The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 769 As long as France can turn red, everything will be fine! (asking for monthly tickets)
One morning in midsummer of the thirteenth year of the Tianli calendar.

Feng Yunshan sat in a four-wheeled carriage, the curtains half rolled up, hot wind wrapped in the hustle and bustle of the market poured in. The carriage rolled over the Wende Bridge, and the wooden wheels made a dull sound on the stone slabs. The Qinhuai River water under the bridge was languid from the sun, reflecting the restaurants and shops lined up on both sides of the river - red lanterns were hung under the eaves, and open boats carrying goods were moored along the shore, loaded with all kinds of goods transported along the Jiangnan water network and the Wanli River. It was really a dazzling array!

“Tanghulu.”

“Newly arrived Cantonese embroidery round fan”

The hawkers' shouts rose one after another.

Porters in short coats carrying sacks staggered by, their clothes soaked with sweat; merchants wearing melon-shaped hats waved folding fans, followed by servants holding account books. Farther away, several holy soldiers in new gray cloth uniforms squatted by a tea stall, drinking sour plum soup from rough bowls, and polishing the Tianli rifles on their shoulders.

Feng Yunshan's eyes swept under the bridge. A three-story pleasure boat was breaking through the water, the hull was painted red, and the sound of stringed instruments floated out of the carved windows. Two singing girls with high buns leaned against the railing and laughed softly, and the gold bracelets under their silk sleeves were dazzling. Feng Yunshan couldn't help frowning when he saw them. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom openly did not allow "customs industry", but in the past two years, with the prosperity of various industries, the kingdom began to see the polarization of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. This "customs industry" gradually became uncontrollable!

What made Feng Yunshan even more worried was that most of the high-class singing girls and dancers in Tianjing City served the increasingly wealthy nobles in the Heavenly Kingdom, and this three-story pleasure boat was swaying on the Qinhuai River in broad daylight, and the person riding inside was probably a very impressive figure!

"Stop the car." Feng Yunshan suddenly coughed. The guard leader Feng Xiuying beside the carriage - the orphan he adopted in Guiping ten years ago, now the leader of the female battalion of the True Covenant Knights - immediately reined in his horse and moved closer.

"Foster father, it's the pleasure boat of Prince Yu's mansion." Feng Xiuying lowered her voice, "Looking at the flag, it should be Prince Hu Yu and his beauties sailing on the river."

Feng Yunshan tapped his fingers on his knees and gritted his teeth. Hu Wansheng, the legitimate son of Prince Yu Hu Yihuang, now holds the title of Grand Master of the True Covenant Knights, but rarely sets foot in the government office located on the west side of the True Covenant headquarters. The government office was originally allocated by Luo Yaoguo to the military cult jointly established by the True Covenant and the General Staff, and the cult was responsible for the protection of overseas cults.

"The work of the Grand Knights is not as important as the debauchery of Qinhuai River?" Feng Yunshan sneered. He remembered what Luo Yaoguo said in the Prime Minister's Office yesterday: "The second and third generations of the Kingdom of Heaven are growing up. They either go to the Zhenyue School to learn to perform shaman dances, or go to the Navy and Army School to learn to lead troops in battle... Of course, there are many who are capable, but there are also many who are overconfident and have bad tempers. If they stay in the country, they will become Eight Banners children sooner or later!"

Feng Xiuying curled her lips: "Prince Hu Yu was a playboy when he was young, how could he bear the boredom of the government office? Last month, he even forced a singing girl outside Jubao Gate to marry him..."

"Take my token." Feng Yunshan suddenly threw out an ebony tablet from his sleeve, engraved with the words "Heavenly Father's True Covenant", "Tell him to meet me at the main altar at 3:30 pm."

The carriage continued to move forward and turned into Gongyuan Street. It was even more noisy here than on the bridge - mules and horses were crowded together, and the smell of feces and urine mixed with the smell of burning fried dried tofu; next to the silk and satin shop was a pawnshop, and an old farmer in patched clothes was trembling as he handed over a cotton jacket; several patrolmen wearing red scarves and holding water and fire sticks kicked away the lame old man who was kneeling on the ground begging: "The Holy Treasury has a porridge factory, don't dare to tarnish the dignity of the Celestial Empire again!"

