The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 808 This slap in the face came too fast
September 22, 1799 AD. The 24th year of the Guangzhong reign of the Great Yu Dynasty in China, which was the 4th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, the 23rd day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar.

A secret treaty was signed in Lisbon by the officials of the Great Yu Kingdom, led by Han King Mo Zhouzhe, Admiral Chen Huacheng of the Zhenwu Ocean Fleet, and Chancellor Dai Dunyuan of the Han Kingdom, and a secret envoy from the Kingdom of Spain.

The two sides agreed that the Seres Empire would return the three Spanish royal merchant ships that had been seized on Luzon Island and release all Spanish prisoners of war in the Philippines, but the Seres Empire could decide for itself whether to continue employing them.

To be honest, the Kingdom of Spain at this time had really lost all its prestige, and it would even agree to such a request.

This may seem unremarkable, but in reality, the Kingdom of Spain and King Charles IV lost tens of thousands of their subjects.

Since the rule stipulates that the Seris Empire can decide for itself whether to hire, it will definitely hire.

The 30,000 to 40,000 Spaniards on Luzon Island have extensive colonial experience, and Da Yu can make good use of them.

They could pledge allegiance to the Dayu Dynasty and then continue to clean up the island's natives, or become second-class citizens serving as stewards and guards for wealthy Chinese merchants and estate owners.

Even if these people didn't have the ability, they could still be captured and made into sailors in the navy or sold into slavery in Southeast Asia.

Who says forced employment isn't employment? Who says paying five copper coins a month doesn't count as employment?

I'll even cover your food and lodging!
This is just a fig leaf for the Kingdom of Spain. In reality, apart from the important noble families, the Spanish women on Luzon Island had long been sold off. All the men who refused to serve the Kingdom of Spain became white slaves. Whether you agree or not, it doesn't change the fact.

In addition, the two parties agreed that Dayu would purchase ownership of Louisiana for six million silver dollars and would have the right to colonize Texas.

Chinese in Texas could govern all non-Peninsula people in the area, provided they accepted official positions in the New Spanish Governor's Office.

Meanwhile, silver produced in New Spain, if sold to the Dayu region, can only be sold to the Revival Company. The two parties can agree on a minimum price and a maximum price.

In return, the Seres Empire promised not to wage war against New Spain, and the conflict ended with the change of ownership of Luzon.

Regarding this matter, Mo Zibu convened the cabinet for thorough discussions.

The Kingdom of Spain may have been too caught up in the situation to see clearly, or perhaps it simply didn't believe that the people of the colony of New Spain possessed such power.

However, Da Yu saw it very clearly: New Spain, with Mexico as its main force, was on the eve of a volcanic eruption. All it took was a little provocation and the sale of a batch of weapons to ignite the war.

Once the Spanish rule in Mexico collapsed, the Great Yu dynasty had also established a foothold on the west coast of North America, and it was the perfect time to go there and take advantage of the situation, just like the United States in history.

The final topic was how Da Yu would slightly strengthen the French Directory.

The two parties agreed that the French Governorate would repay approximately five million silver dollars in trade debts owed by French merchants.

The source of this debt is the special trade between the Bourbon Dynasty and the Dayu Dynasty in the past.

At that time, the Bourbon dynasty was facing financial difficulties, and France was also experiencing a tightening of credit. Therefore, a large part of foreign trade involved receiving payment only after goods were transferred, and sometimes even rolling over orders.

After the French Revolution, most of the French merchants or nobles who acted as their front men either died or went bankrupt during the revolution, while a small number incurred debts maliciously, resulting in a loss of nearly five million silver dollars for the Dayu merchants.

After the governor-general repaid the money, Da Yu would arrange for the governor-general of French India to rebel.

At this time, the local administration was not under the control of the French Directory. In fact, it was controlled by the French who followed Princess Charlotte to exile in Da Yu. It was somewhat like Princess Charlotte's private fiefdom.

In recent years, some French people who had come to govern the area have secretly returned because they were not used to the hot and harsh environment of the local government, and because the French Directory was not killing people as ruthlessly. Da Yu then took advantage of these people to make some money.

Han Wang Mo Zhouzhe squinted and said to the secret envoy of the French Directory: "Brigadier General André will return to France with the blueprints for the horizontal reciprocating steam engine and the test-blown steelmaking process, as well as four hundred tons of steel."

I hope the Governor's government will keep this a secret, otherwise you will get nothing.

Mo Zhouzhe had already invited Jacques's secret envoy to experience the power of the horizontal reciprocating steam engine at the Suzhuang public account.

As for the side-blown steelmaking method led by Wang Zhenyi, it is similar to the historical Bessemer converter and can rapidly increase steel production.

Jacques stared at Mo Zhouzhe, his flushed face a mixture of shame and anger. "The Seris Empire is too arrogant. You can't possibly be a match for the whole of Europe!"

Mo Zhouzhe chuckled. It seemed that the Jacques envoy still felt insulted, but that was exactly what the Great Yu wanted.

