The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 686: Holding a gun in one hand and a ballot in the other, this is American democracy!

In the small meeting room of the San Francisco True Covenant Cathedral, the candles on the twelve copper candlesticks flickered red, illuminating the gilded statue of Hong Xiuquan. The door of the meeting room was closed tightly, and there were layers of sentries outside, so no one was allowed to approach.

A secret meeting that concerns the future and fate of 300,000 Chinese in California and even the West Coast is being held!

"Those white devils were defeated miserably, and we have the majority. Why can't we create a California paradise?" Hong Renzheng slammed the table and stood up, causing the candle flame to shake violently.

"Yes! Why can't we establish California Paradise?"

"We must seize this opportunity! The white devils in California don't have many soldiers left. There are only more than a thousand federal troops and a dozen or so ships of the Pacific Fleet in San Diego. We can take them all down in one fell swoop!"

Hong Renzheng's brother Hong Renke and Hong Xiuquan's brother-in-law Lai Wenguang both spoke out in support of Hong Renzheng.

Everyone in the conference room immediately turned their attention to Luo Dagang, the Taiping Army's North American commander. "The Council of Kings has already issued a clear order," Luo Dagang took out a decree from Tianjing and spread it on the conference table, "The three states in North America only seek autonomy, and must not establish their own country!" He looked at Hong Renzheng, "Archbishop, this is the decision of the Council of Kings!"

The authority of the Council of Kings of Heaven is self-evident!
When Hong Xiuquan was alive, he was suppressed by the meeting of kings, let alone now?

Moreover, in the True Testament theology, seven members of the Conference of Kings, namely Luo Yaoguo, Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, Hong Xuanjiao and Maria, all possess "godhood"!
Luo Yaoguo can also use the Tongtian Mirror to contact the Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother, and Heavenly King. Not to mention Hong Renzheng, even the King of Gan, Hong Rengan, can't resist the meeting of kings. Only the Eastern King, Yang Xiuqing, can resist.
Chen Yucheng took out a letter from the Chief of General Staff Shi Dakai to Luo Dagang and him and threw it directly on the conference table: "This is an order from King Yi to the North American Legion. The order says that if the Chinese in California have a tendency to establish an independent country after defeating the white militia in California, the North American Legion must recall all advisors stationed in California! As a soldier of the Kingdom of Heaven, Archbishop Yucheng must obey the military orders of his superiors! If the Archbishop really insists on establishing a country, then..."

When the atmosphere in the conference room was tense to the point of freezing, a sneer suddenly sounded in the corner.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Xianfeng sitting on a royal chair with his legs crossed, smiling and saying, "It's better to rely on yourself than to rely on the mountains and the sea. It's better to have something yourself than to have it from your parents!"

Xianfeng, or Zhao Si, is now the consort of the Southern Yijin Emperor and the beloved son-in-law of Feng Yunshan. His words naturally represent Feng Yunshan, the second-in-command of the meeting of kings in the modern country!
Hong Renzheng asked, "What does the Southern King mean?"

Xianfeng said: "The King of the South once told me that the Chinese on the west coast are weak and alone, so we must not act rashly. We must build high walls, store up food, and slowly claim the throne."

Hong Renke slammed the table and stood up. The chairman of the California Chinese Farmers Association said in Hakka Mandarin: "California now has guns, cannons and soldiers, why can't it be king?"

"Guns?" Xianfeng sneered. "The California Freedom Army has a total of 20,000 guns. The arsenals in the states on the east coast of the federation can produce this number in a month! This is still under production capacity. If it is released, it will not be a problem to produce 200,000 guns a month and 2.4 million guns a year! Chairman Hong, America is an industrially powerful country! The reason why we can run rampant on the west coast is because they haven't laid the railway here yet. There is only one railway in Panama, and no canal has been dug. The transportation is too inconvenient. But once we divide the three states on the west coast and become independent, the Americans can work hard and build the railway to Nevada within a few years! What should we do then?"

The church suddenly fell into silence. Lai Wenguang glanced at the map of the United States spread out on the table and exhaled: "Brother Zhao, tell me, how do we build this wall and store food?"

Xianfeng said with a smile: "Since we have come to America across the ocean, we must adapt to the local customs and learn from the wealthy families in America to see how they do things. It's not that they do things well, but their practices are the rules in America!"

"Don't keep us in suspense, just speak!" Hong Renzheng urged Xianfeng.

Xianfeng said: "The rule in the United States is to hold a gun in one hand and a ballot in the other. Americans call this democracy!"

"Does democracy require guns?" Lai Wenguang had just arrived in the United States and didn't quite understand.

Hong Renzheng explained: "The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that 'the right of the people to bear arms shall not be inalienable'. This is the rule in the United States!"

