#838 - A peaceful future
Chapter 834 The Future of Peace
Campelon swallowed nervously again and picked up the document tremblingly.
When he read it one by one, a flash of surprise flashed in his panic eyes, but soon turned into solemnity.
He handed the few pages in his hand to the Speaker Dandels next to him, who also showed an incredible look on his face.
There are only four conditions for the armistice:
First, the Netherlands will try all war criminals involved in the invasion of Wallonia. The trial process needs to be supervised by French judges throughout the process.
Second, the Netherlands must compensate for the losses caused by the invasion of Wallonia. The rough amount is 700,000 Dutch guilders.
Third, the Netherlands declares permanent neutrality. The High Court will legislate to supervise the country's neutrality and sentence any politician who dares to violate neutrality.
Fourth, the Dutch Parliament's management of the Netherlands is obviously a failure, which proves that the nobility is indispensable in national management. The Dutch Parliament will increase the number of "noble seats" by 35%, and seats can only be obtained by hereditary nobles who have been passed down for more than six generations.
Dandels looked at Joseph carefully and asked tentatively: "Your Highness, are these all the terms?"
"Yes, that's all."
Danders looked at several Dutch politicians and relaxed a lot.
To be honest, the conditions were so loose that they didn't look like a "surrender agreement" at all, but more like an ordinary diplomatic negotiation.
For example, in terms of war reparations.
Before coming here, the Dutch Parliament was prepared to take out 6 million Dutch guilders, or 75 million francs to appease the French. Even in extreme cases, it can be increased to 8 million Dutch guilders, or 100 million francs.
The Netherlands has a developed financial industry, many colonies in the Far East and North America, and controls the estuary of the Rhine River trade. Although the country is small, it is very rich. 100 million francs can be taken out with a little struggle.
But the French only asked for 8.7 million francs!
This is probably the real military expenditure of the French army. It is simply too "magnanimous".
Look at the "permanent neutrality" clause later.
After this disastrous defeat, the Netherlands was eager to stay away from the war.
Originally, Campbellen and others were worried that France would force the Netherlands to declare war on Britain, Prussia, Austria and other countries, but they didn't expect that they would only ask for neutrality.
Based on this point, they all wanted to pray sincerely for the French crown prince.
However, Campbellen and Dandels showed bitterness on their faces about adding "noble seats" to the parliament.
They were all from the Patriot Party. They launched an uprising and drove away William V before they seized power. Now they naturally don't want the nobles to come back.
Seeing this, the Dutch Foreign Minister Blanzen, who was sitting on the left, came over and whispered: "Mr. Prime Minister, in fact, under the current situation, it is not a bad thing to let the nobles participate in politics."
"Oh? Tell me your reasons."
"First, the nobles have been secretly organizing rebellions in The Hague. This time our country was defeated, they are likely to take advantage of the people's dissatisfaction to launch a coup. It is better to directly invite them to join the parliament. It can avoid the country from falling into turmoil."
Blanzen said here, his voice was lower:
"Secondly, in the next few years or even more than ten years, the country and the parliament will go through a difficult period..."
Campelon nodded slightly. After this defeat, the Patriot Party will inevitably bear a lot of criticism. At the same time, major powers such as Britain, France, Prussia and Austria will also squeeze the weak Netherlands back and forth.
He thought: "You mean, let the nobles share the pressure of the parliament?"
"Yes." Blanzen nodded and whispered, "I even think that this request of the French is beneficial to us. Anyway, we control 65% of the seats, and the nobles can't make any trouble."
If Joseph heard what he said, he would probably laugh out loud.
Why do these lawyers and journalists from the Patriot Party think they can suppress the aristocratic families who have been operating in the Netherlands for hundreds of years?
The reason why Joseph joined this article is to make the Dutch Parliament fall into a situation of internal friction.
The hereditary nobles were previously driven out of the national power center by the Patriot Party. They hate these liberals to the core. After they regain power, they will definitely go all out to fight against them.
The Patriot Party has the advantage of popular support, and the nobles have the advantages of money and influence. If these two sides start to fight, the Netherlands will not be able to accomplish anything in the future.
Campbellen and others murmured for a while, and they all felt that it was not unacceptable to let the nobles enter the parliament.
After the consensus was reached, Campbellen looked at Joseph tentatively and said:
"Your Highness, if our country accepts these conditions, will your country withdraw its troops immediately?"
Joseph nodded calmly: "All troops will withdraw from the Netherlands within one month.
"Oh, by the way, the armistice agreement must be signed in public in Amsterdam, and anyone can go to watch. "
Kemperen said without hesitation: "Of course, of course it is possible."
No mistake, one song, one post, one content, one look!
Just half an hour later, the meeting that determined the future fate of the Netherlands came to an end.
Kemperen came with a lot of negotiation words prepared, but he basically didn't use any of them. He followed the rhythm of the French crown prince the whole time.
Joseph looked at the backs of several Dutch politicians leaving, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't forget that he helped the Dutch Patriots to overthrow William V, but was stabbed in the back by the Dutch.
He would never be a saint who repays evil with virtue.
On the contrary, his principle is to repay evil with double!
The surrender conditions he offered to Campbellon were just for show. After all, after the war, the Rhineland and Northern Italy would begin to be integrated, and France needed to establish a good international image.
Napoleon ignored this point and formed an inherent impression of France as a vicious country. When those small countries saw the strong military power of France, they could only bow their heads helplessly. When France's national strength declined slightly, they immediately jumped out to oppose France.
To engage in international politics, not only must there be military deterrence, but also to create a circle of interests and a sense of political and economic security for other countries, so that others will follow France steadily.
As for the price the Dutch have to pay, it will naturally be paid by the Flemish Republic.
France will draw a clear line with the Flemish Republic as soon as possible. After all, the hatred between Flemish and Wallonia is well known to the world, and now Wallonia has been incorporated into France.
If the Flemish people want to obtain the capital to establish a country, they must stand out and be the villain.
As if afraid that France would go back on its word, the Dutch Parliament passed the armistice clause proposed by Joseph with great efficiency, and even prepared the compensation of 8.7 million francs directly.
A week later, the Franco-Dutch armistice agreement was officially signed at Dam Square in front of Amsterdam City Hall.
Joseph did not attend the ceremony for the world to see, but handed it over to Ségur and Lefebvre.
In the center of Dam Square, Ségur first gave an impassioned "peace speech" in front of three or four thousand Dutch citizens.
He lamented that some Dutch conspirators tried to destroy the friendship between France and the Netherlands, but the benevolent French king decided to let bygones be bygones and lead the two countries to a peaceful future.
