The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 314 The Importance of the Habsburg Monarchy in the East and West

Mo Zirong did what he said, and the dinner party he hosted was indeed very Seres-style.

Big red lanterns, big red couplets, big red "Fu" characters, original Chinese furniture shipped from thousands of miles away, and expensive porcelain that is not an export version.

The finest Wuyishan Dahongpao, Wuliangye brewed under the instruction of King Mo, and sweet rice wine from the Hakka people.

The food was even more dazzling. Although it was not delicacies from land and sea, for Europe, where even steak had not been invented at that time, the Cantonese breakfast varieties alone were enough to satisfy them.

At this time in Europe, steak was still a kind of meat pie wrapped in puff pastry and fried, and pizza was still in its most primitive state because there was not so much cheese and various ingredients for chefs to play with freely.

The most popular dish in Europe at that time was stewing, which involved stewing potatoes, tomatoes, onions, all kinds of meat and a lot of spices. This kind of dish can still be found in many later old-fashioned imperial Western restaurants.

Uh, it's inexplicably similar to India's curry stew. No wonder many Europeans and Americans in later generations have a special liking for Indian food.

In addition to this thing, all meats and seafood are added with sugar, making them taste sweet and sour, which is really hard to describe.

Compared with them, Cantonese cuisine, which has basically reached perfection at this time, can be regarded as a dimensionality reduction attack.

It can even be said that if the Europeans had not initiated the Industrial Revolution that brought great material abundance, European cuisine would never have been on the table.

So, when the shiny shrimp dumplings, delicious egg yolk buns, soft and glutinous Mala cakes are paired with the crispy and tender roast suckling pig, the oily and meaty roast goose and other classic Cantonese dishes come on the stage.

The only sound that could be heard in the entire audience was the sound of knives and forks. From the king to the ministers to the invited celebrities, even Voltaire and Rousseau were all bent over their desks, eating heartily, without exception.

The last dish is a secret recipe of honey-spicy roast chicken, or rather, it is called Orleans roast chicken, but it was invented by Mo Zibu.

This dish was the favorite of European officers and soldiers in the Xing Tang Kingdom at that time. It was said that because it was so suitable for European tastes, it could alleviate their homesickness.

The chief military counselor of the Xingtang Kingdom, Austrian Baron Moritz Kruger, personally brought the fattest roast chicken and presented it to Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.

He introduced it in an Austrian accent, "This roast chicken was specially created by the respected King Mo Zhao to ease the homesickness of the officers and soldiers in the European state.

Your Highness, I have slightly modified it, adding the sweeter flavors that we Austrians love. After obtaining King Mo Zhao's permission, I have named it Austrian Roast Chicken. Please enjoy it, Your Highness."

Queen Marie Antoinette received such special treatment that her beautiful eyes narrowed. She carefully cut off a piece of wing meat, put it into her mouth and tasted it. She couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

It's sweet and spicy, like honey dripping, but not too sweet, and full of the unique aroma of barbecue.

It has to be that this kind of food invented by Europeans and Americans is more suitable for their taste than Chinese food. In Mo Zirong's opinion, the Orleans Grilled Wings are just so-so, but the guests attending the dinner this time all ranked this dish as the first choice.

At the same time, Mo Zirong did what he said. He prepared a set of authentic Ming Dynasty Chinese dress for each guest, although there were more than a hundred guests and it was impossible to make them all in advance.

But Mo Zibu still brought twenty sets of samples, which could be worn by people of similar body shapes. Among them, the chief cardinal minister, Count Maurepa, wore a scarlet robe of the chief minister.

The three great French Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot, who were specially invited, wore the blue robes worn by the scholars of the Hanlin Academy.

There were also some other formal dresses that were in line with official positions and titles, which were all given to French nobles of similar status. For those who were not given on the spot, Mo Zirong ordered people to measure their sizes and had the Chinese tailors of the delegation make them.

