The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 724: The Eight Banners System of the United States - A black slave who does not want to be a white master is not a good black slave
Master O'Hara was stunned by what Emperor Xianfeng said, but Prince Vasily asked with disdain: "Bishop Zhao, please explain, if this Eight Banners system is really so effective, how did the Qing Dynasty fall?"

This really hit the nail on the head for Emperor Xianfeng, who laughed bitterly, "The Qing relied on the Eight Banners system to rule over so many Han people with hundreds of thousands of households for more than 200 years. Do you think the Eight Banners system was smart? As for why the Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty could not be continued, it was because the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty actually only accommodated a small number of people. The vast majority of Han people were not in the Eight Banners. They were neither bondservants nor bannermen. If they wanted to climb up, apart from those crooked ways, there was basically only one right way, which was to take an exam and become an official!"

"Take an exam to become an official?" O'Hara was confused. "Take an exam to become an official? What kind of backward system is this?"

Father Tupolev had spent some time in Beijing and knew the civil service examination system, so he explained: "The Chinese examination for becoming an official is similar to our Russian Orthodox seminary, which provides a way out for children of ordinary people."

"What's the way out?" Xianfeng waved his hands vigorously. "Only more than 200 Jinshi candidates were selected in three years. How many people in the country want to study and make progress?" He counted on his fingers to tell the foreigner, "In the early years of Xianfeng, the number of Han people exceeded 400 million! Only more than 200 Jinshi candidates were selected in three years, an average of only a few dozen per year."

Prince Vasily thought, "It is indeed a slim hope."

"More than hopeless," Xianfeng sighed, "the spirits of those poor scholars who failed the exam have been lifted again. After failing the exam, most of them are unwilling to work hard and complain all day long. Many of them even have ulterior motives. Isn't Hong Xiuquan such a failed student?"

He suddenly lowered his voice: "But if there is a way to raise the flag, it will be different. The flag can be raised step by step! So our Eight Banners of America must include Indians, blacks, and Mexicans. No matter how lowly the slaves are, they must be given the idea of ​​raising the flag. For example, if you start as a bondservant slave of the Black Banner, if you are a good slave, maybe you can be promoted to a young master of the Black Banner. Then if you work harder, maybe you can be promoted from the Black Banner to the Bordered Black Banner."

"Raise the Bordered Black Banner?" O'Hara didn't understand. "Is this Bordered Black Banner higher than the Plain Black Banner?"

"Of course, isn't the Bordered Black as black as the Pure Black!" Xianfeng laughed, "Isn't America white supremacist? The highest is the Plain White Flag, then the Bordered White Flag, and below is the Bordered Yellow Flag, which are the top three flags. Next are the Pure Yellow, Bordered Red, Bordered Black, Pure Red, and Pure Black, which are the bottom five flags. The Pure Red and Pure Black correspond to Indians and blacks respectively. When going up, the Pure Black rises to the Bordered Black, and the Pure Red rises to the Bordered Red. Then the Bordered Black and Bordered Red rise to the Plain Yellow Flag again."

As Scarlett O'Hara came over with a tray of freshly picked grapes, she heard her father yelling, "Let the niggers carry the flag? That's my cotton field."

"Father!" the green-eyed Southern beauty asked curiously, "What does it mean when a nigger raises the flag?"

Without waiting for O'Hara to explain, Xianfeng said to Scarlett, "Scarlett, go get Zeng Ke!"

The black slave butler of the O'Hara family soon stood in front of Xianfeng and Master O'Hara with his hands down. Xianfeng squinted his eyes and looked at the tall and strong black man who always looked at Scarlett with lustful eyes: "Zeng Ke, I heard that you are in charge of twenty black slaves for Master O?"

"To answer your question, sir, thirty-seven," Zeng Ke replied.

Prince Vasily asked: "Can you read?"

"Some," answered Zenk. "Miss taught me to read and write."

Xianfeng, however, smiled and approached Zeng Ke: "Zeng Ke, let me ask you, do you want to be a white master?"

The black butler's Adam's apple rolled violently, and the moonlight condensed into beads of sweat on his shiny forehead.

"Being a white master?" Zeng Ke suddenly looked up, puzzled, "But I am black! Can a person's skin color change?"

When talking about "changing skin color", Zeng Ke's voice trembled a little.

The idea is obvious!

"That's right!" Xianfeng patted Zeng Ke on the shoulder, "If you don't want to be a slave of a white master, you are not a good slave!"

"Bishop," Zeng Ke knelt down before Xianfeng, "Miss Scarlett said you know magic. Can you turn me into a white man?"

"You nigger are daydreaming again." Master O'Hara was about to grab the whip, but was held back by the iron-like hand of Vasily, the "King of Conscience of Russia."

Xianfeng smiled so much that his pockmarked face was shining: "Your skin can never become white, but your status can be promoted step by step from a black slave to a white master! As long as the United States implements the Eight Banners system, and as long as you are promoted to a white master--" he deliberately dragged out the tone, "you can marry a white wife as beautiful as Miss Scarlett!"

