The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 899: Serving the King
By early August of the twelfth year of the Jingyan era, nearly all of Europe was embroiled in the Anglo-French War, which had already raged for four years. This war was not a conflict between two or three nations, but rather a struggle between alliances of nations, with Britain, Qi, and the Netherlands leading one side, and France and Austria-Hungary on the other. The war raged on land, sea, and air, with the participating armies having lost over five million soldiers and countless civilians.

However, the war shows no signs of ending.

Although Liu Fan and the cabinet ministers were reluctant to admit it, it now seemed like a mistake to have rashly gotten involved in this war.

In early August, Emperor Jingyan hurried back to Tianxin City. He planned to dispatch garrison troops to Beijing, declare martial law in the capital, and use force to suppress all rebellions.

According to the "Constitution of the Great Qi", the monarch of the Great Qi has the power to declare war and cease war. Although this power has not been used so far, in extraordinary times, no one can take so much into consideration.

As time went on, the enthusiasm of the people (and the so-called justice) gradually dissipated, and the disgust for the war outweighed the responsibility for peace in Europe - if such a responsibility existed.

Tianxin City Liujude Inn.

The inn was packed with customers and the waiters were busy as hell. The waiter at Liujude was skinny and had a dull look in his eyes. He was from Seoul and always liked to say to old customers:

"Skinny old man, eat something and drink something!"

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Black Cross (Qi State's largest charitable relief organization) have been jointly distributing food throughout the streets of Tianxin City. Liujude is one of the distribution centers. According to the regulations, each person is required to consume two kilograms of white flour or three kilograms of rice daily, which must be consumed within the day. Those who fail to complete their meal within the specified timeframe will not receive the next day's distribution. Consequently, many diners have simply handed their food over to nearby restaurants, which process and cook it on site.

"Lao Luo, what's going on in Europe? Are the French still showing off?"

"Old Luo, how many wounded are there in the expeditionary force? A field hospital has been built in Xiangyang. The court has urgently recruited military doctors and nurses from various vassal states. The official roads are in chaos."

"Lao Luo, are you digging your own trenches now? Or are you using black slaves?"

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The Lao Luo mentioned by the diners is the retired soldier Luo Jintong. At this moment, he was pulling the roast duck in one hand and holding the wine jug in the other, chewing a few times and gulping down rum.

After Lao Luo drank half a pot of wine, his cloudy eyes became a little clearer. He patted his forehead and said loudly:
"Here! There's a piece of iron! Left by the Seine! The military doctor didn't dare to take it! He said he'd come back for treatment, and now he's back! Who cares about us!!"

The diners were talking about it, and someone who knew Lao Luo well whispered, "He drank all the pension he received on drinking. How could he have the money for surgery?"

Lao Luo didn't hear, and with the alcohol taking over, he kept saying, "Those idiots in the cabinet! They tricked me into going to war, and I didn't even have enough uniforms and boots! The French flooded us, the pumps broke, the trenches were full of mud, and the shells had no sight..."

The diners were terrified when they heard this.

Someone familiar with Lao Luo added, "He sold his uniform, boots, rifle, and grenades to buy alcohol..."

The diners dispersed.

The war, which was originally thought to be over in three months, dragged on for more than four years. Although the war was not fought on the territory of Qi, the impact was significant.

Prices soared, unemployment surged, and truckloads of wounded soldiers were being shipped back from Europe. Though Qi was a vast state with a population of trillions, it couldn't withstand such turmoil. Rumors circulated that the cabinet was preparing for a sixth round of conscription.

Luo Jintong cursed a few times and his speech became unclear. After drinking the last glass, he walked out cursing while leaning on his crutches.

After Lao Luo walked away, everyone started talking again.

"It's a pity for Lao Luo. If he had stayed in the palace, he would at least be a battalion commander now, right?"

"What a pity! It's his fault for leading the charge and fooling others. As a result, all the young men from our street went to Europe and nothing happened, but he was the only one injured..."

The door was suddenly opened from the outside, and the cold wind blew in. A tall figure appeared in front of everyone, and everyone looked over there.

"Skinny old man, eat something and drink something!"

Nicola Cage trudged into the inn in his shiny leather boots, turned his bear-like body, looked around, and shouted to the clerk at the front desk:
"Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, braised chicken, bacon, pine flower tripe, steamed pork with eight treasures... and two boxes of vodka!"

Before Nicholas finished naming the dishes, the waiter came up to him, rubbing the towel in his hands awkwardly, and said, "Sir, we don't have anything except roast duck and vodka."

"Oh my God, aren't we supposed to distribute food today? Does your government have any credibility?"

"Oh my God! Can't we eat authentic Babao pig in Liulinde? Where's Shopkeeper Gu? Let him come out!"

