The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 438: Damn, I'm Going to Become the Xiongnu Chanyu (Two in One)

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

This imperial palace, located southwest of Vienna and decorated in Rococo style, is the summer palace of the Habsburg Monarchy and a treasure of the Habsburg family. It is still under construction today.

The hurried footsteps were followed by a gentle knock on the door. Mo Zirong, who had considerable influence in the Habsburg monarchy, especially among the Hungarians, was startled awake.

It's only a little after six in the morning. If it wasn't something particularly important, no one would disturb him at this time.

Mo Zirong took advantage of the dim light in the early morning and did not light a candle, but directly opened the door.

Standing outside the door was Countess Josephine Pellegrini, the personal lady-in-waiting of her wife, Princess Maria Elizabeth of the Holy Roman Empire and Archduchess of Parma.

"Madam, please tell me that it is definitely not the Queen's health that is problematic." Mo Zirong was very nervous because his mother-in-law, Maria Theresa, was already in very poor health.

The Countess was very satisfied to hear that Mo Zirong was so nervous and still addressed Maria Theresa as Her Majesty.

Because Maria Theresa did not actually serve as the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, but the people called her the Empress out of love.

Of course, this love must follow power, so now that Maria Theresa's health is deteriorating and her son, the real Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, continues to show his intention to seize power, many people have begun to stop calling Maria Theresa "Queen".

As for why the Countess felt satisfied, it was because she was sent by the Queen to "take care" of Mo Zirong and his wife.

Of course, it's normal for the Queen's best friend and confidant to tell tales and such, right?

"Her Majesty is in good health. She wants Your Highness to come over right now. Her Majesty has something important to discuss with you."

Hearing that Maria Theresa's life was not in danger, Mo Zirong breathed a sigh of relief, and behind him, Archduchess Maria Elizabeth of Parma also came over.

The Archduchess is 36 years old this year, very tall and plump. She was one of Queen Theresa's most beautiful daughters and almost married Louis XV, the grandfather of Louis XVI, as his second wife.

But unfortunately, when the marriage was almost discussed, Elizabeth contracted smallpox and was disfigured, and the marriage was called off.

Well, actually it wasn't too disfigured. Maria Elizabeth only had a few scars on her forehead, chin and left cheek. It wasn't as disfigured as my Great Qing Emperor Mago, whose entire forehead was covered with scars.

"Honey, do you need me to go with you?" Maria Elizabeth asked softly from behind.

Every time Countess Pellegrini saw the red cherry blossom pattern on Elizabeth's head, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart that these Seres people were so smart.

It turned out that after Mo Zirong married Elizabeth, he personally used facial tattooing to transform the dense spots on her forehead into a reclining cherry blossom.

The chin and left cheek are also covered with peach blossom dots. Although this certainly cannot completely restore the appearance, it at least does not look very conspicuous, and Elizabeth can calmly take off the headscarf and live a normal life.

"No, you should have a good rest. Mother must have called me for some important state affairs." Mo Zirong rubbed Elizabeth's head affectionately, then went to the locker room outside to change clothes.

The soft sunlight in the early morning sprinkled on the royal garden that was about to be completed. On the west side of the garden, a small Chinese-style palace was rising from the ground, with red walls, green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, and it was magnificent.

Not only is this palace, which is about to be completed, Chinese in style, but most of its architects and even construction workers are from China.

In recent years, exchanges between the East and the West have accelerated dramatically. This Chinese-style palace located in Schönbrunn Palace was built earlier than the Forbidden City in Yingtianfu.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" The workers who had woken up early and started working immediately greeted Mo Zirong as he passed by.

The official in charge of the project, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, came over and said, "Third Prince, the Double Ninth Festival is coming soon. I have organized a reception and would like to invite you to come."

Mo Zirong's titles all had a strong Western flavor, whether it was Prince Kep or Grand Duke of Pahang, which made it difficult for Chinese people in Europe to address him, so they could only call him the Third Prince.

"Okay, I will definitely come then." Mo Zirong agreed with a smile. Far away in Europe, the hierarchy between compatriots is often suppressed.

