The complete destruction of the "Holstein" ship formation was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, abandoned all illusions and seriously considered a peaceful plan to end the war.

This is where the wrath of His Majesty William III originated, and the stubborn old king vowed to tear the vile Earl of Queensland to shreds and never let him take an inch of land belonging to the Kingdom of Holland.

Forget this kind of angry talk, don't take it seriously.

The wealthy Earl of Queensland has already formed two new infantry divisions in Australia, with more than 12,000 soldiers, and he is even building two framework divisions, the so-called Leopard Guards and Wolf Guards, which can be expanded into new divisions at any time as long as necessary.

Together with the militia of 100,000 men, its war potential cannot be underestimated.

After the Royal Dutch Task Force abandoned the blockade of the Moresby area, the Queensland side had sent nearly 2,000 key militiamen to the so-called Shangri-La Island, and the Third Garrison Regiment had swelled to a staggering 4,500 men after being rereplenished, and it was supported by four regiments of militia, and there was no shortage of ammunition and firepower.

In this case

The Dutch landing force has abandoned offensive operations in favor of offensive operations, and is making every effort to strengthen its current territory and prepare for a long and arduous battle.

The Earl of Queensland was not a soft persimmon that could be broken at a pinch, but he fought back against the Dutch landing force and brazenly invaded the capital of Borneo, Samarinda, burning the war into the hinterland of the Dutch East Indies, which made the Dutch mired in war and couldn't stop.

The Governor's Office of the Dutch East Indies was preparing to send the third landing crew and a large amount of equipment, an ambitious plan that almost died before it could be born.

After a series of crushing defeats, according to the current strength of the Royal Task Force, it is impossible to suppress the Combined Queensland Fleet, and it is impossible to ensure the safety of the landing ship group.

Without control of the sea, there will be no way to transport landing troops and supplies over long distances, and the heavy losses in the sea encounter off Jayapura cannot be repeated.

All of this has raised the voice of opposition to the war both inside and outside the government.

Lord Van Horn, the Prime Minister, returned to his office as Prime Minister, sat down in a chair and stretched out his legs, pinched his eyebrows with his hand, and said; "Miss Alex, please bring me a cup of strong coffee, unsweetened, thank you."

"Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Miss Alex, the secretary to the Prime Minister, had just gone out and turned around and came back to report in less than half a minute; "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer Smit and the Minister of the Colonial Ministry Grofoundries are here, they have important matters to report to you, do you arrange a separate meeting?"

"Oh...... God, there's no half a minute to relax, let them come along, and don't forget my coffee. ”

"Coffee will be there soon, Prime Minister."

The Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, had regained his spirits and had just smiled with a wisdom pearl on his face, when Chancellor of the Exchequer Smit and Minister of the Colonial Office Grofoundries came in one after the other, and the two men appeared to have quarreled at the door, with obvious anger on their faces.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, please forgive me for looking for you at this time, the kingdom's finances are already in great trouble, and it is all terrible, and I can't afford to maintain it anymore." Chancellor of the Exchequer Smit began to attack as soon as he entered.

"Sit down Smit, I believe that God has not abandoned the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and you can sit down Globalfoundries, there are some things we need to talk about." The Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, watched with a deep and calm voice and a light smile as the two important aides to the Cabinet sat down.

His words calmed the fluctuating emotions of the two ministers, and they sat down silently.

At this moment, Miss Alex, secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, brought a steaming cup of coffee, handed it first to the Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, and then to the two ministers, bowed slightly, stepped back, and closed the heavy oak door with her hand.

Lord Van Horn, the Prime Minister, took a sip of unsweetened bitter coffee, the bitter taste lingering in his mouth, which made his mind a little more active, and he paused and said; "So...... Which of the two of you will come first? ”

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, let me report first!" Chancellor of the Exchequer Smit put down the coffee cup in his hand, sighed slightly and said; "You know, the current cabinet has inherited a mess, the fiscal revenue has exceeded its expenditures over the years, the debt is high, the annual debt interest alone accounts for 30% of the fiscal revenue, the Aceh war that has lasted for 10 years is a heavy burden, the Boers in South Africa need support, and our colonies in Central America also need to suppress the indigenous rebellion......"

