The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 802: The machine soul is very happy, God bless all the tanks!

In January 1866, in Pennsylvania, USA, the cold wind was like a knife, cutting the sparse dead grass in the wilderness. A secret factory area surrounded by barbed wire was located in a valley.

Lincoln's train slowly drove into this steam-shrouded industrial forbidden area, the wheels rolling over the rails, making a dull sound. Outside the window, tall chimneys spewed black smoke, and from the shed came the clanging of metal collisions, occasionally mixed with the whistle of steam pressure relief.

Secretary of War Stanton stood by the car window, frowning: "Mr. President, are we really going to pin the outcome of the war on these...'iron turtles'?"

Lincoln did not answer, but just looked out the window in silence. The war had been going on for five years. Although the Northern Army had the upper hand, the Southern Army was still resisting. Because the Southern Army adopted the tactics of barbed wire + trenches + Mitellius revolvers, the Eastern Front advanced slowly. The Western Front led by General Grant came to a standstill after the Battle of Vicksburg in 1864. Throughout 1865, the armies of both sides were fighting in the Memphis area. Several waves of offensives organized by the Northern Army were blocked by the trenches and barbed wire outside Memphis. Now the North needs a brand new weapon, something that can completely crush the South's will to resist.

The train finally stopped at a simple platform, where Sherman had been waiting for a long time. He was wearing a neat military uniform and a brass cross on his chest - a talisman made from a burst cannon barrel.

"Mr. President." Sherman saluted, his voice low and firm.

Lincoln nodded, looking past him at the huge workshop covered in steam in the distance: "Where is the Korean prince?"

Sherman's expression changed subtly: "His Highness Yang Chengtian is holding a blessing ceremony for the latest batch of steam tanks."

"Pray?" Lincoln frowned.

"Yes, Mr. President." Sherman explained, "The design of these tanks was inspired by the divine weapons that 'Father' and 'Brother' once drove. They are the product of the human world copying heaven. If they are not blessed by the True Covenant Temple, they will cause displeasure to the machine spirit and the failure rate will be ridiculously high."

Machine soul? Machines have souls?
Lincoln opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Stanton had already whispered, "President, it's better to believe it - America can no longer afford endless wars! The latest polls show that the war-weariness in the country is getting higher and higher."

The civil war has been going on for five years!
Not only has the United States of America been burdened with a heavy debt, but it has also greatly dampened people's confidence in the country. Not only is people's confidence declining, but even the military, the federal government, and the senior members of Congress are now somewhat depressed.
Lincoln sighed and could only follow Sherman towards the roaring workshop.

The door of the workshop was pushed open, and what hit us was the smell of hot steam and engine oil.

Lincoln's pupils suddenly contracted - 15 steel behemoths were neatly arranged in the center of the field, each of them covered with what looked like solid steel armor on the front, with the barrier-breaking shovels polished to a shine, emitting a cold light. The one in the center was particularly large, and seemed to weigh tons, with a short breech-loading cannon mounted on the turret, like a mechanical beast ready to attack and hurt people at any time.

In front of these steel monsters stood a young man in a bright yellow dragon robe - Yang Chengtian, the prince of the East King of the Kingdom of Korea, the heir to the Japanese emperor, and the husband of the Prince of the Palace. In front of him was an incense table with a gilded incense burner on it. A large incense stick was inserted in the incense burner. His face was solemn amid the smoke.

Next to him, a girl in a crimson kimono was performing a strange dance, the Kagura bell in her hand making crisp sounds as she moved. This girl seemed to have some Western blood, with fair skin and facial features that combined the softness of the East with the three-dimensionality of the West. She also had a melancholy beauty, and the cinnabar mole at the end of her left eye was faintly visible in the steam.

"That girl is..." Lincoln asked in a low voice.

"Takako Kusunoki, daughter of Inako Kusunoki, the chief priest of Shinyo Shrine in Japan." Sherman's voice was filled with a hint of awe. "The tanks that have been blessed by her have the lowest failure rate."

“Is this really effective?”

"Yes!" Sherman answered in the affirmative.

In fact, he didn't believe it at first, but the failure rate of the first few batches of tanks that had not been blessed was too high and they were completely unusable! He was very anxious - he had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on development, and the Army Department had also prepaid a million dollars. If he couldn't deliver the tanks on time, how would he explain to the U.S. Congress? He spent millions of dollars on developing tanks, but in the end, the tanks couldn't be built. Wouldn't Sherman become a federal criminal?
So he could only agree with Yang Chengtian's method and urgently summoned the chief priestess of the Shinyo Shinto Shrine, Takako Kusunoki, from Japan to perform a shaman dance. Although this method was absurd, it really worked!

Since Takako Kusunoki came to perform magic, the failure rate of this tank has dropped significantly - in fact, this is the result of Case and McCormick leading engineers to continuously study the faulty tanks, find out the problems, and make improvements. But didn't Takako Kusunoki catch up?

Moreover, Keyes and McCormick could not guarantee that without Nanmu Gaozi's help, the failure rate of the tank could be reduced.