As for the items sent out, the secret of the horizontal reciprocating steam engine cannot be kept hidden. Unless you prevent its commercial use domestically, it will be leaked sooner or later.

At that time, industry was still in its most rudimentary stage. If you disassembled something and reverse-engineered it, you could basically figure it out.

Rather than letting the English get it first and further solidify their naval advantage, it would be better to let the French get it sooner and make them stronger.

As for the side-blown steelmaking process, the English had already acquired it long ago; the French simply didn't have time to collect it due to the chaos at home.

Even now, the French scientists in Dayu have already figured out what's going on, and they can start steelmaking as soon as they get back, so there's no need to keep it a secret.

“Mr. Jacques, I can tell you very clearly that even if all of Europe unites against us, even if the Roman Empire is resurrected, it can only be an opponent of the Seres Empire.”

Furthermore, I don't believe France can unify Europe; you couldn't even annex Italy!

Jacques's face flushed even redder. He stood there, looking like he really wanted to come up and slap Mo Zhouzhe a few times.

“Your Highness!” Jacques said, enunciating each word clearly, “If this were France, you would already be on the guillotine by now.”

Mo Zhouzhe's anger flared up instantly, but he managed to suppress it at the very moment his rage surged.

“Mr. Envoy, you don’t need to test us anymore. This is for France.”

"Also, go back and tell the people who sent you that if France takes the initiative to expose the source of these supplies and fabricates public opinion that the Seris Empire supports the Directory, then the Empire will personally send an expeditionary force to Europe to disprove the claim."

Jacques's expression returned to normal, and he looked at Mo Zhouzhe and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, the blueprints for the steam engine and steelmaking process will become another achievement for General Bonaparte."

Rest assured, the French Republic will make its voice heard loudest in the world and will not let the Seres Empire down.

I look forward to seeing the panicked look on your face when you face a new Roman Empire!

"Fine, you've got guts, I'll be waiting!" Mo Zhouzhe really didn't want to stay a moment longer, so he left immediately.

After leaving the Gruz Palace, Mo Zhouzhe went straight back to the Su Zhuang Gong warship.

This was Mo Zhouzhe's habit. Even if most of the officers and soldiers went to Lisbon to drink, eat jerky, and do other such things, he would stay on the ship and keep watch with the few who remained behind.

"Did you teach Pedro Carlos to speak Mandarin?" Back on the ship, Mo Zhouzhe called Gao E over.

Upon hearing Mo Zhouzhe's question, Gao E involuntarily knelt down, "Your Highness, it was indeed I who taught you."

At this time, Gao E was the senior chargé d'affaires of the Great Yu Kingdom to the Kingdom of Portugal, but he did not actually hold any official position. He was merely a staff member of Cao Zhenyong, the plenipotentiary ambassador to Europe.

"You're quite ambitious, aren't you? You don't want to go back and want to stay in Europe?" Mo Zhouzhe didn't like this guy; his way of speaking always had the air of a former Qing dynasty lackey. "Your Highness, I am a bondservant of the banner, which is a crime. According to the laws of the Great Yu, returning to the Central Plains is a way to atone for my sins."

But I have spent more than ten years in Europe, and all I have done is hard work, not any merit.

If I go back and can't atone for my sins with any merit, I'll be sent to the mines. With my frail body, I'd have no chance of survival there."

Mo Zhouzhe then remembered that there was indeed such a law in the country, which required Manchus to perform meritorious service to atone for their sins and those of their families, otherwise they would only be forced to do hard labor.

More than 20 years have passed, and basically all the Manchus in the country have redeemed themselves through meritorious service. They have reached the point where, unless they themselves voluntarily declare their Manchu identity, no one else knows that they are Manchus.

But unexpectedly, there was still one who slipped through the net in Europe.

Suddenly, Mo Zhouzhe's impression of Gao E improved considerably; at least this guy knew his place and his own limitations.

“You still have merit. Since you can’t go back, then you should assist Prince Pedro Carlos well. I think His Majesty will definitely grant him a vassal state.”

"As long as you perform well, when the prince is enfeoffed in his fiefdom in the future, I will suggest to the Emperor that your crime of being a Manchu be pardoned, and that you be sent to Brazil to serve as the prime minister of Prince Carlos."

Gao E was overjoyed and immediately knelt down, saying, "This humble servant thanks Your Highness for your guidance and will certainly do his best to assist Prince Carlos."

Mo Zhouzhe chatted with Gao E for a few more minutes, focusing on asking about the characteristics of Napoleon Bonaparte that Jacques had mentioned earlier. Then he let Gao E leave, as the fleet was about to depart for London.

"Sigh!" Mo Zhouzhe sighed. He and his cousin Mo Gongze were lucky, or rather, they were really capable!

As soon as he suffered a setback, this major European power began to embarrass himself, which inadvertently elevated his status to an extremely high level. Could this be the legendary luck that destined him to achieve great things?

. . . .

Buckingham Palace, London.

Just as Han King Mo Zhouzhe arrived in Lisbon, war reports from the European continent also reached London.

French General André Masséna won the Second Battle of Zurich.

