The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 759: One Hundred Thousand Black Slaves and One Hundred Thousand Soldiers, the Great and Loyal Minister Zhao Siye

Prince Vasily narrowed his eyes, which were red from the vodka, and looked at the man in front of him who called himself a "loyal subject of America". The conscientious king had a conscience, but conscience did not mean being easily deceived. He always felt that the words of Mr. Zhao Si were mixed with vodka - it smelled strong, tasted hot, and had a strong aftereffect.

Father Tupolev stood aside, twisting the silver cross with his rough fingers, his knuckles white from exertion. This Orthodox priest knew Xianfeng's true colors better than Vasily did - how could a Qing emperor who escaped from "heaven" be loyal? But he couldn't say that. The land of Missouri was still soaked in blood, and the head of the white master was hanging on the belt of the black slave. Who dared to say anything?
Moreover, "Xianfeng came from heaven" is a secret of heaven. It is hard to say whether he "escaped" or was "sent". If he "escaped", he is a "devil", and if he was "sent", he is undoubtedly an "angel". In short, he is not easy to mess with.

"General Zhao," Vasily said, choosing his words carefully, his thick Russian accent making his English sound sticky, "Washington has some concerns about your act of freeing the slaves."

doubt?

The gentlemen in Washington wanted to crucify Zhao Si! The foundation of the Southern Confederacy was white supremacy, black slaves in cotton fields, and the inviolability of state rights. But what did Xianfeng do? He let black slaves hold guns, let white people farm, and stuffed white girls into black slaves' tents! The gentlemen on Capitol Hill were so angry that they smashed their crystal whiskey glasses. If Grant's gun hadn't been pointed at Tennessee, they would have sent troops to suppress this traitor.

Xianfeng slowly spread out his hands and said helplessly: "If I don't free the black slaves, where will my soldiers come from? Grant has 200,000 white soldiers, but Johnston only has 30,000! If I hadn't recruited the Black Flag Army in Missouri, the Northern Army would have reached New Orleans long ago!"

He paused, and suddenly took out a yellowed document from the inner pocket of his military uniform. The wax seal on the parchment was still intact. "Besides, I am acting in accordance with the Confiscation Act of 1861. Article clearly authorizes theater commanders to confiscate the property of rebels." Xianfeng's finger heavily poked at the signature. "President Jefferson Davis signed it personally, and the gentlemen on Capitol Hill stamped it. Now it's just that black people are confiscating white people. How can they become traitors?"

Vasily's Adam's apple rolled. The Tsar sent him to help the Americans develop a progressive serfdom - progressing from slavery to serfdom was also progress, but he was not taught to deal with such a rebellious thing. And serfdom did not stipulate that white people could not be serfs!
Tupolev clenched his cross even tighter - this bill is real! At the beginning of last year, Washington newspapers discussed it, saying that it was a powerful weapon to deal with Northern spies. But who could have thought that one day black slaves would use it to ride on the heads of white people?
The oak wood in the fireplace crackled, and the firelight cast a dancing shadow on Xianfeng's face. He suddenly stood up, and the spurs scraped harshly on the floor. The battle map on the wall was flipped up, revealing another hand-painted troop deployment map - the black arrow went all the way from St. Louis to Memphis.

"Prince, please look," Xianfeng pointed his baton at the Sullivan Farm on the south bank of the Missouri River. "Not counting the Third Black Brigade stationed in Denver, I currently have: 7,200 people in the First Black Division, 8,400 people in the Second Black Division, 3,000 people in the First Black Cavalry Brigade, 2,100 people in the First Red Cavalry Brigade (Indian mixed), and several thousand black coats." The tip of the baton crossed the Tennessee border. "If you let me cross the river, within three months, this number can quadruple to 100,000."

Vasily's blue eyes suddenly shrank. One hundred thousand black soldiers! That was a lot more than the white soldiers along the Mississippi River in the South! But when he saw the supply lines marked on the map, he suddenly realized something: "Your ammunition..."

"Colorado's gold and Nevada's silver can be exchanged for enough guns and cannons from the West Coast," Xianfeng's mouth curled up dangerously, "next month a shipload of Mississippi M1841 rifles will arrive in New Orleans, enough to arm tens of thousands of new soldiers. As for food." He suddenly lifted the curtain with his baton. Outside the window, the black coat was transporting carts of wheat from somewhere unknown. "The plantations in Tennessee are ten times larger than those in Missouri."

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of rapid horse hooves. Zeng Jia Linshu almost fell into the hall, his muddy boots dragging stains on the carpet: "General! The Union Army in St. Louis has moved!"

The express letter he handed over was from the Western Theater Command in the South. Xianfeng took the letter and unfolded it and read it: "Urgent order from the Western Theater Command, April 18623, 4. To General Zhao of the Colorado Army: Scouts report that Grant's Union Army, about 12 people, carrying 48 siege guns, boarded a transport fleet from St. Louis this morning. Its vanguard has arrived in Cairo and is expected to launch an offensive against Memphis within hours. The garrison of Fort Henry has run out of ammunition and the situation is very critical. Now order your troops to move eastward immediately and be sure to arrive in Memphis to set up defenses before the Union Army arrives. Written by General AS Johnston."

