The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 871 Election Day

The second day of the second month of the twenty-fifth year of the Tianli calendar.

The chill of the spring morning had just dissipated, and the 180 streets in Tianjing City with voting stations were already crowded with people coming to vote. The eighth voting station was located at the foot of the National Congress Hill inside Yifeng Gate. The bluestone paved road was wet by the light rain last night, and the rising sun shone on the stone road, emitting a faint golden light.

Among the people in line, there were Chinese who had lived in Tianjing for many years, old soldiers from the East Palace who had just returned from Korea, and many women with children - they were all female soldiers in the camp back then, and now they were all meritorious Chinese just like the male soldiers of the Taiping Army. These Chinese who participated in the election for the first time held the "Election Guide" distributed by the Datong Association in their hands and whispered about today's election.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, who are you voting for today?"

"Needless to ask? Of course I'll vote for the Datong Society! What about you?"

"Of course I've joined the Datong Society. Tianjing City has been built like a little paradise by them. I can't resist!"

"That's right, Seoul is far worse than here."

"And the candidate put forward by the Datong Association is also capable! He is an old brother who participated in the Jintian Uprising. He followed several princes from Zijing Mountain all the way to Tianshan Mountain. In the middle, he went abroad with King Yi. After retiring from the team, he went to middle school and university. He is both civil and military!"

"That's right. Yang Shiba, who was nominated by the East Palace, is not a good person. He just relies on the fact that he is a relative of the East Palace."

"Shh, keep your voice down"

Huang Wentong, Zhang Chaojue, and Wang Agui were also queuing at the polling station. They couldn't help but laugh when they heard the discussions of the brothers and sisters who had returned from North Korea. There were 700 people in their group who had returned from North Korea. They had already treated 300 of them to dinner and gave out 3000 yuan in gifts. It seemed like they had a sure win.

Suddenly, a noisy sound of footsteps broke the tranquility of this fair and just election scene.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way, everyone!"

A team of East Palace guards carried several heavy wooden boxes, roughly pushed through the line of people, and slammed the boxes heavily at the door of the polling station. The captain of the guards kicked open the lid of the box, and the silver dollars poured out with a "clatter", blinding people in the sun.

"The King of the East has issued an order!" The guard shouted at the top of his voice, "Those who surrender to the East Palace will be rewarded with ten pieces of silver! Those who surrender to the Datong Society--" He patted the short gun at his waist with a grim smile, "The King of the East said that you will go to hell after you die!"

There was an uproar in the team. Some of the veteran soldiers of the East Palace who were persuaded by Huang Wentong were now staring at the silver dollar with flickering eyes.

Huang Wentong, Zhang Chaojue, and Wang Agui were also shocked. They voted for the candidate of Datong Society and went to hell after they died? Was it true? They had all killed Qing demons! They had agreed to "kill Qing demons and go to heaven", so how come they would go to hell for voting? The "kill Qing demons and go to heaven" was promised repeatedly by the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother who came down to earth! How could it not count?
"Isn't this against the rules?" An official in charge of organizing the election, wearing a National People's Congress uniform, frowned and said, "The Election Law clearly prohibits vote buying!"

"Bullshit!" The captain of the guards kicked over the bucket next to him. "It is only natural for the East King to give out rewards! Didn't you, the Wu Palace, use silver bills and land to buy people's hearts? Why are you pretending to be so noble!"

The Taiping Army soldiers who were maintaining order at the scene immediately stepped forward to stop them: "Listen, you guys from the East Hall! If you dare to disrupt the vote again, you will be punished by military law!"

"Military law?" The captain of the guards sneered, "When I followed the King of the East from Jintian to Tianjing, you little bastards were still wearing open-crotch pants!"

Another East Palace soldier lifted his robe, revealing the revolver on his belt: "We are from the East Palace! Who are you? Why do you control us?"

This shouting really frightened the Taiping Army - they were all soldiers recruited at 12 silver dollars a month, and facing a group of nobles, the Taiping bosses were inevitably timid. After all, those superiors who were several levels higher than them were all comrades in arms!
Just as the situation was about to be controlled by the people from the East Palace, a burst of orderly footsteps suddenly came from behind the crowd.

"The Young Heavenly King has arrived!"

Hong Tiangui, dressed in a gray military uniform and wearing a Western saber, strode over with a group of American and Spanish officers. He glanced at the box of silver dollars and sneered - vote-buying! He was too familiar with this matter, and he came here today for this matter!
Luo Yaoguo's people knew half a month ago that Yang Xiuqing was going to bribe the election - but no matter how much he bribed, Yang Xiuqing couldn't win! So Hong Tiangui had to stand on Luo Yaoguo's side, even if it meant offending the Dongdian faction!
Hong Tiangui, who played politics with real swords and guns in the western United States, knows too well that one must be firm in taking sides. Once he sees the opportunity, he must make a decisive bet. If he tries to waver and try to get his share of the spoils, he will eventually be hit by both sides.

"The King of the East is very generous." He said loudly, "Ten silver dollars to buy a vote? But he can't control the matter of going to hell!" He patted his chest and said, "I, Hong Tiangui, am also a member of Datong. Am I going to hell too?"

As soon as he said this, the old soldiers in the East Palace all knelt down before him - he was the son of Hong Xiuquan, the grandson of the Emperor, and the eldest nephew of Ji Du. Would he go to hell? The devil in hell was still an angel from his family. When they saw him, they had to call him "Young Master Hong!"

Before Hong Tiangui's performance was over, he suddenly took out a stack of land deeds from his arms and held them high.