"Bishop, please understand," Xianfeng said, "People holding guns is only the basics. At higher levels, there are also aristocratic families who control state militias. The American militia and officers of the federal army and navy are almost all from aristocratic families. The United States does not have the rule that brave generals must come from the military. No matter how high the military merits of an American soldier are, it is unlikely that he will be promoted to an officer! Officers can only be children of wealthy families. In the United States, it is not that both favor and power come from the top, but that all power is in the hands of wealthy families. After the wealthy families monopolize the local armed forces, they will also manipulate local elections to put on official uniforms for themselves. With one hand holding a gun to get votes, and with the other hand holding votes to exchange for power. After having power, of course, they can let go and make profits.

We are only holding the guns now, but not yet firmly holding the ballot box and completely controlling the California elections. So our next step is not to build a California paradise, but to make our Chinese brothers become American citizens and give them the right to vote. In this way, the governor, congressmen, and justices of California will always be ours! "

Hong Renke asked: "But how can we turn our people into citizens?"

"Of course it's the election!" "Election?" Hong Renke asked, "Why is it related to the election again?"

Xianfeng laughed and said, "When our people become governors and occupy the Supreme Court, don't even mention whether Chinese people are considered white people - even naturalizing black slaves is just a matter of precedent by the state supreme court! Now the governor of California is gone, the deputy governor is scared and doesn't want to work anymore, five justices are dead and three have fled, and a lot of congressmen are gone. According to California law, a by-election will be held within 60 days. We must hurry up and make it a done deal before the federal government reacts!"

"Will the Federation recognize it like this?" Hong Renzheng was still a little skeptical.

"Of course!" Xianfeng said with a smile, "As long as we operate it properly, we can make the Federation accept it even if it means holding its nose."

"How to operate it?" Hong Renzheng asked.

Xianfeng said: "The first step is to recruit the four major families in California, the Stanford family, the Crocker family, the Hopkins family, and the Huntington family, into the true contract faction! With them as a signboard, the wealthy families on the East Coast will make up for us and force the federal government to recognize our by-election. And as long as the federal government recognizes this by-election, we can immediately make all Chinese free whites, and then we can use the 'state rights supremacy' to unite the southern states to argue with the federal government."

It’s really complicated!
"Okay!" After thinking it over, Hong Renzheng finally nodded, "Let's do this for now. Let's take control of California first, and then we can discuss other things!"

Washington, late at night.

The gas lamps in the East Room of the White House illuminated the entire room as bright as day.

President James Buchanan's silver coffee cup made a crisp sound on the mahogany table. It was already dark outside the window, but the President of the United States was still "working overtime" to deal with the big trouble in California.

"Governor Weller 'committed suicide'. He shot himself seven times! Seventeen state legislators 'committed suicide' or 'disappeared', and three Supreme Court justices 'disappeared'." Secretary of State Lewis Cass shook the express letter in his hand, and the paper made a rustling sound. "Weller shot himself seven times and died heroically!"

Secretary of the Army John Floyd's face turned pale: "Fort San Diego has only 800 defenders," he drew a line on the map with his finger, "It will take at least two months to transfer troops from the East Coast! In my opinion, we should just let the Pacific Fleet bombard San Francisco!"

Navy Secretary Isaac Tosi slumped in his chair, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. "The squadron flagship, the Susquehanna," he said, his voice suddenly choking, "may have sunk."

Dead silence, dead silence!
It was unknown how long it was before the pen in the hand of Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb fell to the ground with a "click".

"Sunk?" Vice President John Breckenridge's voice trembled. "That was the most advanced steam gunboat in the Union! How did it sink?"

Tosi took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "The Pacific Fleet hasn't figured it out either," his fingers were shaking, "They now suspect... they suspect the Susquehanna was sunk by an ironclad ship."

Senate Democratic leader Stephen Douglas suddenly sneered. "Ironclad ships?" His gold-rimmed glasses reflected the light of the chandelier. "The Chinese can't even build a sailing ship properly!"

"But they have British engineers!" Speaker of the House of Representatives William Pennington said, "The British and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom signed a 'Thirty Years' Treaty'. The Chinese have obtained a lot of machinery and engineers from Britain in the past two years."

Buchanan tapped his knuckles on the table. "Let's wait and see." His voice was eerily calm. "The California by-election complies with federal law. If we intervene forcefully, I'm afraid the southern states will once again clamor for state rights. Of course, the plan to send more troops to San Diego, California remains unchanged!"

A gust of cold wind suddenly blew into the hall, and a secretary hurriedly handed over an express letter. Buchanan glanced at it, and his gray beard trembled slightly. "The President Pro Tempore of the California Senate just announced," he raised his head and glanced at everyone present, "the by-election will be held on the 25th of this month."

"So fast?" The Secretary of State was surprised.

Floyd slammed his fist on the table, making the coffee cup clink. "This is going to be a fake!"

"No." Buchanan looked out the window at the dark night sky. His tired face was vaguely visible on the glass window. "This is American democracy!"

(End of this chapter)