December 10, 1861.
Heaven and earth are vast, all in bliss.
New Guinea Island, northwest, Shrike Bay between the Bird of Paradise Peninsula and Bombalai Peninsula, in the hills and jungles of Modan Town.
A thunderstorm fell from the sky, landed on Gerrit De Vries' face, and flowed down the river, but he stared straight ahead, tightening the revolver in his hand.
The cold texture came from his fingertips, and he couldn't help but feel a shock, and his mind became clear.
Gerrit De Vries looked at the end of the wilderness, where there was a black line that seemed to move slowly, slowly approaching him.
He stared tremblingly: Are these Dutchmen finally coming?
Damn, why are the Dutch so obsessed with arresting me this time? It's not that I went on an expedition from Timor Island and followed the Southeast Islands to the Bombalai Peninsula, but before it even started, I was caught by this mysterious group of Dutch people. To launch a hunt.
Didn't they always focus on the Maluku Islands and the southern islands of Java, Kalimantan and Sumatra?
When was such a desolate part of New Guinea Island so heavily guarded by the Dutch, there must be some untold secrets here.
Gerrit DeVries tightened his trousers, which had been cut by the grass branches due to his quick escape all day, and finally tightened his waistband. Stop and be vigilant, but try to chew as little as possible to avoid making noises to distract the Dutchman.
"What the **** is going on, why are there Dutch people everywhere? Judging from their uniformity of movements, this is definitely a well-trained Dutch army, but I have been in Europe for so many years, but I have never found out that the Netherlands The army actually has such a team. I have seen the ace army navy of the British Empire and the ace army army of France. This team is definitely not inferior to them.
Where did it come from? If King William III of the Netherlands had such a team, why would he need to be so complacent in Europe in 1861, but he couldn't have been raised privately by the Dutch governor of the East Indies, Jane Simscock, But it's impossible. Could it be that they are preparing to rebel, separate East India and want to dominate here by themselves? "
Suddenly, Grit De Vries' face changed, and he devoured the bread into his mouth without chewing.
Because he didn't dare, the sound of gasping approached, and the sound of leather boots stepping on a branch breaking approaching, he listened carefully to the sound.
Oops!
The sound came from this huge area. Obviously, there were more than 20 'enemies' coming. The area seemed to be fanning and slowly surrounding the place. Gerrit De Vries' face turned pale, and he followed the dark muzzles of the guns. He, he turned his head back in a hurry, and the same is true behind his back, he counted all the things, and he smiled.
There are a total of 30 teams, one platoon. He has been extremely sure that these people are definitely regular troops. Damn Dutch, they have deployed such a strict regular army here.
The surroundings were quiet, and even the original chirping of insects near the equator in winter seemed to be affected by the atmosphere here, and it became much quieter.
Gerrit De Vries is a person who knows the times. He threw the revolver in his hand to the ground very seriously, brought the travel bag on his back to him, and then looked at the expressionless "enemies" and threw them helplessly. On the ground next to the revolver, he slowly raised his hands above his head.
"Everyone, I've been in a daze until now, and I don't understand what I'm doing, so please let me go, please let me go."
"How could I let you go"
"It's you, you are the governor of the Netherlands, Jane Simscock, you won't really be on the European side, here"
"Zhanshan is king, of course it's impossible." Seeing that he didn't continue, Jane Simscock added.
However, he quickly shook his head and said seriously: "But the object of my service is not His Majesty William III, but the Crown Prince, no, it should be said, just this morning, news just came from Amsterdam that our loyal Crown Prince His Royal Highness Hendrik has become the new King of the Netherlands, but it has nothing to do with you, you may not even see the sunshine of tomorrow..."
"Wait a minute" Gerrit de Vries hurriedly said, "I am a great Frenchman"
However, the people in front of them did not stop. With the distance of only two meters, when Gerrit De Vries was about to despair, he suddenly noticed a man in the uniform of a Dutch officer in the distance. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. , saw the naval insignia on that shoulder, the emblem of the Dutch Rear Admiral, which he had seen before.
So he shouted for help: "I am a submarine expert. I am researching an underwater combat weapon called submarine in the French Empire. Everyone, if you can let me go today, I am willing to contribute our patents and discoveries. All kinds of incredible inventions."
"Really." Simscock, the governor of the Netherlands, looked him up and down with disbelief, and sneered: "France likes deceitful tricks the most, and over the centuries, it has encouraged us to fight the four naval wars between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom many times. , France is the fisherman who profited from the back. In the end, Britain and France took their place and robbed us of our maritime supremacy and financial supremacy. It is really hateful, how can you make us trust you? "
Gerrit De Vries was a little dissatisfied with the other party's generalization, but at the moment, everything is important to save his life, otherwise, his beautiful wife and children may not be his own in a long time.
So, he quickly talked about the manufacturing principles of submarines, and sure enough, he watched the Dutch governor Jane Simscock look at the Dutch naval officer, who nodded, and even the officer finally turned to him Showing a kind smile.
Gerrit De Friston seemed to be in sight, so he nodded happily to him.
But he didn't know that, in the eyes of Jane Simscock and the other soldiers, it was as if they saw a sheep fall into a pile of jackals, and the scene of being delivered to the door was right in front of him.