If this were in China, a doctor from the Ministry of Works would not dare to stop the invitation of a prince to a banquet, and Mo Zirong would generally not agree.

After walking about a hundred meters forward, they were about to reach the palace where Queen Theresa handled government affairs. Mo Zirong's attendant civil servant, Qian Kai, a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang, was already waiting for him there.

Over the years, Mo Zirong has been surrounded by a small-scale shogunate, including civil servants, staff officers, and a certain number of guards, chefs, etc.

After all, Brother Mo San is the face of China in Europe, and many things about China have no time to be reported to the court, so general problems can actually be solved by Mo Zirong.

The civil servants and military officers in his shogunate were basically all international students sent to Europe by Dayu. They learned the power operation mode and became familiar with the situation in Europe under Brother Mo San, which would be beneficial for them to serve in their country after returning.

For example, Ye Mingyue, who had a certain understanding of military affairs and colonization after returning to China, had interned in Mo Zirong's shogunate.

"Your Highness, I just received news that the cross-sea fleets of France and Spain have retreated to the French mainland." Qian Kai said in a low voice, and then handed him the message sent by the Jinyiwei Southern Pacification Division's spy stationed in Paris.

"Defeated?" Mo Zirong was shocked. The Franco-Spanish fleet was twice the size of the British fleet, so how could they still be defeated?

"No, Count Auvilliers failed to catch up with the British Channel Fleet, allowing them to escape into the Solent. The Franco-Spanish fleet did not dare to enter the channel to fight and retreated."

Qian Kai smiled as he spoke, "Come to think of it, the fleet also captured a 64-gun battleship, the Enthusiasm, and it was captured by Chen Tianbao, Mo Guanfu and his men.

But this was not enough to make up for the losses, because in this operation alone, as many as 8,000 naval officers and soldiers died of illness or retired due to illness."

Hearing this, Mo Zirong stopped and sighed. Seeing that there was no one around, he couldn't help but complain, "The Kingdom of England occupies half of the world and has an extremely powerful fleet. How can they be defeated so easily?

It is clear that we have a huge advantage in the thirteen states of North America, so we should focus on North America and hit hard at the pain points.

As for the rest of the places, as long as we take Gibraltar in Europe and China joins us in looting British India, we can wear the British out.

In the end, even though they were clearly inferior to others in maritime skills, they still took the risk of making a one-time deal."

Mo Zirong felt like he had something stuck in his throat, and he complained harshly about his brother-in-law Louis XVI before walking into Queen Theresa's study.

"Karl, is that you?" a voice came from the darkness. "Now, you are the only one who is willing to respond to my call in time."

Mo Zirong walked forward and lit the whale oil candle first to brighten the light in the room.

This was a very spacious study. Queen Theresa, dressed in black and extremely obese, was leaning on a recliner, looking up at him with some difficulty.

Mo Zirong quickly stepped forward and helped Queen Theresa up. "Your Majesty, every citizen of the Roman Empire will respond to your call promptly. You are still their beloved queen."

Karl is Mo Zirong's Christian name, and his full name is Karl Joseph Mo. He has this Christian name because he will convert to Catholicism after marrying Maria Elizabeth.

The name Karl Joseph also has a special meaning. It originally belonged to Queen Theresa's second son, the queen's favorite child, who died of smallpox at the age of fifteen.

"No, you're the only one who knows how to do it now." Queen Theresa shook her head with difficulty. When she spoke, Mo Zirong even smelled a faint, unpleasant smell.

Since the death of her husband Francis I, the Queen has been wearing black long dresses as a symbol of her widowhood. The advantage of black clothes is that it is not easy to see if they are not washed clean, but the disadvantage is that they easily smell bad.

An unknown anger rose from Mo Zirong's heart. In Chinese culture at that time, filial piety was the absolutely overriding and priority morality.

Even if it is loyalty, unless it is at the critical moment or even to the point of being prepared to sacrifice for the country, it cannot be above filial piety.

Even the Chinese in later generations did not possess such a high level of moral correctness, let alone the Europeans at that time.