Lincoln watched this absurd yet sacred ceremony in silence.

At this time, Kusunoki Takako began to chant Japanese poetry: "Iron is the bone, steel is the tendon, Amaterasu is the emperor, guarding the eight wildernesses. Black smoke rises straight to Takamagahara, burning all injustice and testifying to the divine light."

As the song sang, Nanmu Gaozi walked around the tank three times in small steps, while Yang Chengtian grabbed a handful of incense ash and threw it at the tank while shouting: "God, the Father of Heaven, bless the tanks!"

The Japanese and American workers below also shouted together: "May God bless our tanks." "The machine spirit is delighted!" Sherman whispered, his fingers unconsciously stroking the brass cross on his chest.

"The test run begins!" After Yang Chengtian finished praying, he loudly announced that today's test run officially began.

I don't know if it was because of the great god Kusunoki Takako's excellent dancing skills, but today's test run went very smoothly. The tanks were started one after another, and with a burst of metal collisions and roars, they completed the shooting, obstacle breaking, ten-mile speed and other tests, and not a single tank broke down!
When the tenth tank successfully crossed the obstacle trench, Stanton could no longer hold back and said, "The magic trick seems to be really effective!"

Lincoln did not answer. His eyes were fixed on the black paste in Yang Chengtian's hand. There seemed to be black runes on the surface of the dozen tanks. They should have been written with this kind of stuff.
"This is a demon-breaking ointment made from the ashes of the martyrs of Urakami Village in Nagasaki." Yang Chengtian seemed to be aware of Lincoln's gaze and explained calmly, "Back then, the Heavenly King used the ashes of the martyrs of Jintian Village in Guangxi to make a demon-breaking ointment and applied it to the uniforms of the Taiping soldiers, making them invulnerable to swords and guns!"

Lincoln's throat felt dry.
At this moment, a roar suddenly came from the valley on the north side.

Everyone turned to look and saw smoke coming out of the muzzle of the largest tank and an orange-red fireball rising into the sky a few hundred feet away.

Yang Chengtian calmly turned the rosary beads: "Very good. The first test run of the Type 2 tank was very successful!"

"Panzer II?"

Sherman reported in a low voice: "The Type 2 tank is the tank equipped with a cannon. Its unit price is $30,000 and its production cycle is three times longer than that of the Type 1 tank."

Lincoln was silent for a long time, and finally asked only one question:

"When can we send troops to attack Memphis?"

Sherman's expression became subtle: "Mr. President, we need to ask Prince Yang and Miss Gaozi to predict an auspicious day..."

Lincoln: “…”

That night, in Chinatown, New York, at the True Jesuit East Coast Cathedral.

The cold wind howled, and the stained glass of the church cast a mystical light and shadow under the candlelight. Lincoln did not attend in person this time, but Secretary of War Stanton and Army Commander-in-Chief Sherman attended on behalf of the military.

In the center of the church, Yang Chengtian stood in front of a huge portrait of the "Father and Brother of Heaven" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, holding a peach wood sword with a yellow talisman on the tip of the sword. Gao Zi knelt in front of the altar, with a copper basin in front of him, and the clear water in the basin was rippling slightly.

"Father and Brother Heaven, please show up," Yang Chengtian chanted loudly, his voice echoing in the church, "When is the auspicious day to go on the expedition? The machine soul is happy and the chariot is steady, crush the southern barbarians and bring peace!"

His tone was up and down, like a country doggerel, but it made the American officers present hold their breath.

Gao Zi slowly stood up, gently shaking the Kagura bell in her hand. Her dancing was as light as a butterfly, and her scarlet sleeves fluttered. The water in the copper basin remained calm as usual, without any reaction. Just when everyone thought that Yang Chengtian's prayer was ineffective, she suddenly sang in clear Chinese, "On the second day of the second month, we will send out a large army, and on the third day of the third month, we will be able to defeat the enemy!"

Then she said to Stanton and Sherman in English: "The Father in Heaven has sent Amaterasu to pass on the decree: 'The troops can be dispatched on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar, and Memphis will be conquered on the third day of the third month! '

Stanton's brows were knitted together, but Sherman slapped his thigh fiercely: "Okay! It's settled!"

When he left the church, a light snow fell in the night sky of New York. Stanton finally couldn't help but burst out: "Sherman! Do you really believe these charlatans' nonsense?!"

"Mr. Minister," Sherman told the Secretary of the Army beside him with a solemn face: "Faith is power. It is a spiritual power! After five years of hard fighting, we and the South are now on the verge of collapse. Whoever can get the blessing of faith will win the final victory! Those steam tanks can give our children faith, and the missionaries and nuns of the Shinyo Shinto Temple can also give children confidence."

"But." Stanton wanted to say something else, but when the words came to his lips, they seemed to be blocked.

Sherman shook his head: "No buts. Now it depends on whether we can capture Memphis on the third day of the third month of the Chinese calendar!"

(End of this chapter)