The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 867 is not the Tianjing Incident, but the Tianjing Changes!

In early October of the twenty-fourth year of the Tianli calendar, the autumn atmosphere was deep, and the Yangtze River was vast. The afternoon sun shone obliquely on the river, reflecting a piece of broken gold. A huge fleet came from the east, with more than a hundred sails, chimneys, and colorful flags fluttering, surrounding the passenger ship "Dongdian" in the center with the banner of "Fengtian Rescue Famine". The fleet was like a moving mountain, blocking the river flow, with a huge momentum, as if to recreate the old dream of a million strong troops marching to Nanjing twenty years ago on the mighty river waves.

On the top platform of the "Eastern Palace", Yang Xiuqing, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a fox fur coat, leaned on the railing and looked into the distance. The river breeze blew on his face, blowing a few strands of long beard under his chin. His eyes swept over the sails and steamships spewing black smoke, and finally fell on the iron-gray behemoth escorting the flank - the "Fuso" ironclad ship. The dark armor belt exuded murderous aura in the sun, and the muzzle of the 240mm cannon pointed grimly to the sky. The majesty of this steel was something that the Taiping brothers who held swords and spears and drove wooden boats and bamboo rafts twenty years ago could never have dreamed of.

"Blessings of Heavenly Father, bless my heavenly kingdom." Yang Xiuqing murmured to himself, his heart full of pride. This time he brought 600,000 tons of "heavenly rice" back to Beijing, with the support of the Fuso giant ship, and 100,000 Dongdian people who had taken root in Tianjing. It was time for someone else to take Luo Yaoguo's position as prime minister! He seemed to have seen the gates of Tianjing open and the people shouting "Long live the emperor".

"W-W-W-!"

Suddenly, two sharp and piercing whistles tore through the noise on the river surface, rolling from the front, and the sound shook for miles! Yang Xiuqing's heart suddenly tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the railing. Ten miles ahead, he saw two larger and more ferocious steel warships breaking through the waves, their momentum was like a giant whale cutting through the waves, and they actually made the huge "Fuso" look smaller. Another circle, and another circle!
"Protect the emperor! Fuso..." Yang Xiuqing blurted out.

"Long live the King of the East, don't be alarmed!" A figure quickly approached. It was Chen Chengrong, the vice-archbishop of the Korean Diocese of the Zhenyue Sect. He smiled and pointed to the front. "These are the flagships of the Beidian and Yandian! The Zhenyuan and Dingyuan ships! They must have come here to welcome the king in accordance with the order of the meeting of the kings in Tianjing!"

Yang Xiuqing heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. He immediately took the brass telescope from his attendant and zoomed in to take a closer look. In the lens, the masts of the two huge ships were indeed flying high with the apricot-yellow dragon flag of Wei Changhui, the Northern King, and the black swallow-shaped flag of Qin Rigang, the Yan King.

"Oh? It's Changhui and Rigang..." Yang Xiuqing put down the telescope, a smile appeared on his face, and said to Chen Chengrong, "It's been a while since I last saw the North Palace and the Yan Palace. Quick, send a small boat over and invite the two princes to move to the East Palace to chat!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Chengrong bowed and accepted the order, then immediately turned around to make arrangements.

At the same time, on the other side of the river.

On the old-fashioned paddle steamer "Satsuma Maru" flying the Hinomaru flag and with a mottled hull, the bear-like Saigo Takamori folded his sturdy arms and fixed his hawk-like eyes on the two approaching Taiping Heavenly Kingdom warships. Next to him stood his younger brother Saigo Tsumichi.

"Brother, that's China's 'Zhenyuan' and 'Dingyuan'." Saigo Tsungmichi whispered with envy, "Its tonnage is indeed over 200, nearly twice as large as our 'Fuso'. However, its main gun caliber is only 240 mm, not as good as the mm cannon of the 'Fuso'. In my opinion, its armor may not be able to completely withstand a hit from our main gun."

Saigo Takamori was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly in a low voice: "Although the caliber is small, the cannon was cast by the Shanghai Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. The steel used in the barrel, the copper used in the shell, the gunpowder and explosives inside... are all made by them. Our 'Fuso', the armor is from England, the cannon is from England, the shells are also from England... Even the hull was built by English engineers helping us." He turned his head and looked at his brother sharply, "Japan, there is still a long way to go! Keep working hard!"

"Yes!" Saigo Tsungmichi responded solemnly, then lowered his voice, "The Zhen and Ding ships are both in Tianjing at the moment, under heavy guard. We want to attack the Dongdian on the river... I'm afraid it will be very difficult."

