Chapter 410: The Manchu elite troops enter Japan to fight

"A weak woman like you, holding a knife, is completely unable to take revenge. Come, we will train you to use a revolver, and fund you to follow their visiting delegation and find opportunities to assassinate them."

"The condition is that it would be best if the Austrian emperor was killed as well."

The person who was talking to the assassin was a member of a "spontaneous organization" called the "National Defense" Society.

The goal of this society was to encourage Slavic settlements such as Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to break away from the high-pressure rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, return to the embrace of Serbia, and establish Greater Serbia.

Their people were also looking for opportunities outside the World Expo. Although they couldn't get in either, they discovered this young novice in the assassination world.

Franz Joseph I experienced an assassination attempt in 1853. He was stabbed in the neck by the assassin. Since then, he has been very vigilant.

Every time they went out, secret detectives were everywhere in the crowd, and the Slavs had no chance to get close even if they wanted to take action.

However, this oriental woman, because of her skin color and race, will not be targeted as a dangerous person by the secret police and can be used.

They spent two days urgently training the assassins on how to use a revolver. There was no need to load the bullet, just raise the loaded pistol and pull the trigger to shoot at close range.

Basically, the situation was similar to when Shao Quanzhong trained Wenxiu to shoot and kill Bo Daan, but the training time was much longer than Shao Quanzhong's training Wenxiu.

Then, the assassin followed Shao Quanzhong's visiting team, looking for an opportunity, and finally took advantage of the moment when Tesla accidentally broke through the cordon to successfully get close to Shao Quanzhong - it was indeed much easier to get in than the Slavs.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire used its national power to investigate a case at any cost, and it was almost certain to solve it.

The source of the pistol, the assassin's training grounds, and the members of the "National Defense Society" who provided training and assistance were all quickly discovered.

Although the helper and the assassin himself had different purposes, the assassin focused on Shao Quanzhong and did not think about assassinating the Emperor of Austro-Hungary. He reap what he sowed and achieved the goal of the helper.

A large number of members of the "National Defense Society" were arrested. The detectives followed the clues and found that there was a not-so-long-established organization called "To Be or Not to Be" above the so-called "National Defense Society" that was remotely controlling and providing funding from behind the scenes.

The "Live or Die" organization is commonly known as the "Black Hand Society". All its members are in Serbia and cannot be arrested. Although there is no evidence that this Black Hand Society is an official organization, anyone can tell who is funding and directing it.

…………

Princess Sissi quickly recovered from the grief of losing her husband, "Shao, I'm sorry, because of the intervention of the hostile forces of our Austro-Hungarian Empire, you were assassinated. Fortunately, it was just a false alarm."

"The new king of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has ascended the throne, and the situation in Hungary has immediately become unstable. I, the Queen of Hungary, need to go there to appease the people, so I won't accompany you for long."

"The marriages you made with the late emperor must be honored. Your Shao family will have a share in Hungary in the future. You must support Hungary. I thank you in advance on behalf of the Hungarian people."

"A great hero like you, like Count Andrassy back then, has always been the type I admire. Don't let me down."

To be charming, she had to wear mourning clothes. At this time, Princess Sissi was full of charm. In order to get a strong ally for Hungary, she was still enthusiastic about Shao Quanzhong.

"Don't worry, mother-in-law, Hungary is under my protection."

Shao Quanzhong grabbed Princess Sissi's silk-gloved fingertips and kissed her hand. He was not at all uncouth and said goodbye elegantly.

He had only performed this etiquette once before, thirteen years ago, when Rong Hui first came to Shaojiaweizi...

Over there, Moltke was also saying goodbye to Emery, "Admiral, we hit it off right away. You taught me, an old man, a lot of new things, and I am very grateful."

"I am seventy-four years old this year. We may not meet again after we part ways. I am giving you a gift as a souvenir. Please do not refuse."

Old Moltke turned around and ordered, "Zeppelin, bring me the saber that your majesty gave me."

Moltke and Emery were both in casual clothes and did not carry sabers. A bearded man in his thirties took Moltke's saber and handed it to Emery.

