Chapter 363: Conferring the title of Emperor Shao Quanzhong

Windsor Castle, London.

Prime Minister Braxton is reporting to Queen Victoria, who is in seclusion here.

Britain and France are separated by a narrow strip of water, and it only takes half a day to cross the channel. France also has a well-developed railway system.

When Shao Quanzhong arrived in Madrid, Prime Minister Braxton, who had left a day earlier than him, had already returned to London.

"Your Majesty, in the blink of an eye, Spain has been incorporated into France. Our ambassador to Russia has just sent a secret intelligence that Gorchakov will secretly form an alliance with Alfonso when he visits the Qing Dynasty and passes through France."

"As soon as Germany showed signs of rising, an anti-German alliance began to form."

"This is all the result of Shao Quanzhong's maneuvering. For such a loyal minister of the British Empire, I think that a small Earl of Jersey is not enough to reward him."

"The grace comes from above. How to reward Shao is beyond my control. I can only ask Her Majesty the Queen to make the decision."

Queen Victoria was delighted and said, "Shao has made an indelible contribution to the British Empire's ability to firmly control the situation in Europe and maintain its leading position in the world."

"Well, I feel better recently, the situation in the empire is booming, and my mood is much better. I have decided to end my seclusion and go to Buckingham Palace to govern the country."

"Send a telegram to Shao, asking him to come to London before returning home. Tell him that I will not only confer him an honor, but also have a great surprise waiting for him."

Her Majesty the Queen is about to end her secluded life and come out again. This is good news for the empire, indicating that Her Majesty has come out of the shadow of her husband's death.

How can we make His Majesty even happier? Give him a title of honor! It is the same in the East and the West.

Now William is the emperor, Alfonso is the emperor, and the leader of my world hegemony is actually a queen. How can this be tolerated?

Braxton returned to London and immediately instructed the Times to publish a comment.

India has been ruled by Britain for more than a hundred years. Can't Her Majesty be the Queen of India? Our British Empire must be worthy of the name and have an emperor.

The British Empire rules the seven seas. We don’t have the crown of Europe, but we have the excuse to be emperor.

As soon as the Times commentary came out, the people of London spontaneously petitioned Her Majesty the Queen to be crowned Queen.

…………

In the port of Cadiz, drums and trumpets sounded, playing "Paraguayans, Republic or Death", warmly welcoming the triumphant return of the 120,000 mercenaries of the Bau Heavenly Federation.

A total of 50,000 South American Taiping mercenaries went to France, so how come there were only 120,000 of them when they returned?
Well, there were 70,000 Chinese indentured laborers in France. When Zhang Lexing and Yang Fuqing's subordinates arrived in France, all these indentured slaves joined the Taiping Army.

Originally, Generals Zhang and Yang were planning to leave these new recruits in France, but Shao Quanzhong ordered them to take them all away.

"My Lord, aren't we going to expand the influence of the Chinese in France?"

Shao Quanzhong shook his head. "France is a big country with its own pride. We cannot infiltrate their homeland. This will affect the relationship between Qing and France."

Zhang Lexing seemed to understand, "Then why did the 130,000 people from Cuba stay?"

"Once the situation stabilizes, Cuban mercenaries must be withdrawn to Spain first. They will decide where to go later. They cannot stay in France."

"Don't people say, 'Paris is the Paris of the French'? There are too many of us Chinese, and that will make them unhappy. It's enough for the red-haired Irish to control it. We Chinese cannot get involved in French affairs."

Yang Fuqing was more thoughtful than Zhang Lexing. "Old Zhang, don't ask anymore. I'm sure that in the lord's plan, France will become a battlefield in the future, and there will probably be corpses everywhere. Will the lord let us Chinese suffer?" Shao Quanzhong smiled at the two generals. "You have worked so hard in Spain and France for so long, I have to reward you. After this mission is completed, each of you will control a country and become the ruler."

"Thank you, my lord, for your cultivation!"

Generals Zhang and Yang led 120,000 mercenaries and lined up on the transport ship. Under the escort of George Dewey and the American Atlantic Fleet, they entered the Mediterranean from Gibraltar and headed east.

When passing through the Suez Canal, George Dewey would leave behind a company of Marines to garrison Port Said. Ma Anliang's new army there could leave one less company and return to Tianfang Province for rest.

The mercenaries of Generals Zhang and Yang were ostensibly hired by Sultan Kirang of Sulu to go to Manila.

However, the small Sulu Kingdom was defended by Li Wencai with 3,000 soldiers. Why did it need 120,000 soldiers to garrison it?
When they get there, they will transform themselves into "Nanyang Kirishitan" to reinforce Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Shao Quanzhong had planned this long ago, just waiting for the mission on the Western side to be completed.

Brother Tokugawa, we generals are close friends and I am sending my troops to reinforce you. You must hold on.

It would take several days for the 120,000 troops to board the ship. The main force of the Huai Army had to make way for them and was still in France. Then the 80,000 Spanish regular troops also had to return home. Without a month or two of troop mobilization, this matter would not be completed.

Shao Quanzhong was not in a hurry. He just needed to let Brother Tian lead the Huai Army's main force after they returned. He still had to participate in the final signing in Frankfurt.

Before that, I have to go to London to receive the medal, spend some time with Rong Hui, and go on vacation to my own territory, Jersey.

How can it be that I, the Earl of Jersey, have never been to Jersey?

After fighting for such a long time, it's time to take a break, right? I'm not in a hurry to return home.

The Cadiz naval port is now packed with dozens of damaged warships from the South China Sea Fleet and the French fleet being overhauled here.

Especially the four Wangfu-class ships, the damage was quite serious, only slightly better than the Ocean, and it would take several months to repair them.

The Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships did not suffer any losses. They were very powerful, and two of them could defeat one of the Haiyang ships. The Dingyuan ship's gunpowder depot was even hit by a shot, but the Zhenyuan ship was completely unscathed.

Shao Quanzhong took a battalion of soldiers from the Guards Brigade on board the Zhenyuan, with Liao Rong as captain, and sailed directly to London.

The Zhenyuan required 800 sailors. A 10,000-ton ship could carry 10,000 soldiers. A battalion of guards could easily board it and it could carry enough coal to sail for thousands of miles.

There was no need to fight, so no auxiliary ships were brought, only one ship for Shao Quanzhong to sail on.

On December 1870, 12, the Zhenyuan arrived in London.

Braxton went to the port to greet them. This time, the reception was much smaller and there were not even any reporters.

"My Lord, it's not that the Empire doesn't value your coming. The reporters are all at Buckingham Palace. Today, Her Majesty the Queen is being crowned Queen."

Buckingham Palace was decorated with lights and Her Majesty the Queen was in high spirits as she assumed the office of Queen of India.

Envoys from various countries came together, bowed in worship, and spotlights flashed continuously, witnessing the birth of the queen of the world's most powerful country.

Shao Quanzhong and Rong Hui were also among the worshippers. He and Rong Hui reunited, but before they had time to communicate, they were dragged to the coronation site.

The newly crowned Queen wore a crown and issued her first Queen's decree, "Shao Quanzhong, Earl of Jersey, is hereby conferred the title."

(End of this chapter)

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