The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 783 Rebellion, we are professionals! (Please give me a monthly ticket, double the amount on the last day!)
London was still foggy in the morning. A horse-drawn cab rolled over the wet cobblestones of South Kensington. In the carriage, Ma Baocai whispered in Hunan Mandarin: "Wansheng, the revolutionaries in Europe have already agreed with our 'Warring States Theory'. We also discussed the situation in Europe together. I think the war between France, Prussia and Austria will be fought within three years!"

Hu Wansheng tightened his woolen coat and unconsciously squeezed the briefcase in his arms: "Chairman Ma, do you think they can really accomplish anything? The armies of the European powers are not comparable to the Qing army!"

Ma Baocai took out a pipe from his pocket, but did not light it. Instead, he frowned and said, "But the revolutionaries in Europe are also better than we were back then. They have factories, railways, and people who understand military affairs. Most importantly, they are currently living in the chaotic world of the Warring States!"

The carriage turned a corner, and the wheels rolled over the puddles, splashing mud. Hu Wansheng looked out the window at the blurry street scene: "But I haven't even fought in a war, I just followed the troops a few times."

"But you graduated from the Army Officers School and the Army University!" Ma Baocai interrupted him, "Rebellion requires not only the ability to shoot, but also the ability to use your brain. Look at that Karl and Friedrich, aren't they also scholars?" He paused, "Have you prepared the plan?"

Hu Wansheng nodded and patted his briefcase: "I have prepared the plan. I just don't know if these European comrades can accept our method."

Bai Siwen's mansion was hidden among the mansions in South Kensington - it didn't look like a place where there would be a revolution. Ma Baocai didn't let the carriage stop directly in front of Bai's house, but got off the carriage from a distance and took Hu Wansheng around two streets before stopping in front of a red brick house. He raised his hand and knocked on the black door three times, paused, and knocked twice more.

The door opened a crack, and Bai Siwen's face appeared: "You're just in time, they just arrived." He invited the two visitors into the room, closed the door, and said, "Come with me, they are all in the study."

The study was on the third floor. When Hu Wansheng followed him upstairs, he heard a fierce quarrel coming from upstairs. He pushed the door open and saw a bearded Russian slamming the table and shouting, "What secret work! Revolution must be aboveboard!"

"Mr. Bakunin, please calm down." A gray-haired Frenchman said in English, "Aren't the lessons of 1848 enough?"

The room was filled with smoke, and Hu Wansheng coughed. Everyone turned around. Bai Siwen quickly introduced: "This is Mr. Hu Wansheng, the son of General Hu Yihuang of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, who participated in the Jintian Uprising. This is Mr. Moore, Mr. Friedrich, Mr. Bakunin, and Mr. Varlan from France."

Bakunin looked Hu Wansheng up and down: "So young? Did you really participate in the Jintian Uprising?"

Ma Baocai stepped forward and said, "When the Jintian Uprising broke out, men, women, old and young all went to the battlefield. All children as young as ten years old had to join the Boy Scouts. Wansheng was a boy soldier and followed the team from Guangxi to Tianjing."

In fact, Hu Wansheng had never been to the battlefield. After all, his father was Hu Yihuang, who was also considered the "original shareholder" of Heavenly Kingdom.

"There are also teenagers fighting in Poland now." Hu Wansheng quickly changed the subject.

"Humph!" Bakunin sneered, "The most revolutionary person in Poland now is the Tsar! He liberated the serfs in Poland and distributed the land. Now those Polish nobles call him Alexander Xiuquan!"

Bai Siwen's study was large and decorated in Chinese style. On a desk were several maps, which were marked with red and blue pencils. Moore asked everyone to sit down: "We are discussing the possible direction of the war between France, Prussia and Austria."

Friedrich, known as the "General," pointed to the map and said, "Prussia's railroad network is twice as dense as France's, so mobilization will be much faster."

"What's even more terrifying is that the French still have a good self-image!" Varlan said in English with a strong French accent, worriedly, "They think that France has a larger population than Prussia and Austria, and they have a Napoleon."

Bakunin sneered, "Napoleon is not very good at fighting, but he is very warlike. France has been fighting wars all these years, which has been wasting national strength! So we think that unless France can unite with Austria to fight Prussia, there is a high possibility that France will be defeated!"

Moore added: "The French people, especially the people of Paris, have a long revolutionary tradition. Once Napoleon III is defeated, his empire is likely to be overthrown by the uprising of the people of Paris. This is our opportunity, we think."

"Wait a moment," Hu Wansheng suddenly interrupted, "Have you discussed this matter publicly at the International Workingmen's Association?"

The room suddenly fell silent. Ma Baocai smiled and said, "How can we discuss this publicly? No more than ten people know about this now."

"The rebellion must be kept secret!" Hu Wansheng said seriously, "If you don't keep your plans secret, you will suffer. Before the Jintian Uprising, the Qing Dynasty was kept in the dark."

"Well said!" Moore slammed the table. "We suffered the same fate in Cologne in 1848."

Bakunin disagreed: "What kind of revolution is hiding? If you want to do it, do it openly! Only in this way can we mobilize to the greatest extent possible!"

