The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 843 Bloody Europe is Coming Soon
Transylvania, Sibiu, Chaoyun Castle.

At a tense moment when the Austrian Empire began to mobilize, Mo Gongze chose to return here, because the people here were the only force he could truly rely on.

Currently, after the ninth round of rotations, Mo Gongze's Lu Fan Three Guards have 26,000 men.

This included 17,000 of the most elite Han troops, 3,000 Transylvanian Guards Cavalry, and 2,000 Belgian Antwerp Guards.

The rest were mercenaries recruited from various places, as well as some Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Slovenian nobles who followed him, totaling more than four thousand people.

Meanwhile, the Han army and the Transylvanian Guards Cavalry Regiment each had one thousand men, totaling two thousand men, who were still in England.

They were responsible for protecting Princess Mary, the wife of Mok Kung Ze, and his one-year-old son, Mok Hou Zhen. These two thousand men were also the source of Mok Kung Ze's confidence in English politics, as he held the title of Duke of Cambridge.

The one who led the 7,000 Anxi troops of the Great Yu to join the Three Guards of Lu was Mo Gongbing, the son of the emperor's eldest brother, who was posthumously granted the title of Prince of Qionghai, and who is now the Duke of Qiong.

Duke Mo Gongbing of Qiongguo wore a bright red python robe. He was almost three cycles older than Mo Gongze, and even a few years older than Emperor Mo Zibu.

Before his third uncle, Mo Zirong, who was also Mo Gongze's father, returned to Dayu, he had always served as the head of the imperial clan.

Although the Imperial Clan Court of Dayu was destined to be controlled by the emperor himself because it was in charge of all the imperial relatives, princes, and garrison commanders in the country, and the head of the Imperial Clan Court was just a yes-man, Duke Mo Gongbing of Qiong State could still be considered to have a high position and great power.

Sending such a figure to Europe at this time clearly shows that Emperor Mozibu was very concerned about this war.

"Seventh Prince, before I came here, His Majesty repeatedly told me to be careful of Alexander I and Franz II."

Mo Gongbing immediately took the main seat upon arrival. As the eldest of the third generation of the Mo family dynasty and the head of the Imperial Clan Court for fifteen years, his prestige was indeed that high.

Not only did Mo Gongze have no objections, but the soldiers and officers below, and even the Transylvanian nobles present, also had no objections.

"Be careful of these two emperors?" Mo Gongze rarely showed such a bewildered expression. He thought for a moment, could it be that his fifth uncle, the emperor thousands of miles away, knew through some channel that the Russian emperor and the Austrian emperor were going to harm him?
However, Mo Gongze couldn't figure out why these two wanted to harm him.

The Austrian Empire is now in a very dangerous moment and can no longer afford internal strife. Franz II has absolutely no chance of targeting him.

As for the Russian Tsar.

Could it be!

Mo Gongze was startled. Did the Tsar know that he wanted to replace him and go south to swallow up the Ottoman Empire, and wanted to get rid of him in advance?

However, Mo Gongze didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts for long before Mo Gongbing, who was seated at the head of the table, spoke.

"His Majesty said that Alexander and Franz are both clever but lack great wisdom. They think they are invincible commanders, but in reality they have little military talent."

Moreover, both of them share a fatal flaw: growing up in top aristocratic families, they value personal dignity and face above all else, making it impossible for them to empathize with the common people.

This makes them potentially prone to forcing soldiers to sacrifice themselves for their dignity on the battlefield, and a single misstep could lead to a major defeat.

This statement seems far-sighted, but it is actually somewhat far-fetched; however, the conclusion is very accurate.

Although Mo Zibu did not know the details of the seven anti-French coalition battles in the Napoleonic Wars, he was quite familiar with the War of the Three Sovereigns, as it was so famous that any history enthusiast would know about it to some extent.

Of course, Mo Zibu didn't remember when the Three Sovereigns War started, but he could deduce and judge based on the current situation.

