Expedition to Europe

The Netherlands has deep roots with Britain and France.

In the past, since the "Sea Coachman" became a second-rate European country after four Anglo-Dutch wars, almost all governments and kings of the Netherlands were supported by Britain and France.

The current national leader of the Netherlands is Queen Wilhelmina, who comes from the William royal family supported by the British. She is a Dutch version of Kangxi, who succeeded to the throne at the age of ten and took power at the age of eighteen.

Fortunately, there was no bloodshed.

The Netherlands "strictly maintained neutrality" during the world war, but when the world war reached the end of 1917, the Dutch's "strict neutrality" finally couldn't hold up.

Among European countries, Germany is the Netherlands' largest trading partner. The trade volume between the Dutch and Germans accounts for one-third of the Netherlands' total foreign trade.

As the World War entered its third year, the Dutch economy and people's livelihood were already struggling. This country, which relied heavily on maritime trade, had almost all its foreign trade interrupted by the existence of NOT. The import and export of industrial raw materials almost completely stopped. In addition, because the Netherlands had mobilized in order to prevent possible German invasion, there was a lack of skilled workers and even farmers in the Netherlands. The drawbacks of relying heavily on sea transportation almost immediately broke out.

NOT is the Overseas Agreement signed between the Netherlands and the Allied Powers. Through this agreement, the Netherlands became the only non-belligerent country that could freely transport food, copper and oil.

But these raw materials were transported from America to the Netherlands and had no effect, because NOT also banned all trade between the Netherlands and Central European powers. The Dutch had raw materials in their hands, but they could not turn them into food needed by the people.

By the second half of 1917, the Netherlands had a violent revolution, and even the radical Social Democratic Labor Party launched a violent revolution that wanted to emulate Russia. Although this revolution lasted only one day, it also sounded the alarm for the Dutch royal family.

In order to cope with the increasingly difficult situation, the Dutch took the initiative to abandon NOT and secretly exported copper ore to Germany through Sweden, while acquiescing in the rampant trade activities of German smuggling ships in the Netherlands to make profits.

This certainly could not be hidden from the British. You know, even the Dutch royal family was supported by the British, and the British infiltration of the Netherlands can be imagined.

In October, a British fleet broke into Dutch waters and captured 6 German smuggling ships near Rotterdam, and the Dutch government fell into a passive position.

At the same time, because of the NOT signed by the Dutch and the Allies, the Germans were also very dissatisfied with the Dutch. So when the Germans started unrestricted submarine warfare, the Dutch merchant ships were also included in the strike list.

By October, the Dutch had lost 230,000 tons of ships, which accounted for a quarter of the Netherlands' total cargo capacity.

When the British captured German smuggling ships in Dutch waters in October, the British announced the requisition of all Dutch merchant ships anchored in overseas ports under British control.

This is really adding insult to injury!

To make matters worse, the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch's favorite, the only overseas colony, and the greatest guarantee for the Dutch to maintain a leisurely life, also had problems.

At the end of October, the tit-for-tat between Catholicism and the local religion of Borneo eventually triggered a bloody conflict. In this conflict, more than 100 Surabaya natives were killed and more than 300 were injured, which made the international community doubt whether the Netherlands could manage the Dutch East Indies well again.

In this conflict, the "Umbrella" company from France played a key role. Dozens of soldiers from the "Umbrella" company used machine guns to shoot the Surabaya natives, which was the "culprit" of this tragedy.

Of course, the above statement is just the words used by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the letter of protest to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The French do not think so.

In its reply to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the private nature of the "Umbrella" company and its employed nature. This is not the initiative of the "Umbrella" company, but it is forced to do so in order to protect the interests of the employer.

This statement was confirmed by Pope Benedict XV, who also urged the Dutch government to ensure the safety of Catholic churches and church workers in the Dutch East Indies.

Uh...Benedict XV is deliberately disgusting the Dutch. Everyone knows that the Netherlands is a Protestant country, and the Reformation was first born in the Netherlands. If the Dutch protect the spread of Catholicism, it would be the biggest joke of this century.

But the French don't think this is funny. The French also issued a statement urging the Netherlands to protect the safety of the French in the Dutch East Indies.

This...

The French in the Dutch East Indies are the ferocious security guards in the "Umbrella" company. They are not only Chinese, but also French.

Serious French, the kind with blond hair and blue eyes.

If the Dutch protect the "Umbrella" company, which has been called a "troublemaker", then the ridiculousness of this matter can be ranked with the Dutch protection of Catholicism.

Because of the involvement of the "Umbrella" company, the British, who had a bad relationship with the Dutch during this period, did not speak out. The reason was simple. The lawsuit between the British and the "Umbrella" company had not been concluded, because of the Mediterranean escort...

Everything is about interests!

The Americans also issued a statement, demanding that the Netherlands open up the Dutch East Indies, giving equal opportunities to all countries in the world, and also giving more choices to the people in the Dutch East Indies.

This is the Borneo version of the "Open Door Policy".

The Netherlands, which is at the center of the storm, is stunned. If possible, Queen Wilhelmina would give the whole world a middle finger.

