North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 201 The Engine of the European War

“Earl of Gold Mountain, you have been traveling around Europe for the past few months.”

Queen Victoria asked with great interest, "In your opinion, in what direction will the future situation in Europe develop?"

Azu raised an eyebrow and pondered, "Your Majesty, this trip was merely a cursory one. Furthermore, I am not a qualified politician or diplomat, and I have no insight into the future situation in Europe."

Queen Victoria chuckled and said, "Earl, let's just treat each other as friends and have a private chat. Say whatever comes to mind, it's fine."

“Since that’s the case…!” Azu said, “Then I’ll share my humble opinion, Your Majesty, please don’t take it seriously…!”

"Earl, just say it!"

After gathering his thoughts, Azu said, "The future of Europe will surely belong to Prussia...!"

“What…?” Azu had barely uttered a few words when Victoria was instantly shocked: “Count, what do you mean by that?”

Azu said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, I wonder if you have heard of the name of the first unified dynasty in Chinese history?”

"China's first unified dynasty...!" Queen Victoria thought for a moment and said, "As far as I know, was it the Qin Dynasty?"

Azu nodded: "I didn't expect that Her Majesty the Queen would also have such a good understanding of Chinese history!"

In this era, and in Europe before that, Sinology was a prominent field of study.

Many European nobles were filled with curiosity about this distant and mysterious empire.

Queen Victoria and others took pride in being able to tell a few ancient Chinese stories and idioms.

Having some knowledge of Chinese classics is a sign of being quite cultured!
Queen Victoria asked curiously, "Earl, you were just talking about Prussia, and now you're bringing up the Qin Dynasty of China. I see absolutely no connection between them."

Azu calmly smiled and said, "Qin, relying on the strategic pass of Hangu Pass and possessing the land of Yongzhou, with its ruler and ministers holding fast to their positions and eyeing the Zhou dynasty, harbored the ambition to sweep across the world, encompass the universe, and annex the four seas, with the heart to conquer the eight wastelands. At that time, Shang Yang assisted him, establishing laws and regulations internally, promoting agriculture and weaving, and improving defensive and offensive equipment, while externally forming alliances to fight against the other feudal lords...!"

"When the First Emperor came to power, he built upon the accumulated achievements of six generations, wielded his long-term strategies to govern the world, annexed the two Zhou dynasties and destroyed the feudal lords, ascended to the supreme position and controlled the six directions, wielded the rod and whip to punish the world, and his power shook the four seas...!"

Azu recited a passage from "On the Faults of Qin" and continued: "The Germany of today, which is clearly the same nation with the same language and culture, has been divided into Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and so on, with a total of thirty-nine kingdoms, duchies, principalities and free cities."

"How similar is the current state of Germany's division to that of China before its unification, when it was fragmented?"

"And how similar is modern Prussia to the Qin Dynasty before the First Emperor?"

"Both countries were founded on military strength, and their royal families were both diligent, frugal, and ambitious to unify the world!"

Azu continued unhurriedly, "Now Prussia is only waiting for a reformer like Shang Yang with an iron fist, and a brilliant and ambitious First Emperor...!"

"The day when Prussia will unify Germany is not far off!"

"Once Germany is unified, it will inevitably become the most powerful and aggressive empire on the European continent!"

"This was destined by Prussia's militaristic policies and its prevailing militaristic tradition. Anyone who became the German Emperor would have had to implement a radical policy of outward expansion."

Upon hearing this, both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's expressions turned serious.

Prince Albert of Saxony, in particular, was born in the Kingdom of Saxony, which was also part of the German Confederation, and naturally paid more attention to the future direction of Germany and Prussia.

Prince Albert couldn't help but speak up: "Count, Prussia has indeed always harbored ambitions to unify Germany. But the Austrian Empire will not allow such a thing to happen...!"

"And France will not stand idly by and watch Prussia unify Germany. Those Frenchmen will absolutely not tolerate the emergence of a unified and powerful enemy in their north...!"

"Austria cannot stop the unification of Germany!" Azu shook his head and said, "Even France could not stop Prussia from unifying Germany!"

"The France of today is no longer the invincible France under Napoleon the Great!"

"And Austria is no longer the Holy Roman Empire, and is even less capable of stopping Prussia!"

Queen Victoria said in a deep voice, "In the Earl of Goldberg's opinion, who will be Prussia's Shang Yang and First Emperor in the future?"

Azu shook his head and smiled: "Your Majesty, I am not a god, how could I possibly know who will be Prussia's Shang Yang and First Emperor in the future?"

Even if I know, I can't say!

Given the despicable and shameless nature of the British Empire, who knows what it might do?

In order to counterbalance Spain, England even issued licenses to pirates.

In order to balance trade and earn real money, the British even used war to impose opium on the Qing Dynasty. What other despicable things wouldn't they do?
Queen Victoria couldn't help but exchange a glance with Prince Albert.

In each other's eyes, they saw the fear and concern in each other's eyes.

The powerful British Empire consistently pursued a balance of power policy on the continent, using offshore measures to counterbalance European countries.

