The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 915 The Sixth Anti-French Coalition

While the Russian expeditionary force was conducting large-scale military operations within the Rus' Empire, an offensive against the French Empire was also underway on the European continent.

However, the campaign against Russia did not proceed as smoothly as it had hoped, because Napoleon still had 210,000 troops in Novi Sad, Serbia, and the city of Novi Sad had enough food to feed 210,000 people for about two months.

Therefore, when the Da Yu army arrived in Belgrade, the attack did not begin immediately.

In the past two years, the anti-French army has also suffered heavy losses. In addition, with Gui Han's 30,000 elite troops in the western route, Mo Gongze only has a little over 80,000 troops at his disposal, and the food supply is very tight.

The food supplies for the anti-French army needed to be delivered from the mouth of the Danube River, but the Danube's flood season greatly reduced the capacity of steamships to transport food.

Mogongze could only disperse these 80,000 people along the Danube River and adopt a tiered approach to food supply in order to reduce the pressure. If they were all concentrated in Belgrade, some people would definitely go hungry.

Thus, after arriving in Novi Sad, Napoleon even had the energy to organize a probing attack, only to retreat to Novi Sad after being met with a resolute counterattack from the anti-French forces.

It seems that the advantages that the French army had accumulated in the previous period have vanished in an instant, and there is nothing that can be done about the French army.

But it was precisely at this moment that Mo Gongze's abilities became more apparent. He was not disappointed; on the contrary, he saw a future with a very high chance of winning.

"Napoleon is finished, the French are finished. I originally thought Napoleon would take his elite troops and leave quickly, so we wouldn't be able to catch them. But Napoleon was too greedy and tried to save all his troops."

As Mo Gongze spoke, he pointed to the map and said, "Novi Sad has ample troops and supplies, and it seems like we have no way to deal with them. But in reality, Napoleon has walked into a trap himself."

At this moment, the French army was like a clumsy tortoise; when it retracted its head and limbs into its shell, it was indeed invincible.

But if he were to bare his head and limbs and try to leave, that would be the end of the world.

"Your Majesty has keen insight and saw through the French army's fatal weakness at a glance."

Their food supplies are enough for at most three months, so Napoleon must either defeat us or escape unscathed within those three months. I don't think he can do either.

Liu Rongqing was the first to stand up and offer his compliments, and the other generals followed suit, loudly echoing his sentiments and dispelling the previous somber atmosphere.

"However, this requires a prerequisite: the Danube River upstream of Novi Sad must be cut off to prevent new supplies from reaching Napoleon's army."

Mo Gongze stood up and looked at Li Xingtai. "Cousin, your military abilities far surpass mine, so I entrust the 80,000 soldiers here to you."

Li Xingtai was taken aback, but then he realized what Mo Gongze was up to.

"I will return to Budapest and even Vienna to call upon all Germans and Western Xia (Hungarians) to rise up in rebellion!"

After stepping forward and shaking Li Xingtai's hand, Mo Gongze looked at all the generals and said, "After I leave, His Highness the Prince of Liang will be the commander of the three armies."

All those under my command, whether Chinese, Western Xia, or German, must obey His Highness the Prince of Liang's orders.

Then we arrived at Gui Han, the former commander of the Western Route Army that had led the expedition against Russia. "General Gui sacrificed a great deal for the greater good, and I, Mo Gongze, will never forget that."

Fortunately, we have Napoleon in our grasp now. If we can defeat the French army, this achievement will be no less significant than the invasion of Russia. I entrust the matters of the battlefield to General Gui.”

Gui Han laughed heartily, “It’s not just no smaller than the war against Russia, it’s actually much larger. Our Western Route Army soldiers should thank Your Majesty.”

In late May 1814, after entrusting his army to Li Xingtai in Belgrade, Mogongze immediately chose to head north back to Hungary, instigating the interception of French transport convoys and ships in various places.

At the same time, he ordered Reinstein, who was stationed in Bucharest, to lead 3,000 troops back to Transylvania via the same route the French army had taken.

Poor old Ryan, over seventy years old and almost all of his golden hair had fallen out, still couldn't rest and had to tirelessly cross the South Carpathian Mountains.

