The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 525 The British Kneel

St James's Palace, London.

King George III of England, looking at the streets in the distance filled with sewage and thinking of the Thames River that had turned soy sauce-colored, felt inexplicably depressed.

When another fat figure appeared in George III's sight, he felt even more depressed.

This person was none other than Frederick North, Earl of Guildford, who had just been forced to resign as Prime Minister. He also had a more famous title, Lord North.

The most important reason why Lord North was forced to resign as Prime Minister was the disastrous defeat at Yorktown in August 1781.

In this battle, more than 9,000 British troops, who had already shown signs of decline on the North American battlefield, retreated to Yorktown on the coast of Virginia under the leadership of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquis Cornwallis, the deputy commander of the British North American Army, to wait for evacuation and rest.

But tragically, the Marquis of Cornwallis failed to shake off his pursuers and was soon blocked by 17,000 Franco-American troops led by French Marshal Count Rochambeau.

However, Cornwallis was not too panicked at this time, because the British army had built ten forts of various sizes (not bastions) in Yorktown. In terms of navy, England was always at an advantage and could retreat at any time.

But things are so dramatic. The English Navy, which Cornwallis thought was very stable, gave him a big setback.

In early September, the British fleet led by Thomas Graves was defeated by the French fleet led by Count de Grasse in the Battle of Chesapeake Bay.

The French fleet suffered only one serious injury and one minor injury in exchange for one British ship being sunk and at least three seriously damaged.

The defeat in this naval battle basically determined the end of the British army in Yorktown. They went from being able to defend calmly to being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

On October 10, after holding out for a month, Lord Cornwallis announced his surrender and laid down his arms with more than 17 British officers and soldiers in Yorktown.

The defeat at Yorktown signaled the end of the American Revolutionary War, so much so that Lord North, then Prime Minister, cried out in horror: "Oh God! It's all over! It's all over!"

Well, it has a bit of the beauty of the Qing Emperor Jiaqing crying out, "What can I do? What can I do?" after the Tianli Sect invaded the palace.

Lord North's gaffe immediately put him in the spotlight and he was eventually forced to resign.

However, what is slightly different from history is that one month after the defeat in the Battle of Yorktown, on November 1781, 11, Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris in Paris.

Although it did not formally recognize the United States, it also declared that North America could no longer be conquered.

But this is not possible in this time and space, because the important reason why England could generously admit that it could not fight in North America was that they had India as a blood package.

The British government at that time was so desperate that it not only needed India for financial support, but could not even accommodate the British East India Company.

In 1783, just after the war ended, the then Prime Minister William, Duke of Portland, was preparing to pass the India Act in Parliament to allow members of parliament and government officials to replace the British East India Company.

In the end, it was King George III, the big boss behind the East India Company, who publicly threatened the MPs not to vote in favor, which temporarily suppressed the matter.

But in this time and space, North America lost badly, and India was not much worse.

The messenger for help from Warren Hastings, Governor of Fort William, had indeed arrived, and had arrived more than ten days earlier, but George III had not had the courage to summon the messenger because he did not know how to face it or how to solve this problem.

However, although George III had been severely hit, he found it difficult to face the chaos in India.

But Charles Watson Wentworth, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who had just taken over as Prime Minister, could not do nothing.

Moreover, George III was distraught not only because he had lost North America and was in extreme danger in India, but also because the power of the king, and even the power of the English royal family, would soon be greatly reduced.

At this time, in the political system of the Kingdom of England, although George III could not achieve the state, he was still a monarch with considerable veto power and the final say.

He was also the last true king in the history of the Kingdom of England with considerable power.

After George III, England was completely dominated by the Tories (conservatives, semi-royalists) and the great English nobles behind them.

And the emerging bourgeois aristocracy behind the Whig Party (reformists who advocated limiting royal power).

It's the world of these two.

Looking back at George III's decades of ruling experience, in the first half of the year, he relied on the royal authority and the support of the Tory Party of the previous generation who were very supportive of the royal family, and he had a great advantage in all aspects of government affairs.

But with the defeat in North America, George III's prestige suffered a great blow, and the old Tories who supported him died or lost power one after another. The political arena of the Kingdom of England was about to be in turmoil.

“Your Majesty, although the situation in New England is out of control, we must try to save India.

The Kingdom has just defeated the United Provinces of the Netherlands and captured a large number of warships and sailors, which we should reorganize and then send to the East."

Prime Minister Lord Rockingham looked at the distraught George III and urged him urgently that the situation was very urgent and that a response must be taken and that they could not continue to act like an ostrich.

