The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 809 The King's Heart-to-Heart Talk
Mo Gongze was not a chamber pot that could be used when he wanted and thrown away when he didn't. So, after receiving news that the anti-French coalition was in serious trouble, he immediately left Hampton Court to go hunting.

Moreover, this incident made him deeply aware of the importance of territory and the army.

Especially the military. For Mo Gongze, who doesn't yet have a stable territory, the military is the foundation of his survival, and he can't just casually hand it over to others to take the fall.

Moreover, it seems that Prime Minister William Pitt Jr. has almost completely lost the trust of the royal family. He is not so arrogant as to expect us to work for him just because we visit him!

Cambridgeshire, northeast of London.

Mo Gongze had 3,500 men stationed here, belonging to three infantry garrisons under the jurisdiction of the Right Guard of the Prince of Lu.

At this time, the Lu vassal state's military strength, including the navy, was close to 30,000 men, of which the three guards had about 25,000 men, with each guard having between 8,000 and 8,500 men.

This size is roughly equivalent to the military strength of the Three Guards Army, which Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed to his sons in the early Ming Dynasty, and which consisted of powerful border states like Qin, Jin, and Yan.

After the hunt, the generals were happily cooking the game and carrying fine wine when Mo Gongze arrived at the central army camp.

He discussed matters with Cao Zhenyong, who concurrently served as the Chancellor of Lu, Shen Yao, a native of Huguan County, Shanxi Province, who served as the Chief Secretary and Military Commander of Lu, and Liu Rongqing, the Commander of the Right Guard.

Although the Lu Kingdom appears powerful and the Lu King and his son have the authority to act independently, in reality, the Lu Kingdom is not considered a good place within the Great Yu Dynasty. It is even ranked after the six provinces of the Nanyang Envoy and the four provinces of the Anxi Envoy.

It's only slightly better than going to the Protectorate General of Beihe Prefecture or the Protectorate General of Zhan Prefecture.

So once Cao Zhenyong arrived in Europe, he couldn't escape, because there was simply no one to take over his position.

After enduring this until two years ago, Cao Zhenyong, who had been working in Europe for twelve years, could no longer hold on and had no choice but to write a letter to Mo Zibu.

Mo Zibu also went through several rounds of selection before choosing Shen Yao and a group of civil officials to come to Europe to familiarize themselves with the environment, in preparation for taking over Cao Zhenyong's position a few years later.

"Your Highness, as things stand, our Lu army of 30,000 soldiers will need at least 1.5 million silver dollars to pay their salaries and 1 million silver dollars to cover the expenses for clothing, firearms and other military equipment."

If wars are frequent, the cost might double, reaching five million silver dollars per year.

Mo Gongze silently calculated that in peacetime, each soldier needed at least eighty silver dollars a year, while in wartime, it would be more than one hundred and sixty silver dollars.

One hundred and sixty silver dollars or more is equivalent to a little over fifty pounds.

"You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. You can hardly understand the magnanimity of your uncle, the Great Emperor, until you shoulder this responsibility!"

Mo Gongze sighed and said, "Issue the order that from today onwards, all civil and military officers of the rank of 100 or above in our army shall, together with me, kowtow eastward every ten days to express our gratitude to the Great Emperor."

These strings of numbers and pieces of silver are the real reason why Mo Gongze's 30,000 troops were able to fight so well; they were built entirely up with money.

Compared to the Lu Fan Army, the British and French armies were practically beggars; only their most elite soldiers could barely compare to the Lu Fan Army in terms of treatment.

All of this was beyond the means of Mo Zirong and his son Mo Gongze; even if they sold their possessions, they couldn't afford five million silver dollars a year.

Despite the numerous titles held by the Mo family in Europe, their combined annual income amounted to only a mere four or five hundred thousand silver dollars.

This amount of money is enough to maintain their basic status and the daily administration of the closed country. As for building up an army, dream on.

"However, with the frequent wars in Europe in recent years, many things are not easy to sell. Half of the year has passed, but the revenue from special trade is only 830,000 silver dollars. Therefore, the finances are still quite tight. Your Highness needs to think of a solution."

Chief Secretary and Military Advisor Shen Yao reminded them that the annual subsidy of about five million silver dollars received by the Lu Kingdom was divided into three parts.

Part of it was allocated by the Dayu court, amounting to approximately two million silver dollars.

A portion of it was simply a subsidy from Mozibu's private treasury, amounting to approximately one million silver dollars.

The remaining two million silver dollars shortfall was covered by licensed trade.

At that time, the Great Yu Dynasty had a total limit on foreign trade, because the culture and geographical location of China determined that grain production was of paramount importance.

If trade is liberalized, cash crops will inevitably have a serious impact on agriculture. Before there is a qualitative leap in productivity, at least before chemical fertilizers and modern pesticides are available, the planting of cash crops must be planned and regulated.