Feng Yunshan closed the window. Ice cubes were placed inside the carriage to cool down the environment. Soon, water condensed on the glass, blurring the bright light outside. He remembered that when Tianjing was conquered ten years ago, this street had been the execution ground for junior Manchu bannermen. The blood had dyed the entire street red. Now, a new generation of bannermen was about to emerge.

Luo Yaoguo's words from yesterday came to mind again: "If France loses, Europe will be in chaos. If Karl Tianshi's red flag can be planted on the top of Paris, Britain and Russia will be facing a formidable enemy... By then, Australia and South America will be at our disposal. The Franco-Prussian War will last for another seven or eight years, and now is the time to actively plan."

The wheels suddenly stopped. Feng Yunshan lifted the curtain and looked over. It turned out that a peasant woman who was selling water chestnuts on her shoulder was knocked down by the cavalrymen who cleared the way. The bamboo basket flipped over and the tender water chestnuts rolled into the mud. Feng Xiuying was about to scold him, but Feng Yunshan waved his hand, took out a silver dollar and threw it over. The peasant woman did not dare to take it and just kowtowed: "My lord, spare my life! I will get out of here right now..."

When the carriage started again, Feng Yunshan caught a glimpse of a group of ragged children squatting at the entrance of the alley. They were carrying their schoolbags and going to school, running and singing nursery rhymes.

At 2:00 pm, Feng Yunshan's carriage stopped in front of the Panlong Screen Wall of the Zhenyue Sect's main altar. As soon as he got off the carriage, he heard the sound of galloping horses - Hu Wansheng was riding a Western Region Ferghana horse, with half of the Zhenyue School's standard sword exposed under his brocade robe.

"Master, please forgive me!" Hu Wansheng dismounted, and Feng Xiuying frowned at the smell of alcohol. "I am currently inspecting the defense of the river..."

"The inspector went to the pleasure boat?" Feng Yunshan stared at the mandarin duck jade pendant dangling from his waist - it looked like a good thing. Ten years ago, many Eight Banners children who were slaughtered also had these pieces hanging on their belts. He suddenly said in a stern voice: "When your father Hu Yihuang and I started the uprising in Jintian, we slept on straw piles and ate sweet potato porridge! Your father even pawned his ancestral jade pendant to raise military pay! Now you are so good, taking the salary of the Celestial Empire and learning the ways of the Qing demons!" Hu Wansheng's face turned pale, and his knees softened as he knelt on the bluestone slab.

Feng Yunshan stood with his hands behind his back, his voice as deep as thunder: "What does the Great Knights of Zhenyue do? They are the swords that guard the four directions for the Heavenly Father! But what are you doing? You are riding a pleasure boat to cruise Qinhuai River so early in the morning. Your three-story pleasure boat must be recognized by everyone on the Qinhuai River, right?"

Hu Wansheng just rested his forehead on the ground, not daring to say a word.

However, Feng Yunshan only scolded Hu Wansheng and could not give him any other punishment - Hu Wansheng was the son of Hu Yihuang and had inherited the title of Prince of Yu. Although he was not one of the "gods", he was also the second-rank figure in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

More importantly, this Hu Wansheng is Feng Yunshan's man! His father Hu Yihuang followed Feng Yunshan, and after Hu Yihuang died, Hu Wansheng took over and followed Feng Yunshan. Could Feng Yunshan really propose to remove Hu Wansheng's title at the meeting of kings? Moreover, this Hu Wansheng did not do anything too outrageous, he was not greedy or occupied (the Grand Knights were a low-income government office, and under Feng Yunshan's nose, there was no room for greed), and it was not excessive for him to spend his father's inheritance and the prince's salary!
Feng Yunshan suddenly remembered Luo Yaoguo's last whisper yesterday: "We have to lay the foundation for the layout of seven or eight years from now. If France wins, the second generation of my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will have a bigger stage than the Qinhuai River."

