The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 425: Your Majesty, the Taiping Rebellion is over. Hong Xiuquan killed Ji Du! (Please subscribe and vote)

Today, "Father Heavenly God" seems to still be unhappy with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The rain is pouring down like it's free, and the whole city of Tianjing is wrapped in a curtain of rain. The dozen or so notice boards at the foot of Parliament Hill are still standing there in the heavy rain, with the resolutions passed by the National People's Congress the day before posted on them. I don't know if it's because the rain is so heavy that it can wash people away, or because the National People's Congress has been going on for several days and everyone is tired of it. Anyway, there are not many Chinese people who braved the rain to take a look at the notice boards today. The lecturers who usually read the notices here at the top of their voices are now wandering off to "fish". Only a few warm-hearted Chinese people who care about the great cause of the Heavenly Kingdom and can recognize a few words are left, still caring about national affairs in the rain.

Although the two "foreign brothers", British Minister to Heavenly Kingdom John Bowring and French Minister to Heavenly Kingdom John Bourboulenc, were not members of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they were also closely watching this National People's Congress, which in their eyes could determine the future and destiny of China and even East Asia.

After witnessing the farce at the first plenary session of the National People's Congress, the two of them never went to Capitol Hill to watch the "shaman-dancing Congress" again, but every day the next day after the representatives finished their meetings, they would bring their translators and go to the foot of Capitol Hill to check the notice board, just like punching in at work, rain or shine.

What is posted on the notice board today are all "hard stuff": "Resolution on the establishment of Zhili Province, Zhili Prefecture, Garrison Province, and Garrison Prefecture", "Resolution on the establishment of the Military Advisory Conference and its affiliated agencies", "Resolution on the formation of the Five Army Corps and the South China Sea Fleet directly under the Military Advisory Conference", and "Resolution on the Central Army, Front Army, and Rear Army being directly under the East King, West King, and South King". Picking any one of them out can cause quite a stir among the people of the Heavenly Kingdom!

"Serio, do you think this National People's Congress has planted the seeds of civil war for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Can His Royal Highness Prince Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom still cooperate with us for a long time in the future?" After listening to the translator's gibberish of the five resolutions, the French Minister Bourboulon and the British Minister to England, John Bowring, shared an umbrella and moved towards the carriage while conversing in a low voice.

Wen Xian nodded slightly, and smiled, "You are right. This time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's National People's Congress almost led to a fight. Fortunately, it was finally resolved and an agreement was reached. But the situation is still grim. The central government is weak, and the three vassal kings are strong. This is a hidden danger of civil war!" As he spoke, the pride on his face was about to overflow. "If some external forces come to stir up trouble at this time, such as instigating the three vassal kings to oppose the central government, or instigating the central government to deal with the vassal kings, then wouldn't a civil war break out!"

French Minister Bourboulon rolled his eyes inwardly and thought, "You people in the British Empire are the best at this kind of mess-making work. You just want to be the mastermind behind it." But he nodded slightly in agreement.

"But the biggest crisis facing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is probably that King Wu wants to be the emperor." Bourboulon, a Frenchman who wholeheartedly supported Napoleon III as the emperor, suddenly sighed, "In this country, who has ever reached the position that King Wu is in now, who wouldn't want to go one step further?"

Wen Xian nodded with a smile on his face: "That's right, Luo Yaoguo, the 'prophet', is almost stealing all of Hong Xiuquan's divine power. It is only a matter of time before he seizes his throne as Heavenly King or becomes the emperor. When that time comes, he will have to fight with the Eastern King, the Western King, and the Southern King! He may even have to 'cleanse' all the disobedient princes and nobles in the Heavenly Kingdom..."

"What should we do then?" Bulbulon asked.

Wenxian grinned: "Of course we have to support him in becoming emperor!"

"Support him to become emperor?" Bulbron was stunned at first, but then he understood the intention of this British envoy and the British king's personal "troublemaker". "Seriol, do you mean that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will seriously infringe upon our interests in East Asia sooner or later?"

Wen Xian curled his lips and sneered: "In fact, they are already invading!"

"You mean..." Bulbron asked.

"Our goods have not been able to enter or leave the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's territory freely!" Wen Xian's tone was as cold as ice. "According to the current situation, maybe in a while, even the small market in Shanghai will be closed to us!"

"Oh, you mean opium?" Bulblom asked tentatively.

Wen Xian did not respond, and continued, "Also, Luo Dagang, the consular official sent by Luo Yaoguo to the Straits Settlements, led hundreds of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom militants a few months ago to start an undeclared war, ambushed the army of the Dutch East India authorities, and instigated a coup in the Lan Fang Republic in Borneo. The Dutch are furious..."

Bulbulon raised an eyebrow: "How do they plan to retaliate? Fight a war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

Wen Xian's tone was still cold: "The Dutch are preparing to gather their forces again to attack the Chinese countries in Borneo. We must take the expansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seriously!"

Bulbulon shrugged, looking helpless: "But don't we still have to take advantage of their expansionist impulse? Don't we still have to go to Luo Yaoguo today to discuss whether the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom should send troops to fight the Russians?"