The climax of the banquet was when Queen Marie Antoinette appeared wearing the Ming Dynasty queen's phoenix robe and a crown with twelve dragons and nine phoenixes.

The splendor, elegance and beauty that came from a faraway advanced civilization immediately drove the French ladies crazy with jealousy, and Louis XVI's eyes were filled with extreme admiration.

Queen Mary, who always loved to be in the spotlight, was so excited that she almost fainted. For the first time in her life, she felt a sensation where even her breathing seemed to be difficult.

This was something she had never felt since the moment she became the official Queen of France.

After enjoying this unique scenery in Europe, Marie Antoinette came to thank Mo Zirong with tears in her eyes.

Mo Zirong felt relieved, and everyone in the delegation was excited.

There was no other reason, because Marie Antoinette was not only the Queen of France, but also made King Louis XVI obey her orders, and also because she was the legitimate princess of the Habsburg family.

The Habsburg Monarchy at this time was not the same as the later Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Habsburg Monarchy at this time had not yet been completely destroyed by France.

They hold the title of Holy Roman Emperor, and the monarchy is not landlocked.

They controlled the Kingdom of Croatia and not only had access to the Adriatic Sea, but also controlled the Kingdom of Tuscany in northern Italy today.

After the Medici family in Florence died out, this place became the actual territory controlled by the Habsburg Monarchy.

At the same time, most of present-day Belgium also belonged to Austria and was called the Austrian Netherlands.

This is even more crucial. In other words, if Mozibu wanted the French to directly threaten the United Provinces of the Netherlands, theoretically the French could not go.

Because France and the United Provinces of the Netherlands do not share a border, there is the Austrian Netherlands in between.

At this time, the Ostend Company, also known as the Austrian East India Company, which had been threatened and forced to be cancelled by Britain and the Netherlands, was being planned to be restarted by Emperor Joseph II of the monarchy.

For Mozibu, the Habsburg monarchy's merchant fleet can also support a certain part of the transportation capacity that the French merchant ships cannot completely replace.

This is very important for Mozibu, who wants to resolve the Dutch East India Company within five years.

Huang Jue, an alchemy enthusiast, finally met the mathematician Lagrange, whom he admired. Although it was in such a frivolous banquet, the two of them still had a very pleasant chat.

Mo Zirong was introducing China's Confucianism and the imperial examination bureaucracy to the somewhat aging Voltaire, Rousseau interjected from time to time, and Diderot was chatting about opera with a scholar from eastern Zhejiang.

Lavoisier was still a young man at that time. He was very flattered to receive an invitation to such an occasion. Wearing the official uniform of a seventh-rank Hanlin scholar, he gradually joined the conversation between Huang Jue and Lagrange.

"I think the phlogiston theory cannot stand up to verification, although we can obtain or feel a substance called phlogiston from Mr. Priestley's experiment.

But I still believe that there is no such thing as phlogiston in this world, and nothing is destined to burn.

The element that can make something burn is more likely an element, a gaseous element. Only with its existence can the concept of combustibles exist. When this element acts on combustibles, combustion occurs.

It is even possible that the reason we are alive is because we can breathe this gas.

Gentlemen, I have a hunch that alchemy, having developed to this point, should have evolved into a more rigorous, scientific discipline, rather than the haphazard and chaotic addition of various substances for calcination, or simply spiritual alchemy."

Huang Jue's eyes widened, and he quickly started chatting with Lavoisier. It turned out that the alchemists in Europe also pay attention to practicing qigong, and they practiced methods such as fetal breathing and dual cultivation!

However, this charlatan had a slightly biased idea. He understood the oxygen hypothesis proposed by Lavoisier as spiritual energy, the ancient spiritual energy that could help one become an immortal.

The two sides had a heated exchange. Huang Jue felt that if Lavoisier continued his research, he would definitely discover spiritual energy and then open up a path to the great road of heaven and earth.