"Zhao Si!" O'Hara roared, "What are you talking about?" Father Tupolev crossed himself and said, "Leviticus says you cannot sleep with animals."

The Russian conscience kept shaking his head - even the Russian conscience found this a little hard to accept.

Xianfeng ignored these racists and just stared at them and asked, "Zeng Ke, do you want to tell the truth?"

"Yes!" Zeng Ke answered through gritted teeth, but his eyes were focused on the naive Scarlett.
Xianfeng continued to ask: "What about the other black slaves in the O'Hara family? Do they want to be white masters?"

"I do! Of course I do!" Zeng Ke's eyes were burning, "But..."

But there is no way!
Xianfeng patted Zeng Ke on the shoulder and said, "You are right. Since ancient times, there has been no slave who did not want to be a master! The superiority of the Eight Banners system is that it provides slaves with a way to become a master, and there are many levels to be promoted from slave to master. It is difficult to be a master, but there are many opportunities to be a junior master or a senior slave!"

"Bishop Zhao, are you telling the truth?" Zeng Ke was already impatient, "How can I become a white master?"

Xianfeng raised his thumb and said with a smile, "Good boy! If you have ambition, I will plan something for you. If the American Eight Banners System starts tomorrow, you can be promoted for merit. For example, I will give you a black flag banner, carry a musket and fight hard in the battlefield - kill three poor northerners and you will be rewarded with a black flag! Do you want to do it?"

"Bishop Zhao!" Master O'Hara dropped his cigar into his whiskey glass. "You want the niggers to have guns? What if they turn around and rebel?"

"No!" Xianfeng waved his hand. "The North can only give black slaves freedom, but not a future. It is even more impossible for them to be promoted to become white people!"

Zeng Ke nodded: "Yes, yes, I want to be white, I want to be a master!"

"You have ambition, good job!" Xianfeng slapped his thigh and turned to O'Hara and said, "Freedom is precious to the black bannermen in America, but what they want most is to become white!" He counted on his fingers and told everyone, "If a bannerman kills three Yankees, we will raise the black banner freemen. If we kill three more, we will raise the black banner. If we kill twelve," the pockmarked face approached Zeng Ke, "you can wear the white banner uniform and go shopping in the Charleston department store with Spanish girls!"

Scarlett suddenly sneered and said with a smile: "If Zeng Ke really becomes the master of the Bordered White Banner, I'm afraid he will marry a Mexican bitch to piss me off?"

The black butler's Adam's apple moved, and his eyes were focused on Scarlett. "I have killed twelve people. If I kill three more, I will be the Zhengbai Banner!"

"Miss Scarlett, you're joking." Zeng Ke suddenly replied in an extremely serious tone, "If I can really raise the banner, I only hope to marry a lady who can read and write." He lowered his eyes and stared at Scarlett's white skirt, "Preferably. Green eyes."

There was a sudden silence, and then Master O'Hara's Colt wheel was on Zenk's temple: "Son of a bitch."

Xianfeng quickly moved Master O'Hara's revolver away with his hand: "Gerald, think about it carefully. If those poor northerners who were tricked by Lincoln into going to the battlefield found that the black slaves they wanted to liberate were shooting at them with muskets, think about it, who would fight for Lincoln and the factory owners behind Lincoln? With the introduction of the American Eight Banners System, is the South closer to victory? As for killing twelve poor northern soldiers, hehe, how can it be that easy? In order to meet the target of 10,000 black slaves, at least 120,000 people in the North would have to die! Before they die, the war will have ended with a great victory for the South!"

Ah. So that's it!

O'Hara, Vasily, and Tupolev all suddenly realized what was going on. At the same time, they had the same thought in their minds: Damn it, you Chinese are really bad. How could you cheat black slaves like this? Don't you feel guilty?

Zeng Ke had an extremely disappointed expression on his face, but Xianfeng patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Zeng Ke, don't worry, a good scam always requires some capital, and you are the one who got the capital! Only when you and some other 'black warriors' succeed in raising the flag, other blacks will continue to fight for the Eight Banners System of America!"

Now even Scarlett looked at Xianfeng in a different light. This man was really, really, really bad!
At this time, Russia's conscientious king Vasily suddenly sighed: "Bishop Zhao, if I had known you earlier, I would have suggested to His Majesty the Tsar to implement the Eight Banners system in Russia! This is obviously much better than directly abolishing serfdom!"

Tupolev on the side shook his head gently: It's useless to know it earlier. How could Emperor Xianfeng be so bad? If he was so bad, the Qing Dynasty would not have perished. It seems that he learned bad things in heaven, and I don't know who he learned it from? It must not be God and Jesus, but those Catholic saints. The Pope dares to confer titles on anyone!

O'Hara seemed to have regained his composure at this time. He said to Emperor Xianfeng, "Bishop Zhao, your idea sounds good, but it may not be easy to get Congress to agree!"

Xianfeng lit another cigar, took a puff and said, "They will agree. If they don't agree, they will die!"

(End of this chapter)