The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 742 This is the true meaning of Black Lives Matter!
On the Kansas prairie in October 1862, the withered yellow grass waves undulated in the autumn wind, stretching all the way to the horizon!

Xianfeng rode on a pitch-black warhorse, squinting his eyes as he looked at the endless plain in front of him, feeling a little emotional - if such a good grassland were placed in China, it would either be filled with cattle and sheep, or developed into wheat fields. I wonder how many people it could support?

In the United States, this rich land is just left there and wasted. If he were to become the emperor, he would have governed the country to a peaceful and prosperous era, but I don't know what's wrong with those white people?

They actually went into civil war over such a trivial matter as whether to abolish slavery or retain slavery, and how much tariffs to raise. They really have no idea that peace is the most precious thing!

But it’s good this way, as he, the king of a fallen country, can sit at the table and play a few rounds again!
Thinking of this, Xianfeng turned around to take a look at his "black, red and yellow" flag fluttering in the wind on the prairie. It looked quite imposing!

"Report!" A horse came galloping, raising a cloud of dust.

"Little Blackie, go take a look."

Xianfeng withdrew his gaze and gave an order to his "Goshaha" Heidehai.

This Heidehai was an 18-year-old black youth, sturdy and smart looking, a former slave of the O'Hara family. Now he was wearing a brand new blue military uniform and had two Colt revolvers on his waist, looking like a young officer.

"Yes!" Heidehai responded and rode forward, stopped the white scout who was riding a horse, exchanged commands, asked about the situation, and then returned to Xianfeng.

"Say." Xianfeng pulled the reins, and the Arabian horse under his crotch stamped its hooves nervously.

"Spies ahead reported that most of the Topeka defenders were transferred to Kansas City, leaving only the old, weak and sick in the city!" Hedhahai's voice trembled with excitement. "The commander of the state militia took them to join forces with the Yankees from Illinois!"

Xianfeng sneered: "There is such a good thing."

He turned his head and looked behind him - the army of 13,000 people was like a "gray-black python" winding on the Kansas prairie.

Zeng Ke, the "Black Wall" of the First Black Brigade, was riding on his horse, whipping a black soldier who was a little slower in pace - this fierce black general who carried the Plain White Flag was getting better and better at leading troops!
The commander of the Second Black Brigade, Guerjia Yuanbao, shouted loudly, asking the mules and horses of the baggage train to speed up - he was a veteran who had experienced many battles and now looked quite capable.

"Go and call the Black Whirlwind for me." Xianfeng thought for a while and decided to let Tom, the "Black Whirlwind" from the McMullen family, take action.

Soon, Tom came galloping on horseback. This tall and burly black man used to be the bodyguard of McMullen's daughter. Now he is the commander of the First "Black Knight" Cavalry Regiment, leading thousands of "Black Knights" under him, all of whom are brave men on horseback!

"Tom," Xianfeng pointed his whip to the northeast, "bring your most elite battalion, one man with two horses, march quickly, and take Topeka for me."

A trace of ferocity flashed across Tom's dark face: "Do you want to keep him alive, Governor?"

"The state government's treasury and archives must be intact," Xianfeng narrowed his eyes, "as for the rest, it's up to you."

Tom laughed, showing his frighteningly white teeth. He turned his horse and shouted in English, and immediately three hundred black knights separated from the team, each leading a spare horse. Most of them were veterans who had fought with him in the Battle of Manassas, and most of them had already raised two yellow flags.

After this battle, it’s almost time to raise the two white flags.

Thinking of this, Xianfeng rode forward and shouted loudly: "Young men, let the white people in Kansas see how noble their black masters are!"

Tom raised his silver saber, and the words "Gift from Miss McMullen" on the handle flashed in the morning light. Three hundred sharp spears pointed to the sky together, reflecting the dazzling light in the sun. "Black Master's Life is Precious!" They shouted the motto of the "Black Brigade" and the "Black Knights" in unison, and then rushed to the northeast like a black whirlwind.

Xianfeng looked at the cavalry going away, turned around and shouted to the troops behind him: "My black warriors! Come on! Before the reinforcements from the Northerners arrive, let's enter Topeka and make those white masters kneel down and call us masters!"

"Black Master's life is precious!" The roar of more than 10,000 black soldiers shook the ground squirrels on the grassland and fled in all directions. The team's speed increased significantly. The "black bondservants" carrying heavy baggage began to trot, and sweat flowed down their dark backs, but no one dared to slow down - most of them were kidnapped from white plantations when the "Black, Red and Yellow" Corps passed through Missouri on their way back. Because they had not made any meritorious deeds, they were still bondservants of the "Two Black Flags". They were responsible for carrying the work for the "black masters", but those black masters seemed to be more fierce than the white masters!
At dusk, Xianfeng's main force camped 20 miles from Topeka. Just as the smoke from the cooking stove rose, a faint explosion was heard from the northeast. Xianfeng stood outside the tent, looking at the black smoke rising over Topeka, and said to Lin Shu, the deputy corps commander and military judge beside him: "Listening to the noise, Black Whirlwind Tom must have set the state government's gunpowder magazine on fire."

