His Majesty the Emperor spent a month and a half in beautiful Los Angeles and personally attended the many important events of the 12th World Expo, before returning to the imperial capital of Chang'an on the royal train in early June.

Along the way, you can see many wealthy families driving cars on the road, heading for Los Angeles, which hosts a world-class tech event.

The road is wide and flat on the asphalt road, lined with lush street trees, with clear dividers and all vehicles driving on the right hand side of the road.

There is a constant stream of cars on the road, with only a few horse-drawn carriages in between, and families travel by car, which is rare in Europe.

The vast territory and developed highway transportation system of the Tang Empire, coupled with the world's advanced automobile industry, which has been born for more than 30 years, have created the reputation of the Tang Empire as a "country on wheels", and the number of cars accounts for more than 86% of the world.

The smooth and affluent lifestyle, coupled with the rapid expansion of the middle class, led to an increasing preference for automobiles among the subjects of the empire. In the streets and alleys of the city, you can see large car posters of the type of fragrant car beauty, promoting a travel lifestyle full of modern atmosphere.

With the gradual rise of the car travel lifestyle, a number of street hotels, car repair shops, and fast food outlets sprang up all over the empire to serve people on the go.

New lifestyles based on the automobile industry chain have been continuously developed, accompanied by exquisite pictorials into people's field of vision.

The pictorial depicts a modern lifestyle of a family traveling by car, passing through beautiful mountains and camping by a river in the countryside. Picnic at the edge of the forest, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, close to nature, presenting a new life conception of the car that people yearn for.

Owning a car undoubtedly greatly extends the travel radius.

On Sundays, when they are on vacation, inviting three or five friends to the countryside for a picnic has become a popular activity for many middle-class families in big cities like Chang'an and Los Angeles.

Quiet farms and plantations in the countryside also benefit from this, and can be used to create more benefits for the farm by providing accommodation and a unique local diet.

Everything happened naturally, as if it were meant to be this way.

Unlike the calm Tang Empire, the United States in 1885 appeared to be more chaotic and restless, with frequent labor conflicts in the cities, large and small demonstrations, and a sense of social dissatisfaction hidden in everyone's hearts.

Twenty-three years after the defeat of North America, the United States has been under the weight of international debt and has lost many national sovereignty.

Mountains of debt weigh heavily on the shoulders of Americans, and it seems that they will never be able to pay it back.

There are two years left to repay the huge war reparations of the Tang Empire, and this date is September 1, 1887, which is called the "settlement date".

But what about after the "settlement date"?

The most popular newspapers and magazines in the United States now publish the huge international and domestic debts incurred by the US government, which now total as much as $1.62 billion. Far from decreasing, it is increasing.

The US federal tax revenue is only about $23 million a year, while the principal and interest of international debt that needs to be paid every year are as high as more than $64 million.

The U.S. federal government can only cope by constantly borrowing new debt to pay off old debt, raising taxes, and reducing spending, which is a debt trap that seems to never climb out.

After the defeat in February 1862, after the sale of some high-quality government assets to pay off some high-interest loans, the remaining international debt of 985 million Tang Yuan was left behind, which was the scourge of large-scale borrowing during the civil war.

After more than two years of difficult negotiations, an agreement was finally reached with the "International Creditor Committee";

The total amount of 985 million Tang Yuan International Debt is planned to be repaid over 49 years at an annual interest rate of 6.6%, and the total repayment of principal and interest at maturity is about 2.57 billion Tang Yuan, with a total annual repayment of nearly 50 million Tang Yuan.

Over the years

The U.S. federal government has reduced this figure to an average of more than 42 million Tang Yuan per year by selling some high-quality assets, which is still an unbearable burden.

After the "settlement date", the international debt of the United States of America to be repaid each year fell from more than 64 million Tang Yuan to more than 42 million Tang Yuan, but in reality it was not.

As more and more domestic debt balloons, the pressure to repay debt and interest each year is greater, the federal debt deficit is getting higher and higher, and the tax cuts that people hope for are far away.

