The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 620 Moore: Luo Yaoguo is in big trouble now! (Please vote and subscribe)

January 1858, 1, noon.

A dynasty that should have appeared in the original Chinese history but did not appear has finally appeared on the stage.

This is the "Zeng Zhou" founded by Zeng Guofan who shaved his head - another Zhou Dynasty!
The reason why it is the Zhou Dynasty is, of course, because this dynasty upheld the banner of Confucianism. Is there any era name more Confucian than "Zhou"?

In the imperial city of Xi'an, the plaque of the Wuying Hall was hastily taken down and replaced with a signboard with three large gilded characters of "Mingde Hall". Inside the hall, Zeng Guofan was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a crown with twelve tassels, but his face was paler than the snow outside the hall.

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor" Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan, Huang Shijie, Luo Zenan, Guo Songtao, Du Han, Kong Fanhao and other ministers knelt on the ground. Because of the rush of time, there was no time to make official uniforms, so these ministers all wore Confucian clothes and long robes, with big swords on their waists, just like Confucius in the portrait. But there was no way to tie a bun, after all, half of the head was still bald, and the braids were cut off, and everyone had only half of their hair short to the ears. In order to cover this half of short hair, all the officials of the Great Zhou in the court today wrapped their heads with yellow scarves. I didn't know that it was the "Yellow Turban Army" that entered Chang'an!

Zeng Guofan looked at the group of "Yellow Turban Bandits" below, all of whom were carrying big swords. He opened his mouth and almost said "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven should be established", but he thought it was not right, so he quickly swallowed his words and changed his mouth to ask: "Has the year name been decided?"

Kong Fanhao, who was kneeling, immediately stepped forward and said, "The Book of Shang says: Shao heard Yi De's words. Our Great Zhou has also punished the tyrannical Qing and restored the holy rule, so the reign title should be 'Shao Sheng'."

Suddenly, a cannon shot was heard outside the palace, causing dust to fall from the roof. Zeng Guofan shuddered: "What is this..."

"Your Majesty," Li Hongzhang stepped out and said, "It is the soldiers of our Great Zhou who are fighting with the Taiping rebels at the north gate."

"The Chang-chang Mao army has invaded the west, no, is it Chang'an?" Zeng Guofan was shocked.

His Great Zhou had just been established, and now it was about to be destroyed?

Another round of cannon fire sounded, and it sounded as if it was getting closer. Zeng Guoquan raised his head and said, "Brother, no, my Royal Highness, I am willing to lead the Ji Camp out of the city to meet the enemy!"

"I am willing to go too!" Huang Shijie followed him out.

Zeng Guofan looked at the thick smoke outside the palace and muttered to himself: "I have just ascended the throne and the enemy has already entered the capital."

"Your Majesty!" Li Hongzhang suddenly raised his voice, "Now that the Great Zhou has just been established, we need a great victory to stabilize the people's hearts! I would like to lead the Huai Army, the Ji Camp, and the Ying Camp out of the city, and we must behead the long-haired bandits and present their heads to you!"

Zeng Guofan took a deep breath, nodded, took off his sword, handed it to a personal soldier standing by, and asked him to pass it to Li Hongzhang: "Shaoquan, wear it, this is my sword, all the troops in Chang'an are under your control!"

"We obey your order!" Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan and Huang Shijie responded in unison, sounding confident.
Outside the palace, Mathilde's golden hair stood out in the snow. She rode on a pure white warhorse, followed by three hundred cuirassiers of the Foreign Legion and twelve loaded 12-pound cannons.

"Your Excellency the Duke!" Mathilde shouted in fluent Chinese, "My cavalry and artillery are ready to fight for you at any time!"

"Great! With your elite French troops, we will definitely win this time!" Li Hongzhang said encouraging words while jumping on his horse. Then he said to the general Yuan Jiasan beside him: "Order the First Regiment of the Beiyang Army to march to the north gate immediately!"

