The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 950 Washington was wrong. This America should have been an empire!

In the cold winter of January 1884, the sky over Washington was so gloomy it seemed as if it were weighed down by the shadow of defeat. The fire crackled in the fireplace of the East Room of the White House, but could not dispel the chill that gripped the hearts of the United States' leadership.

President Garfield sat at the end of the long table, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the surface. His gaze swept over each cabinet member present—Secretary of War Robert Lincoln, Secretary of the Navy William Hunt, Secretary of State James Blaine, Secretary of the Treasury William Wyndham, and Chief of the General Staff General Sherman. Exhaustion and anxiety were etched on their faces, as if the fate of the United States hung by a thread.

Outside the window, the angry shouts of the protesters came through the heavy curtains: "Garfield, get out of the White House! Cowards don't deserve to lead us!"

Robert Lincoln stood up somewhat irritably, pulled back the curtains, and wanted to see just how many "troublesome Americans" were outside. Meanwhile, the blinding sunlight rushed in, instantly illuminating the "1883 War Summary Report" spread out on the table—in 1883, the Eastern Union had lost three key battles!

1. Battle of Oahu: The Pacific Fleet lost two battleships and lost control of the eastern Pacific. To this day, the Pacific Fleet is still hiding in Blenca Bay near the western entrance of the Nicaragua Canal.

2. Battle of the Missouri River: The Sherman Plan completely failed, and MacArthur's armored groups were bogged down in the wilderness between Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. Due to the poor performance of the steam tanks and frequent breakdowns, coupled with the fact that the key roads were constantly cut off by the Western US forces, the campaign was ultimately fruitless. Meanwhile, on the northern front, the Montana-Dakota Army was defeated by the "Black, Red, and Yellow Army."
3. The Fall of St. Louis: The Mississippi River's shipping lifeline was cut off, the Great Lakes' iron ore region was threatened, and the strategic depth of the Eastern United States was greatly compressed.

“Gentlemen,” Garfield forced a smile, his voice hoarse and low, “a telegram has just arrived from London—Tsarist Russia and Red France have formally allied with us. I think this is…”

He wanted to say "good news," but the meeting room was deathly silent.

As the embers of Admiral Sherman's pipe flickered, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice low and menacing: "This means... the German Reich has joined the 'Axis of Evil'?"

“Yes,” Garfield said with a wry smile, tracing his finger across the map. “Luo Yaoguo and Bismarck shook hands—the world’s number one industrial nation and the world’s number two industrial nation. Now they are both members of the Axis of Evil.” He paused, pointing to the red and blue arrows on the map. “Moreover, their combined population is a little over 6.8 million, and their combined output of major industrial products accounts for an average of 62% of the global total, while our four-nation alliance, including our Indian colony, barely reaches 5 million.”

In today's world, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the first industrial power, the German Empire was the second, the United States of America was the third, the British Empire was the fourth, the Russian Empire was the fifth, and the French Republic was the sixth—these are roughly the "Big Six" industrial powers!

No one actually compiled statistics on the "industrial output" of these six major industrialized nations; comparisons were made based on the production of major industrial products such as steel, coal, oil, electricity, and shipbuilding. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Germany ranked first and second in the world in steel, coal, electricity, and many important chemical products, respectively. In shipbuilding, Britain ranked first, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom second, the United States third, and Germany fourth. In oil production, the United States ranked first, Russia second, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom third—of course, the United States here refers specifically to the Eastern United States. If the Western United States were also included in the comparison, it would likely rank seventh in the world.

Secretary of the Navy William Hunt abruptly stood up, his boots slamming heavily on the floor: "But we still have a very good chance of regaining control of the Eastern Pacific in the future!" He strode to the wall, ripped off the black cloth covering the naval blueprints, and declared, "The 'Constitution'-class battleships have been modernized—two twin 10-inch rapid-fire turrets, ten 9.2-inch second-class guns! Construction has also begun on the lead ship of the 'Maine'-class, with four twin 12-inch turrets and a 305mm Krupp armor belt, each costing only $635 million!" He then waved photos of the shipyard, "By 1885, we will have 13 modernized Constitution-class battleships, plus seven Maines, for a total of 20 battleships!"

Before he could finish speaking, the conference room door was flung open, and a pale-faced White House secretary rushed in: "President! Urgent telegram! Commander-in-Chief of the Western Allied Forces, Hong Tiangui..." He gasped as he handed over the telegram, "...he plans to be crowned emperor in St. Louis!"

Garfield's pupils constricted sharply: "The Emperor? Whose Emperor?"

“The Emperor of America!” the White House secretary replied.

Robert Lincoln suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "Brilliant! Now we're telling those mobs outside—either support us in fighting to the death, or wait for the Eastern Emperor to burn the Declaration of Independence to ashes!"

The muddy waves of the Mississippi River crash against the St. Louis docks. This strategic town, once part of the Eastern Union, is now covered by the black, red, and yellow flags of the Western Union.

On the top floor of the former Federal Courthouse, Hong Tiangui stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the golden crown in the display case—a gift from Bismarck's envoy. The crown was made of pure gold and inlaid with four gemstones: a black diamond, a white pearl, a yellow diamond, and a ruby, symbolizing the "common ruler of the four races"—black, white, yellow, and red.

"Gentlemen," he turned to face the round table, behind him a huge map with the territory of the "American Empire" circled in red, "Black, white, yellow, and red people have been fighting here for many years, but have they ever truly 'united as one'?"

