The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Epilogue (Chapter 1036) – The Dream of Heaven VII

As the high-speed train slowed down and entered the St. Louis corridor, the sunlight outside the window suddenly became dazzling. Luo Dingguo squinted and saw the murky Mississippi River flowing slowly below the tracks, with several patrol boats floating on the surface, their hulls painted with the Stars and Stripes and the white letters "USBP" (United States Border Patrol).

The air inside the carriage suddenly froze.

The passengers, who had been talking in hushed tones—all East Asians and Caucasians—quieted down. Several Taiping Heavenly Kingdom merchants in dark suits put away their newspapers and silently placed their passports on the tray tables; a few blond-haired, blue-eyed German passengers straightened their backs, their faces displaying an almost arrogant composure.

Natalie gently placed her fingers on Luo Dingguo's wrist and whispered, "Don't be nervous, they won't dare to make things difficult for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people."

Luo Dingguo nodded, his gaze sweeping across the carriage—no Black people, no Latinos, not even mixed-race individuals. The racial purification of this "White America" ​​was more thorough than he had imagined. He wondered if those rednecks in another timeline would weep with joy upon seeing such an America?

As the train came to a complete stop, a squad of United States Border Guards in crisp German uniforms boarded the carriage. The leading officer—a burly redneck with a bluish shave, his boots clicking crisply on the floor—announced in heavily accented Southern Mandarin: “You have entered the territory of the United States of America. According to the United States Race Act, all races except pure-blooded whites and East Asians are prohibited from entry!”

Luo Dingguo noticed that when the officer said the words "East Asian," the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he had bitten into something sour.

"Don't they discriminate against Chinese people?" Luo Dingguo asked Natalie in a low voice.

Natalie chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't dare. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom deployed medium- and short-range ballistic missiles in Missouri, putting New York, Washington, and Chicago within range." She paused, "Not to mention Alaska has an anti-missile system; any United States intercontinental ballistic missiles would be intercepted as soon as they took off."

When the redneck officer approached them, his gaze lingered on Natalie's blonde hair and blue eyes for a few seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing. But when Natalie handed him the German Reich passport bearing the Iron Cross, his expression instantly shifted from contempt to obsequiousness.

“Madam, welcome to America,” he said in broken German, even giving a slight bow.

When it was Luo Dingguo's turn, he slowly pulled out his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom passport with a gold-embossed dragon design. The redneck's eyes changed, and he suddenly exclaimed "Oh!" with a strange look of sudden realization on his face—as if to say, "No wonder he can get such a white girl; he's from the Celestial Empire."

After the train started moving again, the scenery outside the window began to flash by.

The United States' high-speed rail network is even more advanced than Luo Dingguo had imagined—the tracks are so smooth they look like they've been laser-calibrated, and the speed is consistently maintained at 300 kilometers per hour. Outside the window stretches an endless expanse of farmland, with neat wheat fields extending to the horizon like a chessboard, and occasionally white farmhouses and barns with solar panels on their roofs.

“They’re all mechanized farms,” Natalie pointed out the window. “One farmer can manage five hundred acres. The United States is the world’s largest exporter of wheat.”

Luo Dingguo noticed that there was no one in the field, only a few self-driving combine harvesters at work. Further away, a row of wind turbines slowly turned, their blades casting long shadows in the setting sun.

"How did they solve the labor problem without Black and Native American people?"

“There are white people,” Natalie replied briefly. “The white people in the United States are hardworking enough; they believe that ‘work is a virtue.’ Führer MacArthur’s New Order stipulates that every adult citizen must engage in productive labor, or they will be stripped of their citizenship.”

The train attendants began distributing lunches in the carriage—sandwiches and coffee in white cardboard boxes. Luo Dingguo opened the box and found that the bread contained turkey and Swiss cheese, with only lettuce and tomato as side dishes, and the sauce was the most conservative choice: mayonnaise.

“Typical United States food,” Natalie said, taking a bite. “No chili peppers, no spices, and they don’t even dare to put too much onion in—for fear of irritating the stomachs of purebred Aryans. They also don’t allow too many calories, lest they turn all the American Aryans into obese people.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Dingguo realized that there were indeed no obese American white men in the carriage.
He then thought of American fast food from another time and space—greasy hamburgers, fries drenched in cheese, and extra-large Cokes. He wondered if that American redneck would feel out of place if he actually came to this white America.

As the train entered the Manhattan underground tunnel, Natalie took both of their suitcases from the luggage rack.

“Remember, don’t take photos indiscriminately in New York,” she whispered a reminder. “Public surveillance cameras are equipped with facial recognition, and you could be questioned by the police if a stranger looks at you twice.”