Meanwhile, the French army was also trying to save itself. Napoleon successively dispatched Marshals Joachim Murat and Brune, each leading 20,000 infantry and cavalry, to retreat along the Danube River.

These two armies carried large quantities of food, dealt with anti-French guerrillas along the way, fortified supply depots, and cared for livestock in preparation for the orderly withdrawal of the main army.

Li Xingtai naturally couldn't ignore it. Under his command, all the cavalry from the 80,000-strong anti-French army and the Left Dragon Guard of the Imperial Guard brought by Gui Han were selected.

With Gui Han as the commander-in-chief of the vanguard, the troops were divided into five routes, led by Xia general Liu Rongqing, Liao generals Li Yunlong and Zheng Guohong, and Xia general Bao Ning respectively.

Each force consisted of around five thousand men, supported by local Serbian and Croatian guerrillas, to encircle and intercept the French army.

Li Xingtai continued to confront the French army in Belgrade, keeping an eye on the main French force and preventing them from leaving Novi Sad at will.

On June 1, Mogongze, traveling light and escorted by 6 cavalry, left the banks of the Danube River and headed directly north into the heart of Hungary – the middle Danube plain.

On June 6, Mogonze arrived at the southern end of the middle Danube plain, on the outskirts of Szeged, Hungary's fourth largest city.

It was the busy farming season, and the fields were crowded with farmers who looked emaciated and had pale, sickly faces.

No, they should be called serfs. They were shirtless, with different colored cloth belts tied around their waists, which were used to distinguish who these serfs belonged to.

Some of the serfs carrying heavy loads even had thin iron chains between their feet, which made them seem like the most unruly among the serfs. The chains prevented them from running fast.

Upon seeing a cavalry unit approaching in the distance, the serfs stopped what they were doing, staring blankly and numbly. But soon, like frightened puppies, they trembled and knelt on the ground.

Because they were serfs, while those who could ride horses and carry guns must have been masters.

“Where did you come from, sir? This is the territory of Count Semel, and Count Janot Semel is in charge of us.”

“Janote Semel,” Mo Gongze squeezed out the name through gritted teeth.

“I remember the king once ordered all the Western Xia people to restore their ancestral surnames.”

I heard that the Semel family was granted the surname Liu and was required to abandon the Austrian custom of having the surname before the given name; it seems you did not follow this rule.

Mo Gongze only brought a few dozen cavalrymen with him, while the main force was resting in a distant river bend, so the steward did not suspect that the king had returned.

They treated him as just someone passing through, a Hungarian nobleman who disliked being ruled by the French.

"We also want to be Seres, but His Majesty the King can't defeat the French."

Now that our Semmel family has received investiture from the French Emperor, we must naturally act in accordance with French custom.

"Fine, very well!" Mo Gongze was so angry his nose almost twisted out of shape.

The Semmel family was a family he relied on heavily in the southern plains; it was he who elevated the Semmel family from a lower-middle Hungarian noble family to a great noble family with more than eighty estates.

"Then what about these people? Why hasn't His Majesty the King's decree, which freed all serfs and made every Hungarian a free citizen, been enforced?"

The farm manager then took a closer look at Mo Gongze, who was being escorted by dozens of cavalrymen, but he found nothing unusual.

After the Semmel family sided with France, many nobles around them followed suit and formed a militia to suppress serfs inspired by Mogonzé's edict to emancipate them.

The militia members were dressed exactly like Mo Gongze and his men. Most importantly, the farm manager never dreamed that Mo Gongze had returned.

At this time, news traveled very slowly. Many people received news that Napoleon had chased Moghan to the seaside where he had nowhere to escape and would soon be wiped out.

"Liberate the serfs, humph!" the steward sneered. "This has been the rule in Hungary for hundreds of years. If the serfs are all liberated, who will work for us?"

The king made reckless promises in his attempt to fight the French, completely disregarding how we followers would live in the future. I don't think he understands at all who supported him to become King of Hungary.

Mo Gongze nodded, turned and walked towards his warhorse. "I understand now. Liu Yano (Yanot Semel) rebelled against me for this reason. That makes perfect sense!"

The farm manager shuddered, and the serfs kneeling around him also looked up in shock, staring intently at Mo Gongze.

"I know very well who supported me to become King of Hungary, but it certainly wasn't corrupt parasites like you!"

