The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 833 Kneeling, the Red Army

On the tenth day of the first lunar month in the eighteenth year of the Tianli calendar, heavy rain fell.

Inside the Osaka Castle tower, the flickering candlelight illuminated the scarlet robe and the dragon robe embroidered with gold thread. Yang Xiuqing sat in the main seat, wearing a golden crown, with the hem of his dragon robe spread out on the tatami, tapping the table with his fingers, his eyes gloomy.

Hou Qianfang, Fu Xuexian, and Huang Wenjin, wearing the crimson robes of the cardinals of the Shinyue sect, knelt on both sides. Nanmu Inako and her daughter Gaozi knelt at the end, both mother and daughter wearing red kimonos with the golden cross of the Shinyue sect embroidered on their cuffs - Inako was the chief priest of the Shinyue Shrine, and Gaozi was the chief priest's successor, the future successor.

"Luo Yaoguo is here." Yang Xiuqing spoke in a voice as deep as thunder. "Ten ironclad ships, eight light cruisers, eight troop transports, and eight thousand marines have landed in Sakai City."

Hou Qianfang's face changed, and his fingers trembled slightly: "Dong Wang, we must mobilize troops and deploy defenses immediately!"

Huang Wenjin immediately responded: "There are already more than 10,000 true warriors in Osaka. They are firm in their faith and swear to be loyal to the King of the East until death!"

"Strong in faith?" Fu Xuexian smiled bitterly, "But they still have muzzle-loading rifles in their hands, while the Taiping Army uses breech-loading rifles of the 16th year of the Tianli period, and Gatling machine guns!"

Yang Xiuqing glanced at Huang Wenjin: "Where is the coastal defense?"

"The Osaka Fort has a 64-pound coastal defense gun equipped with picric acid explosives!" Huang Wenjin straightened his back.

"64-pound smoothbore cannon?" Hou Qianfang sighed. "The range is 1200 meters. The Taiping Army's 120mm breech-loading rifled cannon has a range of 4500 meters. Our artillery position will be blown to ruins before it even opens fire!"

Yang Xiuqing frowned and turned his gaze to Nanmu Daozi: "Where is your Nanmu Fan?"

Inako bowed her head and said, "The eight thousand warriors of Kawachi Kusunoki Domain are ready and ready to die for the King of the East at any time!"

——The Kusunoki Domain was the territory given to Kusunoki Ineko by Yang Xiuqing after the Second Battle of Sekigahara, which included 24.2 koku of Kawachi Province, 10.2 koku of Yodo Domain, and scattered lands in Yamashiro Province, totaling 35 koku. Later, Ineko recruited retainers and built a bastion in Kusunoki Valley, the hometown of the Kusunoki clan, but the actual ruling center was still Yodo Castle.

Yang Xiuqing suddenly laughed: "Okay! Gather everyone, I will go to Sakai City to welcome the King of Wu in person!"

Everyone was stunned.

"King of the East?" Fu Xuexian was stunned.

Yang Xiuqing smiled and said, "I dreamed of the Heavenly King last night. He asked me to sign the Warsaw Pact and fight against NATO together with the Ninth King."

He had a dream with his eyes open last night. After much calculation, he finally decided to kneel first to show respect. Otherwise, even if Luo Yaoguo did not openly fight him, he could still invite him to fight!
Although Luo Yaoguo didn't know any lethal magic - except for cursing a czar to death - he was really good at fortune-telling! Yang Xiuqing didn't know any magic at all, but Luo Yaoguo was able to win over many of Yang Xiuqing's Japanese bases just by "fortune-telling".

What worried Yang Xiuqing the most was that if Luo Yaoguo calculated and announced that he and Prince Miyauchi were not suitable to inherit the throne of the Japanese Emperor, wouldn't his careful plan be ruined?

After hearing what he said, most people breathed a sigh of relief and shouted in unison: "Long live the East King! The East King is wise and wise!"

Only a trace of disappointment flashed in Nanmu Takako's eyes - the witch who served Yang Xiuqing in bed last night was arranged by her, so she knew that Yang Xiuqing had not slept all night!
Heavy rain washed the cobblestone roads of Sakai's Chinese Concession. At the second-floor window of the port hotel, two Japanese in Western dresses stared at the outline of a giant steel ship on the sea.

"Sakamoto-kun, do you think they will really fight?" Katsura Kogoro asked in a low voice, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the peeling paint on the window frame.

Sakamoto Ryoma did not answer immediately. He looked at the busy sailors on the deck of the Taiping Fleet. The soldiers in navy blue uniforms were removing the gun covers of 120mm naval guns. The black muzzles shone coldly under the dark clouds.

"It doesn't matter whether we fight or not." Sakamoto finally spoke, his voice very low. "What's important is that Japan is the only country among the 'heavenly kingdoms' that has not undergone land reform."

Katsura Kogoro's pupils shrank.

"Yang Xiuqing was implementing the 'True Promise Theocracy' in Japan, not the 'Heavenly Kingdom Land System' of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom." Sakamoto turned around and took out a handwritten booklet from his arms. On the cover was written the 'Guidelines of the Four People's Association' in Chinese characters. "Look here - Japanese farmers still have to pay 50% rent to the feudal lord or the shrine, and the samurai still live on rice. The only change brought to Japan by the Second Battle of Sekigahara is that the True Promise Shinto Shrine replaced the Tokugawa Shogunate!"

Katsura took the booklet, his fingertips trembling slightly. He recalled the scene he saw when he sneaked back to Choshu last year: farmers kneeled in front of the shrine and worshipped the tablet of "Long Live the Eastern King", and behind the shrine was the granary newly built by the feudal lord, which was filled with forcibly requisitioned rice.

