Chapter 614 Absolute Neutrality

After hearing what the French ambassador said, Queen Wilhelmina was not angry, but her tense nerves relaxed.

Perhaps out of caution, she did not reply directly to the German ambassador, but went back to the office to find Lieutenant General Thomas.

At that time, Lieutenant General Thomas was feeling restless.

Although he knew that the country he dared not offend the most was France, or to be more precise, Charles' First Armored Army, the Netherlands had a long border with the German army to the east, and angering Germany was something that the small country of the Netherlands could not afford.

Queen Wilhelmina walked in confidently. She spread the map in front of Lieutenant General Thomas and asked, "Lieutenant General, you just said that Charles' First Armored Army can attack quickly and reach Amsterdam in a few days?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lieutenant General Thomas bowed slightly.

"So," Queen Wilhelmina asked again, "what if the First Panzer Army's target is not Amsterdam, but Germany?"

Lieutenant General Thomas was stunned and stared at the map for a while: "Maybe, it will only take two days to reach Germany."

"Will the Germans be able to resist?" Queen Wilhelmina asked again, "I mean, Charles' First Panzer Corps."

"No, it's almost impossible." Lieutenant General Thomas shook his head:

"The Germans' forces were distributed on the Western and Eastern Fronts, leaving them very empty inside. There were only a few troops on the Dutch-German border, and they were seriously inadequately trained and equipped."

"And Charles's First Panzer Corps could not be stopped even by the elite German forces."

"The fact that the Germans were surrounded by the Shire several times is proof of this."

Thomas was puzzled. Why did His Majesty ask this?

Is it to drive the wolf and the tiger out to let Charles fight the Germans?

But this is not easy, they are not fools, especially Charles, he is not so easily used by the Netherlands.

Queen Wilhelmina nodded with satisfaction. She had gotten the answer she wanted.

…

In the German ambassador's reception room, Stephen and Mark were getting impatient.

They knew that the British and French armies were pressing in to threaten the Netherlands, which might influence Queen Wilhelmina's decision.

"Do you think the Queen will choose to side with the Allies?" Stephen asked Mark.

Mark hesitated and replied, "I think the Queen is still hesitant. After all, Germany and the Netherlands have a border of more than 500 kilometers. She has to consider this."

(Note: The German-Dutch border is 577 kilometers long)

Stephen nodded slightly.

His idea was that the British fleet would return one day and they could not stay in the North Sea forever.

Charles' First Armored Army has only more than 20,000 troops and lacks deterrent power.

The German-Dutch border is more than 500 kilometers long, and any point could become a breakthrough for the German army. This is what the Netherlands really needs to worry about.

Finally, Queen Wilhelmina came back, smiling, walking lightly, with her head held high and full of confidence.

Stephen thought Queen Wilhelmina had made up her mind to stand on the side of Germany, and he went forward triumphantly to greet the Queen.

"Your Majesty." Stephen bowed and saluted, his voice full of joy: "I am honored that you made the right choice."

"Of course, Stephen." The Queen sat on the sofa and motioned for the two to sit down.

"So, where do we start?" Stephen asked. "Forgive my impatience, Your Majesty, more than 200,000 people are not a small matter for us."

"I know." The Queen smiled and nodded: "But this does not seem to have anything to do with the Netherlands."

Stephen's face darkened: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"I mean, we always remain neutral." The Queen maintained her demeanor: "Absolute neutrality, just as we have always stated."

Seeing that Stephen still didn't understand, the Queen added: "Do you remember that two years ago your army entered Belgium to attack Antwerp?"

Stephen said, "Of course, Your Majesty."

"At that time, many Belgian refugees entered the Netherlands through the Dutch-Belgian border to seek asylum." The queen said sternly: "But you asked us to stand on a neutral position and refuse these refugees to enter the Netherlands, so we closed the border."

Stephen understood. He frowned and said with a hint of anger: "You mean, the Netherlands will close the border?"

"Yes." The Queen straightened her chest and said calmly, "Those are the real refugees, Stephen. If the real refugees can't get through, how can we allow the 'refugees' who have laid down their weapons and taken off their uniforms to get through? I have discussed this with my ministers, and they all agree that this goes against the Netherlands' neutral position."

Stephen's eyes flashed coldly, and his voice was somewhat threatening: "Well, I hope you have thought it over, Your Majesty."

"We have thought it through." The Queen met Stephen's gaze. "This is our final decision."

Mark stood up and said, "I don't think you can afford the cost of this decision, Your Majesty."

"I think so too." The Queen looked up at Mark's condescending gaze: "I don't think you can afford the cost of this decision."

"What do you mean?" Mark was confused.

"Do I need to remind you?" The queen leisurely picked up the coffee cup from the table. Although it was cold, the queen found it sweet and delicious.

The Queen put down her coffee cup and continued with a smile, "Think about it. If you make any decision, the Netherlands may open a passage for Charles' armored division to pass through. I remember that the Dutch-German border is more than 500 kilometers long."

Stephen and Mark were both stunned for a moment.

The Queen's two sentences seemed unrelated, but in fact they were telling them that Charles's First Armored Army might be able to break through at any point on the Dutch-German border.

They have always thought that the more than 500-kilometer-long Dutch-German border is Germany's advantage, and the Netherlands will have to succumb because of this.

Now, they suddenly realized that this was not only not an advantage for Germany, but rather a disadvantage for Germany.

Because Charles' First Panzer Army could break into German territory from any point.

Stephen turned his head and looked at Mark, as if asking Mark whether the German army could stop Charles if he crossed the Netherlands and attacked the German mainland.

Mark looked ashen and shook his head gently.

This is impossible. If Charles' troops cross the Netherlands, the heavily guarded German fortress of Liege will be bypassed. A border line of more than 500 kilometers would require at least 500,000 troops to guard it, and it may not be able to be defended.

(Note: The entire Western Front is only 700 kilometers long, and the Dutch-German border is almost like adding another Western Front)

"I understand, Your Majesty." Stephen stood up and shook hands with the Queen, his attitude much more humble.

He did understand that they had no capital to threaten the Netherlands and that Germany had to ensure that the Netherlands remained a neutral country, absolutely neutral.

(End of this chapter)