The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 791 Ah! World Empire!

The smoke of gunpowder temporarily dissipated over the waters of the Bay of Callao, but peace had not yet arrived. On the third day after the Spanish "Invincible" fleet was destroyed once again, the entire Peruvian coastline was shrouded in a calm before a greater storm was about to come.

On the Santa Rosa Battery, a brand new flag was slowly rising - the golden corn ear pattern was particularly eye-catching against the deep red background. This was the national flag of the newly established Inca Kingdom.

The Battle of Callao that just ended was actually the founding battle of the Inca Heavenly Kingdom! However, this founding battle was not fought by the Incas, but by the navy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom across the entire Pacific Ocean. I think this also shows who this country belongs to?
More than 10,000 Inca warriors gathered around the fort, some of them wearing traditional alpaca wool clothes, others wearing military uniforms stripped from the bodies of Spanish soldiers. Most of them were holding cold weapons or outdated muskets. All of them looked up, watching the flag symbolizing the revival of the Inca slowly rise to the top of the flagpole.

"God of the Sun, Hong Tianwang!" Manco Capac, who was supported by Zeng Shuiyuan, stood on a high place and shouted loudly in Quechua, "Three hundred years of darkness are over! The Inca Kingdom is officially established!"

With Manco Capac's call, Hong Xiuquan has now "merged" with the Inca sun god, which also means that the True Covenant sect and the Inca's traditional beliefs have been combined together!
What responded to him was a thunderous roar - the Incas of today are no longer the Incas of three hundred years ago. The sun god and the empire are all smoke and mirrors. They are overjoyed to be able to drive away the Spaniards who have a blood feud with them and are now sucking their blood.

If we can change to a suzerain country that is a little more humane, then we will definitely win!

In the estates across Peru and in the valleys of the Andes, more Inca warriors were coming. They brought their ancestral bronze battle axes, flint spears, and flintlock rifles captured from the Spanish colonial army. Although these weapons were simple, they were enough to scare the white colonists in Lima in the hands of the avengers.

At the same time, in the port of Paracas near the Chincha Islands, 20,000 Chinese workers who had landed from the Chincha Islands on armed merchant ships "supported" by Chinese in California had been organized and armed by the True Covenant people. They raised the corn cross flag of the "Inca Heavenly Kingdom" and marched towards the city of Lima in a mighty manner.

In the port of Callao, five warships of the Pacific Fleet of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were anchored at the dock. The bow ram of the Xi'an still had armor fragments of the Numancia hanging on it. Although the surface of this light-loaded 5200-ton ironclad ship was scarred, it was still majestic. Next to it was the captured Spanish steam transport ship Queen Isabella, and two sailing battleships, the San Juan and the San Jose.

Ding Ruchang stood in the command tower of the Xi'an, using a telescope to observe the fortifications of Lima in the distance. People were coming and going on the city wall, and it was unknown whether it was the white Peruvian masters who were setting up defenses.
"Report to the Admiral," a messenger ran over and saluted, "Bishop Ma of the Inca Kingdom has requested to board the ship. He brought a commendation order from Tianjing!"

In the Governor's Palace in Lima, Peruvian President Pezzet slumped in an armchair, his cigar long gone. The air in the office was suffocating, with only the ticking sound of the wall clock.

Minister of War Galvez looked around nervously, his collar soaked with sweat. "We are finished," he muttered to himself, "Without the fleet, we have no foreign aid. How can we defend Lima with only tens of thousands of white people?"

Spanish ambassador Pareja kept making the sign of the cross and moving his lips in prayer. This once arrogant diplomat now looked as pale as a dead person.

The Spanish Armada is gone, never again!
After the news reached Madrid, Isabella II probably needed to consider how to suppress domestic dissatisfaction - the revolutionaries in the country would not say that the French warships were poorly built, which led to the disastrous defeat in the Bay of Callao. They would only put all the blame on the Bourbon dynasty, as if as long as the flag of the Republic was raised, Spain would become great again!

So. Lima is finished!

Suddenly, the door of the office was pushed open, and James Bruce, the British Minister to Peru, strode in. His shiny leather shoes made a crisp sound on the marble floor, and he knocked hard on the marble with the walking stick in his hand.

"Gentlemen," Bruce took off his hat and smiled meaningfully, "The British Empire's American fleet is on its way."

Pezzet stood up suddenly, "Really? God bless you!" His voice trembled with excitement.

Bruce raised a finger to signal him to calm down. "The four ironclad ships, Warrior, King's Wife, Defence, and Royal Oak, and twelve other steam warships, will arrive at Callao Bay in ten days."