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at least distributed land in other places..." Gui murmured, "even in Hawaii and Inca." "But Japan's national conditions are different from theirs. Japan does not have landlords or small manor owners who are easy to bully. Japan has more than 45 samurai households and an estimated total population of 200 million!" Sakamoto sneered, "Yang Xiuqing can't touch them at all, and he needs these people to support his dream of 'Joseon-Japan Union'."

Japan really has its own national conditions. In a country of more than 2000 million people, there are 200 million samurai who receive salaries, and their salaries are taken from the peasants. How do you want Yang Xiuqing to carry out land reform? You can't exempt most of the annual tribute and let 200 million samurai class people starve to death? In addition, most of these 200 million samurai class do not directly own land, they just receive salaries, and there is no direct conflict between them and the suffering peasants. It seems unlikely to mobilize the peasants to "fight the samurai".

Suddenly, a steam whistle blew outside the window, indicating that a Taiping light cruiser was adjusting its anchor position. The two of them fell silent at the same time until the shadow of the ship moved away from the window.

"So, Japan is the weak link in the Eastern Revolution." Sakamoto's voice suddenly became fiery. "If a war breaks out in the future, no matter which side Japan joins, Yang Xiuqing's rule will inevitably be shaken! By then——"

"By then," Katsura Kogoro continued, his eyes ablaze, "Japan without land reform will be like a pile of dry firewood that can be ignited by a spark!"

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard on the stairs. The two men quickly stuffed the booklets back into their arms. Iwasaki Ichitaro pushed the door open and walked in, with raindrops still on his forehead: "Yang Xiuqing is here! He brought 20,000 troops!"

"Do you have a gun?" Sakamoto asked anxiously.

"No, they are all infantry and cavalry." Iwasaki lowered his voice, "But what's even more strange is that at the front of the team are 300 shrine maidens from the Shinyo Shrine, and the leader is Kusunoki Takako!"

Katsura Kogoro and Sakamoto Ryoma exchanged glances. They had all heard of Kusunoki Takako, the mixed-race girl with German ancestry, the chief priest of the Shinyo Shinto Shrine and the future heir of the Kusunoki Domain, and also the "holy girl" used by Yang Xiuqing to deceive believers.

"The opportunity has come." Sakamoto Ryoma suddenly smiled and pulled out a stack of leaflets from his luggage. On them were printed the Japanese translation of the "Land Equalization Order". "While they are busy welcoming Luo Yaoguo, we should go and give the farmers some 'true scriptures'."

Outside the window, the singing of the witches drifted in with the wind, singing "Ode to the Eastern King's Descent to Earth". But in this damp inn, what the three young people heard was the clarion call of the future revolution.

At Sakai City Pier, the rainstorm has just stopped and crows are flying over the port.

Luo Yaoguo stood on the gangway of the "Xi'an" ship, his black cloak fluttering in the wind. He looked at the sedan chair team of Yang Xiuqing approaching slowly from a distance, and raised his lips slightly: "Pretend, keep pretending..."

Yang Xiuqing's sedan stopped in the middle of the pier, the curtain was opened, and the Eastern King walked out slowly, his golden crown and dragon robe gleaming in the sun. Behind him, 20,000 soldiers stood in formation, swords and spears like a forest.

Suddenly, a clear bell sounded. Three hundred Shinyo Shinto Shrine maidens came out in a line, led by none other than Kusunoki Takako. She was wearing a scarlet furisode kimono, with a copper bell hanging from her waist, and her steps were as light as a butterfly.

"Welcome to the angel Daimikoto!" Gaozi was the first to kneel down, and three hundred priestesses shouted in unison, their voices surging towards Luo Yaoguo like a tide.

Luo Yaoguo's eyes fixed on Gao Zi. The girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old, with almond eyes, cherry lips, and skin as white as snow, but there was a hint of melancholy between her eyebrows. The most eye-catching thing was her mixed-race features - white skin and a high nose bridge, obviously Eurasian.

Luo Yaoguo walked down the gangway, came straight to Gaozi, and held out his hand to help her up: "You are Nanmu Gaozi, right?"

Gao Zi was startled and looked up at Luo Yaoguo: "You...how do you recognize me?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "I have seen your photo in the Tongtian Mirror."

Gao Zi's pupils suddenly shrank, and his breathing almost stopped. Tongtian Mirror? That is a legendary artifact of the True Covenant Sect, which can see the past and the future! Why did he see me in the Tongtian Mirror?
Yang Xiuqing stood aside, his face uncertain. He had originally planned to let Nanmu Gaozi flirt with Luo Yaoguo, but he didn't expect that the other party recognized her at a glance and mentioned the Tongtian Mirror - why did Gaozi appear in the Tongtian Mirror? Could she also be reincarnated from heaven?
Luo Yaoguo seemed to see through Yang Xiuqing's thoughts, turned around and said with a smile: "Fourth brother, after not seeing you for many years, you still like pomp and circumstance so much."

Yang Xiuqing laughed dryly and said, "My ninth brother has come from afar, so I will give him a grand welcome."

Luo Yaoguo nodded, but his eyes remained on Gao Zi's face: "Ms. Gao Zi, can you take me to visit the Shinto Shrine in Sakai City? I am very interested in the teachings of your Shinto sect."

Gao Zi's heartbeat quickened. She could feel Luo Yaoguo's gaze as sharp as a torch, as if it could penetrate her soul. She secretly glanced at Yang Xiuqing, and when she saw the Eastern King nodded slightly, she whispered, "It's an honor."

Luo Yaoguo laughed and took Gao Zi's hand: "Okay! Thank you very much."

Yang Xiuqing looked at the backs of the two men walking side by side, clenching his fists in his sleeves. He suddenly realized that Luo Yaoguo was fighting him!

(End of this chapter)