On the third day after the People's Warship attacked again, Prince Heinrich of Germany, who had been living in Qingdao, conveyed to the East China Government that the Dutch Government requested Germany to intervene between the East China Government and the Netherlands, and that it was willing to accept the East China Government's demand for compensation and to hold peace talks with the East China Government alone.

It turned out that after the East China Government announced its countermeasures, the United States, which had high hopes from the five countries, only made a verbal protest to the East China Government, but did not take any substantive action, and this also greatly disappointed the five countries; although Britain and France persuaded the United States to take more drastic action to exert pressure on the East China Government, they were politely denied by the United States, because after all, the United States did not want to be used as a gun by Britain and France.

Of course, Britain and France can still hold on, and Japan and Russia can wait and see for a while, only the Netherlands can't hold its breath, after all, among the five countries, only the Netherlands has the weakest national strength and the lowest bearing capacity, and the countermeasures of the East China government, but it is clearly mentioned that it will attack Java, which is a loss that the Netherlands can not bear anyway, so the Dutch government has also continuously contacted Britain and France, hoping that Britain and France can come up with an effective response plan to deal with the countermeasures of the East China government.

But now Britain and France are still with their own bags, and they really can't come up with any effective response plan, so they can only persuade the Netherlands not to worry, the East China government is just bluffing, and they are now exhausted, and it is impossible to send a fleet to attack Java, as long as it lasts a few more months, the East China government will automatically collapse, and then the five countries will win without a fight.

However, although the Netherlands is a small country, it is a European country after all, and it is impossible for a politically naïve country to gain a foothold in this land full of wars and strife, not to mention that the ancestors of the Dutch are also broad, 200 years ago, but the famous sea coachman, once competed with Britain for the supremacy of the sea, what kind of conspiracy and conspiracy methods have also played a lot. It's not easy to be fooled easily.

In the midst of the inactive attitude of Britain and France, the Dutch government realized that it could not leave its fate entirely to Britain and France, and that it had to find another way forward for itself. At this time, some people in the Dutch government proposed that Germany should be asked to mediate between the Dutch and East China governments.

Although Germany took the initiative to ask for mediation last time, but the Netherlands politely declined, after all, it did not say anything to death, and there were also quite a few people in the Dutch government who supported the abandonment of Britain and France and the mediation of Germany, because they believed that Germany had a close relationship with the East China government, and there was still a great certainty of success in mediation. Since it was the East China Government that announced its countermeasures, and the British and French had a perfunctory attitude, some people even thought that if Britain and France had not followed Britain and France all the way to the black, they might have succeeded in negotiating with the East China Government now, and it would have been necessary to wait until now. Therefore, it is also feasible to ask Germany to intervene, and of course this is the only way out for the Netherlands now. Of course, this can also put pressure on Britain and France, and if you are still perfunctory, then the Netherlands will have to go to Germany.

So the Netherlands through its ambassador to Germany to Germany to mediate, that know this time Germany is on the score, Prime Minister Billow to the Dutch ambassador said that although Germany wants to help the Netherlands, but at this time, there is nothing to do, after all, the East China government's words have been released, although Germany and the East China government have had some cooperation, but there is not too deep friendship, it is difficult to persuade it to take back, and the East China government may not accept Germany's mediation, so please ask the Netherlands to find other countries to help, Germany is really helpless.

However, although Germany said that it could not do the work of mediation, there were also people in the Dutch government who understood that Germany was putting on a show and that it was nothing more than asking the Netherlands to come up with some benefits, and in addition, the Netherlands hoped that Germany would mediate.

If the Netherlands really asked Germany to mediate, not only would Britain and France lose their faces, but also there would be a split within the five-nation alliance of the expeditionary force, which would have a huge impact on both Britain and France, because now the British and French governments are under tremendous pressure. Therefore, Britain and France also expressed their concerns to the Netherlands through their ambassadors to the Netherlands, and advised the Netherlands not to ask Germany for mediation, but in the face of the Dutch government's plan to deal with the countermeasures of the East China government, Britain and France still could not come up with it, or the East China government was intimidating, would not attack Java, and the East China government would collapse if it waited patiently. But this rhetoric clearly does not convince the Netherlands.

