Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"My esteemed ministers, the Taiping Rebellion has become a major threat to the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty wants to maintain its rule, it must suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Therefore, any price to pay is acceptable.

The conditions proposed by the foreigners were nothing to the Qing Dynasty.

"As long as they are willing to assist the Qing Dynasty in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, I can accept and agree to anything!"

Emperor Xianfeng reiterated his stance.

"Your Majesty is wise!" the high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty shouted in unison.

It's as if this drug addict really is a sage ruler of the Qing Dynasty.

"By imperial decree, all local governors and viceroys shall prepare for war with all their might. When the foreigners launch a full-scale attack on the Taiping Rebellion, the troops in all regions shall immediately join the siege against the Taiping Rebellion."

This time, we must do everything in our power to wipe out the Taiping rebels.

I will reward you handsomely if you can wipe out the Taiping rebels.

Any official who hesitates to advance or shirks combat during battle will be severely punished!

Emperor Xianfeng gave the order.

In order to annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one fell swoop, Emperor Xianfeng was already planning to devote all his strength.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Your servants (we) obey the decree!" The high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty all replied.

After Emperor Xianfeng issued the order, all units of the Qing army sprang into action.

The Hunan Army, Henan Army, Shandong Army, Fujian Army, Guangdong Army, and Guangxi Army in the south, as well as the Guizhou Army, Sichuan Army, and Yunnan Army in the southwest, the Shaanxi Army and Gansu Army in the northwest, the Beijing Garrison of the Qing Dynasty in Yanjing, and the Menggu Cavalry on the grasslands, were all vigorously preparing for war.

Units of troops, having received their orders, have begun to march to the front lines.

The large-scale mobilization of the Qing army put immense pressure on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In early June 1858, 6 ground troops from the British Empire and the Gallo Empire finally arrived at Hong Kong Island after a long journey.

A month later, reinforcements also arrived at Hong Kong Island.

In a short time, the Allied forces had amassed a ground force of up to 80,000 men on Hong Kong Island.

The British Empire's army numbered 50,000, while the Gallo-British Empire's army numbered 30,000.

On the naval front, the British Royal Navy deployed over ninety warships, while the Gallo-British Navy deployed over fifty.

In addition to traditional sailing warships, the British Empire and the Gallo-British Empire also deployed a considerable number of steam-powered warships.

In particular, there were quite a few small steam-powered shallow-draft gunboats with a low tonnage and shallow draft.

This time, the British and the Gauls clearly intended to use these warships to penetrate deep into the Yangtze River and launch a direct attack on the heartland of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

When large numbers of troops from the British Empire and the Gallic Empire arrived on Hong Kong Island, it also attracted the attention of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's intelligence personnel there. They all knew that the British Empire and the Gallic Empire had dispatched so many troops, clearly targeting the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

These intelligence agents immediately reported this news to Tianjing City via wireless telegraph.

On July 18, Hong Tian convened a meeting with a group of high-ranking officials from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's cabinet and military.

Although Hong Tian is not even nine years old yet, he has already been the Heavenly King for almost three years.

Throughout the entire Heavenly Kingdom, no one treated Hong Tian like a child anymore.

Under Hong Tian's rule, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom made great strides over the next three years.

Everyone in the Heavenly Kingdom had absolute faith in Hong Tian.

In particular, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's military victories further enhanced its prestige.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellencies. According to the intelligence we have received, the Tartars are already mobilizing a large number of troops, preparing to launch a siege against the Heavenly Kingdom. Not only Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, but also Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces may be subject to a major attack by the Qing army."

This time, the Tartars have adopted a stance of sparing no expense.

The Tartars may have mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops!

Intelligence Minister Zhou Yufeng reported.

Hong Tiantong and the other high-ranking members of the Heavenly Kingdom couldn't help but become serious.

Although the Heavenly Kingdom had consistently defeated the Tartars in previous wars, inflicting enormous losses on them.

But if the Tartars fight with all their might this time, they will undoubtedly pose a great threat to the Heavenly Kingdom as well.

