Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

The scale of this war was not large. The French army's performance on the front line was indeed very impressive, but the Belgian militia troops also fought bravely. This shocked Napoleon III. He originally thought that when his mighty army rushed in, King Leopold I of Belgium will surrender in an instant. As a result, it has been almost half a month since the war. Less than [-]% of the territory of the four southern provinces of Belgium is still under the control of the French army. Although The French army did not use all its strength, but it was actually very powerful to be able to hold off France for so long.

But Belgium refused to surrender. Napoleon III gave the army priority to attack Namur Province. As long as it was captured, Leopold I could be captured. Maybe he could be used in exchange for the remaining provinces that were annexed to the Netherlands. Want to come back.

But the closer they got to the city of Namur, the stronger the Belgian defense line became. The French army could not push the Belgian defense line for a while. Belgium had many people in ambush in the city, waiting for the French army to come and attack them. This kind of surprise attack is very effective, but if used too much, the French army will become alert. In the later stage, the French army will not be attacked.

With the city of Namur as the center, almost all Belgians fought to the last moment. Even the old king ran to the front line to try to stop the French army. Of course, reality is not a fairy tale. There will be no miracle that can suddenly save Belgium. When France When the army crossed the trenches and broke through the defense line, the war was actually over.

This war lasted less than sixteen days. The French army completely occupied the four southern provinces of Belgium. The old King Leopold I died on the battlefield, marking an unhappy ending to his legendary life. A happy ending, but he protected his country and he fought against the French until the very end.

In the end, Belgium protected the people in the remaining territories at the cost of almost half of its territory. After this incident, almost all of Europe's relationship with France dropped a lot, especially the United Kingdom, which became increasingly unhappy with France.

France annexed four provinces of Belgium, but due to the obstruction of the Dutch army, their march to Belgium could only stop at the door of Walloon Brabant.

Napoleon III did not want to meet the Prussian soldiers so soon. He could only win the trust of the British by restoring the territory of France and making some dispensable guarantees. He could only say in the next declaration, " France has no further territorial claims to Belgium."

The war ended sadly. Of course, although the war was over, the Belgians who dared to face their powerful enemies also received some mercy and acceptance from the Dutch. The Dutch government was able to manipulate the direction of public opinion, causing all dissatisfaction to be directed towards France. Therefore, most of the Dutch also chose to accept the Belgians, and the two countries finally re-formed a new country after thirty years of separation.

In early November, the Netherlands passed the conditions for entering the EU and became the third official member of the EU. They shipped a steady stream of raw materials from the Dutch East Indies to supplement Prussia's scarce resources. They also purchased many industrial machines from Prussia, which could help the Netherlands industrialize as quickly as possible.

Although the Netherlands was included in the EU based on the conditions negotiated at the beginning, Tina is basically satisfied with this new member. At least it can really afford its membership fees. Italy's membership fees have to be paid with a loan from Prussia. , it was almost in the third year that he was finally able to pay for it himself. Compared with Italy, a teammate who showed abstractness from beginning to end, the Netherlands seemed so amiable.

And Belgium also happened to get a little dividend. Belgium's development level is lower than that of the Netherlands. Therefore, according to the conditions of the EU, more developed regions are obliged to help less developed regions. Prussia and Italy gave Brussels a huge loan. , although it is said to be a loan, because of its special nature, it does not require when to repay it, nor does it require interest. Anyway, you can just take the money and deal with the refugees first.

The price is that Belgium has to open its market and allow everyone to compete fairly. Of course, Prussia's fair competition is very fair. The Dutch industry is relatively backward, not to mention Italy. Its industry is still assisted by Prussia, and the entire EU is Prussia is an industrial country, and this starting point is not very fair to begin with, so this wave of truth is really giving Prussia a market.

However, the Dutch don't care about this. They make money by selling raw materials, and then slowly add industry. Most of their colonial companies started by selling raw materials, so they are not too big in this regard. Suffer.

The Franco-Belgian War was over, and Prussia did not take much action, because even if France annexed the four southern provinces of Belgium, it would not matter. France has no area bordering Prussia except the Alsace-Lorraine region. Moreover, the city was basically destroyed by France, and there would definitely not be any effective development in a short period of time, so Prussia was not panic at all.

August has been staying in Sanssouci Palace to rest these days, occasionally writing novels or watering flowers. Most of the government affairs have been handed over to Tina and other government officials.

Because August has been fishing in Sanssouci Palace these days, Valentina no longer goes to work at the General Staff Headquarters and stays with Auguste in Sanssouci Palace all day long.

"Valentina, is it really okay not to go to the General Staff?"

"No problem. The work of taking care of Miss August is more important than the work of the General Staff. In fact, I don't have a very important role in the General Staff. I can't do anything except help. After all, I I don’t understand military matters either, so going to the General Staff Headquarters will only cause trouble.”

"Military? It's better to let professionals study it. I'm not very interested in that kind of thing."

Valentina made a cup of tea for August, "No, Miss August might be very talented. If she tries to learn...probably..."

"Isn't it more like you're complimenting me? I'm not Napoleon III. This kind of rhetoric doesn't work for me. I won't touch unfamiliar things at all. If everything is so simple, then What else do you need, General?"

"It turns out that Miss is not interested in the military?"

“It’s just that I’m very self-aware.”

"Oh, by the way, Miss, we have obtained the information about the First International that you mentioned. As far as I know, Mr. Karl is planning to go to Paris to encourage the workers there to go on strike. He will not be Napoleon III and Augustus. Is it the same as Miss Te?"

"Karl was very realistic. He wanted to launch an armed struggle to overthrow the French Empire of Napoleon III and establish a French Commune with the proletariat as the main political force."

"Is that so? Are we going to stop them?"

"That's not necessary. He can do whatever he wants. Anyway, just don't engage in his 'great plan' in Prussia. I don't care about other countries. Compared to this, haven't you heard that the Empire State Building will be completed soon? This is obviously more important, right?”