The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 774: Neither Holy, nor Tang, nor an Empire
Li Hongzhang and Mathilde looked at each other, and then followed Feng Guifen down the city wall. Hundreds of cuirassiers known as the Jinwu Guards were guarding the tower. The Jinwu Guards were all blond and blue-eyed men, all of whom were the "foreign legion" that Mathilde had arranged. At this moment, they all stood up straight, wearing gold-plated breastplates, with Russian-made M1856 rifles slung over their shoulders, and puffs of white air were emitted from the nostrils of their Central Asian horses.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, have arrived!"

The shouts of the "golden-haired Jinwu Guards" spread out. On both sides of the city streets, people knelt down in huge numbers. The fox furs of merchants from Shaanxi and Gansu rubbed against the bluestone slabs, and the turbans of Hui people from the Western Regions hung to the ground. The old soldiers of the Hunan, Huai, and Shandong armies pressed their swords on their knees, and the red tassels on the handles trembled like candles in the wind. The Confucian scholars of the orthodox religions, wearing straight robes and carrying long swords, performed the ritual of bowing, with their wide long sleeves hanging directly to the ground.

Li Hongzhang and Mathilde rode on horseback under the protection of the "Golden Guards" through the crowded streets of Suiye and soon arrived at the Grand Council Hall in the center of the city.

The so-called Council Hall is actually a huge building similar to the Hakka Tulou, with tall and thick round walls that withstand the cold wind and glow with yellow earth color. A 70-80-foot-high Temple of Heaven-style dome is built on the courtyard in the middle of the Tulou, which is quite imposing.

When Li Hongzhang stepped over the half-foot-high bluestone threshold, he found that hundreds of bronze oil lamps had been lit in the hall. In the shadows of the lamps, eighteen red sandalwood armchairs floated, and on each chair sat a great man who was qualified to "vote for the emperor"!
That's right, the new Tang Dynasty that was about to open was a country that implemented the electoral system - this was the system that Mathilde designed for Li Hongzhang. It consisted of ten military governors, including Zeng Guoquan, Du Han, Luo Zenan, Huang Shijie, Jiang Zhongjun, Li Hanzhang, Yuan Jiasan, Ma Xinyi, Zhang Shusheng, and Pan Dingxin, plus the Secretary of State Kong Fanhao, the Minister of the Court Feng Guifen, the Minister of the Left Guo Songtao, the Minister of the Right Zhou Fu, and four ministers representing the Mingjiao, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, a total of 18 people formed the "Electoral Court". Who will be the emperor of this sacred Tang Empire, these 18 people have to vote. There must be a two-thirds majority, that is, at least 12 votes, to send someone to the throne of the sacred Tang Dynasty.

When Li Hongzhang and Mathilde arrived, all eighteen "electors" stood up from their chairs. Each of them was dressed in red and purple, wearing a black gauze hat and holding a jade sceptre in their hands. They really looked like they were dreaming of returning to the Tang Dynasty.

In addition to the eighteen "electors", there were three hundred councilors in the hall, all dressed in Confucian scholars' clothes - they represented the "three million" people of the Tang Dynasty! Of course, "three million" was just a title, and in reality, there were only one million people who followed Li Hongzhang and others all the way from Shaanxi and Gansu to Suiye City in the Western Regions of Central Asia.

However, this "million-strong nation" and the 100,000 "men with guns" recruited from it are enough to flatten the entire Central Asia - as long as they can get the support of the two superpowers, the Russian Empire and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Your Highness, we respectfully request that the King of Tang take the throne as soon as possible!"

Kong Fanhao's white beard shone silver under the oil lamp, and the hands of the Yansheng Duke holding the jade sceptre were shaking. Behind him, three hundred councilors were kneeling in a sea of ​​blue robes. Li Hongzhang saw Zhou Fu's mouth twitching at a glance - this Shangshu You Pushe and Minister of Revenue must have thought of the empty treasury of the Tang Dynasty's Revenue Department, which was so empty that horses could run on it.
"How can I be so worthy?" Li Hongzhang took a half step back, with a humble look on his face, "Emperor Taizu still has a legitimate son alive."

Zeng Guofan's son Zeng Jize had already gone to France. It was not because he was afraid that Li Hongzhang would harm him, but because he really did not want to take over this mess!

Ten military governors, 100,000 Tang troops, and a million refugees. Whoever wants to take this job can take it! Zeng Jize didn't want to do it anyway. Now he is the Tang ambassador to France. Isn't it fun to be his highness in Paris every day?

Before Li Hongzhang finished speaking, Zeng Guoquan suddenly stood up. This Hunan Army leader was now the "Jiedushi of Dingxi Army" and had 8,000 Hunan Army veterans under his command who were carrying foreign guns and waiting for their salaries.
"Here is the late emperor's will!" Zeng Guoquan pulled out a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve and unfolded it. Zeng Guofan's handwriting was red under the lamplight, "The late emperor's will says that the world does not belong to one family or one surname. The throne should be passed on to a virtuous person. Li Hongzhang, the Grand Protector of Anxi, is known for his benevolence and is deeply loved by the people. He can take the throne."

Mathilde finally showed a satisfied smile. The French princess' dream of becoming a queen was about to come true!

However, Li Hongzhang continued to pretend to be humble and declined three times!

"What virtue and ability does Hongzhang have? He cannot rule the country with his literary talent, nor can he pacify the world with his military skills. Now that the eastern land has been completely lost, the Tang Dynasty only has Anxi left. You should choose another virtuous person to take on the important task!"