The items bestowed by the Germans were just like their medals, very plain, without any gorgeous gemstone decorations or the like, but they were definitely sharp and easy to use.

Moltke was already a world-famous figure, and "Moltke's Sabre" was now a precious commemorative item. Emery took the saber and bowed in thanks.

"return!"

Hmm? Mao Qi was stunned. What does Shao Quanzhong want to talk to me about?

"Um, Marshal, your attendant is called Zeppelin?"

Moltke was very surprised. "No, he is not my squire. He is the Count of the Grand Duchy of Baden. I cannot afford to have him as my squire."

"He is the guard officer of His Majesty William, his name is Ferdinand von Zeppelin. He came with His Majesty to attend the Vienna World Expo this time. His Majesty asked him to temporarily follow me."

Zeppelin came over and saluted Shao Quanzhong, "Colonel Zeppelin of the German Army pays respect to His Excellency the Field Marshal."

This - don't get it wrong, Shao Quanzhong only knew Qi Peilin's name, and didn't know his identity at that time. It would be embarrassing to get someone with the same name back.

Shao Quanzhong stared at Zeppelin with a smile, "Um, Colonel, are you familiar with hot air balloons?"

"Your Excellency, the Marshal, I am very familiar with it. Although I graduated from the Ludwig Military Academy, I studied engineering and chemistry at the University of Tübingen."

"So when I accepted the military mobilization of the Kingdom of Prussia, I joined the Engineering Corps."

"In 1863, I volunteered in the American Civil War, serving as a balloon observer for the Union artillery on the Potomac River."

"After that, I was in charge of hot air balloon reconnaissance and performed outstandingly in the Prussian-Danish War, for which I was awarded the Knight's Cross. In the Franco-Prussian War, I took a hot air balloon to conduct reconnaissance behind enemy lines and was almost captured." "His Majesty William learned about me and praised my courage, so he promoted me to be his aide-de-camp."

That's basically correct. Shao Quanzhong looked at Moltke and said, "Marshal, I have a research project and I'm in need of technicians who have a deep understanding of hot air balloons. Can you loan Zeppelin to me to help?"

"Don't worry, we'll send the people back to you once the project is completed."

Mao Qi had long heard of Shao Quanzhong's reputation for attaching importance to science and technology, and laughed, "That's absolutely no problem, I'll just report to His Majesty when I get back. Colonel, go to Hailing and work hard, make contributions, and I'll personally promote you when you come back."

Mao Qi stared at Shao Quanzhong and said, "Shao, as a 74-year-old man, I want to give you a piece of advice. It is a good habit to recruit technicians everywhere, but a country cannot become strong just by recruiting people."

"Why did we win the Franco-Prussian War? Because we had ordinary citizens with higher quality than France. Germany's victory was decided on the podium of elementary school teachers."

Shao Quanzhong accepted the advice with awe, "Thank you for the advice, Marshal. I will work hard to improve the quality of the people when I return. But that's too slow. I have to train myself and recruit people everywhere. I have to do both well!"

After gesturing with his hands, he subconsciously glanced back at the slender back of his relative, the Empress Dowager of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Queen of Hungary, who had already walked away with his people after seeing them off. Then Shao Quanzhong led his people onto the train and started the return journey.

…………

More than one hundred transport ships gathered in Yokohama Port, and the escorting ships was unexpectedly the Dutch sailing warship fleet which had almost no presence in those days.

The Netherlands was now in a state of demobilization and only had two small ironclad ships, the "Buffalo" and the "Scorpion", neither of which were suitable for long-distance voyages. The old steam sailing warships were still used to escort merchant ships traveling to and from the colonies.

They accepted the employment of Tokugawa Yoshinobu and escorted 130,000 Taiping mercenaries from the port of Cadiz in Spain.

130,000 Taiping soldiers wearing bicorne hats came ashore one after another. They came from Cuba and were hired by Alfonso I in Spain to escort Alfonso I to the restoration of France.

