Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Henry Benson, the British Empire's Consul General in Songjiang Prefecture, left Tianjing City with a furious expression.

He expressed extreme anger before leaving.

Hong Tian and the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will surely regret their foolish actions.

The entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will pay a huge price for this.

In Hong Tian's view, this was clearly just the British Empire's anger and frustration after their extortion attempt failed.

"I was still a bit too young and impetuous! I just couldn't stand the arrogant and domineering attitude of the British!" Hong Tian secretly reflected on himself.

He's only seven years old, a time when he's young and ignorant, unaware of the immensity of the world. His youthful arrogance is understandable.

The main reason is that Hong Tian comes from another time and space.

In that time and space, the motherland had already become strong.

Even when facing the world's superpower, our motherland is capable of standing up to it head-on.

By then, the British Empire, on which the sun never sets, had long since become a second-rate power.

They've even been reduced to being mere lackeys of the rebellious United States.

This means that Hong Tian is not as afraid of the British as many people in this era.

What angered Hong Tian even more was that even in another timeline, where the motherland was so powerful, many people still couldn't stand up straight when facing foreigners.

The reason for this is that they had been kneeling for too long.

Since 1840, over a century of humiliation has instilled in many Chinese people a deep-seated fear or even awe of foreigners. Countless individuals have also blindly worshipped foreign things or used them to bolster their own status.

This is mainly because since the First Opium War, China has lost more wars than it has won.

Even after the new nation was established, it continued to win victories in foreign wars.

However, the long-standing fear of foreigners among the public is still difficult to reverse.

Hong Tian hopes that in this time and space, this process can be fundamentally reversed.

People in China today don't have that much awe for foreigners. Or rather, the backbone of the nation hasn't been completely broken.

As long as we can defeat the foreigners and let the Chinese people know that foreigners are not invincible.

Then, the Chinese people would think that foreigners are nothing special and that they are not invincible.

This is also another goal of Hong Tian.

Immediately afterwards, Hong Tian summoned a group of high-ranking cabinet and military officials and informed them of the news.

On the military side, only General Chen Yucheng, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps, is present for the time being. The other high-ranking officers are all commanding troops at the front lines.

General Li Xiucheng, commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, is currently in charge of the reorganization of the 2nd Army of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

"The British are extremely arrogant. If we march on Songjiang Prefecture, they will not only cut off trade with us, but they may even launch an attack on us."

"I have already directly rejected this unreasonable demand. Songjiang Prefecture is strategically located and an important trading port; the Heavenly Kingdom will not allow it to be lost!"

Hong Tian addressed the crowd.

"If the Heavenly Kingdom can occupy Songjiang Prefecture, it will be able to obtain a large sum of silver from the annual foreign trade tax alone. This will be extremely beneficial to improving the Heavenly Kingdom's financial situation and establishing a sound and healthy financial system!" said Finance Minister Lai Wenguang.

"We are not afraid of the threat of the British Empire cutting off trade. His Majesty has long been prepared. We can hold out for many resources, even if we cannot purchase them from the British Empire and the Gauls."

However, we must still treat the threat of war from the British Empire with caution.

Our primary enemy at present remains the Tartars. If we were to wage war against both the British and the Gauls at this juncture, it would likely further increase the pressure on us!

Prime Minister Hong Jen-kan looked serious.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The British Empire is the world's hegemon. And the Gallic Empire is also a top-tier world power. In the Crimean War that ended last year, the British Empire and the Gallic Empire joined forces and dealt a heavy blow to the Russian Empire."

Although the British Empire and the Gallic Empire were also vying for hegemony and had many underhanded dealings, they often joined forces when they shared common interests.

Industry Minister Yung Wing offered this reminder.

Hong Tian nodded: "Although the British Empire and the Gauls are not a monolithic entity, in the Far East, the two countries are still in cahoots and share the same trousers."

According to the latest intelligence, the British and the Gauls are planning to wage war against the Tartars again.

More than a decade ago, the British plundered the Tartars. Now, they're preparing to do it again. Even the Gauls want to get involved.

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, we've offended the British and the Gauls, wouldn't that make them turn their attention to us?"

Since the British and the Gauls want to take action against the Tartars, let them continue dealing with the Tartars.

This is actually a good thing for us!

"I also wanted to sit back and watch the tigers fight, letting the British and the Gauls deal with the Tartars. But now the British have already bullied us to the point of humiliation, we can't just let them shit and piss on our heads, can we?"

Besides, the British and the Gauls were bandits to begin with.

Who can guarantee that after they've made a fortune robbing the Tartars, their ambitions won't grow too big, and they won't take the opportunity to rob us?

Given the nature of the British Empire and the Gauls, this is entirely possible.

Therefore, we simply cannot avoid this battle.

Rather than doing that, we should abandon all extravagant hopes and fantasies, prepare in advance, and fight a battle with the British and the Gauls, so that they will know our strength and dare not harbor any more improper thoughts.

As the saying goes, "A good punch can save you from a hundred more."

If we can defeat the British and the Gauls head-on, it will not only deter them from bullying us again, but it will also greatly boost the morale of our soldiers and civilians.

It even served as a great deterrent to the Tartars.

While the Manchus were easily defeated by foreigners, we were able to defeat them. Given this contrast, it's obvious what choice the people would make.

Hong Tian addressed the crowd.

The cabinet's top officials all nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty, can we defeat the British Empire and the Gauls? The British Empire is the world's superpower, and the Gauls are also a top-tier world power!" Rong Hong was very worried.

Defeating the British and the Gauls would naturally be very advantageous for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

But if it fails, the consequences will likely be very serious.

"The Imperial Guard is confident that it can defeat any enemy. Even foreigners!" General Chen Yucheng said with a confident expression.

"The British Empire and the Gauls were indeed very strong. They were able to become world hegemons and top-level powers, which naturally meant they had their own capabilities."

However, the British Empire and the Gallic Empire were located in faraway Europe.

The East was still too far away for them.

It's not so easy for them to project their military power into the Far East.

According to the intelligence currently available, even if the British and the Gauls intend to attack the Tartars, their combined force would only amount to five or six thousand men.

Even though the British and the Gauls had a great advantage in the navy.

However, the ground troops that could be deployed to combat numbered only three or four thousand.

Furthermore, in terms of weaponry and equipment for ground troops, the Heavenly Kingdom Army, at least the Royal Guard Corps, possesses an absolute advantage.

Whether it's rifles, artillery, or tactics, the Janissaries are far superior to the British Empire's army and the Gallic army.

"In ground combat, I believe the Imperial Guard will surely defeat the British and the Gauls."

Hong Tian addressed the crowd.

The senior cabinet members couldn't help but relax.

If the British and the Gauls had only deployed three or four thousand ground troops, they certainly wouldn't have posed any threat to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The fighting prowess of the Royal Guard is already evident to all.

Moreover, the 2nd Infantry Division of the Guards Corps is almost ready for combat.

In addition, the Eastern Expeditionary Army also has a corps that is being reorganized into a standard infantry division.

This undoubtedly gave the Heavenly Kingdom a more powerful ground combat force.