Zhao Si's son, Zhao Zai, the chief of staff of the "Black, Red, and Yellow Legion," sneered: "Southern plantation owners treat black slaves like livestock, and white miners regard Chinese people as the 'Yellow Peril'! Republic? What a joke!"

Hezenk, who had just arrived from Colorado, slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, “The dozens of countries on the European continent are mostly so-called nation-states, where the entire nation must unite to discuss national affairs. Which German, Slavic, or Latin people would sit together in parliament? Why is America an exception?”

Red Eagle Khan raised a blood-stained feather: "We Americans are the native inhabitants of this land, yet we have never been recognized by the white people!"

Archbishop Amur's silver cross swayed in the candlelight: "God said, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar'—America needs a Caesar, not hundreds of power-hungry politicians!"

Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormon Church, sighed: "Washington and the Founding Fathers of America clearly made a serious mistake. They didn't realize that building a multi-racial republic is an almost impossible task. A republic is simply not suited to the American context; an empire is the more suitable political system. Under an empire, the nation can be united by the loyalty of its subjects to the emperor. But under a republic, the nation needs mutual recognition among its citizens to unite it. In Europe, even two white ethnic groups belonging to different sects within the same white ethnic group find it difficult to build a republic together. How can people of different races possibly build a republic in America?"

Han Yulin from California nodded in agreement: "Washington was wrong. America should have been an imperial state!"

Hong Tiangui remained silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted the display case, revealing a crown with a blindingly cold light: "Then... who is worthy to wear this crown?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zai immediately raised his arms and shouted, taking the lead in urging him to ascend the throne: "Only General Hong! You have united Chinese laborers, Southern black slaves, Native American tribes, and Mormons—fusing these four groups into one—that is the 'American-style imperial system'!"

The crowd knelt down in a thud, but Hong Tiangui remained motionless. He looked out the window—the whirlpool where the Missouri River merges into the Mississippi River resembles two crowns overlapping.

The following morning, the entire city of St. Louis was in an uproar.

One hundred thousand soldiers of the "Black, Red, and Yellow" triad lined up in the city square—Black infantry squares like steel walls, Red cavalry galloping on horseback, and Yellow artillery and engineer units' steam-powered armored vehicles roaring. They raised the "Black, Red, and Yellow" tricolor flag high, their shouts like a tidal wave: "General Hong! Be the Emperor! General Hong! Be the Emperor!" On the balcony of the city hall, Hong Tiangui, dressed in a golden dragon-patterned battle robe, slowly walked out.

The square fell silent for a moment.

He held the crown aloft, and the sunlight reflected off the diamonds, creating a blinding, blood-red glow.

"Before today, the American West was a loose alliance," he said in a deep, powerful voice. "After today, it will be an empire!"

The crown fell and landed on his head.

One hundred thousand soldiers knelt simultaneously, swords drawn, spears pointed to the sky, their voices shaking heaven and earth—

"Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

On the Mississippi River in the distance, a river gunboat flying the tricolor flag of black, red, and yellow fired a 21-gun salute, announcing the birth of a new empire.

President Garfield stood on the podium on the South Lawn of the White House, the cold wind whipping up the hem of his coat. Before him stood thousands of angry Washington citizens—many of whom had just been chanting for his resignation, but now they were silent, awaiting the president's response.

Garfield took a deep breath and pulled a telegram from his pocket—Hong Tiangui's "Edict of Ascension to the Throne." He held it high, as if to make sure everyone could see the glaring black, red, and yellow emblem on it.

“Fellow countrymen!” His voice was hoarse but firm. “Just the day before yesterday, our enemy—that self-proclaimed ‘Emperor of America,’ Hong Tiangui—donned the crown in St. Louis! This is his ‘Edict of Imperial Certification’!”

He slammed the edict to the ground and stomped on it heavily with his military boots, as if to crush the arrogant ambition on the paper.

"What does he want?" Garfield roared. "He doesn't just want the land west of the Mississippi! He wants the freedom of all America! He doesn't want victory, he wants slavery!"

The crowd began to stir; some cursed under their breath, while others clenched their fists.

“He said our ideal of ‘unity of many’ is wrong! He said American democracy is hypocritical! He said—” Garfield’s voice suddenly rose, “that only he, a warlord from the East, is qualified to rule this land!”

An angry roar erupted instantly, and the crowd surged forward like a tidal wave.

No! Absolutely not!

"Long live freedom!"

"Down with the emperor!"

Garfield raised his hand to signal for quiet, his gaze sweeping over every angry face.

"Today, I stand here not as a president, but as a citizen of America, to tell you—we will never surrender! We will never accept the rule of an emperor! We would rather die fighting than live on our knees!"

He drew his sword abruptly from his waist—a ceremonial sword modeled after Washington's—the blade pointing directly west.

"I hereby declare that the United States of America is now in a state of total war! All eligible men must be drafted into the military! All factories must be converted to military production! All railroads, ports, and ships must serve the war effort!"

His voice boomed like thunder—

"We must let Hong Tiangui know—there will never be an emperor on American soil!"

The crowd erupted in a frenzy, their roars shaking the heavens.

"Free! Free! Free!"

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill in the distance, the Stars and Stripes fluttered in the gale, as if responding to the last stand of this land.

(End of this chapter)