Chapter 1113 The Helplessness of a Small Country

With the resurgence of gunpowder smoke in South Africa, the already tense international situation has become more and more out of control. The critical moment of standing in the team has arrived, and there is no room for any hesitation.

The smell of gunpowder fills the whole world, and Europe at the moment is like sitting on a powder keg with a fuse lit, waiting for the final judgment of fate.

Amsterdam, with the tension of the international situation, this bustling international metropolis, although the traffic is still busy, but there is no laughter in the past.

When the situation is tense, the capital market is the sharpest. Before the Dutch government made a final decision, the stock market crashed first.

Capitalists are waving banknotes to "buy, buy, buy", no matter whether it is high-quality or not, as long as it is an asset, someone will bid.

In particular, daily necessities are the most popular. Before ordinary people can react, the prices will go up, and the most important thing is that they are out of stock.

There is no way, once the two hegemons of Shinra and Britain go to war, the North Sea will inevitably be blocked, and ocean trade will definitely not continue.

Domestically produced goods cannot go out, and overseas industrial raw materials cannot come in. The impact on the fragile Netherlands is too great.

Although there is still continental Europe, as a major maritime trading country, most of the Netherlands' economy is supported by ocean-going trade.

The sea trade lines were blocked, and the connection between the homeland and the colonies was cut off. There are no colonies to plunder, and the Netherlands does not have much competitiveness by purely fighting for its manufacturing strength.

Aware of the crisis, the capitalists are taking practical actions to recover their losses as much as possible.

The traffic at the moment is actually the last madness before the storm. Goods that can be shipped for export must be sent out immediately, and materials that need to be imported also have to be time-consuming.

Affected by the oppressive atmosphere, the pedestrians on the road were all in a hurry to come and go, and even the shops on both sides became quiet.

Especially those who sell high-end luxury goods, it is even more crowded. On the contrary, it is an inconspicuous daily necessities grocery store, with a long queue in front of the door.

The Dutch government is not unprepared. Since Franz set a precedent for government intervention in the market, there have never been fewer imitators. The only difference is the size of the intervention.

Seeing the outbreak of panic buying, in order to stabilize the domestic situation, the Dutch government can only activate an emergency plan to "restrict purchases" of daily necessities.

However, this is not difficult for the wise Dutch people, and the purchase limit is more than a few more queues. Even if the store has records, Amsterdam is not just a grocery store.

In the era without the Internet, it is really difficult to limit purchases in a real sense.

For capitalists, as long as someone gives money, who is not selling to?

Unless the government directly intervenes in the franchise, the effect of "purchase restriction" is only to buy time for mobilizing materials.

It is impossible to "specialize". Unlike later European state-owned stores, few European countries directly own enterprises these days.

If there is no mature business operation model, it is better to leave it to the bureaucrats and let the capitalists toss.

At least the government can lose a little less money, suffer a little less scolding, and don't need to face the anger of the people.

Civilians have felt the tension, and the top government officials who control the country are facing even greater pressure.

Since the Tsarist government decided to support Shinra, the Dutch government realized that the "neutrality movement" was going to fail and began to look for a new solution.

It's a pity that time waits for no one, and the new plan has not yet come out, and the news of the conflict between Britain and Austria in South Africa has come one step ahead.

"Blessings do not come singly, and misfortunes do not come singly."

Without waiting for the Dutch government to respond, news of the teams from Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and other countries followed.

To this day, the only continental countries that have not taken a stand are the Netherlands and the Nordic Commonwealth.

Even Portugal, the farthest from Shinra, surrendered to the Vienna government this morning.

The real reason for the Kingdom of Portugal to quickly make up its mind and betray the British ally and switch to the Shinra camp is not complicated. To sum it up in one sentence - the Kingdom of Spain chose the Holy Roman Empire.

Anyone who knows a little bit about the grievances between Spain and Portugal knows that the two countries were once unified in history. The emerging Spanish nationalism, ideal territory includes Portugal.

Against the background of the times when the two camps were opposed, if the Kingdom of Portugal continued to follow the British, it might be annexed by Spain.

However, the British army has limited strength, and it is difficult to defend their own territory, and it is impossible to provide strong support to them.

One-on-one, Portugal will definitely not be able to do Spain, especially Spain with the support of Shinra.

Although theoretically speaking, due to the need to stabilize hegemony, Shinra must limit the growth of the power of various countries, and it is unlikely to support Spain's annexation of Portugal.

