The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 930 The New Habsburg Family

The Battle of Lanshofen finally came to an end, marking the complete demise of the French Empire. Mo Gongze and Li Xingtai's strategy was a great success.

Napoleon brought out all of France's last remaining fighting force of over 100,000 men, including his own core Old Guard and Young Guard, and they all perished in this place.

Of the 122,000 French troops who participated in the battle, a total of 27,000 were killed in action, more than 30,000 were wounded or disabled and lost their fighting ability for various reasons, and more than 30,000 were slightly or moderately wounded. In total, more than 80,000 people suffered injuries of varying degrees.

Of Napoleon's 4,500 Old Guards, more than 3,000 died in battle, and of the 6,000 men in five regiments of the Young Guards, more than 4,000 died; almost none of them escaped injury.

This battle finally and completely destroyed the core military force of Napoleon. Many of them were killed or wounded, and the rest lost their confidence and morale.

Of course, the Osaka-Xia coalition also suffered heavy casualties, with more than 40,000 dead and wounded.

"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand, one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand!" Mo Gongze sighed involuntarily as he looked at the nobles of the Divine Luo Kingdom who had come to pay homage to him.

“Ah-Piao, do you know that of the people who came to Europe with your third great-uncle and me back then, less than 30% are still standing by my side right now?”

At the moment of ultimate success, Mo Gongze looked at his nephew, who was clearly of mixed race just like him, and couldn't help but burst into tears again.

“Countless nights, I was afraid that I would let them down, and even more afraid that I would let down my uncle, the Great Emperor, who had nurtured me.”

He spent forty years and poured at least 100 million silver dollars of manpower and resources into the Xia Kingdom, all to plant a thorn in Europe and prevent anyone from creating East-West or Yellow-White conflict.

With such high expectations and such a huge investment, if I don't make it to the end, I think I'll have no other way out but to commit suicide to atone for my sins.

But thankfully, today I have finally fulfilled the responsibility I was born to bear. From now on, Europe will belong to us, uncle and nephew.

Mo Gongze was absolutely right; Europe will really have to be mindful of Mo's feelings from now on.

The impact of Maurice's victory at the Battle of Lanshofen was even more illustrious than that of the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.

Not only because the Battle of Lanshofen was fought by Auschwitz's army alone, while Waterloo was fought by the anti-French coalition against the French, but also because of Mogonze's identity.

In Europe, Maurice was a monarch who ruled over a region, on the same level as Napoleon.

At their level, apart from the two of them, other European monarchs, such as Alexander I, were considered top-tier, and even a playboy like George IV, the heir to the English throne, was considered a good thing for the country.

Now that Mo Gongze has defeated Napoleon alone, he will become the most famous European ruler, surpassing Napoleon in reputation.

The benefits of this identity are numerous; one might even be able to obtain the title of Holy King.

However, Mo Guangyi, who had just turned sixteen and whose life had been smooth sailing, could not quite understand the hardships his fifth uncle had endured. Instead, he stared blankly at the French prisoners sitting dejectedly in the mud in the distance.

Mo Gongze patted Mo Guangbi on the shoulder, "Get married as soon as you get to Sweden. Your current task is to have more sons. Maybe you'll have a chance in the future."

Indeed, there might be a chance, since King Louis XVIII of the French Bourbon dynasty had no sons and was already sixty years old.

Louis XVIII had previously hoped for the arrival of his niece, Princess Charlotte, and the three sons of Dauphin Serres.

One of the three—the Prince of Zhongshan and Duke of Valois of France, Mo Guangzhi; the Duke of Shen, Mo Guangbi; and the Marquis of Huining, Mo Guang—returned to France to become the crown prince.

As for the Sacré-Cœur Code, with the Bourbon dynasty already in such a state, why bother sticking to those old rules?

Unexpectedly, Mo Guangbiao shook his head and withdrew his gaze from the French prisoners. "It's better not to. It's too dangerous to rule over the people of such a great country that has undergone the baptism of revolution."

