Chapter 223 Make a deal with the devil! (Please vote, please subscribe)
“Mr. Luo, you don’t really believe the things predicted in this ridiculous “Great Book of Prophecy”?”

Aitong exclaimed after reading only a dozen pages. There were so many predictions about the French Empire in this book! In addition to Napoleon III becoming emperor, France was also about to be involved in the ninth Russo-Turkish War with Britain – was France going to fight Russia again?

This is too scary. If Napoleon I hadn’t been so impulsive in launching an expedition to Russia, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of troops in the severe winter in Russia, the French Empire would still be the greatest empire in the world! Why don’t the people of the Bonaparte family learn from this?

“Mr. Consul,” Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, “these prophecies do not predict what will happen in ten or a hundred years, but what will happen this year. Some of them may have already happened, but the news has not yet reached China.

For example, the news of Napoleon III’s marriage to the Spanish noblewoman Eugenie de Montijo, the Great Prophecy said that they would hold a secular and religious wedding at the Tuileries Palace on January 1 and Notre Dame de Paris on January 29. Mr. Consul, Your Excellency the Bishop, have you heard of these two pieces of news?”

“His Majesty the Emperor is marrying Eugenie de Montijo? Shouldn’t His Majesty marry a princess?” French Consul Aitong obviously knew nothing about this.

Bishop Zhao Fangji shrugged and said, “Brother Luo, we won’t know about what happened in Europe in late January until early April at the earliest.”

“That’s only a month,” Luo Yaoguo said, “Bishop, Consul, why don’t we wait a month and see. If a month later, there is news that Napoleon III and Eugenie are getting married.”

Luo Yaoguo said to Consul Aitong in a tempting tone: “I think His Majesty the Emperor will definitely want to know more about the prophecy of the Ninth Russo-Turkish War and the Bonaparte Dynasty! Mr. Consul, this is a rare opportunity!”

“This…” Consul Aitong seemed to have thought of something.

For him, who was still an atheist a month ago, this was unbelievable, but he wanted to make progress. And the ladder of progress seemed to be right in front of him!

If he could obtain accurate predictions about the war against Russia and the Bonaparte dynasty for the Emperor, his potential for improvement would be limitless!

“No, that’s a deal with the devil!” Bishop Zhao Fangji was still very vigilant, “You will go to hell!”

“No, that’s not a deal!” Luo Yaoguo quickly retorted, “It’s just that person’s one-sided statement. He would give public sermons every month, and during the sermons he would make some prophecies. The insiders we sent to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would record them, and they became the “Great Book of Prophecies.”

At first I didn’t think it was true, until I learned in Shanghai that Napoleon III had ascended the throne of France. This event was also recorded in the “Great Book of Prophecies”, which was a prophecy in June and July last year. And that man had just fallen from the sky at that time!

So we don’t need to make any deal with the devil, we just need to send someone to listen. Bishop, if you eavesdrop on the devil’s conversation, you won’t go to hell, right? Moreover, we can’t be sure whether that person is a devil, an angel or a liar.

Bishop, what do you think?

“This…” Zhao Fangji frowned, “Brother Luo, I can’t tell who that person is. I’m afraid only the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Inquisition can make a judgment. All I can do is report the information I have obtained truthfully.”

Luo Yaoguo asked: “Does the information obtained include that person’s prediction?”

“Of course!” Zhao Fangji nodded.

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, “Even if it is the devil’s prophecy, as long as it is not obtained through a transaction with the devil himself, it is not a transaction with the devil, right?”

“Of course this understanding is correct.” Zhao Fangji gave an affirmative answer, but he always felt something was wrong.

Luo Yaoguo turned his head and looked at Aitang: “Mr. Consul, do you have any questions now?”

“There is one more!” Aitang looked at Luo Yaoguo, “Lord Luo, what do you want from me?”

