The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 834: Joining the Warsaw Pact, Submission of Allegiance, and Revolution

Luo Yaoguo pulled Takako into the carriage prepared for him by the Sakai Chinese Concession Administration and headed for the Shinyo Shrine in the Sakai Chinese Concession. The light in the carriage was dim, and only the occasional street lights outside the window reflected the outlines of the two. He drew the curtains, took out the "Xiaomi mobile phone" that he had used for more than ten years, opened the historical materials, and called up the black-and-white photo of Takako Kusumoto, the "most beautiful woman in the late shogunate" from another time and space.

Gao Zi stared at the screen, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips trembled slightly: "She...why do I look so depressed?"

Luo Yaoguo glanced at the girl next to him - delicate facial features of a mixed-race girl, fair skin, and a hint of melancholy between her brows. But compared to Gaozi in the photo, who had empty eyes and seemed crushed by fate, the girl in front of him was more like a flower carefully cultivated in a greenhouse. The melancholy was only on the surface, while her soul was full of confidence - the young master of the Nanmu domain with a wealth of 350,000 stones, the next chief priest of the Shinyo Shinto Shrine, a figure who was second only to a few people and above more than 20 million people, how could he not be confident?
"Because this is the photo I took of you when we parted in heaven." Luo Yaoguo said softly, "I didn't expect you to follow me down to earth."

Gaozi's cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyelashes trembled slightly: "Gaozi is your...maid in heaven?"

Although she has a confident soul, facing the "Angel Great God", she still dare not imagine that she is his wife or even lover.
Luo Yaoguo laughed inwardly - in the world of 2024, how could he have the chance to have Japan's most beautiful woman as a maid? If he had such a maid, why would he travel through time?
But at this moment, he nodded without hesitation: "Yes."

Gao Zi's eyes instantly lit up, his hands folded on his knees, and his voice was as light as a feather: "Gao Zi is willing to die for the angel."

Sandalwood incense filled the air in the main hall of the Zhenyue Shinto Temple. On the huge cross, the seven gilded characters "Heavenly Father Hao Tian Huang Shangdi" shone brightly in the candlelight. On both sides of the cross, Yang Xiuqing's version of the "Heavenly King" and Nanmu Inoko's version of the "Amaterasu" looked down at everyone from above.

When Luo Yaoguo entered the hall, his eyes lingered on the two statues. The statue of Yang Xiuqing was shaped like a one-eyed dragon, holding a sword, majestic and imposing; while the statue of the rice god had a compassionate look, holding a baby in his arms.

"Ninth brother, sit here." Yang Xiuqing invited Luo Yaoguo to sit down while slightly narrowing his one eye and looking back and forth between Luo Yaoguo and Gao Zi.

Luo Yaoguo did not respond immediately, but took the three incense sticks from Gao Zi and bowed three times respectfully in front of the cross. However, he did not burn incense to the "Heavenly King Statue" and "Amaterasu Statue" on both sides of the cross.

"Fourth brother looks good." Luo Yaoguo finally spoke, sitting down on the armchair brought by the attendant, "It seems that the affairs of the Chaori Federation are progressing smoothly?"

Yang Xiuqing laughed loudly, and his laughter echoed in the hall: "Thanks to the blessing of Heavenly Father, everything is ready. We are just waiting for Hegong to ascend the throne." As he spoke, his one eye was fixed on Gao Zi who was standing behind Luo Yaoguo.

Gao Zi lowered her head, but Luo Yaoguo could feel her body trembling slightly. He gently patted the back of her hand, and this intimate gesture made Yang Xiuqing's face turn ugly - he had given Gao Zi many benefits, but Luo Yaoguo only used the photos in the "Tongtian Mirror" to win her over.

This "Angel Great God" is not easy to deal with!

"Huifu." Luo Yaoguo called out. Zhao Liewen immediately stepped forward and handed Yang Xiuqing a gold-stamped copy of the book.

"The Treaty of Huaxia Alliance?" Yang Xiuqing raised his eyebrows and slowly put on his gold-rimmed monocle. "Brother, are you going to ask me to help you deal with the foreigners?"

Luo Yaoguo picked up the teacup and took a sip. "NATO has been established, with Britain, Germany, and Russia joining forces. If East Asia cannot unite, it will only be defeated one by one."

Yang Xiuqing flipped through the treaty and suddenly sneered: "China first, Japan second, Korea third? Ninth brother, have you forgotten that Korea and Japan are about to unite?"

"Fourth brother." Luo Yaoguo put down the teacup, and the porcelain clinked with each other, "I have already calculated that the North Korea-Japan confederation may not be successful."

The air in the hall froze instantly. Huang Wenjin's hand was already on the hilt of the knife, while Hou Qianfang nervously watched Yang Xiuqing's reaction.

"How dare you!" Yang Xiuqing slammed the table and stood up. "This is what the Heavenly King said in a dream! It is the will of the Heavenly Father. Do you think that you, my ninth brother, are even going to question the will of the Heavenly Father?"

Luo Yaoguo stood up calmly and walked to the cross. He reached out and touched the inscription on it, and suddenly turned around: "Awahara China was granted to Amaterasu Omikami by the Heavenly Father, the Emperor God, and then granted to Amaterasu by Amaterasu." He patted his chest, "Here, you can't fool anyone!"

This sentence was like a sharp sword, piercing Yang Xiuqing's vital point. The Eastern King's face turned livid instantly. He knew that his "Father's approval" was pure fabrication.

Luo Yaoguo then said, "Fourth brother, if you want to do something that goes against the will of Heavenly Father, go ahead and do it. I won't stop you because there is no need for it to be accomplished!"

"Ninth brother." Yang Xiuqing suppressed his anger and his voice became hoarse, "What do you want?"

