Chapter 262

On January 10, 1938, the weather was still very good. The golden sunlight poured into the bright glass windows, making the whole room look vigorous. A noble woman was having breakfast at a huge table. Opposite her, there was an old man. He was dressed in ordinary clothes, but he had a thick and white beard.

"Thank you." She nodded to the waiter who poured her wine. Then she looked at the old man and said, "Congratulations, your country has risen again."

"If I were the ruler of that country, you know I would not give such a stupid order to attack Holland." The old man said softly, cutting the steak gracefully with a knife and fork.

The woman snorted. She couldn't see whether she was tasting the wine or agreeing with the old man's words: "this akkado? Rudolph is very good. If you could have such a person by your side when you were in power, maybe the one sitting opposite me now is King George who took refuge. "

"Wilhelmina... I have some influence in Germany. You don't have to worry about the safety of the Dutch Royal family." The old man managed to squeeze out a smile and said, "and I am very confident. As long as I operate properly, I can even take back my throne. I don't mind giving the head of state a prime minister's position. There's no problem with heredity. "

"William. I am more willing to accept the arrangement of my ministers. After this meal, I will go to the port, where I will leave Holland on a British destroyer and go to Britain to form an interim government. " Queen Wilhelmina sighed and said, "if Germany bypasses Holland as it did in the last war, I don't mind accepting another head of state who has taken refuge... But now my people are suffering, so this head of state is my enemy!"

"I wish that fool had heard that." William gave a bitter smile: "it's extremely unwise to challenge the world with Germany. I've failed, and even some people want to try... I don't know what adjective to use, stupid? Or stubborn? "

"No matter how well he plays in Holland, he is still not an opponent of the British Empire at sea. So Germany still has to face the end of blockade, and eventually lose because of the depletion of accumulated energy. " Said queen Wilhelmina firmly.

William II nodded: "this is a nightmare that the German Navy can't get rid of. The Navy that I have been working hard for decades can't do it. How can this dumb young head of state do it in a short period of more than ten years? I've got a lot more than him! "

"So I advise you not to rush back to China for the throne, or you will be sent to the military court this time!" "Come with me to England," advised Wilhelmina. "Your cousin will not embarrass you. His incompetent ministers need you at least to break up part of Germany."

"I can think about it, but my price is not low... Once the war is over, I want at least the position of king of Prussia." William II thought about it, then said with a knife.

"It's really not low!" Wilhelmina nodded: "but I believe George will promise you this time, because now everyone wants to end the war as soon as possible! You know, peace is not easy. You lost a lot in the last war. "

Speaking of this, a waiter came into the room in a hurry. It seemed that something serious had happened. The waiter looked so anxious that he even forgot to knock on the door before he came in.

"Your majesty! British emergency The waiter came up behind the queen and said in a low voice, "the news above is very important."

"Never mind! William is my friend. There is no need to hide any information from him. After all, I'm leaving here in a little while today. " "Read it out," said Wilhelmina to the waiter with a smile

"Yes... Yes!" The attendant hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head, picked up the message and read it out: "Queen Wilhelmina, I'm sorry to send you this telegram, but I must tell you the truth about this accident: just a few days ago, a sub fleet of the Royal British navy was badly damaged by the German Navy, and we temporarily lost our control over the sea off the Netherlands. At present, I can't send destroyers to protect you from going to Britain. I hope you understand. "

"What?" Surprised, Wilhelmina looks back at her waiter. William II also stood up from his chair in shock.

"I suggest you fly to Belgium or leave Rotterdam on a Dutch destroyer, but I have to tell you that the safety of either approach is not guaranteed at present... King George VI of the British Empire." The waiter read the whole message, then stood there and stopped talking.

"I think it's better for us to meet the envoys from Germany..." after a long silence, William II finally said, "I'll contact the people over there and see if I can get more detailed information."