"I, Hong Tiangui, am not here to interfere in the election today. I am only here as a member of Datong to announce to you the preferential policies of the twelve western states for the descendants of the nobles of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! All the sons of the nobles of the Heavenly Kingdom who immigrate to the western United States will be allocated one thousand acres of land! They will also be given resettlement fees and travel expenses. If they are willing to join the army, they can also go to the military academy in San Francisco and become an official after graduation!"

The scene boiled instantly.

"Three hundred acres of land?!"

"Is there still a chance to be an official?!"

The old soldiers in the East Palace who were originally wavering were all stunned. An old soldier with a frosted face asked in a trembling voice: "Young, Young Heavenly King, are you serious?" Hong Tiangui laughed: "I, Hong Tiangui, swear in the name of the ancestors of the Hong family - the twelve states in the western United States are in need of good men like you!"

A captain of the East Palace guards bravely said, "Young Heavenly King, you are also bribing the election."

"How dare you!" Huang Wentong shouted, "The Young Heavenly King recruited our son to go to America to help. How can this be called bribery?"

Zhang Chaojue nodded and asked the captain of the personal guards: "Don't you have a son? You also have a son to take care of!"

Yup
The captain of the East Palace's personal guards had a gloomy expression on his face, and Hong Tiangui went up and patted him on the shoulder: "You are also a noble countryman, and your son is also welcome in the West. The East Palace can give a reward if it wants, but you can't talk nonsense about going to hell! Noble countrymen have all killed Qing monsters, how could they go to hell? Their names have already been registered in heaven!"

After Hong Tiangui finished speaking loudly, he bowed to everyone and said, "You guys go first. I have to go somewhere else!"

He is very busy today as he has to help Luo Yaoguo to maintain order - he is an authority on the issue of going to heaven and hell!
Inside the East Prince's Palace of Xuanwu Lake, Yang Xiuqing was listening to the spy's report, his expression becoming increasingly grim.

"What? I can't do anything about Hong Tiangui running around the capital, talking about going to hell?!" He slammed the table so hard that the teacup jumped up. "Who does he think he is? How dare he interfere with me?!"

Fu Xuexian knelt on the ground, his forehead against the floor, and his voice trembled: "The East King. The Young Heavenly King also said that the names of the nobles have long been recorded in heaven, and the East King can't do anything about it."

"Bullshit!" Yang Xiuqing kicked over the table, and a white jade incense burner fell to the ground with a "bang", and the incense ash was scattered all over the ground. "Go! Send a thousand personal soldiers to capture Hong Tiangui for me! I want to see how powerful this young king is!"

Just as Hou Qianfang was about to accept the order, he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Report—the Southern King has arrived!"

Yang Xiuqing's face changed, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Feng Yunshan? What is he doing here?"

But the King of the South was the leader of all the kings after all, and no matter how angry Yang Xiuqing was, he dared not neglect him. He had to suppress his anger, straighten his clothes, and personally go out of the hall to greet him.

Feng Yunshan was wearing a plain robe and leaning on a bamboo stick. He stood at the bottom of the steps with a smile on his face. When he saw Yang Xiuqing coming out, he bowed and said, "Fourth brother, how are you?"

Yang Xiuqing forced a smile and said, "Brother, how come you have time to come to my place today?"

Feng Yunshan chuckled and stepped into the hall. He glanced at the mess on the ground and shook his head and sighed, "Fourth brother is still so hot-tempered."

Yang Xiuqing snorted coldly and complained directly without trying to cover up: "Third brother, Hong Tiangui is talking nonsense all over the capital, saying that the nobles will not go to hell! Isn't this a blatant attempt to undermine my reputation?!"

Feng Yunshan sat down on the chair and stroked his beard slowly: "Fourth brother, justice is in the hearts of the people, and heaven has come to the world. You have everything you want now, and your descendants can also own the two countries of Chao and Sun. Are you still not satisfied?"

Yang Xiuqing was stunned.

Feng Yunshan continued, "Do you still remember the hardship of burning charcoal in Zijing Mountain? We couldn't even get enough food back then. Now you own a royal palace, with fine clothes and delicious food. Why do you still have to fight for these empty names?"

Yang Xiuqing's face was uncertain, and after a while he gritted his teeth and said, "Third brother, I'm not fighting for fame! I'm afraid that Luo Yaoguo will turn the Kingdom of Heaven into a republic and completely cut off the inheritance of the Heavenly King!"

Feng Yunshan shook his head: "How can Heavenly Father sit idly by and watch the Kingdom of Heaven fall? Fourth brother, you are too persistent."

Yang Xiuqing clenched his fists and wanted to argue again, but Feng Yunshan had already stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "Fourth brother, listen to the advice of third brother and stop. Since Hong Tiangui has chosen a side, it is useless for you to argue. It is better to think about how to preserve the two countries of Korea and Japan and leave a way out for our descendants."

After saying this, Feng Yunshan walked away slowly, leaning on his bamboo stick, leaving Yang Xiuqing alone standing in the hall, looking at the incense ashes on the ground, silent for a long time.

Inside the Mitsubishi Corporation near the Shimonoseki Wharf, Saigo Takamori listened to the spy's report with a sneer on his face.

"Is Yang Xiuqing scared?"

"Yes, Southern Prince Feng Yunshan went to persuade him personally, and he dared not make trouble again."

Saigo Takamori gently stroked a copper shell bomb in his arms and whispered, "Then we can only rely on ourselves. Tomorrow at noon, Luo Yaoguo's carriage will pass through Yifengmennei Street. Once the bomb explodes, the civil strife of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will truly begin."

(End of this chapter)