The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 545: The End of the Japanese Bakumatsu, Only God Can Change the Law (Requesting Subscription, Requesting Votes)
It was dusk on December 1855, 12 in the Western calendar.

Although it had been 20 days since the earthquake, the shogunate's disaster relief efficiency was still as low as ever. The ruins of Edo Castle Town looked particularly desolate in the twilight, and the bodies buried in the rubble had begun to rot, and the stench of corpses filled the air above the once prosperous city.

Kusumoto Inoko walked through the dilapidated long house in her mud-soaked wooden clogs. Behind her followed twelve believers in white clothes, two of them carrying a basket of brown rice, on which the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Panlong emblem was clearly printed.

"Bless God!" Inako shouted in Kanto dialect, the cross hanging from the gold chain around her neck swayed in the morning light, and the victims huddled in the ruins began to move. On the second floor of a teahouse that survived the earthquake, several Fukuyama samurai tried to go downstairs by holding the handles of their swords, but were stopped by the old councillor Abe Masahiro.

Ii Naosuke's figure in black clothes also appeared on the second floor of the teahouse. The lord of Hikone squinted his eyes as he distributed brown rice to the victims. He turned his head and whispered to Cejin, "Where did this bastard witch come from? She is good at winning people's hearts. But when will the Southern Barbarian Cult show its favor to the Tokugawa family?"

Inako seemed to have sensed something, and suddenly looked up at the teahouse. She took off her dark blue haori embroidered with cherry blossoms, revealing a short coat with a bright yellow background and dragon embroidery underneath - this was the court dress of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's concubines (actually the queen and high-ranking female officials). Ii Naosuke's pupils suddenly contracted, his left hand tightly grasped his sword, his right hand already pressed on the hilt, and he whispered, "It's the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom again."

"Ii-san," Abe Masahiro, who looked sallow and obviously ill, called out to Ii and said in a hoarse voice, "That mixed-race woman is Kusumoto Inako, she is the concubine of Hong Tianwang of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Jing Yi snorted with disdain, but his hand holding the knife loosened: "What divine concubine? She is just a plaything of Hong Xiuquan."

Abe Masahiro shook his head, his cloudy eyes suddenly became clear: "Ii-san, times have changed! According to reliable information, the world has now entered an era of magic and immortality. The prophecy of the Edo Earthquake is proof of this! Japan must no longer ignore the magic and immortality that have just appeared, it must follow up!" He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the rice being distributed to the victims on the street. His voice was so low that it could not be heard, "There is a Hong Daquan in Kansai who is very close to a group of nobles and outer feudal lords with ulterior motives, and he has also recruited many ronin to form a crusade. Therefore, the shogunate also needs the power of magic and immortality."

Osaka, the Cathedral of the True Covenant Diocese of Japan.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the glass windows into the cathedral, which was as big as a town hall, and painted a layer of blood on Hong Daquan's face. A secret letter sent from the Shinyo sect's Edo cathedral was crumpled into a ball in his hands.

"How dare she use the title of Young Heavenly King!" Hong Daquan gritted his teeth and looked extremely angry.

A beautiful female swordsman kneeling on the side held the Great Prajna Light on her waist, and the words "Heavenly Father's Blessing" on the hilt of the sword glowed coldly: "I will take the female warrior group to Edo now."

"Nonsense!" Hong Daquan glared at the woman in a scarlet military feather robe. Her slender fingers were already on the hilt of the sword, as if she was about to rush to Edo and chop Kusumoto Inako to death with one blow.

This woman's name is Chiba Sana. She was born in the famous Chiba family of swordsmanship. She practiced martial arts since she was young and had superb swordsmanship. Her father, Chiba Shusaku, was the master of Hokushin Ittoryu and was once as famous as the shogunate swordsman Saito Yakuro. A few months ago, she was spotted by Hong Daquan who went to Edo to report the "Double Eleven Earthquake Prediction" to the shogun Tokugawa Iesada. He was taken in as a retainer with an annual salary of 300 kan and the status of "family elder". She served as the director of the female warrior group and was responsible for recruiting and training female warriors for Hong Daquan.

"My lord!" Chiba Sana looked at Hong Daquan with expectation, "Please trust me. My martial arts are stronger than Rinko's. I can take Inako's head alone."

Rinko is a female warrior under Hong Daquan. She is from Iga. Although her martial arts are far inferior to Chiba, who is from a famous swordsman family, she has killed more than a dozen people who were in the way for Hong Daquan. Because she accidentally exposed her identity when assassinating a high monk of Honganji, she was sent to America by Hong Daquan to help Hong Renzheng kill people.

However, Hong Daquan still couldn't forget his capable subordinate, and often praised Rinko in front of a group of female warriors.

Chiba's job in the female warrior group was more like a swordsmanship instructor and Hong Daquan's personal attendant, and she had never been on a mission.

"Who do you think you are?" Hearing Chiba comparing his martial arts with Rinko and wanting to take Inako's head, Hong Daquan suddenly stood up and slapped Chiba hard in the face.

Qianye's head was hit to the side and a red palm mark immediately appeared on his fair cheek, but he said nothing and just endured it silently.

