The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 371 Your Majesty, the Qing Dynasty must go to war with Russia! (Request for subscription and votes)

"Wait, Xueyan, what did you say?"

When Zuo Zongtang heard that Luo Xueyan wanted to attack Russia, he quickly interrupted him and asked, "You want to take the British and French ships to attack the Russians? Are you going to attack Russia?"

Luo Xueyan nodded: "Yes! This is a rare opportunity, Ji Gao, I asked you to come here for this matter! Now I may not be able to leave, can you take my place and serve as the imperial envoy of the Qing army participating in the war?"

"I, I go to attack Russia?" Zuo Zongtang was stunned again and again, "But, but why? We haven't settled the domestic situation yet. We must first stabilize the internal situation before we can fight against foreign enemies!"

"I understand this!" Luo Xueyan tapped the table with his fingers, "But by the time we have settled the internal affairs, the war between Russia and Britain and France will have been over for many years. How can we recover the lost territory of Sakhalin Island by then? How can we get our hands on the New World? I have already made an agreement with the British and French that if we can conquer Russian Alaska, they will give us some of its islands.

Moreover, if we fight with Britain, France and Russia and win, we will be recognized as a world power.

This great power is treated as a great power! The great powers can have their own tariffs, can refuse extraterritoriality, and can protect their overseas vassal states or colonies!
If we get over this hurdle, it will be difficult to get a ticket to join the great powers."

Luo Xueyan is so pro-British now. In addition to wanting to introduce some industrial technology from Britain so that the territory he rules can embark on the road of industrialization faster, he also wants to take advantage of the Crimean War.

Luo Xueyan had already "calculated" the outcome of this battle: the Russians would suffer a bloody defeat!
Therefore, Luo Xueyan will definitely win the battle. The question is whether it will be a small victory, a medium victory, or a big victory?
If we can drive away the Russian troops on Sakhalin Island and block the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, it will be a small victory.

If we can capture the Petropavlovsk Fortress on the Kamchatka Peninsula, it will be a victory for China.

If we can also take over Russian Alaska, it would be a great victory.

If a great victory could be achieved, the Qing Dynasty would be able to seize a few islands from Russian Alaska. If luck was a little better, it might even be able to take over the entire Alexander Archipelago.

In the future, China and the United States will be close neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water.

In a few years, there will probably be another American Civil War.
In addition, if we defeat the Russian Empire, we will pass the second round of the Great Power Test. From now on, we will be the "Great Power Goalkeeper"!

Even if it is the last among the great powers, it is still a great power!
How could Luo Xueyan let go of such a good opportunity?

If this is let go, Alaska will become a territory of the United States, and China and the United States will no longer have the opportunity to be "closely connected by a strip of water."

Moreover, in order to drive the Russian troops out of Sakhalin Island and the area north of Heilongjiang River, we will have to fight another war with Russia.

By that time, Britain and France may not necessarily support China.

If Britain and France support Russia, it will be difficult to deal with the "external" forces.

As for the identity of a great power, it is more difficult to deal with.

"What? Reclaim the lost territory of Sakhalin? Sakhalin was lost?" Zuo Zongtang didn't know that Sakhalin had been lost a long time ago, and asked with a frown, "I seem to remember that according to the Treaty of Nerchinsk signed during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Sakhalin belonged to the Qing Dynasty. Why do we have to take it back?"

"Hey, treaty?" Luo Xueyan sneered twice, "If we don't take back the territory, the treaty will be useless! Sakhalin Island has been lost a long time ago. Northern Sakhalin Island was completely lost during the Qianlong period, and Southern Sakhalin Island was taken away by the Japanese. However, according to the Edo Treaty, Japan's territory on Sakhalin Island must be returned to us. But if we don't drive away the Russians on Northern Sakhalin Island, Southern Sakhalin Island will be lost sooner or later.

But Russia is very powerful. Fortunately, this time it is four countries, namely Britain, France, Türkiye and Sardinia, fighting against it alone. If we join in, it will be five against one, and our chances of winning are very high.

Moreover, we are not joining the war in vain. The British are helping us build a navy, which is one of the benefits that Britain wants to give us. This jointly established navy will have to participate in the war against Russia, so the British will definitely do their best to help us. Ji Gao, do you understand my painstaking efforts now?"

After listening to Luo Xueyan's analysis, Zuo Zongtang finally understood the other party's plan. This was a very good plan, killing two birds with one stone.

But it seems that this wishful thinking is useless if Luo Xueyan alone comes up with it, right?
Zuo Zongtang frowned and asked, "Does the emperor agree?"

"Not yet," Luo Xueyan shook his head. "I just received a letter from Weng Shengfu three days ago, saying that the emperor has been troubled by the Eight Banners soldiers joining the capital to train troops, and has no time to ask about our joint efforts with Britain and France to fight against Russia, so the memorial I submitted was kept."

At this point, Luo Xueyan looked at Zuo Zongtang and asked, "Ji Gao, do you agree?"

"Me?" Zuo Zongtang thought for a moment, "How many troops should I send?"

