The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 953 Money, Oil, Food, and Empire

Twelve bamboo-woven crystal chandeliers hung from the dome of the San Francisco Royal Palace, illuminating the audience hall as if it were daytime. Luo Xinhua's military boots trod on the Persian carpet, his gaze sweeping over the gilded pillars on either side—a dragon carved on the left, a bald eagle on the right, a fusion of East and West that was almost absurd.

Hong Tiangui sat regally on his throne, his crown, adorned with jewels in black, red, yellow, and white, gleaming eerily under the lights. Prime Minister Zhao Zai, Army Minister Zeng Ke, Navy Minister Han Yulin, Finance Minister Huang Shiren, and Foreign Minister Brigham Young stood on either side, resembling a meticulously choreographed court drama.

"Lieutenant General! Excellent!" Hong Tiangui suddenly leaped from his throne, the hem of his dragon robe sweeping across the three steps. He patted Luo Xinhua's epaulets forcefully, his face beaming with joy. "The battle of Malacca has terrified the British!"

Luo Xinhua took a half-step back without changing his expression, his military salute impeccable: "Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, this humble subject has merely fulfilled his duty."

"What a dutiful bunch!" Hong Tiangui turned to Luo Zhongtian, pointed at Luo Xinhua, and laughed loudly, "You Luo family lads are all masters of feigning weakness to deceive others!"

He suddenly stopped smiling, his finger tracing the huge Pacific Ocean chart on the wall: "But my Pacific Fleet doesn't even have a single decent battleship."

Luo Xinzhong couldn't help but interject, "Your Majesty, both the California and the Washington are Hailong-class battleships, with a standard displacement of 16000 tons."

“But it still can’t compare to the 20,000-ton Qianlong!” Hong Tiangui sighed. “Moreover, the 13 Constitution-class ships of the Eastern United States are all 15000-ton behemoths, and they have been upgraded one after another recently, with their firepower greatly enhanced. The Hailong II can no longer control them! What I want is a national weapon that can strike fear into the hearts of the Eastern United States Navy!”

He suddenly grabbed Luo Xinhua's sleeve: "Tell me, if I order a Qianlong-class submarine from the Dalian factory, how long will it take to deliver?"

Hong Tiangui's request is a bit of a dilemma! The "Qianlong" warship is still not for sale, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom navy only has one, which was damaged. Luo Xinhua stared at the dense red and blue arrows on a nearby nautical chart and slowly shook his head: "Your Majesty, the Pacific Fleet only needs to escort and disrupt commerce for now."

"Wrong!" Hong Tiangui suddenly shouted, startling the attendant who knocked over his teacup.

Perhaps due to his recent ascension to the throne, Hong Tiangui appeared somewhat excited. He grabbed his command baton and pointed it at the Gulf of Mexico: "Do you know the key to long-term dominance? It's not warships!" The tip of the baton then slammed into the California mountains. "It's money! Food! Oil!"

Finance Minister Huang Shih-jen then presented a gilded tray laden with Western dollars, silver pesos, and gold ounces. Hong Tian-gui grabbed the coins and scattered them with a clatter, then said to Luo Xinhua, "Paper money can become worthless; only real gold and silver are hard currency! Therefore, in today's world, only paper money pegged to gold and silver, redeemable upon presentation, has credibility."

He showed Luo Xinhua a "Western Dollar": "This dollar is pegged to silver. Sufficient silver reserves are necessary to issue corresponding paper money! Mexico produces 40% of the world's silver, and the US West ranks second globally, producing about two-thirds of Mexico's output. If we control Mexico, we'll have 60-70% of the world's silver in our hands, which is equivalent to controlling the silver standard by the throat!"

Luo Xinhua nodded thoughtfully. Hong Tiangui continued, "But that's not enough. I recently studied the rise of the German Empire and discovered that although their industry was powerful, they were always subject to British financial hegemony. Why? Because they didn't control the issuance of currency!"

He stood up and walked to a world map: "Look at the German Empire, the second largest industrial producer in the world, yet their mark follows the pound sterling. Why? Because the British control the price of gold! Similarly, if we control the price of silver, we control half the world's financial lifeline!"

"Your Majesty's insight is brilliant," Luo Xinhua exclaimed sincerely.

"That's not all." Hong Tiangui's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. "Oil! This is the true strategic resource of the future!" He pointed to Texas. "I have received intelligence that the oil tycoons of the Eastern United States have discovered a large oil field in Texas. For the next century, the lifeblood of warships will be oil. Steam turbines, internal combustion engines, even airplanes—oil will make them run faster and more powerfully!"

Luo Xinhua looked at the map in surprise: "Your Majesty means..."

"I will seize control of Texas's oil and build an oil pipeline from Texas to San Francisco!" Hong Tiangui declared resolutely. "Whoever controls the oil controls the power of industrialization! No matter how powerful the British Empire is, without oil, their battleships are just piles of scrap metal!"

At this moment, Foreign Secretary Brigham Young interjected, "Your Majesty, there is also grain. The most powerful weapon of our American Empire is not battleships, but grain—vast quantities of grain that can be exported."

