A common saying in the Central Plains goes: The green bamboo viper's mouth, the hornet's tail needle. Neither is poisonous, but a woman's heart is the most venomous.
Whether Wu Zhi was a county magistrate or a bun seller is unimportant, and whether Pan Jinlian was a lady from a good family is also unimportant. What matters is that Shi Nai'an wrote the story of Da Lang taking medicine and successfully made the story deeply ingrained in people's hearts.
Now, the doctor intends to personally prescribe several doses of medicine for George III, and then have Queen Charlotte, George III's wife, personally feed him the medicine.
And Queen Charlotte truly lived up to the doctor's expectations.
Between sacrificing George III and sacrificing the entire House of Charlotte, Queen Charlotte chose to sacrifice George III.
It's a pity that Queen Charlotte had the courage to be Pan Jinlian, but George III was not as useless as Wu Da Lang. Upon regaining consciousness, George III immediately learned about Queen Charlotte's affair with the doctor and the news that the English army had fully engaged with the French.
Similarly, George III also learned of Queen Charlotte's attempt to control the English government.
George III did not care much about the affair between the doctor and Queen Charlotte, after all, it was an old European tradition for the red flag at home to remain unfurled while colorful flags fluttered outside; any king or queen had a multitude of lovers.
George III also did not care much about the news of the English army's full engagement with the French. The current situation was that England held a slight advantage. Even if that madman Toujou Nijuhachi wanted to engage Napoleon in a decisive battle, George III was confident he could defeat Toujou Nijuhachi and negotiate peace with France before the decisive battle.
What truly mattered to George III was the behavior of Queen Charlotte and the doctor in attempting to control the English government.
This was because George III had a son.
In the impression of many, the Central Plains' preference for males over females has been since ancient times, as the emperors of the Central Plains would pass the throne to their sons, and local gentry and scholars would also pass their family businesses to their sons. There was never any mention of passing the throne or family businesses to daughters.
In fact, it was the same in Europe.
The kings of Europe also wished to pass their thrones to their sons, and the local gentry and scholars of Europe also wished to pass their family businesses to their sons.
The reason for the emergence of many queens, grand duchesses, and countesses was not because Europe did not prefer males over females, nor because the kings or gentry of Europe were enlightened, but simply because they had no sons.
For example, Louis VII divorced Queen Eleanor because Queen Eleanor could not give birth to a son. If Eleanor had given Louis VII a son, Louis VII would not have divorced Eleanor. If Louis VII had not divorced Eleanor, the ownership of the Duchy of Aquitaine would not have become a point of contention between England and France, and later it would not have led to conflict.
Therefore, while there are many superficial reasons for the centuries-old feud between England and France, the fundamental reason is that Eleanor failed to give Louis VII a son, but instead gave Henry II five sons.
This was a century-long farce caused by the inability to produce a son.
This century-long farce was enough to illustrate that the preference for males over females in Europe was also quite severe.
Therefore, in George III's view, his madness was not a major problem as long as his son was the regent or the successor.
The problem was that Queen Charlotte was only actively promoting the regency of Prince George, the Prince of Wales, on the surface, but in reality, she was tightly holding power in her own hands, even aiming to increase the power of the House of Charlotte.
This behavior directly touched George III's most sensitive nerve.
After assembling a group of his confidants, George III immediately began his counterattack plan: "From now on, immediately seal off Kew, and send someone to see off Queen Charlotte and that doctor."
"The House of Charlotte also has no need to exist. Immediately launch a purge against them. All members of the House of Charlotte must go on their way together with Queen Charlotte. Say that the House of Charlotte ate something wrong and has been called by the Lord."
"Furthermore, send someone to France, revoke all of Toujou Nijuhachi's positions, and demand that he leave immediately. If he refuses, tie him up and send him back to India."
"Notify Edward and Richard, immediately order all English troops to halt their advance and gather near the ports of Lower Normandy, establish defensive lines in situ, and await further orders."
"Also, immediately send someone to the Ming Dynasty to inform Lord Macartney, tell him about the recent war situation between England and France, and have him defend England at the meeting of the 'Little Broken Pot.' Make sure to let the Great Ming Emperor know that this time it was due to my sudden illness, and not intentional provocation of war between England and France."
At this point, George III's tone suddenly became somewhat weak: "Send someone to France again, tell Louis XVI that the English army will withdraw from France immediately, and I will send someone to discuss subsequent matters with him, including compensation."
George III's string of orders caught his confidants completely off guard.
In fact, whether it was Charles James Fox, Pitt, or other magnates loyal to George III, they all understood that continuing to fight France was not a good thing. After all, England's strength was no longer what it used to be; apart from the navy being slightly superior to France, the army truly had no advantage.
The problem was that the English army had already set foot on French soil due to George III's previous orders and had engaged in conflict with the French army.
If they were to withdraw their troops at this moment, it would be equivalent to completely negating the achievements made by the English army during this period.
More crucially, what would happen to the territories already captured by the English army? What about the wealth and food already plundered by England?
The territories captured by the English army were relatively easier to handle, as the magnates in the English court knew the strength of the English army and knew that England could not hold onto these territories, so returning them was only a matter of time.
But what about the wealth and food that had already been transported back to England? These items had already been divided among the magnates of the court. If these items also had to be returned, with what would they be returned?