At the same time, limiting the total annual shipment volume is beneficial to maintaining the high-end brand image of Dayu's foreign trade products, and will not cause strong backlash from European countries due to excessive dumping.

Therefore, the annual authorized foreign trade quota alone can bring in considerable revenue.

Mo Zirong and his son Mo Gongze used this special quota to both organize their own caravans for trade and sell some of the quota to make money.

The annual income was approximately 2.2 to 2.3 million silver dollars, which, after covering military expenses, left a slight surplus.

But this year, it's almost the end of September and we only have 830,000 silver dollars. If we can make 1.2 million for the whole year, that would be pretty good. Where are we going to find the missing 800,000 to 1 million silver dollars?

However, this was not the worst news. Liu Rongqing, the commander of the Right Guard, produced his report.

"Your Highness, our Lu Fan has been in Europe for twenty years, but we have never been able to establish a stable base. As a result, our appeal to our homeland's soldiers and generals is declining year by year."

Now, if we can't quickly secure territory and rewards, then we have no choice but to increase compensation, at least doubling it, to retain people and maintain fighting strength.

The plan for Lu Fan to go to Europe was not originally designed this way. It was Mo Zibu who gradually improved it according to the situation to make it what it is today.

The prolonged delay caused a sharp decline in the attractiveness of Lu Fan, as evidenced by the fact that not a single general of the Great Yu brigade rank or above has been willing to come to Lu Fan in recent years.

Currently, the Lu vassal state's officials and soldiers mainly come from three sources. One source is the investment from the noble families of the Great Yu Dynasty, primarily the Xiangshan Hong clan, concubines of Mo Gongze.

These nobles placed their bets when the Lu region was doing well, and now, although they feel they've lost some money, the sunk costs are too high, so they can only continue to hold on.

The veteran soldiers in the three guards of Lu were recruited by these nobles from the Imperial Guard, the Beijing Garrison, and the provincial garrison troops.

The second part comes from the East. After Mo Gongze returned to visit his grandfather Mo Tianci, Mo Tianci selected elite warriors for the Lu Domain from the East Domains, mainly the Owari Domain, Sendai Domain, and Hiroshima Domain, which he could control.

These samurai families were relatively stable, generation after generation. When the father got old, he would send his son over, and when the elder brother was injured, the younger brother would take his place.

The final part was actually selected by Emperor Mo Zibu himself, mainly from officers and students of major military academies and sons of military families.

However, although this group of people are strong in combat, they are basically just here to gain experience. What they want is three to five years of service experience. Some of them were even directly assigned by the emperor under pressure.

Therefore, while they were strong in combat, their fighting spirit was not very firm. At least when they could not see that following Lu Fan would lead to becoming feudal lords, they were unwilling to fight a bloody battle for Lu Fan.

"Yes, going across the ocean to a place where you don't know anyone and can't even earn a hundred silver dollars a year, you might as well go home and find a job as a porter or a rickshaw puller."

In the two capitals, one prefecture, and one county, rickshaw pullers could earn fifty or sixty silver dollars a year.

After sighing, Mo Gongze immediately knew what he should ask the English for.

First, the territory—whether it should be given to the Rhineland or the Netherlands—should be determined immediately through a treaty. Second, military expenses—Mo Gongze's should not be too high; the Lu army should be paid the same rate as English mercenaries in the past.

Third, he must be granted the title of Duke of Cambridge now, and of course, he also accepts the investiture of Princess Mary as Grand Duchess of Cambridge.

However, he must receive the rank of General of England and the corresponding treatment, and wherever he appears, the army of the Kingdom of England must obey his orders.

This isn't actually outrageous; it's just that the son-in-law's treatment has been upgraded to that of a biological son.

"The Anglo-Syrian allied forces are stuck in the Netherlands and can't get out. Their elite Royal Guard is in danger of being annihilated. The King of England definitely wants us to go and rescue them. What do you think? Should we go or not?"

Having figured out what he wanted, Mo Gongze began to consider how to complete the task efficiently. He wanted to show all the monarchs of Europe who the hell was the one who could save the situation.

"You should go, because there's practically no risk involved!"

Ah! Mo Gongze couldn't help but lose control of his expression for a second; he thought his generals would object.

After all, the English had been quite ungrateful, so Mo Gongze prepared a long speech to persuade the generals and soldiers to put aside their anger and help.

As a result, he didn't even have to say a word, and all the officers, including Liu Guoqing, the commander of the Right Guard, agreed.

"Tell me your reasons. Why isn't there much risk?" This time, it was Mo Gongze who was curious.

"Because the French troops in the Netherlands weren't exactly elite," Liu Guoqing said with a chuckle and a teasing tone.

"The reason why the Anglo-Syrian allied forces were defeated so badly by French general Bruner was entirely because the Duke of York, Frederick, was a good-for-nothing. If he had been in charge with any ability, the battle would not have turned out this way."

