The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 448: The man-eating demon is marching towards Tianjin! (Please subscribe and vote)

"Your Highness, King Wu, do you know what you are doing? You have kidnapped a British diplomat and a British naval captain, and hijacked the fleet commanded by this naval captain. This is a serious offense to the British Empire! On behalf of the British Consulate, I lodge the strongest protest to you and demand that you immediately release me and Colonel Asben, and return the Dingyuan cruiser to the British Royal Navy!"

Li Taiguo had just been taken into a luxurious suite on the Geely. When he saw Luo Yaoguo sitting inside, he became furious and started talking nonsense, even making an absurd demand such as "returning the Dingyuan".

Colonel Asben, who was brought in with him, looked at Prime Minister Luo with a cold brow, as if he wanted to pounce on him and bite him a few times.

Luo Yaoguo waved his hand at the Taiping soldier who was holding a gun against Li Taiguo's back, asking him to put away the gun. Then he smiled and said to Li Taiguo, "Mr. Li Taiguo, I'm sorry. This is a misunderstanding. My people didn't know that you were the secretary of the British Consulate. Please accept my apology. However, your request to release Colonel Asben and hand over the Dingyuan warship is really difficult to comply with."

Li Taiguo breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the muzzle of the gun against his waist move away. However, he still glared at him angrily: "Mr. Prime Minister, you are openly challenging the dignity of Britain. The consequences will be very serious!"

"Oh?" Luo Yaoguo chuckled, then turned to look at a middle-aged man wearing a Catholic bishop's robe sitting next to him, "Bishop, you are a witness to this misunderstanding. Do you think my current behavior is a challenge to Britain?"

This bishop is of course the next Pope of Rome, Paul de Doria, who was "recommended" by Luo Yaoguo and approved by God, and is now the Archbishop of Nanjing.

Archbishop Doria thought to himself, "You are just provoking Britain by relying on the fact that there is a God behind you!"

Luo Yaoguo, on the other hand, looked calm, as if to say, "It's great to have God behind me. I dare not mess with anyone!"

"That depends on Colonel Asben's identity." Archbishop Doria, who had to give face to God, spoke slowly, seriously, and seemed very fair.

Li Taiguo and Asben only then discovered that in addition to Luo Yaoguo, there was also a cardinal who had a close relationship with Luo Yaoguo in this luxurious suite. They were shocked and realized that the situation was more complicated than they had imagined. Colonel Asben seemed to be a subordinate of Luo Yaoguo, the prime minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Moreover, he had defected to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with Luo Xueyan!

Luo Yaoguo smiled and asked in English: "Colonel, you are now the commander of the Nanyang Fleet, right?"

When they heard Luo Yaoguo's question, Asben and Li Taiguo's faces froze.

Asben snorted coldly and clenched his fists: "Yes, but I am loyal to Britain!"

Luo Yaoguo asked again: "It doesn't matter who you pledge allegiance to, what matters is your current identity! Please tell Mr. Li Taiguo and Archbishop Doria, which country's Nanyang Fleet Commander you are? The Qing Dynasty, or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

Asben gritted his teeth, remained silent for a moment, and finally responded in a low voice: "I came to China as the commander of the Qing Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet."

Luo Yaoguo nodded, his tone calm but sharp: "In this case, you are a prisoner of war!"

"Prisoner of war?" Asben was startled and quickly changed his words, "King Wu, how can I be a prisoner of war? I have been serving you since I came to China! How can you treat me as a prisoner of war?"

I definitely cannot be a prisoner of war. If I were a prisoner of war, I wouldn't have any "lolita from the island" to sleep with.
Luo Yaoguo nodded: "Okay, then you are my loyal subordinate. I now order you to lead the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Nanyang Fleet to escort me and the 8,000 soldiers of the First Army Division to Tianjin!"

