The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 723: The US-North Korea alliance is unbreakable

As the people on the docks of New York Harbor cheered, Hong Rengan was also observing the foreign city with tall buildings and chimneys. Although the population of New York was not necessarily larger than that of Tianjing, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, the chimneys emitting black smoke here were more than those of the four "first-tier cities" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom combined!
If we compare New York's industrial strength with that of North Korea and Japan, I'm afraid one city is more than enough to defeat both countries!

This is just one of the many industrial cities in the United States!
If the entire industrial strength of the United States were added together, it would be so powerful that it would be unimaginable!

What made Hong Rengan feel even more unbelievable was that the United States not only had a strong industry, but also a strong agriculture. There was more wheat than could be eaten, and more cotton than could be supplied to the entire world. Having enough food and clothing was not a problem at all here.

Moreover, Americans have mines at home! There are so many gold mines, silver mines, and oil mines. It is simply unjust!
"Your Highness Prince Gan, the salute is ready." Zheng Yongning's voice suddenly came from behind, interrupting Prince Hong Gan's thoughts.

The captain of the "Orient" was wearing a half-Chinese, half-British naval uniform, but the sword hanging around his waist was a Japanese-style tachi, which was said to have been used by his ancestor Zheng Zhilong to kill people when he was promoting free trade between Japan and the Ming Dynasty.

Twenty-four 32-pound muzzle-loading rifled cannons produced by the Jiangnan Arsenal fired in unison, and clouds of smoke spewed out from both sides of the "Oriental" ironclad ship.

New York citizens once again expressed their feelings: If the North also had such ironclad ships, why would they be afraid of the Southern slave owners?

More than one hundred Japanese sailors from the Korean Heavenly Kingdom lined up on the deck of the "Orient". Everyone was wearing a half-Chinese and half-British military uniform. The rifles in the hands of the sailors were tied with vermilion ribbons, which made them particularly eye-catching on the black warship.

The corner of Major General Perry's mouth twitched. It had only been twenty years since the white man had used his powerful ships and cannons to blast open the tightly closed door of East Asian civilization! The ironclad ships of East Asian civilization had already arrived at the Port of New York. In another thirty or forty years, by the end of the 19th century, who knows what would arrive from East Asia on the coastline of the United States?
"When the morning star first appeared over the waves of the Pacific Ocean, Heavenly Father God breathed the soul of equality into every living being. Whether it was the black brothers picking cotton in shackles on the Mississippi River, or the coolies crawling on the Yangtze River towpath under the scorching sun, the same blood flowed in their spines!" While Major General Perry was still heartbroken over the white people's use of powerful ships and cannons to blast open the door to the Eastern world, Hong Ren'gan's Oxford-accented English was already echoing on the dock.

"The slave owners in the southern United States said that freedom is a natural human right, but they used whips to drive black slaves into their cotton plantations; the evil emperor of the Qing Dynasty called himself the Son of Heaven, but he made the miners in Guangxi turn into bones in the dark mines. Today we come across the sea to let the waters of the two oceans wash away the shackles of this world!" He paused and looked up at the smoke column of the Brooklyn factory - what a powerful country that got lucky! Hong Rengan suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "When a free America and a heaven that liberated the oppressed people of Korea and Japan unite, the glory of God will shine on the whole world!"

There was thunderous applause again.

The workers on the docks took off their caps and cheered for the upcoming victory, while the gentlemen on Wall Street applauded the upcoming surge in the value of the Union bonds.
New York, Fifth Avenue.

The Korean soldiers with the "Rice Cross Flag" were marching in formation, following the open carriage that Hong Rengan, Lin Qirong, Morgan, Wells, and Seward were riding in, heading to the temporary presidential palace. The streets were still crowded with cheering crowds. The people from the Korean Kingdom took the opportunity to further observe the incredible American city in front of them.

Yamamoto looked at the brick buildings on Fifth Avenue, and his hand holding the knife was shaking slightly. He could no longer remember how many chimneys he saw along the way, emitting billowing black smoke, or how many brick buildings that looked like Japanese castles he saw. But one thing is certain: all the "cities" in Japan combined are not as many as the "cities" on a street in New York.
Nanyun Shichiroemon suddenly pulled his sleeve and said, "Look at that smoking monster!" Looking in the direction he was pointing, he saw a steam pile driver rumbling as it drove a thick wooden pile into the ground.

As the carriage passed through Broadway, Lin Qirong lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, there are so many chimneys in New York that it's hard to count them. It seems we have come to the right place!"

Hong Rengan nodded gently: "This is all arranged by Master Karl. There is no doubt that the North will win the American Civil War! So we must now help them in their time of need and strive to conclude an 'alliance' with the Northern government of the United States. We must sign the 'US-North Korea Alliance'!"

