Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 9 What the British Empire is Best at Doing

But even such a brilliant Prime Minister of the British Empire, Henry John Tapper, has been troubled recently.

There seemed to be an undercurrent in Europe recently, as if preparations were brewing before a huge storm, like a monster ready to devour people at any time, which made him feel worried.

So, he couldn't help it anymore and ran to Buckingham Palace to report his concerns to Queen Victoria.

This is his consistent style, and it is what he has insisted on doing for so many years, and the results are good. Princess Victoria has now outgrown her immaturity and has become a female overlord that is widely heard around the world, but she still supports him as always. The kind that has not been guarded against has made the Tories sigh and worry about the grace of not even being in Downing Street.

"Your Majesty, there seems to be a wind blowing in Europe recently. Our situation is a bit delicate," Henry John Tapper said worriedly.

"Bismarck's rise was too fast, especially the re-appointment of William I, and after many years of baptism, Moltke served as Prussia's chief of general staff, which also enabled Prussia to complete a sharp change. I worry that Prussia's rise will be worse than we imagined. Faster and much more powerful.”

Queen Victoria, who was born in 1819, is now 43 years old. It is the time when a woman is most charming. Although Henry John Tapper is 78 years old, he is still stunning. Think about it, they have been working together for 33 years. It goes by so fast!

Thinking back to the time when the 18-year-old princess became a female monarch that was talked about by the European hegemons and the powerful people in various countries, he couldn't help but sigh that time not only makes people grow older, but also changes them in countless ways.

Since the death of her husband Prince Albert last year, Queen Victoria's face has been covered with frost and full of mourning for more than a month.

Even for this reason, the direct members of the royal family are now staying away from Buckingham Palace and are all on the Isle of Wight, in order to mourn their husbands and their fathers.

"The rise of Prussia is the national policy we formulated at the beginning. Only its rise can replace the weakness of the Kingdom of Austria, which caused the restlessness in France and Tsarist Russia. Only its rise can create scruples and stabilize the balance between the two countries, and it can also bring peace to the two countries. Don’t put your energy into the sea.”

Afterwards, Queen Victoria said sadly:
"Princess Victoria is not having a good time in Prussia now. According to the letter she wrote to me, Prussia's William I and Bismarck are now dissatisfied with following the British Empire too closely and advocate getting closer to the Tsarist Empire. Therefore, we need to let Tsarist Russia felt threatened by Prussia.

For this reason, the British Empire can tolerate the continued rise of Prussia to make the relationship between Tsarist Russia and Prussia more rigid, especially regarding the dispute on the Pod Plain. I know what you are worried about?
His Excellency Viscount Palmerston, Bismarck is powerful, but can he surpass Metternich of Austria?Even if Metternich is reborn, he will only be defeated by your men. "

Queen Victoria comforted him by saying that if you look around Europe, you really can't find Palmerston's opponent.

Perhaps as Queen Victoria said, she also believed that masters are lonely. In the overt or covert battles between the British Empire and European countries for decades, they have completely despised the leaders of these countries, especially those who are fighting for power. Follow the establishment.

Henry John Tapper listened and nodded. However, Queen Victoria, who was now in a period of mourning, noticed that the worry in Henry John Tapper's eyes had not diminished. For some reason, he always felt a little worried. Uneasy, but the cause of the uneasiness was unknown. This feeling was the first time since he entered the political arena that he felt an elusive, uneasy feeling that he was not in control of. It was really uncomfortable.

"Princess Alice in 1843 was already 19 years old. It's time to choose her mate. I wonder if Her Majesty the Queen has someone she likes?"

Since he could not find the source of his worries, Viscount Palmerston simply put it aside and turned to other issues.

Queen Victoria was stunned, but thinking about it, if it weren't for the death of Prince Albert, he and she would have started discussing Alice's spouse.

For Alice, Albert's favorite child, they originally decided to let her marry for love, but they did not agree that Alice could choose someone other than the European royal family.

In order to improve the status of the royal family of the British Empire, they began to list some high-status candidates in 1860. However, they were disgusted by the political opinions of the British Empire, and they were unwilling to disrupt the alliance between the British Empire and the major European countries and affect the continent. Balance, keeping the British Empire out of the balance set by itself, but trapping itself in it, is not worth the gain.

Especially after learning from Princess Victoria's mistakes, Queen Victoria was even more reluctant to marry into a big country.

Therefore, Alice's most preferred spouse is a member of the royal family outside the major European countries, especially the heir to the kingdom.