Although they also have family values, except for some areas in Italy, they are completely not on the same level as those in China.

"Who has been taking care of Her Majesty the Queen's daily life recently? Is it someone sent by the Emperor?" Mo Zirong walked to the door in two or three steps, grabbed a trembling palace servant, and asked in a stern voice.

He dared to ask this question not because he was the brother-in-law of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, but because he was the elder brother of the Emperor of the Chinese Empire. He was also the bridge connecting China, France and the three countries.

This identity meant that even if he questioned Joseph II in person, the Holy Roman Emperor could not do anything to him as long as he was not crazy.

"No, Carl, you misunderstood!" Queen Theresa showed a rare smile on her face. "I didn't let them touch me. I hate these people and don't want to have any contact with them."

Historically, Queen Theresa had a very strange temper in her later life. Her memory and judgment declined due to the torture of smallpox, and she was extremely distrustful of everyone.

She didn't even allow ordinary people to get close to her, and even her son, Leopold II, who later became the Holy Roman Emperor, ignored her.

"Then I'll go find Elizabeth and ask her to keep you company." Mo Zirong sighed. For a political animal like Queen Theresa, there are only two pillars of life.

In the early days, it was her cousin and husband, Franz I, whom she had always had a crush on. Later, after Franz I started to be a playboy, the only thing left in Queen Theresa's life was power, or the feeling of controlling a big country.

But now, Franz I has been dead for fourteen years, and his power has been basically taken away by his son Joseph II due to health reasons. There is not much hope for Queen Theresa's life.

So much so that Queen Theresa, who was famous for her beauty in her youth, now doesn't even want to change her clothes.

An hour later, the Queen took a quick shower, changed into a new black dress, and was pushed out by Elizabeth in a wheelchair-like cart.

Mo Zirong personally prepared a Chinese breakfast, including beef congee, fried dough sticks, pork and celery buns, custard buns and barbecued pork.

Queen Theresa was in high spirits, eating heartily with a smile on her face, and constantly praising Mo Zirong's cooking skills.

"Karl, I'm increasingly fond of your Seres' family ethics and moral values." The queen's eyes moistened as she spoke. "It's as if my beloved Karl is still alive."

Mo Zirong was also quite emotional. In the past ten years, Third Brother Mo had actually changed even more than Mo Zibu. He had quickly transformed from a playboy who was hated by everyone into a man of integrity who was politically savvy, artistically talented, and a firm believer in Chinese loyalty, filial piety, and etiquette.

Although he still liked to have affairs with other women, even Maria Elizabeth's close friends and ladies-in-waiting could not escape his "trouble".

But apart from this, everyone has to admit that this brother-in-law of the Holy Roman Emperor, the brother-in-law of the King of France, and the elder brother of the Emperor of China is an outstanding nobleman who is trustworthy, has great integrity, and is willing to help others.

"Karl, you won't blame me, right? I have been interfering in your and Elizabeth's lives over the years." Queen Theresa rarely showed a guilty look.

Well, during these years, when the queen still held power, she was actually very wary of Mo Zirong, because her son-in-law had a very complicated background and identity.

Moreover, in the view of Queen Theresa, among the three countries of China, France and the Holy Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire is the weakest. Not only does it have prominent ethnic issues within its territory, but its administrative, mobilization capabilities and geographical location are far weaker than those of China and France.

So for a while she was afraid that Mo Zirong would come in and cause trouble, so she was very strict with Mo Zirong and even monitored him a little.

"Your Majesty, I have no complaints. Everything is for the country. I think if my brother, Emperor Guangzhong of the Chinese Empire, encountered such a thing, he would only be more strict."

Mo Zirong really understood because he had a good brother. What Queen Theresa did was nothing compared to him. In order to trick him into coming to Europe to work for her, his good brother Mo Guangzhong had used many tricks to deceive, deceive and scare him.

"Your Majesty Guangzhong is indeed a wise monarch." Queen Theresa sighed sincerely. For an emperor or a king, he should be a political creature, and everything should be based on the interests of the country.

