The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 669: Hua Minggui (Please vote, please subscribe)
In Cavite, the "Queen of the East" flying the British flag, escorted by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's light cruiser "Suzhou", slowly approached the dock. On the deck, Shi Dakai wore the Taiping Army's new blue-gray woolen uniform, with a red ribbon draped diagonally, and the French Legion of Honor and Victoria Cross medals were hung on the ribbon - this was to commend him for leading the Taiping Army to capture the Sevastopol Fortress.

In addition to these two medals, Shi Dakai also held the titles of Prince of Sevastopol awarded by France and Duke of Sevastopol awarded by Britain. Although these two titles did not come with fiefdoms, they were not fake, but real titles with annuities and estates.

Today, King Shi Yi has become a multinational nobleman whose title would take half a day to announce!
It was precisely because he had the first-class titles of both Britain and France, and was accompanied by the British envoys to Korea and Japan, that Luo Yaoguo urgently sent a telegram to Java, asking Shi Dakai to make a stop in Luzon and use the halo of Britain and France to intimidate the Spaniards on Luzon Island.

The pier was already crowded with people.

Thousands of Chinese people crowded on the shore, with red scarves wrapped around their heads and holding brown bass flintlock rifles that had been smuggled in at some point in time. Some of them even had bayonets, shining with a cold light!
In the crowd, Chamber of Commerce President Chen Afu stood at the front, with dozens of armed members of the Chamber of Commerce behind him, with revolvers from the fourth year of the Tianli period on their waists. Beside them, Shi Dakai's cousin, the True Yue faction Archbishop of Luzon Island Shi Zhenchang, held high the wheat cross flag, his red robe rustling in the wind.

"Welcome to the 5,000th birthday of King Yi!"

The cheers were like thunder, shaking the wooden planks of the dock.

The Spanish Governor Fernando Noriega Escayera stood in the distance, his face livid. Behind him was a team of Spanish soldiers with guns, but their eyes were extremely panicked - the glory of the Spanish Empire was long gone! The Spanish Navy was not even as good as the Dutch Navy, which still had many steam ships, while the Spanish Navy relied heavily on sailing warships and had no money to replace them with picric acid shells. Even if the entire Spanish Navy was brought to Luzon to fight the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy, the few "Shanghai" class ships that could fire picric acid shells could sink them all!
It has to be said that once a big country with hundreds of millions of people makes a move and makes a little progress, it will scare outdated powers like Spain.

"Governor," the adjutant reminded in a low voice, "do you want to prepare the artillery?"

Escayera gritted his teeth and said, "Idiot! Do you think it is the 15th or 16th century now? Does Spain still have the strength to provoke the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the British Empire at the same time?"

He paused, then sighed and said, "Send flags to welcome His Royal Highness to Luzon Island!"

Shi Dakai, who got off the "Queen of the East", strode towards a newly built wooden platform outside the dock.

In the audience, Chinese laborers, vendors, farmers, and even some ragged coolies all knelt on the ground with tears in their eyes - they were living in a good era!
"Listen, Spanish red-haired foreigner!" Shi Dakai suddenly drew out his sword, pointed the tip of the sword directly at the Spanish governor in the distance, and frightened Escayera, "You slaughtered my Chinese in Luzon, seized my land, and forced my compatriots to convert to evil religions! Today, I want to ask you a question."

He paused, and his voice suddenly rose:
"Spanish lives are lives, but Chinese lives are not lives?!"

The thousands of Chinese at the dock were instantly excited.

"Chinese lives are also lives. Chinese lives are precious! Chinese lives are precious!"

The voices were like waves, and the slogan of "Chinese life is precious" was getting louder and louder.

The Spanish soldiers had their fingers on the trigger, but no one dared to shoot because there were no bullets in their guns.

Escayera was still clear-headed—only those insects in Madrid believed that Spain was stronger than the Netherlands. Anyway, Escayera, who was squatting beside the roaring behemoth of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom every day, didn't believe it. So when he came to meet Shi Dakai with a pinched nose, he simply asked the guards to leave the bullets in the Santiago Fortress and brought an empty gun with him as a token of respect.

At this time, he saw that the gun port of the "Shanghai" class light cruiser on the Cavite dock had been opened, and 10 24-pound rifled cannons had been aimed at the Cavite Naval Fortress - they must be loaded with picric acid shells!
Shi Dakai raised his hand to signal for silence, then took out a roll of yellow silk imperial edict from his bosom and shook it open violently.

"I now follow the will of Heavenly Father and King to issue the Hua Ming Edict!"

"First, all Chinese are the children of the Heavenly Father, the Emperor God, and are equally honorable as the Spaniards!"

"Second, the Spaniards shall no longer persecute, massacre, or force conversions!"

"Third, anyone who bullies the Chinese will be retaliated with blood by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Every time a sentence was read out, there was an earth-shaking cheer on the dock.

The Spanish Governor Escayera's face was livid, his fingers tightly grasping the hilt of his sword, ready to hand it over at any time.
Shi Dakai put away the imperial edict, looked at the Spanish governor with a pleasant face, and waved at him with a smile: "Governor, come here quickly, I have a fair and just treaty for you to sign!"

His words were immediately translated into Spanish by a mistizo (a Chinese mixed-race elite): "Governor, Prince Shi Dakai said that there is an unequal treaty for you to sign."

Unequal treaty? Escayera thought to himself, "How unequal can it be? It won't be the cession of Luzon, right?"

A parchment treaty that had been prepared long ago was placed on a small table and brought to Escayera.