Hu Wansheng glanced at the Russian revolutionary, then opened his briefcase and took out two documents: "I have prepared two plans. One is to set up a 'European Workers' Volunteer Committee' to recruit people who participated in the Polish uprising and send them to the United States to fight and train in the name of supporting the abolition of slavery in the northern United States."

"Another is to set up a trading company and provide barbed wire and multi-barreled guns to the North in exchange for their oil and wheat. This will not only make money to support the revolution, but also allow us to stockpile supplies."

Bakunin grabbed the document and looked through it: "Let the revolutionaries serve as soldiers for the capitalists? Absurd! The revolution should immediately abolish all state machinery and establish free communes!"

Moore frowned and said, "Comrade Bakunin, your anarchist ideas will only cause the working class to shed blood in vain. Aren't the lessons of the 1848 Revolution enough?"

"That's because they are not resolute enough!" Bakunin stood up excitedly, "Revolution is to completely destroy the old system and immediately establish a free society without government and state!"

Friedrich knocked on the table: "Please be realistic. Without strict organization, nothing can be accomplished." "Organization?" Bakunin said disdainfully, "The revolution should spread freely like wildfire!"

Hu Wansheng and Ma Baocai looked at each other. Ma Baocai cleared his throat and said, "In our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we also used the banner of the God Worshipping Society at the beginning, and established the regime after conquering Yong'an Prefecture. If we had revealed all our ideas at the beginning, I'm afraid no one would dare to follow us!"

French labor leader Varlin agreed: "When the workers in Lyon went on strike last year, they also first used the slogan 'fight for fair wages' and only raised their political demands when the time was right."

Bakunin's beard trembled with anger: "Compromise! All compromise!"

Moore sighed: "Comrade Bakunin, your enthusiasm is worthy of respect, but revolution is not a romantic adventure."

The atmosphere in the room was a little tense. Bai Siwen quickly tried to smooth things over: "Everyone, we are all working towards the same goal. Why don't we first listen to Mr. Hu's detailed plan?"

Hu Wansheng unfolded his plan: "First, the Volunteer Committee can..."

"I am against any form of military organization!" Bakunin interrupted again, "The revolution should rely on the spontaneous arming of the people!"

Friedrich could not help but retort: ​​"Spontaneous? Like the workers in Paris in 1848, holding shotguns against the regular army? Bakunin, you are sending the working class to their deaths!"

"That's better than you bookish revolutionaries!" Bakunin slammed the table and stood up. "When I was exiled in Siberia, I saw with my own eyes the peasants' spontaneous resistance!"

Moore said calmly: "And then? They were slaughtered like wheat by the Tsar's army."

"Mr. Bakunin," Ma Baocai said in a slow tone, "Have you ever been to China?"

Bakunin was stunned for a moment: "No."

"I saw the Tiandihui uprising in Hunan," said Ma Baocai. "They were very brave, but they had no organization and were quickly suppressed. Later, the Taiping uprising was successful because it had organization and discipline."

Varlan nodded in agreement: "The Polish uprisings continued one after another, but they always failed. The reason is also the lack of organization. The insurgents often fought on their own."

Bakunin clenched and unclenched his fists. "So how do you say we should organize? Should we have iron discipline like the Prussians?"

"Of course not," Moore said. "It's both disciplined and respectful of working people."

The debate lasted for two hours. Bakunin sometimes argued fiercely and sometimes remained silent. Hu Wansheng observed that whenever the Russian revolutionary talked about the specific experience of workers' struggle, a sharp light would flash in his eyes.

Near noon, Bakunin finally sighed and said, "Well, I will reserve my opinion for now, but I am willing to go to Poland in person to recruit volunteers."

Moore smiled with relief: "Okay, this is a pragmatic decision."

Friedrich added: "But remember the principle of confidentiality. We cannot reveal our ultimate goal too early."

"I know, I know," Bakunin waved his hand impatiently, "You Germans are just too rigid. In fact, I am still an official of Grand Duchess Natalia's Alaska State!"

It turns out that he is very flexible about the principle of confidentiality. Since it concerns his own safety, the secret must be kept!

The Frenchman Varlin expressed his willingness to assist Bakunin: "I also have friends in Poland who can go with you."

Bai Siwen suggested at the right time: "Then I will be in charge of the trading company. I am currently engaged in trade with the United States and have set up a warehouse in Liverpool."

His current trade with the United States is mainly with the slave owners in the South, and it was Xianfeng who helped to make the connection. But for the sake of revolution, he can also do business with the North at the same time. Revolution requires flexibility!
It was already afternoon when the meeting ended. When he walked out of Bai Siwen's house, the fog in London had dissipated. Hu Wansheng took a deep breath of fresh air and finally felt like he had done something big.

"Chairman Ma, where are we going next?" Hu Wansheng asked Ma Baocai beside him.

"Let's go back to the embassy first and then go to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen." Ma Baocai said leisurely, "What we did in Europe cannot be completely hidden from the British. We must have a cover, and intervening in the American Civil War and supporting Americans in killing each other is our cover."

(End of this chapter)