In front of the temporary presidential palace, Lincoln's lanky figure and Hong In-gan's short and fat figure stood side by side. When the North Korean sailors marched past to the beat of "Navy Soul", the president suddenly turned to Wells and said, "The eyes of these Eastern warriors remind me of the best graduates of West Point." Before he finished speaking, Zheng Yongning, who was walking at the front of the queue, suddenly drew his sword, pointed the sharp blade straight to the sky, and shouted, "Stand still!"

Two hundred short Japanese sailors of the Kingdom of Korea and an equal number of tall American Marines have formed two teams in the square in front of the Presidential Palace, ready to be reviewed by the President of the United States and the King of Heaven. "When the Stars and Stripes and the Rice Cross meet in the Hudson River, what we see is not the difference between yellow skin and white skin, but the decisive battle between the flame of freedom and the darkness of despotism!" After completing the ceremonial review, President Lincoln, who was determined to make America great, began his speech again, "Just as the prophet Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea, today the Korean-American alliance will surely split the ocean of oppression and prejudice!"

A hint of sarcasm suddenly appeared in his tone: "Just last week, the plantation owners in Charleston were still laughing at us for not being able to afford warships. But today, these iron armies coming across the sea have proved that justice never fights alone!" The president's tuxedo was rustling in the autumn wind. "When our descendants ask about this September morning, we can proudly say: On the bridge of freedom across the two oceans, America and the Kingdom of Korea will always stand shoulder to shoulder!"

While Lincoln's eardrums were shaking from the cheers, Hong Renzheng was calculating in his mind how much he should ask the Americans for.
As dusk fell, Hong Rengan stood in front of the window of the Waldorf Hotel. Downstairs, the newsboy was shouting out the special edition: "The Kingdom of Korea recognizes the Northern Government!" He looked at the gradually lit gas lights in Manhattan and whispered to Lin Qirong: "Please ask the Americans to arrange for us to visit Columbia College. I heard that it is the best university in the United States. If we want to learn American industrialization, we can't just buy machines, we also have to learn their science!"

O'Hara Estate, Charleston.

On the terrace of the mansion, Xianfeng sat cross-legged on the Persian carpet, holding a lit Cuban cigar in his hand: "When it comes to the art of treating slaves, the skills passed down from the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty are better than the whips of you white masters!"

The conscientious prince of the Cherkassky family was well educated and could fully understand Xianfeng's English. He also knew something about China, so he said to his Chinese counterpart in a very friendly manner: "Davarich, isn't your Eight Banners system a replica of our serf village?"

"Copy?" Xianfeng's pockmarked face forced a sinister smile, "Your serfdom is too crude! It can't be compared with the Eight Banners plus bondservants of the Qing Dynasty." He puffed on a cigar and said, "According to the Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty, the masters of America can be divided into 'Pure White, Bordered White, Pure Yellow, Xiang Yellow, Pure Red, Xiang Red, Pure Black, Xiang Black', a total of eight banners. Among them, the masters of the Pure White Banner are all pure German, Anglo-Slavic, and Slavic masters, and the Bordered White Banner is filled with Spanish hair; the Pure Yellow Banner belongs to us yellow and white decent people, and the Bordered Yellow Banner is a yellow and white mixed race; the Pure Red Banner is filled with Indians, and the Xiang Red Banner is an Indo-European mixed race; as for the Pure Black Banner, of course, there are black masters, and the Xiang Black Banner is a mixed race black master. In theory, everyone has a master."

Suddenly, Master O'Hara's slightly drunken voice came from the shadow of the terrace: "You yellow monkeys are worthy of being on an equal footing with us white people?"

"I didn't say that!" Xianfeng turned around and glared at O'Hara, who was talking nonsense because he was drunk. "What I said was that in theory, everyone can be a master! The Zhengheiqi and Xiangheiqi are also masters!"

"What?" O'Hara glared. "Black slaves can be masters? Are they worthy?"

Xianfeng smiled: "Black slaves are slaves! The black flag people are masters just like the white flag people. All slaves in the world envy the masters and want to become masters!" He glanced at the Russian prince who looked fierce but kind, "Davasili, you think serfs want freedom. But in fact, serfs want to be serf owners! The reason why serfs are difficult to govern is that you serf owners have blocked the channels for serfs to rise. You don't let serfs become serf owners! You are abolishing serfdom now, it would be better to give serfs a chance to become serf owners."

Vasily touched his hairy chest, and the beating conscience inside seemed very uneasy.

Xianfeng added: "You are suddenly abolishing slavery, giving people freedom, but not giving them a way to rise, and you still think you have a change of heart. Sooner or later, you will provoke a Maozi version of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang!"

Vasily turned around and asked Tupolev: "Who are these two people, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, and Xiang Yu and Liu Bang? Are they the serfs who revolted in ancient China?"

While Tupolev was trying hard to recall Chinese history, Emperor Xianfeng said to O'Hara: "Gerald, we Americans cannot completely copy the crude serfdom of the Russians. If we want to learn, we should learn from the Eight Banners serfdom, which is the most brilliant!"

(End of this chapter)