The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 75: The French Eye-Possession
Smoke and fire floated in the sky above the city of Pyin Uyen, and everyone was mobilized.

Mozibu cruelly ordered his soldiers to search out and kill all the Burmese soldiers in the city, and then looted all the wealthy businessmen and officials' families in Pyin Uyen City.

Moreover, the soldiers of Kunlun Mountain Hall only wanted the most valuable gold, silver, jewelry, brocade, etc., and did not want the rest of the fine cotton cloth, salt, sugar, tea, meat, grain, etc.

This was intentional. There were 20,000 to 30,000 people in Pyin Uyen City. We couldn't anger all the Burmese. It would be better to let them get some benefits.

Soon, Mo Zi Bu's strategy worked. The reign of King Meng Bo of the White Elephant was indeed the period when the Konbaung Dynasty was at its peak of national power, but it was also a period of considerable militarism.

You can refer to the actions of Emperor Wu of Han for details. When he was in power, the Han army was indeed invincible and quite powerful, but the people in the Han area at that time had a miserable life.

This period is generally referred to as suffering in the present but benefit to future generations.

Like ordinary people in Myanmar at that time, they often bore extremely heavy taxes and labor.

The Konbaung Dynasty's army was indeed invincible in Indochina, but their lives were not so comfortable.

As a result, the extensive looting of Kunlun Mountain Hall immediately attracted a large number of poor people.

They didn't dare to join in the looting, but they dared to snatch the things thrown onto the street by the Kunlun Mountain Hall soldiers after they finished looting.

Even at the end, some bold Burmese people secretly led the soldiers of Kunlun Mountain Hall, told them which family was richer, and guided them to plunder.

Mo Zibu led two hundred elite soldiers and a large number of detained civilians and rushed directly into the armory.

Wow, as soon as I opened Mo Zibu, my eyes lit up with excitement, but at the same time I felt a little regretful.

As expected, the White Elephant King Meng Bo transferred away part of the artillery and more than one hundred French gunners including Captain Midler, leaving only sixteen artillery pieces for Mo Zibu.

But surprisingly, the sixteen guns left behind were basically large-caliber eight-pound guns and very easy-to-move Austrian three-pound guns.

In addition to the cannons, there were at least three hundred basically new flintlock rifles.

Mo Zibu ordered Lieutenant Jean Pierre to take a look at it. This was a flintlock rifle produced in Ireland around 1750 specifically for export.

Because there is an Irish harp logo engraved on the bolt, it is called the "divine bow gun" by the Chinese in Southeast Asia.

Well, the Chinese thought the harp was a weird bow.

"Wow, so much gunpowder, that's great!" Mo Zibu was still admiring the flintlock rifle when Chen Guangyao cheered again.

Mo Zibu walked over and saw that it was not gunpowder, but a large amount of saltpeter and sulfur, which were stored separately.

Although it cannot be turned into gunpowder immediately, there are at least tens of thousands of pounds of it here. Hexian has an arsenal. When I go back and add charcoal and other materials to make it, it will be a priceless treasure.

"Take it all away, take it all away. Leave behind all the food and meat, only take two days' worth of dry rations, and use the rest to pack weapons, saltpeter, and sulfur for me. Bring in all the laborers outside and have them carry the loads for me."

. . . .

Chandernagar, India, 30 km northwest of Kolkata.

This was once the richest town in French India, or it can be said that it still is the richest town.

Even after being destroyed by the British, Chandernagar still has more than two thousand large houses and three main streets.

As for the huts of other Bengalis, they stretched for more than ten miles, and at its peak the population was close to 80,000.

Compared with it, Kolkata, which later became famous, is now just a small town that is still developing.

If the British had not built the magnificent Fort William in Kolkata, Kolkata would not even be worthy of being mentioned in the same breath with Chandernagar.

Count Larry Tolandal was extremely anxious, holding the urgent secret letter sent by his family from Paris.

