The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 831 It’s bad, I’m exposed, there’s no way to keep a low profile anymore!
In the twelfth month of the seventeenth year of the Tianli calendar, the top leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom gathered together for the completion ceremony of the hydropower station on Niu Shou Mountain River.

Luo Yaoguo stood in front of the iron gate of the hydropower station, with Gram, a Belgian scientist, and Weng Tonghe, president of Taiping University, beside him. Gram, who came to Taiping University in Tianjing ten years ago to seek "angel guidance", had frost on his beard. He held the copper switch handle with both hands, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement: "Prime Minister, you can open the gate."

Luo Yaoguo took the handle and felt the cool copper texture on his palm. In a trance, he seemed to be holding the lever of another time and space - that was the world in 1878. The 10-kilowatt generator that was supposed to be developed by the British Brush Company was now embedded in the mountains and rivers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ten years ahead of schedule!

This small hydropower station in Niu Shou Mountain is equipped with three 3-kilowatt generators, which can theoretically provide 10 degrees of direct current per hour. It's really terrifying!

The iron gates were pulled up with a bang, and the muddy river water roared into the diversion channel. The turbine blades made a roar in the waves, and the carbonized bamboo filament light bulb held high by Weng Tonghe suddenly lit up with a dim yellow light.

"It's lit! It's lit!" Southern King Feng Yunshan exclaimed as he leaned on his gold-studded cane. "It's truly a miracle!"

King Xiao Chaogui of the West subconsciously pressed the Taiping sword on his waist, as if the light bulb was some kind of sorcery. Shi Dakai narrowed his eyes and approached the lampshade, muttering: "Is this the 'light bulb' mentioned in Theory of Heaven? It's brighter than a kerosene lamp."

Hong Xuanjiao's mink cloak rustled in the wind. When she caught a glimpse of Luo Yaoguo's smile, she suddenly remembered the first time she saw the "Tongtian Mirror" lit up - could it be that the Tongtian Mirror also contained a terrifying power that required three generators of that size to output?
Gram, who has been in China for 10 years and speaks fluent Chinese, proudly introduced to everyone: "These three 3-kilowatt turbines were jointly developed by the 'Faraday Laboratory' of Taiping University and the Xuzhou Iron and Steel Research Institute. They can provide lighting for important departments in Tianjing City and power the electrolytic copper factory! This is only the first phase of the project. When the second phase of the project is completed next year, the total installed capacity of the Niu Shoushan River Hydropower Station will be as high as 10 kilowatts, equivalent to the continuous output of 100 horses! When the third phase of the Niu Shoushan Hydropower Station is completed, the total installed capacity of the hydropower station is expected to exceed 134 kilowatts!"

1000 kilowatts is approximately equal to the power of 1340 horses!

What’s even more terrifying is that this 1000-kilowatt generator does not require any food or water, nor does it need to burn coal or oil. It can be powered by just flushing it with free water. How low is the cost?
Except for Luo Yaoguo, all the other Heavenly Kingdom high-ranking officials present were stunned.

Luo Yaoguo looked around at everyone and said loudly: "Everyone, from today on, human civilization has officially entered the 'Electrical Age'! The Second Industrial Revolution... has begun!"

Although people were not quite clear about what this second industrial revolution meant, everyone still believed in "Angel Luo's" ability to predict the future. As soon as he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause from the audience.

The steam locomotive on the return trip spewed gray smoke as it rolled over the newly laid rails along the Qinhuai River. Luo Yaoguo spread out three telegrams on the oak coffee table—the telegrams from Berlin, Paris, and London were like three daggers, piercing the brief peace in the carriage.

"The English took the lead and united Germany, Russia, and the United States to form the 'North Atlantic Alliance' to deal with us 'yellow perils'." Feng Yunshan put on his glasses, picked up the telegram and read it, then sneered, "Even the remnants of the French Napoleonists, Bourbon Legitimists, and Orleansists have joined in, which saves us from having to hide our strength and act like grandsons."

Xiao Chaogui punched the car window frame, causing the glass to buzz. "The Thirty-Year Covenant is not even halfway through, and the British are already breaking their word. They handled Fifth Sister's matter too unkindly..."

Shi Dakai narrowed his eyes and calculated: "The army is not worried about anything. Although we have not established a compulsory military service system, our 50 professional soldiers are enough to wipe out the foreign devils who can come from afar. But the navy, the British Royal Navy has taken 30 ironclad ships from France and now has 82 ironclad ships, while we only have 15 ironclad ships at most, and the quality is still far behind. The largest tonnage is about 5000 tons, and the British have -ton ironclad ships!"

Maria suddenly reached out and covered the back of Luo Yaoguo's hand. This "fellow of the Virgin Mary" stared at her "angel husband": "Your Majesty, I can go to Europe and maybe ask the Pope to help ease the situation..."

"Ease?" He shook his head, a bitter smile appeared on his lips, "Maria, the Pope can't even protect himself now, it's useless for him to intervene."

Feng Yunshan took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses: "Ninth brother, what we lack most now is time. I think the hydroelectric power station in Niu Shou Mountain has great potential. There are tens of millions of rivers like the Niu Shou Mountain River in China. If there are 1000 Niu Shou Mountain River hydroelectric power stations, each with kilowatts, wouldn't our industry be the best in the world?"