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

Lord Van Horn, the Prime Minister, interrupted Smit's fragmented thoughts with a few dry coughs, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer chattered like a long-standing resentful woman, and if he was allowed to continue, he would not be able to get to the point for two hours; "Smit, tell me about the point of coming to see me today."

"Oh...... I'm sorry Prime Minister, but please forgive me for nagging. ”

Schmidt didn't show any apologies on his face, everyone understands the truth that crying children have milk to eat, and a few days of mantra-like chanting will at least make those ministers who spend their revenues recklessly restrain a little, like the fools of the Colonial Minister and the Admiralty Minister.

What conditions are there at home, don't you have a little pressure in your heart?

All of them are fanatical warmongers, if a war is not over, there will be a next war, it will never end, and everything will be pulled into their own plates, the question is do you have the strength?

"I would like to say that the stupid war with the Queenslanders over a deserted island has caused a great loss of money to the Kingdom's finances, and the Dutch East Indies colony, which occupies one-third of the Kingdom's finances, has completely cut off its revenues, which has made the situation worse at home, with soaring prices, hardship for the people, and a huge hole in the cost of pensions and treatment for the death and death of more than 8,000 soldiers on the front, and the Ministry of Finance has been forced to borrow again from the hated Dutch merchants to pay for this urgent amount."

Chancellor Smit's heart was overflowing, and he began to count them one by one with his fingers; "The extravagant purchase of guns and ammunition cost millions of guilders, the funds for the renovation of the German shipyard by "Echstein" have not yet been paid, the battleship has been captured by the enemy, and the accompanying arms worth hundreds of thousands of guilders have been captured, and what is particularly infuriating is that in the explosion of the Shanghai Sea by the head of the East Indies Governor's Office, the disability pensions of the British and French dignitaries and the local dead and wounded also had to be paid by the treasury, and now the Admiralty has put forward a plan to purchase German second-hand steam ironclad warships, and the expenditure is often in millions of guildersNot to mention the series of expenses for crew training, equipment maintenance and ammunition expenditure after the purchase of the warship, the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom has no money to satisfy their gluttonous appetite, and I myself strongly oppose this reckless military plan......"

"Okay Smit, I understand your appeal, the Admiralty's plan to purchase German second-hand steam ironclad warships has been put on hold for the time being, this is an irrational act of escalating the war, and it needs to be carefully studied by the cabinet." The Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, had to interrupt the Chancellor's chattering complaints.

Speaking of which, he had no good impression of the group of professional soldiers jumping up and down at the Admiralty.

Counting the three naval battles that have been fought with pinched fingers, it is really a fight and a loss, and one loss is worse than the other.

The Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, knows the secrets that many cabinet members do not know, and the Dutch royal family has expressed through various formal and informal channels that it does not want Britain to come forward to help the Earl of Queensland, and this is also the case, but who knows how much the Dutch royal family has paid?

Now, after the explosion of the curved arch bridge in the Huhai Sea, European public opinion has fiercely criticized the Kingdom of the Netherlands for indulging in the murder of the colonial government and breaking through the bottom line of a responsible royal government.

In this case

The Admiralty's war maniac proposed the purchase of German second-hand steam ironclad battleships, which was undoubtedly an irrational move to increase the intensity of the war, what did the British think about this? What should European public opinion say?

The Dutch royal family needs to pay more to maintain the current tacit understanding, and the British side proposed the idea of marrying Princess Wilhelmina, which has been categorically rejected by the Dutch royal family.

Are you kidding?

As the first heir to the throne of the current old King Wilhelm III, Princess Wilhelmina is of great significance, and the marriage is of great significance to the fundamental direction of the national policy of the country and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the future for a longer period of time.

William III and his first wife, Queen Sophie, had three sons, but both princes died young, and the last prince is now dying of a serious illness and is likely to struggle to survive the cold Amsterdam winters.

