The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 935 The Eight Trigrams Flag Fluttering

Eastern Guangdong.

A black Bagua flag fluttered in the wind.

Under the flag of the marching army, a group of Marines are marching past.

"Shibala! If you want to survive in this damned world, you have to fight, earn military merits, and get medals! Only with medals can you and your family survive! Understand, brother!"

Sergeant Shi Zhen, from the eastern province, braved the fierce sea wind, carrying heavy equipment on his back, and trudged along the muddy beach of the coastline.

Behind him followed his younger brother, Private First Class Seok Tae.

Shi Tai had the face of a young man, much more immature than his older brother. He was not in good physical condition and was carrying dozens of kilograms of weapons and equipment. He had to trek with difficulty and was panting heavily every time he spoke.

"Medals, medals, all you ever talk about are medals. Dude, are medals that easy to get? Are you obsessed with medals?!"

"Have you forgotten Liu Kanshan from the next village? Liu the Blind, all he did was try to get some damn medal, got his eyes shot out by a cannonball, and now he can't even find a wife! He's stuck in the village like a dog..."

Shi Zhen suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A soldier following closely behind him nearly bumped into him, muttering something under his breath. Shi Zhen looked up and gave the soldier a look, and the soldier dared not speak.

The sergeant grabbed his younger brother by the collar and shouted at him through Shi Tai's ear:

"Shibala! What are you saying! Your wife and children are eating moldy cornbread and millet that even pigs wouldn't eat! If you don't get a medal, your whole family can't be exempted from corvée labor. Do you expect them, a widow and her children, to repair river embankments and dig moats?"

"I can't breathe!"

Shi Tai's cheeks flushed red, and he gasped for breath. His brother loosened his collar, and he said, his neck still red:
"But are medals so easy to get? Do you know how powerful the British are? The British Empire, they have more soldiers than bullets! We can't possibly win! You madman, are you looking for death? If you die, you have nothing. Only by living can you have a future."

Shi Zhen swung his fist and smashed it into his younger brother's face: "So you give up just because you can't win! What will our family eat if we don't get medals! You piece of trash! A man who can't support his family, is he even a man?!"

Shi Tai stumbled and fell onto the beach, his face and body covered in mud. He struggled to his feet and rushed towards his brother, only to be kicked to the ground again by the latter.

The surrounding soldiers all stopped and looked in their direction. An officer nearby shouted:

"What are you looking at? Don't stop! Keep moving forward! We must reach the port before noon and board the ship to fight the British!"

The two brothers, Shi Tai and Shi Zhen, wrestled and rolled in the mud. The soldiers passing by did not stop at all. The long marching column, like a giant centipede, meandered, coiled, and crawled slowly eastward.

More than a hundred miles away on the eastern sea, a dozen British warships, like raging beasts, spewed thick black smoke and angrily fired shells at the shore fortress.

Where the shell hit, the ground shook violently, and bricks, wood chips, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

