The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 645: Mo's Ancestral Heritage - How to Become a Filial Son

People can be unlucky, but at least they shouldn’t be so unlucky!

Mo San Ge stood on Mount Cordon in the center of Brussels, feeling like crying but unable to shed tears.

The Bastille was attacked, and the French uprising and the French Revolution officially began.

The violent turmoil caused by this great empire, one of the three major powers in the world, made the whole of Europe tremble.

Mo Zirong, the third brother of Mo, was the one who suffered the first blow of this shock wave, and was hit so hard that he saw stars.

Because his Lower Netherlands was the place with the closest relationship with France and accepted the most progressive French ideas.

Moreover, since he had just put down the resistance of the people of Brussels, he was rumored in France to be an evil executioner who suppressed human rights and freedoms.

It can be imagined that as soon as the French revolutionaries came to power, the first target of their attack would be Mo Zirong, who had not yet firmly established his position as Prince of the Netherlands.

The Lower Netherlands, the so-called stepping stone to France's doorstep, is so valuable that you have to step on it and slap it in the face whenever you go out.

"Father, the situation has become even more dangerous. Rumors are spreading throughout France that we are sending the Three Guards to Paris to help our uncle, King Louis, suppress the revolutionaries. Cartoons vilifying you have already appeared on the streets of Paris."

He is quite impressive. He only has a few thousand troops and his strength cannot even catch up with the King of Portugal, but he has managed to get the seat of the big devil. Mo Gongze, who came hurriedly, delivered the final blow to his father Mo Zirong.

Mo Zirong gave a bitter laugh, pointed at his nose, and said to his son, "Is there such a great demon king? He has less than 10,000 soldiers and only three or five generals. Which great demon king has such strength?"

Brother Mo San was really in a state of panic. Faced with his son, wife and several illegitimate children around him, he rarely took off his disguise and revealed his weakest side.

“When I gave up running Transylvania, your great uncle, the Emperor, made fun of me.

He asked Mo Shanzong to tell me that I was slightly better at governing a country than Emperor Huizong of Song, but my artistic talent was far inferior.

At the same time, his artistic talent is slightly better than that of the cat-slave Emperor Zhu Zhanji, but his governance is far inferior to that of the silver-plated spearhead.

You know what, Mo Zibu's evaluation is quite accurate. Mo Zirong is truly a perfect monarch between Song Huizong and Ming Xuanzong.

He was weaker than Ming Xuanzong and Song Huizong in governing the country and art respectively, but in terms of art and governing the country, he was slightly stronger than these two.

Mo Gongze felt like laughing, and his illegitimate brothers were having a hard time holding it back.

At that time, Chinese culture was a top-notch powerful culture. Even France, as proud as it was in Europe, was quite fascinated by Chinese culture, both in reality and in their imagination.

Especially after Mo Zibu came to the throne, he began to intentionally create cultural output, and the effect became more obvious.

So even though they were far away in Europe, Mo Zirong's legitimate son, seven illegitimate sons, and six illegitimate daughters all received a complete Chinese education.

After the imperial examination every year, Mo Zibu would select two or three new scholars to go to Europe.

In addition to allowing them to study and travel to broaden their horizons, the most important task is to teach Chinese culture and knowledge to Mo Zirong and his children.

The third brother's family is Mo Zibu's largest investment in Europe.

Not to mention the trade volume of 170,000 tons of drainage that year, just for Mo Zirong's title of King of Lu, the Dayu court had to pay an annual pension of 30,000 silver yuan. The promotion and military pay of the civil and military officials of the King of Lu's court and the officers and soldiers of the three guards also constituted a huge expense.

Although 70% of this money was borne by the Lu Fanhui in Pengzhou Prefecture, Andai Province, this Pengzhou Prefecture was also divided from the territory of the empire.

Therefore, it is necessary to let Mo Zirong's children receive orthodox and complete Chinese education. Mo Zibu also hopes that these nephews and nieces will be loyal to China and stir up trouble for him in Europe.

With this kind of education, Mo Zirong's eight sons and six daughters were no different from the royal family of Dayu in the east, except for the difference in appearance.

They all speak fluent Nanjing Mandarin and Cantonese, as well as a certain level of Minnan dialect. They are all familiar with basic Confucian classics and have systematically studied Chinese history.

Among them, Mo Gongze has the highest talent and is even more proficient in language than Mo Zirong.