The content of the secret letter was about the Treaty of Paris. In the treaty that finally ended last year, the Kingdom of France admitted defeat in the Seven Years' War and lost a large number of colonies.

However, the local governance in India and colonies such as Chandernagar were returned to the British.

However, this was not a good thing for Count Larry Tolandal, the former Governor-General of French India.

Because in this war, the French Indian colony was the most conspicuous one even among the French Empire's most conspicuous military activities around the world.

Count Lari Tolandar obtained the support of the Mysore Kingdom and the Maratha Alliance and had two thousand French troops under his command, but was humiliatingly defeated by the British army.

Not only did he lose all his Indian colonies, but the Earl himself was also captured by the British army in an extremely humiliating manner.

And this is not the most outrageous thing. The most outrageous thing is that after being captured, the earl actually begged the British army for mercy in order to survive, regardless of his image, and revealed a lot of military secrets.

This is not a question of character, but a question of treason.

This would have been fine if the French had won the Seven Years' War. Count Tolandal's incredible actions would at most have earned him a few years in prison, and then by spending some money, he could at least save his life.

But France was not only defeated, but also defeated in a very shameful way. It is said that in Paris today, there are people who dare to criticize King XV loudly in the streets.

This was unimaginable in the past. The French loved their King XV so much that they affectionately called him Louis the Favourite.

Therefore, Count Larry Tolandal, who was well versed in politics, understood deeply that the current situation had reached a point where someone with sufficient weight must give an explanation for the failure of the Seven Years' War.

And this explanation is most likely the brain.

Well, there are currently two candidates, the first one is Earl Tolandar.

The second person was Marshal Soubise, the French army's embarrassment who was defeated by Frederick the Great in the Battle of Rossbach with a ratio of 1 to 40, making Frederick the Great famous.

But Marshal Soubise had a natural amulet, because in addition to Marshal Soubise taking the blame for this disastrous defeat, the third Duke of Richelieu, who accepted bribes and kept his troops in the west, also bore major responsibility.

This is the trouble. These two people, especially the Duke of Richelieu's family, have great power in Paris.

With the Duke of Richelieu secretly working hard, the Count of Tolandal, who is relatively less powerful, is likely to be pushed out as an example.

Well, the count's cognition was quite accurate. Historically, he was pushed out and then beheaded in Paris.

"Count, I heard that you have obtained the specific content of the Treaty of Paris?" Just when Count Tolandal was extremely anxious, Peter suddenly walked in.

Although Chandernagar is still under the control of the British, he is a religious person and always has some advantages.

Count Tolandar was startled. After a long silence, he sighed and admitted that he really lacked someone to discuss things with.

Peter also had many complaints about Count Tolandar's performance in the war.

But he had just reached a cooperation with Mo Zibu, and he really felt that Mo Zibu's Hexian would be the most important stronghold for the Kingdom of France in the future, so he immediately told him the matter.

Upon hearing this, Count Tolandar felt as if he had seen a bright path out of hell. He immediately grasped Peter's hand and said,
"Your Excellency, please save my lost soul. I can pay any price."

Count Tolandar is still very sensitive politically.

According to the Treaty of Paris, although Chandernagar and Pondicherry were returned to the Kingdom of France, they could only be used as trading bases and could no longer be armed.

According to the current trade rules, a trade base that cannot protect itself has no future.

It's very simple. Even if the British don't target you, will local tyrants like the Mysore Kingdom and the Maratha League still treat you equally as before?

If a conflict breaks out, how can you guarantee the safety of your own business personnel and goods?

Peter glanced at the door with a mysterious air, then pulled Count Tolandar further into the house.

"Your Excellency, simply reaching an agreement with Lord Ha Tien will not be enough to offset the wrath of King Rama XV and the people. You must do something more."

Count Tolandar thought about it carefully and felt that it was indeed not enough, because it was just a cooperation, but did not bring about any substantial changes immediately.

