#839 - Good guys and bad guys

Chapter 835 Good People and Villains

Then, Dutch Speaker Dandels came to the crowd and spoke on behalf of the Dutch government with a sad face.

He first severely criticized Britain and Prussia for forcing the Netherlands to participate in this unjust war, which caused the Netherlands to cause irreparable damage to France. He hereby expressed the most sincere apologies to France on behalf of the Netherlands.

Then he took out the armistice agreement document and began to read it out one by one.

"Our government will try the war criminals who participated in the invasion of Wallonia..."

Danders then explained the meaning of war crimes - there was no mention of war crimes in this era.

Before he finished speaking, he could hear crying faintly all around.

The Netherlands sent more than 20,000 soldiers to participate in the anti-French alliance this time, and many of the citizens watching were relatives and family members of the soldiers.

Dandels raised his hand and pressed down, saying loudly: "The soldiers were just following orders. Only officers above the rank of major need to bear the responsibility for provoking the war!"

The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief and began to cheer, "Severely punish the criminals who provoked the war!"

"Try the war criminals!"

"Hang them!"

When the crowd gradually quieted down, Dandels read out the amount of war reparations:

"... A total of 700,000 Dutch guilders must be paid to the French government."

This time he immediately added: "We caused more than 800,000 losses to France, but His Majesty the King of France showed mercy and pardoned part of it."

People didn't feel much about this. Last year, Amsterdam Bank spent more than 1 million Dutch guilders to acquire Batavia Trade Bank. 700,000 is not a big amount.

Afterwards, Dandels mentioned the clause of adding "noble seats" in parliament.

Most of the ordinary citizens didn't understand what this meant, but the nobles present began to cheer, "This is a fair parliament!"

"Oh God! Thank the French!"

"The future of the Netherlands is hopeful again..."

Danders looked at the armistice agreement and finally read:

"According to the request of the French government, the Netherlands will withdraw from the alliance treaty with Britain and Prussia and swear to always abide by the status of a neutral country..."

The square was silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst into thunderous cheers.

In fact, the Dutch have always been dissatisfied with the Anglo-Dutch alliance-this was a treaty that the Netherlands was forced to sign with the British after losing the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ten years ago.

In that war, the British plundered a large number of Dutch merchant ships and occupied many Dutch colonies.

Seeing that this humiliating alliance was about to be abolished, how could the Dutch not be excited?

As for the British being angry?

The British are now busy fighting with France and have no time to care about the Netherlands.

Let's talk about the rest after the war is over.

If the British really defeated France, then it would not be shameful for the Netherlands to bow and apologize to the European hegemon.

But now, let's cheer first.

I don't know who shouted first, "Long live the King of France!"

The nobles who improved their political status immediately shouted, "Long live His Majesty the King of France!"

"Long live the 'savior of suffering'!"

"Yes, the French are our saviors!"

"I love France!"

Dutch politicians such as Dandels never expected that this surrender ceremony would be like a celebration.

Afterwards, Dandels and Segur signed the armistice agreement respectively.

There was another round of cheers in the square, and then people began to march spontaneously to celebrate the end of the war.

However, the Dutch had no idea that the truly tragic war had not yet arrived...

The French army withdrew much faster than Joseph promised.

On the sixth day after the signing of the armistice, the last French army retreated to Leopoldsburg in the Flemish region, and after a brief rest, continued to march southward, passing Liege to the Ardennes Plateau.

The distance between the two places is less than 120 kilometers.

The coalition army led by the Duke of York rushed from Antwerp to Luxembourg, but could only go through the Netherlands in the north, then go east around 's-Hertogenbosch, and then go south through Gelden.

The whole journey was about 330 kilometers, and it had to cross the river twice during the journey.

So at this time, the Duke of York had just arrived north of Luxembourg and had not even entered the battle.

And Lefebvre's Corps would arrive at the Ardennes Plateau in three days.

...

Southwest of the Netherlands.

No mistake, one song, one post, one content, one look!

Middelburg.

Four days after the French army evacuated the Netherlands, Major General Scheher, the commander-in-chief of the Flemish National Army - well, he was promoted again - led 10,000 troops to the suburbs of this prosperous coastal city.

Scheher rode on his warhorse and looked around, and he actually found a bit of the feeling of an invincible general.

Yes, a week ago, Flemish officially announced its independence from Austrian rule, established a parliament, and established the Flemish Republic.

Then the newly independent country declared war on the Netherlands on the grounds that "the Dutch army invaded Antwerp and Gant".

After Scheher set out from the north of Leuven, he was invincible all the way, and no Dutch city could stop his army for more than half a day.

A few days ago, he easily occupied the important town of Breda. By this time, more than half of the cities in southern Holland were under the control of the Flemish army.

However, Scheher knew very well that the reason why he could capture cities so easily was not because he was good at fighting, but because the Dutch army had been cleared out by the French army in advance.

There is no flintlock rifle found in all the police stations in southern Netherlands.

This kind of battle can be easily won with a monkey to command.

A sparse gunshot came from afar.

Soon, Sheek's nephew Luka rushed over and reported to him with a relaxed look on his face: "General, the Dutch defenders have surrendered!"

Well, Middleburg has barely gathered a defense team of more than 300 people these days, using hunting rifles or even bows and arrows. How could it be possible to stop the regular Flemish army?

Siheke nodded: "The whole army entered the city. I don't need to remind you again, right?"

"Yes, you can leave it to me."

Two hours later, Flemish soldiers appeared on the streets of Middleburg and loudly declared that the city was under the rule of the Flemish Republic.

The citizens who had experienced the French army entering the city this time were much calmer this time, just watching quietly, waiting for these troops to leave quickly like the French.

However, news soon spread that all Middleburg officials, as well as senior chamber officials and bank directors, were asked to meet at the town hall immediately.

At 3 p.m., gunfire began to appear in the city, and some people said it was Flemish soldiers arresting officials who failed to assemble on time.

In Middleburg City Hall, Lieutenant Colonel Luca, surrounded by soldiers, came to the panicked officials and wealthy businessmen, and announced with a smile:

"In the name of the Flemish National Army Military Court, I declare that you have committed the crime of 'collusion with Austrian tyrants' and are all arrested."