Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

South, Hong Kong.

More than a decade ago, after the British Empire defeated the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty ceded the entire Hong Kong Island to the British Empire.

Hong Kong thus became an important stronghold for the British Empire in the entire Far East.

The British Empire used Hong Kong as a bridgehead to prepare for a second war against the Qing Dynasty, in order to seize more benefits.

Sir John Bowring, Governor of the Hong Kong Colony of the British Empire, is discussing the current situation with Count Elgin, the British Empire's Minister to the Qing Empire and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.

Originally, Sir John Bowring was concurrently serving as the Minister to the Qing Empire.

However, after Count Elgin arrived in the Far East, he no longer held this position.

"Your Excellency, our objective this time is very clear. We need the Qing Empire to open more trading ports to us. At the same time, we need to acquire more colonies and establish more concessions. And, if we can also rob them a bit while we're at it, that would be even better," said Earl Elgin.

"Your Excellency, we are all well aware that the Qing people are extremely wary of us. They still refuse to allow us to establish a legation in their capital. If we can defeat them this time, then everything will be fine."

They had no choice but to agree to all our demands.

Sir John Bowring said.

Count Elgin nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Your Excellency. I believe that we easily defeated the Qing people more than ten years ago. So this time, with the Gauls joining forces, it will be even easier for us to defeat the Qing people."

Sir John Bowring looked on with obvious agreement.

"This vast and populous nation is steadily declining and weakening. Their fighting capacity is almost unchanged compared to more than a decade ago. Furthermore, due to the internal strife caused by the Taiping Rebellion, their strength is being continuously diminished."

This time, we might be able to defeat the Qing people at a much lower cost and gain far more benefits than last time!

Sir John Bowring said.

"Well, Your Excellency, speaking of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. They have become a problem for us. Those damned heretics ignored our warnings and forcibly occupied Songjiang Prefecture and the concession. This is simply an infringement on our interests and a slap in the face to the Empire!" Count Elgin said angrily.

He had just assumed his post as ambassador to the Qing Empire when this happened. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was completely disrespecting the British Empire!

"Your Excellency, what should we do?" Sir Paul asked.

"The Gallic Empire's envoy to the Qing Empire will arrive tomorrow. I will have a good discussion with them after they arrive," said Count Elgin.

Sir John Bowring nodded without saying anything more.

He has now resigned from his post as Minister to the Qing Empire.

Therefore, what policies to adopt next is no longer his concern.

The Gallic Empire's Minister to the Qing Empire was concurrently held by the Consul General in Guangzhou.

Or, to put it another way, he was the Minister of the Gallic Empire to the Qing Empire, and concurrently served as the Consul General in Guangzhou.

The previous minister, Bourblon, has returned to his country, and Gu Si is temporarily serving as acting minister.

Gu Si traveled from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, intending to discuss the series of events that had occurred in the China International Concession with the other party.

"Your Excellency, those damned heretics, ignoring our warnings, have directly occupied our concession. They have also forcibly arrested our consul and other diplomatic personnel."

They also caused us considerable casualties during the war. We absolutely cannot let them get away with this; they must pay the price.

Otherwise, we will become a laughing stock of the whole world.

Gu Si looked very serious.

Count Elgin nodded repeatedly.

The British Empire was a global superpower, and the Gallic Empire was also a top-tier global superpower. But now they had been slapped hard by the Taiping Rebellion. This was completely unacceptable to them.

"Our troops are still on their way. It is expected that it will take several more months to reach the East."

Originally, we were prepared to use force against the Qing people. But if those infidels refuse to compensate us for our losses, we can certainly use force against them first.

"That's what Count Elgin said."

"Yes, Your Excellency. The Qing people have suffered greatly at the hands of those infidels. If we can severely cripple those guys, it will surely shock the Qing people. I believe they will realize our strength. At that time, we might not even need to use force against them; they will accept our terms."

Gu Si said.

Elgin agreed with this.

To put it bluntly, the British and the Gauls wanted to use the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as a scapegoat in a charade.

"Then, Your Excellency, I think we need to send someone to Jiangning to tell that young and ignorant emperor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom what the consequences will be if he offends us."

We must make them compensate us for our losses. And they must provide compensation.

Otherwise, they will face the wrath of two of the world's top powers!

"That's what Count Elgin said."

"I completely agree, Your Excellency. How about this, I will go to Jiangning myself," Gu Si said.

"Very well, Your Excellency, I entrust everything to you." Count Elgin agreed.

At the end of June 1857, Gu Si, the minister of the Gallic Empire to the Qing Empire, arrived in Tianjing City by ship.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs received prior notification.

However, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not make any special preparations.

Only a low-ranking official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was waiting at the dock.

As a result, Gu Si's face turned extremely ugly after she got off the boat.

Regardless, the Gallic Empire was undoubtedly a powerful nation second only to the British Empire, the dominant power. Even though they lost their struggle for supremacy against the British Empire, they remained a top-tier world power.

The fact that no high-ranking officials from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom came out to greet them shows that they completely disregarded the Gallic Empire!

Gu Si became even more determined in his mind: the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must pay a price that satisfies them. Otherwise, they would surely be defeated and forced to beg for mercy in this war.

Officials from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs took Gu Si and his entourage to a post station to rest.

The next day, Foreign Minister Li Hongzhang met with Gu Si.

"Your Excellency, you've come from afar, you must be tired." Li Hongzhang's face was full of smiles, appearing very enthusiastic.

"Hmph! Your Excellency, I think we don't need to waste any more words."

Your country's army has brazenly attacked the concessions of the Empire and the British Empire in the Mediterranean, and arrested our consuls and diplomats. This can be considered an act of war.

This behavior enraged both the Empire and the British Empire.

We hope the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will give us a satisfactory explanation and response. Otherwise, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will bear the brunt of our anger!

Minister Gu Si's expression was very unpleasant.

"Your Excellency, the establishment of your concessions is based on a treaty you signed with the Qing government. We do not recognize this. Furthermore, you and the consul of the British Empire have not only privately formed an army but also dispatched troops to attack us. This constitutes an act of war against us."

That's why our troops attacked the concessions.

You should give the Kingdom of Heaven an explanation!

Li Hongzhang argued forcefully based on reason.

The Li Hongzhang of today is not the paperhanger of the later Qing Dynasty, nor will he grovel before foreigners.

Especially given that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had reached a consensus on the issue of dealing with foreigners, he knew long ago that war was inevitable.

When facing foreign devils, they are even less likely to be intimidated.

"Your Excellency, we don't care about the reasons or what happened in between. All we know is that you arrested our consuls and other diplomatic personnel, and caused the deaths of our citizens. That's enough."

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must compensate us for our losses and apologize to us. Otherwise, you will face our punishment!

Minister Gu Si said with an arrogant expression.

"Your Excellency, is this considered a threat of war against the Heavenly Kingdom?" Li Hongzhang's face was very grim.

"You can interpret it that way!" Minister Gu Si said with great pride.