"Will we continue to fight, William? Can we still continue to fight?" George III, who was only 44 years old and not yet mentally ill, asked in shock:

"William, we are already at war with the whole world: France, Spain, Holland, Austria.

Even Russia, Prussia, Portugal, and Denmark have joined the League of Armed Neutrality to isolate us. Do we still want to go to war with the powerful Chinese Empire?

The Marquis of Rockingham wanted to roll his eyes. It turned out that Your Majesty the King knew that we were at war with the whole world.

I thought you didn't know that you were going to war with the whole world, but you were still stubborn and insisted on investing huge manpower and resources in New England.

In the view of Whigs (bourgeois reformists) such as the Marquis of Rockingham, the key to the New England Rebellion (the American War of Independence) lay not in New England but in France.

The government should ignore New England and let them be in chaos, and just defend a few cities where royalists gather.

Then they would seize upon the loophole of France's alliance with the New England rebels to launch another Seven Years' War and completely defeat France.

As long as France is defeated, the rebellion in New England will be nothing but dead bones in the grave and will be dealt with sooner or later.

But in order to undermine the reputation of the Whigs, King George III stubbornly decided to suppress the rebellion with thunder and lightning in New England, and at the same time deal a heavy blow to France in North America.

As a result, this strategy completely failed. George III did not hit the Whigs in the face, but instead exposed his own ass.

Of course, the Whigs also bear a great responsibility for the situation in North America. It was because of their unwillingness to contribute and even watching the fire from the other side that England lost so badly in North America.

In response to George III's question, Prime Minister Lord Rockingham nodded heavily and said, "What a joke! India must be saved."

If they lose India as a dumping ground for their goods and the poll tax, these bourgeoisie will be in trouble.

By the way, England is currently excluded from trade with China, and trade with the East has been suspended for almost two years.

Although some smuggling and second-hand resale from Austria and Portugal were still possible in private, the bourgeoisie in England was almost unable to hold on.

So, from the perspective of the Marquis of Rockingham, he didn't care what George III thought. He just wanted the bourgeoisie of England to survive.

"Your Majesty, the Chinese Empire is indeed very powerful, but they have too many places to disperse their attention. They own an entire Rome!"

As the Marquis of Rockingham spoke, his eyes revealed deep envy and extreme greed, and his hands were spread out like an accordion to show how big Rome was.

"This is truly enviable. Merchants from the Chinese Empire can access an unimaginable market just by staying in Rome.

Therefore, for them, the most important thing is to manage their own Rome, and they don’t have to invest much energy outside of it.

Moreover, the Chinese Empire faced two major problems: the unruly Tatars in the north and the fools in the northwest who always treated the rotten Ottomans as their own. To be honest, George III was also envious. He heard that the Chinese emperor had unlimited power and his ministers had to obey his orders.

By the way, Emperor, damn it, I’m just a king now. If only... if only I were not the unlucky King of England but the Roman Emperor.

George III couldn't help but let his mind wander. He had been like this recently, liking to daydream when under great pressure.

The Marquis of Rockingham looked at George III with some horror. His Majesty the King was actually distracted while discussing such an important matter.

Not only was he distracted, he was also muttering something under his breath, as if he was talking about Rome or the emperor.

The Marquis of Rockingham had no idea that George III would soon go crazy under the tremendous pressure. The most typical symptom was talking to himself, so much so that in the end he could not even deliver the speech from the throne at the opening ceremony of Parliament.

Of course, the Marquis of Rockingham could never have imagined that he would die suddenly from a severe cold more than three months later.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I'm saying that the Chinese Empire isn't as powerful as it appears. They have too many problems to solve."

After waiting for a long time, George III was still muttering to himself. The Marquis of Rockingham could not wait any longer and had to remind him.

His words finally woke George III from his dream. George III immediately nodded and made some minor amends.

"Yes, I know, William, and I am listening. The Chinese Emperor faces too many challenges, so your point is that the force they sent to India is not strong enough."

"Yes, Your Majesty, that's right. Their expeditionary force in India consists of no more than 30,000 men, and their fleet consists of only two third-class battleships.

If we could send a fleet of five or more third-class battleships to India, they would retreat."

The Marquis of Rockingham immediately spoke very quickly before the king fell into the same situation as before.

"Withdrawing this fleet isn't particularly difficult, so we have to go to war with the Chinese, right?"

George III nodded. Although England suffered a great defeat in North America, its naval strength was still the best in the world, surpassing the second, third and fourth place combined.

"No, no, no!" The Marquis of Rockingham was frightened, fearing that George III would take it seriously, so he said three "no"s in a row, waving his hands.

"Your Majesty, we cannot go to war with the Chinese directly. That would completely infuriate them and cause the Chinese Emperor to send his army from northeast India to launch a devastating attack on our presence in India.