Mo Zibu's judgment was that the Three Emperors Battle was very likely to occur during this anti-French alliance.

Mo Gongze also felt that the emperor's fifth uncle's reason was a bit far-fetched, but since it was the emperor's special instruction, he immediately bowed to the east.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your concern. I will certainly handle this carefully."

With this opening remark, the conversation moved on to the next level. Mogongze's return to Transylvania was also due to another important matter.

That is, he voluntarily gave up recruiting soldiers for the Austrian Empire in Hungary and handed over this important task to General Veloth, a favorite of Emperor Franz.

In fact, according to the original rules, when the Holy Roman Empire faced a major war, unless it was heading south to fight the Ottoman Empire, it rarely conscripted soldiers within the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary. Hungary's military forces were basically on rotation to defend against the Ottoman Empire.

However, the Austrian Empire has suffered too many losses in recent years, and the Austrians alone are no longer able to hold on. The Holy Roman Empire, which it controls, has also been severely depleted. Therefore, it is necessary to conscript soldiers on a large scale within Hungary.

The reforms implemented by Mogonze in Hungary finally provided the Austrian Empire with a solid foundation for recruiting soldiers in Hungary.

“Since His Majesty is so understanding and has voluntarily relinquished the fruits of reform in Hungary, then our Lu Fan army should not commit all its main forces to fight alongside the Austrian army. It is better to preserve our strength,” suggested Shen Yao, the Lu Fan military commander.

Mo Gongze nodded in agreement. He was very pessimistic about the upcoming anti-French war and voluntarily gave up his power as governor of Hungary to recruit soldiers in Hungary, just to avoid throwing the Lu Fan Three Guards into the impending battlefield.

By relinquishing the power of conscription, Mogonze essentially handed over the fruits of Hungary's reforms over the years.

This was a huge benefit, and since he was so sensible, Emperor Franz II couldn't very well suggest that the entire Lu army participate in the war.

"The empire is going through a difficult time, and I really shouldn't start another conflict with the emperor. Since he has given some hints, I should take a step back." Mo Gongze even put on an act, completely categorizing himself as a good person.

Many of the civil and military officials around him genuinely believed that Mo Gongze was trying to protect the Austrian Empire and prevent internal strife within the empire. However, only Cao Zhenyong knew that the Prince of Lu was digging a pit for his cousin, Emperor Franz II.

Over the past two years, Magumzé, as the Governor-General of Hungary, has indeed carried out relatively successful reforms in the Kingdom of Hungary, enabling the Viennese court to penetrate into the lower and middle classes of Hungary and gain a deeper and broader mobilization capacity than before.

In reality, however, Mogonze's reforms largely stimulated, rather than alleviated, Hungarian independence consciousness.

The only difference is that this sense of independence is not a sense of Hungarian national independence, but rather a combination of Hungarians, non-Austrian Germans, Romanians, and a small number of Croats within the Kingdom of Hungary, creating a non-Austrian presence within the empire.

Simply put, these people were given a status: they were the main non-Austrian imperial citizens of the Austrian Empire.

Mogölze quietly shifted the Habsburg family's main supporters in Hungary from Austrians and dozens of other ethnic groups to Austrians and non-Austrians, already preparing for a dualistic empire.

In addition, many of the new nobles established by Mo Gongze were actually the intellectuals and lower-middle nobles who originally demanded independence.

Therefore, the centrifugal force in Hungary is stronger than before, not weaker; it's just that it's buried deeper and is currently bound by vested interests, making it less likely to erupt easily.

In this situation, if the Austrian Empire suffers heavy losses in this war with France, especially the conscripted Hungarians, they will certainly complain bitterly, feeling that they are being sacrificed for the interests of the Austrians.

Furthermore, Emperor Franz II, in order to protect the interests of the majority of Austrians, would certainly not, and did not have the financial resources, to provide substantial subsidies to the Hungarians, which would create a much bigger problem.