Two years later, the domestic situation in France has been completely stabilized, the modernization training of the French regular army has been completed, and the reserve force has been established.

The mercenaries retired after completing their mission, received their reward from His Majesty the French Emperor, and came back to make money from Tokugawa Yoshinobu.

Yang Fuqing, ahem, yes, his name is Yang Changjiu. He accepted all the Heavenly Kingdom brothers from Cuba, and the power of the shogunate army increased suddenly.

On Zhang Lexing's side, he led the former members of the Nian Army to provide auxiliary services and guard the north bank of Pipa Lake. The main battlefield was always commanded by Yang Changjiu.

Yang Changjiu was full of energy and enthusiasm. "The reinforcements have finally arrived. Let Liu Mingchuan, the Qing Dynasty's lackey, know how powerful our Heavenly Kingdom soldiers are. Come, pass on my order to launch a general attack to break the deadlock in Japan and conquer the entire Fuso for the general!"

…………

Two months later, in the Forbidden City, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a meeting of the Grand Council was chaired by the young emperor.

"Reporting to all the lords, Liu Mingchuan is urgently seeking help."

"The remnants of the Fuso rebellion have received support from the Cuban rebellion, and their military strength has greatly increased."

"With the main force of the rebels as the core combat force, we drove out the Japanese vassal army and took over Honshu Island and Shikoku Island. Liu Mingchuan retreated to Kyushu Island and was in imminent danger. He begged for support from the mainland."

"Zhejiang and Fujian Governor Zuo Zongtang requested a war and asked to lead the new troops of Fujian and Zhejiang to fight against the Japanese invaders."

"British Columbia Governor Nie Shicheng wants to fight. Please send the Beiyang Navy to pick up the new troops from British Columbia and Alaska to fight against the Japanese."

"The commander of the Fengtai Camp, Dong Jun, wants to fight. Please allow him to lead the Wuwei Army to fight in Japan."

The emperor was very happy. "There are many loyal ministers and righteous men in the Qing Dynasty. Japan has always been in confrontation with us. Why did the rebels suddenly increase their troops?"

Li Hongzhang bowed and reported, "In the past two years, the two Japanese armies have been confronting each other. The two sides of Lake Biwa have become scorched earth. The Japanese vassal armies on both sides have lost more than 4 million people and are unable to fight anymore."

"That's why the rebels spent a lot of money to hire accomplices to help them, probably hoping to win in one fell swoop."

The little emperor scratched his bald forehead and said, "Waguo is a poor place, why not just give it to them."

Zhang Zhidong walked out of the class with a strange light in his eyes, "We must not give in, otherwise the rebellion will flare up again. What if there is a response from the country?"

"I suggest approving the petition of the three generals, leading the new Manchu and Han troops of the six regiments under your command to fight against the Japanese, and to enter Fuso to fight and show the power of our Great Qing."

"I second the proposal!"

Good! The little emperor slapped the dragon case and said, "I order the new army to enter Japan to fight and drive back the remnants of the rebellion!"

"According to the order!"

How did the little emperor become so powerful that he dared to make his own decisions? Because Shao Quanzhong, the "General of Fuyuan", had just returned from a visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was still on the returning warship.

The military situation over there is urgent. Can’t we wait for you to come back and make the decision?
The people from the Grand Council left the Yangxin Palace. Li Hongzhang looked back at the back of the young emperor, who was in high spirits and personally dispatched troops for the first time, and sighed deeply, looking at Zhang Zhidong with a complicated look.

The Beiyang Fleet sailed to the newly built city of Vancouver, British Columbia, to pick up the new army under Nie Shicheng.

The Pacific Fleet was urgently transferred back from Hawaii to support Zuo Zongtang and his new army to Kyushu Island.

The South China Sea Fleet was urgently transferred back to Dagukou to join the Wuwei Army led by Dong Jun from Fengtai Camp to join Japan.

Those loyal men who were steadfast to the Qing court led their troops across the Pacific Ocean from all directions and rushed to the battlefield in Japan with high morale.

(End of this chapter)

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