Amidst the roar, a flash of white light appeared, and the head of the farm manager flew into the air. It turned out that Mo Gongze had gone back to his warhorse to retrieve his knife.

After killing the foreman with a single blow, Mo Gongze dragged over the strongest serf who was bound in chains. The serf thought Mo Gongze was going to kill him too, and stared intently at Mo Gongze with his huge bull-like eyes. His mouth moved a few times, but he ultimately did not beg for mercy.

The next second, Mo Gongze pulled up the thin chain on his foot and placed it on a rock. With a crisp strike, he cut the chain in two.

"All Western Xia people, Western Xia people who no longer want to be serfs, every free Western Xia person, take up your weapons and follow me to kill those traitors who have sided with France."

Proclaim to the entire Western Xia Kingdom: Your King has returned!

The burly man who had been staring with wide eyes suddenly burst into tears, and he lunged forward, hugging Mo Gongze's leg and sobbing loudly.

"Go back and kill those traitors who sided with the French!" someone shouted, and the serfs in the fields immediately stirred up agitation.

In the distance, a steward was about to get up and run away when he was immediately pinned down in the field by four or five serfs and beaten to death with hoes.

Four hours later, the garrison in Segede discovered that thousands of farmers had suddenly appeared in the fields. Count Janot Semel, who assumed it was a serf riot, immediately sent troops out of the town to suppress the disturbance.

As soon as the cavalrymen who were suppressing the rebellion left the city, they saw a flag being raised, with a giant red eagle flying under a white background and a golden sun and moon.

"Helian Layos, your weapon is pointed at your king! Has the Helian family of Lurao also betrayed their faith?" Mo Gongze rode out from the crowd and roared under the banner of the Western Xia king.

Lieutenant Colonel Herlian Lajos stared in shock at his king, then swiftly drew his pistol and fired a shot.

He then killed the French captain standing next to him.

The Hungarian officer beside him immediately understood and drew his saber, hacking wildly at the Frenchman in the middle of the column.

"Kill all the French and welcome His Majesty the King back!"

"His Majesty the King has returned! The Hungarians can now eat the food they grow themselves!"

Outside the city of Segede, cheers erupted like thunder. Count Janot Semel, standing on the city wall, turned deathly pale. After running a few steps, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, utterly powerless.

Because apart from his few trusted men, the guards around him with rifles were all looking at him with the eyes of prey, and all that was needed was a signal.

Mogonze's reforms in Hungary were very effective: he established a three-tiered parliament, abolished the corrupt aristocracy, unified the national tax system, promoted industry and commerce, introduced steam engine technology from Da Yu, and finally issued the decree for the emancipation of serfs.

Each of these is exactly what the Hungarian people need most.

Coupled with the French's rampant exploitation of Hungary, everyone in Hungary, except for the nobles who cooperated with the French, longed for the king's return.

Three days later, Mogongze arrived at Kechikemet, north of Segede. The nobles and common people there immediately killed a small number of French guards and traitors to help Mogongze, while spreading the news of the king's return everywhere.

Two days later, on June 11, Mogongze arrived in Lukshone, 6 kilometers southwest of Budapest.

When Mogongze marched north from Belgrade, he had only 1,500 cavalrymen. By the time he set out from Segede, he had 5,500 infantry and cavalrymen. After passing Kechkemet, his army had exceeded 10,000 men.

Upon arriving in Lukšañí, Möngöze not only had 20,000 troops, but also over 100,000 Hungarian armed cavalrymen who were rushing from all over the country. They had all heard the news and killed the French to come to the king's aid.

In the early hours of June 12, before Mogongze launched his attack on Budapest, the citizens of Budapest spontaneously took up arms and organized two to three thousand militiamen to come and support Mogongze.

The French commander of Budapest was Lieutenant General Emmanuel de Grouchy, a French nobleman and the son of the first Marquis de Grouchy.

However, he and his brother-in-law, the Marquis of Condorcet, were not conservatives, but rather supporters of the French Revolution. As a result, they eventually stayed in France and became generals in the revolutionary regime.

At this time, Lieutenant General Grouchy still had 20,000 French troops under his command, half of whom were Swiss and only a small number of Frenchmen, about two regiments of about 3,000 men.