His calligraphy teacher is Wen Zhengming, and he was taught personally by the descendants of the Wen family. His small regular script can be described as gentle, elegant and vigorous, with strict rules.

He also wrote eight-part essays imitating the Ming Dynasty imperial examinations, and was praised by Cao Zhenyong, the ambassador plenipotentiary to the West, as having the ability of a talented person from Jiangnan.

"Father, His Majesty the Emperor is not mocking me. Throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, anyone who could compare to Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty was at least a ruler who maintained the status quo.

As for Song Huizong, if it weren't for the sudden rise of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, he wouldn't have been the king who destroyed his country."

He is indeed very well-educated. In this era where information is very limited, he is far away in the West and has never been to China, but he can say such things. This requires hard work.

However, Mo Zirong still smiled bitterly when he heard his son say this, "I originally thought that to have such a great success in the West, it would have to be someone like Emperor Mingzu of the Tang Dynasty, or Emperor Wenjing of the Han Dynasty, or Emperor Mingzhang of the Han Dynasty.

As a result, even you think I'm just a slightly stronger Song Huizong."

"Father, Song Huizong doesn't have such a solid backing as you. In Europe, with the support of China, Song Huizong can also make a name for himself."

The next person to speak was Mo Zirong's eldest son, Mo Gongdan, whose mother was Archduchess Elizabeth's best friend and lady-in-waiting, Countess Josephine Pellegrini.

Mo Zirong felt a little better after hearing this. He looked at his son who was eager to try, and seemed to be thinking about something.

At this time in Europe, due to the low productivity, it could not support too many nobles and could not allow the nobles' offspring to reproduce in large numbers, lest there would not be enough fiefs and the farmers could not survive.

At the same time, there is also the factor that the Pope needs to use this method to influence the marriage and inheritance of the nobles.

Therefore, in Europe, illegitimate children have no inheritance rights, not even bloodline or surname.

But it is different in China. In China, people say "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born of different races?" and "The inner treasury was burned to ashes, and the bones of the nobles were trampled on the streets."

Every two or three hundred years, from the royal family to the nobility, there is a reshuffle, so people don’t take things like legitimate or illegitimate children very seriously.

People like Mo Gongdan are marginal figures in Europe who cannot even inherit a surname, but in China, he can be treated as a legitimate prince and is eligible to be conferred the title of a prince.

Therefore, Mo Zirong's illegitimate children are very yearning for their hometown in the East. Not to mention returning to the East to become nobles, even if they can please their fifth uncle, the Eastern Emperor, and get him a mutual earl title, that would be great!
"Father, I am willing to return to my hometown and explain the chaos in Western Europe to my grandfather, the Grand Emperor, and His Majesty the Emperor, in order to gain more support for our family."

Sure enough, Mo Gongdan exposed his goal in his next sentence. He wanted to return to China and gain some benefits for himself.

Mo Gongze, Mo Zirong's only legitimate son, did not object because his position was unshakable, and the great emperor's fifth uncle knew it well.

Mo Gongze carries the blood of the two great empires of the East and the West. The Mo family that expelled the Tartars and the Habsburg family that used bed politics to make most of Europe kings are both powerful. This identity is useful wherever he goes, even more useful than his father Mo Zirong.

Who can be a staunch supporter and troublemaker for China in Europe? It must be Mo Gongze!
Just as Mo Zirong and his son were discussing how to take further action, the news from Paris became more and more explosive.

On July 7, the Bastille was stormed and the commander of the garrison, Bernard Jourdan, Marquis of Launay, was killed. His head was cut off by the revolutionaries and paraded through the streets on a pike.

The fall of the Bastille allowed a large amount of arms to fall into the hands of revolutionaries. Not only did they have the possibility of armed struggle, but they also strengthened their military morale in this not-so-fierce battle.

On July 7, the French Guard, one of the only two royal guards in France, was influenced by the revolutionaries and actually gave up protecting the king and sided with the revolutionaries.

At this point, King Louis XVI only had the 1616-man Swiss Guard formed by Louis XIII in .

As for the other mercenaries that Antoinette and her brother, the Count of Artois, hoped for, most of them were either controlled by the nobles or, because they were afraid of the revolutionary enthusiasm of the Parisians, did not dare to approach the Palace of Versailles.

And just after the capture of the Bastille, the anger of the third estate, which had been oppressed for hundreds of years, completely erupted at this moment.

A large number of aristocrats and aristocrats who had become capitalists were beaten to death by angry crowds on the streets of Paris, and the city was in chaos.

