The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 952 The Emperor of All America!
Klind stood in the council hall of the Wu King's Palace, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the top hat in his hand.

Outside the window, dusk was slowly descending upon Tianjing City, enveloping this seemingly peaceful capital of a belligerent nation in the midst of a world war—the atmosphere of peace here was even stronger than that of Berlin before the war. He took a deep breath of the peaceful air, his gaze sweeping over the South China Sea chart hanging on the wall—the location of the Persian Gulf was heavily circled in vermilion, like a marked piece of prey.

“Your Highness,” he began carefully, his voice low and cautious, “the German Empire does indeed need saltpeter, but the Ottomans may not be willing to easily cede their rights in the Persian Gulf.”

Luo Yaoguo sat in a sandalwood chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the table. He chuckled softly. "Mr. Ambassador," he said slowly, "does the Ottoman Empire still have a choice? I imagine your country no longer considers the Ottoman Empire a country sitting at the table, rather than on the menu?"

Ketteler was silent for a moment. The Ottoman Empire was already decaying and corrupt, rebellions were erupting in the Balkans, tribes on the Arabian Peninsula were restless, and British warships were anchored at the mouth of the Suez Canal. That once glorious empire was now merely clinging to life. Its reason for joining this deadly war was not to gain colonies, but to minimize the loss of its sovereignty.
"Your Highness, could you tell me what lies beneath the Persian Gulf?" Klind knew, of course, that Luo Yaoguo was a "prophet king"!
“What lies beneath the Persian Gulf isn’t gold,” Luo Yaoguo said in a deep and resolute voice, “but oil.”

Klind frowned. Oil? No wonder.
"For the next century, the lifeblood of warships will be oil." Luo Yaoguo stood up and walked to the nautical chart. "Steam turbines, internal combustion engines, even airplanes—oil will make them run faster and more powerfully. And the wilderness of West Asia and North Africa holds the world's richest oil fields!" His finger traced the shipping route from the Persian Gulf to Germany. "After the Rabaul naval base is completed, the British military's attention will turn to Australia. At that time, six 10,000-ton freighters will depart from Surabaya, escorted by 'Jingyuan'-class armored cruisers."

Ketteler's pupils contracted slightly. He recalled the secret report from the Berlin Admiralty: the British Royal Navy had begun testing oil-fired boilers, while the German Empire remained reliant on coal. If oil truly was, as Luo Yaoguo claimed, a future strategic resource, then Germany would certainly seize as many oil fields as possible! And this "nitrate transshipment route" from Surabaya to the Persian Gulf, and then from the Persian Gulf all the way to Europe, was undoubtedly the pretext for the German Empire to extend its influence into the Middle East's oil-producing regions!

Surely the Ottoman Sultan wouldn't dare cut off the saltpeter transport route from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to Germany? If Germany didn't have saltpeter, the Ottoman Empire would be finished.

“Your Highness,” Ketteler took a deep breath and solemnly promised, “the German Empire will persuade the Ottomans.”

Luo Yaoguo smiled slightly and picked up his teacup: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Minister."

The steam turbines of the armored cruiser "Dingyuan" emitted a deep rumble. Luo Xinhua stood on the bridge, gazing at the gradually clearing San Francisco coastline. In the morning mist, the black, red, and yellow tricolor flag fluttering in the harbor was particularly striking—a crown had been added to the center of that tricolor flag!
"Lieutenant General, Admiral Luo Zhongtian's flagship has sent a signal welcoming us to port," the voice of his adjutant, Tsubaki Onodera, rang in his ears.

Luo Xinhua nodded and raised his binoculars. The dock was teeming with people, a dark mass of people holding all sorts of banners and slogans, looking like a boiling ocean from afar.

"What is that?" he asked, frowning.

Tsubaki Onodera adjusted the focus of his binoculars, his tone somewhat strange: "It seems to be the 'San Francisco Dockworkers' Support Group,' the 'San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Support Group,' and the 'San Francisco Sex Industry Support Group.'"

Luo Xinhua raised an eyebrow and took the binoculars. Sure enough, the crowd on the dock was holding up all sorts of banners with slogans like "Long live Commander-in-Chief Hong!", "Long live the Emperor of America!", and "Support His Majesty Hong Tiangui's ascension to the throne!" Even more surprising was that these people were not organized soldiers, but genuine citizens—dockworkers in oil-stained work clothes, chamber of commerce representatives in suits, and even women in brightly colored kimonos waving ribbons.

"Is this...the Young Heavenly King's organization?" he muttered to himself.

The Dingyuan slowly docked, and after the gangway was lowered, Luo Xinhua stepped off the warship. Luo Zhongtian was already waiting on the dock, with Luo Xinzhong, who had already been promoted to Major General in the Army, and Daidoji Yumi—the chief divine guardian of the Fourth Brigade—standing beside him.

"Xinhua, you're finally back." Luo Zhongtian stepped forward and patted Luo Xinhua on the shoulder.

Luo Xinhua nodded, his gaze sweeping over the cheering crowd on the dock: "These...were all arranged by the Young Heavenly King?"

Luo Zhongtian gave a wry smile: "Not entirely."

Luo Xinzhong interjected, "Brother, in many people's eyes, he should have been the emperor."