Moreover, those surrounding Louis XVIII's great-uncle were all fanatics who had lost everything, and they were afraid that I would go and seize the crown.

"Unless the people of France one day beg me to return and establish a democratic and free nation for them, I will not go back."

Mo Gongze was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "This is not something a sixteen-year-old boy like you should say. It seems that Du Qin is very capable."

"Fifth Uncle, the Great Emperor, truly loves you!"

Mo Gongze's eyes revealed a look of great appreciation. "But you are not bad either. You can understand what the right opinions are and listen to them. That makes you a qualified monarch."

As he spoke, Mo Gongze wiped his eyes. "I can't let those opportunists see my weakness. Good nephew, see you in Vienna."

"Fifth Uncle, please go ahead. I'll be there shortly." Mo Guangyi bowed to Mo Gongze and personally lifted the curtain of the carriage for him.

Mo Gongze had just cried, and he certainly couldn't let the nobles of the Holy Roman Empire see him, so he boarded the carriage without giving any explanation and headed towards Linz.

Just days before, the nobles of the various states of the Holy Roman Empire, who had been hesitant and observing, and who had adopted a policy of non-violent non-cooperation with Mo Gongze, didn't dare to utter a sound. They quickly ordered their servants to drive the carriage and chase after Mo Gongze's carriage.

At this moment, Mo Guangbiao slowly walked towards the French prisoners who were being held captive. The prisoners stirred with excitement, as they already knew who the prince in front of them was.

After decades of turmoil, even ordinary French people understand that Louis XVI was wrong to send the king to the guillotine, but he cannot be held responsible for the fate of the entire nation.

So the prisoners looked at Mo Guangyi with mixed feelings of fear and curiosity.

The Bourbon dynasty ultimately shaped the Kingdom of France, and without the wise King Henry VIII, there would be no France as we know it today.

Mo Guangbi's expression was also very complicated. This was his first time setting foot in Europe and his first time facing the people who had been ruled by his maternal grandfather's family.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't emotional, after all, his maternal grandparents were the ones sent to the guillotine in Paris, while the people in front of him were the mob his mother wanted to kill in her dreams.

A pair of terrified eyes met Mo Guangyi's gaze; it belonged to a young man who looked slightly older than him.

His messy, bird's-nest-like hair on his forehead looked as if it had been set on fire with gunpowder, with a jarring indentation and a somewhat disgusting, burning curl.

His face was covered in blood and grime, his upper eyelids were covered in black mud, and even his eyelashes were covered in mud, looking like mud sticks, which were very conspicuous.

His hands were bound with straw rope, and it was unclear how long they had been bound, but the skin was chafed and there were traces of blood seeping out.

The clothes on her upper body were nowhere to be seen, and her pants were tattered, revealing the inner thighs, which were much whiter than her upper body.

Seeing Mo Guangtiao walk straight towards him, the young man trembled uncontrollably. He stammered as if he wanted to say something, or as if he wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy again, but was kicked to the ground by Mo Guangtiao's guard.

Seeing this, Mo Guangyi shook his head, drew the dagger from his waist, and the young man who had just fallen was so frightened that his teeth started chattering, his knees buckled, and he finally knelt down.

Mo Guangyi walked up to him, lifted him up, and led him to a higher place by the straw rope binding his hands. Then, he lightly swung his dagger.
They cut the straw rope binding the young man's hands.

"The problems of France are not something my grandfather could solve, nor can they be solved by killing him."

Now you have paid the price for your choices. Enough French blood has been shed; it's time to end it.

"Go home, all of you go home, back to your mother's arms, back to your lover's arms, back to hug your children."

Stop doing harmful things for a baseless reason, and stop serving an ambitious emperor!

“Give them a good meal, some black bread and clothes, loosen their bonds, and let them go home.”

After saying this, Mo Guangbi turned and left, leaving behind a group of stunned French prisoners.

