The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 887 Mo Gongze, the King of Pancakes
England and France are sometimes quite a fascinating pair of rivals.

Napoleon had already lost over two hundred cannons at the Battle of Aspern-Aisling, which severely hampered the French army's firepower. However, due to internal strife among the English, they lost nearly five hundred cannons to the French in Portugal.

Just as Spain and Austria were achieving great victories against France, severely damaging the myth of Napoleon and the invincible French army, the English came from afar to offer their assistance.

1809 7 Month 30 Day.

In support of the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of England launched a massive expeditionary force consisting of 40,000 soldiers, 21 warships, 20,000 horses, and 150 cannons, which landed in the Netherlands.

The British forces were led by John Pitt, the 2nd Earl of Chatham, who was the older brother of the late, famous English Prime Minister William Pitt Jr.

The objective was to capture Friesington and Antwerp, thus securing the English fleet's access to the Scheldt River.

This treaty originated in France, flows through the Belgian border into the Atlantic Ocean, and connects more than a dozen important cities in the Netherlands, including Ghent, Antwerp, and Fliessingen.

Therefore, as long as the English fleet can control this river, the French army, due to the decline of its navy, will lose control of the whole Netherlands, or at least Belgium.

To control the Scheldt River, the most important thing is to control Antwerp.

If Antwerp can be held, its naval port will provide the English Navy with a perfect home port. Whether it is to attack, defend, or even flee, the choice will be in the hands of the English Navy.

In this battle, if things were arranged normally, Mo Gongze, who still holds the title of Prince of Belgium, would be the best assistant.

Ten years ago, during the Anglo-Russian invasion of the Netherlands, Mo Gongze briefly recaptured Antwerp and took tens of thousands of men from Antwerp to form the Xia Fan Antwerp Legion.

In addition, the naval commander that Ryanstein helped Mo Gongze recruit, Wang Delu, a vice admiral and former deputy commander of the Penghu detachment of the East China Sea Fleet of the Dayu Navy, was from Zhuluo County (Chiayi County), Taiwan Prefecture, Fujian Province, and was in England.

Wang Delu came from a poor fisherman's family. He was brave in battle and strict in military discipline. In less than ten years, he became a vice admiral in the navy, and was considered a very promising general in the Great Yu Kingdom.

So in reality, he took the initiative to contact the people recruited by Ryanstein at Mo Zibu's behest, specifically to reorganize the navy for the Xia Kingdom.

Moreover, Wang Delu led a portion of the Xia vassal navy, consisting of seven warships, along with a marine force of 1,500 men.

Judging from any perspective, this battle is going to happen, and at least the Xia Kingdom's Antwerp Legion and the Xia Kingdom's naval fleet will definitely be involved.

In fact, the first thing the English government ruled out was the involvement of the Xia family of Mo Gongze.

At this time, the political struggle in England had reached a fever pitch, and politicians feared that King George III, who had lost control of the country due to illness, would regain power.

As George III's favorite son-in-law, whom he privately referred to as 'my son,' Mok Kung-ze was considered a natural supporter of George III.

Throughout England, and even the Prince of Wales, there was a consensus that even if the war was lost, the Duke of Cambridge, George Morton, should not be allowed to get involved, lest he gain prestige in England and become an ally of George III.

Then, unsurprisingly, the war was indeed lost.

Forty thousand British troops, along with more than twenty warships, were helpless against Jean-Baptiste Bernardot's twenty thousand men.

It should be noted that of the 20,000 men in Bernadotte, more than 6,000 were Irish who had defected to France, a little over 10,000 were Dutch troops, and less than 3,000 were French soldiers.

Moreover, although the current King of the Netherlands is Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother and historical father, after becoming King of the Netherlands, Louis Bonaparte, for the sake of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, opposed the Continental Policy and the blockade of England, and his relationship with his brother Napoleon was very tense. Historically, he will be forced to abdicate by Napoleon next year.

In this situation, Louis Bonaparte's Dutch army was basically the most superficially loyal to France among the French vassal armies.

Under these circumstances, the British army deployed its elite Guards, including the Coldstream Guards, with 40,000 elite troops against a weak French force of 20,000, yet they were unable to break through.

