The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 793 Special Anti-Colonial Operation

Borneo, Lan Fang Kingdom.

In the morning mist of Shilongmen Camp, Luo Zhongxing's pocket watch pointed to half past three. This military outpost located in the northwest of Borneo is only five miles away from the Sarawak border. The watchtowers around the camp have been doubled for fifteen consecutive days, and the entire camp has been on high alert for half a month. Since three days ago, the entire camp has been in a state of war, and yesterday afternoon, all officers and soldiers already knew the mission they were about to undertake!
"Everyone assemble!" Luo Zhongxing's roar echoed in the rainforest.

This 28-year-old battalion commander is a representative of the young generation of the Lan Fang Army. He is the cousin of the current Lan Fang commander Luo Zhonghua, and also the descendant of Luo Fangbo, the founder of the Lan Fang Kingdom.

As the soldiers poured out of the bamboo shed, the head of the cooking squad, Lao Wang, symbolically smashed a pottery jar. This Cantonese man in his thirties smashed it and shouted, "We will burn our boats and fight to the death. We will not stop until Sarawak is destroyed!" This is a unique ritual of the Lan Fang Army. Before going out to fight, they must smash a pottery jar to symbolize the burning of their boats and fight to the death. It is said that this ritual was passed down from Luo Fangbo's generation.

New recruit Li Abao was busy sorting his equipment. On the butt of his Tianli 3rd-year rifle was not only engraved with "Slay the Barbarians in the Name of Heaven", but also tied with a small pocket - which was filled with soil from his hometown in Guangdong and his wife's hair.

When the first rays of sunlight at dawn penetrated the rainforest, soldiers from six companies had already lined up on the playground, and Luo Zhongxing jumped onto a platform made of a dozen ammunition boxes.

"Brothers!" Luo Zhongxing's voice was particularly clear in the morning mist. "A hundred years ago, our ancestors left their homes and went to Southeast Asia. Several generations worked hard and shed blood and sweat to develop the sparsely populated Borneo into what it is today. But that Englishman named Brooke, relying on the support of the British Empire, forcibly seized the best land in Borneo and established the Sarawak Kingdom!" He suddenly pulled out his revolver and fired three shots into the sky. "The order of the Kings' Conference has come down. A special anti-colonial operation must be launched to retake Sarawak and unify Borneo."

While Luo Zhongxing was carrying out the final mobilization, the soldiers of his transport company were loading ammunition onto the horses. These short-legged horses from Sichuan had amazing endurance, and each horse could carry 200 kilograms of supplies. Each battalion was equipped with hundreds of horses, which was enough to support the Lan Fang army to fight to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak.

The soldiers of the machine gun company were checking six Tianli 200th-year type multi-barreled guns. This weapon, known as the "iron broom", requires six soldiers to operate and can fire rounds of bullets per minute!
"Sing military songs! Let's go." With Luo Zhonghua's order, more than 500 people with Guangdong and Fujian accents sang the Lan Fang anthem "My Chinese Heart".

Luo Zhongxing found that he could not stop crying - he remembered his father's words before his death: "Zhongxing, China is prosperous, remember that you are Chinese!"

When the bayonets of eight Lan Fang infantry battalions opened the almost undefended border of the Sarawak Kingdom, the sky in the east was already bright.

Luo Zhongxing stood in a Sarawak Army outpost that was captured by his men. He turned to the messenger and said, "Report to the commander-in-chief: the surprise attack was successful!"

On the bridge of the ironclad ship "Tianjing", Zhang Bao held a brass telescope in his hand without moving. The 27-year-old vice admiral was calm beyond his age, and at this moment he was carefully observing the terrain of Bangkok Bay.

"1300 yards from the main battery, wind direction southeast, wind speed three knots." The voice of the observer came from the megaphone. Zhang Bao nodded slightly, turned to the gunner and said, "Load the flares, first courtesy and then force." He touched the pocket watch on his chest - this was a gift from his mentor Luo Yaoguo when he graduated from the Shanghai Naval Academy. The inside of the watch cover was engraved with eight small words: "Conquer people with virtue, gunboat diplomacy".

At the same time, in the Bangkok Royal Palace, Chen Atai, a gangster from the Siamese Cantonese gang and now the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's ambassador to Siam, was sitting among the Siamese ministers with his legs crossed. He picked up a golden mango and started to eat it, and the juice splashed on the satin dress of the Minister of Finance.

"Brother Zheng Wang," Chen A'tai pointed at the treaty text with his juice-stained finger, "Look at this third article: It is a good deal for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to protect Siam from the colonial rule of Western powers! We, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, come all the way to protect you without asking for anything in return. Is there anything more cost-effective than this?" He lowered his voice and said, "Brother, have you heard that England wants to fight against the Yellow Peril and America wants to exclude the Chinese? You are a yellow person, and you are Chinese. England and America want to fight against and exclude people like you. Tell me, do you want the protection of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

King Mongkut's fingers were trembling - he must have been angry with the foreigners!
"Boom!" The first flare exploded at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, and the dazzling white light illuminated the glazed tiles of the palace as bright as day. Chen Atai took the opportunity to put the brush into the king's hand: "Sign quickly, or we will be replaced with a picric acid shell later." He was a "virtuous" person, so he kindly told the King of Siam the consequences of "refusing to sign." As for what this picric acid shell tasted like when it fell, you can tell from the name that it must be bitter and sour, not pleasant.