Immediately, they were plunged into a sea of ​​red death.

~~~~~~~~~~
On March 5, 1789, while various anti-European plays were being staged in Tianxin City, more than 3 cruisers of the British East India Company fleet suddenly appeared in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Also arriving were King George, the King of France, and other European kings who presented their declarations of war against Qi.

The Europeans emphasized in their declaration of war that the reason for launching the war was to punish the tyranny of the Qi emperor—Liu Xuan attempted to establish a utopia where everyone was selfless and devoted to others, but in fact, such a utopia was impossible to exist. If the Qi state had not been intervened in, it would likely have become a second Russia, becoming the epicenter of the frigid Siberian cold current.

In short, for the well-being of hundreds of millions of people in Qi, for fairness and justice for mankind, and to prevent the world from falling into the rule of tyrants, the kings of Europe decided to send troops to punish this heretic.

The East India Company fleet was heavily armed and moved swiftly. The Guangxi vassal state was lax in its military preparedness; it could manage to suppress bandits on ordinary days, but expecting it to resist this naval force was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

The aide took out the letter of state that the British had presented to the vassal lord. Ye Xiangchao knew that according to the old system of the current dynasty, he was not qualified to read this letter of state with his rank.

However, with the imperial power in Tianxin City now waning, who cares about such things anymore?

“Read it. I also want to know what kind of conditions the British offered the Emperor.”

The aide quickly unfolded a letter more than a foot long and read it aloud in front of the vassal lord and several important officials. The letter began: "The Great British monarch, who rules the thirty-six islands of Dalang Mountain in Xiniuhezhou, writes to the Governor-General and other high-ranking officials of the Great Qi Kingdom."

"This letter was originally written to me." Ye Xiangchao looked surprised, never expecting that he would become the protagonist at the beginning of the Qi-Ying War.

He waved to his staff, signaling them to continue reading.

“I think our country is located at 48 degrees north latitude of the equator, corresponding to the constellation of Kang, and is more than 20,000 li away from the State of Qi. From ancient times to the present, although the journey is arduous, people have continued to sail here. We are wholeheartedly devoted to assimilation, showing our obedience to the Celestial Empire, and conducting tribute and trade. In the beginning, we never invaded the State of Qi. However, the State of Qi should also appease and pacify the surrounding areas, so that the barbarians in the surrounding areas will submit and strictly abide by the corresponding laws and regulations.”

Some officials around shook their heads upon hearing this, clearly the British were talking nonsense. What did they mean by wholeheartedly submitting to them? The Great Qi had been harassed by British pirates for so long, yet King George had not taken any measures. It was even said that the royal family was secretly supporting the pirates behind the scenes.

"In the year of Ji Hai, our country dispatched Ministers Samani and Yali to the Guangxi port to manage merchant ships and cargo. Unexpectedly, your country's high-ranking officials did not appreciate the Emperor's benevolence, disregarded reason and justice, and provoked trouble for no reason. They bullied and abused our personnel, and even threatened us with force, repeatedly driving away our merchant ships, making it impossible for them to anchor safely in Guangdong. As a result, our cargo ships were left to wander on the sea, unable to move forward or backward, and were almost in danger in the Daqiang Mountain area. This is the first thing that is abhorrent."

This is like throwing mud at the Guangxi vassal king.

"Nonsense!" "Utter rubbish!"

"That's unreasonable!"

"Those British are afraid of power but not of morality, daring to make baseless accusations! They must be taught a lesson!"

The staff member paused for a moment, hesitating whether to continue reading, when Ye Xiangchao waved his hand to interrupt: "Alright, that's enough. I already know what the foreigners want."

"At present, the various vassal states are preserving their strength, and no one is willing to fight the British to the death with all their might."

It goes without saying that if the vassal lord doesn't need to say more, everyone knows that if they fight to the bitter end, either the imperial court or other vassal states will eventually annex them.

An aide whispered, "Sir, the army is pressing in, and the situation is critical. Should we send a telegram to Tianxin City requesting reinforcements? The troops in Leizhou are simply not enough to hold out."

“No,” Ye Xianggao rejected. “Make private contact and have them cross Leizhou Prefecture. As long as they don’t land, we can negotiate anything, including money and supplies.”

A young general asked in surprise, "Then they're heading to Guangdong?"

Everyone stared at the person in front of them as if he were a monster.

Ye Xiangchao clapped his hands and laughed, then stepped forward and gently patted the young officer on the shoulder, saying earnestly:

"My son, do you know that when foreign warships pass through, they only cause a few days of disturbance? But this time, when they attacked Daqi, they came from the East India and traveled thousands of miles. They stopped in Guangxi to purchase grain and fuel, paying the merchants in cash. The prices were fair and honest! What a huge deal this is! If we let this immense wealth go unclaimed and rashly ask Tianxin City for help, we will probably attract the imperial army, causing chaos throughout the region! The emperor will then have even more excuse to interfere in Guangxi and station troops here. Our good days will be over."

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Ye Xiangchao continued, "Do you want to work odd jobs for the Liu family for the rest of your lives, or do you want to come with me and build a great business together!"

Ye Xiangchao gave a wink, and a local Guangxi advisor quickly chimed in: "Work? Working is out of the question, I'll never work in my life! Serving the royal family is worse than making a fortune in Europe! Anyone who wants to serve the Liu family can go ahead, but I'm not going to serve Tianxin City!"

Everyone said yes.

Ye Xiangchao's concerns were not unfounded. Compared to the Britons thousands of miles away, the rulers and ministers in Tianxin City were far more terrifying.

The four regional military governors of Huaixi suffered a terrible calamity, a lesson not to be learned. Without strong military backing, rashly introducing the power of the imperial court would inevitably lead to them usurping the throne.

