The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 872: If it rains, it will rain. If my mother wants to get married, let her get married!

At Shimonoseki Wharf, in the Japanese-style room on the second floor of Mitsubishi Corporation, the glass windows were closed and the oil lamps were swaying. Saigo Takamori sat cross-legged and placed a copper-shelled bomb heavily on the tatami. The pungent smell of nitrate-sugar mixture filled the room. He poked the copper shell on the surface of the bomb with his rough fingers and sneered:
"I made these myself. There are three of them. They can be detonated with a pull of a bolt. As long as they are accurately thrown into Luo Yaoguo's carriage, the prime minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be smashed to pieces!"

Sakamoto Ryoma frowned, tapping the low table with his fingers. "Luo Yaoguo's motorcade is heavily guarded, with cavalry leading the way in front and behind, and guards on both sides with guns on guard. The carriage is a special steel carriage. Even if the bomb can blow up the carriage, it may not be able to kill him."

Iwasaki Yataro nodded in agreement: "And Luo Yaoguo's whereabouts are erratic. He may not take Yifengmen Inner Street to Capitol Hill tomorrow. Sometimes he takes the special train of the elevated railway, gets off at Yifengmen Station, and then takes the secret passage straight to Capitol Hill."

Saigo Takamori grinned, his eyes flashing with a cold light: "It doesn't matter if I can't kill him. Think about it, if a Japanese assassin tried to assassinate Luo Yaoguo at this time, who would the world suspect?"

Kondo Isami said without hesitation: "Of course it's Yang Xiuqing!"

"That's right!" Saigo Takamori clapped his hands and laughed. "Yang Xiuqing suffered a crushing defeat in this election and was strangled by Luo Yaoguo and Hong Tiangui. With his vengeful nature, it is only natural for him to take such a risk! What's more, he still has loyal warriors from the Shinyo Shinto Shrine in Japan. He will definitely be blamed!"

Saigo Tsung-michi on the side said with a smile: "If Yang Xiuqing knew that Luo Yaoguo was assassinated by Japanese assassins but survived, what would he do?"

Iwasaki Yataro's eyes flashed, and he slammed the table: "He will definitely escape!" He pointed out the window - at the dock, the chimney of the "Toden" passenger ship was emitting thin coal smoke, and the boiler was burning day and night, ready to set sail at any time. "The boiler of his "Toden" has not been turned off these days. He is ready to escape at any time!"

Saigo Tsumichi sneered, and his finger slid across the Yangtze River waterway map: "I will let the 'Fuso' also light up the boiler. Then we will follow on the 'Fuso', and when the coastal defense artillery opens fire, we will use torpedoes to sink the 'Toden'! Use artillery fire to cover up torpedo strikes. Under the flying artillery fire, who can tell whether it is artillery fire or torpedo explosion? If Yang Chengtian wants revenge" a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, "let him take the warriors of the Shinyo Shinto Temple across the sea to attack the northeast of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! And Japan will eventually return to the hands of the emperor and the samurai!"

Sakamoto Ryoma was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "If Yang Xiuqing had not died, he might have given up Korea, which was connected to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by land, and defended Japan exclusively after he returned to Japan."

Saigo Takamori grinned: "So, he must die!"

The next morning, on the main street inside Yifeng Gate.

The mist had not yet dissipated, and the shops on both sides of the street had just opened, with few pedestrians. Three short men dressed as Japanese businessmen squatted in the corner of the tea stall, staring at the street corner.

They are not ordinary Japanese businessmen, but the elite of the Shinsengumi - Okita Souji, Saito Hajime, and Nagakura Shinpachi.

Looking at Okita Souji, who looked like a consumptive, coughed twice and whispered, "Luo Yaoguo's convoy is approaching. There are cavalrymen leading the way in front and behind, and guards on both sides are on guard with guns. The carriages are reinforced with iron sheets, and ordinary bullets can hardly penetrate them."

Saito gritted his teeth and sneered: "So Lord Saigo gave us the bomb." He patted the copper shell bomb in his arms, and the pull ring was already wrapped around his finger.

