v3 Chapter 356： nordic alliance

"Take advantage?" Queen Victoria asked curiously. "Whose power? What's the use?"

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The 20-year-old Princess Louise replied confidently: "By borrowing the pressure of Prussia and the long-standing naval hegemony of the British Empire, the world's largest naval power, to form the trend of the Dutch navy catching up with the United Kingdom, In turn, it makes people feel like the Netherlands is reacting under duress.”

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Queen Victoria's heart moved, and she blurted out: "You mean, the Netherlands followed the trend and announced a naval tonnage that may be comparable to that of the United Kingdom. In the face of the current lag behind Prussia, it wants to complete its own sharp changes, but also disguised. Let the UK be dragged into it and test the UK? How dare he do this?"

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Princess Louise shook her head and said to her most admired mother, "William IV is as cunning as a fox. How can he know that he can't or dare not do anything that his mother thinks is impossible?"

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Queen Victoria sighed in her heart. If the marriage had been successful, perhaps the relationship between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom would not be as close or far as it is now.

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Recently, the initiative of the UK and the Netherlands seems to be in the hands of the Netherlands, which makes the Queen very uncomfortable. Since the war in South Africa, it seems that every time it faces the Netherlands, the UK will lose the first place it deserves. The advantages that a strong country has, will always fall into a disadvantage.

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Princess Louise didn't know what the Queen was thinking, she said: "Some time ago, the Netherlands and the French Empire had a diplomatic crisis between Britain and France because of the Kingdom of Siam. In the end, even driven by the Netherlands, the French Empire caused a lot of things that made Napoleon III touch the nose. Ash. And this time against Prussia, will William IV fail?"

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Princess Louise's suspicious eyes made Queen Victoria a little unhappy, so she mocked: "I admit that he is very smart, but don't forget, Prussia is Bismarck himself this time. At present, Prussia and the Netherlands are fighting, although the outside world It is said that Bismarck's opponent is the Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck, but do we really think so? Obviously, in the previous fight, the Netherlands lost and Prussia won."

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Princess Louise smiled: "I have a different opinion."

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Looking at Queen Victoria in surprise, she said: "Everything is cloudy at the moment, and the Netherlands does not seem to panic or maintain order between advancing and retreating, which means that the Netherlands still has some energy left. My Majesty, I I think William IV is hiding something, although I don't know his specific plan, but I'm sure he won't admit defeat, even if that person is Bismarck."

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"Oh, it seems that you have great confidence in William IV," Queen Victoria joked.

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"This is a kind of progressive instinct"

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"Shall we bet?" Queen Victoria asked.

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Louise said vigilantly as the princess: "What are you betting on?"

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Queen Victoria: "Since you have so much confidence in him, if you win, I will agree to a request from the Dutch royal family that William IV will take the place of his younger brother, Prince Frederick, now Crown Prince of Greece (1851, p. 17) marriage proposal"

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what!

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Princess Louise looked at Queen Victoria in astonishment.

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"Don't look at me like that, take a look at this letter, which came from Amsterdam a few days ago and was written by William IV himself. In the letter, he sincerely asked me to propose to you for his brother's marriage. , I've been hesitating these days. You know, the British people don't like marrying princesses abroad, let alone marrying the royal family.

However, the current situation in Europe has made the British executives very worried.

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And this letter from William IV made me even more hesitant. I just saw how 'friendly' you are to the Netherlands. So, I thought, why don't you make a bet on this? If I win, I will agree to the request made by the Dutch William IV. If I lose, I will refuse. Of course, if William IV had not married the Danish princess, the object of this proposal was him. I don't mind skipping this bet though. "

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Princess Louise's face was troubled.

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The face recalled the first meeting in Amsterdam a few years ago, the "interaction" between the two, Princess Louise was actually tempted at that time, but because Princess Alice and Princess Helena were the protagonists, and I was only 15 years old at the time, so I didn't have any other ideas.

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But as the power in her hands grew, her ambition grew slowly. Although she concealed it well, she knew that her mother had been watching her all the time. Therefore, she was unwilling to know that fate was difficult to grasp. , the United Kingdom, it is no longer suitable for me to stay.

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She couldn't help thinking of what William IV said to her a few years ago before he left. We will see each other again in the future.

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My heart is full of bitterness. Could it be that goodbye is the relationship between the eldest brother and the younger brother?

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Princess Louise quickly calmed down, "Since mother has decided, then I am willing to accept this bet."

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Queen Victoria was relieved, with a little reluctance. At this moment, she regretted it a little.

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Louise has been by her side for the past few years, and she has given her a lot of help. Even among his princesses, she does not admit that Louise is the most politically sensitive and has the best talent. Perhaps Just like what her husband said before his death, Louis misses himself the most. UU Reading

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Perhaps, it would be a good choice to leave the UK and go to the Netherlands or the Kingdom of Greece.

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Thinking of this, Queen Victoria's heart moved. Perhaps, if William IV really won Bismarck, the marriage of Prince Frederick and Louis would bring the relationship between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom closer and use the Netherlands to check and balance Prussia.

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. . . . . . . .

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On March 2, 1868, Denmark and Sweden formed a military and economic alliance with the Netherlands. The three countries reached a mutual defense agreement. When one country was attacked, the other two countries must help it face the invasion.

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This other country, needless to say, must be referring to the Kingdom of Prussia.

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Is there a more obvious hint than this?

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Karl XV of the Kingdom of Sweden announced that Sweden would send 5,000 troops to Amsterdam, 3,000 Danish troops and more than 10,000 Dutch troops for joint training. The military training will be maintained for one quarter.

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He said that before the fall, the armies of the three countries will be rotated to replace the same number of armies for the autumn joint military training.

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Sweden and Denmark in Northern Europe have obviously deepened their alliance with the Netherlands. From the military alliance to the current political and economic alliance, the outside world is very surprised.

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Berlin said it was certainly a threat to Prussia and Austria, but Austria-Hungary welcomed it and thought it would be a historic moment.

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