On January 3, 1689, the day after the glorious surrender of the German mercenaries in Nijmegen, William III, Prince of Orange, who had just finished his visit to Westminster Abbey, received the latest news from across the sea in his carriage.

The most important of the news was undoubtedly the joint statement issued by the three states of parliament in The Hague. Because the Estates-General had taken over power, the navy had been forbidden to leave the port, and the merchant ships to and from England had been searched closely, so the news was delayed for several days, and finally arrived in London by an armed merchant ship loyal to the House of Orange - the ship was delayed for several days to wait for the cargo, so that the news was not delivered to William III until about ten days later, and by this time there were already sporadic rumours of the Dutch incident in the streets of London, which was also drunk.

William III read the message very quickly, then crumpled the letter into a ball, and the expression on his face distorted for a long time before finally calming down. To be honest, what happened in the United Province gave him a great shock! Although he expected that with the help of the heretics on the East Coast, the gang of the Estates-General would definitely set off a huge wave in the country, but what he did not expect was that the energy of this monstrous wave was so great that it overturned the ship he left behind in the Netherlands, which was far beyond his realization.

Originally, Wilhelm III thought that there were still many officers in the army who had finally reached out to his family, and the 20,000 German mercenaries would also play a role in stabilizing the morale of the army at a critical moment. When he was done dealing with the affairs of London, he returned to the United Province again, and used his popularity and all kinds of secret hands to turn the current slightly unfavorable situation around.

But who would have thought that Van Boiningen, the speaker of the Estates-General, would be so decisive and directly control the parliamentarians of the seven provinces through both soft and hard hands, so that the resolution on the removal of himself from the ruling position of the United Province could be passed, and he was completely pushed into a deeper abyss. If that's the case, then that's fine, they still have a way to slowly find an opportunity, but they actually brought in a lot of mercenaries from Switzerland, South Netherlands and other places under the instigation of the heretics on the east coast, coupled with the cooperation of the damned mercenaries on the east coast, they actually controlled the situation in the two provinces of Holland and Zeeland, and then used the resources of the two richest provinces to recruit officials and troops from other provinces, and completely established the victory.

There is no doubt that the republicans will not be able to play this kind of maneuver. Since the DeWitt brothers stepped down and died in their homeland, the Republicans have lacked hardliners and have been known for their weakness. They may have been good at economics, trade, and political intrigues, but they had no achievements in the military field and lacked relevant talents, so William III took them with some contempt.

Now the facts have given him a resounding slap in the face. The republicans were not only politically successful, but also militarily through a dizzying array of military maneuvers. They first took control of the army around The Hague (which was honestly not difficult), and then took over the Breda fortress, gaining a large amount of weapons and ammunition and the support of local soldiers.

Of course, things can be salvaged at this point, and if William III adjusts his deployment and responds correctly, he should be able to salvage the situation. But he should never have left the United Provinces at this time and went to England to compete for the throne. This act, which was considered by many to be almost a "betrayal", was naturally cited by the republicans, which further damaged the reputation of William III. If you combine this with the pamphlets that were widely distributed by the Republicans across the country a while ago, and the misappropriation scandal that broke out not long ago, William III's reputation has really fallen to an all-time low.

At this time, the republicans will take advantage of the situation and fight with all their might, take advantage of the righteous name of the central authorities, and use money to open the way, so it will naturally not be difficult to absorb a large number of troops for their own use. Moreover, they were also quite sober, and they also sent many envoys to the German region quickly, scattered countless money, promised countless conditions, and successfully disintegrated some German princes who originally supported Wilhelm III, successfully stabilized the external environment, and snuffed out the risk of foreign armed intervention.

It can be said that things have come to this point, William III is gone, and the suspense that remains is how long the supporters of the Orange faction can hold out, and whether a civil war will break out in the Netherlands. If a civil war breaks out, although it is harmful to the country, it is not necessarily a bad thing for the Prince of Orange himself, because it means that he still has a chance to turn the tables. But Van Boiningen, at the strong suggestion of intelligence officers on the east coast, made a quick decision, signed more than a dozen orders in one day, and mobilized the largest number of troops to encircle Nijmegen as quickly as possible. Intelligence officials on the East Coast believed that the more decisive and faster the action at this time, the easier it would be to minimize the risk of civil war. If, as they originally envisioned, they bargained with the provinces of Friesland and Groningen, things would inevitably become out of control over time.

And the final results also proved that the East Coast intelligence officers did not analyze it well at all. The German mercenaries in Nijmegen chose to compromise under strong pressure, surrendered honorably, and dispersed with severance pay. If they had been given enough time for the Orange faction to raise enough money and contact more external connections, it might well have been a different story.

So, William III now hated the people of the East Coast, who sabotaged his plans and made him swallow a grain of rat poop on the festive day of his ascension to the throne. The position of the United Provinces, although not as good as the throne of England, is also one of the most sought-after thrones in the whole of Europe. But now that he has lost it, how can this not make William III angry!

William III felt that his anger had become somewhat irrepressible. He almost wanted to return to the United Provinces in desperation, and then gather the old ministries who had more or less betrayed him—in his opinion, not coming forward at the critical moment, and remaining silent—to betray them—and to ask them what they really thought! How can you let the republicans snatch power away from the nonsense literati!

However, William III was also a reasonable man, and after his anger had subsided, he had reimagined the situation ideally. There must be a large number of people in the United Province who support themselves, there is no doubt about this, but they have chosen to remain silent in the face of the general situation, and have chosen to protect themselves wisely, and have not resolutely stood up for the interests of the Orange family. If, under the right circumstances, they return to the United Provinces, they may not have jumped out and become their wings again.

It's just that this needs an opportunity, and he hasn't found this opportunity yet. Thinking of this, even the Prince of Orange, who has been in the world for a long time, William III had to sigh and wait slowly.