This person is truly a genius!
In fact, Huang Jue can also be regarded as a genius, but his foundation is off, and it is difficult for him to break away from the practice of cultivating immortals with his mind and refining pills.

However, right behind Huang Jue, an eleven-year-old Taoist boy was holding a tray full of Hakka rice wine for him, Lavoisier, Lagrange and others. He was almost mesmerized by what he was saying, his eyes sparkling.

. . . .

"Fallen petals fill the sky, obscuring the moonlight. I offer a cup of wine to the Phoenix Terrace. The imperial daughter offers incense with tears in her eyes, willing to sacrifice her life to thank her parents."

On the very Chinese-style stage, the singing was the famous Cantonese opera "The Princess of the Emperor" which King Mo had just ordered to be rushed to produce. It tells the love story of Princess Changping, the daughter of Emperor Chongzhen, and her husband Zhou Shixian.

Although Mo Zibu's work was rough, the Cantonese opera at that time was not as well-known at home and abroad as it was in later generations.

But "The Flower of the Imperial Concubine" is so classic that both the storyline and the singing style transcend time.

Therefore, as soon as the performance started, it attracted everyone's attention. Even opera masters such as Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot were afraid to miss any small details.

When the finale sang, "The emperor's daughter, like a flower, always accompanies her beloved lover; even when husband and wife die, they become like trees," and then they both committed suicide for their country, a large number of French noblewomen, holding French translation pamphlets, wept bitterly as they hummed along in strange French.

Queen Mary's makeup was smudged from her tears, and she collapsed in her chair. She was completely overwhelmed by this little love story mixed with the destruction of her country, her family, and the sinking of mountains and rivers.

If we were to ask who could best empathize with Princess Changping in The Flower of the Imperial Daughters, it would naturally be Queen Marie, who calls herself the Princess of Shinra.

The other French noble ladies were similar; their status and position were very suitable for resonating with Princess Changping.

So, when Voltaire praised King Mo Zhaomo for his great skill in writing this epic opera, saying that it was an opera that could even be compared to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet if it was further refined.

However, Queen Mary and other noble ladies believed that Princess Flora completely surpassed Romeo and Juliet!

The grudges between two big families that can't be fulfilled are nothing compared to "The Flower of the Imperial Daughter", a painful family and country love story after the collapse of the Seres Empire, which is as famous as the Roman Empire.

In fact, there is another implicit meaning, which is, what identity does Juliet have to be worthy of me, the Princess of Shinra?
It was a perfect dinner and an even more perfect performance.

It directly ignited the Chinese trend throughout Europe, causing the oriental fever that had already blown strongly for a few decades ago to sweep over again.

Many European aristocrats spent a fortune to get a Serene dress that matched them.

The monarchs of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Great Britain and other countries all invited the delegation to visit.

At the same time, Princess Changping also began to flourish. At the beginning, the dialogues were composed in French, and the singing style also began to have French versions. Later, Princess Changping and Zhou Shixian were played entirely by Europeans.

This Oriental Princess Opera took only two or three months to become a phenomenal opera in Europe throughout the 18th century.

Mozibu and his Xing Tang Kingdom became famous in Europe, and all Europeans finally realized that in the far East, the Tatar Qing Kingdom could not represent Seres civilization.

The ones who can represent Seris civilization are King Mo Zhao and the soldiers of the Xing Tang Army who are fighting to restore the glory and independence of Seris.

At this time, the most important newspaper, the French Mercure, published a series of articles praising King Mo's heroic deeds.

He also pointed out that more than a hundred years after the inheritance of the Seres Empire was cut off, its loyal people were still unafraid of the Tatars' terrifying oppression and continued to shed blood and sacrifice their lives to restore it. This is the light of human civilization and the reason why the Seres Empire lasted longer than the Roman Empire.