The waiter patiently explained, "It's unfortunate. The government is restricting sales today, so these dishes are all gone. The only meat option is duck. No vegetarian options. But there's plenty of alcohol." Nikolay fumed, "Regulation, control! I've never heard of this in Moscow!"

"Calm down," said the short, stout innkeeper, Gu, smiling broadly as he emerged from the inn, repeatedly apologizing to the customer from Moscow. "Our Liujude ducks are known throughout Tianxin City. When the Empress Dowager Cisheng returned to Seoul, she even brought some for the King of Joseon."

"What's with the Korean Seoul thing? I don't care!" Nicholas banged his head on the table impatiently, shouting in a thick Russian accent, "What the hell! Isn't that a silver coin in my hand?"

Shopkeeper Gu helplessly spread his hands and said helplessly, "Mr. Nicholas, everyone here has silver coins, but isn't the supply limited now? We only had two pigs and one cow today, and they were all eaten long ago! We didn't have any bear paws or lambs, so we were lucky to get some duck meat."

"If there's nothing, then why are you running this inn? Just close it right away!" Nicholas snorted, turned around and slammed the door.

After the Muscovites left, the diners began to talk again.

"Rakshasa is being quite arrogant. What can he eat in Moscow? He'll probably eat dirt!"

"Don't be so arrogant. The silver coins they hold are all fake. The military department caught several of them last year!"

"When has this ever happened in Da Qi? We have to queue up just to eat pork elbow!"

The diners became more and more angry as they talked. Several of them took the steamed buns and left in anger.

To ensure normal supplies for the front-line troops, the cabinet passed an emergency bill at the beginning of this month to implement material control across the country, strictly monitoring rice, noodles, grain, oil, wine, salt, sugar and other materials, and distributing them according to the number of people.

Tianxin City implemented this law quite thoroughly. Fortunately, the citizens' basic living supplies were guaranteed, but there were no extra supplies at all.

Recently, due to the tight blockade by the French fleet, all shipping routes were blocked, and Da Qi's foreign trade plummeted. In July, more than 30 cargo ships were sunk by torpedoes, and at least 50 million kilograms of wheat, cotton, soybeans, and coffee shipped to Da Qi from North America, Southeast Asia, Australia, etc. sank to the bottom of the sea...

The British said they were unable to help because the previous winter, the East India Company had sent a fleet to try to lift the French naval blockade. However, the British fleet was defeated by the French navy as soon as it encountered it, and had since been hiding in various ports in East India and dared not move out.

At least a quarter of Da Qi's food needs rely on external supply. Under the tight blockade of the French army, a large-scale disaster is about to befall this ancient land.

Feelings of fear and anger spread rapidly throughout the country, with more and more people participating in anti-war demonstrations. They firmly believed that the empire had become what it was today because of Emperor Jingyan's warmongering and the corruption and incompetence of the cabinet.

The opposition's demands became stronger and more direct: Emperor Jingyan must step down immediately, and Da Qi will abolish the constitutional monarchy!

As for what system to adopt in the future, we haven’t decided on it yet.

Against this backdrop, the eighth emergency cabinet meeting was held in the Qianqing Palace. Several veteran ministers pleaded with the emperor to reverse his decision and halt the transfer of the Central Guards to Beijing, citing the risk of further exacerbating the conflict.

"Your Majesty, allowing the army to enter the capital will inevitably lead to confrontation with the opposition, and the consequences are disastrous."

Prime Minister Zhang Tingyu carefully reminded the emperor that if the opposition was angered now, it might not be as simple as a demonstration.

Simply put, the country could be headed for a real split.

All the ministers agreed with this.

Emperor Jingyan, sitting on the dragon throne, was somewhat furious. He slapped the throne and suddenly stood up: "Do you want me to become the Tianqi Emperor of the former Ming Dynasty?! A king who lost his country! The so-called opposition is nothing but a bunch of bandits, don't lose your composure!"

Unlike the weak and old cabinet in front of him, this young emperor has the blood of the Liu family flowing in his veins, and he believes in the use of force.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures should be taken.

"The late emperor was lenient and repeatedly pardoned those core members of the opposition, unwilling to execute them to satisfy their endless desires! Facing these Zhongshan wolves, I cannot compromise!"

Liu Fan added, "Mobilize the troops from all the towns to the capital and tell those military leaders that Tianxin City is in chaos, and they can't expect to remain unscathed! Utopia is a terrible plague, and no province is immune!"

In late October, the Central Guard troops stationed in Xiangyang, Gucheng and Jingzhou rushed to the capital to provide support. At the same time, part of the Northern Corps stationed in Liaodong began to gather and move south. Apart from these, no other army came to the rescue of the capital.

At the critical moment, the governors of various provinces chose to stand by and watch the situation develop further.

(End of this chapter)