Therefore, even without considering the centuries-old feud between England and France, these magnates in the English court were not very willing to accept the decision to retreat.
After careful consideration for a while, Charles James Fox could not help but persuade: "Should we reconsider? The current situation is that we have a certain advantage. Even if we negotiate peace with France, do we necessarily have to withdraw from France entirely? Even if we withdraw from France, what about the compensation..."
George III shook his head slightly and retorted, "And then? You all know that the madman Toujou Nijuhachi is about to engage Napoleon of France in a decisive battle. If Toujou Nijuhachi wins against Napoleon, it would be better, but what if he loses?"
"Now, most of England's army is in France. If they are defeated by Napoleon, our English army will be crippled, and England will become fish on a chopping board for France, with no other option but to be slaughtered by France."
"More importantly..."
"Can any of you tell me what the attitude of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is towards this war? Is he supporting England? Or France? Or remaining neutral?"
Hearing George III say this, Fox and Pitt, along with a group of English magnates, fell into silence.
England and France were close to each other, and both were far from the Ming Empire.
This meant that England and France could easily obtain news from each other, but it was difficult for England and France to obtain news from the Ming Dynasty.
So, who knew what the attitude of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was?
If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty supported England, it would be fine. Even remaining neutral would be acceptable. But what if the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty supported France?
After all, England's proactive act of initiating war was undoubtedly a provocation to the authority of the 'Little Broken Pot,' and provoking the 'Little Broken Pot' was equivalent to provoking the Ming Dynasty.
It was only after a long silence that Fox tentatively said, "Why don't we just ignore that Toujou Nijuhachi for now, or even temporarily ignore France?"
George III was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"
Fox said, "Let's temporarily refrain from announcing His Majesty's recovery. Let Toujou Nijuhachi lead his men into a decisive battle with Napoleon. If he wins, it will be a fait accompli. If he loses, then the prime culprit for all this will be the doctor from the Ming Dynasty and Toujou Nijuhachi."
As Fox finished speaking, the magnates in the English court could not help but nod, and even Pitt, who usually disagreed with Fox, nodded in agreement.
However, what Fox and Pitt, along with the other magnates, did not expect was that George III actually let out a chuckle and retorted, "Who do you think my recovery can be hidden from?"
"Can it be hidden from Queen Charlotte? Or can it be hidden from that doctor from the Ming Dynasty? If even they cannot hide it, how can you believe it can be hidden from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
"If I had not recovered, then England's act of starting the war could be attributed to my sudden illness, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty might still tolerate it. But now that I have recovered, if we continue to fight France, do you think the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will still tolerate it?"
"Have you considered the consequences of doing so?"
At this point, George III's tone was filled with mockery: "You are not unaware of the consequences of doing so. You even know very well that continuing to fight will only lead to defeat, but you are unwilling to accept reality because you are unwilling to part with the benefits you have already gained."
After George III's words fell, the faces of Fox, Pitt, and the other magnates became extremely unsightly.
However, George III did not intend to let these magnates off the hook: "Of course, you can also join Queen Charlotte. I think Charlotte would definitely wish for me to continue being mad."
Saying this, George III spread his hands, adopting an indifferent attitude: "Alright, gentlemen, it is now time for you to make your decision. Will you follow my orders? Or will you follow Queen Charlotte's orders?"
Seeing George III's completely despondent demeanor, Fox, Pitt, and the other magnates felt a sense of dilemma.
Following George III's orders meant giving up most of the benefits they had already obtained. For the English nobles who considered it a loss if they didn't gain anything, such a decision was tantamount to cutting flesh from their bodies.
However, they were also unwilling to betray George III and join Queen Charlotte in having George III continue to be mad.
It was not that these English nobles were overly loyal to George III, but rather Queen Charlotte's previous behavior. After confirming that George III could no longer recover, Queen Charlotte had been amassing benefits for the House of Charlotte, and had even snatched many benefits from these nobles, which had caused considerable dissatisfaction among the English nobles.
If it were not for this reason, these English nobles would not have heeded George III's summons and traveled from London to Kew, a remote village.
Seeing the silent English nobles, George III's lips curved into a sinister smile.
As the King of England, George III was himself a noble among the English nobles.
George III was well aware of the nature of these noble lords.
When it came to offering benefits or interests, these noble lords were more enthusiastic than anyone else. But when it came to giving up their own interests, these noble lords were absolutely a thousand times unwilling.
Therefore, George III had long been displeased with these noble lords.
Especially after visiting the Ming Dynasty, George III's displeasure with these noble lords reached its peak. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there was no shortage of commoners and nobles who sacrificed their families for their country, while the English noble lords only thought of enriching their own families. This contrast was something no king could accept.
However, George III could do nothing about these noble lords, because these noble lords represented the interests of the entire English establishment. Let alone carrying out reforms against the noble lords, even if George III wanted to promote some non-noble talents, he could not bypass these traditional noble lords. xxs壹贰
Now, George III saw an opportunity, an opportunity to purge the traditional aristocracy of England.
Although George III was mad, he was not without his contingency plans.
As George III coldly watched these noble lords, a attendant hurried in and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty the King, Queen Charlotte has arrived."