Even the Russian Empire, which had not yet ended the Fifth Russo-Turkish War, came out to grab the limelight. The famous Catherine the Great personally wrote an article praising Mozibu, and sent a grand team to Paris to visit the delegation and invite them to visit St. Petersburg.

The cunning empress's real intention was not to drink, but to restore the inheritance of the Seric Empire through Mozibu, so as to strengthen Russia's inheritance rights to the Eastern Roman Empire and strengthen the status of Orthodoxy as the true Catholic religion.

Label the ongoing Russo-Turkish War as just and glorious.

You must know that at this time, Russia's external environment was very bad. France and Austria were very opposed to Russia weakening the Ottoman Empire, and even secretly supported Turkey's confrontation.

Catherine and Russia urgently need a channel to speak out.

Near the Palace of Versailles, Matignon House, the official residence of the Chief Cardinal Minister.

King Louis XVI came here secretly. As the Oriental fever continued to intensify, France had to make its choice whether to formally form an alliance with the Xing Tang Kingdom.

What made Louis XVI very conflicted was that France was not yet ready to replace the Dutch East India Company.

At present, there is indeed no such strength to replace it, unless France can redirect the forces used for European and North American routes to the East.

More importantly, some people in France were afraid of offending the Qing Dynasty.

This is not surprising. Although the overall public opinion tends to favor Mo Zibu, this does not represent actual interests.

French merchant ships needed to go to Guangzhou to trade, and they needed everything from the East. If the Qing Dynasty blacklisted France because of supporting Mo Zibu, it would be a huge loss.

The former Cardinal Minister, Duke of Choiseul, who had just been recalled to Paris, strongly advocated that an alliance should not be formed with the Xing Tang Kingdom.

"France's power in the East is already incomparable to Britain's. If we lose the favor of the Qing Empire and merchant ships cannot enter Guangzhou, then the entire Eastern trade will collapse.

At the same time, as a signatory to the previous secret agreement, I believe the King should firmly express to Prince Baima, the special envoy of King Xingtang, that France does not support King Mo Zhao's adventurous provocation against the Qing Empire."

Duke Choiseul said sadly, "We have invested over 1.5 million livres in the Xing Tang Kingdom. If it is destroyed by the Qing Empire, all our previous investment will be wasted."

Hearing what the Duke of Choiseul said, Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes, who had just taken office as Foreign Minister, immediately had different ideas.

This man was a famous political rival of the Duke of Choiseul. His previous career had always been as an ambassador abroad, and he did not have much prestige in France, so he was nicknamed a foreigner.

Historically, after he became Foreign Secretary, in order to gain prestige, he pushed for aid to the upcoming American War of Independence, and joined Spain in declaring war on Britain, gaining huge prestige.

At this time, his plan to aid North America had actually already formed in his mind, but because the situation in North America had not yet reached the final step, it had not been detailed.

But at the moment, seeing that Duke Choiseul was so opposed to an alliance with the Xingtang Kingdom, he had another idea in his mind.

But before he could say anything, Turgot, the former Minister of the Navy and current Minister of Finance, jumped out to oppose it.

Turgot produced a long list of data and placed it in front of everyone, "This is the benefit France has gained in the East in the three years since we signed the secret treaty with the Xing Tang Kingdom.

Our merchant shipping volume and the number of ships successfully arriving in Europe have both increased by more than 20 percent.

At the same time, after losing India, an important stronghold, the Xing Tang Kingdom is our only reliable foothold in the East.

Judging from the feedback from the vast majority of parties involved, the French citizens were treated almost equally with French citizens in Xing Tang, which greatly increased their enthusiasm for participating in adventure and trade in the East.

At the same time, Bishop Peter's missionary work, with the support of King Xingtang, has also achieved great success. He has now led at least 80,000 people to believe in our Lord, and even this number is somewhat conservative.

Although there are only a few Seres here, and most of the believers are local indigenous people who have been excluded by them, it is enough.

I think it would not be difficult to have a Catholic community of 100,000, 200,000, or even 300,000 people in the future.

