The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 873: The death of the Eastern King and the division of the morning sun

On the fourth day of the second month of the twenty-fifth year of the Tianli calendar, at 3:30 am, the East China Sea was rolling with black waves, and the sea breeze, carrying the chill of early spring, kept whipping the wooden side of the "Dongdian" passenger ship. Yang Xiuqing stood alone on the observation deck outside the bridge, the hem of his bright yellow dragon robe rustling in the sea breeze.

"King Dong, we have passed 30 nautical miles from the river mouth and have not seen any pursuers." Hou Qianfang stepped up the creaking iron ladder, holding an oil lamp swaying in the wind. "The Fuso has always remained one mile to the starboard side."

Yang Xiuqing narrowed his one eye and looked at the blurry black shadow in the distance. The outline of the ironclad ship looked like a giant beast in the moonlight, and there were faint lights flickering on the bridge. "Luo Yaoguo doesn't dare to tear his face off." He exhaled lightly, "Send the order to advance at full speed, and we must reach the Tsushima Strait by noon tomorrow."

In the cabin, Fu Xuexian was brewing Korean ginseng tea in a copper kettle. Seeing Yang Xiuqing coming in, he quickly offered: "Dong Wang, Huang Wenjin has just counted that there are 300 personal guards accompanying him, 180 of whom are the sons of craftsmen from the Seoul Arsenal. They are all sons of the untouchables who have turned over a new leaf and only know that there is Dong Wang."

"Hmm." Yang Xiuqing took a sip of hot tea, with a few pieces of Liaodong ginseng floating in the tea soup. "After returning to Seoul, you will immediately take the 'Goryeo Eagle' back to Tianjing. Remember, you must disguise yourself and avoid Luo Yaoguo's eyes." He suddenly lowered his voice, "Go to King Gan and say that I am willing to give three copper mines in Korea as a thank you gift, and ask King Nan to mediate at the meeting of kings."

Huang Wenjin came in with a stack of account books and interrupted, "The King of the East is wise! There are only more than 10,000 nobles in the eight provinces of Korea. The annual salary saved is enough to arm three new armies." He turned to a page in the account book and said, "The sons of the untouchables who have turned over a new leaf have a tablet of the King of the East in every family. We can recruit them into the army."

Before he finished speaking, the ship suddenly shook violently. The copper kettle overturned, and the hot ginseng tea spilled on the back of Yang Xiuqing's hand, but he was completely unaware. A thunderous roar came from the starboard side, followed by the piercing scream of metal tearing.

"Help!" Fu Xuexian's shout was drowned out by the second explosion. The port bulkhead caved in like paper, and cold seawater rushed in with sawdust. Yang Xiuqing staggered and grabbed the brass bed support, and saw a huge water bag suddenly rise up on the sea surface outside the porthole.

"Japanese pirates!" His eyes were bloodshot, and his bloody nails dug into the wood grain. "It's the fish from the Fuso."

The entire ship suddenly tilted upwards. The iron cabinet in the command room collapsed, breaking Huang Wenjin in half. When Yang Xiuqing was thrown against the bulkhead, the last thing he saw was Fu Xuexian's figure rushing towards him and the Hinomaru flag flashing by on the turning ironclad ship outside the window.

"Distance forty-eight yards, depth six feet, release!"

Yamamoto Gonbei's roar was drowned in the whistling of compressed air. Another white-headed torpedo burst out of the barrel, its wake glowing phosphorescently in the moonlight. Saigo Takamori held down the violently shaking telescope, and the starboard side of the rapidly sinking "Toden" exploded with another orange-red fireball in the tube.

"Hit!" Togo Heihachiro's fist hit the iron railing. This was the most fatal blow! The powerful white-headed torpedo accurately tore open the boiler room of the passenger ship, and the hull of the wooden steamship with a full load displacement of nearly 5000 tons was broken in half like a shortbread. In the steam cloud rising from the sea, a human figure could be vaguely seen falling like an ant.

Saigo Takamori put down the telescope, his palms covered in sweat. He suddenly remembered something: "Lookout post?"

