The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 868 Election? Will you?

The river wind carried the coal smoke from the Pukou Industrial Zone on the north bank, rolling up from the surface of the Yangtze River to the deck of the "Dongdian". But Yang Xiuqing, standing at the top of the gangway, was completely unaware of it. At this moment, his fingers were tightly clasped on the cold teak railing, and his eyes were fixed on the dark army formation on the Xiaguan Wharf.

Three thousand infantrymen of the Tianjing Garrison Division lined up in neat square formations, their bayonets like a forest, flashing a cold murderous aura in the afterglow of dusk. They wore navy blue woolen uniforms, copper-buckled belts tightened their waists, and their large hats were pulled down very low, covering half of their faces, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes. Their military boots stepped on the granite dock, making a dull "dong dong" sound, as if the entire city of Tianjing was shaking.

"Stand at attention—salute!"

At the sound of a command, three thousand rifles were raised at the same time, with bayonets pointing obliquely at the sky. The blades reflected the light of the bamboo filament electric lamps, forming a silver ocean.

Yang Xiuqing's throat rolled slightly - such a strong murderous aura!

"Fourth brother, look!" Wei Changhui stood beside him, kicking the deck with the tip of his boots, grinning, "The guard of honor of the Tianjing Garrison Division is waiting for your inspection! This outfit is newly made by the Shanghai Clothing Factory. It's much more majestic than the red robes of the Taiping Army before, isn't it?"

Qin Rigang also took a half step closer, pointed his finger at the army formation, and couldn't suppress his pride in his voice: "That gun is even rarer - the Tianli 22nd model breech-loader! 7.8mm caliber, five-round magazine, uses smokeless gunpowder bullets." He swallowed and lowered his voice, "French engineers helped design it, it can hit whatever you point at within 600 meters, and it's six times faster than the English Enfield muzzle-loader!"

Yang Xiuqing's cheeks were tense and his face was stretched long.

He knew the gun.

A foreign engineer at the Korean Seoul Arsenal once said that the new weapon produced by the Jiangnan Factory could fire five rounds in a row without reloading, and the firing rate was six times faster than that of a muzzle-loader. The "Tenryaku Twenty Years Model" equipped by his East Palace guards was a replica of the English Enfield muzzle-loader - it was already the best rifle that the Asahi Heavenly Kingdom could produce.

The gap is too big.

The gangway creaked as Yang Xiuqing slowly walked down the gangway. He narrowed his eyes slightly as his boots stepped on the granite dock.

Luo Yaoguo stood at the front, his woolen cloak lifted by the river wind, revealing the gold-plated revolver on his waist. Feng Yunshan stood beside him, wearing a simple cotton robe and leaning on a cane. Xiao Chaogui's military uniform was straight, and the marshal's gold star on his shoulder badge shone brightly. Hong Xuanjiao's red headscarf was blown up by the wind, revealing her black hair. Shi Dakai, Hong Rengan, Maria and others lined up in turn, their eyes all fell on Yang Dongwang.

"Fourth brother, you have had a hard time on the journey." Luo Yaoguo stepped forward, stretched out his hand to hold Yang Xiuqing's elbow, and said sincerely, "Tianjin has been waiting for you for twenty years."

Yang Xiuqing's eyes swept through the crowd and finally nailed to the cross on Maria's chest. The foreign woman holding the "Langnusky Spear" wore a yellow jacket and a horse-faced skirt today, and knelt down to him and made an inappropriate salute - her hands were empty, without the spear that had stabbed Ji Du and Xiao Chaogui.
The roar of military boots hitting the ground suddenly approached.

The guard of honor formed a corridor, and the bayonet forest was filled with murderous intent. Yang Xiuqing counted the magazine bags hanging next to the soldiers' backpacks - each cowhide bag was bulging with five magazines.

The 10,000 personal soldiers he brought with him were only equipped with a total of 300,000 rounds of bullets.

And the magazines of the three thousand people in front of us contain 75,000 rounds.

They are all brass bullets!

This gap is even larger than originally estimated.

"Thank you for your hard work, brothers!" Luo Yaoguo suddenly shouted to the army.

"For the country and the people!"

The roars of three thousand throats shook the river surface. Yang Xiuqing's fingers in his sleeves also trembled. He remembered that during the military training in Seoul, the Korean soldiers shouted "Long live the King of the East" as if they were hungry.
It seems that we can’t win if we fight.

This time, Yang Xiuqing had completely given up the idea of ​​"fighting" with Luo Yaoguo in Tianjing City.

But if you can’t beat them, you can still choose!

The steel beams of the elevated railway intertwined to form an iron network at the Xiaguan Railway Station. The electric train roared softly and slid steadily into the platform. The glass window reflected Yang Xiuqing's stiff face.

This is a carriage reserved for VIPs. The seats are covered with velvet cushions, crystal chandeliers hang above the mahogany table, and Hong Xuanjiao is stirring the sugar cubes in the coffee cup with a silver spoon.

"Fourth brother, do you want to be the Eastern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Eastern King of the Korean Heavenly Kingdom or the Japanese Heavenly Kingdom?" Luo Yaoguo tapped the silver-plated dinner plate piled with snacks with his fingertips, smiling, "Wearing three crowns at the same time, can your neck bear it?"