It's not impossible that the Hungarians might come to Möngke's aid and turn the empire into a dual system.

However, even though the plan was almost perfect, Mo Gongze still considered it for a moment and said to Liu Rongqing, the commander of the Central Guard:
"Not sending any troops at all won't work either. You will select three thousand men to form a special reinforced regiment, and they will join me as the Imperial Guard to fight alongside Emperor Franz." Upon seeing this, the military commander Shen Yao said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I don't think this battle will necessarily be a major one."

Emperor Franz is quite patient; I've heard that even with the entire nation mobilized, he still harbors a passive and averse-to-war mentality, and his intention to join the anti-French coalition led by the Kingdom of England and the Rus' Empire is not strong.

Franz is indeed quite resilient; after experiencing a series of setbacks, he has grown considerably.

He knew that the Austrian Empire was no match for France, and even after the Holy Roman Empire was effectively dismantled by Napoleon, he was not prepared to immediately join the anti-French coalition and remained on the sidelines.

But soon, another piece of news arrived, completely shattering Franz's hopes.

In May 1805, Napoleon arrived in Milan and donned the Iron Crown at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Santa Maria del Fiore, crowning himself King of Italy.

This action stunned Cao Zhenyong, the Yu plenipotentiary ambassador to Europe, and Shen Yao, the Lu vassal, who were meeting with Austrian Emperor Franz I at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

"Even without being crowned, Napoleon Bonaparte had already essentially controlled northern Italy, so there was no need for him to be so blatant at this point. Just five months after being crowned Emperor of France, he put on the iron crown of the King of Italy."

This person acts too hastily; he lacks the composure and vision expected of a ruler.

Shen Yao simply couldn't understand this crazy act of jumping into a mud pit with a splash, then getting everyone covered in mud, and finally being beaten up by the group.

Seeing that Emperor Franz on the throne was furious and blushing, cursing Napoleon for not paying attention to them, Cao Zhenyong made a gesture as if he were grabbing money.

"Napoleon needed the textile output of northern Italy to make up for the gap left by the ban on imports of textiles from England."

Northern Italy has a large number of banks, and these Jewish families, who are adept at making money, often have a history of financial dealings spanning hundreds of years. Controlling them, the reserves these families hold to guarantee currency issuance alone would be enough to cover the current fiscal deficit in France.

Most importantly, a large portion of these bankers in northern Italy were creditors of the Bourbon dynasty. By controlling them, all previous loans to France could be forcibly suspended or even forfeited.

While Cao Zhenyong was focused on finance and banking, Emperor Franz, trembling with anger, also began to feel fear.

"This Corsican cannibal, he wants to kill me! He wants to oppose the great Habsburg-Lorraine family! Then bring it on!" Emperor Franz roared, his voice filled with bluster but his heart was filled with fear.

The reason why Napoleon was considered to be killed was that once France controlled northern Italy, it could cross the Alps through key passes such as St. Bernard and Simplon Pass, which were traditionally controlled by northern Italy, and march directly to Vienna. An army of hundreds of thousands could reach Franz II in just half a month.

"Your Majesty, give the order. We have no other choice. The Empire has already lost the Rhineland; we cannot afford to lose Italian territory, much less the Kingdom of Naples." Mo Gongze knew that the Austrian Empire had no other options left.

The Holy Roman Empire's younger brother in the Rhineland and the territories of Italy were essentially two faces of the Holy Roman Empire.

With the Rhineland already bruised and battered by Napoleon, if the Holy Roman Empire were to be allowed to further inflict damage on the Italian territories, its right cheek would become bruised as well, rendering the Holy Roman Empire unnecessary.

Moreover, Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, was the uncle of Emperor Francis I and Maurice. If the French army, which controlled northern Italy, marched south again, Ferdinand IV would be in great danger.

With his uncle Louis XVI already dead, if Franz II were to stand by and watch his uncle Ferdinand IV, the King of Naples, also lose his head, he would have no face to be emperor.

