Chapter 372: Surprised or Not

London, England.

The people in the Palace of Westminster who were going to Russia for contact had already set off, and it was estimated that they would arrive at the Port of Hamburg in a few days.

(It was winter in the northern hemisphere, and it was impossible to take a ship directly to St. Petersburg because the Baltic Sea would freeze.)

The Netherlands, Belgium, and France had all received letters from the United Kingdom, and an alliance against the German Confederation had been formed. On the other hand, British factories that received the news were working hard to produce, and the price of agricultural products rose by 30% within a few days.

The news that kept coming from Hanover also confirmed that this gorgeous fireworks display was bound to begin, and the British were ready to make a fortune.

However, this time, the Rothschild family, the overlord of the financial world, did not make any big moves, and they seemed to be waiting for news from Vienna.

For this missed opportunity, their peers in the London financial world laughed at them for still living in the era of Napoleon. Lionel Rothschild had actually received news that a war might break out a long time ago.

But his uncle Solomon Rothschild had repeatedly warned him that if he faced the Austrian Empire, he must wait for news from Vienna.

Lionel felt that his uncle was a great financier who had made huge profits countless times when he was young without spending a penny.

He had created a great reputation in the business and political circles of the European continent. Even his father did not dare to call himself the king, but everyone in Vienna called him "Your Majesty the King", and even Prince Metternich had to bow his head in front of him.

Although this uncle has been unlucky in recent years, even if he made money, he exchanged precious metals for Austrian banknotes, and it was difficult to tell whether he made a profit or a loss in the end, but Lionel was still willing to believe him.

However, other members of the family could not sit still, and they began some "investments" and even contacted Chilean saltpeter merchants to raise the price of this commodity worldwide.

Although Lionel knew all this, he did not stop it. After all, he did not want to put all his eggs in one basket, and the increasingly real rumors made him a little restless.

Queen Victoria did not care about politics, because as she grew older, she found that all politicians did not like her, and they wanted nothing more than power.

And she also found the love of her life, Prince Albert, and at this time, the letter for help written by her uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium, was on her desk.

Victoria did not even open it, but sent it to the cabinet, because there was not much emotion in the letter, but more political significance, so it was handed over to those politicians.

Prince Albert was a careful man, and he noticed some changes in Victoria's expression.

"What's wrong? My angel, you seem to be worried."

Victoria leaned over and kissed Prince Albert's broad chest, and then took a hard bite.

"I wonder what I should do if you don't love me one day?"

Albert stroked Victoria's long hair and said in a gentle tone.

"My angel, what are you worrying about, how could it be? I will always love you."

"Then prove it." Victoria pouted.

"Come again? This is the fifth time tonight!"

Albert shouted, but soon saw that Victoria's eyes were wrong.

December 30, 1842, the fifth day after Christmas.

Brussels, Belgium.

Leopold I received another new message.

"Your Majesty, the Dutch are preparing for war nationwide! The total number is likely to exceed 100,000!" A minister reported anxiously.

"Why are you in such a hurry? This is a good thing. The more Dutch troops there are, the more pressure we can share. Although we are not allied, we have a common enemy..."

But Leopold I was interrupted by the minister before he finished speaking.

"According to our people lurking in Amsterdam, the Dutch seem to have sent troops."

This time it was Leopold I who interrupted the minister.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"They are coming for Brussels." The minister replied intermittently.

"What?! Damn idiot! Want to take advantage of the fire at this time?!"

Leopold I was really shocked and angry at this time. He really couldn't find words to describe the stupidity of King William II of the Netherlands, who was even worse than his father William I.

On one side is the German Confederation, and on the other side is the Dutch. This is really a critical moment. Because Leopold I had previously transferred troops from Brussels to reinforce the Western Luxembourg and Liege Fortress, there were only some new recruits in Brussels at this time.

But he was worthy of being a heroic leader. He immediately decided to lead the army to stop the Dutch. Leopold I believed that the army of the German Confederation would not give up the opportunity to attack the internally weak Netherlands.

At the same time, Leopold I sent someone to send a letter to Britain again. This time he thought that the other party would send troops to rescue anyway. After all, a strong and complete Netherlands was not in the interests of Britain.

(Netherlands + Belgium = Netherlands)

In fact, in theory, Leopold I's views and practices were not wrong. Belgium was still very enthusiastic about fighting the Dutch. In just one day, the newly recruited army and temporary police force were assembled, and they would go to the front under the command of Leopold I.

Just after leaving the city, they collided head-on with a team with a flag similar to theirs on the outskirts of Leuven. It seemed that the Belgian flag was turned upside down, but something seemed wrong.

(Leuven, a city west of Brussels, a major traffic route.)

The Belgian flag and the German Confederation flag are both composed of black, red and gold. If you turn the German Confederation flag upside down, it will be the Belgian flag, and vice versa.

The German Confederation flag was designed in 1818. Since the German Confederation had little presence, its national flag had even less presence. At that time, this flag was also associated with liberals, so it was abandoned in history.

Leopold I was not aware of all this. He thought it was a defeated soldier on the front line. So Leopold I made a judgment as quickly as possible. He wanted to go to the front to see the situation in person.

So, King Leopold I of Belgium ran towards the opposite team with a dozen trusted cavalrymen.

Leopold I was furious when he saw these soldiers dressed neatly, well-equipped, and talking and laughing.

"Whose troops are these? Call your commander out!"

The soldiers looked at the senior officer running over and couldn't help laughing at the awkward German.

Leopold I was even more angry.

"Don't you have any shame in this time of national crisis?!"

The soldiers looked solemn after hearing this. At this time, a man who looked like an officer came on horseback.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Your king!" Leopold I said with some anger and pride.

All the soldiers were dumbfounded when this was said, including the officer. About ten seconds later, the officer said.

"Your Majesty, you are captured. We are the First Army of the German Confederation Volunteer Army Advance, and our commander is Archduke Albrecht of Austria. Please disarm your troops, and I will take you to see His Excellency the Archduke."