It turns out that Luo Yaoguo was planning to launch a surprise attack on Tianjin!
Li Taiguo and Asben were both shocked. This was what they and Minister Bao Ling were worried about!
Asben's face turned pale, his clenched fists trembled slightly, he took a deep breath, and said coldly: "Mr. Prime Minister, although I serve you, I will never violate the orders of the British Embassy in China. According to the orders of the embassy, ​​Dingyuan and I are not allowed to participate in any military operations against the Qing Dynasty." "Then I will relieve you of your position now and appoint Thomas Henry to replace you as the commander of the fleet." Then he looked at Asben and Li Taiguo, "Colonel Asben, Mr. Li Taiguo, you can leave now!"

As he spoke, he waved to Chen Picheng, who immediately took Asben and Li Taiguo out of the cabin.

After leaving the Jili, Li Taiguo finally breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "I must report to Consul Aliguo immediately: Luo Yaoguo, the man-eating demon, has 'hijacked' the Dingyuan and is heading for Tianjin!"

Thinking of this, he hurriedly pulled Asben, who seemed to have had a nightmare, into the carriage and headed towards the British Consulate.

When Li Taiguo and Asben hurried back to the British Consulate in Shanghai, ten warships belonging to the Nanyang Fleet and the temporarily requisitioned passenger and cargo ships "Jili" and "Jixiang" at the Yangshupu Wharf had already dragged thick black smoke, slowly leaving the wharf and heading towards Wusongkou.

Of course, after leaving the Yangtze River estuary, it is impossible for the fleet led by Luo Yaoguo to go to Tianjin. His target this time is Macau and Guangzhou. He must cooperate with Shi Dakai to capture Guangzhou City as soon as possible!
Once Guangzhou is in his hands, with Shi Dakai's ability, it will be a piece of cake to subdue the remaining prefectures in Guangdong.

Once Guangdong was taken, Sichuan would be the only base in the south that could resist the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Li Taiguo quickly reported the error to Consul Aliguo, and the atmosphere in the consulate suddenly became tense.

"Damn it, he finally succeeded!" Consul Aliguo had a gloomy face. He never suspected that he had been fooled by Luo Yaoguo's "little lie". He thought that this man was really going to use 8,000 people to attack Beijing. He immediately convened senior members of the consulate to discuss countermeasures urgently.

"Mr. Consul, we should immediately inform the consulate in Tianjin and ask for instructions from the minister in Hong Kong." Li Taiguo, who had been a "foreign Chiang Kai-shek" without realizing it, made another hurried suggestion.

Aliguo didn't have any better ideas. After all, Shanghai had long been under Luo Yaoguo's firm control! Aliguo had no choice but to nod his head helplessly: "Go and inform Jardine Matheson to send two of the fastest speedboats to get the news to Tianjin and Hong Kong in the shortest possible time!"

Li Taiguo volunteered again: "Mr. Consul, I am willing to go to Hong Kong and report the situation to the Minister in person to ensure that the information is conveyed correctly."

Consul Aliguo thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, you leave immediately and tell the Minister in person that Luo Yaoguo has taken risky actions. Be sure to explain the combat effectiveness of the elite troops of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army to the Minister!" He thought for a moment and strengthened his tone: "You must tell the Minister that Luo Yaoguo's adventure is likely to succeed! And only the winner of this civil war can ensure our interests in China!"

His meaning was very clear, he just wanted to wait and see. If Luo Yaoguo won, then Britain would not have to pursue Luo Yaoguo's actions of "seizing" the Dingyuan and "detaining" Aliguo. The matter would be over. The British Empire had always supported the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Luo Yaoguo!

If Luo Yaoguo fails, it won't be too late to give the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom a hard blow.

However, Aliguo knew that Minister Bowring seemed to "particularly love the Qing Dynasty" and had an inexplicable hatred for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. During the recent chaos in Guangdong, he was also an active supporter of Ye Mingchen, a Qing Dynasty dog ​​official.

So after saying this, Aliguo was probably still worried that Li Taiguo might not be able to explain it clearly, so he urgently wrote a personal letter and handed it to Li Taiguo, instructing him: "Be sure to hand it over to the Minister in person!"

Li Taiguo nodded: "I understand. I will definitely convey your intention to Mr. Bao Ling."

(End of this chapter)