Then she looked at her daughter and son-in-law tenderly. Until the end of her life, Queen Theresa could finally put politics aside. The more she looked at Mo Zirong, the more she liked him. "Don't call me Your Majesty, Carl. I prefer you to call me mother."

"Okay, mother." Mo Zirong called out affectionately, "I hope you can take care of yourself and don't work too hard. My biological mother worked too hard and passed away at the age of 31."

Queen Theresa was even more moved. She couldn't help but say, "If only you had shown up earlier, I wouldn't have given you the throne of Parma. I should have given you the Principality of Taishen."

The Duchy of Parma was indeed a hot potato, because it was not Maria Elizabeth's dowry at all.

It turned out that after the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, Queen Theresa was forced to return the Grand Duchy of Parma to Filippo I of the Bourbon-Parma family.

But the queen always felt resentful about this. Historically, she managed to regain a little dignity by forcing her sixth daughter Maria Amalia to marry Ferdinand I, the son of Filippo I.

In this time and space, Queen Theresa, through the marriage of Mo Zirong and Elizabeth, took advantage of the fact that the Kingdom of France urgently needed an alliance with the Chinese Empire. This allowed Louis XVI to intervene and force Ferdinand I, Archduke of Parma, to give up his title.

In fact, she also did China a little bit of a trick, because the uncle of Ferdinand I, the Archduke of Parma at the time, is the current King of Spain, Carlos III, and Carlos III himself also served as Archduke of Parma.

In order to allow his sister-in-law Elizabeth to obtain the title of Archduchess of Parma, Mozibu made a promise not to seize the Spanish Philippines.

This led to King Carlos III of Spain putting strong pressure on Ferdinand I.

So this title was not easy to obtain, and it was achieved through a series of dazzling operations.

Even after obtaining it, Queen Theresa asked Mo Zirong and Elizabeth to live in Vienna for a long time, and she actually managed the Duchy of Parma on behalf of the couple.

At the same time, the Bourbon family's rule in Parma was deeply rooted, which led to the couple, who had hardly ever spent any time in Parma, not being supported by the people of Parma at all.

This was really a bit of a trap. Even with Mo Zirong's temper, he couldn't help but feel like not wanting to talk.

But Queen Theresa was not angry, instead she breathed a sigh of relief, because even such unfair treatment could be said to be okay and she could endure it.

Either he is an incompetent coward, or he has other motives.

It is obvious that Mo Zirong's performance proves that he is not an incompetent coward. If he remains indifferent, he must be an old treacherous man with ulterior motives like Sima Yi.

"Karl, what do you think about the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet? Can they defeat the Kingdom of England this time?" Queen Theresa asked softly.

"Mother, I think it will not be easy for France to defeat England or for England to defeat France.

The key is to see which country's finances will collapse first.

But I tend to think that if France can maintain its current level of support for North America until next year after a series of setbacks, England will be the first to collapse, because India will definitely be in trouble. "

Queen Theresa nodded in satisfaction, her eyes narrowed slightly, "Have you received the secret letter from Emperor Guangzhong? Is he going to take action against India?"

Mo Zirong shook his head. "There's no need to receive a secret letter from His Majesty Emperor Guangzhong. He will definitely attack India at the most appropriate time. If he can't even make that judgment, he won't be able to restore Seris, which has been ruled by the Tatars."

"Yes, yes." Queen Theresa nodded repeatedly. "Karl, what do you think we can do now? How can we help France survive this period?"

"I heard that Catherine II, Tsar of the Russian Empire, is seeking to establish an armed neutrality alliance.

I think the (Holy Roman Empire) must also join and take a leading role. Firstly, it can alleviate the plight of North America, and secondly, it can take away some of the Tsar’s prestige.”

The Armed Neutrality Alliance mentioned by Mo Zirong was an alliance instigated by Russian Tsar Catherine II.

The main content is that the neutral countries form a joint fleet to ensure that the ships of the neutral countries can freely enter and exit the ports of the warring countries. At the same time, the cargo on the neutral ships will not be regarded as enemy goods and looted by the warring countries.

