The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 862: Tianjing Incident? We must defeat the enemy with sugar-coated bullets!
Inside the Hall of Kings on Capitol Hill in Tianjing, the charcoal basin was burning brightly, but it could not suppress the angry voice of Xiao Chaogui who slammed the table.

"What is Yang Xiuqing planning? He wants to use 600,000 tons of grain as a bargaining chip to fight us?" He pointed at the North Korean grain production book on the table and rapped his knuckles. "Last year, North Korea's autumn grain production totaled 18 million dan. He asked for 10 million right away. Who will eat the remaining 8 million dan? Half of the North Koreans will starve to death first!"

Hong Xuanjiao twisted a platinum cross inlaid with diamonds and sneered: "Fourth brother has nothing in his hands! The annual income of the Kingdom of the Sun is 8 million silver dollars, which is not even a fraction of ours. Ten million dan of grain? Even if you tear down the East King's Palace in Seoul and sell the bricks, you can't make up the money!" She deliberately raised her voice, and the secretary standing in the corner of the hall paused.

Wei Changhui's Hakka accent was full of sarcasm: "More than food? The ships carrying food have to rely on donations from the True Covenant Church! Using our church to raise food for him, his face is thicker than the walls of Tianjing!" He grabbed the teacup and put it down heavily, splashing the tea on a spread-out "Distribution Map of True Covenant Churches Around the World". "If we want to go the way of the True Covenant Church to beg for alms, we don't know how to do it? Do we need him to be such a great philanthropist?"

Shi Dakai had been staring at the Liaodong map, and suddenly looked up at this moment: "One hundred thousand Chinese people are accompanying us... If there are strong and capable people among them who can be organized into private soldiers, the defense of Tianjing must be taken seriously." He traced the Yangtze River defense line with his fingertips, "I suggest transferring two divisions to Tianjing to strengthen the defense."

Feng Yunshan did not answer, but looked at the end of the long table with worry. Luo Yaoguo was writing at his desk, the tip of his pen making a rustling sound on the account book. After a while, he put down his pen and looked up, smiling: "The number of 100,000 may be exaggerated, but there are always 50,000. Let's be more generous - prepare for 70,000!"

"Prepare for what?" Feng Yunshan leaned forward alertly, staring at Luo Yaoguo's face.

"Of course, we have to prepare welfare!" Luo Yaoguo pushed the account book across the table. "Brothers from the East Palace are also Taiping Army! From Jintian to Korea, the red flags are stained with the blood of our own people. The land, annual salary, and resettlement fees that should be given cannot be reduced by a single cent!" He circled a few lines of numbers with ink. "For those who wish to stay in Tianjing, the Ministry of Works will allocate land for building houses; for those who want to go to the Northeast to reclaim wasteland, the Farmers' Association will allocate farms and provide settlement money. Nobles will be granted mansions according to their merits, and ordinary people will be arranged to work in factories, mines, and local government offices - in short, the old brothers will have a decent place to stay."

Feng Yunshan looked at the account carefully, and his frown gradually relaxed: "How much will it cost?"

"It will cost 50 million!"

"Fifty million silver dollars..." Feng Yunshan pondered for a moment, "Our imperial court is not well-off, so we should send about 20 million and the Prime Minister's Office 30 million."

"That's great!" Luo Yaoguo laughed and clapped his hands. "The average wage per worker is 800 silver dollars, and the monthly wage for new workers at Jiangnan Factory is only a dozen dollars!"

Hong Xuanjiao's eyes widened in astonishment: "Is my ninth brother crazy? These people followed Yang Xiuqing back to seize power!"

"How do you call it seizing power? You didn't do your job well, you deserve it." Luo Yaoguo picked up the thermos and refilled everyone's tea with a friendly look, "But if you want to rebel against me, you have to follow the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven - use votes, not guns." He suddenly turned to Hong Xuanjiao, "Seventh sister, please go to Seoul and represent the kings to welcome the fourth brother back to the country."

