The New Zealand Fleet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands set off from Wellington, New Zealand, on August 27, arrived at the Chatham Islands in eastern New Zealand on the 1st, arrived at the Marotiri Islands on the 4th, arrived at Easter Island on the 7th, and arrived at the Juan Fernandez Islands on the 9th.

Twelve days later, on September 8, the New Zealand fleet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands finally arrived in Santiago, Chile after a long journey.

Including the steam battleship New Zealand, the steam battleship New South Wales, the sailing battleship, etc., arrived one after another. Intelligence personnel from various countries in Chile unexpectedly discovered that more than 16 Dutch warships had arrived in Chile this time, concentrating many of the main forces of the Dutch navy.

With the support of the Dutch fleet, Chile suddenly ranks among the top 15 navies in the world in terms of tonnage. If calculated in terms of the vitality of the standard warships, it has become at least the top ten, comparable to the Italian navy.

force.

What is curious is that the British Navy actually hid in Port Montt and stood still during this period, which is puzzling.

However, as the Dutch fleet entered Santiago, the British actually dispatched, yes, directly headed north.

During this period, President Mascaiano also launched a counterattack on land with the support of the United Kingdom. At present, the Southern Army led by President Mascaiano entered the river area from Puerto Montt to the north and captured the local area.

The capital is Valdivia, and further threatens the Araucanía region.

With the arrival of the Dutch fleet, Arturo Lauzon, who had been retreating steadily, also counterattacked on September 10, 1878, and the two sides launched a hot gun battle on land with a total of about 5,000 people (no way, who

The population of Chile is only 800,000).

Both sides suffered losses, but the North was able to hold on to Zanmuco in the Araucanía District, while the Southern Army took Longcoche in the Araucanía District, completely standing firm and consolidating its position in the river area.

rule.

At the same time, the British and Dutch navies also faced off overseas in the River District and Araucanía District.

Neither side fired a single cannonball, but the silent sea made both sides feel that a pre-dawn storm seemed to be gathering pace.

The international community also understood that the reason why Britain had stood still was to wait for the arrival of Dutch warships.

Chile's long and narrow geographical location along the coast means that this country is absolutely defenseless against many attacks from the sea. This was the case when Chile faced the British's powerful ships and cannons. Now if the British do not defeat the Netherlands, then

Even if a pro-British government comes to power in the future, it will be the same when facing the Dutch navy. Therefore, it is a clear way for Britain to support Chilean Mascaiano and just stick to the south, waiting to compete with the Netherlands before moving north to regain Santiago.

Otherwise, even if Chile is captured, as long as Britain is defeated by the Netherlands, Chile will be taken away in minutes.

Because of this understanding, everyone is paying close attention to the news about the confrontation between the Netherlands and Britain at sea.

"Your Majesty, will Britain launch a surprise attack on us?"

Prime Minister Gerrit looked at William IV worriedly.

Originally, he thought that the decisive confrontation between Britain and the Netherlands in the Strait of Malacca was the biggest threat that the Netherlands should face, but now the battlefield was suddenly moved to South America, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Facing such a change, Griet was still full of worries. At this point, the other party was still far inferior to Torbeck.

William IV secretly said.

However, as the king of the Western world, he must adapt to this normality. After all, the prime minister's four-year term, even if he is re-elected for eight years, is always just a transitional figure for the king, a passerby in life.

Moreover, although William IV was able to exert a certain influence on the candidates for the general election with the power in his hands, he still could not completely control the election candidates and choose his favorite.

Therefore, survival of the fittest, and maintaining a correct posture when facing different candidates is fundamental.

Falling out and fighting with the current Prime Minister will not happen to William IV at present. After all, his strength is still formidable.

"It's hard to say, but at present, it seems that Britain is not ready to give up Chile to us easily, but this is also the style of the Whig Party that we have always understood."

Seeing Griet's confusion, William IV smiled and said: "The Whigs have always been famous in the British political arena for negotiating to check and balance other countries. Their most familiar technique is naturally offshore balancing, so Clerk came to

As the heir to Viscount Palmerston, there is no reason why Lord Palmerston should not implement this approach.

But your worries are reasonable. After all, the military has always been in the hands of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria has always been unpredictable. Women's thoughts are unpredictable. And a woman who has been the king of a great country for 40 years,

They have many different thoughts, so we need to pay attention."

"Currently, all countries are staring at us, so if we make a mistake in Chile, it will definitely be a huge loss to our national prestige of the Netherlands. This time in Chile, there is no room for failure."

William IV said this, stared at Gerrit and said: "According to the previous plan, arrange for our submarine force in Lima, Peru to secretly go south. This time, I will make the British Empire suffer a big loss."

Grit's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and his mouth moved. But knowing that the matter had reached this point and was irreversible, he finally accepted the order firmly and said: "Yes."

Watching Gerrit leave his king's office and close the door, William IV walked to a lockbox and opened it, pulling out a document. A name was displayed on it. Faced with this name, William IV was stunned.

After hesitating for a while, he finally picked up the pen next to him and drew a circle, then wrote the word exposure.

Sarmiento was Argentina's ambassador to the Netherlands for 4 years, Argentina's finance minister for 0 years, and Argentina's interior minister for 5 years.

8 years, Vice President of Argentina.

William IV murmured: "Chile has now allowed Arturo Lauzon to come to power. As long as it stabilizes its position and drives the British away, the Netherlands can almost completely stand firm there and become Chile and the Netherlands.

In my sphere of influence, the current Argentine President Mitre is too strong. He has been an ally with me since 1858. It has been 20 years now. As he has aged, he has indeed become more tactful, timid and afraid of death.

Well, in the face of the Dutch issue on Chile, Argentina has not expressed any opinions so far, which already explains something.

Hehe, if that's the case, then don't blame me.

Argentina is currently the leader of the Netherlands' allies in South America. If it does not become a model of friendship with the Netherlands, there will be no need for its existence. Similarly, there is no need for the old guy Mitre to sit above the president.
Chapter completed!