Saigo Takamori raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes turned back to the "East Palace" in the center of the mighty fleet: "Then wait. Tianjing City... is the real stage. Perhaps, there is no need for us to do anything. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's own people will help Amaterasu to get rid of the usurping 'Father' false god." He paused, and said meaningfully, "Only when the false god returns to his position, the true god will have a chance to descend on Japan..."

Before he finished speaking, the sailor on the bow (actually a member of the Satsuma navy) suddenly shouted in surprise and shock: "Tianjing City! We have arrived at Tianjing City!"

On board the East Palace.

Northern King Wei Changhui and Yan King Qin Rigang had boarded the ship in a small boat. Both of them were wearing well-tailored dark woolen clothes and warm hats, which formed a sharp contrast with Yang Xiuqing's bright yellow dragon robe with golden luster. They had warm smiles on their faces and bowed from a distance:
"Fourth brother! You have worked hard along the way! Thanks to God's grace, we finally arrived in Beijing safely!" Wei Changhui said in a loud voice.

"Nine thousand years old King Dong! Rigang is honored!" Qin Rigang also agreed with a smile.

Yang Xiuqing nodded slightly and was about to speak, but he saw that the several attendants who followed Wei and Qin on board just clasped their fists and bowed to him, performing a standard salute, and did not prostrate themselves on their knees like the subjects of Korea and Japan.

Chen Chengrong's face darkened, and he shouted sternly: "How dare you! How dare you not kneel before the King of the East? What are your rules!"

The East Palace Minister Hou Qianfang held down the short gun at his waist, his eyes wide open with anger: "Disrespectful! You deserve to be killed!"

The smile on Wei Changhui's face froze for a moment, then it became even wider. He quickly stepped forward and bowed to Yang Xiuqing again, explaining with a helpless smile: "Fourth brother, calm down, fourth brother, calm down! You don't know that now in our Heavenly Kingdom... we no longer practice grand etiquette! When ordinary people see me, they just bow and bow. This is... This is clearly written in the "New Etiquette of the Heavenly Kingdom" agreed upon by my ninth brother and third brother at the meeting of kings more than ten years ago. The old custom of kneeling and bowing was abolished, and the new etiquette of bowing and bowing was promoted. It has been implemented for thirteen or fourteen years!"

"Thirteen or fourteen years?!" Yang Xiuqing was struck by lightning, the smile on his face froze instantly, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment. He turned his head sharply to look at Chen Chengrong and Hou Qianfang beside him. Chen Chengrong, the vice-archbishop who often traveled between Tianjing and Seoul and was responsible for the exchange of religious affairs with the True Covenant sect of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was also confused and surprised at this moment, with his mouth slightly open, obviously hearing about it for the first time.

Hou Qianfang is in charge of the "Arhat Hall" which was built in imitation of the Dark Hall. He specializes in intelligence gathering and has infiltrated Tianjing for many years. At this moment, he also has a frown on his face and flickering eyes, as if the ritual changes of the "thirteen or fourteen years" were completely outside his intelligence network!
A strong sense of uneasiness instantly gripped Yang Xiuqing's heart. Such a big thing, concerning the fundamental system of hierarchy and the majesty of the Heavenly Kingdom, had been changed for more than ten years, and he, the 9,000-year-old King of the East and the second-in-command of the Heavenly Kingdom in theory, was completely unaware of it!

And why would his spies planted in Tianjing and his trusted confidants hide this matter from him?

Also, are they hiding something else?
In this suffocating silence and doubt, the sailors’ exclamations came from the bow again: “Tianjing City! We’ve arrived at Tianjing City—!!”

Wei Changhui seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He immediately pointed forward and said in a deliberately excited voice, "Fourth brother! Look! You haven't been back to Tianjing for nearly 20 years, right? The current Tianjing City has changed a lot! The scenery... Tsk tsk, it's almost catching up with the scenery in the sky described in "True Covenant: Theory of Heaven"... 10%... No, I think it's at least 20%!"

Yang Xiuqing suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction of Wei Changhui's finger.

In an instant, time seemed to freeze.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the western sky into a magnificent orange-red and golden purple. Under that gorgeous sky, the scene on the north bank of the Yangtze River completely overturned all the memories of "Tianjing" in Yang Xiuqing's mind.

It was no longer the dilapidated stone city of twenty years ago, which was grand but still bore the shadows of the previous and previous dynasties. The scene before him was filled with strange and majestic heavenly scenes that shook his soul!

