The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 573 Xianfeng: The United States of America is finished! Friedrich: I really want to visit China!
December of the sixth year of Tianli.

The winter fog in Weihaiwei Bay was filled with coal smoke, and the Liugong Island Navy Camp (naval base) was heavily guarded. In the small building in the backyard of the newly built Navy Camp Commander (base commander) Yamen, Luo Yaoguo was using tweezers to hold an alcohol cotton ball and gently wipe the whip marks on Daozi's back.

"The King of the East used a cowhide whip soaked in salt water?" He suddenly smiled and thought, "He still can't bear to part with you! It seems that he will soon send an envoy to Liugong Island to take you back."

Daozi rested his forehead against the edge of the sandalwood table, and beads of sweat dripped down his nose onto a corner of a map of Japan spread out on the table. On the map, the words "First Island Chain" were written in red ink: "The King of the East was bewitched by Daozi and wanted to use the grain of the Northeast as a threat. So Daozi deserves to be beaten, not the King of the East."

"Snapped!"

Daozi was slapped again on his whip-marked back: "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you want to think about who asked you to seduce the King of the East? I think you deserve a beating."

Of course it was Luo Yaoguo who instructed Daozi to deceive Yang Xiuqing!

If Yang Xiuqing had not used the Northeast's grain as a bargaining chip to gain interests on the U.S. West Coast during the severe drought in Jiangnan, it would have been impossible for Luo Yaoguo to pass a resolution at the meeting of kings to remove Yang Xiuqing from the position of commissioner and governor-general of the Northeast.

If Yang Xiuqing is not removed now, then after Yang Xiuqing has completely dealt with North Korea, he will turn around and take over Heilongjiang and Jilin, and then absorb and resettle millions of poor farmers from the four provinces. Then the land of Northeast China will truly belong to Yang.

Fortunately, Yang Xiuqing had a habit of getting carried away by success. He was indeed a little proud during this period, and it was normal for him to get carried away. He might have been a little unwilling to accept this and wanted to industrialize the Korean Peninsula as soon as possible before competing for the world.
Luo Yaoguo sprinkled the golden wound powder on the wound of the rice: "In fact, the order of Yang Dongwang to cut off the export of grain from the Northeast was not really implemented at all. Zhang Lexing, the general governor of the Northeast, had already accepted my 100,000 silver rewards and secretly surrendered to the court. He only dealt with Yang Dongwang on the surface, but actually purchased several million dan of grain and transported it to Jinzhou and Lushun, and then transported it to Jiangnan by large ships!"

Amid the sound of waves crashing against the shore, Daozi heard the sound of her teeth chattering. She thought of her daughter Gaozi, who was still in Hong Daquan's hands.
Luo Yaoguo picked up a wet towel and wiped his hands clean: "The King of the East borrowed the King of the Heavenly Kingdom's mouth to get himself a job preaching in Japan. He has been trying to gain control of Japan for a while, right?"

"Your Highness, please understand," Daozi changed his posture to kneeling, showing his scarred body in front of Luo Yaoguo, "The King of the East thinks that Japan is weak, the upper and lower levels are out of harmony, the monarch and his subjects are alienated, the emperor has no power, the general is weak, and the three hundred feudal lords are completely scattered. He plans to use the True Promise faction to preach in Japan and absorb a group of feudal lords and samurai. At the same time, he supports the shogunate on the surface and secretly supports the Choshu faction that intends to overthrow the shogunate to promote chaos in Japan and enter the Second Warring States Period. The East Palace will use the technology obtained from Shanghai and the funds obtained from the West Coast to build Korea's industry. It is planned to use five to ten years to realize the production of foreign guns, foreign cannons and steamships in Korea. In this way, he can take advantage of Japan's Second Warring States to lead the Holy Soldiers to land, and together with Japan's True Promise faction feudal lords and samurai, overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate!"

"Oh, this strategy sounds good!" Luo Yaoguo looked at Daozi with a smile: "Daozi, what do you think of the East King's method? Can it conquer Japan? Do you hope he will succeed?"

Daozi nodded: "Japan is weak, poor, and a loose group of people. It will not be able to survive on its own. Only by joining China or uniting with Korea can it avoid being destroyed by Western powers. Although Korea is not big, it has been cleared by the East King with thundering means, and its domestic resources are richer than Japan. Although the East King's industry is struggling, with the gold input from the west coast and the concerted efforts of the East Palace, it can also attract talents from Japan. Given time, it will surely succeed. What's wrong with Korea helping Japan to avoid becoming a colony of Westerners? So Daozi hopes that the East King will succeed."

Historically, it was the Meiji Restoration in Japan that put it on the threshold of industrialization, and then it conquered Korea, which left the impression that Japan was strong and Korea was weak. But are the people on the Korean Peninsula actually bad at military industry? In the 21st century, Japan, which is still regarded as a "great power", can its military industry compare with the two on the peninsula? It's hard to compare with either one, and if both come together, Japan will be crushed to the ground.

In addition, the Japanese archipelago does not have the resources necessary for industrial development. Japan has very few coal and iron mines, which cannot be compared with North Korea. The coal and iron mines on the Korean Peninsula are tens of billions of tons. It is enough to cope with the first industrial revolution! Although North Korea has no oil, it has very rich water resources and can build hydropower stations to "charge" the second industrial revolution.

