106 Complex Situation(1)
Shortly after the death of King Willem I, the coat of arms of the Netherlands was given.
The Netherlands, which had just risen to the ranks of continental powers by victory, had no choice but to return as a significant blow to the vacancy of King Willem I.
Taken from noblemtl.com
Moreover, King Willem I died leaving a will that even the National Assembly and the royal family could not easily accept, so the state affairs itself was in chaos.
In the midst of the bureaucracy, the ministers and both houses gathered in the Hague Parliament.
At this meeting, so-called ‘The Hague Meeting’, there was going to be a discussion about how to lead the state affairs in the future.
Currently, the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, and the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg formed both houses under the united monarchy to run the country.
Although it is a constitutional monarchy, the position of the king with the powers of convening and disbanding parliaments and final approval of state policies was absolute.
So neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives could simply pass the Dutch coat of arms over to the dead.
“It is only natural for Prince George Rodebake Oranye, the red-headed prince, to ascend to the throne!”
It was the idea of the House of Representatives to make King Willem I’s son, George Rodebake, or Willem II, king.
In response, the Senate countered, arguing that it would be natural to follow the will of the previous king.
“The will that the previous king wrote before his death clearly states that the throne will be passed down to Princess Elizabeth Sofia of the Habsburgs. You mean that Hawon is going to go against the maintenance of the previous king?”
“Say something that makes sense. How can you make a foreigner king in spite of the fact that there is an enemy prince?”
For Willem I, the Habsburgs were a foreign power.
His mother is a princess of the Luxembourg family, and his maternal grandmother is from Habsburg.
The House of Representatives argued that it would be neater in many ways to have a red-thorned prince on the throne rather than the appearance of the previous king.
On the other hand, the Senate was insisting that it was appropriate to ascend Elizabeth Sophia to the throne according to the wishes of the previous king.
The gist of the Senate’s argument was that the king’s name was the enemy.
“The king’s name is the law. Don’t you know that to break the law and change the lord of the throne is to shake the legitimacy of our Dutch united kingdom from the very ground up?”
“The legitimacy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands begins with pure-blood royalty.”
Amid the sharp confrontation between the two sides, Ben Heren and Lee Hwan stood silently watching the confrontation.
In fact, the future direction of the throne will be determined by how these two behave.
The Senate asked Ben-Heren.
“The Grand Duke will tell you. Which one do you think is the more orthodox choice?”
“… … authenticity.”
“Is it the majesty of the national law created by King Myung? Or is it the importance of the bloodlines that pure-blood royalty creates?”
Now, Ben-Herren was the only force controlling the Dutch military power and was the supreme ruler of the kingdom.
The moment he opens his mouth, everything will change.
But Ben-Heren shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“… … Yes?”
“If you mention lineage and cause in the pursuit of authenticity, you won’t end up with only conflicting ideologies.”
“Well… … .”
“I’d rather ask Sir Easterfield. What do you think, sir?”
As the head of East Stellar, Lee Hwan has Europe’s strongest mercenary corps, and based on his overwhelming financial power, he was revered as the representative hero of the Netherlands, who took over London’s financial district.
However, in this succession to the throne, as Elizabeth’s fiancée, he had an important decision-making power and was caught between ideological conflicts.
He first drew a line with neutrality when talking about legitimacy.
“I’m ignorant, so I don’t know that.”
“Then what should be the succession to the throne?”
Lee Hwan was in a situation where he was designated as a booma, and he would be able to rise to the rank of Grand Duke of the Netherlands in an instant.
However, Lee Hwan did not have much interest in the position of the buma or the position of the archduke.
There was only one thing he was interested in.
“The previous king said that Princess Elizabeth Sophia should take the throne. I think that name should be preserved.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Hwan boldly expresses his thoughts and Ben Heren seems to accept it.
The House of Representatives, however, took a position that could never be accepted.
“What nonsense! There is a prince in every country in the world, but no one brings a king from another country! This is against the law!”
“The law.”
“We, the Netherlands, are reunited in this way after a long period of superpower domination. However, the process was not smooth, and the people’s emotions were also different between the two Koreas, so they suffered. But we are united by only one, the powerful ruling power of the Orangery. Now, unless you are of the pure blood of the Orangery, the people will not even want to acknowledge the throne.”
The lower house of the Netherlands is the realm of the commoners, in which nobility cannot participate, but almost all of the country’s policies are decided in the lower house.
This is because it was the spirit of the Hague National Assembly that it was the responsibility of the representatives of the common people to make up the country’s livelihood.
With the House of Representatives coming out like this, succession to the throne could not be easy.
In the end, the second meeting was decided a week later because Hawon went wild on the road.
“Then let us discuss the succession to the throne again at the next meeting.”
“That’s right.”
Eventually, the succession to the throne was broken.
***
Immediately after the negotiations broke down, Lee Hwan had a drink with Ben Heren.