If he goes further and supports France financially, we are doomed.

Therefore, the only purpose of sending the fleet this time, and the only message that needs to be conveyed to the Chinese is.

When the Kingdom of England wants to fight to the death with the Chinese Empire, it can do so by using such news to force the Chinese Empire to change its hostile policy towards us.

"I understand. We still have to talk, right? But William, how should we talk? Will the Chinese negotiate with us?" George III asked uncertainly.

"Yes, because if the Chinese Empire continues to support France, Europe will become France's world in the future.

A powerful country that integrates Europe and is the center of European civilization is absolutely not in the interests of the Chinese Empire.

This is an era in which the East and the West are becoming increasingly connected. If a Roman Empire were to emerge in Western civilization, the end result would undoubtedly be a devastating confrontation between the East and the West.

The Marquis of Rockingham was a man of some insight, worthy of being one of the leaders of the Whigs and a political veteran who had served as Prime Minister twice.

"Okay, we still have to talk and say nice things, but as long as we can keep part of India, or even just keep our interests in India." George III gritted his teeth.

"You must tell the Chinese Emperor that if this continues, and England loses everything, then I will dare to kneel before the French."

These words were so painful that George III gritted his teeth and wanted to vomit just by saying the six words "bend the knee to the French".

“We can also tell the Chinese emperor that if he continues to support France, we will fully promote the Yellow Peril. Although they are not Tatars, we can say that the Chinese emperor also serves as the Great Khan of Tatar.

What do the Orientals call this? Yes, Tengri Khan (Heavenly Khan)!

We will tell all Europeans, all Westerners, that the third scourge of God is about to strike us.”

"Yes, yes, that's it!" George III finally saw the possibility of success and finally became excited.

"But who should we send?" After his excitement, George III became a little alert again.

Because he knew that what these Whigs cared about most was making money. If he let them do whatever they wanted, they would only consider their own interests first.

"Some time ago, I recruited William Pitt the Younger to serve as the Irish Under-Secretary of State for Finance, but he declined. Now he is idle at home. I think he is a suitable candidate.

Furthermore, Lord Charles is helping the kingdom lobby the Ottoman Empire to make him a count and send him as an envoy to China."

The "little" in William Pitt the Younger refers to William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham.

William Pitt the Elder served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom from 1766 to 1768, presided over the Seven Years' War and won a great victory.

He was a very powerful and skillful politician who had a very good relationship with George III.

The second son, William Pitt the Younger, although he called himself an independent Whig, was actually a semi-royalist Tory.

He was also deeply trusted by George III and would even jump directly from a member of the House of Commons to become Prime Minister the next year.

This person is also very capable. He became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when he was less than 24 years old. He is the youngest Prime Minister in the entire history of England. While there is no one before him, there is a high probability that there will be no one like him in the future.

Historically, after England suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, William Pitt the Younger quickly stabilized the situation and brought order to the chaotic Kingdom of England. He was one of the greatest English Prime Ministers.

Lord Charles was George III's biological brother, but Charles was not a legitimate son. Instead, he was the illegitimate son of George III's father, the Prince of Wales, and Margaret, Countess of Marsac (this fact is questionable, but is accepted in this article).

Generally, although such illegitimate children are not recognized as royal family members, many kings will use them because it is not easy to use such brothers who do not pose any threat to the throne.

But George III did not like this brother who was a year older than him, so he was unwilling to use him and was reluctant to give him even an empty title of earl.

But only now did George III realize that he could trust his brother when he was in trouble.

Lord Charles had been in the East for a long time and had even served in India. It was a very appropriate arrangement to let him go to the East as a symbol while the actual situation was handled by William Pitt the Younger.

Considering that Lord Charles and William Pitt the Younger were both pro-royalist Tories, George III immediately agreed.

"William, go down and make the arrangements. I'm afraid Warren Hastings and his men in India won't be able to hold out for long. If they're captured by the Chinese, all this will be meaningless."

Prime Minister Lord Rockingham obtained the consent of George III and immediately walked out of St. James's Palace to begin preparations.

He found his fellow Whig ally in Charles James Fox, whom George III hated greatly.

“Charles, you must prepare two reliable men to serve as deputy envoys to the East. If they can meet the Chinese emperor, even if they have to kneel on the ground and beg, they must ask the Chinese emperor to agree to retain our power in India and agree to resume trade with England.

For this, everything is worth it.”

Charles James Fox nodded solemnly. "Yes, this is extremely important. For the long-term preservation of the Thames and for the sake of our business, even I am willing to kneel before the Chinese Emperor."

(End of this chapter)