Hong Xuanjiao turned her head and looked at Luo Yaoguo: "Ninth brother, how long will it take to make our industry the best in the world?"

How long? It won't take too long! Luo Yaoguo thought: Without me, more than a hundred years would be enough. With me...
"About ten years!" Luo Yaoguo said, "By 1880, the year of Christ's birth, we will definitely have a power generation capacity of 1000 million kilowatts!"

He is confident about this! 1000 million kilowatts can be achieved by technological progress of hydroelectric generators and the development of small hydropower plants.

This small hydropower has low cost and high profit, and is almost guaranteed to make money
"But can the foreigners give us ten years?" Wei Changhui frowned - if the foreigners attack, his brother Wei Jun's Javanese Paradise will definitely be the first to be beaten!

"Then let them have no time to care about us." Xiao Chaogui slapped his thigh fiercely, "Isn't Master Karl causing a revolution in Paris? Let's send them guns! Send them cannons! Send them silver! Let the Europeans fight among themselves first!"

Shi Dakai took out an account book from his bosom and turned to the marked place: "We have already provided a lot of assistance to the Supreme Revolutionary Committee in Paris through Bai Siwen's company. The American Civil War is about to end. When the time comes, we will remit some money to Bai and ask him to buy more remaining arms to send to Master Karl." Hong Xuanjiao gently waved her round fan, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes: "Money is not a problem, the problem is whether Master Karl can be trusted? Don't take our guns and then turn around to make peace with the British."

"No." Luo Yaoguo said firmly, "Master Karl and Sister Wei Wu are not on the same side after all. But we can't just rely on France. We have to form an alliance ourselves, called 'Hua Lian'. Hua Xia Alliance!"

He unfolded a map of East Asia and pointed his finger heavily at the Korean Peninsula: "The Kingdom of Korea and the Kingdom of Japan are all brother nations to us. Although there are some misunderstandings between us and Fourth Brother Yang, he is the son of God after all. He will definitely support us on such major issues! I plan to take some time to go to Japan and Korea to have a good discussion with Fourth Brother."

"And the American West." Maria suddenly interrupted, her Chinese no longer having any foreign accent. "Hong Daquan has 60,000 Chinese militiamen in California, equipped with the Tianli rifles we provided. If the British and American coalition forces dare to attack from the East Coast, the 'Twelve Black, Red and Yellow States' in the West will immediately declare independence!"

Luo Yaoguo nodded and said with a smile: "When the time comes, we will establish an American Heavenly Kingdom. Together with the Korean Heavenly Kingdom, the Japanese Heavenly Kingdom, the Inca Heavenly Kingdom and us, our Hualian will also be one of the five great countries!"

Seoul, Dongwang Palace.

Yang Xiuqing stood on the terrace of the Eastern Palace, overlooking the lights on both sides of the Han River. This former palace of the Joseon Dynasty has now become the power center of the "Kingdom of the Rising Sun". Behind him, Yang Chengtian and Hong Rengan, who had just returned from the United States, were talking in low voices.

"Father," Yang Chengtian put down the telegram in his hand, "the 'North Atlantic Alliance' has been established. The British, Germans, Russians, and Americans have all united, and their target is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Yang Xiuqing sneered and tapped the railing with his fingers: "Luo Yaoguo has finally driven the foreign devils crazy."

Hong Rengan pushed his glasses and said cautiously, "Dong Wang, this is an opportunity. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is now being targeted by the great powers, and our Chaori Heavenly Kingdom can just have the best of both worlds and wait for the right price to sell it."

Yang Xiuqing narrowed his eyes: "You mean, we shouldn't rush to stand in line?"

"That's right." Hong Rengan nodded. "We can continue to maintain our kinship with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the surface, while maintaining our alliance with the British, and see what conditions both sides can offer. When the situation becomes clear, we can decide which side to side with."

Yang Chengtian frowned: "But if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is defeated, won't our Chaori Heavenly Kingdom also suffer?"

Yang Xiuqing snorted coldly: "Defeat? Luo Yaoguo is not an easy guy to deal with. What we have to do now is to deal with him and the foreigners until the last moment——"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of hurried footsteps. Kusunoki Takako rushed over, knelt down in front of Yang Xiuqing, and said in a trembling voice: "Father! Mother sent an urgent telegram - the Emperor has passed away!"

Yang Xiuqing's pupils suddenly shrank.

——The Emperor is dead?
Although the Japanese emperor had long been sidelined, he was still the monarch of Japan in name. Although Yang Chengtian married Prince Kazunomiya and sent the emperor's son Mutsuhito to become a monk, as long as Kazunomiya did not ascend the throne, the "Asahi Heavenly Kingdom" would not be realized.

"When did it happen?" Yang Xiuqing asked in a deep voice.

"Just two hours ago." Kusunoki Takako raised her head, a complicated look flashing in her eyes, "Mother said... the cause of the Emperor's death is still unclear, but the royalists in Kyoto have begun to stir."

Yang Xiuqing was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Good, very good."

He turned to look at Yang Chengtian and Hong Rengan: "Once the emperor dies, the royalists in Japan will definitely take the opportunity to cause chaos. We can take this opportunity to completely clean up the opposition forces in Japan and truly control the Asahi Heavenly Kingdom!"

(End of this chapter)