The first thing that caught my eye was the Xiaguan Port area on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The huge steam cranes, like the arms of a steel giant, slowly rose and fell in the twilight, lifting the mountain of cargo bags into the cabin or unloading them onto the dock. Along the river bank, rows of tall, white-painted lamp posts had bamboo filament bulbs lit up, emitting a steady and bright white light, illuminating the entire busy dock area as bright as day! This light was by no means comparable to pine torches or kerosene and gas lamps. It was pure, constant, and had a sense of almost miracle. A five-story granite building stood tall, with its glazed tile roof shining in the sunset. It was a customs building. At this moment, its countless glass windows also showed a few bright lights, indicating that the people inside were still busy. What was even more astonishing was that on the top of a taller Western-style building next to it, several huge characters made of colored glass tubes - "Taiping HSBC Bank" were flashing red, green and blue alternately! The neon lights were flowing, strange and dazzling. Was this a spell from heaven? Didn't they say that Luo Yaoguo didn't know any other spells besides fortune-telling?

Could it be that the spiritual energy has revived, but why don't I feel anything at all? When Yang Xiuqing thought of this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead!

Then, Yang Xiuqing's eyes were caught by a giant iron dragon moving rapidly along the towering wall of Tianjing. It was an elevated railway! A long "iron train" without horses pulling it and chimneys spewing thick smoke was sliding silently and swiftly on it! The front of the train was inlaid with a gilded dragon emblem, and the glass windows of more than a dozen carriages were brightly lit, with faint swaying figures visible. It was like a glowing giant python, cruising along the ancient city wall. It was obvious that it was not a mortal scene.

Every half a mile, the red lantern-shaped glass balls (bamboo filament lamps) hanging on the iron poles would light up one after another, illuminating the blue-gray bricks of the city wall in every detail.

However, what made Yang Xiuqing feel most suffocated and even terrified was the scene on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

In the direction of Pukou, as far as the eye can see, there is a steel forest composed of countless factories, warehouses, and blast furnaces! Densely packed, covering the sky and the earth, extending to the end of the field of vision. Dozens, no, hundreds of thick chimneys are like giant fingers, piercing straight into the dusky sky. At this moment, they are spewing thick smoke unscrupulously. The black and gray smoke columns are rolling and rising under the reflection of the setting sun, connecting into a cloud of smoke that covers the sky and dyes half of the sky gray and black! There seems to be a low and continuous roar in the air, which is the sound of countless machines running at the same time. The flames are looming in the gaps between the huge factory buildings, that is the furnace burning! Even across the wide river, Yang Xiuqing can feel the scorching and majestic industrial power emanating from that land!

How could this be the "little paradise" in his memory that needed to be maintained by swords, guns and shaman dances? This was clearly a real... kingdom of God on earth that had been moved down from heaven! It was almost exactly the same as the various "miracles" in heaven described in "The True Covenant: Theory of Heaven".

"This... this is..." Yang Xiuqing's monocular telescope fell to the teak deck with a "clack" sound, and he was completely unaware. He opened his mouth, making a hoarse sound in his throat, but he couldn't say a word.

For twenty years, he had been immersed in the supreme authority of "the Father's spokesman" and the information cocoon carefully woven by his confidants, thinking that he was in control of everything and had insight into the Kingdom of Heaven. He had also imagined the prosperity of Tianjing, but he had never imagined... it would be like this!

The 600,000 tons of food he brought with him, the ironclad ship "Fuso" that he was proud of, and even his sacred identity as "the fourth son of God", all seemed so small and so... out of place in front of this roaring real "little paradise" made up of steel, lightning and thick smoke.

Chen Chengrong and Hou Qianfang were already pale, staring blankly at the bright lights and chimneys on the river bank, their eyes full of confusion and fear. Of course, they had been to Tianjing before, more than once. But they hadn't been to Tianjing for five or six years, and they felt very unfamiliar with this ever-changing little paradise. Five or six years ago, there was no elevated railway in Tianjing, and the factories in Pukou had just been built, and there was no "psychic lamp". At that time, they were still using gas lamps!

The speed at which Tianjing City is becoming a paradise is still quite astonishing!!
Wei Changhui looked at Yang Xiuqing's distraught look, with a hint of pride in his eyes - you, the fourth son of the Heavenly Father, have become a country god. He took a step forward, and his voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by Yang Xiuqing: "Fourth brother, look... this is our little paradise, built by Angel Luo... for the 600 million people in our kingdom of heaven, on earth."

(End of this chapter)