At this moment, the fleet of the East China government attacked again, and the target was pointed at Java, which became the last straw that pressed the camel. The Dutch government also knew that it could not be delayed any longer, otherwise it would be too late for Java to be occupied by the East China government. So, Dutch Prime Minister Theo de Mestre personally sent a telegram to Britain and France, hoping that Britain would send a few warships from the Singapore base, and France would be able to support some of its forces from the colonies of Indochina to jointly defend Java, but Britain and France refused.

In fact, this was the last test of the Netherlands, and the results showed that it was impossible for Britain and France to help the Netherlands resist the attack of the East China government, and it was also for the politicians in the Dutch government who still believed in Britain and France to wake up completely, so Dutch Prime Minister Theo de Mestre immediately visited Germany, and held talks with German Prime Minister Billow, and finally determined that the Netherlands would take Madura Island in the northeast of Java Island, and the southern peninsula of Sulawesi, a total of about 24,000 square kilometers, was transferred to Germany as a thank you for German mediation, and agreed to pay reparations to the East China government, and even to transfer part of the colony, as a condition for negotiations, the Dutch goal was also very simple, as long as Java could be kept.

Germany was very satisfied with this reward, although the area obtained was not large, but it was a regain of a foothold in the Asian region, and the southern peninsula of Madura Island and Sulawesi Island were located on the coast of the Java Sea, and the geographical location was quite good, which greatly promoted the expansion of Germany's sphere of influence in Asia.

This is exactly what the East China government has been waiting for, so it also accepted the mediation of Germany and held peace talks with the Netherlands, and the venue of the negotiations was set in Qingdao.

The Dutch government immediately proposed that since the two sides had decided to hold talks, the East China government should cancel its attack on Java and withdraw its fleet as a sign of good faith. However, this request was rejected by the East China government, saying that the fleet would not be withdrawn until negotiations were completed, and that the military operation against Java would continue as usual, and that the military operation would not be stopped until the two sides could reach a peace agreement before the fleet reached Java. Whether the fleet docks in Java depends on the content of the contract between the two parties, or the fleet may dock in Java to fulfill the content of the contract.

Of course, the Dutch government knows that this is the East China government is exerting pressure on itself, and the fleet will arrive in Java, that is, ten or twenty days, and if the Netherlands wants to keep Java, it must ensure the success of the negotiations during this time, but this is bound to give up a lot of interests to the East China government, but now the Netherlands has no capital to say no, and the mediator Germany also advised the Netherlands not to waste time on these details, start negotiations as soon as possible, and strive to reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, bite the head, and negotiate the negotiations.

Due to the urgency of time, the Dutch government appointed Bellas, the minister to the Qing court, as the negotiator, Koman, the former consul in Qingdao, as the deputy representative, and the East China government was represented by Li Sanjie, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Sure enough, at the very beginning of the negotiations, the East China government set extremely harsh conditions, demanding that the Netherlands pay 30 million pounds in compensation, cede the Dutch colonial part of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and implement Chinese autonomy in Java, and the proportion of Chinese officials in the Java colonial government should be increased to half, and at the same time, the East China government should enjoy the most favored nation treatment in Java and reduce all tariffs.

Of course, the Dutch government cannot accept such conditions, because according to the conditions set by the East China government, the Netherlands only has the sovereignty of Java on the surface, but in fact it is completely hollowed out by the East China government. Of course, the Dutch are also familiar with the rules of negotiation, which is nothing more than asking for a sky-high price, paying back the money on the spot, leaving room for concessions, and finally achieving the real goal they expected. It's just that I don't have much time to stay in the Netherlands now, and I don't have time to bargain slowly with the East China government one by one.

However, no matter how difficult the negotiations were, they still had to continue, so the Dutch government asked Bellas, Koeman, and Li Sanjie to discuss article by article, bargaining little by little, and talking about it every day in the evening, and on the other hand, it asked Germany to come forward and help the Netherlands speak, hoping that the East China government would make concessions.

The negotiations lasted for seven consecutive days, and under the soft and hard bubbles of the Dutch negotiators, the German countries also symbolically persuaded them, so the East China government also made certain concessions, reducing the compensation from 30 million pounds sterling to 10 million pounds; the ceded area was only the part of the Dutch colony on Kalimantan Island, and Sulawesi was abandoned; the Chinese autonomy in Java was implemented and the Chinese autonomous region was demarcated instead; the proportion of Chinese officials in the Java colonial government continued [Java Treaty] Otherwise, other treatments, such as most-favored-nation treatment and tariff reductions and exemptions, will also be waived, and only certain preferential treatment needs to be given to the East China government.