This makes sense!

What else could Hu Wansheng do if he didn't stroll along the Qinhuai River? Was he just sitting there in the yamen of the Grand Knights trying to gain experience? This is also what the Eight Banners children do!

He suddenly stopped talking, swung his sleeves and said, "Come with me to see the Prime Minister tomorrow, and I'll give you a job where you can get things done."

At the same time, Luo Yaoguo was reviewing documents in the East Flower Hall of the Prime Minister's Office. The shadows of bamboos swaying outside the window made the bronze globe on the desk flicker.

"Prime Minister" floated in with a soft Wu dialect. Secretary Cheng Lingnan came in gracefully holding a tea tray, and a pair of white and tender long legs were faintly visible in the slit of her apricot-colored long skirt. She gently put down the teacup, and her fingertips "accidentally" brushed across the back of Luo Yaoguo's hand: "A secret message from Huang Shiren of California Zhenyue Bank."

Luo Yaoguo raised his eyebrows and took the telegram. Cheng Lingnan leaned over, her hair brushing his earlobe: "President Huang's telegram said that Grant's remaining Northern Army has retreated to St. Louis, with more than half of them killed. If Lincoln can't turn the tables before next year's election..." She suddenly chuckled, "He suggested that Xianfeng change sides before the vote, and at the same time let the French smuggle barbed wire to the Southern Army through Mexico."

The content of the telegram is as follows: June 1864, the th year of the Tianli calendar, a secret telegram from New York. Grant's army retreated to St. Louis, losing more than half of its soldiers and generals, and no longer has the strength to fight again. The Lincoln government is shaken by the people's hearts. If it cannot reverse the decline before the election in the Jiazi year (), it may suffer a disastrous defeat. My humble opinion: Zhao Si can surrender to the Northern Army before the election, which will definitely be able to exchange for the best conditions. In addition, please ask the second county lord Feng to mobilize France to continue to provide military aid to the South, and let its Mexican garrison smuggle new guns, barbed wire and other items to the southern United States to help the Southern Army prolong the war.

Luo Yaoguo's fingertips lightly stroked the three words "barbed wire" - in the original history, this thing would not appear on the battlefield until the Boer War, and would truly show its power in a battle, but now, because of his "forcing things to happen", it has appeared on the battlefield decades earlier!
If the combination of barbed wire and Gatling guns could have prolonged the American Civil War for a few more years, the French and Prussian armies in Europe would probably have learned this tactic as well, right?

This Franco-Prussian War might reveal some surprises!

If the losses of both sides in the Franco-Prussian War were several times greater, Karl and his comrades would probably have more opportunities. As long as France can turn red, everything will be fine.
Luo Yaoguo pondered for a moment, then said to Cheng Lingnan: "Bring me some paper and pen, and I'll tell you to write." After the pen and ink were ready, he thought for a moment and dictated:

"On June 24, the 13th year of the Tianli calendar, the Prime Minister's Office sent a secret telegram to Prince Consort Nan Yi Jin: 1. Have your troops reached Colorado? How many blacks and Americans are under your command? 2. Can you actually control Colorado, New Mexico, and Idaho? How many guns and food are needed? 3. How much combat power does the Confederate Army still have? After Grant's remnants retreat to St. Louis, will the Confederate Army have enough strength to counterattack? 4. If I order your troops to defect before the election in the Jiazi year, what conditions are required? This matter is of great importance, please tell me the truth. Prime Minister Luo Yaoguo."

Cheng Lingnan wrote quickly, his beautiful handwriting spreading out on the telegram paper. Luo Yaoguo looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside the window and suddenly added: "One more sentence: 'Tianjing has prepared 3,000 bundles of barbed wire, which will be transported to you via Mexico soon.'"

He tapped the table with his fingertips and thought: If the war in North America could be dragged on for two years longer than in history, the situation in Europe would be very tense, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's layout on both sides of the Pacific would be more perfect.

(End of this chapter)