It’s just an agreement. Who knows whether it can be implemented in the end, or to what extent it can be implemented?

However, Count Tolandar understood one thing: Peter came to him so eagerly, which must be because the Hexian side agreed to many religious conditions for him.

"Your Excellency, please help me get rid of this guilt. Please feel free to tell me how I can cooperate."

Peter lowered his voice and said with some resignation: "For the glory of our Lord to shine on the distant East, I am willing to help the Count under the Lord's guidance.

If the Earl agrees, I can persuade Lord Hexian to bring his army to Tianzhu.

This is a fleet consisting of thirteen warships and seven large merchant ships, with two thousand brave and skilled Eastern warriors.

Although the specific terms of the Treaty of Paris had not yet been circulated, the Governor-General of Bengal, Sir Robert Clive, was certainly aware of them.

If an army willing to fight for France appeared at this time, Robert should be willing to return the local governance and other colonies belonging to France in advance, so that the Earl could get the credit for this.

In addition, Lord Ha Tien was in Burma rescuing hundreds of French soldiers, including Lieutenant Colonel Bruno, who had been captured eight years earlier.

If he could hand over these rescued soldiers to the count, it would be another great achievement.

Even if this doesn't exonerate the Earl, it will at least greatly reduce his guilt, and there's no question of saving his life."

Earl Larry Tolandar stood up and paced back and forth, pondering carefully. "Although this fleet is huge and the warriors are brave, they cannot threaten the British."

Of course they couldn't deal with it. The flagship of the British East India Company in the Bay of Bengal was the Princess Amelia, a Cambridge-class battleship with a displacement of 1600 tons and 80 guns.

In addition, there are two fourth-level battleships and two armed merchant ships of more than 700 tons.

With Mo Zibu's patchwork fleet, he couldn't even defeat the Portuguese fleet in Macau, so how could he dare to compete with the British?

As for the army, the British army had 3,000 regular troops in Mengjia Bay, and Mo Zibu's more than 1,000 troops were not enough.

"Count, we are not going to use Lord Ha-sien's army to fight a major battle with the British. We just want to show that France is still capable of dealing with the British.

Robert Clive was rectifying military discipline in Fort William, which caused opposition from both the upper and lower levels. He was in no mood to start another meaningless battle.

Moreover, Lord Ha Tien had a medium-to-large merchant ship with a displacement of 800 tons, which was filled with best-selling goods such as silk, rhubarb, bristles, tea, etc. from Ha Tien.

As long as the lord is willing to sell it to the East India Company, it will not be a problem to take back the colony in advance."

Count Tolandar looked at Peter in surprise. This was indeed a solution.

As long as the British East India Company can make money, it definitely doesn't mind "showing mercy".

And based on his understanding of Robert Clive, he could indeed succeed.

"But the judges of the military court are not fools. They will not believe that I rescued these prisoners. The truth will be revealed during the trial." Count Tolandar was still very worried.

Peter looked at him and said, “Why not?
Before the fall of Local Government, the Earl ordered Captain Manuel Bonn to break out of the siege with the battleship Fortune and head east to seek Lord Ha-Tien's help.

Yes, Larry Tolandal almost jumped up on the spot!

Indeed, it was he who sent Manuel Bonn out. This was a real achievement that no one could deny.

Then the Count asked one last question.

“Bishop, what do I need to pay in order for Lord Hexian to pay such a price to help me?”

"The Tolandar Arsenal!" Peter replied affirmatively.

“Lord Ha Tien is about to go to war with the White Elephant King of Burma, and what they need most is a Western-style arsenal.

If the Earl agrees to move this arsenal, which produces 3,000 carbines annually, and its skilled workers to Ha Tien, the Lord will certainly agree."

"Okay, I agree." Earl Tolandar stamped his feet heavily, and then took the initiative to increase the bet for insurance.

"Your Excellency, if that's not enough, I can have them land in Tranqueba, where there's a small Danish arsenal."

(End of this chapter)