They will become the cornerstone of our future in the East. Even if we have some unpleasant disputes with King Xing Tang, these people will still bring us considerable convenience.

But if we reject King Xing Tang's current goodwill, I think that unless he is defeated by the Qing Dynasty, we will not be able to recover our initial investment.

At the same time, this group of believers who can become the cornerstone in the future will definitely no longer exist, and King Xing Tang will definitely tighten the current loose religious system.

If things come to this, France will lose India and also lose the prosperity of Tang. Then we will be completely defeated in the East. This is much more serious than offending the emperor of the Qing Empire. "

"Yes, France cannot lose the Xing Tang Kingdom. If we lose them, we will really have nothing in the East.

However, relations with the Qing Empire cannot decline suddenly. We need to seriously assess the combat effectiveness of the Xing Tang army."

Seeing that the king was looking at him, the current Cardinal Minister, Count Maurepas, had to come out and say a few words to smooth things over, because it was not yet time for him to close his speech and it was not appropriate to express a biased opinion right away.

But the king was already somewhat dissatisfied. Louis XVI was dizzy with the pillow talk of the queen and Mo Zirong's flattery.

Especially after Mo Zirong introduced to him the deeds of His Majesty the Tianqi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty of the Seres Empire, Louis XVI felt like he had found a soulmate.

This locksmith king, who loved to study all kinds of locks and mechanisms, felt that the Emperor Tianqi, who was very good at carpentry, was like his projection in another world.

He also succeeded to the throne at a young age, also had a beautiful queen, also basically took over directly from his grandfather, and also faced an empire on the verge of financial collapse.

Louis XVI even wanted to obtain a portrait of Emperor Tianqi to see if he and Emperor Tianqi looked very similar.

Thinking back on the good times of those days, Louis XVI felt that it would be a shame not to help the Xing Tang Kingdom.

Moreover, France's financial difficulties also required the Dutch East India Company to provide support.

This is an annual income of more than 16 million livres, equivalent to 2 million taels of silver, or 660,000 pounds sterling, which no one can ignore.

So, Louis XVI turned his attention to the Deputy Minister of the Navy, Vice Admiral Charles Eugene, Marquis of Castries, and the Minister of War, Victor François, 2nd Duke of Broglie.

Charles Eugene was a naval commander highly favored by Louis XVI. Seeing the king's eager gaze, he immediately replied, "According to information provided by the Minister of the Navy of Xingtang, former Commodore Fragosse of the French Navy.

The Xing Tang Navy had the ability to suppress the Dutch East India Company fleet, but could not guarantee its defeat.

The naval strength of the Qing Empire has always been hidden in the fog, but based on the tests of the Qing Empire by European countries in recent years, their fleet warships and artillery are relatively old, and their coastal defense artillery is also behind ours, but they have a great advantage in quantity.

I infer that if the Xing Tang Navy approaches the coastline of the Qing Empire, it will not be successful and may even suffer a fatal blow.

But in the relatively distant seas, the Qing Empire Navy at least did not have the courage to compete with the Xing Tang Navy in the ocean."

Charles Eugene is still very capable. In the future, he will become the Minister of the Navy and the Admiral of the Navy. However, it is very rare for Charles Eugene to have such an understanding of the still mysterious Qing Navy.

Louis XVI's face brightened after hearing this, because the strength of the Xing Tang Navy was actually not strong. If this was possible, it could suppress the Dutch East India Company's fleet in the East and maintain a certain combat effectiveness under the threat of the Qing Navy.

If I strengthen them, wouldn't I be able to turn their strength around?

Marshal Victor François, Duke of Broglie, the Minister of War, was somewhat cautious. "Your Majesty, after the Eastern Army arrived in Xingtang, their general staff was controlled by the Austrians.

As for Colonel Reinstein, who originally belonged to our army, he directly refused to disclose to us the specific situation of the Xingtang Army since he went to the East.

