Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 928 - 836: War Reparations

That afternoon, Branzen left Amsterdam — the materials used when surrendering to France were still around, so there wasn’t much he needed to prepare.

Less than three hours after he departed, Campelen submitted his resignation to the Dutch Parliament, and without waiting for approval, he sailed for England the next day.

Speaker Dandels, on the pretext that he might have to lead troops to resist the Flemish invasion, refused to accept the position of Prime Minister.

In the end, Finance Minister Vibo Feinie had no choice but to step up and become the interim Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Another day passed, and Branzen, who had gone to negotiate a truce, returned.

He didn’t get far before encountering Si Haike in Tier City on the northern bank of the Val River.

There was actually no negotiation process; he simply returned with the truce conditions proposed by Si Haike.

In the Parliament House, Branzen was bowing his head, repeating the Flemish demands to the interim Prime Minister:

"...besides recognizing the Flemish Republic and ceding the three southern provinces to them, they demand that our standing army does not exceed 30,000 men and that we have no more than 40 cannons...

"Our colonies in the Far East must open their markets to the Flemish Republic without imposing tariffs..."

Branzen swallowed hard and said with difficulty:

"And war indemnities... they want 30 million Dutch guilders..."

Feinie’s temple veins were throbbing abruptly.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to give himself a good beating for accepting the position of interim Prime Minister just two days earlier.

If he agreed to these terms, he would become a traitor in Dutch history!

But just a few hours earlier, he had received news that the Flemish army was already near Utrecht. Not surrendering would mean the destruction of the nation...

Feinie wiped his cold sweat and grabbed the Foreign Minister: "Absolutely not 30 million! You must find a way to make them reduce it... 10 million, at most 10 million."

million Dutch guilders is equivalent to 380 million francs! Even if the Netherlands is rich, such a huge amount is enough to cause serious harm.

Brazen sighed: "I tried, Mr. Prime Minister. General Si Haike said the repayment period could be extended to ten years with an annual interest rate of 9%, but it requires using our loans to major powers like England and France as collateral."

"Loans?" Feinie was stunned for a moment. "Where do we have so many loans?"

He was formerly the Finance Minister and knew clearly that the Dutch government’s bonds in countries like England, France, and Austria amounted to less than 4.5 million Dutch guilders.

Brazen replied: "Banks, Mr. Prime Minister. The Amsterdam Bank alone holds nearly 8 million Dutch guilders in debt claims, and the Dutch Trade Bank has more than 5 million..."

The next day, Feinie also resigned, and the Parliament was subsequently dissolved.

Then Dandels organized a volunteer army, fought the Flemish in Utrecht, but only held out for three days before Si Haike occupied the Utrecht fortress.

Actually, Joseph had left two artillery battalions in Leopold’s Castle to guard against the Dutch’s desperate counterattack, but Si Haike performed quite well this time.

Amsterdam was shaken once again.

A Liberal political leader, not of the Patriot Party lineage, named Gogel, won a rough and hasty election, forming a new Dutch government.

Meanwhile, old master William V, who had been under Patriot Party house arrest, seized the chaos to escape, leading nobles loyal to him to The Hague, waving the flag of "saving the Netherlands," and proclaimed himself once again as the Dutch Stadtholder.

As action-oriented as he was, Gogel’s first order of business after forming the cabinet was to send an envoy to formally surrender to Si Haike, who was less than 7 kilometers from Amsterdam.

After a simple negotiation, Gogel managed to reduce the war indemnities to 28 million Dutch guilders but accepted all other conditions proposed by Si Haike.

In the temporary command post of the Flemish Army, Si Haike, with a beaming smile, handed the surrender agreement document to French advisor Philip Waser: "All the conditions you advised the Dutch have been accepted. I will now send someone to deliver the agreement back to Antwerp for parliamentary signature."

Waser raised an eyebrow: "General Si Haike, I always thought the greatest credit for defeating the Netherlands went to you, but it turns out it was those gentlemen in Parliament."

"Where does that come from?" Si Haike said in surprise. "It was me who led the army to Amsterdam, though I owe a debt to the French warriors, but it has absolutely nothing to do with those guys who stayed in Antwerp!"

Waser nodded: "If that’s the case, why does the Dutch surrender need to be decided by Parliament?"

Si Haike froze: "You mean..."

"Signing the instrument of surrender is a right that belongs to the victorious hero." Waser smiled. "Returning to Antwerp with the spoils of war and the instrument of surrender, you will be adored by all Flemish.

"Couple this with our country’s covert support, you might just surpass Tai’en and be elected as the Republic’s President."

Si Haike’s eyes suddenly lit up: "You’re absolutely right!"

He bowed slightly to Waser, covering his chest: "As soon as I am elected, I will promptly push for the signing of the ’Franco-Flemish Cooperation Agreement.’"

"Excellent. Allow me to congratulate you in advance."

A week later.

Si Haike, representing the Flemish government, led the army into Amsterdam — ostensibly at an invitation of the Dutch Parliament, but in reality, there was no resistance left in the city.

Later, in the Dutch Parliament Building, the ’Hefu Amsterdam Agreement’ was officially signed.

The Dutch government purchased debt claims totaling 20 million Dutch guilders from France and Austria from the five largest Dutch banks, using the rights to levy a "special war tax" and "special trade tax," and added them to the Dutch Treasury’s 4.5 million guilders in debt claims as collateral for the war indemnities.

...

Outside Brussels.

The rearguard of Lefevre Corps marched south in neat formation, the distant sound of military songs accompanied by drumbeats faintly audible.

Standing beside a black carriage by the roadside, Perna in her white officer’s uniform reluctantly released her tightly held embrace from the Crown Prince and leaned forward to plant a firm kiss on his lips, whispering softly: "Your Highness, be very careful in Luxembourg. I will pray for you every day and think of you every day."

Joseph smiled, gently pinching her pert nose: "You take care of yourself too, don’t overwork."

Perna had been busy lately integrating graduates of the General Military Medical University into the Royal Fourth Infantry Division and establishing the Brussels Royal Hospital, seldom having the chance to spend time with the Crown Prince.

Yesterday, she got the message that His Highness was leading troops to Luxembourg and hurried to see him off. ƒreewebɳovel.com

In a few days, she would also set off for Italy, where the soldiers’ casualties were much more severe than in the Southern Netherlands, urgently needing professional military doctors.

The two continued exchanging private words for a while longer until the sound of the military song faded away.

Facing away from them, Eman gave a slight, helpless cough as a reminder.

It was then that Perna forced herself to step back two paces and gave Joseph a bright smile: "Your Highness, you must depart now."