The platform at Central Station was as bright as day. Luo Dingguo followed the flow of people up the steps, and was immediately stunned by the sight before him—

The high-ceilinged hall was resplendent in gold, its vaulted ceiling adorned with starry patterns, and a massive Stars and Stripes flag hung from the second floor. On the opposite wall hung a huge portrait of Führer John Smith: he wore a German military uniform, had a hooked nose, grey-blue eyes, and a cold, stern expression. Below the portrait, in English and German, were the words: "One nation, one country, one head of state!" The flow of people in the station was orderly. White men in suits hurried by carrying briefcases; housewives pushed strollers, their blond babies inside as still as dolls; several uniformed cadets marched in formation, their boots clicking crisply on the floor.

There were no homeless people, no street performers, and not even anyone talking loudly.

“This way.” Natalie pulled Luo Dingguo through the hall towards the subway entrance. A poster on the wall depicted a smiling white family standing on a lawn, with the sign reading, “Birth is Patriotism—The Führer Needs More Aryan Warriors!”

Luo Dingguo stared at the poster in a daze. Natalie, who was next to him, leaned in and whispered, "Darling, I'm willing to have children too, with you!"

New York subway platforms are so clean you can see your reflection in them, the walls are covered in white tiles, and every ten meters there are signs that say "Crack Down on Crime"—the murder rate is as high as 2.5 per million people! How can we not crack down on crime?
Therefore, this was the first time Luo Dingguo saw armed police patrolling on American soil.
The New York subway trains are brand new, arriving almost silently as the doors slide open and passengers file in orderly fashion. The interiors are spacious and bright, with dark blue leather seats and gleaming handrails.

Luo Dingguo and Natalie found a window seat. Most of the passengers in the carriage looked like workers, white-collar workers, and small shop owners who had just finished get off work. A few white high school students with backpacks sat opposite them, two of whom were reading books while riding the train—they looked like they had just finished tutoring.

"What are they looking at?" Luo Dingguo asked in a low voice.

Natalie glanced at it: "German, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry are the most important subjects in the American college entrance exam."

"The American college entrance exam?" Luo Dingguo was taken aback. "Isn't it a letter of recommendation?"

“A letter of recommendation?” Natalie chuckled. “That was a long time ago. After World War II, there were very few places left for letters of recommendation.”

Luo Dingguo said "Oh," and began to observe the "White America" ​​subway car again. No one was on drugs or fare evading. A uniformed train conductor walked by, carrying a portable scanner, checking passengers' electronic tickets one by one.

“In the United States, fare evasion is recorded in a citizen’s credit file,” Natalie explained. “Three violations will leave a permanent stain, making it inconvenient for you to do anything in the future.”

As the subway passed through Midtown Manhattan, Luo Dingguo saw billboards outside the window: "Work is a virtue, laziness is a crime!" "Every citizen is a cog in the empire!" "Under the leadership of the Führer, defend White America!"

These slogans looked particularly glaring under the neon lights.

The hotel where Luo Dingguo and Natalie stayed was located on Fifth Avenue, which was originally a well-known predominantly Black neighborhood in another timeline. But here, the brownstone buildings lining the street had been renovated, and uniformed security guards stood in front of the doors.

The hotel restaurant's decor was typical of "neoclassical" style—marble columns, crystal chandeliers, and waiters who were all blond, blue-eyed young men with impeccably tied bow ties. The menu only offered steak, pork chops, roast chicken, and cod, while the wine list was as thick as a book.

"Who is Professor Tripp?" Luo Dingguo asked, cutting his rare steak. "Why is he interested in parallel universes? Why did Professor Hong ask me to come to New York to meet him?"

Natalie swirled her wine glass: "He is the head of the physics department at New York University, a member of the American Academy of Sciences, and a historian. He has a close personal relationship with Professor Hong. Of course, on the surface, he is also a white supremacist."

Historians and physicists rarely "overlap" in another time and space, but in the "Heavenly Kingdom," many physicists are well-versed in history, especially the early history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, while many historians also possess extensive knowledge of physics. As far as Luo Dingguo knows, Natalie's undergraduate degree was in physics from the University of Munich.

Natalie took a sip of her drink. "He wanted to know what the United States of America would be like without King Luo Wu."

Luo Dingguo thought to himself, that America was indeed a world superpower—but white supremacists of this century probably wouldn't like it. After all, in that world, people of all races stood under the shadow of the Stars and Stripes, there were Black judges on the Supreme Court, Hollywood made gay movies, and the president might be of Irish or even Kenyan descent.
“Tomorrow morning at 10:00, NYU Physics Building.” Natalie took a magnetic card out of her handbag. “This is the access card for the lab. Professor Tripp will be waiting for us in the particle physics lab.”

Outside the window, searchlights pierced the New York night sky. Beams swept through the clouds, finally settling on the flagpole atop the Empire State Building—where a massive Stars and Stripes flew, fluttering in the night wind.

(End of this chapter)