The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 442: The Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? (Requesting subscription and votes)
"Alexander Archipelago? What is this place? Why have I never heard of it?" Zuo Zongtang was completely confused when he heard this unfamiliar foreign name.

"Maria, bring me the map!" Luo Yaoguo immediately shouted to Maria, the "chief secretary" who was serving tea and water. After a while, Maria hurriedly brought a map of North America. This map was not simple. It was drawn according to the one Wang Libin bought from the UK, and the foreign names on it were thoughtfully replaced with words that Chinese people could understand.

Luo Yaoguo pointed to the southernmost islands of the Russian Alaska colony on the map and said to Zuo Zongtang: "Ji Gao, see these tiny islands. When negotiating with the British and French before, they all promised that after defeating Russia, they would give these islands to the Qing Dynasty as trophies, and they even signed a formal treaty. This treaty was signed with the Qing Dynasty, so you are more suitable to deal with this matter than me, because you are still a minister of the Qing Dynasty!"

Zuo Zongtang looked at the islands with a puzzled look on his face: "What's good about these small islands? They are tens of thousands of miles away from here... By the way, isn't the Victoria area next to these islands the territory of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom?" As he spoke, he pointed to the large area marked as the Victoria area on the map.

Luo Yaoguo grinned as if he had discovered a treasure. He even patted the Victoria area on the map and said, "Ji Gao, you guessed it right! This is indeed British territory, but it has not officially become a British colony. It is now managed by the British Hudson's Bay Company. You know, this is like a big meat pie that has not been divided yet. We still have a chance to get a piece of it!"

The land that Zuo Zongtang was referring to was the British Columbia Province, which was later known as "American Canada". Although it was now enclosed by the British, they had too many colonies and could not afford to develop it, so the place was left there, overgrown with weeds. However, in recent years, the gold rush has swept the west coast of the United States, and some gold diggers thought that there might be gold in the Victoria area, so they began to wander over there, and the place gradually became popular. Historically, it was not until 1858 that the British suddenly remembered this piece of land and established a colony of British Columbia.

But it’s only 1854, and there are still many years to go until 1858! Maybe there will be a chance to do something there!

Don't think about occupying it all. Even if you can only take a tiny bit, such as ceding a few dozen square kilometers in the Vancouver area in the future and building a small colony, or even setting up a "True Contract Chinese" autonomous city, that would be great!
Because of this stronghold, poor Han people from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could continue to enter, and they were legal immigrants! The climate in that area was warm, and it was the most suitable area for farming on the west coast of North America. There were many fur animals in the forest waiting for people to hunt, and there were gold veins hidden underground. It felt like there were treasures everywhere.

The food and vegetables grown by the Chinese, as well as the cattle and sheep raised there, can be sold to the neighboring West Coast of the United States. These days, the West Coast of the United States is full of gold diggers, and no one is willing to grow crops, vegetables, chickens, and ducks, so the prices are ridiculously high, and an egg may be sold at a sky-high price. Therefore, those legal immigrants who went to Victoria can make a lot of money by selling their products to gold diggers on the West Coast of the United States, just like opening a treasure chest full of gold coins.

After all, only with profitable colonization or immigration can everything flourish and be full of vitality!
In addition, the border between the United States and Victoria was not fortified at that time. As long as the Chinese landed in Victoria, they could easily migrate to the United States. In the Seattle area of ​​later generations, people could occupy and live there at will, and no one cared. The state of Washington was not established until 1889, and it is still called the Washington area. There are few Americans in the whole place.

So this Washington area is the same as the Victoria area next door. Although the sovereignty belongs to the United States and Britain, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot forcibly seize it, the poor Han people under the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can "enter the village quietly, without shooting" and kneel down to enter. First occupy all the land, and then use the "True Contract Faction" to form a group, and then there will be a lot of things to do in the future.
Zuo Zongtang had no idea what Luo Yaoguo was thinking, and he was too lazy to think about it. He thought Luo Yaoguo didn't want to break his promise to Britain and France, so he nodded and agreed readily: "In that case, I will go this trip... As for Zhejiang, I want five prefectures: Ningbo, Shaoxing, Hangzhou, Taizhou, and Wenzhou. In addition, I am still the chief priest of Zhejiang Dafang, and I must keep this identity. I, Zuo Zongtang, have always worshipped Confucius and Mencius, and I will not change my worship to the Emperor of Heaven!"