The strange eyes of these people fell into his eyes, but they thought they were stunned by his erudition, but they did not know that they had fallen into the hands of the most crazy person in the Dutch Navy for naval weapons and warship transformation. It's all sad for him.
With Gerrit de Vries being taken away by 20 Marines, only 10 Marines and Dutch Governor Jane Simscock and the officer remained.
The officer's name was Theo von Linden.
Deputy Minister of the Navy of the Netherlands and the largest naval officer in the Dutch East Indies.
Jane Simscock is only 42 years old, and Theo von Linden is only 35 years old. Both of them are young men in the Dutch officialdom, and they are also loyal to the new King William IV William Hendrick. .
"In order to win this man, we have been fishing for big fish with long lines since last month, and guiding him here from Europe. Since we entered Java last week, we have let him fall into our own hands step by step. The purpose of the trap is not to scare the snakes, so as not to reveal our purpose and take him, the most advanced submarine researcher in the French folk.
His Majesty William has already learned that the other party's idea has been completed and has begun to enter the manufacturing stage, so this big net is laid in order to win him, so that the Netherlands will not fall behind other countries in the field of submarines, or even lead.
Linden, you heard it just now, what if the submarine was made according to his inventions and ideas? "
"If according to his design, the submarine looks like a dolphin, is about 42 meters long and has a displacement of 420 tons. It is powered by a steam engine with a power of 59 kilowatts (80 horsepower) and has a speed of 2.4 knots (about 4.5 kilometers per hour). Underwater diving for 3 hours, diving to a maximum depth of 12 meters."
Theo von Linden thought about it for a while, and then said with some dissatisfaction: "Although the submarine has been equipped with such a power unit, it has made a qualitative leap compared with the previous submarines that have been circulated in various countries, but the risks are not small. When the ballast makes its buoyancy equal to zero, the submarine loses control when diving, and the underwater navigation stability is very poor. In addition, the submarine needs a lot of air to navigate underwater, but he did not mention how to solve this problem."
"Could he be playing with us, leaving it to hide?" After all, Jane Simscock was sitting in the position of governor. When he got angry, the soldiers around him felt that the temperature dropped to an extreme. Shocking anger.
Like him, Theo Feng Lin was a prince on one side. He was not subordinate to the other side, and he was not affected.
He shook his head; "It shouldn't be. If he knew how to solve it, he wouldn't have come here, but he would have been rewarded by Napoleon III long ago, but he didn't. His Majesty thought of a plan, because His Majesty thought of it. The development route of the electric motor for underwater diving and the diesel engine for surface navigation and ventilation, which also solves the problem of scarce air and oxygen exchange."
After speaking, Theo von Linden showed a look of admiration on his face.
Even Jane Simscock and the surrounding soldiers were staring hotly.
Obviously, William IV Hendrick was like the sun in the sky to them, so bright and shining.
"Submarines are already in sight, and we need to hurry up to start construction. The Netherlands currently has a total of 90,000 tons of warships, of which sail warships account for 90%. The gradual obsolescence of sail warships will become the trend, and steam armored ships will be the mainstream in the future. We need to speed up construction now and surprise our European counterparts next time they face these submarines."
Theo von Linden's eyes showed a smile: "Simscock, you shouldn't be too ambitious to destroy your own prestige. Last week, the internationally renowned weekly magazine, "Amsterdam Peace Research Institute" released the latest report, 1861 In the annual global naval strength report, the naval fleet strength of the Dutch mainland alone was already tied for eighth place in the Netherlands and the Ottoman Empire at the end of last year in 1861, both at 90,000 tons.
The British Empire ranks first with 230,000 tons, the French Empire ranks second with 200,000 tons, and Spain ranks third with 130,000 tons.
Italy, the Kingdom of Austria = the Kingdom of Prussia, etc., the German Confederation, the Kingdom of Portugal, and the Tsarist Russia Empire, all have 120,000 tons, and they are tied for fourth place."
"If you let others know that six years ago, in 1854, the Netherlands began to build such a huge military shipyard in a remote place on the island of New Guinea, specializing in the world's leading warships, what would it be like? Shocked the world, I really look forward to this day coming sooner.
In addition to the construction of the shipyard in the first three years, more than 30,000 tons of warships are launched every year. Now, in terms of tonnage alone, this has reached the local fleet. It is about to catch up with the French Empire at 200,000 tons, and it is temporarily ranked third. If we give us another two years, we will definitely catch up with each other. At that time, even the British Empire will have to admit that we have returned to neck and neck naval strength.
Simscock, what His Majesty said will be the transfer of native immigrants here, and it will be a busy time period. I hope that the government will continue to cooperate closely with our navy, for the sake of the great Netherlands, for the sake of The great William IV, continue to contribute our loyal forces..."
********
Europe, Netherlands, Amsterdam.
Father William III was dissatisfied with Tolbek's re-election as Prime Minister of the Netherlands because of the weakening of the king's power, so the absurd scene appeared. William III actually took a step before Tolbek formed a new cabinet on January 5, 1862. 1861 On December 1, 2008, he directly announced that the throne would be passed on to his eldest son, William Hendrick, who was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. After he became King of the Netherlands on 1st, he took Queen Sophie and William Frederick to Luxembourg.
William Hendrick proudly recalled the public opinion during this period, and was extremely satisfied with the result of his operation.