The Golden Eagle, A Napoleonic France after the Peace of Vienna
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The Great Eastern Crusade I
"Most people don't realize that small things, like a Chinese student failing his exams, can change the fate of the world."
That was the quote that the French Historian Jean-Claude Poirot used to describe what would be latter known as the "Butterfly effect", where small changes could make history take a turn and completely change the future. And there is no better example of this than the Taiping Rebellion.
((The Heavenly Kingdom was much more than another change of Dynasty, it changed the History of China))
Hong Huochiu was the 3rd son of a Han Chinese family, born a poor peasant, he saw the studies as a way to advance in his life and soon applied to the Imperial exams, hoping to become a bureaucrat. Sadly, he would try for 4 times and fall in all of them. After the 2nd attempt, he received a leaflet of a Christian Missionary that he quickly ignored, but after the 3rd attempt, he had a mental breakdown. During the night, he received a vision: He saw himself going to the heavens and meeting a celestial father with golden beard and dressing a black dragon robe. He said that he was angry that the people were bowing to demons instead of him, and Hong needed to help his celestial older brother to slay the demons and bring the people back to the Father. Hong woke from the vision with a new life mission: To slay the Demons of China and bring the people back to God.
((Hong Xiuquan, adopted his name after the dream, as a direct order from his celestial Father))
Hong decides to give those leaflets a second chance, he noticed that Christianity fit perfectly with his vision. God the father was the Celestial Father of Hong, and Jesus Christ was the older brother that he fought with against the demons. Quickly he would adopt a new version of Christianity, burning Confucian symbols in his house and start bringing legions of converts.
He also had a great opportunity, after the Opium War, the Chinese weakness that the Qing Emperors tried to hide was finally revealed. The Navy was destroyed with ease, the army was humiliated by the European rifles, and the Chinese mindset was totally changed: Before the 19th century, the Chinese people, from the peasants to the Emperor, all thought China was the "Middle Kingdom", the center of the world, the richest and most powerful nation to ever exist. The British Empire proved them wrong, and many questions arose, especially within the Han, that blamed the weakness of China into the foreign Manchu Dynasty.
In this environment of anti-manchu sentiment and wish for reform, Hong and the "God Worshippers" saw fertile ground to grow. He called the Qing as the source of the Chinese problems, calling them the demons he was supposed to slay. By 1850, the revolt sentiment was at its peak, and a single spark could bring death and destruction to China. The spark came in Jintian, the Imperial authorities became alarmed with the growing size of the sect and ordered their dispersion, when refused, 7,000 troops were dispatched to destroy them, starting the Jintian uprising.
((The troops of the Heavenly Kingdom refused to cut their hairs accordingly to the Qing ordered. They also used Blue, White, and Red as colors))
The Qing troops were defeated by Hong's followers and the commander was beheaded, Hong Xiuquan declared the "Taiping Kingdom of Eternal Peace", promising a land reform to the peasants, equality between the sexes (many wondered what he meant by that), and the the expulsion of the hated Qing, and that would attract millions of followers, including Shi Qigang and Yang Yahui, two men that would raise to the top.
The two were reformist leaders, after the opium wars, they argued in favor of the modernization of China, especially in the military. Their ideas of using European weapons and tactics would bring Hong's attention, and they became members of the Taiping Court. Even if they were skeptical of Hong's Christianity, they never voiced that and instead focused on driving out the Manchu.
Hong appointed 5 "Kings", his most loyal and skilled followers, as Generals of the Heavenly Army, the best commander was with no doubt Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King. The leader of the Northern Experdition. The Taiping Kingdom Marched north, capturing several cities like Fuzhou, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, the incompetency of the Hedonistical Qing Emperor Xianfeng allowed the Taiping to capture the Yangtze valley, the richest region of China. Nanjing was renamed Tianjing and became Capital of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Millions of Han peasants flocked into the armies of Hong, seeing him as their liberator from the Qing. Using the chaos of the rebellion, several provinces declared rebellion against the Qing in Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, and Mongolia, further dividing and weakening the Qing forces.
The Taiping prepared their forces in two offensives: One aiming to capture the cities of the Yangtze, heading to the West. The second one would head North, using the confusion and division in the Qing ranks to capture Peking itself, and force the Manchu out of China once and for all.
That was the quote that the French Historian Jean-Claude Poirot used to describe what would be latter known as the "Butterfly effect", where small changes could make history take a turn and completely change the future. And there is no better example of this than the Taiping Rebellion.
((The Heavenly Kingdom was much more than another change of Dynasty, it changed the History of China))
((Hong Xiuquan, adopted his name after the dream, as a direct order from his celestial Father))
He also had a great opportunity, after the Opium War, the Chinese weakness that the Qing Emperors tried to hide was finally revealed. The Navy was destroyed with ease, the army was humiliated by the European rifles, and the Chinese mindset was totally changed: Before the 19th century, the Chinese people, from the peasants to the Emperor, all thought China was the "Middle Kingdom", the center of the world, the richest and most powerful nation to ever exist. The British Empire proved them wrong, and many questions arose, especially within the Han, that blamed the weakness of China into the foreign Manchu Dynasty.
