Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"The foreigners were defeated by the Taiping rebels before. Can they defeat them again this time?" Grand Councilor Mu Yin asked.

"Lord Mu, as far as I know, the British Empire is the most powerful country in the world today, and can be called the world's hegemon. The Gallic Empire is also one of the world's top powers. Even if it is not as powerful as the British Empire, it is not much different."

The reason why the British Empire and the Gallic Empire lost to the Taiping Rebellion was entirely because they sent too few troops and were outnumbered. That's why they lost to the Taiping Rebellion.

Having suffered such a great loss this time, how could either country let it go?

Next time, the British and the Gallic peoples will surely launch a massive attack.

It will undoubtedly be even more difficult for the Taiping rebels to withstand the foreigners' attack. They may even pay a greater price in this battle.

This is undoubtedly an opportunity for our Great Qing!

"This is what Grand Councilor John Duhan said."

"Your Majesty, the foreigners are powerful, and the Taiping rebels have made a grave mistake by provoking them. Our Great Qing should simply join forces with the foreigners to wipe out the Taiping rebels! As long as we can eliminate the Taiping rebels, our Great Qing can rest easy!" Grand Councilor Kuang Yuan echoed.

After hearing these views, Emperor Xianfeng nodded repeatedly.

The Qing army suffered repeated defeats, which led Emperor Xianfeng to almost lose faith in the Qing army.

Emperor Xianfeng originally thought that if things continued like this, the Qing Dynasty would probably be unable to withstand the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's attack.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better.

"My esteemed ministers, since the foreigners are enemies of the Taiping Rebellion, then the foreigners are friends of the Great Qing. Even if we have some misunderstandings with the foreigners, these are not problems."

As long as foreigners are willing to assist the Qing Dynasty in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, I will grant all their requests!

They wanted to establish an embassy in Yanjing, didn't they? They wanted the Qing Dynasty to open more ports for trade, didn't they? They wanted to expand trade? These are not problems!

Emperor Xianfeng said.

Emperor Xianfeng already regarded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as the greatest enemy of the Qing Dynasty. In other matters, concessions and compromises were possible. Everything was negotiable as long as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be destroyed.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" all the court officials replied.

Now that Emperor Xianfeng had made his decision, all the ministers needed to do was follow his orders.

"Minister Du, you are in charge of contacting the foreigners. As long as the foreigners can assist the Qing Dynasty in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, everything is negotiable!" Emperor Xianfeng ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Du Han replied.

"Minister Peng, you are in charge of contacting the governors and viceroys of various regions and instructing them to make preparations. Once the foreigners launch a large-scale attack on the Taiping Rebellion, they must immediately launch a full-scale attack and besiege the Taiping rebels! This time, we must ensure the complete annihilation of the Taiping rebels and not give them any more chances!" Emperor Xianfeng appeared confident about the upcoming battle, as if he were certain that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be completely wiped out this time.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Peng Yunzhang replied hastily.

If the Qing Dynasty were to truly quell the Taiping Rebellion this time, they would undoubtedly gain the favor and be given important positions by Emperor Xianfeng. Isn't that exactly what they've been pursuing all along?

While the Manchus saw the war between the foreign devils and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as an opportunity to completely wipe out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the foreigners had already learned of their defeat in the Far East.

Count Elgin, the British Empire's envoy to the Qing Empire and commander of the allied forces, had written a long letter back to his homeland, analyzing the reasons for the defeat. He also clarified his stance, believing that the Taiping Rebellion would become the greatest obstacle to the British Empire's expansion in the Far East, and even seriously threaten its interests there.

Therefore, Elgin pleaded with the country to send more troops to crush the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one fell swoop.

Nip the crisis in the bud.

By early March 1858, the British Empire had already received Count Elgin's report.

Edward Stanley, the Prime Minister of the British Empire, immediately convened a group of cabinet ministers to discuss the matter.

Imperial Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli, Foreign Secretary James Harris, First Lord of the Admiralty Henry Addington, Secretary of War Jonathan Peale, Colonial Secretary Lord Carnarvon, and First Sea Lord William Martin, among others, attended the meeting.

"Gentlemen, have you all read Count Elgin's report? The allied forces of the Empire and the Gallo-Gallic Empire suffered a crushing defeat. The entire ground force of the allied army was annihilated. The allied fleet also suffered heavy losses."

Although our reinforcements have been dispatched, Count Elgin still believes we have underestimated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He hopes we can send even more reinforcements to the Far East.

The best course of action would be to crush the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one fell swoop, destroy it, and prevent it from growing even stronger!

Prime Minister Edward Stanley addressed the crowd.

"Your Excellency, our joint expedition with the Gauls to the Far East was for wealth and to expand trade. Has it now devolved into a war of annihilation? Especially now that we've discovered the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is far stronger than we anticipated. Will we have to pay an even greater price to destroy such a powerful nation?"

Is this advantageous to us?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli raised the question.

"Count Elgin's concerns were not unfounded. The muskets and cannons produced by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were actually more advanced than those used by the Imperial Army. This was simply a fantasy!"

Furthermore, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's territory already covered millions of square kilometers, and its population reached hundreds of millions.

If this country is allowed to continue developing, they will inevitably replace the Qing Empire and become the master of the Eastern world.

What will happen to the Empire's interests in the East then?

Can the empire continue to expand eastward?

Even the empire's existing colonies in the East may be threatened!

Foreign Secretary James Harris also expressed great concern.

"It is said that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army used a breech-loading rifle with a rate of fire and range that were superior to the Enfield M1853 rifle that we are currently replacing with."

This means that the rifles that the Imperial Army had just equipped were already outdated.

In addition, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also possessed a type of firearm that could rapidly fire a large number of bullets, making it extremely powerful.

I have ordered all the empire's arsenals to begin research immediately, so that the Imperial Army can quickly catch up with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in this area.

If we could obtain the actual artifacts, it would be much easier for the Imperial Army to replicate them.

Army Secretary Jonathan Peale said.

The British Empire has always been at the forefront of the world in military technology.

Whether it's the navy or the army.

But now, they have actually been surpassed by the East, which is known as a scientific wasteland.

This was undoubtedly a disgrace for the British Empire and the entire Western world.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellencies Ministers, the East India Company reports that the indigenous people of India intend to rebel against their rule. Although they are already trying to suppress it, it must be admitted that the number of indigenous people in India is too large. The Empire has extremely important interests on the Indian peninsula. We must suppress the Indian rebellion."

However, we must also acknowledge that if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had continued to grow stronger and replaced the Qing Empire, it would have indeed had a huge impact on the empire.

It's possible that even the prosperous Indian peninsula could become a target of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's attack.

Therefore, it would be best if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be destroyed before it could truly develop.

It is far more advantageous for us to let the corrupt and backward Qing Empire continue to rule the East than for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which possesses strong military power, to rule the East!

The Colonial Secretary, Count Carnarvon, expressed his opinion.

Prime Minister Edward Stanley nodded repeatedly: "Gentlemen, I understand your opinions. As you have all said, we cannot stand idly by and watch the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom replace the Qing Empire. Otherwise, they will inevitably become a major threat to the Empire!"