"Your Highness, there is another important reason, which is that the army sent by the Tsarist Russian Empire is simply too weak in combat."

These guys are basically serfs pulled out of the fields; they even think the Netherlands is paradise.

Many of them went to the Netherlands to fight but did not contribute much; instead, they were very enthusiastic about robbing Dutch farmers. They took everything, even demolishing the farmers' houses to cook for them. Another colonel, a commander of a thousand men, said, suppressing a laugh.

Mo Gongze couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this, while also reminding himself that he had been hurt by the sudden 'betrayal' these past few days and had lost his usual composure, so he hadn't even noticed these things.

"In other words, Bruna's 20,000 men in the Netherlands, and the 20,000 men in that pseudo-Badavia Republic, are not a powerful army at all; they cannot fight against us."

"Yes, Your Highness. If we send six thousand men to the Netherlands under the cover of the English Navy, defeating them would be no problem, but rescuing the Duke of York and his men would be no problem at all."

Liu Guoqing said with certainty, then glanced at Mo Gongze and continued to suggest, "Your Highness, you should consider whether we should take this opportunity to reclaim the Kingdom of Belgium, or choose to rescue the people and leave."

Upon realizing the possibility of retaking Belgium, Mo Gongze had a sudden thought: it would be wonderful to return to Brussels; it would be far better than living as a dependent in this situation.

“No, we can’t do that for now!” But Mo Gongze quickly rejected the tempting idea.

"Bruner is not yet a general in France, and the French army in Belgium is just a scrap. If we try to retake Belgium after defeating some scraps, we will definitely be attacked by the main French army."

I think the second anti-French coalition is about to end. We should consolidate our strength and wait until a more intense third anti-French coalition is formed, with all European countries joining the fight, before retaking Belgium.

Mo Gongze's strategic vision was truly remarkable, but he could never have imagined what kind of monsters he would encounter during the Third Anti-French Coalition period.

Buckingham Palace.

Prime Minister William Pitt Jr. was turned away by Moggonze, but King George III did not choose not to ask William Pitt Jr. to resign when everyone was laughing at him.

Instead, he offered the prime minister some words of comfort and then publicly expressed his support for William Pitt Jr.

This puzzled the Prince of Wales greatly, as he couldn't understand why his father, King George III, would do such a thing.

King George III looked at his son, who was dull-witted and only knew how to drink, gamble, and play with women, and became even more worried and certain of his thoughts.

Since Mo Gongze had gone to Cambridge, George III invited Prince Mo Zirong of Belgium from Hampton Court.

Upon meeting, George III handed a document to Mo Zirong.

“My dear brother, from this day forward, Hampton Court Palace belongs to you and your son. This is the only way I can express my apology. Please accept it.”

Mo Zirong was slightly moved. Hampton Court Palace holds a very high position in the English royal family. Although the royal family has rarely lived there in recent years, it is still one of the top royal residences in England.

However, Mo Zirong did not accept it immediately, but instead asked about something else, something that the Crown Prince of Wales couldn't understand at all.

“My brother, it seems Parliament is putting a lot of pressure on you. Could it be that there are also disloyal and republican elements hiding in the English Parliament?”

In fact, the reason why George III wanted to protect Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was quite simple.

At this time, England was also greatly influenced by the French Revolution.

If the French Revolution hadn't been so abstract and brutal, it's uncertain whether George III would have been able to maintain his position.

Now, although most English people have lost their fascination with the French Revolution, the Whig Party in the English Parliament, which advocates limiting or even overthrowing the monarchy, has become even more powerful thanks to this trend.

George III was a very powerful king, so he had a great deal of conflict with the Whig party.

Historically, the Whig Party became the Liberal Party thirty years later, and began to stop pursuing the overthrow of the monarchy and rarely mentioned limiting the monarch's power, because their goal had already been achieved.

After George III, the Kings of England gradually lost most of their real power and became mere figureheads.

And right now, we are at the height of the fighting between the two sides.

"Although the Prime Minister claims to be an independent Whig, he is not. He was promoted by me. He cannot fall now because my son is not yet capable of shouldering the responsibility."

King George III appeared very worried, and his words were somewhat somber.

“My brother, I am old.” The sixty-one-year-old king said, pointing to his head. “There are problems here too. Many times, I can no longer control myself, let alone the council.”

If they lost William Pitt the Younger and the Tory royalist ministers surrounding him at this time, the Hanoverian family might very well lose the country.

"Take this palace, and while you're at it, please persuade Ferdinand to forgive me. Many times I have no choice in the matter."

Fortunately, Ferdinand held on until the day the scales tipped in his favor, and I will fight for the best possible outcome for him.

Perhaps one day in the future, the Hanoverian family will desperately need his help again.

(End of this chapter)