The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 830: North Atlantic Alliance, Red Flags Flying Over France
On December 1867, 12, in the Golden Hall of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, under the illumination of countless candles, the power map of Europe began to reshuffle. William I, dressed in the uniform of the Prussian Field Marshal, walked slowly to the throne. His eyes swept across the audience seats - on the left was the Russian Tsar Alexander II in blue military uniform, and on the right was the British representative Lord Stanley with a cold face. In the corner of the hall, the French exiled nobles were whispering, occasionally glancing at the German delegation in the center.

"I, William Friedrich Ludwig," the old king's voice echoed under the dome, "in the name of the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, am crowned Emperor of the Second German Empire!"

The military band played "Long Live the Victor's Laurel", the Prussian black eagle flag rose slowly, and the Austrian double-headed eagle flag slowly lowered. On the viewing platform, the Russian officers applauded enthusiastically, but the British delegation was silent. Lord Stanley lowered his head and wrote in his notebook: "Vienna System 2.0 - Germans want to use the coronation ceremony to reshape the European order."

Suddenly, Alexander II stood up and walked to William I, pinning a medal of St. Andrew on the emperor's chest in public. "This is the blessing of the Russian Empire to its closest ally," the Tsar said loudly, "May the friendship between Russia and Germany last forever!"

This move caused an uproar. A reporter from the French newspaper Le Figaro immediately added in the telegram: "The Tsar and the German Emperor are close, and the European continent will be dominated by two kings!" At the end of the viewing gallery, Lord Stanley whispered to his attendant: "Send a telegram to London - the Russians are closer to Germany than we thought."

After the coronation ceremony, William I took Alexander II's arm and walked out of the hall. The two strolled in the garden of Schönbrunn Palace, as close as a pair of gay friends. The Tsar pointed to the Russian and German guards standing side by side in the distance and said: "Just like the anti-French alliance back then, we will join forces again to reshape the European order." William I smiled and nodded, but his eyes drifted to Lord Stanley who was talking with representatives from Italy, Spain, Hungary and other countries - what was that British troublemaker stirring up again?
After the coronation, the four core figures, William I, Alexander II, Bismarck and Lord Stanley, retreated to the famous "Blue Salon" of Schönbrunn Palace. Bismarck personally poured Chinese black tea for everyone and got straight to the point:
"Gentlemen, there are two forces in the world today that are destroying white Christian civilization—" he counted on his fingers, "the red plague of Paris, and the yellow peril of the Pacific!"

"Well said!" Alexander II clapped his hands repeatedly, looking like a little fanboy of the German emperor, and even spoke fluent German. "How dare those yellow people of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom use our technology to build ironclad ships and monopolize Chilean saltpeter! This is a blasphemy against civilization!"

Bismarck immediately took over the topic from Alexander II: "Your Majesty, we in the German Empire believe that the five most powerful white countries in the world, Britain, Germany, Russia, the United States and France, should form a five-nation white alliance to defend the leadership of white Christian civilization in the world!"

Lord Stanley stirred his tea gracefully. "The 'Five White Nations Alliance' proposed by the Prime Minister is very far-sighted, but is the name too straightforward? Will it push other colored countries in the world to the side of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? How about the 'North Atlantic Alliance'? It can reflect geographical ties while avoiding provoking other races."

"Great!" the Tsar immediately agreed, "Let's call it that!"

William I and Bismarck exchanged glances - the British really wanted to downplay racial conflicts. This was probably to win over the Kingdom of the Rising Sun and appease India, right?
But at the moment, the German Empire's purpose of creating such a "white alliance" was only to prevent Germany from being targeted by Britain and Russia, so it didn't matter what it was called. So the German emperor nodded and said, "That's acceptable. Let's call it the North Atlantic Alliance."

Bismarck then unfolded a world map: "Specifically, we need to act in three directions: first, to contain Red France in Europe; second, to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the Pacific; third, to ensure that the American Civil War ends as soon as possible with the victory of the white supremacists in the North."

"Regarding the United States," Lord Stanley interrupted, "the Lincoln government has promised that as long as we support his Northern Confederation to unify the United States, he is willing to lead the United States to stand on the side of Britain. But they have a condition - they hope that European countries will recognize the United States' leadership in America."

Alexander II sneered: "America belongs to the Americans? Then shouldn't the Pacific also belong to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. Bismarck immediately tried to smooth things over: "Gentlemen, our common enemies now are revolution and the Yellow Peril. We can discuss the details later."

The topic turned to France. Lord Stanley pretended to be casual: "Napoleon III's Crown Prince Louis is 11 years old this year and is taking refuge in Britain. Perhaps..."