Galvez rushed to the window and pointed at the Corn Cross flag flying on the Santa Rosa Fort in the distance: "Ten days? Those barbarians may attack the city tomorrow!"

Bruce adjusted his tie indifferently: "That's your problem. The British Empire will not stand up for the dead." He put on his hat, turned around and left, adding: "By the way, if Lima falls, Her Majesty the Queen will treat you as dead!"

London, Buckingham Palace's Blue Room. Queen Victoria is admiring a newly arrived set of Japanese lacquerware - a gift from Yang Xiuqing to the Korean Heavenly Kingdom's ambassador to the UK, Okubo Toshimichi. The sunlight shines through the French windows onto her dark brown hair, making her look particularly elegant and luxurious.

Suddenly, Prime Minister Palmerston, Foreign Secretary Russell and Admiralty Lord Somerset hurried in. Their faces were as solemn as the foggy weather in London, and they didn't even care about the most basic etiquette.

"Your Majesty," Viscount Palmerston, who was nearly 80 years old, took off his hat and handed over a telegram, "Report on the battle in the Gulf of Callao." The queen took the telegram and slowly raised a gloating smile on her face: "The French-built 'Numancia' sank? Ha! I was talking about the craftsmanship of those French guys."

Her laughter died down as she noticed that the three ministers' expressions had not relaxed in the least. Prince Albert came over from the globe and coughed lightly.

"My dear," the prince's voice was very soft, but every word hit the queen's heart like a hammer, "the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is now a world empire."

"World Empire?" The Queen frowned. "Is it the same as our Empire on which the Sun Never Sets?"

Palmerston cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, according to our definition, a world empire must meet three conditions. First, it must be vast, spanning 180 degrees of longitude from east to west. In other words, it must cover half of the globe. Second, it must establish a hierarchical order with itself at the core, with numerous dependent countries or colonies. Third, it must be able to formulate and maintain international rules."

Foreign Secretary Russell added: "From Lake Balkhash to the Andes, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has covered at least 160 degrees of longitude. Considering their large population and vast homeland, they have reached the standard in terms of territory. They have established the True Covenant Alliance in the Pacific. A large number of small countries including the Inca Heavenly Kingdom, Hawaiian Heavenly Kingdom, Java Heavenly Kingdom, and the Principality of Alaska have all regarded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as their leader, and have turned the west coast of the United States into their semi-colony."

The Queen's fingers tapped the table unconsciously. "So?"

The Minister of the Navy, Somerset, said solemnly: "Your Majesty, if we do not prevent them from controlling the entire Pacific Ocean, they will threaten Australia next, and then India."

The Queen stood up suddenly, her skirt sweeping over the footstool. She walked quickly to the globe and pressed her slender fingers hard on Peru.

"Where is my American fleet?" asked the Queen.

“It should have reached Chile.”

"Send a telegram and ask the Warrior to tell the Chinese," the Queen's voice was as cold as ice, "who is the master of the sea!"

"Your Majesty, are we going to go to war?" asked the Secretary of the Admiralty.

Victoria looked at her husband, and Albert shook his head gently: "It's still negotiable! Unless we get the support of most Europeans, otherwise..."

Ten days later, dense columns of smoke appeared on the horizon of the Bay of Callao. The sixteen warships of the British American Fleet formed a battle formation and slowly approached.

On the bridge of the Warrior, Admiral Clarence Hope held up a telescope and carefully observed the situation in Callao Bay. Although the Xi'an was scarred, its guns were still pointed at the British ship stubbornly.

"Oh my God," Hope put down the telescope and said to the adjutant beside him, "It seems that we made a mistake between 1839 and 1842. We thought we were opening a huge market, but we didn't expect to awaken a dragon."

The adjutant asked hesitantly, "General, shall we open fire?"

Hope shook his head. "No, we won't fire today. They control the Santa Rosa Battery." He pointed to the Santa Rosa Battery flying the Corn Cross Flag and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Dragon Flag. "Today, we are seeking peace talks."

Two hours later, a British boat rowed towards the port, with the officer on board holding a white flag and a diplomatic note. The Taiping Army sent a sampan to meet it, and the two sides exchanged documents on the sparkling sea.

As the sun set, the British fleet began to retreat to the offshore anchorage. The Inca warriors on the shore cheered in victory, but Zeng Shuiyuan, Ma Shiye and others knew that this confrontation had just begun!

Ding Ruchang stood on the deck of the "Xi'an", looking at the outline of the British warships in the distance, and whispered: "Notify Tianjing that we are not afraid of going to war. The British obviously don't want to fight us to the death!"

(End of this chapter)