On the same day, in the Dutch military camp outside Nijmegen, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun of the East Coast Army was also writing a letter to the plenipotentiary envoy Gao Wengang.

The German mercenaries in the city had already received two hundred thousand guilders worth of gold and silver coins urgently raised from nearby areas—it was amazing that the Dutch had been able to raise so much money overnight—as the first expenses for their dismissal. It can be seen that these mercenaries from Prussia, Saxony and the South Netherlands are in a good mood, discussing whether to buy some urgently needed supplies in the Netherlands and bring them back to their hometown in the countryside, and the whole barracks is filled with a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Isn't it for the sake of wealth that everyone's head is pinned to the waistband of their trousers and thousands of miles away from home to become mercenaries? Now that the Prince of Orange's people have been cut off from their source of funding, the so-called employment agreement has naturally been nullified. Fortunately, the new Dutch government is quite generous, and it is actually willing to pay them a severance pay equivalent to three months' military salary, so that they can return to their hometowns with weapons, which is really a good thing. There were even some German mercenary officers who asked if the new Dutch government would be willing to hire them, and they pledged their willingness to serve the new government. It's just that the Dutch are still a little jealous of them, and finally refused, which is very regrettable to many people.

Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun was not interested in these Germans, but the affairs of these people also reminded him of the importance of having an army that could be completely controlled and could not be easily bought by the enemy, especially for the new Dutch government in front of him. In the letter, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun suggested to Special Envoy Gao Wengang that he should take advantage of the opportunity of the Dutch army purge to help the Dutch republican government form a new army that is completely subordinate to them.

Officers of the new army should be promoted from among those who sympathize with and support the republic, even if they are of lower origin, but what they want now is loyalty, and a lower military quality will not affect the overall situation. The unreliable officer let him go home and pick up the child, and the unstable troops could be slowly dismantled in batches, and then the saved funds could be invested in the absolutely loyal troops. If you persist in this way for a few years, it should be able to achieve miraculous results, greatly reducing the influence of the Orange family in the army.

Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun believes that this matter is very urgent and must be handled as soon as possible. William III no longer seems to be harmful, but in the future, if the situation changes dramatically – such as in the present-day Low Countries of France – it is still possible that he will return to power in the Netherlands, because the people are in awe of his title of anti-French hero, and believe that he is the only one who can bring the Dutch people out of the quagmire of war, not the republican governments that will only get rid of the navy.

And speaking of the republicans and the navy, it is impossible not to mention the movements of the navy of the United Provinces today. Since the Hague Legions issued a joint statement to the nation, most of the navy has largely accepted the facts and announced that they will accept the leadership of the new government. Especially after William III took away most of the naval ships and officers loyal to him, the rest were either sympathetic to the republicans or neutralists, and the new government had no trouble controlling them.

The current Dutch Navy is only about seventy percent away from its peak, which makes people a little worried. However, given the Netherlands' deep seafaring tradition, strong financial strength, and large talent pool, it should be possible to regain peak strength.

It is reported that the new Dutch government has now officially invited the naval contingent on the east coast to leave Bruges and station in several major military ports in the United Provinces in order to better blockade the North Sea in response to a possible surprise attack by the British, although this is a bit unlikely. The East Coast Navy had agreed in principle to the Dutch's invitation, and they would work with the Dutch Navy for some time to closely monitor the movements of the English Navy (including some ships that followed William III to London) to prevent William III from jumping under the wall and counterattacking. You know, now can be said to be the most vulnerable moment for the new government, they need a little time to stabilize the floating hearts and minds and establish their own solid ruling order, so there must be no accidents at this time.

“…… There is a great complementarity between the United Provinces and our economy. Van Boiningen's new government intends to sign a series of procurement contracts and trade agreements with China, which is of great significance to the development of China's industry and commerce. Therefore, at this important juncture, it is especially necessary to pay attention to the counterattack of the reactionary forces of the Prince of Orange and shake the overall situation of the United Province. I suggest that 300 shrewd and capable soldiers from the Portuguese garrison and 10,000 able-bodied soldiers from the existing Dutch army could be selected to form a modern new army. The equipment and equipment of the Forces nouvelles can be transferred from the nearby Viana do Castelo base, and the matter of training into the army should be completed sooner rather than later. Once the new army is trained, it will be able to coerce the whole country, consolidate the situation, and stop the delusion of the restoration of the reactionary forces. Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun sat at his desk and wrote hard, only to see him continue to write: "It is advisable for the naval fleet to remain for more than six months to stabilize the situation in the North Sea and maintain free trade. The huge amount of military expenditure required should be solved by the new Dutch government's debt issuance, and at the same time, the navy's skills in long-distance navigation, search, and combat can also be exercised, which will be of great benefit to future development. ”

After writing the above, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun thought about it, and finally added some conjectures about the recent situation. He learned through various channels that the French were now ready to move again, and wanted to take advantage of the current turmoil in the Netherlands and England and the favorable situation to launch a war of aggression with the main purpose of annexing land, so as to achieve Louis XIV's goal of pushing France to the "natural border" (the so-called natural border, that is, the Alps, the Rhine, the sea, etc.).

According to the current route of the French hoarding grain, grass and war materials, Mao Jun initially judged that the direction of the French troops this time was the Rhine, which was probably inseparable from the urging of the Ottomans three times and twice. And once the French move their troops, the situation on the European continent will be more uncertain. At this time, it is all the more important for the people on the East Coast to stand with the new government of the United Provinces, which they have just made a big bet, to solve the internal or external problems they may face and protect their own interests.

Of course, this does not seem particularly urgent at the moment, because the French have only just begun their diplomatic preparations for the war, and it is probably some time before the actual war begins.