~~~~~~~~~~~
"The places in your country, such as Dinghai and Zhoushan in Zhejiang, were originally our former territory. The previous dynasty forcibly occupied them by force, incorporated them into the interior, weakened our prestige, and seized our land. This resentment has been accumulating until now. This is the second thing that is so hateful."

In the Qianqing Palace of Tianxin City, Liu Xuan paced back and forth, holding a telegram still smelling of ink, followed by the Grand Eunuch Liu Chengen.

On the emperor's desk lay an envelope that had just been urgently delivered from Zhejiang, with the words "extremely urgent" engraved on the seal.

"As for rock sugar, it is originally a medicinal product of our country. Occasionally, some people smoke it to avoid the dangers of miasma at sea. Occasionally, unscrupulous merchants smuggle opium into the Qi territory, hoping to sell it for profit and lure your people into addiction. As a result, you have wronged our country. But what crime have we committed? Although our country is small, it is rich in all kinds of products, such as fish, livestock, pearls, jade, and all kinds of treasures. Our people are prosperous and our country is strong, no less than your country."

Why does your monarch listen to those mediocre officials and needlessly provoke conflict? Consider this: it's understandable that you strictly prohibit your own people from consuming opium, but you accuse our country of selling opium to entice you—what kind of logic is that? Moreover, your country's corrupt officials, both civil and military, search our ships at sea every day for opium, taking the opportunity to plunder at will, behaving like Japanese pirates.

This is utterly outrageous! This is the third thing that is truly abhorrent.

Liu Xuan loosened his fingers, and the letter fell silently onto the marble floor like an autumn leaf.

"Hahaha, the three great grudges? Dinghai has become their homeland? Hahahaha!"

"That's fucking bullshit!"

While comforting the emperor to avoid harming his health, Liu Chengen picked up the telegram and continued reading softly: "Moreover, your emperor wants to conquer the world and implement his so-called absurd society of 'everyone for me, and me for everyone,' where there is no inequality and no one is left without warmth... In order to maintain world peace, we have no choice but to send troops! We order the generals of both land and sea forces to lead soldiers and warships directly to the Guangxi sea and various coastal ports to advance and pursue them."

The head eunuch suddenly stopped reading here, hesitating whether to continue.

Liu Xuan clapped his hands and cheered, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Father-in-law, please continue reading. My relative's skill in distorting the truth is truly unparalleled!"

"Your Majesty, I dare not read it..."

"Read! I pardon you! Read it!"

Liu Chengen had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue reading: "We have 100,000 brave soldiers, 1,000 warships, banners that cover the sky, and war drums that shake the heavens and the earth. We are determined to fight to the death and march all the way into the Central Plains."

Wherever our weapons point, they will sweep away your homes. We are avenging the people of the Ming Dynasty.

If your country's military and civilians understood the importance of surrendering and assimilation, they should have surrendered their land to our country as soon as possible, and then we might have been able to avoid the massacre.

If you remain obstinate and dare to resist, then we will immediately open fire with our cannons!

Do not accuse us of rebellion, insubordination, or distrust of the Chinese and barbarians, using these as pretexts for your resistance.

Liu Xuan laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, clutching his stomach as he said, "Old George wants to overthrow Qi and restore the Ming? Hahahaha, is he also a member of the Heaven and Earth Society?"