"Then let's start the war!" Franz II slammed his fist on the table. He, who had been proud all his life, could not bear to lose face.

"Notify the ambassadors of the Kingdom of England and the Empire of Rus' that I, Franz, and the Austrian Empire now, immediately, join the holy anti-French alliance, and let the battle begin immediately!"

1805 October.

The Russian army began a large-scale mobilization within the country, with a total of 115,000 Russian troops under the command of Kutuzov, and began to advance into the Austrian Empire.

The enraged Franz II initiated a nationwide mobilization within the Austrian Empire, requiring all men aged 18 to 40 with a height exceeding 1.58 meters to register for military service.

In the end, more than 200,000 troops were mobilized, 70% of whom were conscripted from the approximately four million Austrians, a ratio exceeding one in ten.

Subsequently, the Kingdom of England also made a final mobilization, drawing out its small army of only tens of thousands of men.

Thus, the total strength of the Third Coalition against France, including Naples and a small number of Holy Roman Empire allies who were still willing to obey the Habsburgs, amounted to 400,000 troops.

1805 8 Month 9 Day.

Tsar Alexander I personally traveled from his homeland to the Austrian Empire, and the Third Coalition against France was formally established.

Subsequently, the Russian-Austrian allied forces began their advance in two routes, north and south.

The northern army, led by Kutuzov and Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, who was also a cousin of Emperor Franz and a cousin of Mogonze, was assembling in southern Germany and the Rhineland along the Rhine River.

This combined Russian and Austrian force numbered as many as 200,000, with almost all of Russia's 115,000 troops concentrated in this direction, and Austria also had more than 80,000 troops assembled here.

The Southern Route Army mainly attacked northern Italy, with its main force consisting of 100,000 Austrian troops and several thousand Russian troops, led by Archduke Charles of Austria.

Mo Gongze led a special reinforced regiment of 3,500 men, with Liu Guoqing as the main commander, to serve as the personal guard of Emperor Franz I of Austria. The remaining 20,000 or so men gathered in Pest, Hungary, as reserves.

Because he was not optimistic about this operation and did not want to get bogged down in a quagmire, Mo Gongze made relatively thorough preparations.

If the Austrian Empire were to suffer a crushing defeat in the end, he would probably have to send in his 20,000 men, at least to prevent the Austrian Empire from collapsing.

Meanwhile, in France, Napoleon had already prepared for Russia, Austria, and Great Britain to come against him together, and the French war machine was already running at high speed.

However, this man never expected that it was his insistence on being crowned King of Italy that ultimately made Austria determined to fight him to the death.

Napoleon's political vision and diplomatic skills were always his weaknesses. They might be enough for an ordinary person or even an ordinary king, but for a revolutionary emperor who broke new ground and the backbone of the French people during their most courageous period, they were simply not up to par.

His political sensitivity was always limited to the situation in France, and he rarely considered the whole of Europe in a holistic way.

"Your Majesty, let's launch a preemptive attack! Let's transfer all the large armies prepared for the Kingdom of England to the Rhineland and northern Italy, and completely crush the Austrians before the Tsar's army arrives!" Marshal Soult shouted excitedly to Emperor Napoleon.

The so-called Grand Legion was originally a powerful army that Napoleon built to conquer England across the sea. At its peak, it numbered over 100,000 men and was the most powerful weapon of war in the French Empire.

Meanwhile, French naval commander Pierre Villeneuve was unable to execute the tactic ordered by Emperor Napoleon to launch a feint attack, briefly control the English Channel, and cover the army's crossing of the sea to advance.

The large army is no longer planning to launch amphibious operations, so it's a good time to deal with Russia and Austria on land.

"Alright, I agree. Let's not continue to play diplomatic tricks with those corrupt old nobles."

Let the valiant French army, with bayonets and cannons, utterly defeat and conquer them on the battlefield!

(End of this chapter)