The Dutch submarines brought the most profound shock. In addition to Britain, the largest navy, the top leaders of both sides of the Franco-Prussian War could not help but be stunned.

On November 11, 1869, Empress Eugenie in Paris, France, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because not long ago she had dismissed the Netherlands from helping Prussia with a small island in the Indian Ocean, and the relationship between France and the Netherlands had begun to thaw. The Netherlands and France

The diplomatic envoy returned to his post again.

Therefore, the emergence of the Dutch submarine at this time brought Paris more than a shock but also a sense of luck. No one wanted to deal with the unknown evil. France was already exhausted in the face of Prussia.

When faced with the Netherlands, which is a level lower than the Netherlands, it is natural not to act condescending.

Even Napoleon III, who was in Reims, was originally dissatisfied with Empress Eugenie for secretly trading territory with the Dutch regent, Empress Alexandra of the Netherlands. This moment changed from gloomy to sunny, and instead he felt happy for Eugenie's actions.

For this reason, he could not help but speed up the deployment of troops in Reims. He wanted to organize a large-scale counterattack to completely drive Prussia out of French territory and save his lost face.

However, compared to Napoleon III who had forgotten about it, Bismarck and the others had extremely solemn expressions.

"I didn't expect that William IV would have such a backup plan. It's really wonderful."

At this moment, William I felt helpless.

It has to be said that Bismarck and others were actually planning before, and they also had ambitions for the Netherlands that could be advanced or retreated.

However, Bismarck and Wilhelm I had always been hesitant because Wilhelm IV seemed harmless but was actually very dangerous.

Moltke, the Chief of General Staff, said with admiration: "I borrowed the Principality of Luxembourg before. I was still wondering why the Netherlands proposed an expiration date of October 20. Who knew that the Netherlands actually blackmailed France for the Indian Ocean without saying a word?

Two small island groups”

Moltke said to William I: "Around October 20th, the Netherlands made the French empire have a mixture of love and hate. It can be said that they used the method of playing with people's nature very well, and other countries were also surprised that the Netherlands was so good at playing.

Now with the emergence of submarines, it is no longer appropriate for major countries to look down at the Netherlands."

William I also said: "Yeah, before I didn't understand why William IV would let the Netherlands move to those barren islands in the Far East for development. That was because I was still thinking about whether the Netherlands was not afraid of making wedding clothes for Britain.

?

Now I finally understand, it turns out that William IV has something to rely on. The world's third largest surface warship tonnage, coupled with the world's unique underwater submarine force of 50,000 tons. Even the UK, the strongest navy, faced with such a Dutch combination

, I believe anyone with a little brain knows that this is not the right time to express any ambitions towards the Netherlands."

William I took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and stared at Prime Minister Bismarck meaningfully; "Prime Minister, it is not suitable for the Netherlands to go east at the moment. I do not want all Prussian coastlines to face a blockade jointly carried out by the Dutch on both the surface and under the water."

Bismarck did not object when he heard this, and he was bound to be stronger. Although William IV was not in the Netherlands, he had to admit that the hand left by William IV really shocked the whole of Europe and even the world.

At this time, Bismarck was still thinking about the one-third of an acre of land in the Netherlands, which was really not worth the gain.

"Your Majesty and Moltke, please rest assured. Naturally, I will not impulsively touch the Netherlands, which is soaring to the sky. But speaking of it, Britain is the country that should be most worried about the rise of the Netherlands' naval power."

Bismarck sneered and said: "I think London must be having a headache now. After all, even if the largest naval power does not lose this time, it will be pulled down from the altar."

Mao Qi heard this and said: "That guy Davidson actually called on the United Kingdom to upgrade its surface warships to the second and third competitors in combined tonnage. I think this should be a very important suggestion when the United Kingdom has not yet established submarines. Your Majesty,

Prime Minister, I think it is time for Prussia to increase its surface ships. With all due respect, if we compare according to its international status, our navy should be called the third or second strongest navy in the world, even if it is not as good as the Netherlands, France and France.

, we should also occupy the fourth position.

In this way, our army will not face threats from the sea."

Moltke's statement was endorsed by William I and Bismarck.

Obviously, in the face of the rapid expansion of the navies of various countries around Europe, Prussia only ranks as the seventh naval power together with Portugal and Italy, which is no longer consistent with its own status. They all realize that the navy will be Prussia's future military.

One of the directions.

Bismarck nodded and said: "Holland, Holland, you know how to scheme."

William I, Moltke looked at him puzzled: "?"

Bismarck: "Prussia's current shipbuilding capability is similar to its current status. Chief of General Staff Moltke, you should know better than me. It is true that the Netherlands supported Prussia's warship construction before, but they were all fifth-level battleships, fourth-level battleships, etc., and then

Level 3, 2, and 1 battleships all slowed down our learning speed, but we still learned it.

However, this has put us on guard and deviated from our development route towards steam battleships. Therefore, Prussia's current shipbuilding progress is only in the mid-tonnage segment, and high-tonnage construction still requires the support of the Netherlands.

Your Majesty, the launch of the submarine by the Netherlands this time reminds us that we still need to rely on the Dutch maritime support and warns us not to act rashly against the Dutch mainland."

Following Bismarck's "confession", William I's face darkened and he smiled bitterly: "Co-authored, are we all in the calculation of William IV?"

"That's not true." Bismarck shook his head and objected: "The rise of Prussia is the general trend. Queen Viglia of the United Kingdom clearly cannot stop it, nor is she willing to stop it. And William IV of the Netherlands also sees it clearly, and even more

They promote profit-seeking, so they just hitch a ride on the rise of our kingdom. It’s just that William IV’s effect of pulling chestnuts from the fire is better and the cake he gets is bigger.”

He also pointed out: "The strategic agreement between the two countries currently signed by William IV and Joseph I in the Austro-Hungarian Empire must be taken seriously."

He said sternly: "The Netherlands and the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot form an alliance, and the Tsarist Russia Empire in the north and the French Empire in the south will be enemies for Prussia from both sides. Now crippled the French Empire is the key, so the Netherlands is suitable

Focus on comforting”

Next, the three men successfully challenged each other again, and the Netherlands temporarily stayed still. Not only that, the three people also agreed to win over the Netherlands. And William IV embarked on a visit to Prussia from November 11, 1869, and it was Prussia that won over the Netherlands.

best opportunity.

Therefore, the three top Prussian political figures decided that after William IV arrived in Berlin, they would persuade the Dutch-Prussian relations to have closer cooperation.

Naturally, William IV, who had just set foot in Dresden, the capital of Saxony under the Kingdom of Prussia, did not know that the top figures of power in Berlin who were waiting for his arrival had already planned the content of the next meeting.
Chapter completed!