"Nanyun-kun is on guard personally." Yamamoto whispered, "Those on duty tonight are all our Satsuma clan's patriots."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone on the lookout sounded the alarm and someone shouted in a Samoan accent: "Underwater, there is a submarine underwater!"

Of course there is no ship underwater, and the "Dongdian" has not completely sunk into the sea yet!

But when Saigo heard the shout, he laughed and said, "It must be the submarine that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Navy is developing that fired the torpedo!"

Saigo Takamori nodded: "Okay, the logbook records that the 'Toden' was sunk by a torpedo from an unidentified submarine!" Then he paused and shouted: "Turn to Sasebo at full speed!"

At dawn two days later, on the Fuso, which had just docked at the Sasebo naval port, Yamamoto Gonbei handed a newly drafted telegram to Saigo Takamori:
"To the Admiralty of Tianjing: On the fourth day of the second lunar month at 32: am, the Dongdian was struck by a torpedo from a suspected unidentified submarine at degrees north latitude. Our ship made great efforts to rescue and salvaged survivors, but His Majesty the Dongwang was not among them. Captain Fuso, Yamamoto Gonbei respectfully bows."

"Send another one to Seoul." Saigo Takamori handed the telegram to Yamamoto, "Except for changing the heading, don't change any other words."

"Yes!" Yamamoto Gonbei agreed, and then asked, "What should I write in the telegram to the Shinyo Shrine?"

Saigo Takamori thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Let's just say that the 'Toden' was sunk by a submarine of the Taiping Navy!"

The clepsydra water clock in the Geunjeongjeon Hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace pointed to the hour of Yin, but Yang Chengtian was still tightly clutching the telegram that was soaked with cold sweat.

"Nonsense!" Yang Fuqing slammed his fist on the low table in front of him. "The Taiping Navy's submarine is still conducting experiments in the Huangpu River. How could it be possible to go to the East China Sea in the dark to release torpedoes?" He clenched his fists tightly. "Young Master, I am sure that the Japanese pirates on the Fuso must have harmed the late king!"

Yang Yiqing suddenly slammed the table and said, "The most urgent thing is to keep the death a secret!" He lowered his voice and said, "Now there are only 10,000 people left in the eight provinces of Korea. Let alone fighting against the Japanese pirates, even protecting Korea is difficult. We can't let people know that the Eastern King is gone."

Yang Chengtian's head was buzzing at this time, and he was at a loss for a moment: "Then, what should I do?"

Yang Fuqing said: "You can secretly order the farmers' associations of the eight provinces of Korea to gather 80,000 sons of the untouchables who have turned over a new leaf. These people have been slaves for generations, and it was the King of the East who broke their shackles and distributed land to them. As long as we have these 80,000 strong men, we can stabilize Korea!"

"Okay, that's it!" Yang Chengtian nodded heavily and said through gritted teeth, "First stabilize Korea and then attack the Japanese bandits!"

At five o'clock in the morning, a secret order with the seal of "Regent Crown Prince" was issued from Gyeongbokgung Palace: "Attention, governors of the eight provinces of Korea: From now on, we will recruit the sons of the untouchables aged 20 to 30 to join the army, and each of them will receive three years' salary in advance. Their families will be moved to the guard posts in each province and rationed according to the standards of military dependents. Regent of Korea, Yang Chengtian."

In the darkness before dawn, a team of fast horses rushed out of the South Gate of Seoul. In the bamboo tube tied to the horse's back was a handwritten letter from Yang Fuqing to the King of Tianjing: "The late king was suspected to have been assassinated by Japanese pirates. Please do not make it public for the time being, and allow me to train a new army in three months."

On the top floor of the Osaka Castle Tower, the wooden door was closed. Kusunoki Takako clutched the secret message she had just received and watched her mother slumped on the tatami.

"Mother!" Kusunoki Takako threw the secret message sent by Yamamoto Gonbei to the ground, "This is clearly a conspiracy of the Satsuma Domain! The 'Fuso' was equipped with British-made torpedoes, and it was Yamamoto Gonbei who killed the Eastern King."