Therefore, I can only draw some conclusions from the feedback of lower-level officers and retired army officers who went to Eastern merchant ships.

The strength of the Xingtang Army has reached the third-rate level in Europe.

In terms of techniques and tactics, organization, weapons, officers, etc., it was weaker than the Ottoman Army, but it was superior in morale, organization, and bravery of grassroots officers and soldiers.

They were able to suppress the Dutch East India Company's colonial native army and could deal with any small country's army in the East, but they were probably unable to deal with the Qing Empire's imperial guards.

However, seeing the king's unhappy expression, the Minister of War immediately changed his tone and said, "But it should be noted that the war that King Xing Tang is preparing for is a just war.

The direction he was targeting was Guangdong Province and Fujian Province, located on the southeast coast of the Qing Empire, which had a very rich foundation for popular resistance against the Tatars.

If King Mo Zhao can make good use of this, it will greatly enhance his ability to fight against the Qing Empire.

Judging from the current events, I believe this great king has such ability."

Louis XVI was delighted and said, "Yes, your views are very similar to mine.

It must also be noted that the Qing Empire's current strategy of limiting trade to Guangzhou is actually coercing us to sell, which is extremely unfair and has caused us to lose a lot of profits.

If King Xing Tang could open up a gap in Guangdong, it would probably be more beneficial to our business rather than affecting it.

Besides, you all know that the Kingdom's finances have reached a very dangerous point, and the United Provinces Republic's financial channels in the East are one of the best ways to solve this problem."

Hearing Louis XVI say this, everyone looked at the Minister of Finance Turgot.

Because he had already begun preparing for economic reforms, including abolishing some exorbitant taxes and fees, abolishing compulsory labor service nationwide, and implementing unified taxation for all levels.

This seems very good, but to put it into practice, it means cutting into the flesh of today's senior clergy and senior nobles, which is very difficult and hard to accept.

However, France's finances must move in this direction. If the financial problems cannot be solved, no one knows what will happen in the future.

However, if the Dutch spice trade could be used to supplement national expenditure, perhaps Finance Minister Turgot would not have to take such a radical step.

Taking it slow is good for the country and everyone's pockets.

Thinking of this, the nobles who had originally insisted that they should not support King Xing Tang began to support him.

At this point, Foreign Minister Count Vergennes spoke up, "It's important to note that forcing the Qing Empire to liberalize its trade policies is not just France's wish; Britain across the Channel also has a strong desire.

If we don't support King Xing Tang, then George III will definitely take action. The English have more sensitive noses than dogs.

We no longer have the ability to expand on a large scale in India. If we hand over Xingtang to the English, it will be a great disaster."

"Then it seems we have reached an agreement." Finally, it was the turn of the Cardinal Minister, Count Maurepas, to come out and make his closing remarks. He looked at Louis XVI and said:

"Your Majesty, I agree with continuing to strengthen cooperation with the Xing Tang Kingdom, but we need to strike a balance.

A balance that neither offended the Qing Empire excessively enough to preserve the possibility of future communication, but also provided substantial assistance to the Xing Tang Kingdom so that it could use its power to tear down the Qing Empire's trade barriers and take over the Dutch spice trade.

Louis XVI thought he understood, but he couldn't figure out how to strike the right balance, so he stood up.

"Dear Cardinal Minister, this is the time to demonstrate your abilities.

Is fifteen days possible? If so, I hope to see a more detailed result within fifteen days. "

After saying this, Louis XVI looked at the ministers in the room and said, "Gentlemen, the kingdom's financial crisis and the friendship between me and King Xing Tang will be in your hands."

What else could Count Morna say? The king's inclination was already very clear, so as the cardinal minister, he naturally had to follow the king's thinking and come up with a feasible plan.

　I'm taking a leave of absence tomorrow. I can't take it anymore. I still have a cough and chest pain. The doctor requires me to be hospitalized for observation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)