Lin Shu smiled cheerfully, stroked his beard and said, "Master is wise. Those white masters would never have thought that one day they would be trampled under the feet of their own black slaves!"

Xianfeng frowned slightly, as if thinking of his fallen Qing dynasty, and immediately lost interest. So he walked into the tent, spread out the map, and began to plan the route for tomorrow's march.

Outside the tent, the black soldiers gathered around the campfire, discussing how much land they would seize and how many white women they would marry after taking Topeka.

"I want the blonde," said a black soldier with half an ear missing, "the one painted on the wall of the post office."

"Come on," his companion sneered, "that kind of stuff must belong to the superiors. We'll be lucky to get a widow." Farther away, Zeng Ke was giving a speech: "Listen carefully! Topeka is just a small town, there's not much money. After we capture Atchison, Lawrence, and Leavenworth, all the gold, silver, and treasures must be turned over. Women must be examined by the adults first! Then we will distribute them according to merit. Whoever dares to keep it privately," he patted the revolver at his waist, "I'll let him know what the black master's family rules are!"

The soldiers burst into laughter, and someone shouted, "Master Zengke, when can we have our own black slaves?"

Zeng Ke grinned and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Once we conquer Missouri, there will be plenty of black guys to serve as your serfs!"

As the night deepened, the fire in the direction of Topeka became brighter and brighter. Xianfeng stood at the edge of the camp and could vaguely hear screams and gunshots drifting in the wind. He certainly knew what Black Whirlwind Tom was doing. They were doing the good things that the white master had taught them by words and deeds.

In the state capitol in Topeka, Tom's boots were stained with blood as he stepped on the floor of broken glass and documents. His soldiers were rummaging through the offices, piling the cash and bonds they found in the middle of the hall. A well-dressed white man knelt on the ground, shaking all over.

"Please," the white man sobbed, "I am an abolitionist and I have always been against slavery"

Tom grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up. The white man had a neatly trimmed gray beard and expensive gold-rimmed glasses and looked like a teacher or a lawyer.

"Do you know who I am?" Tom slapped the white man's cheek with his saber.

"You are a freed black slave." said the white man tremblingly.

Tom laughed so loudly that the marble walls echoed. "No," he whispered in the white man's ear, "I am a slave owner."

The white man's eyes widened, and before he could react, Tom's saber had cut his throat. Blood splattered on the state seal, staining the golden eagle emblem dark red.

"Take all this away," Tom ordered the soldiers, pointing to the piles of documents and files. "My Lord said these are the deeds to our Black, Red and Yellow Regiment!"

Outside the window, the whole of Topeka was burning. Black soldiers searched house by house, dragged white men to the streets and shot them, and gathered women in the church. A young black soldier ran in excitedly and reported: "Sir! We found more than a hundred black slaves in the basement of the state government!"

Tom frowned. "What nigger?"

"Yes, it's our black compatriots," the soldier said, a little confused, "They are chained."

Tom's face darkened. He strode towards the basement, his boots creaking on the broken glass. In the basement, there was indeed a group of ragged black men and women, staring blankly at the group of fully armed "black masters".

"They are prisoners of war," a white officer who was brought in stammered, "rebels captured from Missouri. General McMullen brought a division into Missouri, so some slave owners there turned against us."

Tom pulled the trigger before he could finish. The officer's brains splattered against the wall.

"Let them go," Tom said to his men, "and then... enlist them in the baggage train."

The soldiers looked at each other and said, "Sir, this is it..."

"It's just the bondservants!" Tom roared, "If black slaves want to carry the flag, they have to be bondservants first!"

The cries of Topeka continued until dawn. The next morning, when Xianfeng's main force entered the city, they saw rows of white bodies piled on the roadside and many shivering white women in the church. Tom stood on the steps of the state government to greet his governor, with mountains of spoils behind him.

"Well done," Xianfeng patted Tom on the shoulder, "From today on, you are also a brigade commander."

Tom was overjoyed and immediately knelt on one knee: "Thank you, Governor!"

Xianfeng walked towards the governor's office, followed by Linshu, Zengke and other confidants. He didn't even blink when he passed the group of newly "recruited" black bondservants. There was also a map of Kansas hanging on the wall of the office, and Xianfeng drew a circle on it with a red pen.

"Pass the order down," he said to Zeng Ke, "All black soldiers who participated in this campaign will be awarded 100 acres of land each. The land in the red circle should be enough to be divided." He paused, "As for the labor for farming, we will have it once we enter Missouri!"

Outside the tent, black soldiers had already started whipping white captives and forcing them to clean up the bodies on the street. A young black soldier excitedly said to his companion: "Man, now I know what it feels like to be a slave owner!"

(End of this chapter)