All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

The gist of it was that all the misdeeds committed by the Qing government over the years were caused by foreign devils, and that everyone should kill all foreign devils on sight so that the Qing Dynasty would enjoy good weather and abundant harvests.

In short, the situation in Beijing was becoming increasingly serious. Boxers from several northern provinces had begun to gather, preparing to march all the way to Beijing, exterminate all the foreigners and churches along the way, and restore peace to the Qing Dynasty.

In reality, the biggest victims of the Boxer Rebellion were not the missionaries, but the ordinary people. All those who believed in foreign religions and were considered "traitors" were killed. These traitors included not only those who believed in foreign religions, but also those who had bought foreign goods, ridden on foreign trains, or even those whose shops had the word "foreign" in their names. They were all burned and killed. Thus, the Boxers began their march into Beijing.

Faced with these Boxers, the foreign powers were also resolute in their attitude, giving them two months to wipe out these rioters, or they would prepare to send troops. However, by this time, the Qing court had already realized that whether or not it suppressed them, the foreigners would eventually send troops, so it simply allowed the Boxers to enter Beijing.

Since the end of March, the Bai family's Baicao Hall has only had a few apprentices selling medicine, and the warehouse inventory is only enough to last until July.

The other experienced pharmaceutical workers, along with their families, were picked up by Bai Jingqi's men after the New Year. Many of them were still unaware of what was going to happen next, so they were somewhat confused.

However, Bai Jingqi didn't need to explain anything to them; he had been proceeding according to his own plan all these years.

In mid-May, Boxers from other provinces began to gather in the outskirts of Beijing, and several churches in the outskirts of Beijing were destroyed. Faced with the serious situation, the bishop of the Xishiku Church in Beijing, a French missionary named Fan Guoliang, hurriedly sought help from the French public historian and requested that the French navy enter Beijing for defense.

By the end of May, warships from various countries had arrived in Tianjin one after another and began planning an attack on the city. At this point, Empress Dowager Cixi in Beijing panicked. With no one to turn to for help, she finally accepted the proposal of the pro-war faction and decided to accept the Boxers' proposal to fight against the foreigners.

On June 6th, Empress Dowager Cixi announced that she had granted permission for the Boxers to enter Beijing. Several city gates were opened simultaneously, allowing the Boxers from all over the country to enter Beijing to serve the emperor.

On June 7, tens of thousands of Boxers flooded into Beijing and began looting, arson, and vandalism. The people of Beijing began to suffer, and anyone who had converted to foreign religions was killed without mercy!

At this point, the various powers finally realized that Empress Dowager Cixi was determined. So, ten days later, more than two thousand troops from the Eight-Nation Alliance officially marched toward the capital.

With the approaching armies of the foreign powers, Empress Dowager Cixi was utterly enraged and decided to rise up and formally declare war on the foreign powers on the 16th!

The day after the declaration of war, the foreign powers captured the Dagu Forts in Tianjin, and the gates of Beijing were completely opened.

At this time, the Qing army also began to prepare to take action against the ministers of various countries in the capital. On June 20, the German minister, Ketteler, was shot and killed by the Qing army, which completely ignited the determination of the powers to march on the capital and began to reinforce their troops.

At this time, the Qing government had very few troops capable of fighting. Apart from Nie Shicheng, who was resisting the foreigners landing in Tianjin, the rest of the army could only rely on the Boxers.

So in early July, under the arrangement of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Boxers were rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver. This completely ignited the Boxers' determination to sweep away foreigners and support the Qing Dynasty. With Cixi's support, tens of thousands of Boxers set off for Tianjin to prevent the foreign powers from entering Beijing.

Meanwhile, in the northeast of China, the Russian army began its advance into the three northeastern provinces, committing several horrific massacres along the way. The Russian army's goal was to occupy these lands, and its policy towards the Chinese living there was to kill them all. They believed that once the Chinese were all killed, all conflicts would cease to exist.

While war raged in northern China, the south remained calm, with each province sitting back and watching the drama unfold.