Nagakura Shinpachi took a deep breath and said, "Remember, after the bomb is dropped, if Luo Yaoguo is not dead, we will draw our guns and shoot into the car window, leaving the last bullet for ourselves."

The three of them looked at each other, with determination in their eyes - they were all samurai of the Shinsengumi who supported the shogunate and had been against Yang Xiuqing after the fall of the shogunate. They didn't know how many of their former comrades had died at the hands of the Shinyo Shinto Shrine who were loyal to Yang Xiuqing.

Now, it's their turn to sacrifice for the future of Japan!

In the distance, the sound of horse hooves is getting closer.

"Here it comes!" Okita Souji shouted.

Luo Yaoguo's motorcade drove slowly towards them - twenty-four cavalrymen led the way, with sixteen guards on each side standing guard with guns, and in the middle was a black lacquered iron carriage with its windows closed and curtains drawn.

“Kill the devil! Go to heaven!”

Souji Okita suddenly jumped out, held the bomb high, pulled the ring, and threw it hard at the carriage!

boom--!
The bomb exploded next to the carriage, and the blast overturned the teahouse, sending wood chips and gravel flying. The street instantly fell into chaos, and the carriage's windows were shattered. The guards quickly drew their guns, but Saito Ichi and Nagakura Shinpachi had already rushed out, each with a pistol, and fired several shots at the carriage!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The bullet penetrated the broken glass window and entered the car, but there was no movement inside the car.

"Empty?!" Saito's pupils suddenly shrank when he looked at the empty car window.

"We've fallen into a trap!" Nagakura Shinpachi roared.

Gunshots suddenly rang out from the tall buildings on both sides, and bullets rained down like raindrops - this was not an ambush specifically for these Japanese killers, but an additional protection measure that Luo Yaoguo had added for himself after Yang Xiuqing arrived in Tianjing, deploying snipers on the tall buildings along the way his carriage was traveling.

Okita Souji was shot three times in a row, staggering back, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, but he still raised his pistol with a grim smile, pointing it at his own temple.

"Emperor. Onboard!"

"boom!"

Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi also fell in the hail of bullets.

The street was filled with smoke and three bodies lay in a pool of blood.

In the East Palace, Yang Xiuqing was leaning on a couch, holding a copy of the Tianjing Daily in his hand, which clearly showed the final result of yesterday's election - the East Palace faction only won 18 seats, a disastrous defeat. His face was gloomy, and his fingertips almost crushed the newspaper.

"Luo Yaoguo. Hong Tiangui." He gritted his teeth, anger surging in his eyes.

Luo Yaoguo and Hong Tiangui suppressed his East Palace faction too badly, with only 18 seats. No one from his East Palace faction ran for election outside the city of Tianjing. In other words, the East Palace faction had only 18 representatives in the National People's Congress of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, accounting for 3.6%. Not to mention that it couldn't beat the Datong Society, it was not even as good as the West Palace, South Palace, North Palace, Wing Palace, Yan Palace, and Yu Palace. It was at the bottom of the list among the kings of the Heavenly Kingdom. It was only slightly better than Hong Rengan, who didn't put anyone out for election. At this moment, Hou Qianfang stumbled in, his face pale: "East King! Something bad has happened! Luo Yaoguo was assassinated!"

Yang Xiuqing sat up suddenly, his one eye wide open: "What?!"

"Someone threw a bomb at his carriage on Yifengmennei Street!"

"Is he dead?!" Yang Xiuqing asked this question almost subconsciously.

Hou Qianfang shook his head: "Luo Yaoguo is not in the carriage, the carriage is empty."

Yang Xiuqing was stunned at first, then he sneered: "What a pity."

But the next second, his expression suddenly changed.

"Not good!" He stood up suddenly, cold sweat oozing from his forehead, "Luo Yaoguo was not in the car, which means he was well prepared! Now that the assassin has been caught, someone might frame him."