"Five thousand to ten thousand," Luo Xueyan said, "It depends on whether Russia will invade the Heilongjiang River Basin."

"What? Russia is going to invade the Heilongjiang River Basin again?" Zuo Zongtang was stunned. "When?"

"This year," Luo Xueyan said, "The Russian Governor-General of East Siberia, Muravyov, has long planned to invade the Heilongjiang River Basin. Their Tsar should have approved it. Perhaps the Russian fleet has entered the Heilongjiang River now!" "How could this happen!" Zuo Zongtang frowned deeply.

Luo Xueyan looked at Zuo Zongtang and said, "Ji Gao, Britain and France will send troops to attack the eastern coast of the Russian Empire as early as the second half of the year, and they should launch a large-scale attack next year. The emperor doesn't have much time to consider. Can you go to Beijing for me and push for the war with Russia?"

Zuo Zongtang stroked his beard and said, "I'm afraid this is not easy to handle, right?"

"Easy to do!" Luo Xueyan said with a smile, "The emperor is short of money now. Didn't we submit a petition before saying that we wanted to buy the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang and the Governor of Zhejiang?"

Zuo Zongtang's eyes lit up: "What? Is this possible?"

"Yes!" Luo Xueyan said, "Weng Shengfu's letter said that the emperor's price is not low. My Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang wants 800,000, and your Governor of Zhejiang wants 300,000!"

"So expensive?" Zuo Zongtang felt a pain on his face. After all, his financial resources could not be compared with Luo Xueyan. He was still a little reluctant to take out three hundred thousand at a time.

"It's not cheap, but he's waiting for us to bargain!"

Zuo Zongtang asked: "Xueyan, what are your plans?"

Luo Xueyan counted on his fingers: "The prefect of Shanghai, the general of Shanghai, the chiefs of the six counties and one hall of Shanghai, the vice general of the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang and the lieutenant general of the three battalions under him, as well as the governor of Ryukyu, the minister to Japan, the consul to the Straits Settlements, the consul to California, the governor of Lanfang, the governor of Siam, the governor of Vietnam, and the governor of Sulu. If all these officials are packed together, I will give one million taels!
In addition, I will declare war on Russia and let you, Ji Gao, be the imperial envoy to fight against Russia! Ji Gao, please help me make the trip, and I will pay half of your 300,000. I promised to help you become the governor of Zhejiang, and now I have fulfilled my promise. "

"Really give half?" Zuo Zongtang didn't expect Luo Xueyan to be so generous.

"No joke!" Luo Xueyan asked, "Are you going?"

"Yes, of course! When do we leave?"

With 150,000 taels of silver, of course Zuo Zongtang went!
"Ten days later!" Luo Xueyan said, "In five days, the 'Geely' will arrive in Shanghai. After five days of repair, it will set off to return to Tianjin. Ji Gao, you will take the Geely to the north."

"Okay!" Zuo Zongtang nodded, "Then I have to go back to Ningbo and settle down first."

Luo Xueyan smiled and said, "I have to go back to Suzhou as well." He lowered his voice, "Something seems to have happened in Tianjing! How about we meet in eight days?"

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Jiangxi, Ganzhou Prefecture.

Feng Yunshan's Nanwang Palace was moved from Hengyang, Hunan to Ganzhou, Jiangxi three months ago.

The reason why he wanted to move the palace from Hengyang to Ganzhou was actually to attract the Hakka people in Ganzhou to march into Guangdong together.

Although the founders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, such as Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing, and Xiao Chaogui, were from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, they actually all belonged to the same ethnic group, the Hakka people.

The Hakka people refer to the immigrants from the Central Plains and their descendants who migrated to Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places to escape the war in the north from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties and were registered as Hakka people.

However, the area around Guiping County where the Taiping Rebellion broke out, as well as the hometowns of Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan, are actually not the places with the largest Hakka people. The prefectures with the largest Hakka people are Ganzhou, Tingzhou, Jiayingzhou and Huizhou, which are known as the "Four Hakka Prefectures"!
Feng Yunshan and Luo Dagang had previously attacked Shaozhou and Lianzhou several times without success. At that time, the two decided to take Ganzhou first, then mobilize the Hakka people there to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and then go south to seize Jiayingzhou and Huizhou, and mobilize all the Hakka people in Guangdong.

Although Luo Dagang, the Hakka leader of Jiaying Prefecture, had been transferred by Luo Yaoguo to Nanyang to lead the Hakka immigrants there to worship God, Shi Dakai, who was more capable than Luo Dagang, had already arrived in Ganzhou and brought with him a left-wing foreign rifle team of 5,000 people and 12 foreign cannons.

Now Feng Yunshan is full of confidence!

But just when he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to march into Guangdong with Shi Dakai, Hong Rengan suddenly arrived in Ganzhou, exhausted, and brought Feng Yunshan a piece of news that shocked him.

Luo Tianshi is a demon!

Are you kidding? Luo Yaoguo is in contact with the demon, so he should be in contact with Ji Du!

What on earth did Hong Xiuquan want to do? The situation was obviously good, so why did he keep making trouble?
Is he trying to launch the Tianjing Incident?

(End of this chapter)