The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 557 It turns out that Hong Xiuquan was not lying, Jesus really had brothers and sisters! (Please subscribe, please vote)
In June 1856, the San Francisco Bay had completely emerged from the shadow of the turmoil at the end of the previous year. With the manifestation of the "Golden Map" effect, the entire bay area was hot and even the sea breeze seemed to be wrapped in gold powder. Hong Renzheng's jade ring knocked hard on the long table of the California Twenty-Seven County Bishops' Conference, causing the "True Covenant Bank Credit Report" on the table to rustle.

Huang Shiren, who had been promoted to deputy accountant of California True Bank, huddled at the end of the long table, his pale fingers running across the densely packed red circles on the account book - those were the 1.2 million US dollars in loans issued by True Bank in the past three months. Each loan was pledged with a mineral title deed, and the interest rate was staggeringly high, but no one defaulted.

The reason for this situation is entirely due to the release of the "Golden Map" a few months ago.

On the yellowed drawings, the approximate locations of the gold mines on the entire West Coast were outlined with red circles. With the guidance of the "Gold Map", the gold mines that were supposed to be buried deep underground and would only be discovered at some point in the future were revealed to the enthusiastic gold diggers overnight. And those gold diggers who found gold first under the guidance of the "Gold Map" and obtained the title deeds of the California government's mining licenses were borrowing like crazy, and they could ignore any high interest rate. After all, where in the world is there a business that makes money faster than digging for gold?

"Archbishop, we have recovered 40% of the money we lent out, including principal and interest!" The fat bishop of Santa Clara County wiped the sweat from his forehead and held up the account book like a treasure. "The new mine owner in Shasta County paid back another 50,000 in principal this month."

"Is it a good thing to pay back the money quickly?" Hong Renzheng suddenly sneered, pointing to the bronze signs at the end of the street - those were Johnson Mining Bank, Pacific Trust, and Irish United Credit. "But these white banks still make a living!" He opened the "California Bank Interbank Report" submitted by Huang Shiren. Zhenyue Bank ranked only seventh in terms of loan scale, and the top six were all institutions controlled by white people.

Lei Lao Hu, who had just sat on the bishop's throne of San Francisco County, slapped the oak table, startling Emperor Xianfeng who was following him. The former Qing emperor has now risen to prominence and become a bishop. He knows too well the current situation of gold mining in California: as long as the gold diggers who have discovered gold mines can borrow money to hire people and buy equipment to dig, there is nothing they can't make. In their eyes, the Chinese bishops of the True Covenant sect are all fools - they have the "gold map" but don't dig it themselves, but distribute it everywhere, and even lend money to the white gold diggers who find gold with the gold map.

These people simply traveled across the ocean to do charity.
"Shiren, what's your trick?" Hong Renzheng was at a loss. He was good at shamanism, rebellion, sectarian fighting and sending Japanese assassins to assassinate people. He was also good at business, but he would never lend money at high interest rates. He had no choice, he believed in God and was a kind person!

"The mine owners dare to lend because they can make money." The tip of the British fountain pen in Huang Shiren's hand pierced through a financial report obtained from a white accountant who married a Japanese girl at the Shasta Mine. The ink spread over the figure of "net profit of $2000 per day": "One ounce of gold sand can be exchanged for twenty pounds of flour, but what if the price of flour rises to one ounce and four pounds?"

He threw out four notices he had made up: the Pacific Trading Company's cargo ship was delayed due to "mechanical failure", the Tianwangcheng Farm encountered a "Russian attack" and "a large amount of wheat was burned", the Hawaiian Kingdom's sugar ship "accidentally sank", and the gunpowder ship sent from Shanghai was "intercepted by Russian warships"!
Huang Shiren smiled and said, "Starting tomorrow, similar news will appear repeatedly in California newspapers. Then, the prices of flour, eggs, pork, beef, shovels, etc. controlled by our Zhenyue Chamber of Commerce will continue to rise, first by five to ten times, and gunpowder will only be supplied to the baptized mines!"

Bishop Young of San Mateo County gasped: "But the seventh article of the True Testament says 'You shall not oppress the sojourner.'"

"Chapter 7, verse 23," Huang Shiren suddenly raised his voice, "Anyone who hinders the great cause of Heavenly Father is an evil demon!"

He glanced at the "gold map" and said expectantly, "When the cash flow of the mine owners is cut off, we will buy the bad debts of our peers at 70% off the face value."

He used his fountain pen to write a few formulas on the gold chart: every time the price of flour doubles, the cost of mine operation increases by 30%; every time the price of shovel doubles, the mining efficiency decreases by 30%. And insufficient gunpowder will make 50% of the gold mines difficult to mine.

"In addition, we can secretly instruct the Irish Immigrant Union to launch a miners' strike so that more mine owners will not be able to maintain their business!" Huang Shiren turned around and said to Hong Renzheng with a smile: "Archbishop, I know best how to use monopoly and usury to force people. Three months later, 70% of the mine owners in California will be begging us to extend their loans! By then, we, the True Yodists, will be their creditors and control their beliefs. Are you still worried that you won't get a few tens of thousands more votes in the election at the end of the year?"