Forget Antwerp, their 40,000 men didn't even see Antwerp. They only occupied some small towns like Flushing before being driven back and trapped on Valheron Island.

Then, a large-scale epidemic broke out in the British army. This infectious disease, known as Valheren fever, was said to be a combination of malaria, typhus, and dysentery. In just one month, 8,000 out of 40,000 British soldiers were infected.

The British army then had no choice but to retreat. By mid-September, only 12,000 of the 40,000 British troops remained, and of those 12,000, only about 5,000 were still able to fight.

In other words, the British Army deployed its elite forces, and of the 40,000 men, only a little over 100 died in combat, but more than 4,000 died from disease. More than 9,000 men were rendered incapacitated by the disease and could no longer serve. Several elite units were rendered obsolete.

When the news reached Munich, Napoleon was overjoyed, as he was preparing for war. He began to publicize the victory extensively, as the French army had not only regained considerable morale but also no longer had to worry about the threat from the English.

On September 27, 1809, more than two months later than the historical Battle of Wagram, Emperor Napoleon finally assembled a massive army of over 9 men and launched another attack on Austria.

Of these 200,000 troops, there were 35,000 veterans drawn from the Spanish and Portuguese battlefields, a legion of over 60,000 men transferred from France, the Italian army under Napoleon's command, and auxiliary troops from the Bavarian and Saxon kingdoms.

Unlike the historical battles that took place near Wagram, near Aspen-Aislin, this war did not return to its historical location.

Historically, after the Battle of Aspern-Essling, the Austrians were completely incapable of pursuing the French, so much so that the French did not even lose their island base in the middle of the Danube, but were merely driven back from the north bank.

But this time and space is different. With the help of the Xia army and the Anxi army, the Austrians not only recovered the lost territory west of Vienna, but also invaded the Kingdom of Bavaria.

It's just that we don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

When Napoleon began large-scale conscription, internal strife broke out in Austria. The court's pro-war faction, led by Foreign Minister Stachiven, strongly demanded that Archduke Karl continue the attack on Munich.

They believed that the Austrian army had just won a battle and was in high spirits, so they could easily defeat Napoleon.

These court hawks, blinded by victory, also received support from Austrian Chief of Staff General Wendell and key Austrian frontline commanders Lieutenant Generals von Schiller and Armand von Rodmann.

Overconfident, they believed they could defeat the French army a second time, and thus urged Archduke Charles to go into battle every few days.

In reality, the morale of the Austrian soldiers was still relatively high, but the officers generally harbored resentment and did not believe they could defeat the French army again.

Because the Austrian army lost more than 40 brigadier generals and above, and more than 180 majors and above, in the Battle of Aspern-Esling, it basically lost half of its middle and senior officers.

This led to the remaining officers lacking confidence and the ability to quickly reorganize, making it impossible to continue the battle.

But the civil officials in the Viennese court didn't care about all that; they believed that Archduke Karl's failure to continue the attack was due to fear of the enemy and missing a golden opportunity.

At this point, Archduke John returned to Vienna and vented his emotions, accusing Moggenzo of leading the Anxi army to hoard their troops and refuse to participate in the battle, which in turn influenced Archduke Karl, causing them to miss the opportunity to continue their attack on the French.

This was quite a huge accusation. As soon as he returned to Vienna, Mogonze, who had asked Emperor Franz for the title of King of Hungary, not only failed to get what he wanted, but also received a sarcastic remark.

“Brother, you see? These are our allies in Europe, a bunch of fools who don’t even realize they’re about to die, and fools we have no choice but to help!”

Mo Gongze was furious. After returning to the military camp, he could only complain to Liang Wang Li Xingtai.

Li Xingtai's face contorted as he listened, his mind filled with questions. "Is Emperor Franz so incompetent? Can't he see that we hold more than 30,000 Xia Fan troops and nearly 20,000 Anxi troops, which are crucial to the survival of Austria?"
At this point, with the French attacking again, they wouldn't even part with a Hungarian king, let alone dare to treat you with disrespect.

