Chapter 68

According to the results of the latest Belgian intelligence assessment provided by the British Empire, France is assisting the city of Mons in the French-southern French region of Belgium to build a local army in the town of Carnion, southwest of Mons, because the British intelligence agency discovered there , there are many large quantities of various French firearms and military uniforms provided by France, which are the military supplies used by the French regular army to train and perform tasks, so the evidence is conclusive.

In fact, the Belgian region was not only a place of conflict between various forces, but also a field of competition between major powers in Western Europe. After the Vienna Conference in 1815, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and even Prussia and Austria were all very interested in the Belgian Principality, which at that time belonged to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In particular, the Principality has always been the intersection of Catholicism and Protestantism in Christianity in the central coastal areas of Western Europe. Using it as an isolation buffer between the two major denominations of the North and the South, the Principality has become the Protestant Netherlands, Prussia, Sweden, Britain against Catholic France, Austria, Spain and other faiths are at the forefront of the confrontation.

Since it became the territory of the Netherlands in 1815, until 1830, the Netherlands was troubled by the historical grievances and grievances within the principality. The Netherlands itself is a country where Protestantism has the absolute upper hand, so the southern French area was also forced by the Vienna Agreement. Napoleon I was defeated by the mermaid and succumbed to the rule of the Netherlands.

It is precisely because of this that Brussels, the central point, has become the most chaotic place in Belgium, and British Prime Minister Palmerston, a newborn calf, is not afraid of tigers. It is in such a situation that he uses the diplomatic philosophy of balanced balance of power to combine vertical and horizontal, soft and hard. At the same time, the opinions of several parties were finally integrated, so that Leopold, the head of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family at the time, became the king of Belgium, and Leopold was also the fiancé of the recently deceased Queen of England, and his fiancée After her death, Victoria, who succeeded the British throne, was also the reason for his niece.

This led to the close concern of the United Kingdom and Belgium. It is even more beneficial to the newly established Belgium, and to contain the lost Netherlands and the ambitious France.

It is precisely because of this relationship that although the population distribution in Belgium is dominated by Dutch and French people, the two ethnic groups in Belgium do not dare to provoke the Belgian throne at will, for fear of attracting dissatisfaction from the British.

The Queen of England used to send members of the royal family to Brussels on a regular basis every year to show that her original intention to support Belgium remains unchanged.

Shows the Vehry.

Even in the face of Belgium's sometimes enforced domestic repression policy, the British government has taken it lightly. It can be seen that for the United Kingdom, Belgium's national interests are far more convincing than superficial fairness and justice.

But for a long time, the United Kingdom sold a large number of firearms to Brussels in order to prevent Belgium from needing to strengthen national control and because Belgium is more peaceful and stable. Therefore, both French and Dutch in Belgium are very helpless to Brussels and the United Kingdom.

In the past, France and the Netherlands were reluctant to offend the United Kingdom because of this, and chose to pretend not to know, or turn a blind eye.

However, as the turbulent situation in Belgium intensified in the past few years, the two major ethnic groups in Belgium began to be unwilling to be completely subject to the oppressive rule of Brussels, so their minds became active.

Various associations have been established one after another. For example, the Dutch began to establish the Dutch-language Alliance Development Association, which is used to assist the Dutch in solving various conflicts in Belgium. The results have been remarkable in the past few years. He is well-known in the ethnic circles.

There is also the Netherlands-Belgium Chamber of Commerce, which is a business club-style alliance established by top Belgian-Dutch businessmen.

His members include capitalists who account for more than 80% of the Dutch.

Influence is terrifying, and it has an influence function on almost every Dutch person and even Belgians.

The third is the Dutch Self-Rescue Alliance, which rose rapidly in 1859. It mainly protects the rights and interests of Dutch people in Belgium.

The fourth is the Belgian Firearms Lovers Association, a paramilitary armed organization that sells more than 70% of Belgium's firearms.

Whether it is the French-speaking area in the south or the Dutch-speaking area, they both love and hate this organization. It was established in 1858 and has occupied a large share of Belgium in just 4 years. Even the Belgian royal family is said to have had this effect. envy.

Some nobles even had the idea of ​​wanting to rob, but in the end they chose to give up this kind of idea, because this alliance is too strange and mysterious, even if Leopold I knew some insides, but he was forced to obtain the deep-rooted internal differences in Belgium. With the support of such forces, he chose to turn a blind eye.

In the same way, in France, what happened from the Dutch-speaking areas in the north, the French in the south also follow the same example, turning their attention to France in the south, without establishing a gun alliance, but Napoleon III of France is a big money With a wave, a large number of French-made rifles, revolvers and other light weapons quickly reached the hands of the French.