His words made every True Testament pastor present smile, except Emperor Xianfeng - in the original Qing Dynasty, there should have been many gentry like Huang Shiren, right?

The conference hall of Buckingham Palace was shrouded in the dim light of kerosene lamps. Prince Albert's finger ran across the blueprint of the Shanghai factory submitted by Robert Stephenson Company. The focus of the magnifying glass accurately burned the label of "Boiler Pressure Valve Improvement Plan".

"Mr. Stephenson," the prince asked in a mocking tone, "are you sure that the Chinese are already trying to make steam engines themselves?"

Robert Stephenson, the owner of Britain's largest steam engine company, smiled and said, "Your Highness, my company has an office in Shanghai, China, and we sell steam engines there. According to the report from the manager of the Shanghai office, they imitated our products in the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. But the quality is very poor, and there are problems all over! So, I think the castings of the joint venture factory can be made entirely of Indian pig iron, and the thermal efficiency can be reduced to 8%, which is lower than Prussian products." Stephenson's son Richard Stephenson leaned against the carved windowsill, watching the cars coming and going on the street outside the window, but thinking about the magic and fairies of the mysterious East. He graduated from Cambridge University, but was very interested in all kinds of mysterious things. He didn't hear the conversation between his father and the prince until the old and majestic voice of Viscount Palmerston awakened him.

"Steam engines and high-pressure valves for warships must be removed from the list!" British Prime Minister Palmerston's hooked nose was almost attached to the Sino-British Technical Agreement, and the tip of his pen scratched the "steam engine research and development" clause into pieces. "Stephenson Jiangnan Factory can only produce civilian steam engines, and all casting molds are shipped from Manchester by sea every month - key technologies cannot be obtained by the Chinese!"

Prince Albert picked up the green tea brewed with boiling water and took a sip: "One more thing - all engineers' drawings must be marked with error parameters in Chinese."

The second Duke of Wellington's military boots made a "clacking" sound: "But the prophet or angel of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seems to have mysterious foresight."

Viscount Palmerston smiled softly: "If he really has the ability to predict the future, why doesn't he predict the blueprint of the most advanced British steam engine a hundred years from now? Why does he need to form a joint venture with our steam engine manufacturer?"

A secretary rushed in quickly, holding an urgent telegram from Constantinople: "Your Highness, the two princes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Feng Yunshan and Shi Dakai, have arrived in Suez with their troops. Shi Dakai is leading the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom expeditionary force to Alexandria. Feng Yunshan is leading a small group of troops to Jerusalem."

"Why is he going to Jerusalem?" Prince Albert frowned. "Is he going on a pilgrimage?"

"No," the secretary handed the copy of the telegram to the prince, "Your Highness, the Turks said that the purpose of Feng Yunshan, the Southern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, going to Jerusalem was to find evidence of the existence of Jesus' brothers!"

"What are you looking for?" Viscount Palmerston was stunned.

"Looking for Jesus' brothers!" Prince Albert unfolded the telegram copy, his face gradually becoming solemn: "Of course Jesus has brothers! He has four brothers and at least two sisters. The four brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas, and the two sisters are Mary and Salome!"

It turns out that Hong Xiuquan was not lying. Jesus really had brothers and sisters. This is clearly recorded in the Bible!
Jerusalem.

On the desolate and barren land, Feng Yunshan's black satin cape rustled, and the golden cross on his chest gleamed. Three hundred Taiping Army iron guards wrapped their foreheads in red scarves, with the verses of the True Covenant engraved on their waist scabbards, and the musket barrels smelled burnt under the scorching sun - this Taiping Army had traveled tens of thousands of miles to the place where their brother in heaven first descended to the earth!
"King of the South, that should be Jerusalem." Wang Yan unfolded the map and looked at it, then pointed at the dilapidated castle in the wilderness ahead, feeling a little disappointed. Is this what the Jerusalem that Hong Xiuquan praised so highly in "The True Covenant" looks like? Forget Tianjing, his hometown Daozhou is not even as good!

Rinko took off her anti-sand mask, revealing her sun-cracked lips. She looked at the city wall in the distance, which was glowing white in the sun, and her eyes were actually a little moist: "Father, does Ji Du really have four younger brothers and two younger sisters?"

"Of course!" Feng Yunshan said, "Ji Du is the eldest son. The second son was named Jacob when he first came to earth, and he is the King of Heaven! The third son was named Joseph, which is me! The fourth son was named Simon, who is the King of the East, and the fifth son was named Judah."

"Judas is the fifth son," Rinko breathed, "Doesn't that make him the King of the North?"

Feng Yunshan turned around and glared at his adopted daughter, then continued, "Victoria and Xuan Jiao should have been Ji Du's sisters in their previous lives. As for King Yi and King Wu, they should both be angels! King Yi's wings are the wings of an angel, and King Wu descended from the sky amidst the army, so he is undoubtedly an angel!"

(End of this chapter)