What does this amount to? It actually isolates Britain.

Because compared to North America, Britain did not need foreign supplies that much, while the United States needed them extremely.

At the same time, France, the largest aid donor to the United States, was unable to transport large amounts of supplies to North America due to the blockade by the British fleet.

So now, Britain's blockade of the thirteen North American states is still relatively effective.

But if an armed neutrality alliance is established, all countries will rush to sell large quantities of supplies to the United States, making huge profits from the war while causing trouble for Britain.

Although the treaty ostensibly prohibited neutral allies from selling weapons and ammunition to the United States.

Yes, I don't sell weapons, but there is no problem in disassembling the weapons into parts and shipping them in several batches.

I can’t sell ammunition, but I have one ship loaded with sulfur and another with saltpeter, and you can’t do anything about it.

Historically, this neutral alliance led by Russia was joined successively by Denmark, the Netherlands, Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire, and Portugal, which meant that all those who did not directly declare war joined.

This dealt a fatal blow to England, causing the North American blockade to fail completely. This huge arc of isolated Britain, participated in by all of Europe, directly brought the most powerful Kingdom of England in history down from the altar.

As a result, Catherine II and Russia gained great prestige and became the most popular at the time.

"That's great!" Queen Theresa sighed, "Karl, I wish you were my son.

This is the right path, but Franz is unable to complete such a complex task that requires communication across most of Europe.

What a pity! My health is failing, and this woman Sophia is going to steal the show!"

Sophia Frederick Augusta was the name of Catherine II when she was young. Queen Theresa's words were filled with deep regret. As two empresses who were on par with each other in Europe at that time, the two had always been competing with each other.

From a national perspective, the country that the Holy Roman Empire needs to be most vigilant about, besides Prussia, is Russia, so Theresa does not trust Catherine II very much.

"Karl, you are a visionary." Queen Theresa was stunned for a moment, then she stared at Mo Zirong.

"After I leave, Franz will definitely mess up this country. He is no match for Frederick II of Prussia. He is too naive.

Hungary, in particular, will surely be in great turmoil because of Franz's self-proclaimed enlightened ruling style. Karl, are you willing to help him?"

Mo Zirong did not answer immediately, but frowned. The main conflict between Queen Theresa and Joseph II was that Joseph II was too idealistic.

The Habsburg Monarchy, disguised as the Holy Roman Empire, had a huge problem.

That is, it is actually a multi-ethnic empire composed of three major ethnic groups: Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, plus some small ethnic groups. It is an empire with numerous internal conflicts, and at the same time it is also facing challenges from the northern German countries.

Among them, the Austrians, as the majority, have the highest status, but their strength is not strong enough to easily suppress other ethnic groups.

This meant that the Habsburg monarchy had to take into account the interests of other parties when governing.

For example, under Queen Theresa, she followed the trend and liberated the serfs on the royal estates and some of the serfs on the land of the Austrian nobles.

However, they did not touch the extremely conservative Hungary. Instead, they tried their best to protect the interests of the Hungarian nobles, so that they would not only not cause trouble but also be happy to stay in the country headed by Austria.

Joseph II was influenced by the Enlightenment and naively believed that the complete liberation of serfs and the implementation of enlightened rule were the only criteria for a strong country. He even considered introducing parliaments like those in Britain and France into the monarchy.

This is really terrible. Joseph II dared to deprive the Hungarian nobles of their power, and these people dared to rebel.

Once the parliamentary system of Britain and France was introduced into the Habsburg Monarchy, this country without a strong dominant ethnic group would immediately fall apart.

Recalling the conflict between mother and son, and even the great troubles of the monarchy, Mo Zirong slowly shook his head. "Mother, you know, I hope to return to the East."

Queen Theresa shook her head and said, “Apart from the tin mines, there isn’t much profitable land in Pahang.

The Emperor will not give you the light of Batavia. It is too important. Your future should be in Europe.

Karl, you must help me. To prevent Hungary from separating from the empire again, I need someone who is acceptable to the Hungarians to win over and influence them."

After saying this, Queen Theresa took over, and at that moment, the queen's power that had left her for a long time returned to her.