Such an investigation does not matter, immediately learned that the queen of the Netherlands and the former German emperor after the naval battle were shocked by the achievements of the German Navy. In the battle of the Netherlands, which ended not long ago, Germany sank an aircraft carrier, a battleship, a cruiser and two destroyers of the British Royal Navy with half the force of the high seas fleet, and then captured two old destroyers.

This can be called the biggest naval battle in the world after the great battle of Jutland, which ended with a complete victory for Germany. From the beginning to the end, the British fleet failed to see the true face of its opponents. The British navy was forced to shrink its strength, gave up its plan to fight the German fleet in the North Sea, and quietly prepared for a decisive battle in the near future. It doesn't matter how it shrinks. It's selling the whole Netherlands to Germany. By this time, Queen Wilhelmina had no idea. In her opinion, the two escape ways mentioned by the king of England were not feasible at all: there was no difference between flying to death. William Minna, a powerful German air force, had heard about it many times, and her air force had long been defeated. Originally, it was the safest way to walk from the sea. In the original understanding, the waters off the Netherlands close to the English Channel were undoubtedly the backyard of the Royal Navy, but now this road is no longer feasible - Wilhelmina dare not joke about the safety of the royal family, and no one can guarantee that the German Navy, which defeated the British navy, will block it. So now Wilhelmina is looking forward to the success of William II's accession to the throne, while considering how to surrender with dignity. She does not think about going to England at all. So when she got the exact information, she found German special envoy Angela Merkel who had been hanging out of the city. The German special envoy's respect for the Dutch Royal family was beyond Wilhelmina's expectation. As soon as he met Wilhelmina, he gave her a very polite greeting: "dear Queen of the Netherlands! German special envoy Angela Merkel salutes you! In the name of the German head of state, I have come to discuss with you the future of the Netherlands. Please don't worry about anything. Germany will protect the royal family of the Netherlands. I hope you can make friends with the head of state. "“ The Netherlands has always been neutral. I don't understand why such a reasonable German head of state would do such an excessive thing. " "He should know that attacking neutral countries is a very bad behavior," Wilhelmina told Merkel with a sigh“ Your majesty. In order to fight against the coming invasion of the Comintern, the head of state must integrate the power of the whole Europe to fight against it. The Netherlands was not so much invaded by Germany as under the protection of the Third Reich. " When Merkel talks about this "shameless bandit theory", it can be said that she doesn't even need to type a draft. He had already made such high sounding nonsense, which was used to cover up aggression, so familiar that even he himself believed it“ and! Your majesty! I don't think you're happy that I said that. I think it's alarmist. " Merkel looked at the ill looking queen Wilhelmina and continued: "but the reality is very obvious. As the queen of the Netherlands, you must alleviate the suffering of the Dutch people. But because you are more inclined to Britain, you missed the best time to surrender. I can only deeply regret that. " Wilhelmina was surprised, but she didn't want to show weakness. She stared at Merkel and asked, "what do you mean by that? Threaten me? " When she asked, she frowned, with a certain degree of Queen's dignity“ Threats? No, no! It's not a threat at all! I'm just stating a fact about to happen Merkel shook her head and denied: "if I remember the time correctly, you will hear the voice of the devil soon."“ What do you mean Wilhelmina felt that something bad was going to happen, and a deep uneasiness filled her heart“ Wu... Wu... "Suddenly, the shrill air defense alarm rang through the sky“ Just half an hour ago, the German air force carried out the head of state's "last strike" combat mission, taking off from 30 front-line airports to conduct a comprehensive bombing of Rotterdam. " Merkel looked at her watch and said, "117 bombers will bomb Rotterdam to give her majesty a reason to surrender."“ Oh, my God! Are you crazy? Rotterdam is all civilians! " "I have a phone here," she screamed! There are telegrams, too! A telegram for you at once! Tell him I agreed to surrender! I promise you everything! Please don't bomb, please don't bomb my people! " Merkel nodded: "no problem. I'll send a telegram to general Catherine and ask him to cancel the bombing." Looking at the sky approaching the dense do-217 bomber formation, Merkel walked out of the living room of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands with her head high.