"Sign it!" Shi Dakai said with a smile, "This time, our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom doesn't want your Luzon." Mistizo immediately said to Escayera in a tone full of surprise: "The prince said that he doesn't want Luzon this time!"

Escayela quickly picked up the treaty, unfolded it, and an expression of relief instantly appeared on his face.

The treaty was written in Chinese and French, and Escayera could certainly understand French - the current Spanish emperor is from the Bourbon dynasty!
The contents of the treaty are as follows:

Treaty between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain on Luzon Affairs (Tianli Year 1859, AD)
Article 1 Right to Confirm Identity The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Council of Kings has the right to establish consulates in various ports in Luzon, to check the native place and occupation of Chinese people, and to issue passports with the seal of the Celestial Empire as proof of identity. Spanish officials must facilitate this and shall not obstruct it.

Article 2: Guarantee of Equal Rights: All Chinese citizens holding Taiping Heavenly Kingdom passports shall enjoy the same rights as Spanish citizens in Luzon. Their property, beliefs, marriages and funerals shall not be discriminated against. The Spanish government shall issue a notice to inform the natives to comply.

Article 3. Judicial Joint Trial System: All cases involving Chinese citizens, whether civil or criminal, must be tried jointly by Spanish officials and personnel appointed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Consulate. No arbitrary judgment can be made without the signature of the consul. The consulate has the right to review unjust accusations.

Article 4. Lease of Naval Port The Kingdom of Spain leased Subic Bay (including the ten-mile coastal area) to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in perpetuity for the purpose of berthing warships and building artillery batteries. The rent was 10,000 Taiping silver dollars per year, payable at the Manila Customs.

Article 5: The port of Cavite is divided into 3,000 acres along the coast as a concession for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The administration, taxation, and police power within the concession shall be under the control of officials of the Celestial Empire. Spanish warships shall not enter without permission.

Article 6: Discussion on Territorial Limitation Spain recognizes that its sovereignty in Southeast Asia only extends to the main island of Luzon, and it shall not occupy unclaimed territories such as Sulu and Borneo. The existing military camps stationed in Mindanao shall be withdrawn within three years.

Supplementary Provisions This treaty is in both Chinese and French. In case of any dispute, the Chinese text shall prevail. It shall come into force on the date when the two countries' envoys exchange the treaty in Cavite.

Shi Dakai, the Prince of Wings and the Imperial Commissioner of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Shi Dakai's signature and seal are already on the treaty, and it's just waiting for Escayela to sign.

"Okay, I'll sign it, right away!" Without saying a word, Ezcayera took the pen from Mistizo beside him - if he didn't sign it, he would be a bastard!
With this treaty, he could always complete his term as governor safely and securely, and also make a lot of money before leaving. If he didn't sign it, he would have to go to see the Heavenly Father, the God!
On the same day that Shi Dakai forced the Spanish Governor to sign the Taiping-Philippine Treaty at the Cavite Pier, a vote to decide the fate of the West Coast was taking place in the U.S. House of Representatives on the other side of the ocean.

"The voting results on the Constitution of the Washington Territory are as follows," said the silver-haired Speaker of the House of Representatives William Pennington, who banged the gavel. "79 votes in favor and 152 votes against. This constitution is rejected!"

There was a roar of applause from the Republican seats. Thaddeus Stevens, a radical abolitionist from Ohio, was the first to stand up and applaud, his iron-headed sandalwood cane banging on the floor. Then the entire Republican caucus stood up and applauded.

"Gentlemen!" William Gwin, a Democratic congressman from California, jumped onto the table, waving a yellowed newspaper. "Look at this San Francisco Chronicle! The photo of Chinese workers carrying goods at the dock is printed on the front page - they look like black slaves when they are hunched over! But they are even more dangerous than black slaves because they will arm themselves to fight against white people!"

The Speaker banged the gavel again: "Now consider the Chinese Exclusion Act!"

The sponsor, Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Justin Morrill, unrolled the parchment scroll: "This bill stipulates that - first, Chinese laborers are prohibited from entering the United States in the next ten years; second, existing Chinese immigrants cannot be naturalized as American citizens; third, each state has the right to restrict Chinese from purchasing land."

"We should have done this a long time ago!" Fernando Wood, a Democratic congressman from New York, interrupted. "In the San Francisco riot three years ago, they killed more than 1000 white people! These yellow monkeys are more dangerous than the black people on the southern plantations!"

Republican leader Stevens suddenly sneered: "Mr. Wood, please don't slander those docile and kind black people. They will never take money from a white person like the Chinese did!"

The Democrats from New York glared at the abolitionist Republicans and said, "Wait until those so-called free blacks get to New York and you'll see how powerful they are!"

The meeting hall was in chaos, and Speaker Pennington had to knock the gavel more than 20 times to restore order.

In the corner, Abraham Lincoln stroked the stubble on his chin and glanced at the map of America on the wall. The blank space on the west coast seemed to be oozing blood - there were 300,000 Chinese, a thousand armed farms, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cruiser anchored in Tianwang City.
"Voting begins now!" The Speaker's voice cuts through the noise.

The teller's voice echoed mechanically:
"The final vote count for the Chinese Exclusion Act is 179 in favor and 49 against. The bill passed!"

Republicans stood up and applauded again. Stevens raised his arms: "This is a victory for free labor!"

Lincoln walked slowly to the window. The half-broken Washington Monument in the dusk looked like a broken sword piercing the night sky. Although it was incomplete, it was still full of fighting spirit! Lincoln whispered to himself: "Now, it depends on how those Chinese on the West Coast can prove that they are worthy of this country."

(End of this chapter)