In this environment of anti-manchu sentiment and wish for reform, Hong and the "God Worshippers" saw fertile ground to grow. He called the Qing as the source of the Chinese problems, calling them the demons he was supposed to slay. By 1850, the revolt sentiment was at its peak, and a single spark could bring death and destruction to China. The spark came in Jintian, the Imperial authorities became alarmed with the growing size of the sect and ordered their dispersion, when refused, 7,000 troops were dispatched to destroy them, starting the Jintian uprising.
((The troops of the Heavenly Kingdom refused to cut their hairs accordingly to the Qing ordered. They also used Blue, White, and Red as colors))
The two were reformist leaders, after the opium wars, they argued in favor of the modernization of China, especially in the military. Their ideas of using European weapons and tactics would bring Hong's attention, and they became members of the Taiping Court. Even if they were skeptical of Hong's Christianity, they never voiced that and instead focused on driving out the Manchu.
Hong appointed 5 "Kings", his most loyal and skilled followers, as Generals of the Heavenly Army, the best commander was with no doubt Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King. The leader of the Northern Experdition. The Taiping Kingdom Marched north, capturing several cities like Fuzhou, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, the incompetency of the Hedonistical Qing Emperor Xianfeng allowed the Taiping to capture the Yangtze valley, the richest region of China. Nanjing was renamed Tianjing and became Capital of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Millions of Han peasants flocked into the armies of Hong, seeing him as their liberator from the Qing. Using the chaos of the rebellion, several provinces declared rebellion against the Qing in Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, and Mongolia, further dividing and weakening the Qing forces.
The Taiping prepared their forces in two offensives: One aiming to capture the cities of the Yangtze, heading to the West. The second one would head North, using the confusion and division in the Qing ranks to capture Peking itself, and force the Manchu out of China once and for all.
The Great Eastern Crusade II
"It is hard to imagine China today if Hong and his followers didn't expell the Qing to the North, to this day Manchuria and its citizens feel separated from China. One can only especulate the future of the Orient if the Qing dynasty restored order over their provinces." -Sir Edward Blake, ex-Foreign Minister of Great Britain.
The Western Experdition was sent to capture the richest provinces of China, following the Yangtze, Anhui and Hubei were captured later in the year, after the failure of the Northern Experdition, Hong focused the resources of the Taiping in securing Southern China, sending an extra 500,000 men to finish the conquest. The Qing Garrisons composed by Han Chinese deserted in masses to the Taiping, especially on the May of 1856 when Chongqing and Chengdu fell, finishing the conquest of Western china.
The Northern Experdition was sent to capture Beijing and the Qing Emperor, sadly for the Taiping Kingdom, the plan was too ambitious from the Start. It was only a matter of time before the Qing reorganized their northern forces, with most of the Taiping forces in the West, the mere 70,000 troops were no match to over 300,000 troops defending Beijing and were forced to retreat, but not before taking Shandong.
((Situation of China in 1856, on the eve of the Second Opium War))
With the southern provinces under rebellion, the Qing were in their weakest, and seeing as "Christianity" was responsible for the Taiping rebellion, missionaries were heavily suppressed. On the late 1856, the execution of 7 French Missionaries by the Qing court enraged Napoleon III, he dispatched a great gunboat fleet with over 10,000 men to punish the Qing court, taking the island of Hainan by 1857.
The Taiping court saw the opportunity, offering to build a French embassy in Tianjing. The siege of Shangai has been lasting for 4 years and the Qing Garrison resisted, the Taiping offered trade concessions to French Merchants and the transfer of the Island of Hainan and Shangai to the French Empire, in return of weapons and the use of the French Oriental Experdition against the Qing. Seeing the benefits of opening a Market in china to compete with the British, the French accepted.
The "Invencible Army" was formed by the French elite forces, Merged with several elite regiments equiped with modern rifles and artillery, led by French commanders. Over 60,000 men stormed Shangai with the support of the French navy, the city fell in a quick assault. The end of the Western Experdition and the formation of the Xiang army in Hunan, boosted the Taiping forces. A treaty of peace was made with the Yunan rebels, promising them independence if they joined forces against the Qing. It was time to push the Manchu out of china once and for all, led by Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, over 1,500,000 soldiers would march in the Second Northern Experdition.
The Taiping forces were superior to their Manchu counterparts, not only they were equipped with modern weapons, but their troops had a fanatical morale and discipline. The brilliant leadership of the Eastern King and the sheer number and superiority of the Taiping troops pushed to Beijing, on the 8th of May of 1860, the Taiping took Beijing and the Qing court fleed to Shenyang. With the Manchu pushed to the North of the Great Wall, the Qing agreed on a Eternal peace. Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, Mongolia and Qinghai became Independent Nations, Outer Manchuria was given to Russia, Shangai and Hainan were given to France, and the rest of China would become the "Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace", a Theocratic Empire that ruled the richest land of Asia. Over 15 millions died in the Great Eastern Crusade, most of them Manchu civilians that suffered massacres by the Han Chinese, it was the bloodiest civil war in History and it would take until the 20th Century for a war to match the brutality and casualties of the Great Eastern Crusade.
