"Help us!"

This was the first sentence that General Reut saw when he unfolded the rolled up note after being called up in the middle of the night.

Knowing that Amsterdam had fallen and might now have become a swamp, even though the general had gone through countless trials and tortures, he couldn't help but feel dizzy for a while, and his first mate hurriedly helped him, and when he woke up again, he found himself lying on a small bed, and several people were crowded into the small cabin, the ship's doctor, the first mate, the priest and the messenger, and the last person was about to be pushed to the door, and Reut pressed the urge to vomit, "Let the messenger of Councillor Werther come," he said. I'm going to ask him in detail. ”

The messenger came with difficulty and shame, and in the presence of this meritorious general, he could scarcely lift his head, and did not even know what he had said incoherently, and Leut picked up the jug on the table, and poured the cold water on his head—it was early winter, and the pot was placed on Leut's table before going to bed, and even if it was not to the point of freezing, it would make people withdraw their fingers like an electric shock, and this moment the messenger was embarrassed, "Are you sober?" Reut said wearily: "Even if Amsterdam falls, it shouldn't fall so quickly, what have you done?"

What did he do? Of course, in order to save all the gold and silver in the banks and stock exchanges of Amsterdam, some sacrifices and changes had to be made—even though Reut repeatedly told his friends and all the parliamentarians in his letters to buy more time from the French, and England was not France's most reliable ally— They have been enemies for almost a hundred years, and the rule of King Charles II of England is unstable, once the Anglo-French army is defeated on the sea, the first to retreat is the British, and at that time, they will try to negotiate peace with the British, induce the British to fall to the Netherlands, and the two sides will join forces, they will not only be able to fight back against France, but even seize part of the Flemish territory, but first of all, these must be based on the fact that the English king sees that it is impossible to occupy the whole territory of the Netherlands.

Therefore, even if there is only Amsterdam, they must stick to the end, as long as there is Amsterdam, they can confront France until there is a turnaround!

Reut doesn't know much about politics and can't negotiate, but even the most stupid person should understand that in this world of the jungle, even a wolf with one tusk and one claw is more feared than a sheep with all hooves, so even if he invests the only property in the Netherlands, he must keep Amsterdam - this is clearly their unanimous opinion!

"I said at the meeting," said Reut, "that we are going to hire soldiers with all the money, and how much have you hired?"

“...... 8,000 people...... Probably?"

Reut laughed sharply, as if someone had blown a whistle, and in the darkness of the night, with an indescribable sadness: "Is it outside of the men left to us by Orange, or within?"

The messenger did not dare to speak, and if he did not answer, he answered, and Reut clenched his fist so hard that he almost crushed the note into powder: "You have abandoned Amsterdam! You have abandoned the last territory of the Netherlands, the last city! You have left the Netherlands to our enemies, and you still have the courage to ask me to save you!"

"The Netherlands is not falling, sir, the Netherlands is not falling, this is only a temporary retreat, we will be able to come back, we," the messenger said with difficulty, "the parliamentarians have decided, we will establish a provisional government in New Amsterdam, and then we will prepare - the King of France will face a coalition attack led by the Archduke of Austria, that is, the Holy Roman Emperor, he will not be able to keep the Netherlands, or even Flanders, and then we will only have to pay a little price, and we will be able to return to the Netherlands!"

Leut raised his head and looked at him with a strange look: "What happened to Amsterdam? I remember you telling me that you made the final preparations, and that once Amsterdam falls, someone will open the sluice gates and destroy the dikes, so that the water of the Ai River will pour into Amsterdam and flood our enemies and the city together?

It was because they did not succeed - the envoy said in his heart that the parliamentarians had a good plan, they went to sea before the fall of Amsterdam, and when the French were submerged in the sea and were struggling to survive, they would not be able to remember and have no way to pursue them, they could calmly cross the Atlantic, go straight to the Dutch colonial city of New Amsterdam, and establish a government in exile in New Amsterdam - no, it cannot be said that it is a government in exile, New Amsterdam is also a Dutch territory, they are still Dutch...... But who would have thought that the cowardly cowards would not be able to do what they had planned, and that the councillors on the boat kept holding binoculars to see the fire in the town hall extinguished, but no, the fire spread from the town hall to all places, and after seeing that the embankments and sluices were also lit, the councillors cried, shouted, beat their chests, and even blamed each other, because those "reliable people" were recommended or hired by them.

Even so, they still had a bit of luck, but as they had heard, the king of France, who had made a deal with the devil, had the ability to communicate with the army quickly, and before they left the Dutch coast, the Anglo-French maritime alliance had already caught up, and before the envoy set out, they were relying on the only frigates and armed merchant ships to contend with the coalition forces, but they could not hold out for long, and the only hope was General Reut.

The messenger's second silence made the people in the cabin look even more ugly, "A bunch of cowards," said Reut contemptuously, "I'm not going to save a bunch of cowards! they don't even dare to resist a little! Go back and tell them that none of them are worth my exchange for a crew!"

The messenger looked at Reut, and he was not surprised if he was angry, angry, or hateful, but he saw only sorrow. "General Reitt," he said bitterly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, General Reute......" he twisted his hat bitterly: "You must go, sir, because the Bank of Amsterdam, the stock exchange, and all, as you know, all that belong to the Dutch citizens, and any merchant who believes in the Dutch government—they exist in Amsterdam's gold, silver, and all things of value...... It's all on the boat, sir, it's all on the boat......" he said, and he couldn't help but cry.