Daidoji Yumi added with a smile, "The newspapers in all the western states are now full of articles supporting Hong Tiangui's ascension to the throne."

Luo Xinhua was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then why does he want to be the emperor of all of America? The eastern United States is federal territory."

Luo Zhongtian sighed and lowered his voice: "Because in the eastern United States, there are now some royalists."

Luo Xinhua's pupils contracted. Royalists? In the Eastern United States? Protecting Hong Tiangui, this so-called emperor? Have they made a mistake? If they wanted to protect the emperor, they should find a descendant of Washington to protect!

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the plaza in front of the San Francisco Royal Palace, chanting "Long live Commander-in-Chief Hong!" Hong Tiangui stood on the palace terrace, looking down at the frenzied crowd. He had never seen such a scene before—even when Hong Xiuquan ascended the throne in Yong'an during the Taiping Rebellion, there probably wasn't such fervent popular support.

"What do you think?" Luo Zhongtian asked in a low voice as he and Luo Xinhua rode into the palace in a carriage.

Luo Xinhua was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The young Heavenly King has finally gotten his wish."

Inside the palace, Hong Tiangui was receiving representatives from various states. Through the half-open palace doors, Luo Xinhua saw the young "Emperor of America," dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a golden crown, receiving oaths of allegiance from California senators and representatives. "Brother Zhongtian, does he really have a chance to become the Emperor of all America?" Luo Xinhua frowned. "Would those white supremacists in the Eastern United States really accept an Asian emperor?"

"Who knows?" Luo Zhongtian sneered. "There are always some people who want to be nobles, right? And in the eastern states of America, there are always many who are still not satisfied with being a lord. Besides, the United States is modeled after the ancient Roman Empire in its system of government, and Rome evolved from a republic into an empire! So in the eyes of many white Americans, America will one day become an empire. It's inevitable!"

Luo Xinhua frowned. Judging from Luo Zhongtian's words, Hong Tiangui might actually become the emperor of the entire United States. But wouldn't that mean America would be reunified? No, he had to have a serious talk with his father.

“Xinhua,” Luo Zhongtian patted him on the shoulder, “you are now the commander of the Pacific Fleet, there are some things you need to know.”

Luo Xinhua nodded. Luo Xinhua came to the American West to succeed Luo Zhongtian as commander of the Pacific Fleet of the American West Alliance (the American Empire)—this American West Pacific Fleet was equivalent to a standing squadron under the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Eastern Pacific Fleet, and its commander was a lieutenant general.

Luo Zhongtian lowered his voice: "Emperor Hong's throne was not something he wanted himself; it was elected by the states of the American West."

"Elected by each state?" Luo Xinhua thought to himself: Is this nomination real, or is it forced upon them?

“Yes.” Luo Zhongtian nodded. “The legislatures of California, Ohio, Utah, and Colorado have passed resolutions to elect Hong Tiangui as Emperor of the United States.”

Luo Xinhua nodded slightly.

“But that’s not enough,” Luo Zhongtian continued. “What Emperor Hong wants is the throne of the entire United States, so Nebraska and Missouri, the two white states he conquered, will later elect him as emperor.”

"So," Luo Xinhua asked in a low voice, "he and the Eastern Federation of the United States are sworn enemies?"

Luo Zhongtian did not answer, but gave him a meaningful look.

San Francisco Naval Base, Pacific Fleet Headquarters.

Luo Xinhua sat in the commander's chair, with the latest fleet deployment map spread out in front of him. Luo Zhongtian had been transferred to the position of Chief of Staff of the US Western Allied Navy, while he had taken over command of the Pacific Fleet.

"Lieutenant General, this is the latest intelligence." Major Tsubaki Onodera (rank in the US West Coast Navy) handed over a document.

Luo Xinhua opened the document, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. The Eastern United States was clearly spurred on by Hong Tiangui's imperial ambitions and was undertaking a frenzied naval expansion plan! Among the ships most likely to be deployed to the Pacific theater in the near future were their dozen or so upgraded "Constitution"-class destroyers! In addition, a batch of even more advanced "Maine"-class destroyers would soon join the Eastern United States Navy.

It looks like the industries in the eastern United States are about to really pick up the pace!

As night fell, the streets of San Francisco remained bustling with people. In bars, theaters, and even on the most secluded corners, people were talking about Hong Tiangui's coronation.

"Commander-in-Chief Hong becoming emperor is ordained by Heaven!" a drunken dockworker shouted, raising his glass.

"America needs a powerful emperor!" the Chamber of Commerce representative declared passionately on the podium.

"Long live Emperor Hong!" The women in the sex industry waved colorful ribbons, their smiles radiant.

Luo Xinhua stood at the window of the naval headquarters, quietly watching all of this.

"Brother, do you think they truly support Hong Tiangui?" Luo Xinzhong asked in a low voice, standing behind him.

Luo Xinhua was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "I don't know either."

"But one thing is certain," Luo Xinzhong sneered, "that the young Heavenly King becoming emperor is probably not just his ambition alone, but rather the result of a large group of people pushing for it!"

“It’s clear,” Luo Xinhua took a deep breath. “In the eyes of many, his becoming emperor and establishing an American empire would probably be the end of the American Civil War and the East-West War!”

(End of this chapter)