Meanwhile, Bai Jingqi had been busy for the past few months. During this time, the Black Family Army had targeted and eliminated forty-two "fat sheep," most of whom were princes and nobles, and even some wealthy families. These people were preparing to flee with all their belongings, and some had hidden their silver in their cellars and vegetable gardens. All of these were dug up by the Black Family Army.

In June alone, the Black Family Army amassed no less than five million taels of various valuables. Taking advantage of the chaos, they smuggled all of these spoils out of the city and into an underground warehouse that had been prepared in the suburbs of Beijing.

In fact, the Black Army also had more than a dozen underground warehouses in Beijing. Those warehouses are still empty. Their real target is not these small fat sheep, but the Qing government, that big fat sheep.

Bai Jingqi's plan was simple: take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters and start harvesting big and small fat sheep. In such chaotic times, fat sheep like to keep cash in their cellars, which all benefited the Black Family Army. When the situation was completely out of control, Bai Jingqi planned to make an even bigger profit. He wanted to rob the Qing government's silver halfway before the foreign devils could.

The real show of dealing with the foreign devils was yet to come. The Black Family Army was good at assassination, not fair fighting, and Bai Jingqi did not want to wipe out the elite of the Black Family Army by fighting with bayonets.

Bai Jingqi had already established an underground command center in June. It contained not only telegrams, but also all kinds of medicines, and even bundles of new explosives, the famous TNT.

In fact, there was already an explosive in this era that was several times more powerful than TNT, namely the famous picric acid explosive. Unfortunately, picric acid explosive was too sensitive. Not only was it too corrosive, but it would also explode instantly if it was accidentally touched. Unlike TNT, which was a very safe and stable explosive.

In Tianjin, there are two warehouses of TNT explosives, which will be parting gifts for the great powers, and will surely surprise the world.

Today, the Black Family Army's military factories have four branch factories. Over the past ten years, Bai Jingqi has invested more than five million taels of silver in the Black Family Army's military factories. The research direction of the military factories has always been a small but exquisite strategy. Bai Jingqi does not need them to develop the atomic bomb, but only to develop the best weapon for individual combat.

From daggers to pistols, then to rifles and machine guns, and finally to grenades and explosives, these are all research directions for military factories. Even bulletproof vests will be a research direction for military factories in the future. Most of these military factories are built in remote mountainous areas.

The military factory is the future of the Black Family Army, while the pharmaceutical research institute is the future of Bai's Pharmaceutical. As long as these two trump cards for the future are in hand, even if the future falls to the bottom, it can quickly get back up.

With the Eight-Nation Alliance's entry into Beijing, it was time for the Hei Family Army, which had been biding its time, to truly shine. In the command room, Bai Jingqi formulated a battle plan.

He divided 1900 into three strategic phases. The first phase was to seize the wealth of the foreign powers. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Boxer Rebellion entering Beijing, the Black Army began to plunder the wealth of those wealthy families who had fled abroad, as well as the savings of princes and nobles, including the assets of the dead eunuchs in the palace. They were to empty their pockets.

Even if they didn't empty their own coffers, most of this wealth would be looted when the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing. In addition to this private wealth, there were millions of taels of silver in the warehouses of the Qing government's Ministry of Revenue and other departments. Those were also the Black Family Army's first strategic target.

The more chaotic the situation, the more they can plunder!

The second strategic objective was to launch assassination campaigns against the foreign powers after they entered Beijing, including targeted eliminations of officers, in order to force them to reach peace talks with the Qing court as soon as possible.

The third strategic objective, and also the last and most brutal plan, is the suicide squad plan. Bai Jingqi anticipates losing thousands of Black Family soldiers in this step, but he cannot bear to watch the foreign powers swagger around right under his nose.

After the foreign powers reach a peace agreement with the Qing government and begin to withdraw their troops, the Black Family Army will block their retreat and set up several death traps along the way to force the foreign powers to accelerate their withdrawal as soon as possible. The warships anchored in Tianjin will be their final death coffins, and all the warships will be covered with TNT explosives that the Black Family Army's elite troops have been preparing for them for a long time.