The "poor performance" of Yang Xiuqing's initiative to "industrialize the East Palace" was only relative to Luo Yaoguo's "cheating". Excluding cheating, Yang Xiuqing did a very good job in North Korea! The Seoul Iron Works actually reverse-engineered the 64-pound cannon.

"Okay!" Luo Yaoguo nodded. "Since you hope that the East King can succeed, then you should come back with me to the Holy Prison in Tianjing and stay there for a few days. The Ministry of Justice and the Censorate will slowly try your case. When the East King sends someone to redeem you, I will let you go. Remember, when you go back, you must persuade the East King to cooperate with Hong Daquan! Hong Daquan's 'True Shinto' in Japan is still very successful. Many Japanese feudal lords and samurai already believe that Amaterasu is the woman of the Heavenly Father, the Emperor God."

After Daozi heard what he said, he asked expectantly: "Your Highness, is Amaterasu the Goddess?" Luo Yaoguo put a finger on his lips: "Shh" and pointed to the sky, "Empress Maria doesn't like to hear it!"

Atlantic Ocean, West Coast.

Emperor Xianfeng was huddled in his cabin, reading the "Book of the Minor Prophets" he had "stolen" over and over again by the dim oil lamp, muttering to himself as he read: "In 1860, Lincoln was elected President of the United States. In February 1861, seven southern slave states seceded from the Union and established the Confederacy of American States. On April 2, 7, the Union Army bombarded Fort Sumter, and the American Civil War broke out. On July 1861, 4, the First Battle of Bull Run broke out, and the Confederate Army won a great victory while the Northern Army was defeated! From August 12 to 1861, 7, the Second Battle of Bull Run broke out, and the Confederate Army won again, while the Northern Army was defeated miserably, and the Confederate Army went on the offensive! On September 21, 1862, the Battle of Antietam broke out, and the Confederate General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia into the Antietam Creek area of ​​Maryland, only 8 miles away from the US capital Washington."

Xianfeng gasped: "The enemy is at the gate! The United States of America is doomed." He hurried to read on, only to find that he had read to the end. Lei Laohu's "The Book of the Minor Prophets" only wrote about the outbreak of the Battle of Antietam, when the Confederate Army was 60 miles away from Washington. Then it was "broken" and there was no further news. If you want to "update" it, you may have to go to Luo Yaoguo.

However, as a veteran king who had lost his country, Xianfeng had a lot of experience with being besieged. The Northern Army had suffered two disastrous defeats, and then was pushed to the gates of the capital. The army must have been in chaos and morale collapsed. How could they have the confidence to fight to the death? The battle of Antietam Creek was a sure defeat. Even if the defeat did not lead to the fall of the country, it would have to sign a treaty of surrender and recognize the independence of the seven southern states.

Thinking of this, Xianfeng picked up the handwritten "Book of the Minor Prophets" and started reading: "Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, graduated from the West Point Military Academy, served as a colonel of the Mississippi Volunteers, a hero of the Mexican-American War, and also served as Secretary of the Army and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Before the war, he was a federal senator from Mississippi. He is obviously a traitor who can accomplish things! How can Lincoln, the lawyer, beat him? It seems that the United States of America will perish in Lincoln's hands! When I arrive in Washington, I must make friends with this man! Maybe I can even become a founding hero of the Confederate States of America!"

Just as he was thinking about how to make friends with Davis, the future president of the Confederate States of America, there was a knock on the cabin door, and at the same time came the voice of his boss Lei Lao Hu: "Zhao Si, are you up?"

This frightened Xianfeng, and he quickly hid the Book of the Little Prophets: "Get up, get up!"

"Pack up, we're almost to New York!"

London, England.

As usual, London's winter mist was mixed with coal dust. An open carriage pulled by four pure white shire horses, escorted by the Royal Guard, rolled through Parliament Square. Feng Yunshan held the Chinese version of "Journey to Heaven" written by Jesus himself, and the tip of Queen Victoria's silk umbrella gently poked his knee: "Third brother, I heard that the second brother took Emperor Xianfeng to heaven in a magic hot air balloon. Is this true?"

Her English was translated into Chinese by Rinzi. Her current identity is Feng Wanlin, the princess of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. She wore a Western-style court dress given by her "aunt" Victoria, showing the beauty of the combination of Eastern and Western styles. Even Prince Albert couldn't help but look at this "little niece".

Feng Yunshan nodded solemnly: "Of course it is true, everyone in Beijing has seen it."

"What about the theory of heaven?" Victoria asked curiously, blinking her eyes.

"Those are true too!" Feng Yunshan clapped his hands on the Journey to Heaven. "Heaven can be realized in the mortal world!"

Under the street arch, Bai Siwen, who had changed into a Western dress, was holding a folding fan, staring at the carriage with eyes that were about to spurt blood, muttering: "My Great Qing, my Great Qing!" Moore tapped his pipe on the newly published English translation of "The Taiping Farm System": "Look, Friedrich, the peace between the Eastern ghost and Western imperialism!" Friedrich nodded: "But they still did a lot of progressive things. I really want to go to China to see!"

(End of this chapter)