Luo Yaoguo walked back to his seat and motioned Gao Zi to pour him some tea: "It's very simple. First, sign the Warsaw Pact; second, the Asahi fleet will follow me on the expedition to Inca."

"Inca?" Fu Xuexian cried out, "Doesn't that mean we're going to go to war with the British?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled but said nothing, just looking at Yang Xiuqing. The hall was so quiet that one could hear the crackling of burning candles. After a long while, Yang Xiuqing suddenly laughed: "Good! Good! Ninth brother is indeed far-sighted. I will sign the Warsaw Treaty! I will sign it!"

He knew that he had to sign the "Warsaw Pact"! Only if he signed it could he try to establish a Korean-Japanese Union. If he didn't sign it, Luo Yaoguo, the "Angel Great God", would be blasting and talking nonsense in Sakai City every day, and wouldn't his Korean-Japanese Union be ruined?
And if they signed the "Warsaw Pact", they had to surrender! So the Korean-Japanese Joint Fleet had to go to America! As for the future, as long as the matter of the Korean-Japanese Union could be promoted, Yang Xiuqing could firmly grasp the two countries of Korea and Japan in his hands, and he might not be able to take advantage of the war between the "Warsaw Pact" and "NATO" to become a "fisherman on the sea" - he was still the Dongwang Jiuqiansui of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

As long as Luo Yaoguo fails in his battle with the foreign devils, he will have a chance to take over.
"The Inca side." Yang Xiuqing then turned the topic to the conflict on the Inca side. "Is it really necessary to fight?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded: "Chile's saltpeter mines are related to the supply of gunpowder. Inca guano is the best fertilizer and is related to the jobs of hundreds of millions of people. Now that the British have taken action, we can't just sit back and watch."

"Ninth brother." Yang Xiuqing came closer. "How about we, one the good cop and the other the bad cop, and I, your elder brother, mediate. How about we have a 37:46:55 deal with the British for guano and saltpeter?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "It would be great if Fourth Brother wants to mediate, but the joint fleet still needs to be sent."

"Okay! It's settled!"

The two smiled at each other, each knowing what was going on. This game has just begun, and the Inca battlefield will become the first touchstone to test the quality of the "Warsaw Pact".

Before leaving, Luo Yaoguo suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, Fourth Brother, Gaozi is mine in heaven. Why don't we let her go with me to Tianjing and live there for a while?"

Yang Xiuqing's face turned pale - I am yours in heaven. This is "Godhood"! You, the "Angel God", are so abominable!
Although he thought so in his heart, Yang Xiuqing still had to put on a smile for the sake of appearance: "Okay, since she is yours, then let her follow you from now on!"

In a shabby hostel on the edge of the Chinese Concession in Sakai City, the light of the kerosene lamp seemed particularly dim in the rainy night. More than 20 men dressed as ronin and farmers sat cross-legged on the tatami, listening attentively to Katsura Kogoro's speech on the podium.

"Please look at this," Katsura Kogoro drew a pie chart on a wooden board with a charcoal pencil. "Of Japan's 20 million koku of harvest, 60% went into the pockets of samurai and priests. The farmers who worked the land, on the other hand, could not even get enough to eat despite working all year round."

Sakamoto Ryoma stood up and took out a booklet from his pocket: "This is the Tianchao Land System implemented by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, farmers only need to pay 15% of the land tax, and the rest belongs to themselves."

There were exclamations in the room. A young farmer asked in a trembling voice, "Sir, is this true?"

"It's absolutely true." Iwasaki Ichitaro took over the conversation, "I saw the merchant ships coming from Jiangnan in Nagasaki with my own eyes. The farmers there were all wearing new cotton cloth and had flesh on their faces!"

"But," a young warrior hesitated, "without warriors, who will maintain order? Who will defend the country?"

Katsura Kogoro sneered and took out a Tianli rifle from his bag: "The soldiers of the Taiping Army are all ordinary peasants, but they use this to beat the foreign devils into a panic!"

Everyone passed the rifles around, their eyes glowing brighter and brighter. Sakamoto Ryoma took the opportunity to say, "And now, Yang Xiuqing has signed the Warsaw Pact, boarded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's chariot, and is dragging us to the distant Inca to die, just to keep his power, but he won't give us the land we deserve!"

"We can't just sit there and wait for death!" A ronin stood up and slammed the table.

"You can't die in vain!"

Katsura Kogoro motioned for everyone to be quiet: "Now is not the right time. But we can do three things: first, spread the "Land Equalization Order" in each domain; second, collect weapons; third" he lowered his voice, "wait for the opportunity for the Taiping Army and the British to go to war."

At this moment, a quick whistle suddenly sounded from downstairs. Iwasaki Ichitaro rushed to the window, his face changed drastically: "It's the patrolman from the Chinese Concession!"

"Go out the back door!" Sakamoto Ryoma quickly blew out the oil lamp, "Remember, on the 15th of next month, gather at Todaiji Temple in Nara!"

Everyone disappeared like ghosts in the rainy night. At the dock not far away, the Taiping Army's fleet and the Korean-Japanese Combined Fleet were making final preparations before the expedition to America. Luo Yaoguo stood on the deck of the "Xi'an", looking at the outline of Sakai City looming in the rain, with a meaningful smile on his face.

Behind him, Gao Zi held up an oil-paper umbrella and asked softly, "Angel, are we really going to Inca?"

"No." Luo Yaoguo turned around and took the umbrella handle. "Our real goal is the west coast of the United States! Compared with the United States, Inca is insignificant. As long as we can handle the west coast, the problem of Inca will be solved."

The rain was getting heavier, and the waves were hitting the ship. On this stormy night, the seeds of revolution had been quietly sown, and the battle for supremacy in the Pacific had just begun.

(End of this chapter)