Chapter 335

September 2, 1867, when ElBaradei, the director-general of the International Red Cross with a Dutch background, met with the French Emperor Napoleon III and negotiated hard with Prime Minister Olivier, the French Empire was disgusted that the Dutch The Minister of Justice and President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Ross, visited various countries to win over countries to increase sanctions against the French Empire.

This made all countries stupefied to discover that the Netherlands actually ran a parallel policy of contact and pressure testing at the same time, and it was successful? This is simply too surprising.

When all countries look at the Netherlands, they can't help but become more solemn.

Obviously, the reason why the French Empire invaded the Kingdom of Siam this time is just a common thing for France to invade other countries for hundreds of thousands of years, not to mention that it is far away from Europe, the most economically developed and industrially advanced region in the world.

Compared with Mexico, which was withdrawn from the French Empire some time ago, the Kingdom of Siam should be very common to European countries in terms of economic value and geographical location. After all, the British Millician has been involved in the civil strife, not to mention a small country in the Far East. It's too different.

Such an invasion of a country should not have caused concern for European invasion.

But now the Netherlands has not only intervened in the invasion of the French Empire, but also launched a group attack mode, connecting a group of small and medium-sized countries to collectively test the French Empire, making the French Empire as uncomfortable as eating flies.

The British Empire, which has always been an offshore balancer in Europe, even took the opportunity to join the sanctions against the French Empire to make up for the fact that the United Kingdom has brought the French Empire closer to the UK's national strength due to foreign wars in recent years, and prevents the French Empire from challenging the UK's strongest country. status.

This made the Siamese invasion a situation of contention among European powers. As the initiator, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally only a medium-sized country. In this French-Siam invasion and anti-invasion war, it also launched an invisible war, and from the very beginning, it used the International Court of Justice in The Hague to complement its shortcomings. , resisted the French Empire, and once shocked European and American countries.

William IV and the Dutch government used the attack of the geese to make the mighty French Empire only parry.

In the South African war, the Netherlands made Britain suffer, and those Afrikaans made the French Empire fearful, so whether it was Napoleon III or other countries, even if they believed that if the French Empire went to war against the Netherlands in a rage, a pair of In one case, the final winner must be the French Empire, but considering the cost, I believe Napoleon III and others also believe that everyone in Paris will think that it is easy to win, and the Franco-Dutch War will be very tragic , and may even affect the future destiny of the French Empire.

After all, the United Kingdom, Prussia, Austria-Hungary and other "surrounded by powerful enemies, the war of the French Empire in Europe will be affected by the whole body, and the surrounding tiger and wolf divisions may not let any one replace them and take France away. Opportunity for the largest power in imperial Europe.

Therefore, under the circumstance that the French Empire could not attack by force, facing the literary attack of the Netherlands, Napoleon III and others could only see their moves in Paris.

This has also caused the current French Empire to fall into a difficult situation, and at the same time it has achieved the reputation of the Netherlands. One drop and one liter, the Netherlands' move to suppress the French Empire has fallen into the eyes of all countries. Regardless of the outcome, the international status of the Netherlands is already unknown. In my opinion, it has risen to the point where it can compete with the largest country in the European continent. Therefore, countries can't help but rank the Netherlands with the six major European countries, the British Empire, the French Empire, the Tsarist Russia Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Ottoman Empire.

The Netherlands has a population of 10 million, and the mainland of Europe is a fraction of that of all countries. Such an identity has reached the level of parity with major countries, making many small and medium-sized countries in Europe and the United States envious, and the Dutch are proud of wherever they go. .

Because of this, the Netherlands has officially entered the first step on the stage of competition among European powers. As for whether it can stand firm or not, it depends on the follow-up of William IV of the Netherlands and the Dutch government. action.

On September 10, 1867, the French Empire invaded the Kingdom of Siam. It has been almost nine and a half months since November 1866. The French Empire has established a firm foothold in eastern Cambodia. Shipei, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Longfa, etc. fell one after another.

The battlefield has been steadily advanced by the French Empire to the front lines of Ge Gong, Kampong Ching Yang, Kampong Tong and Shang Ding in the west of the central part.

And here, due to the complex mountain situation here, the French Empire was difficult to advance, so the pace began to slow down.

Obviously, the French Empire is not willing to lose too many troops here. Unlike most of Europe, which belongs to the plains, the terrain here and the relatively hot weather for a few months are enough to hinder the advance of many French troops. , which was torture for the French Empire.

Therefore, the war between the two countries began to enter a period of relaxation.

At this time, Ross, Minister of Justice of the Dutch government and President of the International Hague Court of Justice, visited Bangkok for the first time, and the French Empire suspended all attacks when Ross landed.