This time, the Black Family Army will become famous throughout the world. However, Bai Jingqi does not want this reputation. From now on, "Seventh Master Black" will no longer represent a person, but will be an honorary title. In June, Bai Jingqi bestowed this title upon Zhang Li, the Chief of Staff of the Black Family Army. After this plan is completed, Bai Jingqi will gradually withdraw from the leadership of the Black Family Army, and Zhang Li will take over his position and power.

In the future, he will bid farewell to the identity of Black Seventh Master and only retain the title of "Dragon" of the Black Family Army. No matter how large the Black Family Army becomes in the future, the title of "Dragon" will only belong to one person, and that is Bai Jingqi. Only the true high-ranking members of the Black Family Army will know the true identity of the Dragon.

Bai Jingqi has been thinking for the past few years that if the Black Family Army does something earth-shattering in the future, and if his identity as the Seventh Master Black is exposed, it will bring a devastating blow to Bai's Pharmaceutical.

Bai Jingqi finally came up with a solution to avoid all of this: turn the identity of "Black Seventh Master" into a code name, and Zhang Li will be Black Seventh Master No. 2.

Of course, in order to prevent Zhang Li and his group of leaders from seizing power, Bai Jingqi also established an internal affairs department. This department was above the Black Family Army and only obeyed the command of "Dragon". The members of this department were unknown even to Zhang Li and others, and only Bai Jingqi knew about them. They were hidden inside the entire Black Family Army.

To orchestrate this scheme in 1900, Bai Jingqi had been working on it for fifteen years, starting with the establishment of the Black Family Army in 1885. He couldn't change the country, nor did he have the ambition or ability to control it, but he could use his abilities to alter certain aspects of history.

Let this glimmer of light shine through a century of humiliation, so that future generations, when discussing this period, will discover the utterly corrupt late Qing Dynasty. There once existed an exceptionally powerful army, but this army is shrouded in mystery; its true secrets are difficult to find in historical records. The existence of this force will also appear in the future history books of various nations.

On August 15, 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance officially captured Beijing. The Boxer Rebellion warriors, who were originally invincible, were all rendered helpless when faced with large numbers of foreign devils holding long guns and pointing them at them. They fled in all directions, wishing they had been born with one less leg.

When the deafening roar of cannons outside the city reached its peak, Empress Dowager Cixi in the Forbidden City finally understood that if she didn't run away, those foreign devils would eventually use her personal clothes as rags to wipe her feet.

So on the morning of the fifteenth, Cixi did not hesitate to change into the clothes of an old Han woman, and under the arrangement of the eunuchs, she put the Guangxu Emperor, whom she had kidnapped, into a carriage and fled towards the west gate...!

Meanwhile, Bai Jingqi, riding a black horse in the distance, smiled as he watched the carriage slowly head towards the west gate. A guard from the Black Family Army, unable to contain his curiosity, stepped forward and asked.

"Seventh Master, if we don't act now, it will be too late. Once Cixi reaches the West Gate, there will be ministers and Qing soldiers there to meet her."

Bai Jingqi, however, smiled and laughed heartily as he watched the morning sun slowly rise, and casually remarked.

"Let them go, I'm just witnessing history! Hahahaha!"

Bai Jingqi laughed loudly and rode away, leaving only a small carriage creaking and groaning as it headed towards the west gate...!

Bai Jingqi knew very well that whether Cixi or Guangxu were killed or captured, it would be meaningless to the Black Family Army. On the contrary, it would make everyone focus their attention on the Black Family Army.

The Black Army is merely a king who walks in darkness. The Qing Dynasty will eventually perish. Keeping the Qing Dynasty under Cixi's control allows him to survive for a while. Once Cixi and Guangxu are gone, the Qing Dynasty will be finished immediately. At that time, the bigwigs in the provinces will enter the era of warlordism earlier than in history. That is not what Bai Jingqi wants to see for the time being.