The Marine Corps landing craft had been lowered. Three hundred Marines in dark blue uniforms were checking their equipment. Their uniforms were different from those of the Army, with wave patterns embroidered on the collars and special waterproof ammunition bags hanging from their belts.

As Chen Atai walked out of the palace with the signed treaty, the second shell landed right on the open space of the Royal Dock. This time it was loaded with sandbags for training, but the huge impact still overturned three cargo boxes on the dock. "Retreat!" Zhang Bao ordered with satisfaction. He turned to his adjutant and said, "Send a message to Tianjing: 'The special anti-colonial operation in the Gulf of Siam is complete, and the treaty has been signed.'"

On the wall of Lang Son Citadel, Feng Zicai's telescope swept across the loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty kneeling under the city. The Qing Dynasty had long been gone, but these people had been flying the banner of "Qing Dynasty", occupying the land of Annan, and secretly established a Guangnan Province, which was specifically used to sell grain to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. They had levied heavy taxes over the years and done many immoral things.

Of course, the Qing Dynasty was blamed for all the crimes. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a good one. Now the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom finally realized that the Qing Dynasty had not been completely destroyed, so it sent Feng Zicai to lead troops to destroy it.

As for Ruilin, Bai Gui and Lao Chongguang, the three high-ranking officials of Guangnan Province of the Qing Dynasty - Ruilin called himself the General of Guangnan, Bai Gui called himself the "Governor-General of the Two Souths" (Guangnan and Annan), and Lao Chongguang called himself the Governor of Guangnan - they did not dare to resist the heavenly soldiers. When they heard that Feng Zicai was leading a large army to "destroy the Qing", they hurriedly took their several thousand "Qing soldiers" to Lang Son Guard to surrender.

"Prepare for the surrender ceremony," Feng Zicai said to his adjutant. He had specially changed into a brand new woolen military uniform, which was a general officer's dress made by the Tianjing Clothing Factory using woolen imported from Britain, with golden wheat ears embroidered on the cuffs.

In the open space outside the city, 8,000 Taiping troops were carrying out the "appeasement order". Each surrendered soldier received 10 brand new Taiping silver dollars and a blue cloth-covered "True Testament Holy Book". The quartermasters who distributed the money all had a kind look on their faces. Every time they distributed a copy, they would say, "Work hard. From today on, you are a Taiping soldier."

Liu Yongfu, the division commander under Feng Zicai, led a Taiping Army of more than 10,000 people through the small Lang Son Fortress and marched southwards - their target was not only the Guangnan Province of the Qing Dynasty, but also to help the Nguyen Dynasty of Annan in the south to fight against colonization! It was said that Emperor Napoleon of France had always wanted to colonize Annan and had sent military advisers and missionaries to Hue, Annan. They had to fight back!
"By the will of Heaven, the Heavenly King proclaims," ​​Feng Zicai deliberately dragged out the edict. When he read the three words "Gui Ming Bo", Bai Gui was so excited that he fainted. The military doctor came forward to check and reported: "He is fine, just happy." Feng Zicai sneered: "You have to treat him well, don't let him die of joy, he still has blessings to enjoy!"

After the surrender ceremony, Feng Zicai climbed up the city wall alone. He took out Luo Yaoguo's handwritten letter from his bosom. The last sentence of the letter read: "After Guangnan is conquered, we should first use honest officials to govern the people and use honest system to stabilize the land. Although Ruilin, Baigui and Lao Chongguang have killed countless people and committed many evil deeds in Guangnan, they have a solid foundation in Guangnan and have made contributions to the development of the territory. They can all be retained."

In the war room of the Prime Minister's Office in Tianjing, Luo Yaoguo drew red circles on the map with his red pen. This "Taiping Huanyu Quantu" was a new product sent from Shanghai Printing Bureau last month. It used the latest British color lithography technology and was hand-painted by the painters of Shanghai Printing Bureau. Even the smallest islands were clearly marked.

"Report to the Prime Minister, the British and French ambassadors request an urgent meeting." Secretary Cheng Lingnan's voice came from outside the door. Luo Yaoguo did not even raise his head: "Let them wait until we take Luzon." He turned to Deputy Chief of General Staff Zhu Ba and said: "Send a telegram to Zhang Bao and ask him to lead the fleet to Luzon Island."

"Understood!" Zhu Ba responded and turned around to give orders to the staff.

Luo Yaoguo wrote the four tiny characters "Luzon Paradise" next to Luzon Island on the map.

Not long after Zhu Ba left, Cheng Lingnan rushed in with a telegram he had just translated: "Your Highness, the Lan Fang army has a victory report! Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, has been captured!"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and drew another red circle on the calendar. This day was September 15th of the fourteenth year of the Tianli calendar.

At this rate, in a month at most, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will dominate two-thirds of the Pacific Ocean. As for the remaining one-third, Luo Yaoguo's gaze slowly shifted to the British Isles at the edge of the map.

The British Empire today is not the "Little Britain that will never be an empire" of later times, but a true world empire. It is much more powerful than the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom today. Sister Victoria should have made a lot of money from this, right?

(End of this chapter)