Chapter 118

At this moment, many British people were first stunned, and then full of surprises. Even the most calm Viscount Palmerston and the Queen of England were full of gratitude to William IV of the Netherlands at this moment.

Britain's face is finally saved.

With the departure of almost all of the Dutch in Natransva and the Orange Free State, Britain will sweep the Zulu Kingdom.

At that time, the United Kingdom vacated 100,000 troops. Will the situation in Africa still be quiet?

At this moment, the leaders of European countries are secretly scolding the Netherlands. In this way, the Netherlands actually helped the United Kingdom.

Because the 100,000 British troops can finally get out of the predicament in South Africa, the colonies of various countries in Africa will face a strong opponent. Those countries that have not yet started to participate, such as the United States, the powerhouse in North America, and Argentina, the powerhouse in South America, are dissatisfied with the Netherlands. Fan action.

But what they didn't know was that, in fact, it was all related to a meeting two days ago.

.....

July 24, 1862, London.

When Robert Cecil heard Mike Davies' words, he froze for a while. Oops, he looked at the British ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in front of him. He knew that this person absolutely understood the tension in the UK. He looked a little nervously. Russell, the British Foreign Secretary, who was calm next to him, admired him in his heart.

As expected of a prime minister.

He is now an assistant to Foreign Secretary Russell. This time he was summoned by Russell, the foreign secretary, at the British Foreign Office. It was the Dutch ambassador Mike Davies.

I saw Russell stay half-paid before saying, "Hey, Davis, although our two countries have not been happy recently, I have to say that you are going too far, my God, so many armed men are in South Africa. , what are you trying to do? Except for your Dutch people, the rest only occupies about 20% of the population. The Dutch must leave South Africa, and we ask them to leave immediately."

Davis tilted his head and stared at Russell. This was a very rude move. Even Robert next to him felt a little hair in his heart. Russell's remarks just now were considered polite in terms of his character. People's identities are not equal. But what does the appearance of the Dutch ambassador in front of him mean?

Davis smiled dumbly: "Secretary Russell, you are very good, only you thought of asking the Netherlands to help, I don't think other people understand the benefits of doing so, you can call me today, obviously you have a comprehensive plan. , We are all smart people, I think it's better to cancel this meeting as soon as possible, so as not to delay everyone's official business."

What a delay in everyone's official business!

Robert felt a strange feeling in his heart.

This Dutch ambassador is bold enough, and likes to communicate with people in a direct and domineering way, often hitting the key points unexpectedly. As it is now, he clearly knows that Minister Russell will not let him leave easily, so to speak, he has seized the dominant position of the right to speak.

Russell was still expressionless, but in his heart he felt helpless for the other party's difficulty. The two people are twice the age, but they negotiated to become opponents. This old and young confrontation sparked a spark.

But it is anachronistic for present-day England, and even more precisely, for the Whigs and for him.

In fact, if it was in his early years, he would have been red-faced, because the lessons from South Africa this time were a lifetime shame for him and Viscount Palmerston, otherwise he and Viscount Palmerston would not choose to The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is here.

The situation in Britain is now turbulent, with the Tories peering at the weakness of the Whigs. Had it not been for the firm support of Queen Victoria, unknown to Palmerston's cabinet, he would have been at least removed as foreign secretary because Britain had failed so badly in South Africa.

There are not a few people who even ask them to step down.

The current situation has been temporarily stabilized due to the Queen's support, and the Tories did not dare to attack at this time, for fear of offending the Queen.

So this window period is his opportunity.

The purpose of Davis's reiteration is to provoke him, and he is naturally very clear, "I said Davis, you know, the British Navy has not detracted from it at all, and it still sails around the world unimpeded."

Counter Threat Me!

Britain's naval strength in the world is superior. If the Netherlands is blocked in the Atlantic Ocean, the Netherlands will enter a dangerous situation when it goes south to support the colonies.

"Secretary Russell, you know, the Netherlands has allies Prussia and the French Empire" Davis pulled out the two allies of the three-nation agreement.

Russell smiled slightly, but it made Davis feel the sharpness of his eyes, and the content of his words was even more thorny and attacked him.

"France? Actually, I had summoned the ambassador of the French Empire to the UK before you, and we had a good talk. As for another ally of the Netherlands, Prussia, Davis, you know, Princess Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia, and Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia. The crown princes are very pro-British, so Prussia is a potential ally of Britain."

It is resolved in the positive direction, there is no way!

"The chancellor must have got one thing wrong, and that is that the Prussians need me more than we need them, just as the British support Austria now, and they need us to support their leadership in the German Confederation."