At this time, Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette, who were far away in Versailles, realized that something was wrong.

But after their fear, this foolish couple perfectly demonstrated their weakness in the face of the surging revolutionary sparks, and even fueled the revolutionary trend.

Louis XVI did not dare to order the nobles and the armed forces still controlled by the king and the nobles to suppress the uprising of the people of Paris, but chose to make concessions.

Appoint the Marquis de Lafayette, a founding hero of the United States who sympathized with and supported the Third Estate in regaining normal power, as commander-in-chief of the National Guard.

Immediately afterwards, the National Assembly announced the establishment of the Paris Commune and appointed Jean Sylvain Bailly, one of the leaders of the Great Revolution, as mayor of Paris.

At this time, Louis XVI took the final step and sent him to the guillotine.

He thought that the mayor of Paris had been elected and Marquis de Lafayette had become the commander-in-chief of the National Guard, and the situation would soon stabilize.

This foolish king actually returned to Paris for inspection when the nobles still held certain military power and still had expectations of him.
During the inspection, Louis XVI agreed to use the blue, white and red tricolor flag as the national flag, and put the slogan "Long live the King" after "Long live the Nation".

This made the nobles extremely angry and they felt betrayed by the king.

Some of them chose to flee out of despair for their country, while others left the Palace of Versailles with the troops they could still control and sought self-protection.

At this point, the gates of Versailles were wide open. Not only did Louis XVI only have the Swiss Guards as his army, but the entire Versailles Palace's garrison consisted of only a few hundred people.

The leaders of the National Assembly immediately saw an opportunity and encouraged the newly formed National Guard in Paris to go to Versailles in the name of protecting the king.

The commander, Marquis de Lafayette, was completely unable to control the situation and was even taken hostage by the army to the Palace of Versailles.

On July 7, news of the revolution in Paris spread throughout France, and farmers across the country immediately took action.

They expelled the nobles and clergy, burned the land deeds and contracts that were tantamount to indentures, and made the land they had been cultivating truly their own property.

This was a very progressive event during the Great Revolution, and it brought the greatest benefits to the peasants.

More than ten years later, Napoleon's invincible Guard was composed of officers who had found no way out and these French middle peasants who had obtained land.

With full enthusiasm and pride in their own right, they hung up and hammered the ox-and-horse workers of England, the poor tenants of Prussia, and the miserable serfs of Sharon (Russia).

But at the same time, this also caused severe turmoil. Civilians from all over the country spontaneously organized themselves to fight against those loyal to the nobles. The whole country was physically united, resulting in a large amount of farmland being abandoned, insufficient food supply in cities, and soaring prices.

On August 8, the National Assembly passed the August Decrees, which abolished the feudal system, the power of the first estate to collect tithes, and the power of the feudal lords of the second estate.

On August 8, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was issued and the National Assembly was transformed into the National Constituent Assembly.

On October 10, after careful preparation, a rumor began to spread that during the national food crisis, Queen Antoine and her confidants had stockpiled a large amount of food in the Palace of Versailles. At this time, France's food supply was already very tight, and the newly-elected National Constituent Assembly had destroyed France's current national operating system too quickly and brutally, and then did not have the ability to build a new one.

This led to complete imbalance and chaos across the country, and few people in Paris could afford to eat one meal a day.

So this rumor, combined with Queen Antoinette's usual extravagant image, immediately caused an uproar.

Under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, thousands of Parisian women carried flintlock rifles and pulled cannons and marched in a mighty procession from Paris to the Palace of Versailles.

However, the women were just a decoy, as a large number of armed men were already prepared.

When they arrived at the Palace of Versailles, Marquis de Lafayette ordered the National Guard to maintain order, but the National Guard was reluctant to act, which allowed some armed men to take the opportunity to rush into the palace and kill several guards who were loyal to their duty.

Marquis de Lafayette had no choice but to persuade the king not to order resistance, otherwise he would surely meet with disaster.

The weak Louis XVI once again acted like an ostrich and was at the mercy of others.

So, under the "escort" of the National Guard, the king and his family were taken away from the Palace of Versailles and placed in the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

This destroyed all the confidence of the old nobles. In the end, most of the nobles who still had hope in Louis XVI left the king, and only the Swiss Guards remained to protect the king's entire family.

This series of changes also deeply shocked European countries.

Although Charles I was executed before this, it was not a revolution, but a turmoil mixed with religion and aristocracy. It was still a change within the aristocratic circle and no ordinary people participated.