Hong Xuanjiao was stunned for a moment, and seemed to understand Luo Yaoguo's thoughts. She suddenly smiled and said, "I can't go empty-handed... Can I bring a few ships of silk from the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau? And some canned candies from the Shanghai Food Factory?"

"Not enough!" Luo Yaoguo pulled out a gift list from the drawer and slapped it on the table. "The canned food must be beef, and the candies must be chocolate-filled. And the hardcover edition of The True Covenant made by the True Covenant Church - let the brothers in the East Palace see where the grace of Heavenly Father is!"

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Seoul Railway Station was filled with steam.

Yang Xiuqing wore a fox fur coat over his python robe, and behind him stood a line of red turbans. When the special train painted with a golden dragon roared into the station, the platform immediately fell to its knees: "Long live the Queen of the West!"

Hong Xuanjiao stepped down the steps in a crimson purple riding uniform. She ignored the hand extended by Yang Xiuqing and walked straight to a row of veterans crawling in the snow. She helped up the one-armed man in the front row and said, "Zhang Chaojue! Do you still have the scar from the knife you blocked for the Eastern King during the Yongan breakout?" The man lifted his clothes tremblingly, and the hideous knife scar caused a gasp.

"Good man!" Hong Xuanjiao waved her hand, and the accompanying guards opened the door of a truck. Inside was a pile of gifts: Suzhou embroidery brocades were shining, tin cans were stacked like a city wall, and colorful candies in crystal glass bottles were rolling with honey. The crowd was buzzing and a few children from Chinese families couldn't help but squeeze forward.

"Brothers and sisters, you have worked hard!" Hong Xuanjiao jumped onto a chair brought by her attendant, her voice clear and penetrating the cold wind, "The Council of Kings sent me to welcome everyone back home - Tianjing City has prepared a three-story building, with running water pipes and bamboo-filament electric lights installed! In the Northeast, 1000 million mu of black land has been marked out, and there will be extra resettlement allowances for those who go there!" She grabbed a can of beef handed to her by an attendant and gently threw it to the crowd, "First, taste the sweetness of the little paradise!"

The cans were passed around. With the help of one of Hong Xuanjiao's attendants, the one-armed Wang Agui opened the can, trembling as he took out a piece of brown beef and stuffed it into his mouth. He suddenly burst into tears, "I haven't eaten such delicious meat in twenty years..." The cry was like water splashing into an oil pan, and it exploded instantly! The red scarves pushed and shoved towards the gift box.

Yang Xiuqing stood in the middle of the platform with a smile on his face.

"Seventh sister," he strode forward and put his arm around Hong Xuanjiao's shoulders affectionately, "The kings of Tianjing are so thoughtful! I will remember this generous gift in my heart."

Hong Xuanjiao was stunned. She didn't expect Yang Xiuqing to react like this. She thought he would be angry, or at least give her a cold face. But the King of the East, who was nine thousand years old, smiled like a child who had been given candy.

The two men walked side by side towards a large sedan chair carried by thirty-six people.

As soon as the two of them sat firmly in the wide sedan chair, Hong Xuanjiao took out a roll of yellow silk from her sleeve and said, "This is the Regulations. My third brother asked me to bring it to you for your review."

When Yang Xiuqing unfolded it, his eyes sparkled.

"Good! Good!" He clapped his hands and laughed, "It should have been done long ago! If I am elected, I will let 600 million people eat meat every day!" Hong Xuanjiao was secretly shocked, but she did not show it on her face: "If Fourth Brother is willing to run for election, the Congress will definitely welcome it. Next year is the 24th year of the Tianli calendar."

