The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 870 Sorry, I Want to Be President
The East China Sea is surging.

A huge fleet was sailing westwards, with 20 large dry bulk cargo ships with a load capacity of more than 5,000 tons lined up in two columns, and the black smoke from the chimneys blocked out the sky and cast long gray shadows on the sea. These cargo ships belonged to the "Jinshan Shipping Company" and were loaded with wheat produced in the twelve western states of the United States. They were heading towards the Xiaguan Wharf of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In the center of the fleet were the two cruisers "Flying Fish" and "Kunshan", and the ironclad ship "California" - this 200-ton giant ship was the main force of the Navy of the Twelve Western States of the United States. The two twin mm main turrets on the bow looked murderous in the sun. The sentry on the observation deck held a telescope and vigilantly scanned the horizon.

On the deck of the California, a group of young sailors were leaning against the railing and looking into the distance. They were wearing dark blue militia navy uniforms and had a bronze badge of the "Gold Mountain Shipping Company" on their chests. These sailors were either born in the American West or followed their parents across the ocean to the New World. They grew up listening to stories about the Taiping Rebellion and were full of longing for the "motherland" across the ocean.

"I heard that Tianjing City is ten times bigger than San Francisco!" a teenager of about seventeen or eighteen said excitedly.

"Of course!" An old sailor with a full beard blew out a smoke ring. "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has 60 million people. How many people are there in the American West? Not even a fraction of them!"

"But we have money!" the boy retorted unconvincedly, "California's annual tax revenue is equivalent to that of several provinces of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! I heard that the California Department of Finance is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's largest creditor!"

The old sailor sneered: "No matter how much money you have, you still need guns to protect it! Otherwise, those white masters on the East Coast would have attacked us long ago."

As he was speaking, a loud shout suddenly came from the observation deck: "Ironclad ship! What a fast ironclad ship!"

Everyone looked up and saw a slender steel ship breaking through the waves at an astonishing speed on the distant horizon. Its hull was pitch black, and its five twin 150mm turrets were lined up in a solemn manner. The waves split by its bow shone silver in the sun.

"It's the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's 'Sea Eagle'!" someone exclaimed, "I heard it can run 24 knots!"

The "Sea Eagle" passed by the flank of the fleet like a sharp arrow, with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's naval flag fluttering. The sailors on the deck stood at attention and saluted, watching the world's fastest ironclad ship disappear in the distant sea fog.

In the luxurious cabin of the "California", Hong Tiangui was sitting opposite his cousin Hong Renzheng and drinking.

Hong Renzheng was wearing the robes of a True Testament cardinal with a golden cross on his chest, but his face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. He took a gulp of wine and gritted his teeth and said, "Who is Luo Yaoguo? If the Heavenly King hadn't promoted him, would he have become the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? But he didn't let you ascend the throne as the Heavenly King, and he even took away my position as the Archbishop of North America!"

Hong Tiangui smiled slightly and shook the wine glass in his hand: "Uncle, why do you have to be angry with Luo Yaoguo? He is just the prime minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He can manage the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but not the twelve western states of the United States, nor your Hawaii."

"But the throne of the Heavenly King should have been yours!" Hong Renzheng slammed the table and stood up, then lowered his voice, "King Yang Dong said that as long as you nod, he will help you take the throne!"

Hong Tiangui shook his head, his eyes sharp as a knife: "Uncle, how important do you think... the position of Heavenly King is now?"

Hong Renzheng was stunned.

"The Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is just a decoration at the meeting of kings. It was like this before my father ascended to heaven." Hong Tiangui stood up and walked to the porthole, looking at the vast East China Sea and the "Flying Eagle" gradually going away. "Yang Xiuqing wanted me to be his puppet... But I, Hong Tiangui, want to be in power, great power. A real man cannot be without power for a day! What's the difference between a king without power and a prisoner? I don't want the great power, but to be their prisoner and live in fear?"

He turned around and said word by word: "I want to be the president of Western America!"

Hong Renzheng's eyes widened: "You...are you crazy? The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had 60 million people, how many people are there in the American West?"

"What's the use of having more people?" Hong Tiangui sneered, "The twelve western states of the United States have gold, oil, silver, and grain. The annual fiscal revenue is equivalent to a quarter of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! I'm afraid that Luo Yaoguo has less money at hand than me, the commander-in-chief of the California militia!"

He walked up to Hong Renzheng and lowered his voice: "Uncle, do you know why I can hold the position of commander-in-chief of the California militia? Because the division commanders, brigade commanders, and captains below are all my classmates at the San Francisco Military Academy! They all call me 'big brother', and I want to lead them to build a new country - the United States of Western America! That is the country where I can truly rule!"

Hong Renzheng swallowed his saliva and said, "Then when you return to Tianjing this time..."

"Take a stand." Hong Tiangui raised the corner of his mouth, "Whoever can support me to be the president of Western America, I will support him!"

Hong Renzheng asked: "Who do you think can support you to be president?"

Just then, there was a knock on the cabin door. A naval officer poked his head in and said, "Commander, we've arrived at Tianjing City!"