So Louis XVI was placed under house arrest, which was actually the first time in Europe that a king was placed under house arrest by the lowest people.

And with the unrest, it is increasingly likely that the Lower Netherlands, led by Brussels, will bear the brunt of the impact.

From August 13 to October 13, in two months, more than forty attacks against nobles and high-ranking clergy occurred in Brabant, Luxembourg, Liège, and Flanders where Ghent is located.

On September 27, Jean-Frans Funck, who was forced to go into exile in Brussels under the threat of Mo Zirong, brought back an armed force from France, which subsequently triggered a large-scale uprising in the Liège region, which has not been quelled until now.

The rebels formed the Funck Party and publicly declared that they would follow the French Revolution and bring freedom and human rights to the people of the Lower Netherlands.

Mo Zirong, who was almost fifty years old, was also frightened. After all, he was not a time traveler like Mo Zibu, and his perseverance was several levels lower.

Amid the ups and downs of the revolutionary frenzy, Mo Sango actually wanted to leave Brussels and return to the safer Vienna or Transylvania.

"Child, this wave cannot be stopped. When I came to Europe, your uncle, His Majesty the Great Emperor, warned me." Mo Zirong's face was pale and his tone was a little frightened.

"The emperor said that as Europe continues to develop, especially in France, the people will gradually become unwilling to be oppressed, and France may face serious problems.

He also said that emperors and nobles will definitely decline in the future, because unless they are born lowly, no one will be willing to be ridden on in all aspects, from human rights to personality.

For over ten years, I thought the emperor's predictions were nothing but groundless worries. Now it seems that Lao Wu is indeed the great emperor who can drive out the Tartars. He has foreseen everything!"

Good heavens, it turns out that the biggest reason that scared Mo Zirong was not the French Revolution, but the advice given to him by his younger brother Mo Zibu more than ten years ago.

Mo Zibu's original intention was to ask Mo Zirong to try not to interfere in French affairs, try to be an enlightened aristocrat, and not to exploit those poor people in Europe, so as not to bring disaster to himself or his descendants.

As a result, at this moment, it became a prophecy that severely damaged Mo Zirong's heart.

But Mo Gongze, who had shown great potential since childhood, was not panicking at this moment, "Don't worry, father, the situation is not yet to the point where we have to leave Brussels.

Even the Kingdom of France cannot control the power of the French rebels, and they are unable to export the riots abroad for the time being.

Moreover, since the great uncle emperor made an accurate prediction more than ten years ago, he must have made some preparations. As long as our parents' country supports us, our Mo family will be as stable as Mount Tai in Europe.

As for the uprising in the Bishopric of Liège, it is actually an opportunity to show our abilities.

Archbishop Huonbrusk is too corrupt and cruel. The existence of such a nobleman will only tarnish our image.

We should take this opportunity to send him to Vienna, so that we can both gain Liège and appease the people."

This is the difference in perspectives on things that comes from different abilities.

Unlike his father Mo Zirong who was frightened, Mo Gongze, who was deeply influenced by Chinese culture, felt that although he did not agree with the uprising of the French people, he could understand it.

Many of the demands of the rebels were acceptable to him, and the same was true of the uprising in the Bishopric of Liège.

How could it be possible in today's era to crudely divide people into three classes and treat the third class as slaves?

You treat others as non-human beings and don't allow them to resist?
Mo Gongze even felt that he could contact Funk, who led the Lieri Uprising, and work with him to drive out Archbishop Huonbrusk and take control of this county.

It is even possible to draft a constitution and become a constitutional monarch like the King of England.

However, just when Mo Gongze was about to give further analysis to his father Mo Zirong, his mother, Mo Zirong's wife, Duchess of Parma Maria Elizabeth, suddenly rushed in.

"Karl, something bad has happened!" The Shinra princess's face turned pale.

"News has arrived from Belgrade that malaria and cholera have broken out in the army. The Emperor has also been infected at the front and is on his way back to Vienna."

Mo Zirong was shocked and stood up immediately. He felt stars in his eyes and was shaking several times.

At this time, the Holy Roman Empire was fighting against the Ottoman Empire, because more than ten years ago when Poland was divided, the Holy Roman Empire and Russia had an agreement that if one of the two sides attacked Türkiye, the other side must assist.

So when the Sixth Russo-Turkish War broke out two years ago, the Holy Roman Empire also declared war on the Ottoman Empire and occupied the Serbian capital Belgrade two months ago.