Wen Xian sneered again: "It is useful now, but when it is used up, huh, that will be another matter!"

Bulbulon curled his lips and smiled: "Fortunately, there is still the Qing Dynasty. I heard that they are also carrying out constitutional monarchy reform recently?"

Wenxian responded casually: "I hope they can do better than the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

The two chatted with each other until they came to a western-style four-wheeled carriage. An Indian driver wearing a top hat and a raincoat saw them coming and quickly opened the door, bowed and invited the two ministers to get in the carriage, and asked in curry-accented English: "Sir, where do you want to go?" "To the Wuwang Palace!" Wenxian gave an order and got into the carriage with Bulbulon.

After drifting on the sea for a long time, Zeng Guofan, Guo Songtao, and Zhang Yuzhao, along with a group of long-time followers and guards, finally moved off the "Jixiang" and stepped onto the long-lost solid land of the Qing Dynasty. Their feet were firmly planted, but their heads were still dizzy. Before they could recover from the seasickness, they saw a four-wheeled carriage, escorted by a team of spirited trained soldiers, rumbling towards the dock. These trained soldiers, wearing uniforms with the word "Yong" on their heads, with blue cloth wrapped around their heads and foreign guns on their shoulders, lined up in an orderly manner.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the door opened with a bang, and a fourth-rank civil servant emerged from inside. He was tall and handsome, and it was none other than Zeng Guofan's favorite student, Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang is now the supervisor of Tianjin Customs and the assistant director of Beiyang Military Training. His office and Beiyang Military Training Camp are both located at Dagukou. When the "Jixiang" just docked, Li Hongzhang got the news immediately and quickly led a team of Beiyang Military Training to the dock. He did not come to meet Zeng Guofan, but to watch the tax collectors of Tianjin Customs collect taxes.

He patted his chest loudly in front of Prince Gong, promising to collect so much tax from the Tianjin Customs, but when it came to the actual work, he had no magic tricks. The only effective way was to keep an eye on those "big fish" personally, such as the "Jixiang" with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons. In his eyes, it was a "big fish" that was so fat that it was juicy and oily that he had to guard it himself. Unexpectedly, when he was guarding, he ran into Zeng Guofan who came in a dusty manner.

"Teacher! Teacher, what wind brings you here?" Li Hongzhang was sharp-eyed. He saw Zeng Guofan, who had lost a lot of weight due to seasickness. Without saying a word, he picked up his robe and ran over. When he came up to him, he swung his sleeves and with a "click", he bowed in a proper manner.

Zeng Guofan was delighted to see his favorite student, but he had no time to chat with him. He grabbed Li Hongzhang and asked anxiously, "Shaoquan, have the Taiping rebels started fighting among themselves?"

When Li Hongzhang heard this, he was stunned on the spot, and he kept muttering in his heart: "Is my teacher seasick and crazy? Why does he ask such an outrageous question?"

"Shaoquan, hurry up and speak!" Zeng Guofan saw Li Hongzhang standing there stupidly and urged him again.

"No, I haven't heard that they fought among themselves!" Li Hongzhang came to his senses and replied quickly.

Zeng Guofan's eyebrows twisted like twists: "So...is there any news that the fake king has been deposed?"

"The fake king was... deposed?" Li Hongzhang was confused again. "No! Isn't the Taiping Rebellion holding a national congress these days?"

"The fighting has already started!" Zeng Guofan frowned, looking anxious, "Shaoquan, do you really have no news at all?"

"No, I haven't heard of it!" Li Hongzhang was stunned again, and suddenly felt something was wrong. "Teacher, how do you know...they fought?"

"I..." Zeng Guofan rolled his eyes and looked around. What a crowd, so many people talking. He pointed at the carriage and said, "Get in the carriage... Let's talk in the carriage!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Great news!"

In the Haiyan Tower of the Old Summer Palace, Emperor Xianfeng was lying on the couch with his arms and legs spread out, drowsy, when he suddenly heard Concubine Yi's voice full of surprise. Xianfeng yawned slowly, and muttered casually as if he hadn't woken up yet: "What good news? You're so surprised."

"Your Majesty, the Taiping rebels are done for!" Imperial Concubine Yi chirped like a cheerful little bird. "Tianjin Wei sent a memorial from Zeng Guofan. Guess what? The memorial said that the Taiping rebels' National People's Congress was a complete failure. The traitor Hong Xiuquan killed Ji Du!"

"What? Killed Ji Du?" Xianfeng raised his hand and scratched his head, his brows wrinkled into a knot, "Who is this Ji Du? Why does this name sound familiar?"

"Oh, it's Hong Xiuquan who always talks about his brother in heaven, the son of God!" Concubine Yi waved her hand and said it so fluently.

"What the hell?" Xianfeng rubbed his eyes vigorously as if he was struck by lightning. His eyes were as big as copper bells. He looked at Concubine Yi and asked seriously: "Lan'er, did I hear it wrong? Hong Xiuquan chopped off Ji Du? How did he do it? What magic weapon did he use?"

"I heard that he used a spear called Longnusky. With a sizzle, the spear pierced Ji Du's heart..."

(End of this chapter)