So last August, she and her husband, Prince Albert, even asked Princess Victoria to make a list of eligible European princes.After the couple read it, there were only two suitable candidates, Prince William of Orange of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Prince Albert of Prussia, husband of Princess Victoria and cousin of Crown Prince Frederick of the Kingdom of Prussia.

For this reason, Prince Albert of Prussia originally visited Windsor Castle in person. However, in the end, the Queen realized that this prince was not a suitable candidate because Queen Victoria and her husband, who had met countless people, found that this man was quite ambitious. It was not a life partner for Alice's stable character, so she rejected it.

Only Prince William of Orange was left, but just when she and Prince Albert were preparing to invite each other to travel to Windsor Castle, Albert passed away in December. It came too suddenly, so the plan was suspended, and even the original plan was suspended. The blind date arranged for Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra of Denmark was delayed because of this.

At this time, Henry John Tapper mentioned it, and she remembered this matter.

But what she never expected was that William III actually announced his abdication, demoted himself to the title of Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and fled to Luxembourg, hundreds of kilometers away from the Netherlands and across Prussia and Belgium. This made Queen Victoria not sure how to describe it. , this is too
When she thought that Prince William of Orange had unexpectedly become the new king of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, she originally thought it would be a good idea to marry Alice, but now she was a little shaken. After all, marrying a prince is not the same as marrying a king. They are two different things.

Although the prince has the right to inherit, at least his position is still there. After getting married and living a life of a prince and a princess together, the relationship is naturally deep, but after marrying, he becomes the king and immediately becomes the queen. This is different from when she and Albert The prince's original intention - Alice can refute the marriage for love.

Henry John Tapper knew this, and looking at the way he hesitated to speak, Queen Victoria knew it without thinking,
His Excellency the Viscount, who was born in 1784 and is now 78 years old, is known in the political circles as an old and strong person. He thought of political national interests again, but Queen Victoria was helpless because her position was destined to make her unable to It is very possible to reject the Viscount's idea, at least on the surface.

Henry John Tapper also knew that he was forcing someone into a difficult situation, but he was just suggesting it. As for whether it was actually implemented or not, that had nothing to do with him.

Queen Victoria sighed and nodded.

Henry John Tapper said: "The Dutch throne changed so quickly that even I didn't react. William III has always been known for his ambition but little ability. His ambitions were ruined by Torbeck's successive blows. So when Tolbeck was re-elected, he was so disheartened that he left the Netherlands for Luxembourg."

"Your Majesty, the situation in Europe is strange. I don't need to mention the importance of the geographical location of the Netherlands. The Queen also knows that a single eye of the Kingdom of Belgium is not enough. We should add the Netherlands to our camp to form two eyes. That will be normal and more standardized. sex"

"But Your Excellency Viscount, don't you think that if we don't get it right, we will probably fall into the quagmire of intra-European fighting and be unable to extricate ourselves?"

"Speaking of which, there are also conflicts between Belgium and the Netherlands. I'm afraid that my eyes will start fighting with me first."

Henry John Tapper's eyes flashed and he said: "This is what I want to say, Your Majesty, the Netherlands has been developing rapidly recently, especially economically. The originally developed financial industry has begun to revive again. Amsterdam was once the European financial capital. No one dares to question that the Netherlands was founded on finance, and the legend of the tulip is still talked about.

However, the status of this financial capital has been changed since the end of the last century after the four Dutch-British wars. After the Netherlands was defeated, it signed many treaties set by us, especially the huge debt we originally borrowed from Amsterdam. After we forced the other party to return it in a cheap way, Amsterdam's financial situation was shaken and eventually declined, and we, London, took the opportunity to rise and replace it.

For decades, Amsterdam only ranked third in Europe, behind London and Paris, and its services only served the Russian Empire and the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea.

However, after decades of development, especially with the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia and rapid industrial development, Amsterdam's financial financing has slowly begun to spread across borders, increasing its influence, which has made Paris feel threatened.

But our London is not the same. Therefore, I think we can join forces in a peaceful way to harvest the leeks of the Netherlands, help London's financial status to a higher level, and step out of the huge industry that only serves the British Empire. Towards complete internationalization, that is when our British Empire diplomacy exerts its influence on the country.

Complete the extension of our foreign policy, instead of relying solely on gunboat diplomacy. "

The more she listened, the more Queen Victoria's heart sank, because even she had to admit that the bait thrown by Viscount Palmerston was so big that she was tempted and unwilling to refuse.

What the British Empire likes to do most and is best at doing is: plundering what belongs to others and making it its own!
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(End of this chapter)