interests after ascending to the throne. Power is restricted, but the Queen is restricted in the UK. Therefore, from this comparison, the strength of the Netherlands controlled by William IV is definitely not comparable to that of the Queen.

Seeing that everyone understood what he was about to say, he said more heavily: "And the important thing to say is that every time William IV makes a lot of preparations before doing something,"

"What do you want to say?" Queen Victoria and everyone else were surprised. Disraeli was not an ordinary person. He was a figure who helped the former Tory prime minister form a cabinet due to his illness. He was also a Tory figure. As the current number two figure in the Li Party, his suspicions were naturally taken seriously by the Queen.

Palmerston nodded to Russell with a serious face. Only after breaking up with William IV did he understand what a genius politician is. Therefore, he sympathized with Disraeli's concerns.

"I think he may have already had a plan to deal with the wrath of the British Empire," Disraeli said: "I even suspect that everything that is happening now is part of his calculations."

Hearing this, Palmerston was shocked because he thought of a question: Could it be that the situation in Belgium has changed?William IV wanted to use Belgium to blackmail Britain?
(End of this chapter)