#841 - War reparations
Chapter 837 War Reparations
Blanzen left Amsterdam that afternoon—the materials he had used to surrender to the French were still there, and he had little to prepare.
Less than three hours after his departure, Campbell submitted his resignation to the Dutch Parliament, and without waiting for the parliament's approval, he took a ship to England the next day.
Speaker Dandels refused to accept the post of prime minister on the pretext that he might have to lead troops to resist the Flemish invasion.
In the end, Finance Minister Wibaud Feinger had to step in and become the interim Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
A day later, Blanzen, who had gone to negotiate a ceasefire, returned.
He had not gone far before he met Sihak in the city of Tiel on the north bank of the Vaal River.
In fact, there was no negotiation process at all. He just returned with Sihekti's ceasefire conditions.
In the Parliament building, Blanzen was bowing his head and repeating the Flemish people's demands to the interim prime minister:
"...In addition to recognizing the Flemish Republic and ceding the three southern provinces to them, they also demanded that our standing army should not exceed 30,000 men and that our artillery should not exceed 40...
"Our colonies in the Far East must open their markets to the Flemish Republic and may not impose customs duties..."
Blanchen swallowed his saliva and said with difficulty:
"And war reparations... they want 30 million Dutch guilders..."
The veins on Feinye's forehead suddenly jumped.
He now really wanted to beat himself up for the day before yesterday. Why did he take over as the interim prime minister?
If I agree to these conditions, I will become a sinner in Dutch history!
But just a few hours ago, he received news that the Flemish army had reached Utrecht. Not surrendering would mean the destruction of the country...
Feinye wiped his sweat and pulled the foreign minister aside, saying, "30 million is absolutely not acceptable! You have to find a way to get them to reduce the price a little bit... 10 million, at most 10 million."
30 million Dutch guilders is 380 million francs! Even if the Netherlands was wealthy, such a huge sum of money would be enough to kill them.
Blanzen sighed, "I tried, Mr. Prime Minister. General Shai Ke said that the repayment period can be extended to 10 years, with an annual interest rate of 9%, but it needs to be collateralized by loans from our country to major countries such as Austria and France."
"Loans?" Feinye was stunned. "Where can we get so many loans?"
He used to be the Minister of Finance and knew very well that the total national debt of France, Prussia, Austria and other countries owned by the Dutch government was less than 4.5 million Dutch guilders.
Blanzen said: "Banks, Mr. Prime Minister. The Amsterdam Bank alone has nearly 8 million Dutch guilders in debt, and the Dutch Commercial Bank has more than 5 million..."
Feinye also resigned the next day, and parliament was dissolved.
Dandels then organized a volunteer army and fought a battle with the Flemish in Utrecht, but it only lasted three days before Scherck captured the Utrecht fortress.
In fact, Joseph also left two artillery companies in Leopoldsburg to prevent the Dutch from making a desperate counterattack. However, Schecker performed well this time.
Amsterdam was shaken again.
A liberal political leader named Goerger, who was not from the Patriot Party, won a simple and hasty election and formed a new Dutch government.
At the same time, William V, the former Dutch ruler who was under house arrest by the Patriot Party, also took advantage of the chaos to escape and went to The Hague with the nobles loyal to him. Under the banner of "saving the Netherlands", he re-proclaimed himself as the Dutch governor.
Goerger was a decisive man. The first thing he did after forming the cabinet was to send people to formally surrender to Scheherazade, which was less than 5 kilometers away from Amsterdam.
After a brief bargaining, Goerger accepted all the conditions proposed by Schecker except reducing the war reparations to 28 million Dutch guilders.
In the Flemish Army's temporary command post, Scheik handed the surrender agreement to French advisor Philippe Vasser with a big smile on his face: "The Dutch have agreed to the conditions you told me before. I will send someone to send the agreement back to Antwerp for the parliament to sign."
Wasser raised his eyebrows and said, "General Sihak, I always thought that you were the biggest contributor to the defeat of the Netherlands. I didn't expect it was the gentlemen in the parliament."
"What are you talking about?" Sihak asked in surprise, "I led the army to Amsterdam. Of course, this was only because of the French warriors, but it has absolutely nothing to do with those guys who have been staying in Antwerp!"
Wasser nodded: "If that's the case, why does the Dutch surrender need to be decided by Parliament?"
Sihaik was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?"
"Signing the surrender document is the right of the victorious hero." Vasseur smiled, "Return to Antwerp with the spoils and the surrender document, and you will be worshipped by all Flemish people.
"With the secret help of our country, you may be able to surpass Tyne and be elected President of the Republic."
Sihaik's eyes suddenly lit up: "You are right!"
He touched his chest and bowed to Wasser: "If I am elected, I will immediately push for the signing of the 'France-French Cooperation Agreement'."
"Very good. Please allow me to congratulate you in advance."
No mistake, just one song, one post, one content, one look!
A week later.
Schercke, on behalf of the Flemish government, led his army into Amsterdam - ostensibly the Dutch Parliament had invited him into the city, but in reality there was no resistance left in the city.
Afterwards, the Amsterdam Agreement was officially signed in the Dutch Parliament Building.
The Dutch government used its power to levy "special war taxes" and "special trade taxes" to buy French and Austrian government bonds worth a total of 20 million Dutch guilders from the five largest banks in the Netherlands, plus 4.5 million Dutch guilders of bonds from the Dutch treasury, as collateral for war reparations.
…
Outside Brussels.
The rear guard of Lefebvre's Corps marched south in an orderly manner, and military songs accompanied by drumbeats could be faintly heard in the distance.
In front of the black carriage on the road, Perna, who was dressed in white officer uniform, reluctantly released her arms that were tightly hugging the crown prince, leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips, and said softly: "Your Highness, you must be careful in Luxembourg. I will pray for you every day. I will also miss you every day."
Joseph smiled and pinched her upturned nose: "You should also take care of yourself and don't get too tired."
Perna has been busy recently with the incorporation of graduates from the Military Medical University into the 4th Royal Infantry Division and with the planning and construction of the Brussels Royal Hospital, so it is a rare opportunity for her to get together with the Crown Prince.
As a result, she received news yesterday that His Royal Highness was going to lead his troops to Luxembourg, so she hurried to see him.
In fact, she would also leave for Italy in a few days. The casualties among soldiers there were much more serious than in the Southern Netherlands, and professional military medical reinforcements were urgently needed.
The two chatted in private for a while, and the military songs in the distance gradually became inaudible.
Aiman turned his back to them and coughed softly helplessly as a reminder.
Perna then forced herself to take two steps back and smiled brightly at Joseph: "Your Highness, you really have to leave."