Russell was stunned for a moment, then calmly said: "Ambassador Davis, you should know that Britain can actually ease its relationship with France more,"

"But in that case, the United Kingdom will have to pay a big price. You must know that His Majesty Napoleon III is not a petty lord, but a wise majesty with great talent. I don't think he is willing to be controlled by others. the lord"

Hearing this, Russell said another difficult sentence in his heart, and then laughed and scolded: "Ambassador Davis, you don't know, since the Netherlands and Britain exchanged those two territories, Her Majesty the Queen has been dissatisfied with you William IV all day long. World chess high school, lost to your back move in Belgium, I have to say, your young His Majesty William IV is a genius. He even thought that when Belgium was divided with France and Prussia, there was no greed. The original situation was almost balanced. As the Netherlands harvested two Belgian provinces and France harvested three Belgian provinces, it was originally just an advantage in numbers, expanding the territorial area, and the Dutch language was also larger than the French language.

Even in the Belgian general election, an unpopular figure, Danetang, appeared in the end, and Beit was almost no suspense as the speaker of this year's parliament.

As a result, the Netherlands almost outflanked the Belgian rights. You say, at this time, the Queen will give a good face to William IV of the Netherlands? After all, the Belgian King Leopold II, who is now the Netherlands overhead, is the Queen's cousin. It is because of this that the Queen complains that she really regrets letting Holland White take so much advantage this time. "

Davis laughed, diluting Russell's use of the Queen's pressure on Davis, saying: "Minister Russell, now it's not a question of who takes advantage, but the UK wants the Netherlands to go to South Africa, and take those Dutch They were taken away from South Africa, but how will these people survive after they leave, and where will they end up?"

"The size of the Netherlands"

"That's different, Minister Russell, you know, the Netherlands also needs compensation, and these ethnic groups are also victims. After all, you were the ones who drove their land to the north, so it caused the subsequent development of the founding of the country. The UK should be fully responsible, and we in the Netherlands are the victims."

Robert saw that the two people were fighting, which was difficult to touch and imagine in his previous foreign policy writing.

That's just talk on paper, it's a live-fire drill with real knives and real guns. In the past few days, he has learned a lot.

This Dutch ambassador named Davies is really difficult to deal with.

But Russell is not a casual person either.

"The Netherlands is naturally a victim. After all, in the East Indies, the population of the Netherlands is too small, which makes it difficult to control and often encounter the impact of the indigenous people there. Therefore, we think that you have migrated people there, 40,000 to 500,000 people. No more, no less, add to the population of the East Indies, and the Netherlands will have nearly a million people there. Then there will be no more baskets."

Are you so kind and thoughtful for us?

Certainly uneasy.

"Of course, no immigration, we do rule there, just like you are in Malaya now"

Russell said directly: "Ambassador Davis, I think the relationship between the Netherlands and the UK can be closer, what do you think?"

Davies heard the words, nodded, and said; "I have always thought that the UK and we are very close partners."

"No, I think it is more appropriate for the Netherlands to be an ally of the United Kingdom." Russell laughed: "The Netherlands and we were once the same king, just as we and Hanover were more than 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the constitution of Hanover stipulates that the king is not passed on from male to male. Female, otherwise Queen Victoria will take over there, and it will be a good thing for the two countries to believe that they love each other and become neighbors."

What the hell!

This was forced and warned him in disguise.

The Kingdom of Hanover next to the Netherlands is a close friend of the British blood. Be careful that the Netherlands is attacked by the British at sea and the Kingdom of Hanover on land.

"Secretary Russell, you know, the Netherlands is famous for its peace-loving world, and the Netherlands doesn't want to lead to war."

Who will believe it!

Russell: "Then what can the Netherlands do to help Britain be at peace?"

coming!

The topic is here!

Robert looked at Davies nervously~www.mtlnovel.com~ because now the ball is at the feet of the ambassador, he just doesn't know what the Netherlands will want.

Davis was surprised to see that Russell was so direct, but his reaction was quick.

He asked back: "How can the UK make up for our losses? After all, as Minister Russell said just now, if our people are evacuated, what if France and Prussia are dissatisfied with the Netherlands? These losses should also be counted. Come on, let's make up for the loss that the Netherlands may have lost as a result of losing allies."

Davis' remarks seem to be true or false. Since Russell has invited him to show up, it is impossible to always brush the ball and not get into the main topic. It is better to put things on the surface. I believe that based on this, the Netherlands will not Will turn against the British, and even focus on practicality and the actual Dutch character, they have already figured it out, and since this is the case, then he will start with this, which is a good start.

"The Netherlands may lose the trust of its allies?" Russell smiled bitterly, and Robert was also in a daze. Is there anyone who is more capable of nonsense?