"No!" Alexander II firmly objected, "The Napoleon family must be kicked out of European politics forever!"

The temperature in the room dropped sharply.

Lord Stanley winked at Bismarck, who said, "What about Queen Mathilde? She is the cousin of Napoleon III and now rules the Tang Empire in Central Asia. If I remember correctly, she is a friend of Russia and became the ruler of the Tang Empire in Central Asia with the support of Russia."

William I smiled and asked Alexander II: "What do you think?"

"She." The Tsar thought for a while, "She is the only acceptable member of the Bonaparte family, but as far as I know, she has no children, and she has not been able to give birth to children with her two husbands and one lover. If she becomes the Queen of France, then who will inherit her throne a hundred years later?"

Lord Stanley shrugged: "We'll talk about it later. At least we can't find a more suitable candidate right now." "Sanctions against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must be implemented immediately!" After determining the successor to the French throne, Alexander II came up with a plan to sanction the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, "Total embargo! Cut off all trade!"

"This is unrealistic!" British Foreign Secretary Stanley immediately objected, "Britain needs China's silk, coptis root, tea and spices, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is also an important market for British industrial products."

Bismarck smiled and said, "Let's compromise. I advocate only banning weapons and military equipment. The military power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is already too strong and must be restricted!"

"I agree in principle." Lord Stanley nodded.

Kaiser Wilhelm added: "We must also force the Taiping to withdraw from the saltpeter mines in Chile! The Taiping now controls 75% of the world's saltpeter production, which is a huge strategic threat."

British Foreign Secretary Stanley glanced at Emperor William and Bismarck and said, "Are you Germans going to send an expeditionary force? The saltpeter mines in Chile are now under the control of the Inca Heavenly Kingdom Army!"

"Aren't they just some Indians?" The German emperor sneered, "Germany can send troops. The condition is that Germany must obtain the right to purchase 50% of Chile's saltpeter mines!"

"Too much"

"Russia needs Chilean saltpeter, too!"

Then the British Foreign Secretary, the Russian Tsar, the German Emperor and Prime Minister Bismarck began bargaining. After arguing for almost two hours, they finally reached a final verbal agreement on issues such as "embargo on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", "seizing Chilean saltpeter mines" and "distribution of Chilean saltpeter mines" and "restoring the French Empire and establishing Mathilde as the Queen".
January 1868, France.

The snow on the foothills of the Alps had not yet melted, but the square in front of Lyon City Hall was already crowded with people. Worker representative Duval stood on a makeshift wooden platform, with two Red Guards carrying rifles behind him. He unfolded a notice with the seal of the Paris Commune and read aloud:

"According to Decree No. 10 issued by the Constitutional Convention of the French Republic, the city of Lyon will establish a workers' supervision committee starting today! All arsenals, steel mills, large mines, and banks will be jointly managed by workers!"

The audience erupted in thunderous cheers. Workers threw their blue work hats into the air, women lifted their babies above their heads, and the city officials standing in the corner looked pale - they had just "voluntarily" handed over the keys to the city hall.

The same scene is playing out across France:
In Marseille, the National Army took over the port, the sailors raised the red flag, all merchant ships flying the German and Russian flags were detained, and all French merchant ships were requisitioned by the National Army! In Bordeaux, the wine estate owners fled to Spain overnight, and the Red Guards piled up the deeds in the square and burned them, distributing the land belonging to the nobility and the Catholic Church on the spot. In Nancy, the railway workers dismantled the tracks leading to Metz and used sleepers and rails to build barricades for the National Army to prepare for another invasion by the German army.

When the election results from various places were sent back to Paris via telegram, Moore was drawing on the map with a red pencil in the conference room of the Workers' Association headquarters. Every time he received a telegram, he would color a province red.

"Look," Varlan pointed to the almost completely red map and laughed, "Except for the three provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, Corsica, Calvados, Eure, Pas-de-Calais, Vendée, Deux-Sevres, Gard, Lozère, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Var, Lille and other fourteen provinces, the entire French mainland is under the red flag!"

Blanqui frowned: "The Prussians still occupy three provinces, and Corsica is the stronghold of the Bonaparte family. Lille, Var and Calais are controlled by generals loyal to the Bonaparte family, and the remaining provinces are under the control of the Orleanists and the orthodox militias."

"No rush," Moore put down his pencil, "First consolidate the existing areas. Tell Garibaldi that his Red Shirts should march to Italy, and the red flag should fly on Italian soil."

(End of this chapter)