"Understood!" Yuan Jiasan rode away. Soon, the Beiyang Army's First Regiment and the Yingzi 4th Battalion and the Jizi 4th Battalion, a total of 14,000 infantry and cavalry, marched out of the Xi'an Imperial City, which was formerly the Manchu City.

"Long live the Great Zhou!" Li Hongzhang raised his arms and shouted loudly, and then the whole team was boiling. The soldiers who had just looted the city raised their bloody swords and guns, and the sound waves shook the city walls.

Mathilde, who was following Li Hongzhang, waved her whip excitedly: "Great! This is a real war!" Then she smiled and said to Li Hongzhang, "My dear, you will definitely become the greatest commander!"

Tang Guogong Mansion, watchtower.

Wen Xian held up the telescope, his hands shaking slightly: "Look! Those soldiers."

Through the telescope, teams of soldiers carrying foreign rifles marched past in formation. Their braids had been cut off and they all wore yellow scarves. In front of their teams, there were people holding up a large banner with the word "Order" on it. As they marched, they shouted in unison: "The Qing Dynasty will perish, the Zhou Dynasty will rise, and the nine generations of hatred have been avenged! All people are prohibited from robbing, stealing, injuring, or killing people. Those who disobey the order will be executed!"

"The Qing Dynasty fell and the Zhou Dynasty rose. This is..." Moore seemed to not understand what these six words meant?
"The Chinese have changed dynasties!" Wenxian said, a master of China. "The Qing Dynasty that ruled China for more than 200 years should have been completely destroyed. A new feudal dynasty has been born, and the country is called Zhou!"

"So fast?" Moore was stunned for a moment. "The Chinese are really efficient in changing dynasties!"

Wen Xian nodded: "Yes, their history is a history of the rise and fall of dynasties and the fighting among various warlords who attempted to compete for the right to rule the country. If nothing unexpected happens, the winner of the war between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Great Zhou will become the next dynasty to rule all of China!"

Moore shook his head and said, "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not a traditional Chinese feudal dynasty."

Friedrich suddenly interrupted the conversation between Moore and Bonham: "Look at the equipment of those soldiers - Minié rifles, 12-pound cannons, and"

"And the French cuirassiers are all heading north of the city!" Moore took the telescope, "That woman from the Bonaparte family is really willing to make a big bet!"

Wen Xian raised his telescope and showed a relaxed expression: "It seems that the Great Zhou can still exist for a while. Some Zhou troops are trying to restore order." "Restore order," Friedrich shook his head, "Aren't those people the ones who destroyed order?"

Moore suddenly pointed to the corner of the street: "Look there!"

Several soldiers were beating a vendor, whose goods were scattered all over the ground. An officer rode over and pretended to whip the soldiers with a whip: "If anyone else takes advantage of the chaos to loot, they will be killed without mercy!"

The soldiers hid the looted property and then dispersed.

Moore shook his head: "They can't restore order, because the original order is no longer sustainable. They now need to establish a new order!"

"It is impossible for the Great Zhou to establish a new order." Friedrich wrote in his notebook, "The Great Zhou was established on January 1858, 1. It is worth noting that the new regime relies on the old-style army, the rural petty bourgeoisie and the colonists. Without a solid economic foundation and a strong leadership group, it is doomed to be short-lived!"

Moore nodded: "Yes, this new dynasty is destined not to last long, but it is likely to cause great trouble to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"Trouble." Wen Xian's eyes lit up. "Mr. Moore, do you mean that the war in Shaanxi and Gansu will create millions of refugees?"

Moore said, "Yes, the army of the Great Zhou is stronger than expected! The uprising launched by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was too hasty and is doomed to fail! Without the cooperation of the rebels, the war in Gansu and Shaanxi will probably last for a long time. A large number of refugees will be created, and then there will be the Dutch navy and the financial war of the Rothschild family. There may be other troubles!" He shook his head, "It seems that Luo Yaoguo will be in a mess next!"