The British Empire thought and acted in this way: to support weaker nations in order to counter the powerful nations on the European continent.

The British Empire absolutely will not allow another Napoleon to emerge on the European continent!

Azu calmly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is just my humble opinion, and it should absolutely not be taken seriously!"

Pshaw, I wish you'd take it seriously!

The process of Prussia unifying Germany was so smooth that it defeated Austria and France in succession and encountered almost no significant obstacles.

To some extent, we should cause trouble for Prussia and make Europe break up and descend into chaos as soon as possible.

Given the immature conditions in Season 1, dragging Great Britain into the conflict as soon as possible to weaken both Great Britain and Prussia is the only feasible solution at present.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert nodded slowly: "Earl of the Gold Mountain, regardless of whether your views are correct or not, it is already very rare for you to be so frank!"

After subtly sowing discord between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, Azu wisely took his leave and departed Buckingham Palace.

……

Upon returning to the Royal Hotel where he was staying, Ah Zu received some good news.

"Hi boss, I just received some good news. Why don't you guess what it is?"

When Victoria came to report, Azu thought for a moment and replied, "Could it be... that our Eighteenth Division captured Garibaldi?"

“Huh, how did you know…?” Victoria asked in surprise.

Azu laughed and said, "If you count the days, it's been almost three months since the Pope ordered us to arrest that guy Garibaldi."

"If we haven't captured the powerless Garibaldi after all this time, then the eighteenth office should be disbanded!"

“Tch, disband…easier said!” Victoria said, “That guy is hiding on a small island called Staten Island in New York under the protection of an Italian-American inventor named Antonio Meucci.”

"Our eighteenth bureau also spent a lot of effort to find Garibaldi's whereabouts."

"It took a lot of effort to capture him silently and without leaving any clues."

Azu asked, "Where is that guy now?"

"The ship, which is currently en route to Rome, will be handed over to the Vatican in three to five days at most."

Azu confirmed, "It won't have any connection with us, will it?"

"As long as His Majesty the Ninth does not reveal this, no one will be able to trace it back to us."

Azu nodded: "Garibaldi has many supporters in Italy, as well as among Italian Americans."

"If news of his arrest gets linked to us, it will have a negative impact to some extent."

“If that’s the case…!” Victoria asked curiously, “Then why did we accept this mission?”

Azu smiled slightly: "Compared to the minor negative impact, gaining the friendship of the Papacy and preventing the unification of Italy are more important."

Victoria was even more curious: "Why should we stop Italian unification? What does this have to do with us?"

Azu shook his head, smiling but not answering.

Azu then changed the subject: "Victoria, I'm giving you another task."

"What mission?"

“Find a man named Carl in London.”

“Karl?” Victoria pressed, “What are his distinguishing features?”

"He was a writer and a PhD in philosophy who was expelled from Prussia, Belgium, and France... He had a full beard... Well, he never shaved...!"

“A very obvious sign, that should make it easy to find!” Victoria continued, “And after finding this person? Should we…!”

As she spoke, Victoria reached out and slashed her neck hard.

Azu looked at her in shock: "Victoria, how could you be so cruel now?"

"Pah...! What are you pretending for?" Victoria spat dismissively. "I learned it all from you!"

“Ahem…!” Azu coughed twice and said, “Find this person, and then send him ten thousand… no, twenty thousand pounds!” “Huh…? Sending money to someone again? Why…?” Victoria asked curiously.

"Don't ask why, just deliver it...!"

Ah Zu said in a deep voice, "Don't let him know that it was me who gave him the money."

"You just need to tell him in person to focus on his research and writing, and to publish his masterpiece as soon as possible...!"

"Okay, boss, I understand!"

Victoria was used to this eccentric man who always did some inexplicable things.

And many things, one only understands his true intentions much later.

Even now, Victoria still doesn't understand what this man is thinking.

……

Only after Victoria left and took people to investigate the whereabouts of that mentor did Azu fall into deep thought in his room.

During this period, Karl was expelled from various European countries and eventually had to temporarily reside in London.

During those extremely difficult years, he relied entirely on his meager royalties (just like many aspiring writers today, it was heartbreaking!), and another tutor who would scrape together five or ten pounds a month from his meager salary to make ends meet.

Between 1851 and 1869, the Great Teacher received a total of £3121 in remittances from another Great Teacher.

Even with these remittances, the mentor's family still lived in extreme poverty and hardship.

In the midst of poverty, three of his four children died because they were sick but could not afford treatment.

He pawned his coat and was no longer able to leave the house!
His wife, Jenny, who came from a prominent family, also lacked the funds for medical treatment despite her serious illness.

He was extremely poor. He couldn't even get his hands on potatoes and bread, let alone meat... He was in a state of abject poverty, not knowing where his next meal would come from!
He was a giant in spirit, but in reality, he was penniless!
This is the kind of person who became a great thinker of modern times!
His ideas illuminated the path of revolution throughout the world for the next century!
Therefore, Ah Zu decided that he should make life a little easier for the great mentor, at least so that he would no longer have to worry about how to feed his family.