But theory is just theory, and the Vienna government has done a lot of unreasonable things over the years.

After the minister in Lisbon pierced the window paper, the Portuguese kingdom quickly made the right choice.

In order to survive, offending the British can't be bothered. Anyway, there are so many countries supporting Shinra now, even if the British won the war, they would not be able to liquidate.

The most serious consequence is nothing more than the loss of overseas colonies. Originally it was a long-term loss, and losing it just eased the financial burden.

As for the damage to domestic interest groups, that is not what politicians care about now. In the face of survival, everything has to give way.

accompanied by

The Portuguese government quickly stood in line, and the pressure on the Dutch government instantly increased. Being targeted by two big powers at the same time is definitely not a wonderful feeling.

...

Looking at the telegram in her hand, Queen Wilhelmina said with a trembling voice: "Suspend commercial and trade exchanges, the Vienna government is issuing an ultimatum!"

Perhaps due to the influence of Franz's butterfly effect, Queen Wilhelmina's political participation is far higher than it was during the same period in history.

Not only her, but almost all the monarchs in Europe were affected. With the strong rise of the Holy Roman Empire, Britain's constitutional monarchy has far less influence than it did in the original time and space.

Although countries follow the example of constitutional monarchy, there is also a difference between "constitution" and "constitution".

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Prime Minister Christie replied.

"After the outbreak of the conflict in South Africa, the war between the Holy Roman Empire and Britain entered a countdown. It is not surprising that the Vienna government chose a showdown at this time.

The only difference is that the Vienna government's attitude this time is much tougher than ever before, leaving no room for negotiation.

Maybe this is the overlord!

Not only us, but also the Nordic Federation received an ultimatum. There is not much time left for us, and we must make a choice before the war breaks out. "

It can be seen that Christie is not at peace. Obviously, the Viennese government changed its suave and elegant image, and the sudden strong style it showed still touched his heart.

However, it was too late to realize this at this point. The Holy Roman Empire, which has become a general trend, is simply not something they can shake.

"Hey!"

After sighing, Interior Minister Anwen Henriks said with emotion: "Choice, we don't have a choice now!

Once the hegemonic war between Shinra and Britain broke out, no one in the whole of Europe could be immune.

The British allowed us to be neutral, but no matter how strong the Royal Navy was, warships could not go ashore; and Shinra's army could kill Amsterdam.

From the moment the tsarist government made its choice, our plan has failed. Now European countries are coming off the field and standing in line, which was originally expected.

The neutrality movement we initiated originally made the Vienna government unhappy. If they continue to carry on, they may be used to establish their prestige. "

It’s not that Anwen Henriks is cowardly. It’s true that the Netherlands does not have the capital to die, but as long as they are stronger, they will not be so blatantly threatened.

If you look at the Nordic Federation next door, you can see that although the ultimatum was also issued, the wording is much more polite, and it can even be discussed.

Of course, the current ruthlessness of the Vienna government has nothing to do with the neutrality movement that the Dutch government had fiddled with before.

You must know that in recent decades, the Netherlands and Vienna have also been very close, and the two countries have always maintained their positions in international politics and diplomacy.

If it weren't for the fact that the war involved too much and involved the core interests of their respective countries, the two governments would not be so deadlocked.

Foreign Minister Vantov waved his hand and said: "Anwen is right, the position of the Vienna government is too tough, we really have no choice.

Not only to stand in line, it is best to express a position before the Nordic Federation, otherwise the follow-up troubles are inevitable.

As for the British side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will try its best to deal with it to prevent the mainland from becoming a battlefield as much as possible.

But it may not be very useful, if the British want to land and fight, there are only three places to choose from, and we happen to be one of them.

For national security, I recommend strengthening the defense of coastal areas. For example: increase the number of shore artillery, or follow the example of the Holy Roman Empire to form an air force and coastal defense formation.

Then, play your luck with France and Belgium! May God bless the Kingdom of the Netherlands! "

Politics has never been simple, even if it is to stand in line, time should be divided. The first to defect to the past, and the last to defect to the past, the treatment they enjoy is often completely different.

At this stage, the first team will definitely not catch up. Now the only thing the Dutch government can do is not to be the last one.

Obviously, the best time for political speculation has passed, and now standing in line will at most drink soup, and I don't know if it can make up for the losses in the war.

There is no way, the situation has developed to this point, even if there is no interest, the Dutch government must follow.