Feng Yunshan's teacup "clacked" onto the plate. "The rules of heaven are strict! Since the fourth son has returned to Tianjing, the throne of Korea should be given to your second son, and the throne of Japan should be given to Chengtian. As for the prince of the East..." He pointed his skinny finger at the Pukou Steel Plant passing by the window, where hundreds of chimneys were spewing black smoke, "he will only inherit the family business of the East Prince's Mansion in Tianjin."

Yang Xiuqing's one eye swept across the faces of Luo Yaoguo and Feng Yunshan: "Who made this rule?"

"It was decided at the meeting." Xiao Chaogui slapped the redwood table, "All of us kings - including King Hong in the sky - must abide by this iron rule!"

"The four sons of Heavenly Father are no exception?" Yang Xiuqing asked in a deep voice.

"No!" Luo Yaoguo's voice cut through the roar of the steel wheels, "It's a decree spoken by God!"

Yang Xiuqing's throat rolled: "When was the decree issued? How come I don't know about it?"

All eyes in the car were suddenly fixed on his face.

Feng Yunshan twisted a cigar and took out a cigarette, Xiao Chaogui stroked his gray beard, and Maria was holding a cross made of rotten wood in her hand. Luo Yaoguo took out the "Tiantian Mirror" from his pocket. Hong Rengan suddenly laughed: "Fourth brother, you are joking! You have been delivering the will of God for half your life, how can you not know the will of God?"

Yang Xiuqing's back teeth felt sore from biting them.

King Qin Rigang of Yan smiled and said, "My Lord, the King of the South, the King of the West, the Queen Mother of the West, the King of the North, the King of the Wings, the King of Wu, and the Queen Mother of the Third King of Wu (Maria) all knew about this. How could you not know?"

The people he mentioned were all "from heaven", and he did not mention the three kings, including himself, King Gan, and King Xiaoyu, who were all mortals.
"Of course I know that!" Yang Xiuqing said through his teeth, "But the rules... can be changed."

"Of course it can be changed!" Luo Yaoguo smiled and pushed over a plate of lotus cakes. "Just more than half of the people can raise their hands. What a pity -" He dipped his fingertips in tea and drew circles on the tablecloth. "The 70,000 old members of the East Palace don't even have a vote in the meeting." Yang Xiuqing grabbed the edge of the table fiercely.

The train was passing over Xuanwu Lake. The glass dome of the Army Children's School was reflected on the water surface, and children in school uniforms were running in a line across the playground.

"They're back now!"

"So we'll elect new representatives next spring." Luo Yaoguo took out his pocket watch and opened the cover. "Fourth brother wants to run?"

Yang Xiuqing stared at the golden needle jumping on the dial: "Of course I have to choose!"

Luo Yaoguo snapped the cover shut: "Then let's start with the election rules today..."

The whistle blew long.

Outside the car window, the lights in the New East Palace at the foot of Zijin Mountain have been turned on, and dim yellow light is streaming out of dozens of glass windows, like a giant beast that has been dormant in the darkness for many years and has finally opened its eyes.

Yang Xiuqing sat on the velvet chair, tapping the armrest with his knuckles.

Luo Yaoguo took out a gold-covered copy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Election Charter from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Yang Xiuqing.

"Fourth brother, this is the election law revised in the 23rd year of the Tianli calendar. Please take a look first."

Yang Xiuqing opened the first page, his eyes swept over the densely packed clauses, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"I have more than 70,000 people," Yang Xiuqing raised his head suddenly, "Is there a guaranteed minimum of 40 to 50 seats?"

"It's hard to say." Feng Yunshan said slowly.

Yang Xiuqing sneered: "I brought those people here all the way. Who else can they vote for if not me, the East Palace?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "That's true. But they have to cancel their Korean and Japanese citizenship first and register as Taiping Heavenly Kingdom citizens."

Yang Xiuqing's pupils shrank slightly: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is..." Xiao Chaogui grinned, "They have to choose whether to be Koreans, Japanese, or Chinese. If they choose to be Chinese, they can no longer be Koreans or Japanese."

Yang Xiuqing's fingers clenched the charter, and the paper crumpled into a ball in his palm.

This still requires splitting his Chaori Kingdom and Dongwang Palace into three parts!

The train slowly stopped at Zijinshan Station.

Yang Xiuqing stood on the platform, looking at the brightly lit new residence of the King of East in the distance, and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

Luo Yaoguo patted his shoulder and said, "Fourth brother, we're home."

Yang Xiuqing did not move.

"Regarding the election..." he began slowly, "I want to bring people to participate."

Luo Yaoguo smiled: "Of course, and welcome!"

"I want the old members of the East Palace to register directly without canceling their Korean or Japanese identities."

"This is against the rules."

Yang Xiuqing turned around abruptly and stared into Luo Yaoguo's eyes: "Rules are made by people!"

Luo Yaoguo was still smiling, but his eyes turned cold: "Fourth brother, the rules of heaven are set by Heavenly Father."

Yang Xiuqing was silent for a long time, and suddenly laughed.

"Okay, okay." He nodded, "Then let's follow the rules."

He walked towards the new residence of the East King, and the soles of his boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the granite steps.

Behind him, Luo Yaoguo's voice came from afar:

"Fourth brother, do you really know how to do elections?"

Yang Xiuqing did not look back.

He knew that he had a great chance of winning this round. Even if he only had 10% of the seats, he could exchange interests with other palaces and form a party. As for Japan and Korea, they could be passed on to Chengtian, and he could be the king of the Kingdom of the Sun.

This... The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s conference should have nothing to do with it, right?
(End of this chapter)