However, under Lieutenant General Grouchy's command, their fighting strength was still quite good. Although Mogonze seemed to have 50,000 to 60,000 men, they had almost no professional soldiers. To defeat Lieutenant General Grouchy, more Hungarian loyalist militia would need to arrive.

"I need food from Budapest, and I also hope to save the city from being destroyed by war."

Mo Gongze looked at Louis, the fifth Prince of Condé, beside him, "Are you confident in persuading Grouchy? By now, he should be having some regrets."

Prince Condé soon arrived in Budapest and met with Lieutenant General Grouchy. "I don't want to say that your choice back then was wrong, Lieutenant General, but you should understand what kind of choice you are facing now."

Prince Condé's speech was brief, but it stirred up a great deal of emotion within Grouchy.

More than twenty years ago, during the French Revolution, Lieutenant General Grouchy and his brother-in-law, the Marquis Condorcet, did indeed support the revolution.

But like the Marquis of Lafayette, they were moderate reformers who sympathized with the plight of the lower classes. When the extreme Jacobin Mountain Faction came to power, they, like the Marquis of Lafayette, were persecuted.

The king and queen were beheaded, Lieutenant General Grouchy was repeatedly humiliated and expelled from the army, and his brother-in-law, Marquis Condorcet, was even killed by the Mountain Faction. All of this greatly agitated Lieutenant General Grouchy.

"Can His Majesty forgive me?" Lieutenant General Grouchy asked nervously.

Historically, he fled immediately after the Bourbon Restoration because he knew exactly how much people hated someone who had betrayed their class.

Of course, this "His Majesty" does not refer to Maurice, but to the exiled Louis XVIII.

“If you become one of us now, His Majesty the King can grant you a pardon,” Prince Condé stated clearly.

This was also promised by Louis XVIII, allowing Maurice to exercise some of the powers of the Bourbon kings, such as the power of pardon.

“Alright, then I am willing to return to His Majesty the King’s side once again.” Lieutenant General Grouchy made his decision quickly; he regretted it and had nowhere else to turn.

On June 13, Mo Gongze entered Budapest without firing a shot.

Subsequently, armed forces from all over Hungary began to rapidly converge on Budapest, which became a key location to block the French army's retreat.

Prussia, Potsdam, Palace of Forgetfulness.

Count Talleyrand's influence began to take effect, and King Frederick William III of Prussia, who had received his help many times, believed in Count Talleyrand's judgment.

Of course, Queen Louise of Prussia also played a significant role in this.

Frederick William III received representatives of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sweden at Sanssouci Palace.

Although Shen Guogong Mo Guangzhi has not yet become the King of Sweden, the Kingdom of Sweden has decided to send 20,000 troops to participate in the war after being persuaded by various parties.

Frederick William also pledged on the spot to send 30,000 troops to join the Kingdom of Sweden in attacking the French forces in Pomerania, which would later become the northern Baltic coast of Germany, from the north and south.

After clearing the French forces from Pomerania, the Swedish army, together with the Prussian army, marched into Hungary to fight the French in a decisive battle.

Metternich, the representative of the Austrian Empire, also announced that the Austrian Empire would mobilize the entire nation and send 50,000 troops to block the French army.

On June 20, Joachim Murat arrived on the outskirts of Budapest, but his army suffered heavy losses due to the interception by the anti-French forces along the way. Of the 20,000 elite troops who set out, only a little over 16,000 remained.

Murat, upon arriving there, was besieged by 80,000 Hungarian militiamen led by Mogonze.

The Hungarian lower classes had long been fed up with the exploitation by the French, and they fought with extraordinary bravery, making it impossible for Murat to establish a reliable position, and they were at risk of being defeated at any time.

But he was lucky.

On July 2, another French Marshal, Brune, arrived. Although Brune was still exhausted from the attacks along the way, his arrival stabilized Murat's forces, which were on the verge of collapse.

But then came even more terrifying news: the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Austria, and the Seres Empire represented by Mogonze met in Vienna and formally announced the formation of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition.

The two immediately relayed this terrible news back to Novi Sad, and were told to hold on.

He also stated that the Emperor would soon lead the entire army of Novi Sad to Budapest to crush all enemies who dared to provoke France.

(End of this chapter)