Another choice? That won't do! Mathilde's blue eyes swept through the meeting hall. Li Hongzhang was the tallest and strongest man in the hall, and she wouldn't change!
Maybe everyone knows what the Queen of Tang is thinking, the third round of persuasion is coming soon!

Three hundred famous scholars and politicians all knelt before Li Hongzhang, their foreheads banging on the blue bricks, and they shouted in unison: "Please respectfully invite the King of Tang to ascend the throne!"

The orthodox teacher Kong Fanhao burst into tears and cried out: "If the King of Tang does not ascend the throne, the orthodox teachings will perish!"

I don't know which governor even threw his sword to the ground with a clang, crying: "If Your Majesty doesn't become the emperor, what hope do we have, what hope do we have for the orthodox religion?"

Li Hongzhang looked up at the dome, with a look of concern for the country and the people. After a while of worrying, he sighed helplessly: "To protect the holy religion." He looked at Mathilde affectionately again, "I have three things to announce to the world!"

The meeting hall suddenly fell silent.

"First, any succession to the throne of a religious emperor must be discussed by the ten governors, four prime ministers, and three hundred clergymen!" This officially confirmed the emperor selection system of the "Holy Tang"!

"Second, immediately announce the restoration of the Anxi territory of the Tang Dynasty. All the lands in Suiye and Hezhong belong to the Tang Dynasty!"

Is this a formal confirmation of the territory of the Holy Tang Dynasty, or an announcement of who to attack next?
Although the Holy Tang Dynasty today claims to have ten military governorships, the territory it actually controls is only the Chu River Basin in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. The wheat fields and grasslands in this area are the foundation on which millions of people in the Holy Tang Dynasty rely for their livelihood.

But Li Hongzhang and Mathilde's goal was not limited to this. They also wanted to take over the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins and stuff the heart of the sacred Tang Dynasty into the Fergana Basin - that was the new Guanzhong of the Tang Dynasty!
"Third." Li Hongzhang suddenly turned to Mathilde. The French woman's eyelashes trembled as she heard her husband speak in Chinese, "Set up a university in Suiye, resume the imperial examination, and open two categories: Mingjing and Jinshi! Our Tang Dynasty must establish a country based on orthodox teachings!"

"Long live the emperor."

The three hundred Confucian scholars immediately cheered!
The Tang Dynasty was still Confucian!
Mathilde, with a cross on her chest, also raised her arms and shouted: "Confucius, may the Tang Dynasty be blessed!"

The Holy Tang Dynasty must be blessed by Confucius! Because the national policy that Li Hongzhang and Mathilde set for this country was "conquer Hezhong and lie down to chant scriptures" - this Holy Tang Empire is neither holy, nor Tang, nor an empire.

Because the Holy Tang Dynasty was destined to be unable to achieve industrialization from the very beginning!

In the mid-19th century, for countries doomed to fail in industrialization, the best way out was to lie down, chant sutras, and live a peaceful life without any big pursuits.

Of course, the only scriptures that the Holy Tang Empire can recite are Confucian classics!
"Report!" Just as Li Hongzhang sat on the throne with the support of the crowd, a "golden-haired Jinwu Guard" came over quickly, "The envoy of the Luosha Kingdom brought a letter of congratulations!"

All the distinguished persons in the room were immediately divided into two groups, standing and sitting.

Li Hongzhang and Mathilde were the two emperors who presided over the dynasty and sat on the dragon throne together.

Then a red-bearded Rakshasa walked in with his head held high.

"Lev Baluzek, by order of His Majesty the Tsar," the Russian man spoke in a fast and urgent Russian language, and only Mathilde could understand, "Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty on his ascension to the throne. May God bless His Majesty the Emperor!"

Li Hongzhang took the letter with a smile, looked at it, and handed it to Mathilde.

Mathilde unfolded the letter and read it, then said to Li Hongzhang in Chinese: "Your Majesty the Tsar needs a stable and pro-Russian Central Asia."

"His Majesty the Tsar is willing to help the Tang Dynasty recover its old territory in Central Asia," the Russian envoy said with a condescending tone, "As long as a trade corridor of ten versts is drawn on both sides of the Chu River, the Russian Empire has the right to lay railways on this trade corridor. Moreover, the Tang Empire cannot allow any country other than the Russian Empire to build railways on its territory!"

The Holy Tang Dynasty had just opened, and the unequal treaty with Russia came!

In fact, Li Hongzhang had already signed an unequal treaty when he visited Russia before! But Alexander II obviously felt that it was not enough, and he had to continue to strengthen Li Hongzhang, so he came up with a "railway monopoly" and a "trade corridor" - this was to monopolize the trade route and railway that passed through the Kazakh steppe to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Li Hongzhang was thinking about how many rubles he should ask the Russians for this time. He had to sell the country, but the question was how much it was worth. To pacify the "homeland in the river", he would probably need a million rubles!
"Report!" Dominic, the commander of the Jinwu Guard, walked in quickly, holding a box containing an urgent message from 600 miles away. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Taiping Army delegation has arrived at the Yili Fortress. The leader of the delegation claims to be Weng Tonghe, the deputy governor of the Western Regions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He said..."

The old soldier brought by Mathilde from France glanced at the Russian envoy, and then raised his voice and said: "He told our people that without the consent of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Tang Dynasty must not sign any diplomatic agreement with Russia! Otherwise, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not recognize the neutral and buffer status of the Tang Dynasty in Central Asia! The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army will continue to advance westward!"

(End of this chapter)