Wen Xian smiled and said, "This is obviously good news!"

Suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs. The three looked over and saw Li Hongzhang's elder brother, Li Hezhang, bowing and saluting to a pale, listless woman. The woman, in a jacket and skirt, was none other than Wanzhen, the fourth wife of Luo Yaoguo.

"It's the wife of the Fourth Prince of Wu!" Wen Xian exclaimed, "She is not in the palace."

Moore narrowed his eyes: "She is also the sister of the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty that just perished."

The three of them hurried downstairs and just in time heard Li Hezhang say to Yao Chongjing: "Immediately escort the Fourth Queen to Shanxi for temporary shelter!"

Wen Xian suddenly stepped forward and said, "Lord Li, we want to go to the palace to pay homage to the emperor of Da Zhou. Oh, Da Zhou has an emperor, right?"

Li Hezhang waved his hand and told Yao Chongjing to quickly take the sad-looking Wanzhen away, and then politely said to Wen Xian: "Sir Wen, of course my Great Zhou has an emperor. I will escort you to the palace to meet him."

Bai Yanhu's scimitar chopped on the bluestone slab, splashing a string of sparks. He glared with bloodshot eyes and roared: "If you can't get through, set fire to the street!"

"Boom!" Shrapnel exploded in the Gansu cavalry, and the blast overturned a large group of cavalry. Ma Chaoqing's horse's front legs were cut off by shrapnel, and he fell heavily into the pile of corpses.

"Big brother!" Bai Yanhu was about to step forward, but was tackled by his personal guards. Buckshot whizzed over their heads, shooting the Thirteenth Monastery members holding swords and spears in the back into sieves.

Li Hongzhang stood on the top floor of the bell tower, holding up a telescope and sneering: "A mob." He turned to the messenger and said: "Tell the artillery to change to chain bullets."

Mathilde was holding a Minié rifle and aiming at a target in the distance. She raised her eyebrows when she heard this: "Hit someone with chain bullets? This scene must be very bloody!"

When the shells with iron chains swept through the streets, the men of Weibei finally collapsed. A bearded old soldier hugged his broken leg and cried, "Father, please save us!"

Bai Yanhu pulled off his bloodstained hat and suddenly jumped onto the remaining wall: "Men from Shisanfang Temple! Fight with Huang Bapi."

"Bang!" The lead bullet from the Minié rifle in the hands of the Beiyang Army sniper blew off his head. Ma Chaoqing looked at his brother with a bloody head and staggered, then fell headfirst and suddenly woke up.

"Retreat! Retreat to the Wei River!" Ma Chaoqing shouted at the top of his lungs. The remaining troops rushed towards the north gate like a receding tide. Their number was reduced by more than half compared to when they came. The Beiyang Army and the Hunan Army were still following behind them, constantly reaping lives.

The frozen Wei River reflected the setting sun, and when the first group of fleeing soldiers stepped onto the ice, dozens of fires suddenly lit up on the north bank.

"Fire!" Chen Decai slashed down with his Heavenly King Sword. The solid bullets whistled and smashed the ice surface, and the three hundred Ma Chaoqing cavalrymen fell into the ice cave with their horses. A young man hugged the horse's neck and screamed, and was swallowed by the icy water in the blink of an eye.

Ma Chaoqing knelt at the edge of the ice hole, watching his companion struggling in the icy water. He suddenly understood something: "Luo Yaoguo, you devil!"

When the ice was broken again, Ma Xinyi put away his telescope on the shore and said, "We can report the victory to Lord Li." He turned to Chen Decai and asked, "Isn't the Archbishop going to see Xi'an?"

Chen Decai smiled and said, "I will go, but not now. I hope that by then, we will not meet on the battlefield!"

On the other side, the flames of Xi'an City dyed half the sky red. Mathilde's cannons were still roaring, continuing to harvest lives in large numbers.
(End of this chapter)