I bought a watch last year!

The Dutch finally felt the malice of the world.

Although there were many difficulties, the Dutch would definitely not give up the Dutch East Indies, so after going around in a circle, the Dutch finally remembered Qin Zhiyuan, the most popular Chinese general in the world.

No, he also has another identity, and he is also a French general...

In addition, he is also the commander-in-chief of the French Foreign Legion, the military and political commander of the New Baku Special Administrative Region, an honorary islander of Corsica, and so on. He himself also has a lot of nicknames, such as: Angel, Ares, Kapi Guardian...

It is said that the Holy See seems to have the intention of reorganizing the Knights Templar. So, as a recipient of the Grand Knight Order of the Holy See...

With so many halo blessings, Van Helsima, the special representative of the Queen of the Netherlands, was particularly uneasy when he saw Qin Zhiyuan.

Qin Zhiyuan met Van Helsima in Sidi Bel Abbas.

This work is compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

In fact, after the "Sishui" incident, the Dutch have been contacting Qin Zhiyuan and wanted to communicate with Qin Zhiyuan about the issues of the "Umbrella" company.

Qin Zhiyuan is not as free as the Dutch. His daily schedule is now very full and he is not always available. Therefore, it was not until the beginning of November that Van Helsima had the opportunity to meet Qin Zhiyuan.

"Hello, Commander!" Because he was stationed at the Foreign Legion, Fan Haiersima used the military title of the Foreign Legion to address Qin Zhiyuan.

"Mr. Van Helsima, welcome to Sidi Bel Abbas." As the commander of the Foreign Legion, Qin Zhiyuan is qualified to represent Sidi Bel Abbas.

Perhaps because of the tight time limit, Van Halesma only got half an hour, so without any courtesy, Van Halesma got to the point.

"Withdraw the umbrella staff from Borneo? How is this possible? We have signed a contract. I cannot be a despised and ungrateful person." Qin Zhiyuan looked upright.

Van Halesima, who wanted to spit on Qin Zhiyuan's face now, was not discouraged and continued to lobby: "Regarding the contracts between the umbrella and those local East India companies and churches, Her Majesty the Queen can set up a company to transfer those contracts. Don't worry, Queen Your Majesty will give you a price that satisfies you.”

Although Qin Zhiyuan has become a French citizen, Van Helsima still avoids using words such as "Chinese" to avoid irritating Qin Zhiyuan.

"To be honest, I don't think your country can protect the interests of the Chinese in Borneo. Most of the local companies you mentioned were founded by my compatriots. Before that, although they paid enough They paid taxes but did not get the rights they deserved." Qin Zhiyuan did not hide it and expressed his dissatisfaction frankly.

Van Hel Sima noticed that Qin Zhiyuan had been using "Borneo" as a proxy for the Dutch East Indies. This was not a good phenomenon, and Van Hel Sima was a little wary.

"Let bygones be bygones, you should know that when you achieve such success in Europe, the East Indian government will definitely adjust its policies towards local Chinese, and some directional policies will be revised. During the process, I can assure you that there will definitely be Chinese participation." Van Helsima wrote the check but did not stamp it.

What Van Helsima said is indeed very nice. Because of the emergence of Qin Zhiyuan, the status of the Chinese has increased. The Dutch government will consider revising the discriminatory policy against the Chinese in Borneo and invite the Chinese to participate in discussions in the process.

There is a lot of room for use in this "discussion".

But there are "Haggis" in Albania. Among the Chinese in Borneo, there must be some people who are willing to cooperate with the Dutch government, and there are many such people.

After all, the Dutch are currently promoting the "Kapitan" system among the Chinese in Borneo. The essence of this system is "using China to control China." It will not be difficult for the Dutch government to find some pro-Dutch Chinese. If all the Chinese involved in policy discussions are It is "Kapitan", so one can imagine the tendency of these policies.

"Mr. Van Helsima, I have a question I would like to ask you. In Borneo, have the taxes that the Chinese have to pay to the Dutch government less than one Dutch guilder?" Seeing Van Helsima shaking his head in embarrassment, Qin Zhiyuan continued to ask. : "In this case, why does the Borneo government criticize the Chinese? Is it just because they are more capable than the natives of Borneo?"

Although Fan Haier and Sima denied it, in fact, what Qin Zhiyuan said was the truth.

It is precisely because the Chinese are so capable that they arouse the vigilance of the Dutch authorities. Once these Chinese, who have strong economic strength in their own right, are allowed to have political rights or armed forces, it will be even more difficult for the Netherlands to keep Borneo.

Of course, these words must not be said out loud. Although this is indeed the case, it would really appear that the Dutch government is too incompetent if it is announced to the public like this.

"Mr. Van Helsma, I have a suggestion. Regarding the conflict between the Chinese and the natives of Borneo, I hope that the Borneo government can remain neutral. Anyway, no matter who is the winner in the end, the taxes that should be paid will not be less." Qin Zhiyuan suggested with a smile.

neutral?

This is really Qin Zhiyuan’s satire on the Dutch.