“Help!” Luo Yaoguo said, “Mr. Consul, I need arms, military advisers and political support from France. With these, I can become the actual controller of Shanghai and even Suzhou, Songjiang, Taicang, Jiaxing, Huzhou and other wealthy prefectures in the future.” “Mr. Luo, if I understand correctly, your idea is to become a warlord who controls Suzhou, Songjiang, Taicang, Jiaxing, Huzhou and other places with the support of France?”

The French Consul in Shanghai finally understood what kind of deal Luo Xueyan wanted to make with him.

Luo Yaoguo nodded and continued to tempt him: “Mr. Consul, I have already received the support of the American Consul Ma Hui. If you are willing to support me, then my hope of success will be great. And my success will also be the success of you and Bishop Zhao! After all, I am a devout Catholic!”

“But I’m just a consul, not an envoy.” Aitong frowned and said, “My authority is not that great!”

“You will become an ambassador!” Luo Yaoguo raised his hand and pointed at the “Great Prophecy”, and then promised, “As long as you are willing to sell me all the Minié rifles and Minié bullets in stock in the French Concession in Shanghai, and send a few truly professional army officers to help me train the troops, I will succeed!

And a Catholic Chinese warlord you support controls the richest region of China. Even without those magical prophecies, you would definitely become an envoy!
In addition, I will prepare two more generous gifts for you and His Excellency the Bishop to thank you for your help! “

The Minié rifle is a muzzle-loading rapid-fire rifle developed by Captain Minié, the inventor of the Minié bullet, and Captain De Vigne, a firearms expert, in 1849. This rifle is extremely powerful, with a killing range of up to 918 meters and can accurately hit targets within 550 meters – provided that it is used by a true sharpshooter.

In this era, the effective range of an ordinary muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon is not much greater than this!

There are many sharpshooters in Luo Yaoguo’s army. If they can be equipped with Minié rifles and Minié bullets, they will definitely be able to fight even if they encounter a real imperialist army.

And having the strength to fight will give us room to deal with the great powers.

Because next year Britain and France will be involved in the Crimean War, and a brutal war will break out with the “European Gendarmerie” Russian Empire.

Although the Russian Empire, which exposed its weak nature, was called a “colossus with feet of clay” after this war, no one dared to make such a big statement before the outcome of the Crimean War.

After Britain and France invested their full efforts in the war with Russia, Luo Yaoguo had room for development as long as he had a certain level of strength.

“Well, if it’s just some Minié rifles and Minié bullets, that’s within my authority. There are currently 100 brand new Minié rifles and 10,000 Minié bullets in the French Concession’s warehouse. They were originally intended to be replaced by the French soldiers stationed in the French Concession. If you are in urgent need of these equipment, I can sell them to you. But the price is a bit expensive!”

Consul Aitong put away the “Great Book of Prophecy” which contained the “white pounds” and said to Luo Yaoguo with a smile.

“No problem, just name your price!” Luo Yaoguo said with a smile.

“The Minié rifle costs ten pounds, or forty silver dollars. The Minié ammunition is more expensive, one silver dollar a round. The total cost is fourteen thousand silver dollars.”

“Okay!” Luo Yaoguo nodded with a smile, “I’ll take them all!”

Seeing Luo Yaoguo so straightforward, Consul Aitang smiled and said, “Xueyan, let me tell you the truth. In fact, Minister Bourboulon has already issued instructions that as long as the concession is not violated, France will remain neutral in the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, under the premise of not violating the principle of neutrality, the consulate can provide assistance to the Qing Dynasty, including weapons, ammunition and military advisers.

However, the military advisers sent by France can only provide training and advice, and cannot directly participate in and command battles.

If you need more Minié rifles and ammunition, I can introduce you to Henry Remy, the master of Remy & Co. You can buy them from him. He has connections and can find tens of thousands of them.

As for officers, I will assign Lieutenant Pierre, the commander of the French infantry company stationed in Shanghai, to you as an advisor. He is an excellent officer who has served in the army for many years. He once fought with the Algerians in North Africa for three years and broke his leg. Now that he is old, he wants to make more money so that he can return to France to retire. As long as he is paid enough, he can ignore the orders of Minister Bourboulon.

(End of this chapter)