The two sat down in a secluded pub in The Hague and shared a glass of lukewarm beer.
Ben Heren asked Lee Hwan about his future steps.
“You have had the opportunity to become the king’s husband. It means that we are ready to even think about having the Netherlands.”
“I have no idea that I will be abdicated by my wife and become king of the Netherlands. I am just thinking that I will carry on the will of the deceased previous king well.”
“Then do you mean that you have no desire for the throne at all?”
Ben Heren’s eyes, looking at Lee Hwan, were deeply filled with doubts.
Ben-Heren’s mad expression, which he had shown in the battle of the pirate island in the past, flashed past Lee Hwan, who grabbed the glass.
His expression back then and now were different, but the eyes hidden inside were not at all different.
“… … So are you saying that the Prince is interested in the throne?”
“There is no man in this world who does not want to embrace his country. Are you really saying that you cannot be such a vessel?”
It is not for nothing that if you were born as a man and drew a knife, you should cut even a rotten radish.
It is also said that it is necessary to have appropriate ambitions, but sometimes those ambitions become so great that they drown humans in suffering.
Lee Hwan had no choice but to realize that Ben Heren’s ambitions were far greater than his own.
“Then the Prince must be opposed to Elizabeth’s succession to the throne.”
“I’m not going to hide it.”
Now, Ben-Heren did not hide his true face.
This meant that Ben Heren’s position was absolute, and it was said that his power was as high as that of the king.
‘Wasn’t he a person who had nothing to do with rebellion?’
Lee Hwan knew that Ben Heren had great ambitions, but did not know that he was such a naked person.
So, what does Ben Heren plan to do in the future?
“Do you want Elizabeth to step down from the throne?”
“Didn’t you listen to Ha-won’s thoughts earlier? Wouldn’t it be good to secure legitimacy for you to step down?”
“But doing so does not return legitimacy to the Archduke. As you’ve seen before, the Senate is backing Elizabeth. I am supporting Prince Willem II.”
“Authenticity is just an excuse. Power becomes a cause.”
Ben Heren looked at Lee Hwan with a face that had no smile at all.
It was a look that had no emotion left.
Perhaps the laughter that Lee Hwan had seen occasionally until now was like a mirage that didn’t really exist in the first place.
“Power is the law. If I had to create a cause, I would put my bloodline as the orthodox heir to Count Holland.”
“… … But doing so will destroy the unity of the Netherlands. Belgian backlash is already expected, but if there are people who seek the throne as aristocrats, what use is the throne?”
“Isn’t that why we can’t hand over the Netherlands to Austria?”
Ben-Herren’s thoughts seemed firmer than ever.
It seemed clear to Lee Hwan that Ben-Herren would not break such a claim until he ascended to the throne.
“… … So, are you willing to wield your military power even for the sake of the cause of justice?”
“of course. So you’re not like that? If Elisabeth, who is to become his wife, is devastated, how can they not mobilize the Black Hammer mercenaries?”
“The mercenaries can be mobilized. But I will not move the army for self-interest.”
“Does that mean that you now think that I am coveting the throne out of self-interest?”
“The Gong said earlier. It means that every man should embrace his country.”
“There must be many causes for embracing the country. I have no self-interest, just the cause that the orthodox heir of Holland should take the throne.”
Sometimes it is not possible to distinguish between self-interest and a cause.
Perhaps it is because the living being human has a subject.
Lee Hwan wondered what the hell this place was for.
“If the Prince thinks that way, then this drinking party would have no meaning at all. Isn’t it just about exploring each other’s thoughts and meaning other than that?”
“Are you planning to turn me into an enemy?”
“As I said before, I am a person who has to accept the legacy of the previous king. I am well aware that even in England, recognizing the throne will not easily seize my hand. But I can’t back down.”
“Is it because the previous king left you one last will before he died?”
“Yes, it is.”
If King Willem I had not left a will to Yi Hwan, he would not have antagonized Ha Won and Ben Heren so far.
In any case, Willem I chose Yi Hwan and trusted him to the end of his life.
“Dear Prince, as I did, I do not want to break the trust that the previous king had put in me. Because, after all, it sells my soul.”
“Does that mean you really don’t care about the throne?”
“I already have vast territories created by the power of Baron Easterfield, and I have a company. There are mercenaries and there are fleets. Then why the hell would I seek the throne of the Netherlands?”
“… … Does that mean you have fulfilled all your ambitions?”
“There is no end to human greed. It’s not all full, it just means that my ambitions are growing outside the Netherlands.”
“Hmm.”
Ben-Heren was silent for a while.
Lee Hwan, who was looking at him quietly, got up from his seat.
“I really admired the ball. I hope that you will make the right decision so that you do not hate me at that time.”
“… … .”
“Then I will return to 20,000 Literkirk.”
Lee Hwan turned around, and Ben Heren stayed there for a while without moving.