Dominate the Country

Time flies, the 31st year of Chengtian seems to be just yesterday, and in just a blink of an eye, the 32nd year has arrived.

1806 in the Western calendar!

Chen Ming, who is far away in the east, looked at the European continent and felt that many things had become unrecognizable to him.

The Battle of Trafalgar is gone. Although the Franco-Spanish fleet suffered heavy losses, their foundation is still there. Therefore, Nelson did not die; the glorious Battle of Ulm was also gone, but the Austrian army suffered the same tragic defeat elsewhere. 50,000 Austrian troops were wiped out, of which at least 35,000 entered Napoleon's prisoner-of-war camp;

Napoleon settled in the magnificent Schönbrunn Palace, and the French army marched into Vienna in a mighty manner. The Austrian emperor and his courtiers fled to Brno, the capital of Moravia. A week later, the Austrian emperor met with Tsar Alexander I here.

Then, the Battle of Austerlitz was over, but the term "Battle of the Three Emperors" still appeared in the headlines of many newspapers. The French army still won a brilliant victory under the command of Napoleon in a small town in eastern Prussia.

75,000 French troops defeated 100,000 Russian and Austrian troops in Prussia. Napoleon eliminated the 30,000 troops of Alexander I and Franz II at the cost of 6,000 casualties, and the two fled in embarrassment.

Therefore, compared with the same period in history, France at this time seemed stronger. This may be because the British did not achieve such brilliant results on the sea as the Battle of Trafalgar in history.

Because the European Office included a reply from Napoleon in the notice sent to Nanjing. It was the fifth day of Napoleon's stay in the Schonbrunn Palace. At that time, he received the news of the Battle of Gibraltar and the French-Spanish joint fleet. But his reply to the French Navy Minister said: I have received your report on the Battle of Gibraltar. I will give specific opinions on this matter after receiving your more detailed report. But at the same time, I solemnly tell you that this incident has no effect on my planned sea raid. What is infuriating is that these actions were not prepared before this incident, and the raid must be carried out immediately without further delay.

Napoleon may have given up landing on the British mainland, but he always wanted to form a large fleet to compete with the British in the Atlantic. The Battle of Gibraltar that took place before was a decisive battle at sea in order to allow the French and Spanish fleets in the Mediterranean to merge with the French and Spanish fleets outside Gibraltar.

Chen Ming looked at the European "history" that had changed a lot, and a sense of satisfaction and a very strong sense of accomplishment surged in his heart.

He felt like he was watching a movie, and the director of this movie was himself!

Napoleon accepted many proposals from the European Office, just like the Russian and Austrian prisoners of war in the French POW camps today, which is more than 50,000 people. What a huge labor force, what a huge wealth.

Using these people to build fortifications and fortresses for France, using these people to build roads, canals and rivers for France, how much wealth can be brought to France.

This is definitely much better than feeding these people for a period of time and then letting them go.

The development of the European war to this point is no longer just an economic and industrial contest, it is also a contest of manpower.

In terms of the population of these European countries, 50,000 soldiers is definitely a huge number.

You know, the total population within the Habsburg dynasty is only 20 million, and Russia now has only 35 million people. 50,000 soldiers in their prime is already a large number. Not to mention the military qualities of these 50,000 people, and the countless officers among them.

In the two battles, Austria lost nearly 70,000 troops. In addition to the losses in the Battle of the Three Emperors, the Russian army also had a series of small-scale battles with the French army in Austria before, as well as a series of small-scale conflicts before and after the Battle of the Three Emperors. How come there are also 30,000 people?

The loss of 100,000 troops is definitely a serious blow to Austria and Tsarist Russia.

But if Napoleon released all the more than 50,000 prisoners of war after signing the agreement, the victory would be greatly reduced.

Napoleon accepted the proposal of the European Office, which strengthened France's own national strength and weakened the Russians and Austrians.

This is conducive to the persistence of the European battlefield.

Chen Ming was very happy to see this scene.

What made Chen Ming especially happy was that the British Prime Minister Pitt the Younger died. When Chen Ming saw this news in the notice of the European Office, he was very surprised.

Because as far as he knew, Pitt the Younger was only 44 years old. Although he had been the British Prime Minister for 18 years, he was only 44 years old.

Chen Ming did not want to deny his vigilance against Pitt the Younger. This young man - of course he can say Pitt the Younger at his current age, is really amazing.

A 24-year-old British Prime Minister, can you imagine it?

When this news reached Chen Ming's ears, Chen Ming was very shocked. He seemed to have some impression of the three words "Little Pete", but he also knew that the "Little" in European names does not refer to age alone, but to seniority. Just like George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush! Chen Ming was shocked by the age, which was really unbelievable.

But it turns out that genius can do what ordinary people cannot.

When Little Pete ascended to the prime minister's throne, the British treasury was in debt. First there was the old debt of the Seven Years' War, and then the Beacon Country War of Independence. 150 million pounds to 170 million pounds, a huge and unimaginable figure, which was the British fiscal revenue for more than ten years.

