Chapter 127: Guardians
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz looked at the news in the newspaper. The Queen of England announced the implementation of a twelve-hour workday and required factory owners to improve workers' treatment.
In fact, this is a good thing for the future of Britain at any time, but in Britain, which has just experienced an economic crisis, this will undoubtedly greatly intensify domestic conflicts.
The British Parliament was in a mess. A day later, many members had to undergo bloodletting due to high blood pressure.
Viscount Melbourne, the leader of the Whig Party, and Robert Peel, the leader of the Tory Party, both locked themselves in a small dark room, as if waiting for the end of the world.
Queen Victoria was a little proud of the cheers that were like a tsunami before. What she didn't know was that the whole of Britain was now in a mess.
If a factory owner took the lead in openly opposing the Queen's policy, he would of course be beaten up by the workers coming from all directions, and the gendarmes watched from the side without knowing what to do.
Some people tried to launch an uprising to overthrow the monarchy, but they underestimated the military strength of Britain at that time. These soldiers might hesitate to attack civilians, but they would not hesitate to strike hard against the rebels. After all, robbery is the biggest source of income for soldiers.
"Archduke Franz, Archbishop Rauscher wants to see you." Ajani reminded Franz on the side.
Archbishop Rauscher had just entered Franz's study when a cool breeze blew over, causing him to shiver instantly.
"Praise God, only God's power can create such a miracle."
"Yes, God has given us wisdom so that we can spend this difficult summer coolly."
Franz was instantly possessed by a charlatan and said to Archbishop Rauscher. When he saw the report in Rauscher's hand, he couldn't help but sigh that he still underestimated the power of the church and the armed merchant ship.
The armed merchant ship that Franz imagined had a displacement of one or two hundred tons and was fully loaded with cargo. Several sailors panicked when they saw the pirates. They couldn't fight or run away. After surrendering, they could only jump off the sampan one by one and be fed to sharks by pirates.
In fact, the armed merchant ships at that time were 2,000 tons and had more than 60 cannons, which could almost be used as capital ships. Hundreds of sailors, including a considerable number of retired navy, and the rest were all desperate people, sank the pirate ship and hung the head of the pirate captain on the mast of the bow.
During this period, large cargo ships at sea could not be insured without cannons, such as the famous Great Eastern, which was a standard 74 battleship configuration.
At this time, in order to support Pompom, the Austrian church actually put together ten such large armed merchant ships, 600 fighting brothers, and various craftsmen, doctors, volunteers, a total of 2,000 people.
Archbishop Rauscher was originally going to send some mercenaries over, but was stopped by Franz.
Because mercenaries are a double-edged sword, they are fierce in battle, and it is convenient to throw away the dead and injured, but these people are also good at sabotage, and it is very likely to destroy the credibility of the church in a short time, and there is also the possibility of turning against the water.
If you want to completely naturalize a place, it is best not to use mercenaries.
However, everything in Zhenla did not develop according to Franz's plan. First, the uprising of the Zhenla people affected Ambrosius, and then Frederick refused to provide support. The military only wanted to sell arms and refused to intervene.
Of course, it is easy to imagine that Zhenla is too far away from Austria, and supplies on the road are a problem, and the direct benefits that the Austrian Empire can obtain from Zhenla are too little.
At this time, Franz's political influence is almost zero. Although Archbishop Rauscher has a high status, after the Thirty Years' War, the church withdrew from the political stage of Austria and completely became an appendage of the royal family.
However, now Franz can only use the power of the church. Of course, Archbishop Rauscher is happy that Franz can use the power of the church to do something, and he is willing to serve Franz.
Franz's original plan was to take the upper route and then let the military come forward. Now he can only rely on religious victory.
Zhenla, Kompong Som Bay.
Kompong Som was originally just a small fishing village of a few hundred people. By 1836, it had developed into a city with more than 10,000 believers and 800 Catholic soldiers.
Together with the surrounding controlled villages, the total population in the jurisdiction can reach 20,000.
In fact, there were only more than 600 white people in Kompong Som at that time, most of whom were Austrians, and some were volunteers from other Catholic countries.
The legal system continued the civil code of the Austrian Empire in combination with local actual conditions, and adopted a tolerant policy for many customs, such as paganism and polygamy.
First, the armed missionaries eliminated the bandits and bandits that endangered the local area, and then stopped the exploitation of the local government. Although the Austrian church also collected taxes, the church's tithe was too light compared to the exploitation of Zhenla officials.
At this time, the Zhenla people in the jurisdiction had long regarded themselves as God's people, and chose to stay and become Austrians.
Franz used religion to artificially create classes in Kompong Som, that is, the believers enjoyed many privileges, but they also had to bear more obligations accordingly, such as learning German, defending the country, paying tithes, etc. The outstanding ones could become clergy and civil servants.
Non-believers in Kompong Som did not have to pay tithes, but they had to pay national taxes. Although there were not as many heavy taxes as in Zhenla in the past, national taxes were still higher than tithes.
In addition, non-believers who did not know German were not allowed to be officials.
This system of combining politics and religion is very suitable for backward areas. Of course, it is also to win over Catholics and let them invest more power in this diocese.
The opponent of the first battle of the Kompong Som Catholic Army was the Zhenla puppet army that was chasing Guan Jinpan. When Guan Jinpan fled from the Xiangshan Mountains with the remaining 5,000 people, there were actually only 4,000 Zhenla puppet troops chasing them.
However, in order to survive, Guan Jinpan and others could only flee everywhere. When they met the Catholic Army, they found that the other side had only 800 people, so they prepared to take advantage of the battle between the Catholic Army and the Zhenla puppet army to escape to Kompong Som Bay, rob the sea ship and cross the sea to escape from Zhenla.
However, there was still a team of the Austrian Church behind the Catholic Army. Guan Jinpan originally planned to break through with his men, but the sound of the cannon stunned them.
At the same time, the Zhenla puppet army in front also launched a charge towards the Catholic Army. After more than a year of training, these Zhenla fishermen are no longer afraid of the Zhenla official army whose weapons are not as good as those of the bandits.
In order to be recognized, every member of the Guardian Army had to participate in five battles to eliminate bandits. The Zhenla official army that surged like a tide was not worthy of fear in their eyes.
The Zhenla puppet army was approaching little by little, but the soldiers of the Guardian Army did not shoot, but waited for the order of the superior.
The Austrian officers were waiting for the other side to enter the range of the artillery. With a few gunshots, large iron balls exploded above the heads of the Zhenla puppet soldiers, and countless small steel balls in the shotgun shot towards the surrounding crowd, instantly clearing a position.
Before these Zhenla puppet soldiers could react, the Guardian Army also opened fire.
Three consecutive rounds of shooting made the surviving Zhenla puppet soldiers dizzy. Just when they were looking for their superiors and waiting for orders, the Guardian Army rushed out of the black smoke caused by the musket firing, and stabbed the helpless Zhenla puppet soldiers with sharp bayonets.
The battle did not last long. Of the 4,000 Zhenla puppet troops, 1,500 were killed on the spot, more than 1,000 were injured, 1,300 were captured, and more than 100 escaped by chance.