Especially recently, the situation in Belgium is unpredictable and unpredictable. Coupled with the intentional push of Napoleon III, people in the French-speaking region have sought assistance from the garrison in northern France, so that in the first two months of this year, France delivered several batches of firearms to them.

Due to the long-term cooperation between the two parties, even France began to assist the French in the French-speaking area to make firearms, in order to deal with the threat that the Dutch-speaking area has already built and completed the production chain.

However, it is precisely because of this that the huge movement between the two parties seems to have drawn dissatisfaction from Brussels, which is preparing to sanction relevant people in these two language areas.

It can be seen that Brussels has already discovered the seriousness of the problem. In particular, British intelligence showed that this time it was discovered that France had chosen to support the French in the south.

Thoroughly angered Leopold I, so although he did not directly choose to confront France and the Netherlands behind the two languages, he used this election as a medium to teach them a lesson. More confidence after meeting Queen Victoria and getting a positive answer.

What worries him is that, compared to Napoleon III in the French-speaking region, which is becoming more and more open, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is very low-key in terms of military support.

However, the cooperation between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the local government is actually more serious than that of France, and it has exceeded the bottom line of Leopold I.

Even if they didn't get approval, they reached an economic agreement between the local and the Netherlands, etc., which were selfishly granted and accepted, and they were already touching the authority of the king in Belgium.

This is a great shock to their royal family. If they are not handled properly, it is likely to reduce the royal family's prestige and even be marginalized.

By then, the Belgian royal family will be completely swept into the garbage heap of history.

He wanted to send troops directly to suppress these northern local governments, but he was afraid of causing more riots. He even wondered if William IV of the Netherlands would be looking at him with a mocking joke and murmuring sneer. Said: "Come on, come and arrest them and torture them for questioning."

Shaking his head, Leopold I got rid of this hateful thought.

But at the same time, he felt worried.

Don't look at the majesty of the British now, and European countries dare not offend the United Kingdom easily. It seems that the United Kingdom has completely secured its position as the first maritime hegemony, but who was Leopold I?

His achievements are also brilliant!

He was born in 1790 and is now 72 years old. He has experienced countless changes in various parts of Europe. Even a big man like Napoleon I was able to confront him without pressure when he was young.

The reason is that when he was 16 years old, Napoleon I admired his title of genius strategist, so he invited him to be his marshal,

It was a pity that he was rejected, because his father ruled the Duchy of Saxony. Coburg. Gotha was occupied by Napoleon I when he was 15 years old. After he inherited the duke in the same year, he directly rejected this invitation.

The situation in Britain today is no better than that of France in the Napoleonic period. At least in terms of strength, Britain only has an advantage in the sea.

Napoleon I, on the other hand, dominated the European continent in an all-round way, although he was completely defeated by the failure of attacking Moscow, Russia, and was finally liquidated by various countries.

But it is undeniable that Napoleon I achieved the ability to roll over countries in Europe.

With the rapid development of various countries in the European continent in recent years~www.mtlnovel.com~ especially the rise of Prussia, the influence of the United Kingdom in Hanover, Saxony and other principalities has declined sharply. After the opening of the fleet, the energy is even more focused on the Indian Ocean. It is no exaggeration for the British navy to dominate the world. The tonnage of the entire fleet is even more than a quarter of the 190,000 tons of the second-ranked France.

But this is the bright side. Which country doesn't have a hidden trump card?

As Britain's closest continental ally, the king of Belgium and the reason for the relationship with Queen Victoria's uncle. Leopold I even knew that the British naval tonnage had already begun to increase, not the 230,000 tons announced by the Amsterdam Safety Index Association, but 1.5 times that of France, about 280,000 tons, especially steam. On the ironclad battleships, not one or two ships were announced, but four terrifying ships, twice as many as those of France.

However, the tonnage has increased, but with the expansion of overseas colonies, the United Kingdom originally had only three major fleets, but now it has expanded to five major fleets.

There are only two fleets in the Atlantic Ocean, the Home Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet stationed in Canada.

In addition, the Central Sea Fleet is stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Indian Ocean Fleet in colonial India and the Australian Fleet in Sydney.

On average, with the exception of the local fleet of 80,000 tons, the tonnage of each of the other four fleets is controlled at around 50,000 tons.

It seems that its power is not diminished, but due to the great distance between each other, if there is a naval battle, will it be defeated by each person?

Leopold I wondered if the British people had thought about this. Perhaps in the hearts of the arrogant British people, no one dared to do anything to th