Wilhelmina, the only daughter of William III and his second wife, Princess Emma, is only two years old this year, and the old king was 63 years old when she was born, and 65 years old this year.

His Majesty William III was already dying, and Princess Wilhelmina had just been able to walk, when it was rumored that the British royal family had clear intentions for marriage.

Not to mention how many years the old king can last on, and how much power Her Majesty will have to say after he ascends the throne by marrying the most powerful British royal family in Europe, this has to be marked with a big question mark?

Very realistic examples are in front of you;

Despite the strength of the German Empire, His Majesty Wilhelm I paid a huge price for his political marriage with the British royal family in order to complete the unification of North Germany and the sincere friendship and help of the British Empire.

In 1858, Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Victoria of England were married.

Princess Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom, had a strict royal education and also knew the importance of royal political marriages, which dominated friendly relations with Britain within the German Empire.

Once the fundamental relationship between the two countries is violated, even the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck has been reprimanded by Princess Victoria in person, not to mention other princes, grand dukes, marshals or something, and even the current crown prince Frederick does not give face in public, which is really very strong.

The young Wilhelm II had been living in the shadow of his mother, and it was during this time that his split personality was formed, and on the one hand, he was desperate to attract the attention of his mother, Princess Victoria, and to receive even a faint compliment. On the other hand, he was inferior and sensitive, and showed extreme resistance to everything in Britain, which laid the groundwork for Wilhelm II's reign to detonate a naval arms race with Britain.

The weak Dutch royal family could not be compared with the powerful German imperial family, and in this case, agreeing to the marriage of Princess Wilhelmina to the British royal family was simply a lure of wolf into the house, and in any case could not be agreed.

In this major matter, the old king of the Netherlands, William III, was finally not confused.

The message from the British royal family is clear;

This matter also made them very embarrassed, after all, the Earl of Queensland was a British nobleman enshrined by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, so he just let him be bullied by outsiders (the Netherlands), wouldn't it chill the hearts of all the people at home and abroad?

If everyone marries into a family, then no problem.

After all, courtiers are courtiers, and family affection is always greater than the royal family, and the Dutch side has no problem wanting Shangri-La Island, and it is no problem for Sanmarinda to withdraw from the army, but it is a big deal to upgrade the Earl of Queensland to a knighthood and force him to give up the benefits he has received.

Faced with the opening of the lion of the British, the Dutch royal family wisely refused.

The marriage of Princess Wilhelmina is related to the national capital and the policy trend of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for more than 100 years.

Compare it to

Not to mention a Shangri-La Island, even if you take the three Marinda of Borneo, it is not enough.

Of course, the clamor of the fanatics of the civil war cannot be tolerated......

The German second-hand steam ironclad battleships have strong combat power, with a displacement of up to tens of thousands of tons, and they are also expensive, and they can indeed beat the combined fleet of Queensland.

But the question is...... Can there be more second-hand German battleships than the British?

The reputation of the Earl of Queensland as a rich country has long been resounding in Europe, even if it is not to buy warships in England, then France and even Germany can, and they can also spend money to order warships in the United States, and those cowboys who smell of copper must raise their hands in favor, when will such a war be over?

The Prime Minister, Lord Van Horn, must think from a big picture, make a dojo in a snail shell, and end this damned war as soon as possible while protecting the interests of the kingdom.

He reassured Chancellor of the Exchequer Smitt with kind words, and he took a negative attitude towards the Admiralty's proposal to buy second-hand German steam ironclad battleships, which made Smit breathe a sigh of relief, and felt that the pressure on his shoulders had been reduced a lot.

God testifies that the Admiralty idiots wanted to buy up to 7 German second-hand steam ironclad battleships, plus auxiliary ships, that would be a whole fleet, which is a lot of money.

After the purchase, it is not over, it will cost a lot of money to renovate and repair, train nearly 2,000 crew members, and add ammunition and maintenance costs It is a bottomless deep hole.

It's not good to say

Where does such an expensive fleet sail to the sea, that is, it costs tens of thousands of guilders every day without fighting?