Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 859: The waves rise in the Mediterranean, and Germany panics

On January 1881, 1, when the British Ministry of Defense announced a Mediterranean fleet exercise in southern Greece, Greek Prime Minister Koumendouros held a summit with Dutch Prime Minister Linden that day. The two shook hands for more than 26 seconds and exchanged greetings. Such a long handshake was intended to show that the two sides How deep are the relations between the two countries?

In February, the Netherlands will hold a meeting of the Pacific Security Organization Prime Minister and President in Sydney. According to Dutch news, Prime Minister Linden has revealed to Kumundoulos that he will be invited to attend the expanded meeting of the Pacific Security Organization + partner countries.

Some analysts pointed out that both prime ministers have a reciprocal mentality and actively work to quickly deepen the Netherlands and Greece into the strongest allies.

Linden told a press conference: "We will launch the long-planned security dialogue between the Netherlands and Greece as soon as possible, and it is necessary to promote Greece's participation in the security cooperation framework to the Pacific and the Netherlands to step up its security involvement in the Mediterranean, and further Strengthening the Dutch-Greek Alliance and integrating Greece into the Dutch alliance system will increase Greece’s deterrence and response capabilities in the face of threats.”

Kumundoulos arrived at the Prime Minister's Office in Melbourne on January 1 to hold talks with Dutch Prime Minister Linden, and the two held a joint press conference afterwards.Although the two sides have not publicly issued an alliance declaration, they have always emphasized the importance of increasing alliance attributes in their respective communiqués.

Kumundoulos: "Greece and the Netherlands have agreed to step up cooperation in various fields such as Mediterranean security, economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and establish a 'Dutch-Greece Economic and Security Dialogue' mechanism. As for the UK's approach to naval exercises in southern Greece, I would like to say "What is clear is that the Netherlands and Greece agree that close collaboration between the Greek-Dutch alliance and cooperation between Greece and the Netherlands' allies around the world is crucial to countering the British naval threat, and we in Greece will actively cooperate."

Although the Netherlands has moved its capital to the Far East, the food in Europe has also changed a lot. Especially at Linden’s banquet that night, most of the dishes were Chinese dishes from the Far East. This surprised Kumunduros and also expressed his disapproval of the Dutch influence. Surprisingly localized.

But despite this, the media from both countries believe that Kumunduros and Linden can drink and have good conversations at the dinner table.

On the occasion of the summit between the two prime ministers, the Dutch Ministry of Commerce announced that it will invest a large amount of capital in the national fitness of Greece, and hopes to use Greece as a transit point. In the future, the Netherlands will purchase markets and raw material distribution centers for countries around the Balkan Peninsula and the Mediterranean.

This is the first time that the Netherlands has made such a major commitment to a country. The Netherlands' announcement this time indicates that Greece will become the Netherlands' largest economic ally in southern Europe in the future.Greece has therefore become the bridgehead for the Dutch economic 'invasion' in the region.

Greece can even rely on the capital of the Netherlands to get a great economic boost. Even the economy in southern Europe, which has always been backward, may not take a few years to catch up with Italy in the west, and even those traditional economies in the west. Strong country.

"Prime Minister Linden of the Netherlands said that he and Kumunduros have agreed to further develop bilateral relations. Kumunduros's trip also takes the biggest step towards the complete economic, political and military alliance between the two countries."

“Yes, from the Linden-Kumunduros Joint Declaration in which Prime Minister Linden positively commented on the Greek government’s plan to station Dutch troops in Albania, and stated that the Netherlands would provide all-round security assistance to Greece,

We saw that an alliance between Greece and the Netherlands was inevitable.

However, since William III inherited the Kingdom of Greece from the Grand Duke of Luxembourg many years ago, we should have expected this day. After all, there was no conflict between the father and son, William IV and William III. When William III made a request to us and tried his best to facilitate it, we I thought it would be like this.”

Kaiser Wilhelm I sighed.Moltke nodded, and then said: "Greek public opinion spoke highly of this Dutch-Greek Prime Minister's Summit, saying that it became the final version of Dutch-Greek relations and the most important milestone in Greece's foreign history. Greek public opinion believes that through Kumon During Prime Minister Duros's visit to the Netherlands, the two countries have achieved objective results in the fields of economic and security cooperation, as well as the enhancement of relations between the Netherlands and Greece."

Crown Prince Frederick said: "On the same day as the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and Greece met, the United Kingdom held a naval exercise in the Mediterranean. The target was the Kingdom of Greece. Many British guns were even aimed at many islands in Greece, giving the summit between the Netherlands and Greece Issues added”

Bismarck: "But this British exercise seems to be worth the huge backlash, doesn't it?"

William I continued to marvel: "In the eyes of some people in the Netherlands, Koumunduros is a pro-Dutch figure in the Kingdom of Greece. When he was a child, he lived with his father in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Koumunduros liked the Netherlands. He especially misses his childhood days in the Netherlands, so the Netherlands arranged for Prime Minister Lyndon to take him to the greenhouse tulip breeding site in Melbourne, where the two prime ministers had a 'second gathering'. Such a unique arrangement, to be honest, I'm so moved. The Dutch diplomatic etiquette is indeed the best."

Bismarck: "I noticed the strong strength of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs many years ago when Nicholas Pierson, the Dutch Ambassador to Prussia, was in office. Even the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to struggle with tasks like Nicholas Pierson. It took more than 20 years to become the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

It can be seen that the Netherlands has made great efforts in cultivating diplomatic experts.But our German Empire pays more attention to placing expectations on one person. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for us."

When Bismarck said this, he got back to the point: "Linden developed a personal relationship with Kumunduros. The former is a newcomer, and the latter has been in power in Greek politics for 20 years. This closer relationship will help to carry out future work, Your Majesty , I think this way of working should be vigorously promoted in Germany in the future.”

William I nodded and said: "Indeed, personal relationships can often make work closer. I agree."

Others will naturally not object.

Bismarck: "The relationship between Greece and the Netherlands has always been concerned about their surroundings. They only developed economic and political relations, but did not dare to tamper with the military. The main reason is that Greece is afraid of Italy in the west, the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the north, and the Ottoman Empire in the east. , the United Kingdom is also stationed in Egypt and other places in the south. However, with the provocation of the Netherlands in the British Isles, the United Kingdom is now foolishly testing the pressure on the Greek army in the Mediterranean. This is not an excuse for the Netherlands to let Greece put down its scruples and worries. Request Dutch military support?”

As Bismarck finished speaking, everyone's faces turned bad.

It was also because of Bismarck's words that they realized that it was really possible that Kumunduros's visit and the British British Isles siege exercise had been in the Dutch plan early on. If this was the case, what would Britain's actions against Greece be? Isn't it also part of the Netherlands' calculations? If that is the case, does that mean that the Netherlands also has a plan to respond to the reactions of other parties?
Is the German Empire also on the Dutch chessboard?

Even Crown Prince Frederick, who had always been nonchalant, lost his voice this time.

(End of this chapter)