There were huge crowds of people at the Xiaguan Wharf in Tianjing.

Tens of thousands of nobles and nobles filled the dock square, all wearing red headscarves, looking like a red ocean from afar. Under the temporary painted archway, Luo Yaoguo, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan and other kings were all dressed in court robes, smiling as they waited for the young king who was supposed to be their puppet.

"Here they come!" someone shouted. In the distance, the USS California, escorted by the Flying Fish and Kunshan ships, was approaching slowly, followed by 20 cargo ships loaded with food. Each ship was flying the red-bottomed round dragon flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the black, red and yellow tricolor flag of the American West.

A deafening cheer erupted from the dock: "Young King! Young King!"

Yang Xiuqing raised the corner of his mouth slightly and glanced at Luo Yaoguo - the latter's expression was still calm, but he must be pretending to be calm!

Hong Xiuquan has been gone for so many years, and the throne of the Heavenly King on Earth has been vacant. The Young Heavenly King must be coming back this time with the intention of ascending the throne!

The California landed steadily. The gangway was lowered, and Hong Tiangui, dressed in a gray woolen uniform and holding the rank of major general of the American West Coast militia, strode down. Behind him, Hong Renzheng and a group of American West Coast officers followed closely. From a distance, this young king had the majesty of a ruler. Yang Xiuqing felt that Hong Tiangui seemed to be stronger than his father!

Thinking of this, Yang Xiuqing shouted loudly: "Great, the young master of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has finally grown up!"

But what surprised Yang Xiuqing was that the "young master" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Tiangui, actually walked straight up to Luo Yaoguo, and then stood at attention and saluted: "Prime Minister, Tiangui is here to bring food to you and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Yang Xiuqing's smile suddenly froze on his face.

Luo Yaoguo nodded slightly, and patted Hong Tiangui on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work."

After saluting Luo Yaoguo, Hong Tiangui turned and walked towards the copper speaker in the center of the dock. He took a deep breath, and his voice spread loudly throughout the square:

"My fellow countrymen and nobles of the Heavenly Kingdom! I, Hong Tiangui, have returned to Tianjing today not to fight for the throne of Heavenly King, but to tell you that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not the kingdom of one family or one surname, but the common kingdom of all the people, all the citizens, and all the Chinese people!"

His voice was sonorous and powerful, echoing over the dock.

"Over the past 20 years, Prime Minister Luo has led the Kingdom of Heaven to build railways, ships, schools and factories, turning Tianjing from a dilapidated stone city into a 'little paradise' with bright lights and galloping horses! This was not achieved by magic, but by everyone's hard work!"

"What is the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven? It is the National People's Congress! It is the well-being of 600 million citizens! Prime Minister Luo's leadership is in line with the fundamental interests of all citizens, nationals, and Chinese people!"

"I am Hong Tiangui, born in the Kingdom of Heaven and raised in the Western United States, but I will always remember that I am a descendant of the Kingdom of Heaven! What I brought back today is not only food, but also the support of the twelve states of the Western United States for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! The drought two years later is not only a test of the Kingdom of Heaven by God, but also a test of my twelve states of the Western United States! The twelve states of the Western United States have plenty of land that can be used to grow food. Now they are short of people! As long as a few hundred thousand more people go to the Western United States to reclaim land, it will be no problem to grow millions of tons of wheat a year. The Western United States welcomes all citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Cheers surged like a tide, and nobles waved red flags and shouted, "Long live the young king! Long live Prime Minister Luo!"

Yang Xiuqing stood aside with a sullen face.

In the Prime Minister's Office, Yang Xiuqing kicked over the coffee table, and the teacups shattered to the ground.

"Waste! All of you waste!" he roared. "Hong Tiangui, this ungrateful bastard, actually dared to support Luo Yaoguo in public!"

Hou Qianfang knelt on the ground with his forehead against the floor: "Don't be angry, Prince Dong... We still have a chance..."

Hong Rengan said helplessly: "I don't know what Tiangui is thinking? King Dong, why don't you talk to the King of Heaven above and ask him to send a dream to the young King of Heaven."

What the hell are you talking to Hong Xiuquan above! Yang Xiuqing glared at Hong Rengan viciously.

Hong Rengan quickly shut up and shrank back.

Yang Xiuqing took a deep breath and said, "We must keep 50 seats this time. We can't have any less! Keep 50 and fight for 100. As long as we have this number, we can still rely on the Chaori Heavenly Kingdom and continue to fight against the Luo family."

He turned to Fu Xuexian again: "Let our personal soldiers spread out to each group and keep an eye on the dead ballot box! Tell the people of the East Palace below that I know who they voted for, and their names are on the ballot! Anyone who dares not to vote for me is against the Heavenly Father and King!" He gritted his teeth, "Just wait to go to hell!"

The people below frowned when they heard this - it would have been fine if Hong Tiangui hadn't done what he did today, but now even Hong Tianwang's own son supports Luo Yaoguo, isn't the meaning from above obvious?

The matter of going to hell is not the responsibility of the four sons of Heavenly Father!

(End of this chapter)