But it seemed as if the Holy Roman Empire's fortune had run out long ago. After finally achieving some victory, the army was attacked by malaria and cholera. More than half of the soldiers were killed or wounded, and even Emperor Joseph II was infected and fell ill.

"Oh no! If the Hungarians knew the emperor was seriously ill, they would definitely cause trouble. They have been waiting for this day for a long time!"

Mo Zirong shouted that the reason he wanted to leave was because the Hungarian nobles headed by the Bathory family had been instigating him to become the King of Hungary and rebel against Joseph II.

"No, I have to go back to Vienna immediately. I can't let the Hungarians make the situation even more out of control!"

At the critical moment, Mo Zirong still showed considerable courage and was of a certain level.

This is because Mo Zirong understood that without the support of the Holy Roman Empire, he would not be able to maintain his position with only the support of the Chinese Empire. After all, China is too far away from Europe.

"Karl, I was right about you. Let's go back to Vienna together." Maria Elizabeth was quite relieved.

Her husband did not take advantage of the dangerous moment of the empire to gain benefits, but was still able to resist the temptation and pressure and did not become the King of Hungary.

"No, Maria, you can't go to Vienna!" Mo Zirong said firmly:
"You must stay in Brussels to stabilize the situation. I'll have Liu Rongqing and Frederick assist you. Don't worry, they will escort you back to Vienna before the most dangerous moment arrives."

"Aze, let your brother Adan handle the affairs of the Liege Diocese. He is capable enough.

You should prepare yourself, return to China, and tell your uncle, His Majesty the Great Emperor, everything that has happened here.

We need him, we need the Chinese Imperial Army to extend its influence to the Black Sea coast, and we need the strong support of the Imperial Navy, and it would be best if a squadron could come to Antwerp."

Mo Gongze felt a warm feeling in his heart. Although his father, Prince Lu Mo Zirong, was capable, he was too old and loved to enjoy himself and covet a comfortable life.

It is definitely not as good as expecting my fifth uncle, the emperor who just turned 40, to give me enough support than to expect my father, who is almost 50, to make another effort.

I really want to see with my own eyes this motherland that I have never seen before but is very familiar to me.

However, Mo Gongze still had one last concern. He looked at his mother, Maria Elizabeth, and said:

"Mother, I suspect Uncle Joseph's infection with the plague isn't a simple matter. His brutal promotion of reforms has earned him a great deal of hatred. Countless people within the empire wish him dead."

Maria Elizabeth began to cry again when she heard this, but she was not particularly surprised. It was obvious that she had already thought of this possibility.

"What's wrong with this world? Regicides are constantly being produced all over Europe." The Archduchess cried.

"Mother, that's why it's best for us not to stay in Vienna for a long time, lest we be taken advantage of.

"It would be great if our family could have a piece of land of our own," Mo Gongze said meaningfully.

Archduchess Elizabeth looked at her son and asked tremblingly, "Joseph, what are you thinking about?"

"You should write to Uncle Leopold and tell him that if the situation changes, we are willing to support him, but we hope to get the throne of the King of Belgium!"

This was Mo Gongze's vision, to take advantage of the chaotic revolution to go one step further and become the King of Belgium from the Prince of the Lower Netherlands.

"Is this possible?" asked Archduchess Elizabeth in surprise.

"Mother, even if we become kings of Belgium, we will still be members of the Habsburg family, and this will never change.

Besides, the Empire's rule in the Lower Netherlands has long been precarious. Without us, this place will soon no longer belong to the Empire.

So this request is not excessive.”

After thinking for a while, Mo Gongze said, "If necessary, we can even give up the claims to the Duchy of Parma, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Lorraine, and only need to retain the Grand Duchy of Transylvania left to us by our grandmother."

Mo Zirong was completely stunned. At that moment, he suddenly understood how his father Mo Tianci felt when he was ordered around by his fifth brother Mo Zibu and had to travel thousands of miles on a bumpy ship at the age of over eighty.

It's a complicated feeling of being relieved, uncomfortable, and a little bit wanting to hit someone.

While sighing, Mo Zirong became furious when he saw that his son Mo Gongze wanted to tell him something else.

"Shut up, you brat. I know what I should do. You want to be the King of Belgium, and I'll do my best to get you."

Mo Gongze was stunned. He didn't quite understand why his father suddenly got so angry?

(End of this chapter)