But Pitt the Younger quickly solved this problem with his outstanding economic talents and strong political skills. After he came to power, he quickly filled the huge fiscal deficit left over from the war by adjusting commodity tax rates and national debts, governing government corruption, and reforming the tax system - learning from China's new tax types. In the middle and late stages of his reign, he also dissolved the British East India Company and directly brought India under British colonial jurisdiction.

Although he himself was heavily in debt due to alcoholism and neglect of his personal affairs - servants stole his things. When he resigned from the position of Prime Minister for the first time, he already had a huge debt of more than 40,000 pounds.

During the period when Pitt the Younger resigned, Chen Ming asked the European Office to invite him to China. Just like Watt at the beginning, Chen Ming would definitely give him a high-level reception, but Pitt the Younger refused.

Then Pitt the Younger became the British Prime Minister again, because Britain and France went to war again, and all classes in Britain believed that the successor Prime Minister Addington was incapable of leading the war. Pitt the Younger joined hands with his old enemy Fox to overthrow the cabinet.

This is a bit like "Xie An will not come out, what will happen to the people?" Chen Ming thought that Pitt the Younger would stay in the position of Prime Minister for another 16 or 17 years, but he didn't expect that this guy would die at the age of 44, and this was exactly when the anti-French alliance suffered a series of defeats on the European continent.

"I hope this news will not affect his historical evaluation!"

Chen Ming thought about it and felt that the British were not so superficial. Pitt the Younger had instilled his hatred of the Paris Revolution into the blood of the entire Britain over the years. The Third Anti-French Alliance failed, but there will be a fourth, fifth, and sixth...

Although he fell between the failed 1805 and 1806, his fiscal policy created huge wealth for Britain. This wealth can enable Britain to maintain a long and terrible war, continuously expand the fleet and the army, pay salaries to soldiers, and continuously support the allies with money.

Chen Ming thought about Pitt the Younger's life in his mind, and his fingers kept tapping on the desk until one of them stopped!

...

Cabinet

Pang Zhenkun looked at the decree coming from the palace and frowned slightly.

"It's difficult."

The emperor's idea is not uncommon. They secretly supported France before, so that was their plan.

- Balance of power diplomacy, winning over the weaker party to fight the stronger party. Just like the British chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey, who initially supported Spain in fighting against France, but when Spain gained the advantage of dominating Europe, he turned to France. This is the most obvious balance of power diplomacy. However, Pang Zhenkun can also see from Emperor Chen's series of practices that Emperor Chen is not actually very optimistic about Napoleon, but more like using Napoleon as a chess piece.

Let Napoleon constantly attract hatred and win over hatred in Europe, so that the whole of Europe will focus on Europe, and have no time to take into account the changes in America and even India.

In this way, China can seek the best and most benefits.

As for the problems between Britain and France, from a long-term perspective, the emperor obviously chose Britain.

So what happened to Emperor Chen now?

Seeing Napoleon's invincibility in Europe, did you have other ideas?

The wrinkles on Pang Zhenkun's face could kill mosquitoes. Although he has been in power these years, he is really worried and tired.

Let alone other things, the survey and construction of a railway, as well as the order of implementation of compulsory education in provincial governments, make Pang Zhenkun's ears busy for a day.

And now Emperor Chen has given the cabinet another big problem.

Pang Zhenkun first called Gao Yanming, is he the Minister of Foreign Affairs? After reading Chen Ming's handwritten letter, Gao Yanming was not surprised. Napoleon's current momentum is really amazing. Even those who were not optimistic about Napoleon before have to look at him with new eyes now.

In this case, it is natural for the emperor to "change" his mind.

Europe's sea power and land power!

That is, Britain and France.

On the sea, the French navy joined forces with the Spanish warships, but they couldn't beat the British. And on land, the British joined forces with Austria and Russia, but they couldn't kill the French either.

The victory of the Battle of the Three Emperors made Napoleon seem to have become the master of the European continent.

On this basis, it is possible for the whole of Europe to form a balance of power. Although Russia and Austria, two major land warfare powers, have many conflicts with France. But Napoleon has definitely mastered most of Western Europe. If he can organically integrate the power of Spain, Italy and France, it is not impossible to challenge Britain's hegemony at sea again. Moreover, Napoleon has seen the power of motor sailing ships and his mind has been opened. Now France has started to build motor sail hybrid paddle steamers with the support of Chinese technology. Their mission is to play raids in the Atlantic Ocean. How will the future European war develop? It is really unpredictable!

Chen Ming had thought about "cleansing" in the three countries of South Khan in Central Asia before, and even thought of killing people. This is to reassure the Russians and to make the Russians go all out to fight Napoleon.

"Your Majesty must be a taboo against Napoleon, otherwise how could he attack France?" Gao Yanming said.

As for Russia's affairs, this is essentially holding Napoleon back!

Chen Ming does not want Britain to dominate Europe, but he also does not want there to be only one Napoleon Empire in the vast European continent! That would not be good for Chen Han's future. Gao Yanming saw this very clearly.

Whoever wants to stand out will be beaten. The current situation in Europe has the basis for a "balance of power", but the war cannot really end. Napoleon will not, and Britain will not!

Chen Ming does not think that his plan will succeed all at once. He just hopes to instill the concept of "balance of power" into Napoleon's mind, hoping that it will be useful one day in the future.