"Karl, I will restore the Grand Duchy of Transylvania and make you the Grand Duke of Transylvania, as long as you are willing to swear to keep the monarchy for me and pass this position only to your and Elizabeth's descendants."

At this time, Transylvania was still part of the traditional Kingdom of Hungary, and the Habsburg Monarchy deliberately separated it as a means of controlling Hungary.

Therefore, as long as the Hungarians demand independence, Transylvania cannot be left out. At this time, the statement that Hungarians are descendants of the Huns is not a rumor, but a fact recognized by everyone.

The Hungarians, in particular, rely heavily on this renowned ancestor as a totem to unite all Hungarians, shape their national identity, and improve their own status so that they are not seen as pure barbarians like the Russians by other Europeans.

In recent years, when Mo Zirong was in Europe, he continued to spread knowledge about the Huns.

As a result, Wang Zhaojun, Huhanye Chanyu, and Emperor Guangwen of the Han Dynasty, Liu Yuan, who said, "My ancestor, Emperor Wu, expanded the territory and repelled the barbarians," are extremely famous in Europe.

The Hungarians were naturally very happy to accept such news. They even believed that their ancestors, the Huns who remained in the East, had become part of the Seres.

Who doesn't want to evolve from the Huns into the legendary civilized and prosperous Seres, right?

Therefore, it is no joke to say that Mo Zirong enjoys a high reputation among Hungarians.

Given his status as the elder brother of Emperor Seris, holding the title of prince, and being the son-in-law of the Habsburg family, it would be strange if he did not win the favor of the Hungarians.

Queen Theresa felt that she had made the right choice. As long as Mo Zirong was the Grand Duke of Transylvania for one day, as long as he was willing, he could to a certain extent offset the disunity of the Hungarians caused by Joseph II's policies and keep Hungary within the monarchy.

Well, historically speaking, the Queen’s judgment was actually very accurate, but she misjudged one important thing, which was the life span of Joseph II.

Historically, Joseph II died just when he was on the verge of dissolving the Habsburg Monarchy.

He only lived ten years longer than Queen Theresa and did not even reach the age of fifty.

"Mother." Mo Zirong swallowed his saliva. It would be a lie to say that he was not moved.

Transylvania has a vast territory and a population of one million, which is nothing in China, but in Europe, it is a very powerful force.

"This is too difficult. I doubt I can do it well."

"You can do it." Queen Theresa said loudly: "Your birth determines that you can win the support of the Hungarians. I also have some reputation in Hungary and can help you.

Also, didn’t you say that you got the method of vaccinating against smallpox from ancient books in Seres? I will support you in implementing it in Transylvania first.

As long as the results are good, the Hungarians there will support you even more, and you can definitely become a great Duke of Transylvania."

Cowpox is generally believed to have been invented by the Englishman Edward Jenner, but it is obvious that he at least received a lot of inspiration from the East to come up with this idea.

Now that Mo Zibu was here, he naturally couldn't wait any longer and couldn't let the British guy have all the credit, so he prepared to start implementing it in China last year and at the same time handed the plan to Mo Zirong.

Mo Zibu's original intention was to help Mo Zirong gain a higher reputation in the West so that he could better help China, and to establish an image of him as an enlightened emperor of Serbia who understood science in the West.

But I didn't expect it could be used here.

"Promise your mother. It will be good for both of us." Maria Elizabeth whispered while touching her belly. She was five months pregnant.

The Grand Duchy of Transylvania is not comparable to the Duchy of Parma, and after taking over the Grand Duchy of Transylvania, the couple will have the title of prince. Three grand duchies are basically equivalent to being the king of a big country, and the children will also have more choices.

Mo Zirong gritted his teeth. He knew that this pit was a bit big and he might have to spend the rest of his life in Europe, but who could resist such temptation?

"Okay, mother." He half-knelt down towards Queen Theresa.

"I am willing to face any challenge to defend the integrity of the Holy Roman Empire. As long as I am here, Hungary will never be separated from the Empire."

(End of this chapter)