The moment Russell landed, he attracted the attention of the world. After all, the head of the International Court of Justice in The Hague has frequently appeared on the front pages of major European and American newspapers. Some good people even said that he has already landed in newspapers of various countries this year. He has waited more times than the Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck, and his influence in international diplomacy even overwhelmed the Dutch Foreign Minister Heisbet Von, who is in charge of foreign affairs in the Netherlands.

It has become a new flag of the Dutch diplomatic window.

King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam even sent the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn to personally hold a grand welcome event at the landing port in Bangkok, which shows how important the arrival of this world-class man is to the Kingdom of Siam. .

Even, the Minister of Justice, who is only a member of the Dutch cabinet, enjoyed a welcome ceremony at the level of the European cabinet prime minister. After all, Ross has another identity, which is more important to the Kingdom of Siam.

Rama IV revealed that the visit of the Dutch justice minister to the President of the International Court of Justice Ross in The Hague will be the highest-level Dutch official to visit the region since the outbreak of the war. Rama IV said that he will discuss with Ross the powerful advanced He also said that once the Dutch weapons and other European weapons to support the Siamese kingdom are available, if the training is in place, there will be an immediate counter-offensive.

From these words, it is not difficult to see that the members of the International Court of Justice in The Netherlands and The Hague appear to be preparing to provide the Kingdom of Siam with more important and advanced equipment and weapon systems. The United Kingdom even publicly stated that it would provide the Kingdom of Siam with unique British warhorses, and consider providing the Kingdom of Siam with guns used by British active troops, so that Bangkok can defend central Cambodia and Laos, and weaken the French Empire as much as possible.

When Rama IV met with Ross, he publicly expressed his hope that members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and other countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom would become the security guarantor of the Kingdom of Siam to ensure that the future security of the Kingdom of Siam would not be threatened again.

Rama IV also said that although he proposed several times before to negotiate with the French Empire to resolve the war, all of which were rejected by Paris. It seems that in Paris, negotiations would not help to end the conflict, but he still expressed his willingness to Ross to negotiate with the French Empire. Peace talks, but the premise is that the French Empire must withdraw from all the territories of the Kingdom of Siam, so that the two countries can be in long-term peace.

In this regard, Ross told Rama IV that countries that supported the Kingdom of Siam, including the Netherlands, were ready to assist the Kingdom of Siam in negotiating with the French Empire. Ross also said that countries, including members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the United Kingdom, It has been proposed to him in private that it will support the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Siam, and that the French Empire cannot occupy the territory of the Kingdom of Siam.

Rama IV said he discussed with Ross the difficult move to immediately evacuate civilians from areas occupied by the French Empire in eastern and central eastern Cambodia, asking for support from countries to help evacuate civilians.

Ross said he would test Paris to cooperate with this move by the Kingdom of Siam.

During the meeting between the two, the French Empire suspended its attacks, and the international community seemed to see a glimmer of peace.

Chulalongkorn, Crown Prince of Siam, said that after the French Empire had previously attempted to conquer the central region by land, in coordination with artillery shelling and large-scale invasions,

Then complete the breakthrough point that can expand the scope of entry. At that time, the French Empire is in the direction of breakthrough, and the west, south and north can be fully bloomed. Therefore, the central part will be the key to the Siam Kingdom. If it is lost, the Siam Kingdom will It may even lose the whole of Cambodia and southern Laos, so it is very important to the Kingdom of Siam and cannot be lost.

Chulalongkorn said that the Kingdom of Siam is currently defending the Tonle Sap Lake in Kampong Chhnyang, Bodhisattva and Kampong Tong, the largest lake in the Cambodian region of the Kingdom of Siam. this.

The Kingdom of Siam has deployed more than 50,000 troops in this area. As long as it is blocked here, the French Empire will face the tip of a needle and be stabbed into the entire eastern part of Cambodia, ready to fight back against the occupied areas in the east, such as the largest city Phnom Penh.

Rama IV told Ross that it was good that the French Empire had made some progress, but the Siamese kingdom continued to resist, especially in central Cambodia. He took out data to show that "the morale of the French Empire's army is low, and it has lost its spirit in the attack, which may affect the combat effectiveness of the French Empire."

Therefore, Rama IV told Ross that the Kingdom of Siam had confidence in the next counterattack war, and hoped that the member states of the International Court of Justice in The Hague represented by Ross would continue to give more support to the Kingdom of Siam.

Ross agreed, but implied that the Kingdom of Siam would be more cooperative with the Dutch diplomatic actions.

In this regard, Rama IV will naturally not object. The two represent the interests of the two countries, and tacitly began to prepare for tomorrow's grand joint press conference.