Chapter 836: War Reparations
Brantzen left Amsterdam that same afternoon. The materials he had used when surrendering to France were still at hand; he had almost nothing to prepare.
Less than three hours after his departure, Kemperen submitted his resignation to the Dutch Parliament. Without even waiting for the assembly's approval, he boarded a ship for England the following day.
The Speaker, Daendels, used the excuse that he might need to lead troops to resist the Flemish invasion and flatly refused to accept the position of Prime Minister.
In the end, Wibo Fijnje, the Minister of Finance, was forced to step up and become the interim Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
A day later, Brantzen returned from his mission to negotiate the armistice.
He hadn't traveled far before encountering Scheyck in the city of Tiel, on the northern bank of the Waal River.
In truth, there had been no real negotiation process. He had simply returned with the armistice conditions dictated by Scheyck.
Inside the Parliament Building, Brantzen stood with his head bowed, repeating the Flemish demands to the interim Prime Minister.
"...In addition to recognizing the Flemish Republic and ceding the three southern provinces to them, they demand that our nation's standing army not exceed 30,000 men, and our artillery be limited to no more than 40 cannons..."
The veins on Fijnje's temples throbbed violently.
He desperately wanted to give his two-days-ago self a sound thrashing. Why had he ever agreed to take over as interim Prime Minister?
If he agreed to these terms, he would be branded a criminal in Dutch history for eternity!
However, just hours ago, he had received news that the Flemish army had already reached the outskirts of Utrecht. Refusing to surrender meant the total destruction of the state.
Wiping away a cold sweat, Fijnje grabbed the Foreign Minister's sleeve. "30 million is absolutely impossible! You must find a way to get them to lower it... 10 million. 10 million at the very most!"
Thirty million Dutch guilders was equivalent to 380 million francs! No matter how wealthy the Netherlands was, such a staggering sum was enough to break them.
Brantzen sighed deeply. "I tried, Prime Minister. General Scheyck said the payment period could be extended to ten years with an annual interest rate of nine percent, but it must be collateralized using the loans our country has provided to major powers like Austria and France."
"Loans?" Fijnje blinked, momentarily stunned. "Where do we have that many loans?"
Having been the Minister of Finance, he knew very well that the total amount of national debt from France, Prussia, and Austria held by the Dutch government was less than 4.5 million guilders.
Brantzen clarified, "The banks, Prime Minister. The Bank of Amsterdam alone holds nearly 8 million guilders in debt claims, and the Dutch Trade Bank has over 5 million..."
The following day, Fijnje resigned as well, and the Parliament followed suit, declaring its dissolution.
Subsequently, Daendels organized a volunteer force and fought a battle against the Flemish at Utrecht. It lasted only three days before Scheyck captured the Utrecht fortress.
In reality, Joseph had left two companies of artillery at Leopoldsburg just in case the Dutch attempted a desperate counterattack. However, Scheyck's performance this time was quite satisfactory.
Amsterdam was rocked by another political tremor.
A liberal political leader named Gaugel, who did not hail from the Patriot Party, won a brief and hastily organized election to form a new Dutch government.
At the same time, the former master of the Netherlands, William V, who had been under house arrest by the Patriot Party, took advantage of the chaos to escape. He led the nobles loyal to him toward The Hague, re-proclaiming himself the Dutch Stadtholder under the banner of "Saving the Netherlands."
Gaugel proved to be a decisive man. The first thing he did after forming his cabinet was to send envoys to formally surrender to Scheyck, who was stationed less than five kilometers from Amsterdam.
After some brief haggling, Gaugel managed to talk the war reparations down to 28 million guilders. Every other condition proposed by Scheyck was accepted in its entirety.
In the temporary Flemish command post, Scheyck presented the signed surrender agreement to the French advisor, Philippe Vasseur, with a beaming smile. "The Dutch have agreed to all the conditions you instructed me to set. I will send someone to Antwerpen immediately to have the Parliament sign it."
Vasseur arched an eyebrow. "General Scheyck, I always thought the greatest hero in defeating the Netherlands was you. I didn't realize it was actually those gentlemen in the Parliament."
"What do you mean by that?" Scheyck asked, surprised. "I am the one who led the army to Amsterdam! Of course, that was thanks to the help of the brave French soldiers, but it certainly had nothing to do with those fellows who stayed behind in Antwerpen!"
Vasseur nodded. "If that is the case, why should the Parliament decide on the Dutch surrender?"
Scheyck was taken aback. "You mean...?"
"Signing the instrument of surrender is a right that belongs to the victorious hero," Vasseur said with a subtle smile. "If you return to Antwerpen with the spoils of war and the signed surrender document, you will be worshipped by all Flemish people.
"Combined with our nation's secret support, you might even surpass Thien and be elected as the President of the Republic."
Scheyck's eyes lit up instantly. "You're absolutely right!"
He bowed deeply to Vasseur, hand over his heart. "As soon as I am elected, I will immediately push for the signing of the France-Flemish Cooperation Agreement."
"Excellent. Allow me to offer my congratulations in advance."
A week later.
Acting on behalf of the Flemish government, Scheyck led his troops into Amsterdam. Ostensibly, he had been invited by the Dutch Parliament, but in reality, there was no longer any resistance left in the city.
Shortly thereafter, the Holland-France Amsterdam Agreement was formally signed in the Dutch Parliament Building.
The Dutch government used the taxation rights from a Special War Tax and a Special Trade Tax to purchase 20 million guilders' worth of French and Austrian debt claims from the five largest Dutch banks. Combined with the 4.5 million guilders in debt held by the Dutch Treasury, these were used as collateral for the war reparations.
...
On the outskirts of Brussels.
The rearguard of Lefebvre's Legion marched southward in orderly ranks. Even from a distance, the faint sound of military songs accompanied by rhythmic drumbeats could be heard.
Beside a black carriage on the road, Perna, dressed in a white officer's uniform, reluctantly released her hold on the Crown Prince. She leaned in to give him a firm kiss on the lips and whispered, "Your Highness, you must be extra careful in Luxembourg. I will pray for you every day. And... I will miss you every day."
Joseph smiled and gently pinched her elegant nose. "You should take care of yourself too. Don't work too hard."
Perna had recently been busy organizing the graduates of the Royal Military Medical University into the Royal Fourth Infantry Division and overseeing the establishment of the Brussels Royal Hospital. She rarely had time to spend with the Crown Prince.
However, when she received word yesterday that His Highness would be leading the army to Luxembourg, she had hurried over to see him one last time.
In fact, in a few days, she too would be departing for Italy. The casualties there were far more severe than in the Southern Netherlands, and professional military doctors were desperately needed as reinforcements.
The two of them exchanged several more minutes of private words until the distant sound of the military songs began to fade.
Eman, standing with his back to them, gave a helpless, small cough as a reminder.
Only then did Perna force herself to take two steps back, offering Joseph a bright smile. "Your Highness, you really must be going now."
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