Chapter 33513353【Unify Europe】
England and France were feuding countries. They were at war with each other in the eleventh century. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, they even fought the Hundred Years War.
If it weren't for the emergence of Joan of Arc, which boosted the morale of the French people, France would have been destroyed long ago.
There is a deep hatred between the two sides. In addition, both sides have successively established a large number of colonial strongholds in North America, Africa, Tianzhu and other places. In order to compete for these colonies, they also tried to kill each other.
As for the Holy Roman Empire, in 1962, King Otto I of Germany was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope John XII and was called the "Emperor of Rome". The Kingdom of Germany was called the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation".
And because it was still the Middle Ages and Europe was still implementing the feudal system, there were many feudal lords in the Holy Roman Empire.
By the time it developed into the early seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire had a total of 390 principalities, principalities, religious aristocratic territories, free states, free cities, knightly territories, etc. It can be said that there are many cities, not subordinate to each other, and they are scattered.
Later, in order to compete for hegemony and interests, the Thirty Years War broke out in the Holy Roman Empire, which caused the country to suffer heavy losses, losing nearly 40% of its population, and its economy regressed for nearly two hundred years, almost returning to feudal serfdom.
This also caused the Holy Roman Empire's national power to decline significantly, and the war not only failed to eliminate the divisions, but resulted in the emergence of 314 states and nearly 1,500 knightly manor territories in the country, which can be said to have been broken into pieces.
Prussia and Austria are the two largest states. Both countries want to kill each other and unify the Holy Roman Empire. This war started in the 21st year of Qianlong and has lasted for nearly six years.
It can be said that up to now, both sides have reached the end of their strength, the country is exhausted and the people are suffering unspeakably.
Therefore, when Xiang Nan takes action at this time, the snipe and the clam will fight, and the fisherman will benefit.
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When the army invaded Prussia, Prussia could not even organize an effective resistance and was quickly bulldozed. Immediately afterwards, Austria, which had the same problem as it, was also quickly defeated, and had no choice but to submit a surrender letter to Xiang Nan.
England and France have been fighting ping-pong for six years. Countless soldiers were killed and injured, and countless money was spent. The winner was about to be decided. Who would have thought that Xiang Nan would cross the line at this time, so he was naturally dissatisfied.
But they are now at the end of their game, and Xiang Nan has begun to accumulate capital since the early years of taking the throne. It has been nearly thirty years now. There are 1.4 billion taels of silver in the national treasury alone, and the number of troops is as high as 1.5 billion. There are one hundred thousand, and the number of free soldiers recruited from the Rakshasa Kingdom alone is as many as half a million.
In addition, there are generational differences in weapons.
England and France still use black powder.
Historically, it was not until 1771 that picric acid was invented in England, but at first people only used it as a dye. It wasn't until a hundred years later that people realized that this thing could also be used as explosives.
Hang Nan's army had already been using TNT explosives, and was more than two hundred years ahead of them. In addition, there are now many people and strong morale, but the other side is destitute of troops and horses, and the country is weak.
The so-called taking advantage of his illness to kill him. Xiang Nan would not miss this good opportunity, just like the great powers did not miss the declining Qing Dynasty.
So he waved his hand, and the army divided into four groups and fought out. Two routes invaded France, one route invaded Naples, and one route invaded England along the coast.
How could it withstand the fierce attack of the two armies, so it announced its surrender in less than three months, and its overseas colonies were also lost to Xiang Nan.
England also paid a lot of price in order to fight the Seven Years War. For example, tens of thousands of soldiers were killed, and the fleet also lost more than a dozen warships. The most troublesome thing is that England's front is stretched too long. From Europe to India, from North America to South America... England and France are at war. Therefore, even if its national strength is strong, the result of such a dispersed military force is that it is easily defeated individually.
In comparison, during the five years that Xiang Nan controlled the Rakshasa Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, he continued to build new warships, and now the total tonnage is no less than that of England.
So when hundreds of ships attacked England, England simply did not have enough power to defend. Moreover, England's most proud Armada did not have the slightest advantage when facing Xiang Nan's fleet.
After all, they still use black powder and smoothbore cannons, which have short range, low power, and low accuracy. In comparison, Xiang Nan's fleet used rifled guns and TNT explosives, which had a long range, high power, and high accuracy.
Once they had a fight with the English fleet, they would only be passively beaten. In one naval battle, half of the English navy was buried at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
England's army is actually not very strong. It can only be passively beaten when faced with machine guns, cannons, mortars, automatic rifles and other weapons that are ahead of its time.
In the end, the British royal family surrendered to Xiang Nan, and its colonies around the world were also lost to Xiang Nan.
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As for the Neapolitan dynasty, it was located in the southern region of Italy.
Italy was not unified until the 19th century. Before that, it was composed of many states. The north is occupied by Austria, and the south is occupied by the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the island of Sardinia.
Italy’s territory was not very large, and it was divided into so many small countries, which made its national strength even weaker. Therefore, when a hundred thousand troops came all the way, these countries had to surrender.
After conquering France, Italy, and England, Spain and Portugal were no longer able to resist and had to surrender.
By the end of the 26th year of Qianlong's reign, all of Europe and their colonies were basically controlled by Xiang Nan.
Subsequently, railways across Europe began to be built, from the Kremlin Palace to Prussia, France, and Spain. In this way, with smooth railway lines, the entire Eurasian continent can be connected.
Commodity trade, personnel circulation, and cultural exchanges will all enter a new era.
Following this were changes in the political and military systems.
After Xiang Nan unified Europe, he dissolved all the parliaments of various countries and eliminated all royal titles. He gave unified orders and appointed officials. The armies of various countries were broken up and then stationed in various places.
For example, the allied forces of France, Austria, and Italy are stationed in England, the armies of Sweden, Finland, and Poland are stationed in France, and the allied forces of Prussia, England, and Italy are stationed in France.
There are already grievances between countries. Exchange of garrison can prevent the army from being associated with the local people and ensure the independence of the army.
At that time, they would not get much local support, and the only one they could rely on was Xiang Nan, the emperor. Even officials are like that.
Since the Zhou Dynasty, China has advocated that officials should avoid their hometowns, which means they are not allowed to serve as officials in their place of origin. During the Han Dynasty, explicit regulations had been formed, called the "Three Mutual Laws".
(End of this chapter)