Nanmu Inako's shaking hands stroked the golden crown left by Yang Xiuqing. Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps outside the door. A senior priestess rushed in and bowed down in front of Nanmu and her daughter: "Master! Young Master, someone in Osaka Castle is spreading rumors. Say, say, say..."

"What?" Nanmu Daozi asked coldly.

"They say that the Eastern King had been murdered by Luo Yaoguo, the Wu King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and his ship sank into the East China Sea, leaving no trace of his body. They also say that 'the Eastern King dies, and the morning sun will part'!"

"Order all True Covenant warriors!" Kusunoki Inako suddenly drew out his sword, "Send out the troops immediately—"

"Wait a minute!" Kusunoki Takako snatched the knife from her mother's hand. "The most urgent task is not to attack Satsuma, but to calm people's hearts and stabilize the territory of the Shinyo Shrine in Kinki and Kanto. We also need to control the emperor! Then we can ask for help from heaven!"

On the observatory on Capitol Hill, Hong Tiangui was playing with a model of a submarine. Luo Yaoguo stuffed a copy of the telegram sent by Yamamoto Gonbei to the Navy Department into his pocket: "These Japanese pirates are so bold that they dared to kill the Eastern King and put the blame on us!"

Hong Tiangui said: "Japan is located on the transportation line between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and America. Its location is very important and must not be lost!"

Luo Yaoguo snorted coldly: "Japan should be divided into several parts!"

Shi Dakai suddenly interrupted: "According to the report of the Navy General Staff, the waterline armor of the Fuso is difficult to penetrate with one shot by the 200mm main gun of the Sea Eagle."

"No hurry," Luo Yaoguo waved his hand. "Now is not the time for us to go to war with Japan, because Japan still has the Shinyo Shrine, and it is not so easy for the Satsuma and Choshu clans to conquer Japan. Besides, if we conquer Japan, will the British expeditionary fleet still come?"

"British?" Hong Tiangui was stunned.

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "Yes, if they don't come, it won't be easy for us to sink dozens of ironclad ships at once!"

"King Wu, should we mourn for the King of East?" Shi Dakai asked.

Luo Yaoguo shook his head: "Wait a little longer, wait until North Korea mourns for the King of the East, then we will hold a mourning ceremony for the King of the East!"

At Sasebo Naval Port, the sea breeze is howling and the waves are surging.

Thick black smoke was belching from the chimney of the ironclad ship "Fuso". The bow of the ship split the blue sea and slowly sailed out of the port. On the deck, the sailors lined up neatly, their sabers drawn, flashing coldly. Saigo Takamori stood on the bridge, grimly scanning the newly formed formation.

"The Rising Sun Maru Flag!"

Following an order, the rice cross flag representing the Japanese Shin Pact faction on the top of the mast was slowly lowered, and replaced by a brand new Hinomaru flag - a red sun on a white background, fluttering in the morning breeze.

"From today on, there is no longer a paradise in Japan!" Saigo Takamori said loudly, "We are following the Emperor's orders to defeat the rebels and restore the kingdom of God!"

"Long live the Emperor!" Three thousand naval infantrymen waiting to board the ship lined up at the nearby dock and shouted in unison, shaking the sea and sky.

At this moment, on the distant horizon, an even larger ironclad ship slowly approached.

"That's the 'Musashi'!" Togo Heihachiro shouted excitedly, "It was originally a British Destroyer-class ironclad ship!"

The Musashi is the latest warship delivered by the United Kingdom to the Japanese Navy. It has a standard displacement of 9330 tons, is equipped with four 12-inch main guns, and can reach a speed of 14 knots. Its arrival marks that the Japanese Navy has some strength to compete with the Taiping Navy.

The two ships sailed side by side in the bay of Sasebo, with the Hinomaru flag fluttering in the wind. Saigo Takamori stood at the bow, looking at the sea in the distance, his eyes gleaming with ambition that had been suppressed for who knows how long.

(End of this chapter)