……

On this day, as usual, Carl was engrossed in writing in his cramped rented apartment.

His wife, Jenny, was worrying about tonight's dinner.

In this impoverished home, all that was left was a few moldy potatoes...!
And she also has to feed this family of several mouths, big and small...!
"Karl...!" Jenny had no choice but to call out to her husband, "There's no food left in the house, what are we going to do...?"

Jenny's voice was a tearful, aggrieved tone.

However, she tried her best not to cry!
She didn't want to put any pressure on her husband, but... she really had no other choice!
Carl, who was engrossed in writing at his desk, slowly looked up, his face filled with guilt and self-reproach: "Jenny, it's all my fault...!"

"Why don't you take my coat to the pawn shop and pawn it...!"

"How can that be!" Jenny said, her eyes brimming with tears. "Karl, that's your only decent coat! How will you go out without clothes...?"

"Sigh...!" Karl closed his eyes in anguish. "No matter what, we can't let the children go hungry...!"

……

"Beep beep beep...!"

Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

"who……!"

"Shh...?" Just as Karl was about to open his mouth, he saw Jenny put her index finger to her lips.

"It must be the landlady... We owe her three months' rent, a full six pounds... She'll kick us out...!"

Jenny lowered her voice and whispered in Karl's ear.

"Apart from the landlady, no one will come to visit at this time...!"

"Beep beep beep...!"

The polite knocking continued.

"Sigh...!" Carl sighed softly, "Running away won't solve anything, Jenny. We'll have to face the landlady sooner or later...!"

With that, Karl stood up and opened the door himself.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Carl...?"

The landlady outside the door wasn't the one I expected!
Instead, she was a very young woman with beautiful dark blonde hair and a stunning appearance.

Behind the young woman were two other exceptionally strong and burly Chinese men.

"I'm Karl, and may I ask who you are, miss...?"

Carl was a little confused by the unexpected visitor.

"You're that Mr. Karl? The Prussian PhD in philosophy? The one who was expelled from all over Europe...?"

"Heh heh...!" Karl chuckled bitterly, "If there weren't another Karl who was even more unlucky, then the one you're talking about, Miss, would be me!"

"I'm my boss's secretary. I'm here on his orders to deliver something to Mr. Carl!"

As she spoke, Victoria took a large suitcase from the hand of her attendant behind her.

“This is a small token of my boss’s appreciation!” Victoria said. “My boss, please ask Mr. Carl to focus on your research and writing, and publish your great masterpiece as soon as possible…!”

As she spoke, Victoria placed the heavy suitcase at Karl's feet.

Then, she turned around and left with her people!

"Wait a minute!" A bewildered Karl quickly stopped her: "Excuse me, beautiful lady, who is your boss?"

“Hehe!” Victoria turned around and gave him a charming smile: “It doesn’t matter, does it?”

Then, Victoria and her entourage disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.

"What a strange person...!"

Karl stared in the direction they had disappeared, remaining lost in thought for a long time.

"Karl, what will that mysterious boss send us?"

As she spoke, the curious Jenny picked up the heavy leather suitcase and opened it...!
“Oh My God…Oh My God…Oh My God…!!!”

Upon seeing the contents of the suitcase, Jenny couldn't help but cover her mouth and let out a series of incredulous gasps!
"Jenny, what's inside...? It's so surprising... Oh my God...!!!"
"Oh my God...!"

Carl and Jenny stared intently into the suitcase, then simultaneously gasped in disbelief!

Inside the suitcase, neatly stacked, were thick piles of pounds!

"This...this is...how much...?"

"Karl, tell me quickly, I'm not dreaming...?"

"Jenny, I simply can't believe my eyes...!"

The couple rubbed their eyes vigorously, and then opened them again...!
That's right, an unprecedented and enormous fortune appeared before their eyes without any warning!
……

After a long while, the impoverished couple finally came to their senses from the shock and immense joy.

They were incredibly excited, tears streaming down their faces, and they hugged each other tightly!
……

After a long while, the couple did a quick count and found that the suitcase contained exactly 20,000 pounds (at that time, one pound was roughly equal to 7.3 grams of gold, or about 4.8 US dollars)!
"Karl...I...we, are we...are we finally free from hunger?"

“Yes… Jenny…!” Carl nodded heavily. “Our family will never have to worry about filling our stomachs again…!”

"We will never have to worry about being behind on rent again...!"

"We will never have to worry about our child's tuition and medical expenses again...!"

"We will never have to worry about those huge debts again...!"

As he spoke, Karl's eyes welled up with tears: "From now on, I can focus on research and writing and publish my book as soon as possible!"

"Only in this way can we avoid disappointing that gentleman's good intentions...!"

Jenny's eyes were brimming with tears of excitement: "Who on earth would give our family such a huge fortune...?"

After racking his brains, Carl still couldn't guess who had given him this enormous fortune of £20,000!

Finally, he could only shake his head helplessly: "Jenny, that respected gentleman probably doesn't want to reveal his identity."

"But we must find him no matter what! And to express our deepest gratitude...!!!"

(End of this chapter)