“Well said!” Hong Tiangui slammed his fist on the table. “Food is the first necessity of the people! Whoever controls the grain must obey you, and anyone who disobeys will starve!” He turned to Luo Xinhua. “Xinhua, do you think I established so many farms in California? It’s to make the American West the world’s granary! Then, our American Empire and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will have enough grain to control the world. Otherwise, with limited military force alone, we can’t truly rule the world.”

Luo Xinhua suddenly realized, "Your Majesty means that the role of force is limited." "That's right!" Hong Tiangui nodded emphatically. "Force can conquer, but it's difficult to govern. Moreover, the cost of conquering by force is too high; one wrong move and you'll lose money, and a losing proposition can't last! Besides, even with a powerful navy, we can't conquer land powers like Germany and Russia by force. We can't even conquer a power like the Eastern United States by force alone. With a full mobilization, the Eastern United States' total military strength is approaching 3 million! Even if we can achieve a 1:300 exchange ratio, wiping them out would still result in 100 million deaths."

He walked up to Luo Xinhua and said earnestly, "Therefore, I want you to understand that true hegemony cannot be established by a few battleships. You need money—control over the issuance of currency; you need oil—control over industrialization; you need food—control over the right to eat! These three things are the true magic weapons for ruling the world! With them, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could dominate the world, and I can also unify America!"

Luo Xinhua bowed deeply: "Your Majesty is wise; this humble subject has learned much."

Hong Tiangui nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject: "However, for now, we still need to deal with the threat from the US Eastern Pacific Fleet." He pulled out a sealed letter with sealing wax from his pocket. "The US Western Naval Intelligence Office has just received a secret report from the Eastern Pacific Royalists that the US Eastern Pacific Fleet is preparing to launch a surprise attack on Oahu."

As if struck by lightning, Luo Xinhua instantly gripped his sword tightly. Pearl Harbor was the home port of the Eastern Pacific Fleet; if it were destroyed...
"Therefore, I order you to lead your fleet to Blenca Bay, the home port of the US Eastern Pacific Fleet." Hong Tiangui pointed to a harbor on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. "When they pounce on Oahu, you will lead your fleet in a surprise attack on Blenca Bay and strive to capture it in one fell swoop!"

Luo Zhongtian suddenly coughed: "Your Majesty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Navy may not agree."

"Who needs their consent?" Hong Tiangui patted his chest. "Can't I, the Emperor of America, make this decision?"

He grabbed his sword and shoved it into Luo Xinhua's palm: "You can do whatever you want with the crew below the captain. Sink a Constitution-class ship, and I'll reward you with 100,000 Western dollars! Besides, there's a large Japanese-American settlement around Blenka Bay. They're the descendants of Japanese laborers who came from Japan to help the British dig canals. If the Fourth Brigade participates in the raid, they'll definitely get the support of these Japanese! After it's done, I don't want Blenka Bay; it'll belong to you brothers!"

The audience hall was deathly silent, like a graveyard. Luo Xinhua glanced at his brother Luo Xinzhong beside him and suddenly remembered what his father had said—this Hong Tiangui is stronger than his father Hong Xiuquan. You can help him, as long as his approach is feasible.

“Your Majesty,” he said, carefully putting away Hong Tiangui’s sword, “this humble subject needs concrete intelligence.”

Hong Tiangui grinned: "Han Yulin!"

The Minister of the Navy immediately ordered someone to bring out a sandalwood box, which, when opened, revealed a sand table model of Blenka Bay. Han Yulin drew his baton and pointed towards the naval port within Blenka Bay: "According to reports from spies embedded in Blenka Bay, the laundry receives a large number of uniforms for washing before each departure of the US East Coast Fleet."

He tapped on the port: "And in the past week, the volume of laundry shipments has tripled."

Luo Xinhua's pupils contracted sharply. This detail was too technical—such an anomaly only occurs before a large-scale fleet deployment.

“We have even more concrete intelligence: they will depart at dawn in three days,” Hong Tiangui’s voice suddenly turned cold. “This is the perfect opportunity for us to seize Blenca Bay. Once Blenca Bay falls to us, the Republic of Mexico will surely side with us. Once Mexico turns against us, the silver dollars of the West will overwhelm the paper dollars of the East! And once those paper dollars, the anchors of the dollar, become worthless, the three million-strong army of the Eastern Federal Republic will collapse without a fight. At that time, the American Empire may unify the United States!”

As they left the Heavenly King's Palace, the San Francisco Bay was bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun. Luo Xinzhong couldn't help but whisper, "Brother, are we really going to be Hong Tiangui's blade?"

Luo Xinhua pulled out the paper dollar bill printed with "Cashable on Demand": "It seems we underestimated the American Empire. They've found a way to defeat the Eastern Union, relying not only on the army and navy, but also on the dollar!"

Luo Xinzhong was still somewhat skeptical: "Is it really possible for this to succeed?"

Luo Xinhua nodded: "It's possible, at least we can give it a try!"

"Order the fleet." He put away the dollars and said to his adjutant, Onodera Tsubaki, "Depart at dawn in three days, heading—Nicaragua."

(End of this chapter)