Leut couldn't believe what he had heard, he grabbed the dagger and wanted to stab him in the heart, how dare he say that? Didn't he know, no, didn't the parliamentarians know that the Netherlands, with such a small territory, could become the economic and financial center of Europa because of the credibility they had accumulated with countless lives and money? They do this, who dares to believe them, who dares to put money in their banks, who dares to buy their bonds, it's over, it's over, it's over, it's over, after tonight's events, even if Amsterdam can still be back in their hands, even if a provisional government is formed in New Amsterdam, the Netherlands can't be strong again, his mind was buzzing, he didn't know what to say, he stood up, it was the first time that his first mate saw General Leut with such a dazed look.

It was probably only a few seconds, maybe minutes, or even hundreds of years, before they heard Admiral Reut say, "Tell all the fleets to prepare to depart." ”

Such a simple order seemed to exhaust all of Leut's strength, and the first mate looked at him with trembling lips: "General, they may be waiting for us." ”

Reut closed his eyes, yes, if it were him, or a general with a modicum of military talent, he would have understood that this was a better opportunity - they were obviously doing it, like a hunter who had caught the cub and made the cub scream so that it could attract its parents, and now, they had surrounded the councilor's ship, so that Leut could come out and fight them in the North Sea.

In the past, Leut was able to confront an enemy who was completely superior to him in numbers and size, because the Dutch ships had a shallow draft, while the British and French ships had a deep draft, and it was easy to run aground and run aground when entering the shallow sea, but now, Leut had to go, and he could not watch the Netherlands completely destroyed not only in the eyes of the people, but also in the hearts of the people! Just making such a decision is like giving up another child for the sake of one child, the pain in his heart can be imagined, it is not without opportunities, he said to himself, it is not without opportunities...... Just like before, he failed to completely defeat the Maritime Alliance, but his attempt to land in Zeeland was dashed......

He insisted on putting on his coat, putting on his boots, and walking out, when he heard a cry of terror, followed by the sound of falling water, and he looked back, and his first mate came in a hurry, his face full of sorrow: "Mr. Captain," he said, "that gentleman, Mr. the messenger of the councillor, he has committed suicide!"

Leut had heard so much unfortunate news today that he was almost numb, but his sluggishness made the first mate misunderstand what he meant: "He is dead," he whispered, "sir, I watched as he first drew his short sword and slit his own throat, and then fell into the sea. Leut looked in the direction he had pointed out, and before they had sent the messenger aboard the boat, and the crew in charge of the oars was still stupidly holding torches—if they fell overboard in the dark, even if it was a small boat, it would be difficult to get people back, for you could not see anything, and he might only be a few feet, or even an inch from you, but the black waves of the water could obscure any pair of keen eyes— The crew with the torch looked up, and Leut saw dark marks on his face and neck, the crew would not apply paint to their faces, and the obvious splash marks.

That's blood.

"May God bless him and forgive him all his sins," said Leut, whose voice was soft, but heard far and wide above the sea: "He died for his country, for justice, for dignity." ”

The first mate took off his hat.

————

The afternoon of Narte was so beautiful, or rather, in the eyes of Madame de Lavallière at this moment, even if it was a desert, an island, and an eerie dungeon, it was beautiful.

The king had always woken up early, he was a man of great self-control, but today seemed to be an exception, Madame de Lavallière was not a frivolous woman, but yesterday night was what she had longed for for a whole decade, the king was as gentle as she had imagined, and yet she had a fanaticism beyond the ordinary, and she clung to him like a thirsty man praying for a mouthful of luscious rain and dew, and a hungry man fighting for a piece of bread, or more precisely, like a shriveled she-wolf, grasping her prey, not devouring the tender flesh and flesh, and never wanting to leave him for a moment。

This kind of entanglement lasted all night and one morning, and then one morning— Although they were making up for sleep for the next few hours, such a simple sleep was not as sad as it used to be, she was still a werewolf after all, and after waking up a little, she heard the sound of someone breathing and walking outside the bedroom, so light that it would not disturb the king at all, but she could hear clearly, and after a while, someone else came to report, there was something urgent to repay the king, she hesitated for a while, and then gently woke Louis - with her lips.

When Louis awoke, he remembered that he had been with Madame Lavarière last night, and because of the guilt he felt for her, he seemed, indeed a little indulgence, and he must admit that he had also developed a strong desire—that Holland was a great gamble for him, and that no one knew that his teeth had been clenched tightly until Madame Lavalier's arrival, and that he had not been able to relax, and that he had completely relaxed when he heard that Amsterdam had fallen into the hands of the French army...... And just as after the harsh war, the soldiers needed some comfort, and he needed a woman's arms to pour out his warm feelings......

"Who's out there?" he asked.

"It should be Mr. Bonton," said Madame Lavallière, undisguisedly, "I hear someone talking to him about something important......

"Bontang!" Louis called out before she could finish, and Bontang immediately walked in with the letter.

The king opened the letter and read it, and he read it in such a hurry that he jumped to the end almost immediately - his smile grew bigger and bigger!

"Two good news," he declared loudly, "all the ships of the Dutch parliament have been intercepted, and none have escaped or sunk!"

"Great!" cried Bontang, who was one of the king's side, and knew that the king had ordered the fleet to be ready, and that if the council fled, they must be intercepted, lest they take the Dutch government's assets.

"And the second, Your Majesty?" asked Madame de Lavallière, too, with the pleasure of saying that she and her people might be in Flanders, Holland, or outside France, and that the fall of Holland would mean that the King's promise would be fulfilled.

"The second," Louis sighed, "good news for me, and for France—General Michel Adrianson-de-Leuyth was killed in battle." ”

The last pillar of the Netherlands broke.