Neither the Black Family Army nor Bai's Pharmaceuticals are currently strong enough to fully protect themselves. What Bai Jingqi needs is for the Qing Dynasty to continue to languish for a few more years.

Chapter Nineteen: The Operation Officially Begins

The operation officially began on August 15, 1900, when the allied forces of seven great powers officially captured Beijing and deployed their troops into the city to engage in street battles with Qing troops and the Boxers.

As early as the 13th, the Allied forces launched an attack on Dongbianmen, Chaoyangmen, Dongzhimen, Guangqumen, and other places. On the 14th, the British army took the lead in attacking Guangqumen and engaged in street fighting with the Boxers and Qing soldiers.

The commander of the Allied forces was British Vice Admiral Seymour, but he was still in the south at the time. In order to reward the foreign powers who had come from afar, he gave the Allied forces an order to allow the Allied soldiers to plunder for three days.

At this time, the capital was in complete chaos. When wealthy families received news of Empress Dowager Cixi's escape, they hurriedly packed up their valuables and hid what they could. For what they couldn't hide, they left their elderly relatives and servants behind to guard the place.

The rest packed up and, along with their families, went to other places to seek refuge with friends and relatives. Smaller families couldn't escape; they could only wait for the Allied Forces to come and leave it to fate.

Of course, some nobles and wealthy families, unaware of the brutality of the foreign powers, opened their doors, ready to live their lives as usual.

It's just a change of world order. Even if they replace the emperor with a foreign one, they'll still have to do what rulers of all dynasties did: at least first, they'll have to enter the city and appease the people!

Unfortunately, what awaited them was Japanese soldiers in yellow, black, and white, armed with rifles and sacks, who began firing at the men and forcibly raping the women.

On the night of the 15th, gunfire and fire illuminated half the sky over the capital. This night was a once-in-a-century catastrophe for the people of the entire capital.

After midnight, the gunfire gradually subsided. At that moment, the lights were on in a slightly secluded house in the southern part of Beijing. This was the underground command center of the Black Family Army in Beijing.

At this moment, in a conference room in the basement, a dozen or so men in black sat upright at a long table, and one of them was Bai Jingqi.

Bai Jingqi glanced at the pocket watch on his hand; it showed four in the morning.

There was a small blackboard in front of him, with various names written on it and circles drawn on it. Bai Jingqi turned around, looked at the circles on the blackboard, nodded, and then a young man spoke.

"Staff Officer Chen, could you tell everyone how well the strategic objectives of the first phase are progressing?"

The young man nodded and then addressed the crowd.

"The first strategic phase is now over 80% complete. Various valuables have already been transported out of the capital, with a total value of over 37 million taels. The remaining 17 underground warehouses in the capital hold over 56 million taels of gold and silver, including some large antiques and cultural relics whose value is currently inestimable. The allied forces of the foreign devils have entered the city, which has greatly affected our operations. However, please rest assured, Seventh Master, we will do our best to complete the mission!"

After listening to the young man's report, Bai Jingqi remained expressionless. He tapped the table and finally spoke slowly.

"Order all departments that, starting at 8:00 AM tomorrow, the first phase of the strategic mission is officially over. Everyone, begin preparing to execute the second strategic mission. Go and carry it out!"

As soon as Bai Jingqi finished speaking, everyone immediately stood up and shouted "Yes!" in unison.

After shouting, everyone saluted in unison, and then dispersed through several exits and disappeared into the night.

The Black Family Army is now being planned according to the military rank system of later generations. Each member of the Black Family Army has an internal military rank, while the names used by each department to represent the zodiac sign are used to divide the departments. Bai Jingqi does not hold any position or military rank. His identity is unique, and he only has the title of "Dragon".

In the eyes of these high-ranking officials, although the title of "Black Seventh Master" had been transferred to Zhang Li, they still referred to Bai Jingqi as Seventh Master in high-level meetings. However, the word "Black" was gradually removed from the title of "Seventh Master".