In this battle, Baron Hozewski of Austria was killed, and almost all of the 30,000 elite troops led by Tsarist general Korsakov were annihilated. The famous general Suvorov was forced to flee across the Alps, losing more than half of his elite forces.

This crucial Second Battle of Zurich saved France. André Masséna, with fewer than 3,000 casualties, inflicted 5,000 deaths and nearly 15,000 casualties and missing persons on the Russo-Austrian coalition.

In the Netherlands, the Kingdom of England also suffered a devastating blow.

Previously, an Anglo-Russian coalition led by Frederick, Duke of York and second son of George III, landed in the Netherlands in an attempt to defeat the French-established Batavian Republic and restore William V's United Provinces Republic.

However, the Anglo-Russian allied forces initially won but then suffered a defeat. In just over a month, the Duke of York's 40,000 men were defeated by the French army of 20,000 men in the Battle of Bergen. The Russian army, which was the main force, lost more than 2,000 elite soldiers and immediately fell into a passive position.

At that time, the armies of various countries were still relatively weak, and the elite soldiers in an army were not even as valuable as the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers of the same period in history.

For example, in the recent Anglo-Russian joint invasion of the Netherlands, only half of the 40,000-strong Allied army was capable of undertaking relatively arduous combat and could be considered combat soldiers.

Of these soldiers, only about 11,000 to 12,000 could be considered true elite troops.

As a result, in the Battle of Bergen alone, more than two thousand men were lost, and the situation was almost crippling.

Buckingham Palace was deathly silent. King George III, worried about his son, the Duke of York, even suffered a schizophrenic episode and could only rest in the rear hall. The meeting of state was chaired by the Prince of Wales, the future George IV.

"I don't care whether the United Provinces Republic can be restored or not, and I don't care what the hell the Prince of Orange is like...!"
My only concern is whether my brother, the Duke of York, will return safely to London, and whether our First Guards Brigade, Second Guards Brigade, and Queen Anne's Royal Dragoons will return safely to London!

"F**K!"

The Prince of Wales, who was usually indifferent to affairs, had a mountain of debt, and loved to eat, drink, be merry, and philander, got angry. He yelled at William Pitt Jr. and others, ending with an English swear word that the nobility rarely used.

It's no wonder the Prince of Wales lost his composure, given the armies he just mentioned.

The 1st Guards Brigade comprises the Welsh Guards Grenadiers and the 1st Royal Guards Grenadiers.

The 2nd Guards Brigade includes the renowned Coldstream Guards and the Scottish Guards, one of England's five Guards infantry regiments.

These two Guards brigades, along with the Queen Anne Royal Dragoons, comprise nearly half of the most elite units in England's small army.

If that's gone, damn it, not only will the Hanoverian family's rule in England be shaken, but the entire Kingdom of England will be shaken.

“Your Highness, please don’t worry, our army is currently safe.” First First Lord of the Navy, Earl George John Spencer, quickly stepped forward to reassure the Prince of Wales.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Prime Minister William Pitt Jr. felt a burning pain on his face, while his heart felt like it was being trampled by a thousand wild horses across a meadow, chaotic and shattered.

Damn it, how did the Austrians and Rus' fight? How did they manage to turn the war into this mess?

Despite his complaints, William Pitt Jr. could only continue to reassure them, "The French elite are all in Switzerland. They just won the Second Battle of Zurich and can't possibly get to the Netherlands right away."

Moreover, Archduke Karl of Austria is currently stationed in the Rhineland, making it even more impossible for the French troops in Switzerland to bypass him.

Unless the elite French troops in Switzerland arrived, Lieutenant General Brune's 20,000-plus French soldiers would be unable to inflict a fatal blow on the Duke of York's allied forces.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Wales became even more agitated, exclaiming, "Impossible, impossible, but the impossible is happening right now."

"And you yourself said it wouldn't be a fatal blow, Your Excellency Prime Minister, we can't even withstand a non-fatal blow!"

This is the current predicament of the Kingdom of England: its army is too small, it has very capable elite troops, but it cannot withstand attrition, and most importantly, it lacks an excellent general to command it.

So much so that someone like Frederick, Duke of York, was commanding an army of tens of thousands of men? Did he really have that ability?
Absolutely not!

William Pitt Jr. remained silent, for he truly could not guarantee the absolute safety of the Duke of York and the Anglo-Russian allied forces.

Moreover, he sensed from the Prince of Wales' attitude towards him that the royal family's distrust of him was intensifying.

In the silence, everyone thought of someone who could solve this problem: someone who currently commands 13,000 elite troops and has extensive combat experience, making him a true leader.

This incident even saddened Prime Minister William Pitt Jr.'s cousin, Baron Greenwell, and his political ally, Henry Addington.

This slap in the face came way too fast!

"Your Highness, please tell His Majesty the King that I will personally go to Hampton Court to request Prince Ferdinand to lead troops to the Netherlands and bring back the Duke of York and our army." His face stung, but it was better than something truly terrible happening; Prime Minister William Pitt Jr. was quite willing to take the risk.

(End of this chapter)