Hong Daquan just lowered his voice and said in Japanese word by word: "Daozi is the concubine of God. I cannot touch her unless there is a decree from the angel."

He actually didn't tell the truth to Chiba. There were two reasons why he couldn't touch the rice.

First, the internal struggle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was limited to the bottom line of "high-level officials not killing each other". Even Hong Xiuquan, who was honored by Langnukis, was severely punished for injuring Xiao Chaogui, let alone others?

Second, Daozi was a two-faced person. On the one hand, she was loyal to Yang Xiuqing, and on the other hand, she was serving Luo Yaoguo. Her daughter Gaozi was also Hong Daquan's adopted daughter.

The sound of clogs approaching from far away broke the oppressive atmosphere in the room. A disciple of the True Prophet Sect dressed as a ronin fell outside the door and said breathlessly: "Bishop! Master Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has just arrived at Osaka Port on the Jardine Matheson's Pacific." Hong Daquan squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then turned back to look at Qianye, whose face was swollen from the beating, and said, "Qianye, go pack your luggage and come with me on the Pacific!"

"My Lord," Qianye was stunned, "Where are we going?"

Hong Daquan smiled and said, "Of course we are going to Tianjing. Come with me to meet the angel. He is a truly powerful person!"

At midnight, the roar of the Pacific's steam engine sounded again. Hong Daquan, wrapped in a sable cloak, hurriedly boarded the gangway. Chiba Sa's cheek was still a little red and swollen, and her scarlet feather weave looked like a ball of floating blood light under the oil lamp.

"Bishop Hong, how are you?" Wu Chongyao clasped his hands towards Hong Daquan with a respectful smile on his face, and said to Natalia in English, "Natalia, this Bishop Hong is a big shot in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Grand Duchess Natalia smiled and nodded to Hong Daquan, then introduced herself in stiff Chinese: "My name is Natalia, I'm from Italy, and I'm Maria's sister."

This identity was made up for her by Wu Chongyao. She could not appear in Tianjing as a Russian Grand Duchess - the conspiracy between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Russia must not be exposed!

When Hong Daquan heard that the visitor was Maria's sister, he immediately became respectful. Maria was a woman of the same level as Hong Xuanjiao, and her status was even higher than Su Sanniang! Maria's sister could not be offended.

"Rinzi is yours, right?" Wu Chongyao led Hong Daquan into the cabin while making a gesture to scare the guest away. "She has made great contributions in the United States this time!"

Hong Daquan smiled and asked, "What great achievement? Can you tell me?"

Wu Chongyao smiled and said, "I won't tell you. You can ask her yourself later."

"Ask her? She came back so soon?" Hong Daquan was stunned, then he understood something. He nodded and whispered, "It seems that the person we killed this time is another extraordinary person!"

Wu Chongyao nodded, without making any comment, and then changed the subject: "Bishop Hong, I heard from Rinzi that the situation in Japan is very turbulent right now, and the anti-shogunate and pro-shogunate factions in the country are fighting fiercely? Will it affect the other side of the Pacific Ocean?"

"How is that possible?" Hong Daquan smiled, "No matter how we fight, Japan will always follow the will of God!"

"Only God can change the law?" Wu Chongyao was stunned. "What God?"

Hong Daquan clasped his fists towards the void: "Of course it is Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother, Heavenly King, and Angel! Whether it is the anti-shogunate faction or the pro-shogunate faction, they have already recognized the serious matter. If Japan wants to survive, it must learn divine arts and immortal methods!"

Thousands of miles away in Edo Castle, Kuro Shoin.

Kusumoto Inako was kneeling in front of Tokugawa Iesada. The general's pale fingers stroked a copy of "The True Covenant" inscribed by Hong Xiuquan that she presented to him. His eyes were narrowed, as if he was feeling the supreme power of the King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Several old Chinese officials were kneeling beside him, looking at the general who was suffering from "brain-damage" with worry in their eyes.

When the general withdrew his fingers from the True Covenant, he smiled innocently like a child: "I don't like reading."

Inako seemed to have known that this True Covenant would not be able to cure the general's "brain damage", but she still said to Abe Masahiro beside her: "Mr. Abe, this True Covenant contains some of the magic of the Heavenly King, which can make the person who possesses it clear-headed. As long as the general carries it with him every day, he should be able to improve over time."

Abe Masahiro looked at the stupid general, then said to Inoko, "Inoko, I heard that the Angel and Maria of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom both possess many magical powers. Can we ask one of them to treat the general? As long as the general's brain disease can be cured, everything will be fine."

Jing Yin Zhibi on the side also said: "Even if Her Highness the Angel is busy with many things, you can still ask Her Highness Maria to come to Edo. The shogunate can welcome her arrival as if she were a princess!"

Daozi didn't expect the other party to make such a request, but she was now a member of Yang Xiuqing and Hong Rengan, and she couldn't lead the shogunate to Luo Yaoguo's side, so she smiled and said, "Luo Tianshi is the prime minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Maria is pregnant and they can't come to Japan in the short term. Why don't you try to invite the King of East and the King of Gan?"

(End of this chapter)