Lieutenant Armand Carrel, staff officer of the 16th Infantry Division, blankly accepted a piece of black bread, while his clothes were thrown directly onto his gunpowder-burnt head.

He could hardly believe that the words "Don't serve any more ambitious emperors" came from a king, the grandson of Louis XVI who had gone to the guillotine.

"Could this be the benevolent ruler described in the Seres culture, the kind of sage king whose death would cause even enemy states to weep?"

Armand Carrel murmured to himself, recalling his initial motivation for joining the army: to uphold freedom and equality, to overthrow the corrupt aristocracy, and to establish a constitutional state.

. . . .

In Vienna, Mo Guangyi met with the members of the Bourbon dynasty, who had once again gone into exile, at Schönbrunn Palace.

The scene was packed with people, including not only exiled Bourbon nobles but also many Austrian nobles and Swedish nobles who had come to welcome the king. After all, besides being the grandson of Louis XVI, Mo Guangbi was also the King of Sweden and the grandson of Princess Marie Antoinette of Austria.

In this respect, the abdicated Austrian Emperor Franz I and Mogonze were Mogonzee's maternal cousins, while the current Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I was his cousin.

The plump Louis XVIII, who looked very kind, couldn't help but shed tears when he saw Mo Guangtiao.

“Henry, little Henry, you look so much like my brother. He was a good man and he didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

Mo Guangyi's arrival marked the first time since the French Revolution, when Louis XVI and his wife were guillotined, that their direct descendants had reappeared before the European nobility.

Louis XVIII's words resonated with the nobles present, many of whom had lost their loved ones and wealth during the French Revolution.

Many people also understand that after the French Revolution, the nobles' lofty and sacred status was gone forever.

These heart-wrenching cries of shared grief are like an elegy offered to the old aristocracy of Europe.

Only the Count of Artois, who had a sharp gaze, feigned arrogance, and made no attempt to conceal his deep hatred for all those who had served Napoleon, later known as Charles X, seemed unmoved.

"The era of nobility has not passed, because our nobility is inherited from thousands of years of bloodline, bestowed by God, and cannot be destroyed by simple violence."

So-called constitutionalism is nothing more than the surrender of incompetent nobles to the common people. If I have to become a puppet like the King of England, I'd rather be a woodcutter!

Charles X remained as stubborn as ever, filled with pride in his noble lineage and an extreme aversion to constitutionalism; he even despised England's constitutional monarchy.

When Charles X finished his eloquent speech, a group of exiled Bourbon nobles surrounded them and cheered loudly.

Charles X, like a proud rooster, dressed in magnificent clothes, held his head high and looked at Mo Guangyi with a slightly provocative gaze.

It seemed that after Napoleon's capture, the Kingdom of France would return to its former state, and the Bourbon dynasty's rule would be as stable as Mount Tai. His only competitor, Charles X, was the man before him, Mo Guangbi.

Mo Guangyi sighed inwardly, becoming even more certain of his resolve not to taint the French crown.

He will not return to France until, at least, the stubborn elements like the Count of Artois (Charles X) have suffered a major blow.

"Henry, I heard you released those traitors and gave them clothes and food so they could go home?"

Mo Guangtiao had just sat down next to Louis XVIII when Charles X couldn't help but come up and question him.

It seems he wanted to take advantage of the large crowd to give Mo Guang'an a hard time and completely dispel Louis XVIII's idea of ​​passing the throne to Mo Guang'an.

Henri is Mo Guangpiao's French name; his full French name is Henri-François Louis Bourbon Mo.

The first Henry was the founder of the Bourbon dynasty, the first King of Bourbon, the Wise King Henry.

In the future, it is possible that words such as Gustav will be added to his name to indicate that he has become the King of Sweden.

Upon hearing Charles X's question, Mo Guangtiao, who had just sat down, immediately stood up, bowed according to the etiquette of an Eastern junior answering an elder, and then responded in authentic Parisian French.

“Before I was crowned King of Sweden, the count was my great-uncle.”