"Furthermore, our intelligence agents in Hong Kong have discovered that the British Empire and the Gallic Empire have also significantly increased their troop numbers. Preliminary estimates suggest that the British Empire and the Gallic Empire have dispatched as many as 70,000 to 80,000 ground troops to Hong Kong Island," Zhou Yufeng continued.

"The British and the Gauls have launched a massive attack this time! The number of troops they have deployed is even greater than I anticipated," Hong Tian said.

"Your Majesty, although the foreigners have mobilized a large number of troops, the Heavenly Kingdom is no longer what it used to be!" said Shi Dakai, the Minister of Military Affairs.

During this period, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was not idle either.

As the arsenal's production capacity continued to expand, the amount of weapons and equipment produced also increased.

The number of troops being reorganized within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was also increasing.

Among them, two armies of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, the Southern Expeditionary Army, and the Northern Expeditionary Army were reorganized into infantry divisions. The Western Expeditionary Army had four armies reorganized into infantry divisions.

Meanwhile, the 5th Infantry Division of the Guards Corps has been formed and is now combat-ready.

This brought the number of standard infantry divisions in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to 15.

In addition, each corps also has 13 old-style units that possess a certain level of combat capability.

These older units, even if they couldn't compare to the modern infantry divisions, still had a certain advantage against the Qing army.

After some time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom should be able to produce enough weapons to reorganize all these old troops.

"Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the Tartars and foreigners have apparently colluded. They are already planning to unite against us!" Zhou Yufeng said.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Tartars and the foreigners are both enemies of the Heavenly Kingdom. Moreover, they have both suffered considerable losses under the Heavenly Kingdom. It is not surprising at all that they will unite to deal with the Heavenly Kingdom!" Hong Tian said.

It's perfectly normal for Manchus to contact foreigners.

For the past two years, the Manchus have suffered repeated defeats in their war against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

If things continue like this, as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom grows stronger, it will soon be able to defeat the Tartars.

Seeking help from foreign devils was undoubtedly a good option in order to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, if the Tartars unite with the foreigners, the threat facing the Heavenly Kingdom will be even greater. Even if the Tartars send hundreds of thousands of troops, they cannot pose a significant threat to the Heavenly Kingdom. However, if the foreigners send seventy or eighty thousand ground troops, along with a large number of warships, the threat to the Heavenly Kingdom will undoubtedly be enormous!"

Even though the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had a significant advantage in weaponry, the Western army was clearly far more powerful than the Manchu army.

"This was stated by Prime Minister Hong In-gan."

Hong Tian nodded: "Gentlemen, the Heavenly Kingdom is indeed facing a very great threat this time. In fact, this battle is related to the life and death of the Heavenly Kingdom."

But I believe that the Heavenly Kingdom's army will surely defeat the Tartars and foreigners in this battle.

Even if they unite, the Kingdom of Heaven will still ultimately prevail.

Furthermore, through this battle, as long as the Kingdom of Heaven can achieve victory.

Foreigners probably will no longer dare to be enemies of the Heavenly Kingdom.

The Tartars will suffer heavy losses in this battle.

At that time, the Kingdom of Heaven will quickly sweep across other provinces.

If all goes well, it might not be long before the Heavenly Kingdom can completely defeat the Tartars and overthrow their rule!

The expressions of the high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom were also extremely solemn.

Everyone knows that this battle can even be seen as a decisive battle between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Manchus.

The Manchus colluded with foreigners in order to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one fell swoop.

If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can win this battle, then the Manchus will be completely finished.

Next, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will take advantage of the situation to launch a large-scale attack on other provinces, and will soon be able to occupy the entire country, completely overthrow the rule of the Manchus, and achieve the goal of expelling the Manchus and restoring the Han dynasty.

"Your Majesty, we will meet force with force and water with earth. Whether they are Tartars or foreigners, the Heavenly Kingdom can defeat them!" Shi Dakai said.

The other high-ranking military officials also nodded in agreement.

Everyone has great faith in the Kingdom of Heaven.