((China in 1860))
The Western Experdition was sent to capture the richest provinces of China, following the Yangtze, Anhui and Hubei were captured later in the year, after the failure of the Northern Experdition, Hong focused the resources of the Taiping in securing Southern China, sending an extra 500,000 men to finish the conquest. The Qing Garrisons composed by Han Chinese deserted in masses to the Taiping, especially on the May of 1856 when Chongqing and Chengdu fell, finishing the conquest of Western china.
The Northern Experdition was sent to capture Beijing and the Qing Emperor, sadly for the Taiping Kingdom, the plan was too ambitious from the Start. It was only a matter of time before the Qing reorganized their northern forces, with most of the Taiping forces in the West, the mere 70,000 troops were no match to over 300,000 troops defending Beijing and were forced to retreat, but not before taking Shandong.
((Situation of China in 1856, on the eve of the Second Opium War))
The Taiping court saw the opportunity, offering to build a French embassy in Tianjing. The siege of Shangai has been lasting for 4 years and the Qing Garrison resisted, the Taiping offered trade concessions to French Merchants and the transfer of the Island of Hainan and Shangai to the French Empire, in return of weapons and the use of the French Oriental Experdition against the Qing. Seeing the benefits of opening a Market in china to compete with the British, the French accepted.
The "Invencible Army" was formed by the French elite forces, Merged with several elite regiments equiped with modern rifles and artillery, led by French commanders. Over 60,000 men stormed Shangai with the support of the French navy, the city fell in a quick assault. The end of the Western Experdition and the formation of the Xiang army in Hunan, boosted the Taiping forces. A treaty of peace was made with the Yunan rebels, promising them independence if they joined forces against the Qing. It was time to push the Manchu out of china once and for all, led by Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, over 1,500,000 soldiers would march in the Second Northern Experdition.
The Taiping forces were superior to their Manchu counterparts, not only they were equipped with modern weapons, but their troops had a fanatical morale and discipline. The brilliant leadership of the Eastern King and the sheer number and superiority of the Taiping troops pushed to Beijing, on the 8th of May of 1860, the Taiping took Beijing and the Qing court fleed to Shenyang. With the Manchu pushed to the North of the Great Wall, the Qing agreed on a Eternal peace. Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, Mongolia and Qinghai became Independent Nations, Outer Manchuria was given to Russia, Shangai and Hainan were given to France, and the rest of China would become the "Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace", a Theocratic Empire that ruled the richest land of Asia. Over 15 millions died in the Great Eastern Crusade, most of them Manchu civilians that suffered massacres by the Han Chinese, it was the bloodiest civil war in History and it would take until the 20th Century for a war to match the brutality and casualties of the Great Eastern Crusade.
((China in 1860))
The Two Brothers: Teaser
Two Brothers, Two Kaisers, One Deutschesland
On the next Episode: The New German States aren't satisfied with half, each one want a United Germany under either Vienna or Berlin.
In the North: Son and father conflict over unification, and twin brothers take sides. And the Dutch are forced to join the Union for their own survival.
In the South: Conflicts arise between two of the States in the Federation, and the non-Germanic Czechs feel incompatible with a Kaiser.
3 Political masters would arise, all of them with a single goal: Uniting the Germanic peoples. And all of them share a common enemy: The French Empire.
And the rivalry of the Germans with the French spill in the Economics field, with Albert Boulanger meeting a new rival company: The Weiss Industries.
A House Divided: Teaser
The Destiny of America
"A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South."
The US Senator of Illinois Abraham Lincoln described the polarization of the United States during the 1850s. The debates over slavery would radicalize and tear the Union apart, the failure by the Democrats and Whigs to find a solution would bring down the political establishment and the two-party system, with the rise of the radical Republican and Southern Whig parties. New players would rise, From Pelletists to Reactionaries, and soon the two positions would fight in the battlefields and decide the Destiny of America."A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South."
Voting time: Kaiserreich or some Good ol' slavery debates ?
Which one of those chapters should be done first ? Both happen during the same time (1850) and there is nothing else important in the world now that the rise of the Taiping was covered.
I will go straight to the point.
I don't like writing in the 19th century, I am tired of it. I have a suggestion: I will wrap up the events until 1900, I really want to write about the world wars and the inevitable confrontation of France and Germany. I don't really feel enthusiasm writing about this right now. But I can't ignore all of you, instead I will make it a Refferendum: Should I jump to the 20th Century with a quick overview of what happened during the second half of the 19th century ?
If that's what you want to write about, then absolutely. You don't owe us anything; if you want to write about the 20th Century then go for it.