Mo Guangbiao first explained why he bowed to Charles X: because he was the king, while Charles X was merely a member of the royal family.

Whether in the East or the West, and regardless of the difference in seniority, there is no practice of a king bowing to other nobles, so Mo Guangbi had to explain.

After explaining, Mo Guangyi continued, "After more than thirty years of turmoil, Grand Uncle, the French have shed enough blood. It is time for forgiveness."

Forgiveness allows the French to return to their peaceful lives in their homeland, avoiding further turmoil and preventing them from being exploited by an ambitious individual to become the source of a reign of terror.

Everything I've done has only one purpose: to end the hatred among the French, both internally and externally.

Mo Guangbi's explanation was prepared by Mo Zibu before he came.

While acknowledging the progressive nature of the French Revolution, it also condemned France's practice of exporting the revolution through war.

At the same time, he labeled the Napoleonic Wars as unjust and supported the division of European ethnic groups into as many distinct categories as possible.

When Europe was divided into hundreds of nations, as it would be in later periods, no one could unify them.

Mo Guangbi's words resonated with the expectations of the nobles who saw the dawn of an end to the war.

European nobles suffered heavy losses in the Napoleonic Wars and hoped to end the war, return to consolidate their rule, and enjoy a few days of peace and comfort.

Therefore, as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately won a lot of praise and applause.

Mo Guangbi went a step further. The youthful impulse to show off still suppressed his reason. He looked at the nobles in the room and said:

"I think that after this, whoever can bring peace and prosperity to the people will be able to continue to be their leader."

In this new era, even if blood ties are precious, it is necessary to follow the will of the people.

These words were spoken to the Swedish nobles who came to greet him, and the Swedish nobles now had two requests.

First, they wanted to take advantage of the new king's prestige on the battlefield and try to gain as many benefits as possible at the Vienna Peace Conference.

Secondly, the king could accept the reality of co-rule with local nobles and establish a constitutional monarchy like England, where the king's things belong to the king and the nobles' things belong to the nobles.

Mo Guangyi's statement perfectly aligned with their wishes.

But Charles X was very indignant, because these were the very words Mo Guang's last wish to hear. Just as he was about to retort, a series of footsteps sounded.

The regent of the Kingdom of Oxia, Mo Gongze, the king of the Western Xia Kingdom, arrived in person, surrounded by a large number of court warriors.

"King Henry is right. A new era has begun, and we must all consider how to bring lasting peace and tranquility to the continent of Europe under these new circumstances."

Therefore, this time, I will summon all the monarchs of Europe to Vienna—all the monarchs, including His Majesty King George, the Regent of England.

Just moments before, Charles X had been looking indignant, but upon seeing Mo Gongze, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, obediently taking a few steps back and disappearing into the group of nobles.

. . . .

August 8, 1815.

After the monarchs of various European countries arrived in Vienna, Mogongze gave up the Vienna St. Stephen's Cathedral, the coronation site of the Austrian king, as the venue for his nephew Mogongze to be crowned as the King of Sweden.

In the presence of major European monarchs, including George IV, Regent of England; Frederick William III, King of Prussia; Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia; and Ferdinand IV, King of Naples.

Surrounded by a group of Swedish nobles, Mo Guangtuo was crowned with the Eric Crown, a symbol of Swedish royal power.

This was actually a very unusual, even somewhat bizarre, coronation ceremony.

Sweden is a member of the Lutheran Protestant Church, but he was crowned in a Catholic church. The person who crowned Mo Guangbi was not an archbishop, but his uncle Mo Gongze.

Looking at the crown on Mo Guangtiao's head, reflecting the candlelight of St. Stephen's Cathedral, many people suddenly realized that perhaps a new Habsburg-like family had been born.

Similarly, many people realized that Tsarist Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands were also about to undergo significant changes.

The only difference is how much Russia had to pay to gain forgiveness, and what form the Netherlands would take to achieve unification.

Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, are likely to face a complete upheaval.

(End of this chapter)