“Hahaha, that’s great!” Yang Xiuqing held his head high, “I am the fourth son of Heavenly Father, the King of the East, and I am 9,000 years old! In terms of seniority and achievements, in what way am I inferior to Luo Yaoguo?” He suddenly lowered his voice, “Seventh sister, go back and tell the kings that if I am elected, I will definitely keep their current titles and salaries, not a single one of them will be touched!”

Hong Xuanjiao suppressed her smile and nodded solemnly: "Fourth brother, please be kind and righteous. I will convey your message."

That night, the lights in the East Palace were bright.

"My lord, Hong Xuanjiao's visit is clearly a demonstration..." Before Hou Qianfang could finish his words, Yang Xiuqing interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"What do you know?" The Eastern Prince stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the Taiping Army who were still distributing gifts in the square. "She is here to show her goodwill! Luo Yaoguo is afraid. He knows that if I return to Beijing, his position as Prime Minister will be in jeopardy!"

Hong Rengan said cautiously: "But the Election Regulations state that the Kings' Conference has the right to nominate the next candidate..."

"So what?" Yang Xiuqing turned around, his eyes flashing with fanaticism, "I have the support of 100,000 people! And God is blessing me! What can Luo Yaoguo use to fight me?" He slammed the table, "Pass the order down, speed up the preparation of 'Heavenly Rice'. When I return to Beijing with the grain, I will see who the National People's Congress will elect!"

Snowflakes were falling outside the window, but they could not drown out the noise of people outside the palace. A large group of people from the East Palace were surrounding Hong Xuanjiao's followers and asking them questions.

"Does Tianjin really give us houses?"

"How many silver dollars can I get every month?"

"Can the child go to school?"

Yang Xiuqing listened to these discussions, but instead of being annoyed, he smiled even more.

"We must let them go back! They are all citizens of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has a population of 60 million, there are only a few hundred thousand adult citizens. My East Palace faction can bring back more than 60,000 people, accounting for more than 10% of the total number of citizens. This is the worst possible outcome! If the election is successful, I will be the next one!"

In the Prime Minister's Office in Tianjing, the telegraph room was busy all night long.

"Java replied: The priests sent by the East Palace are selling tickets to heaven everywhere." Zhao Liewen read the message and couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, Yang Xiuqing seems to really think he can win the election?"

Luo Yaoguo fiddled with the globe and chuckled, "The more he thinks so, the better." His fingertips pointed at the United States, "Although 60 tons of grain cannot solve the famine in Dingmao, it can solve the gap of several percentage points."

Chen Ji, the general director of the Taiping Farmers Association, hurried in and said, "The California Chamber of Commerce in the United States called back and said they are willing to supply grain at the market price plus 20%, and they are willing to accept bonds."

"Approved." Luo Yaoguo tapped the telegram sent by Hong Xuanjiao from Seoul on the table. "Today, another 1,200 people from Dongdian applied to settle in the Kingdom of Heaven. Does King Yang Dong really think that these people are his diehards?" He suddenly paused and looked out the window at the dark sky. "Oh, by the way, send a telegram to Hong Daquan and ask him to tell Tiangui: As long as he is willing to return to Tianjing to support me next year, I will help him become the President of the United States in the future."

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow fell in Seoul on New Year's Eve.

Hong Xuanjiao stood by the door of the special train, smiling at the crowd of people on the platform who were seeing her off - three thousand people from the East Palace had already packed into the carriage with their families. Zhang Chaojue, carrying his bedding roll, shouted at her, "Madam Queen of the West, which house in Tianjing was allocated to my family?"

“On the north bank of Xuanwu Lake, you can see Purple Mountain right out the window!”

Yang Xiuqing stood in the snow with his hands behind his back, his golden crown covered with snow. He looked at his joyous subordinates, feeling full of pride:

"Go! All of you, go to Tianjing! When I come with millions of shi of grain, you will be my loyal subjects!"

The whistle blew long and the special train started slowly. Children's screams of surprise floated out from the carriage:
"Mom! The chocolate candies are so sweet!"

(End of this chapter)