Almost at the same time, Tupolev also received a telegram from the accompanying Russian staff. This one was sent by the State Department of the Southern Confederacy: Secret telegram of the State Department of the United States of America, April 1863, 4, to His Royal Highness Prince Vasily: The President and the Cabinet held an emergency meeting and resolved: In view of the imminent threat of Grant's Corps, General Zhao's troops were authorized to cross the river to fight. He was authorized to recruit no more than three black infantry divisions in Tennessee, and the required weapons were to be raised by himself. But it must be made clear: 12. All black officers must not exceed the rank of major; 1. Slaves or serfs owned by white plantation owners must not be confiscated in Tennessee; 2. The treatment of prisoners of war must comply with the Prisoner of War Ordinance of 3. Secretary of State JP Benjamin signed on behalf of the President.

At the same time, the meeting room of the Presidential Palace in New York was filled with smoke. Secretary of War Stanton placed a telegram on the meeting table, and his voice was a little hoarse:
"Our informant just reported that Davis suppressed the voices that wanted to remove Zhao Si from office and ordered him to enter Memphis." He pointed to the curved Mississippi River on the map, "President, General Grant must take Memphis before those black ghost troops!"

Secretary of the Treasury Chase suddenly interrupted and said, "President, has this Zhao Si surrendered to us?"

Lincoln slowly took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets with his rough fingers. The clock on the wall pointed to three o'clock in the morning, and heavy rain was pouring outside the window.

"It seems that he didn't!" Lincoln said in a low voice. "Although he led his army into the southern part of Missouri controlled by the South and liberated the slaves there, he did not clash with the Southern militia in southern Missouri. He also used gold from Colorado and Idaho to compensate the slave owners in southern Missouri. Maybe it wasn't much, but it was more or less respect for private property."

"Then, what about our gold bonds?" Chase said with a trembling voice, "We will issue another batch of gold bonds next month, with an estimated annual interest rate of 6%. We are preparing to sell bonds worth 3000 million pounds, not only in New York, but also in London and Paris. If Zhao Si is still loyal to the South, then these 3000 million pounds of bonds will..." "Block the news first, and you can also spread the word that Zhao Si has accepted the rank and position we have awarded. Make sure that the second round of gold bonds is successfully issued!" The president said in a hoarse voice, "Take Memphis at all costs. If you see a unit flying the black, red and yellow tricolor flag..." He paused, his eyes swept over the Secretary of the Army, "Destroy it first!"

On the Mississippi River before dawn, Xianfeng was tapping his palm with his whip. The outline of Tennessee on the other side was looming in the morning mist, and the first ferry had already set off with the Third Regiment of the Black Army. Zeng Jia Linshu trotted over and handed over the telegram that had just been forwarded from Memphis:
"Master, this is a coded telegram from the New Orleans Cathedral of the True Covenant."

Xianfeng unfolded the telegram paper, on which was a coded telegram: "Brother Zhao, please understand: 1841 Jinhua hams (referring to the M1000 rifled rifle), million peanuts (specified loading), barrels of sugar (referring to gunpowder), large barrels (referring to cannons), and pickled winter melons (referring to shells) have arrived in New Orleans and will be transported to Memphis by barge in the near future. If Memphis cannot be defended, the goods will be temporarily stored in New Orleans, waiting for you to come south to pick them up. The Bishop of New Orleans has informed you."

The river wind suddenly became fierce, and Xianfeng's cloak rustled. He looked to the east, where he could hear the faint sound of artillery - Grant's vanguard had already engaged the defenders of Fort Henry on the opposite bank.

"Pass the order," he suddenly turned around, "tell the First Black Division that the white plantations in Tennessee will now be called 'Wartime Production Cooperatives'." A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, "It's wartime now, everything is for the front line. If the South is defeated, the slave owners in Tennessee will lose everything!"

Lehman Brothers headquarters at 23 Wall Street, New York.

Huang Shiren's fingertips held a telegram sent by New Orleans Bishop Lingli. The code on the telegram had been deciphered - "Zhao Si has arrived in Memphis, the black army will be loyal to the South, and has been allowed to expand the army to 100,000!"

Outside the window, the sounds of carriages and hawking on Wall Street were mixed together, and subscription forms for gold bonds were flying like snowflakes to major banks. But at this moment, Huang Shiren's mouth curled up into a sneer.

"Gentlemen," he turned and said to Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan and British Consul Sir Baring, who were sitting at the long mahogany table, "start selling."

Morgan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses sharp as an eagle: "Sell now? The market is still scrambling for Southern bonds, and the yield has been pushed down to 6.5%."

Huang Shiren pushed the telegram across the table: "But Zhao Si is not here to surrender - he is here to fight the Northern Army!"

Sir Baring frowned, his thick beard trembling slightly: "But the Lincoln government just released the news that Zhao Si has secretly accepted the title of Major General of the Northern Army."

"Lies!" Huang Shiren sneered, "Informants in Memphis saw the black army landing with their own eyes. The flag was black, red and yellow, not the Stars and Stripes of the North!" He pulled open the curtains and pointed to the crowded exchange downstairs, "Look at those people - they are still betting that the South will not survive 1864! But once Zhao Si's black soldiers stand on the side of the South to join the war, Grant will definitely suffer a setback in Memphis!"

The Lehman brothers looked at each other and quickly reached a consensus.

"Notify our brokers," said old Lehman in a deep voice, "to sell all Northern bonds and cotton futures before the close of today, and to sell all railroad company stocks."

Morgan added: "And buy shares of Union arms dealers—Springfield Arsenal, Gatling Company, William Crump & Sons. Take as many as you can."

(End of this chapter)