Hou Qianfang also reacted and said anxiously: "Dong Wang, this matter is really strange, I'm afraid someone is deliberately framing it!"

Fu Xuexian and Huang Wenjin also hurried over. Fu Xuexian said in a deep voice: "Dong Wang, if you run away now, wouldn't that be confessing yourself?"

Huang Wenjin also advised: "It is better to wait and see what happens. If you flee rashly, you will only be convicted of a crime!"

Yang Xiuqing sneered, with a fierce look in his eyes: "Just wait and see? How do you know it's not Luo Yaoguo's self-torture trick? When Luo Yaoguo's soldiers surround the East Prince's Palace, my life will be in his hands?!"

He waved his hand fiercely: "Prepare the horses! Go to Xiaguan Wharf immediately!"

Fu Xuexian wanted to persuade him again, but Yang Xiuqing had already rushed out of the inner room and shouted: "Who dares to stop me?!"

Everyone was as silent as a cicada.

A moment later, the back door of the East Prince's Mansion opened wide, Yang Xiuqing jumped on the horse, and did not forget to take off the dragon robe and golden crown, and only wrapped his head with a red scarf, and whipped the horse's buttocks. The warhorse neighed and rushed out like an arrow! Hou Qianfang, Fu Xuexian, Huang Wenjin and others did not care about much, and followed closely behind.

On the streets of Tianjing, people saw a group of red-turbaned knights galloping past, the sound of their horses' hooves like thunder, as if they were charging into battle.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Yang Xiuqing shouted loudly, waving his whip, and passers-by moved out of the way.

His heart was beating as fast as a drum, and he seemed to hear the footsteps of the pursuers.

"Quick! Faster!"

The Xiaguan Wharf was right in front of him. The chimney of the "Dondian" was spewing out black smoke. The boiler of this passenger ship had already burned enough steam. It only needed his order to escape at full speed!
A relaxed smile finally appeared on Yang Xiuqing's lips.

"Luo Yaoguo, you want to kill me? It's not that easy!"

On Capitol Hill, Luo Yaoguo stood on the edge of the terrace, holding a telescope, quietly watching the two ships on the Yangtze River - the "Toden" and the "Fuso" - speeding towards the mouth of the Yangtze River, one after the other.

Wang Dalong, the admiral of the Tianjing garrison, walked over quickly, knelt on one knee, and reported in a deep voice:
"Prime Minister, all the assassins have been killed. After investigation, it was found that all three were Japanese. One of them committed suicide!"

Xiao Chaogui slammed the railing and shouted angrily, "How dare Yang Xiuqing collude with Japanese assassins to assassinate the Prime Minister! Immediately order the artillery batteries along the river to open fire and sink the 'Dongdian'!"

Hong Xuanjiao said coldly: "Letting the tiger go back to the mountains will bring endless troubles! It is better to send a fast boat to chase him and make sure to capture Yang Xiuqing alive!"

Shi Dakai pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "The 'Fuso' is an ironclad ship. Although it has a slow speed, its firepower is fierce. If we send a fast ship to chase it, we may not be able to win."

Hong Tiangui frowned and said, "Why not dispatch the cruiser Sea Eagle to intercept? With the speed of the Sea Eagle, it will surely catch up."

Feng Yunshan shook his head slowly, his eyes deep: "This is very strange. The Zhenyue Shinto Temple strictly prohibits believers from committing suicide, but one of the assassins committed suicide."

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Luo Yaoguo put down the telescope and looked at the gradually shrinking shadow of the boat at the junction of water and sky. He pondered for a while before saying calmly:

"If it rains, let it rain. If my mother wants to marry, let her marry."

Xiao Chaogui said anxiously: "Ninth brother! If Yang Xiuqing escapes back to Korea, he will definitely incite rebellion!"

Luo Yaoguo smiled slightly: "If he really dares to rebel, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's millions of elite soldiers and armored warships will send him to hell."

In the distance, the "Toden" and "Fuso" had disappeared into the merging of water and sky.

(End of this chapter)