"Okay!" Luo Yaoguo nodded with a smile, "It's a deal! Ji Gao, now that Emperor Xianfeng has sent troops, we can't keep dithering... Why don't we sign a supplementary agreement with the British Minister Bonham and the French Minister Bourboulen while they are in Shanghai to finalize the dispatch of troops. Then we can send troops quickly and seize the territory by next spring or summer. This will expand our territory thousands of miles away, which is an unprecedented achievement!"

"This……"

"Why are you two together..."

Dianchun Hall, Yu Garden, Shanghai.

A few foreigners who had just entered the room, when they saw Luo Yaoguo and Zuo Zongtang standing there greeting them with smiles, were stunned as if they were cast under a spell.

One of them, wearing a shiny hat, court beads, and a patched robe, was a majestic official of the Qing Dynasty! The other wore a red round hat and a bright yellow dragon robe, and was obviously a powerful prince of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The governor of the Qing Dynasty and the prince of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom actually came together in a friendly and smiling manner to welcome the imperialist envoy... With this attitude, how can the imperialists play the old trick of sowing discord? Are you going to shout loudly in front of Luo Yaoguo to support Zuo Zongtang? Or in front of Zuo Zongtang, shout to support Luo Yaoguo?
What are you doing? Are you not even going to pretend?
"Two gentlemen ministers, come, come, let me introduce you. This is the Prime Minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the majestic Prince Wu! And this is the Governor of Zhejiang and Minister of Nanyang of the Qing Dynasty, Mr. Zuo..." At this time, Maria, who had changed into a Western-style busty dress, came up with a smile and seriously introduced herself to Bonham and Bourboulon in both English and French.

"Oh, I always thought you were sworn enemies!"

Wen Xian looked at Luo Yaoguo and Zuo Zongtang, his smile full of helplessness, and said with a wry smile.

Bulbron shrugged and complained: "The way you Chinese act... If I remember correctly, aren't you fighting a religious war right now?"

They both had an interpreter with them, and these words were immediately translated into Chinese.

Luo Yaoguo laughed and called out to the two foreigners, "Don't stand there, please sit down, please sit down, and quickly serve tea to the two ministers... Two ministers, this is what we call there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends in the world, only eternal national interests!" As he spoke, he sat down carelessly and explained with a smile, "For the national interests of China, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty must form an alliance to fight against the Russian Empire that invaded China!"

"What? You guys are going to join the war together?"

"This, this...Does the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty know about this?"

When the two foreigners heard this, they were almost confused. After all, they used to love instigating infighting among the various factions within the feudal country. They really couldn't get used to it now.

"Xianfeng doesn't know, and there's no need for him to know!" Luo Yaoguo shook his head, curled his lips, and smiled, "Lord Zuo and I can make the final decision on this matter... For your two countries, China will send troops as agreed to help you capture the Petropavlovsk Fortress, isn't that enough? As for whether this Chinese army is the Qing army, the Taiping army, or the coalition forces of the two countries, it doesn't matter at all!"

Zuo Zongtang quickly echoed: "Yes, yes, it's not important. What's important is to win! Our opponent this time is the powerful Russian Empire!"

Wenxian and Bulbulon exchanged glances, and Wenxian then asked, "How many troops do you two plan to send? Who will be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force?"

Bulbulon also asked: "When can we send troops?"

"Ten thousand expeditionary forces," Luo Yaoguo said confidently, "including four infantry regiments, and one battalion each for artillery, engineering, logistics, and cavalry. The commander-in-chief is Mr. Zuo, and Yu Wanqing of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is the deputy commander-in-chief. The troops have been well prepared and can set out at any time! But before we go out, we have to sign a supplementary agreement to ensure that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can obtain the Alexander Islands after defeating the Qing Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)