"That's the power of an idiot. You can't even threaten him until his walnut-sized brain has figured things out, because he doesn't see the danger and therefore isn't afraid at all."

Mo Gongze was speechless. Emperor Franz had two characteristics: first, he liked being praised, even if it was obvious and very fake flattery; second, his stance and thoughts were wavering, and he was unable to judge the pros and cons of things. His opinion depended only on the last person he spoke to, and the person he was willing to speak to.

Well, it looks a bit like a cheap version of a certain internet celebrity's product.

"Then what do we do? Give up Austria?" Li Xingtai was speechless. Although he was almost forty years old, every monarch or commander he had ever met since he could remember had been above average.

Not to mention his imperial uncle and father, Li Xianwen, this resulted in Li Xingtai having absolutely no experience dealing with fools and not knowing what to do next.
“We can’t give up, we can’t afford to give up.” Mo Gongze shook his head. “Our Great Yu has already provided six or seven million silver dollars in aid to the Austrian Empire, and the investment in the Xia Kingdom is as high as tens of millions. If we give up, all of this will be wasted.”

Moreover, the Austrian Empire is our largest source of vassal armies in Europe in the future. If we really defeat it, our own sons will have to serve as cannon fodder from then on.”

"Then let's fight. Let's endure it for now and focus on the bigger picture." Li Xingtai thought about it and realized that they really couldn't ignore it.

"Fight?" Mo Gongze sneered. "If I continue to work for Franz, then I'm not the King of Summer, but the King of Pancakes."

Over the years, the Austrians have made countless promises to me, none of which have materialized. Not only have they failed to deliver, but I've also endured a lot of ridicule. To continue working so hard wouldn't be enduring humiliation; it would be utterly degrading!

Mo Gongze was agitated, his eyes practically spitting fire. Seeing this, Li Xingtai quickly chased away everyone around him, leaving only himself to prevent his subordinates from witnessing Mo Gongze's outburst.

"Fuck your mother!" Mo Gongze was indeed on the verge of a breakdown. He cursed loudly, using all the swear words he never used before. He started by cursing in Nanjing Mandarin, but eventually he started cursing in Cantonese mixed with German and Austrian dialect, to the point that even Li Xingtai could hardly understand him.

"Whether they were Austrians or English, even though I was half European, they still treated me like an outsider and were always wary of me and my father."

Seeing that Mo Gongze had calmed down, Li Xingtai couldn't help but think of what his uncle, Emperor Mo Zibu, had told him: Mo Gongze's burden was not something an ordinary person could shoulder.

He didn't understand at first, but now he finally does. To perform this kind of "divine turtle technique" of refusing to be offended is indeed not something an ordinary person can do.

"Actually, it's understandable. Because you have a powerful motherland behind you, these people don't guard against you, allowing you to gain enormous prestige and power. Then you can completely replace them with the support of His Majesty and the court."

Having no other option, Li Xingtai could only come up with a plausible reason to persuade Mo Gongze.

The effect was not bad. After he finished cursing, Mo Gongze calmed down a lot after hearing what Li Xingtai said.

After another ten minutes or so, Mo Gongze regained control of his body, and his demeanor and temperament returned to their usual state.

"The fact that Austria cannot fall does not mean that Franz, that idiot, cannot fall." Mo Gongze's cheeks twitched, and he was still somewhat angry when he mentioned Franz, indicating that he was really hurt.

"We will not participate in the decisive battle between Archduke Charles and the French, but will strike when the time is right, achieve a moderate victory, and then retreat."

I suspect that if the Austrians cannot defeat the French again, given Franz's cowardice, they will surely beg for mercy again, and the French will greatly weaken Austria.

When that time came, I immediately rose up to oppose peace talks with France and took up the banner of justice to lead the Austrians in their resistance against the French.

Hmph, if they won't give me the title of King of Hungary, I'll make Franz's title of King of Hungary lose its legitimacy.

The legal legitimacy of the Archduke of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary stems from resisting foreign invasion and defending the interests of the people. I can declare myself king after raising the banner of rebellion; why should Franz yield to me?

Li Xingtai was taken aback; Mo Gongze had actually come up with a solution that was almost perfect for both sides.

