Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 699 Will Frederick III of the German Empire compromise in the future?

Melbourne, inside the Royal Palace of the Netherlands

William IV personally received the visiting Crown Prince Friedrich of the German Empire.

After excluding irrelevant people, the two met alone.

After the two sat down, William IV joked: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Queen Victoria have many children. Although one died early in life, there are still 7 children. It can be said that it makes up for the fact that His Majesty William I only has two children." It’s a pity that the royal family has so few bloodlines.”

Crown Prince Frederick looked at William IV with a half-smile and counterattacked: "Your Majesty is also very capable. Queen Alexandra gave birth to four children for Your Majesty. The Queen is only 34 years old and is still here." It’s a good age to have children, but Your Majesty may only have one child less than me now, so I have nothing to be complacent about.”

William IV was stunned for a moment, and then glared at the other party with a dumbfounded look. It was obvious that the guy in front of him had counterattacked and went to Greece.
So, he changed the subject and said with a wry smile: "Alexandra has no objection to giving birth to five children, but she is currently focusing on the education of those four guys. She seems to feel that there is a conflict in time. By the way, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has gained a lot from this trip to Paraguay in South America."

"Although it's good, it's still a bit unpleasant to have a tail following you."

Crown Prince Frederick was naturally not ignorant, so he changed the subject following William IV's words.

"Come on, you, the German Empire, are just trying to get an advantage. Napoleon III of the French Empire was captured by you in 1870 and became a prisoner. After that, you even gave up two large pieces of territory in the east to you, and you are raking in all the money. Yes, he supported the establishment of the Third French Republic in southern France, which almost split the French Empire into two."

William IV was greatly surprised and said: "By doing this, Napoleon III, who returned home, suddenly lost the basis for revenge against the German Empire and lost most of it. Even more than that, in order to defend the south, it was necessary to restore the general territory and population. More than half of the army above is needed to defend the Third French Republic in the south."

He raised his head and said in admiration: "I have to say that your Majesty and Prime Minister Bismarck hit the snake seven inches at once, grabbing the vital part of Napoleon III's testicles and making him unable to move."

Crown Prince Frederick showed a more confident smile after hearing this, but he said modestly: "The Kingdom of the Netherlands has developed rapidly after 1870, especially in the Far East. Economically, it is nothing compared to the Dutch territories in Europe. Two, if we really want to say something different, it is that the population here is larger, the people's territory is wider, and the development potential is even greater.

And looking at the series of developments in the Far East deployed by His Majesty, especially the development here on the Australian continent, almost all high technologies are currently being developed here, and industrial products were first born here.

At present, the latest military warships and the latest submarines of the Netherlands have been launched here, and all the big companies and nobles have taken root here. All of this has fully proved His Majesty's far-sighted policy."

He mocked himself and said: "Our German Empire is currently surrounded by people on the European continent, being watched closely every time we move. It's very uncomfortable."

"Perhaps the so-called Paraguay is a new hope for the German Empire?"

Ignoring Crown Prince Frederick's alarmed look, William IV said very "frankly": "The German Empire obtained French Guiana from the Second French Empire in 1870 and officially settled in South America. I used to I don’t quite understand why Prime Minister Bismarck and His Majesty William I, who are thousands of miles away, are so partial to French Guiana. With the influx of people from the German Empire to Uruguay and Paraguay in recent years, William IV chuckled and said: "It turns out that Germany I became interested in South America as early as 1870, and with the Crown Prince’s trip to Paraguay, I am even more certain of this judgment.”

He looked at Crown Prince Frederick and said without harm: "In fact, the Netherlands also supports Germany in exerting greater influence in South America."

Crown Prince Frederick was shocked when he heard this. He understood that William IV was telling him the "truth of speculation", but at the same time he was also asking him for conditions for Dutch support.

I saw Crown Prince Frederick saying with an extremely serious face:
"Currently, the Liberal Party dominates the Senate and the House of Representatives in the Netherlands. Even now, the Liberal Party will still be the largest party in the Netherlands in terms of votes. However, if the Socialist Party chooses to join forces with the Christian Party, the two parties are likely to be in the Netherlands. In the national election that will last from December 12th to December 10th, not only will the House of Representatives and the Senate be won, but the Liberal Party will even lose the Prime Minister directly in one fell swoop.

Therefore, in the next month or so, the Liberal government will inevitably be tougher on the United Kingdom, and Chile and Argentina will become the main battlefields.

The German Empire must think about how to compete with Britain in South America with the Netherlands while maintaining peaceful relations with Britain in Europe."

William IV continued to wait for the other party to continue unmoved. Obviously, Crown Prince Frederick's so-called German position did not seem to matter to him at all.

If there are people around now, they will see the unbearable disadvantage on the face of Crown Prince Friedrich of the German Empire, who was born in 1831, when he faced King William IV of the Netherlands, who was born in 1840.

Obviously, as the conversation progressed, William IV slowly suppressed Crown Prince Frederick and began to take the initiative in the talks.

Crown Prince Frederick naturally knew his situation, but there was nothing he could do about it. The German Empire had a relatively shallow foundation in South America. Compared with the Dutch allies, which occupied one-third of the South American territory (plus two-fifths of Argentina) Germany needs the support of the Netherlands more urgently than Germany.Of course, his visit to Melbourne this time was the opportunity for Bismarck to see a flaw in the Dutch alliance circle in South America, so he visited Melbourne to deepen the friendship between the two countries. It would be better to say that his visit was to pay homage to William IV. Provide a lure.

This bait was to let the Netherlands see that when facing Britain, the Netherlands needed a strong ally, and the German Empire could provide this service.

He understands, and he also knows that William IV naturally understands.

So he said: "Paraguay is currently proposing to form a reliable alliance with the German Empire. By then, the relationship between Paraguay and Argentina will not be very good, and we are hesitating."

"Why are you hesitating?" William IV asked as if he was following the rod.

Crown Prince Frederick said: "Your Majesty also knows that Paraguay is surrounded by seas. If the German Empire needs to enter Paraguay, it will need to cross its neighboring countries, and Uruguay is wary of Paraguay. Brazil and the Argentina’s secret operations are spread all over the country. Any trouble can’t be hidden from the other side.”

(End of this chapter)