Among the high-ranking members of the Black Family Army, everyone tacitly agreed to conceal Bai Jingqi's true identity as much as possible, because they knew that with the current size and strength of the Black Family Army, Bai Jingqi's personal fighting ability was no longer surprising.

The Black Family Army's rapid growth over the years is absolutely inseparable from the Bai family's overt protection and arrangements. Therefore, Bai Jingqi's identity as Seventh Master Bai is of greater help to the Black Family Army than Seventh Master Hei.

Bai Jingqi formulated the overall operational plan for 1900, but the details were developed by the operations staff, with Bai Jingqi merely providing reference.

Although Bai Jingqi once said that he did not want to be a warlord, as the Black Family Army gradually expanded, under his unintentional arrangement, the organization had begun to operate in the manner of a military. With the scale expanding, many things were no longer within his control.

Bai Jingqi's initial intention in establishing the Black Family Army was simply to turn it into an underground military organization to provide security services for the Bai family. However, the Black Family Army now numbers nearly three thousand and has branches in several provinces. Under these circumstances, it has gradually begun to slip out of Bai Jingqi's control, at least in terms of personnel and expansion.

Just like each branch is a military region, some of the older elite members of the Black Family Army have long since come of age, and some have even started families and careers. They have gradually developed their own thoughts and pursuits.

With such a large organization as the Black Family Army, without a clear goal, the organization will inevitably fall apart sooner or later and will never be able to develop further.

Bai Jingqi's ambition was not great, which was the real reason why he gave up the position of Black Seventh Master. He did not have the ambition to dominate the world, so he stepped down.

Zhang Li and his Black Army have witnessed the rampage of foreigners and the decay of the Qing Dynasty over the years. They have also seen their Black Army's strength not be weak. Why can't they contend for supremacy?

In fact, seven or eight years ago, Zhang Li had advocated several times to expand the size of the Black Family Army, such as establishing its own military academy, occupying a region, and promoting Bai Jingqi to become a regional warlord.

For the first time, Bai Jingqi began to think about his future and what the Black Family Army could bring him. After thinking about it all night, he ultimately rejected Zhang Li's request.

This world is nothing more than a dream to him, but this dream is more real and resonates more with him than any other dream. He is starting out as an infant. If he were to conquer the world in the future, history would be completely different, and he might die a violent death. Conquering the world is not so easy!

He didn't want the future in his dream to be too uncertain, but he made a promise with Zhang Li in the end: if he decided to give up the identity of Black Master Qi in the future, he would hand over the Black Family Army to Zhang Li, but Zhang Li must be able to live up to the title of Black Master Qi before he would let go!

Over the past few years, Zhang Li has grown rapidly, gradually transforming from an action-oriented person into a wise and capable leader. He has also gradually developed into the kind of talent that Bai Jingqi needs.

Bai Jingqi knew that Zhang Li was ambitious, so he prepared to give him his last assessment task: the three-step strategy Bai Jingqi devised for the Allied invasion of China in 1900. Zhang Li was responsible for the most important part: blocking the Allied forces' retreat.

Zhang Li personally oversaw operations in Tianjin and began deploying battle plans along the route, while Bai Jingqi was stationed in Beijing to carry out the first and second steps of the strategic plan. The real highlight of this was the third step.

The first phase of the strategic mission has basically achieved its expected goals, and we have already reaped gold and silver worth 100 million taels.

If the Black Family Army hadn't seized this wealth, most of it would probably have fallen into the hands of these foreign powers, so Bai Jingqi felt no remorse whatsoever.

With the value of 100 million taels of silver, both Bai's Pharmaceuticals and the Black Army can achieve a leapfrog development within the next ten years.

The Black Family Army got ahead of the Allied Forces and plundered so much wealth that the Allied Forces quickly noticed. Although the Black Family Army did things very secretly, it would be strange if they didn't notice such a large amount.

Before the Allied Forces entered the city, those traitors provided them with a lot of intelligence. As a result, they had a list in their hands. This list naturally included information about the wealthy and powerful families and officials in the capital, as well as the locations of some Qing government departments' warehouses and even several large money shops in the capital.