"It's a good move, but also a risky one, because it will draw French fire. Who knows, after you raise your flag, not only will the French come to attack you, but the Rus' will also come from the north."

"Then I won't even take Budapest. I'll use Belgrade and Sibiu as gateways, and the Transylvanian Plateau, the Southern Carpathian Mountains, and the Balkan Mountains as barriers. I'll retreat to Wallachia and Bessarabia and fight the French to the death!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xingtai walked to the table and carefully examined the map. He realized that Mo Gongze's plan was actually based on the terrain of northern Romania and Bulgaria in the future, using Belgrade and Sibiu to build military fortresses for confrontation.

Of course, most importantly, the Black Sea was now under the control of the Da Yu navy, and large amounts of aid could be transported from the rivers and the Caucasus via steamships across the Black Sea.

"Will His Highness the Crown Prince agree?" Li Xingtai thought the arrangement was good, but it interrupted the Anxi army's deployment.

Originally, Mogongze's position was just a secondary front, mainly supported by the Austrians. Now that Mogongze is going to raise the flag, it's as heavy as the attack on Moscow from the south and north.

This is a significant change.

“Hong has given birth to another daughter for me, and she has given me a lot of comfort in my daily life. So I have decided to make her my queen in the future, and the Xia kingdom will naturally be left to the eldest son born to Hong.”

As for Mary's son, I will arrange for him to become King of Belgium.

Li Xingtai looked at Mo Gongze approvingly. This younger brother was quite shrewd. The court's requirement was that he establish the Hong woman, whom the emperor had bestowed upon him, as his empress. In this way, the Xia vassal state, which the court had invested heavily in supporting, would be passed on to children with more Chinese ancestry.

"I heard that your brother, the King of Liang, has also just had a legitimate son. You and I are not actually related by blood, so I want to marry the daughter that Hong gave birth to for me to your son."

The dowry consists of Limburg and Luxembourg. I'm offering these two duchies to establish a county-kingdom, or even a kingdom, in the future.

Li Xingtai was somewhat tempted. The Duchy of Limburg and the Duchy of Luxembourg were not small, and he and Mo Gongze were indeed not closely related by blood.

Because Li Xingtai's mother, Mo Jiong, and Mo Gongze's father, Mo Zirong, were only half-brothers, their blood ties became even more distant by the time their sons reached that age, so it was still possible for them to marry.

“That’s not enough. I can fully support you, but the decision rests with Your Highness.” Li Xingtai was already inclined to reach this deal. He also had five sons, and getting another throne would be ideal.

"The political situation in Sweden was very volatile. They expelled King Gustav IV and installed Charles XIII as king."

However, Charles XIII was already old and had no heir, and his adopted Danish prince Christian had just died young.

The Swedes are in dire need of a suitable prince to succeed Charles XIII, and I think the second son my cousin Princess Charlotte gave birth to for His Highness the Crown Prince would be a good fit.

I can facilitate his becoming the godson of King Charles XIII of Sweden, thus securing his place on the Swedish throne.

Damn it? ?
Li Xingtai was full of questions. He really couldn't understand the rules of succession to the throne in Europe. Could it really be done like this?

"Will this work?" Li Xingtai asked with some skepticism.

“Absolutely!” Mo Gongze replied with great confidence. “The Swedes are facing attacks from the French and Rus’, and they desperately need a crown prince to share the burden.”

We will soon be attacking both France and the Tsarist Rus' Empire simultaneously, which will relieve some of the pressure on the Swedes.

I can also have Mary, as a princess of England, make the negotiations. The Swedes are completely dependent on England navally, so they will surely consider it seriously.

"Good!" Li Xingtai clapped his hands. Princess Charlotte was really fertile. She had given birth to three sons and two daughters for the Crown Prince. If they could get her second son to become the King of Sweden, the Crown Prince would definitely support Mo Gongze's plan.

Well, Bernardo Silva, who was enjoying the fruits of victory in the Netherlands, could not have imagined that because of Franz's mess, the throne that was about to be his would most likely be transferred to someone else.

(End of this chapter)