Such a hopeless country of immigrants, without the backbone of society (such as the Chinese), without a strong army, can easily shatter like glass under the weight.

Philadelphia, Rice Country

Black marchers took to the streets, holding large signs that read "Strong protest against the government's tax hike", "Give us back our bread", "Children are starving", "Demand a nine-hour working day", "Less pressing!" ”……

Most of the marching crowd were white-faced, only a few were Chinese or Mexicans, and none of the free blacks could be seen, because the free blacks did not even have the right to march.

Although they advocate equality, the status of free blacks in the north is extremely low, they have no right to ride on the tram, they have no right to ride in horse-drawn carriages, they cannot get close to whites or Chinese people on the road, and they can't even touch people's shadows.

Otherwise, they will be severely beaten or killed.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao led more than 100 soldiers of the Tang Empire garrison with loaded guns and ammunition to seal off a block at the intersection, and behind them was a middle-class neighborhood inhabited by Chinese, which was forbidden to marchers.

As for going in other directions, Lieutenant Mo Jiabao didn't care.

There were many Chinese-American police officers on the streets, as well as white-faced Philadelphia National Guardsmen, who did not stop the march and maintained basic order.

There are many precedents for these marchers to start violently smashing horse-drawn carriages and shops along the streets, looting and destroying catharsis, and escalating from demonstrations to urban riots.

The police on duty and the Philadelphia National Guard have received orders;

In the event of violent smashing and other excesses, the on-site commander may allow shooting to suppress if he or she judges that it is becoming seriously uncontrollable.

A flood of angry demonstrators poured up, shouting for protests, and soon came to the crossroads.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao stood at the front of the blockade, he was wearing a crisp horizontal buttoned dark woolen military uniform of the Tang Empire, two gold tattoos on the cuffs, a Tang-style large-brimmed military hat (note, refer to the German style), a pair of shiny long leather boots on his feet, and a shiny saber hanging from his waist.

His young and heroic face was full of seriousness, and he took more than twenty steps forward majestically, and then stood proudly in the middle of the street intersection with a determined expression, and said loudly;

"This commander has been ordered by the military of Shangfeng to block Jianguo Avenue on May 1 ahead, all personnel are not allowed to trespass, and all personnel are not allowed to cross the place where this chief is standing, otherwise there will be no mercy!"

He stood alone at the corner of the street, but the thousands of demonstrators did not dare to attack him, like a tide flowing over the side, the nearest crowd was three ~ four meters away from Lieutenant Mojiabao, and the people on the side were still trying their best to squeeze into the middle.

The fierce reputation of the garrison of the Tang Empire has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in the previous suppression of urban riots, and no one dares to touch this mold.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao stood proudly at the corner of the street, his face was full of confidence and pride, behind him was a powerful army and empire, the glorious glory of the army that was more important than life, and the sacred mission shouldered by soldiers.

See this scene

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrier, commander of the Philadelphia National Guard, groaned in a headache, and the crowd of marchers surged in his direction at the corner of the street as if they were being obstructed by an invisible boulder.

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrier, a French immigrant, ordered; "Let's all cheer up, load our bullets and be ready for battle at all times.

God, these damned city pariahs are always making trouble, and the damned Irish and Italians, may they all go to hell. ”

In today's American cities, Irish and Italian gangs are at the forefront of demonstrations in the form of various workers' associations, such as the Italian Tricycle Drivers' Workers or the Irish West Side Dock Union.

These urban pariahs are often keen to participate in these movements, and it is undoubtedly a good thing to have the opportunity to grab a sum of money and vent their resentment against long-term oppression and exploitation.

So for Lieutenant Colonel Jean Perian, every march made him nervous.

Today's Philadelphia is only a mid-to-high-end neighborhood with a concentration of Chinese and British immigrants, guarded by patrols sent by the Tang Empire. Vast civilian neighborhoods are left unattended, and security tasks are left to second-line law enforcement forces such as the police and the National Guard.

Due to the government's financial constraints, Philadelphia is severely understaffed.

Philadelphia, with a population of nearly 500,000, has just over 270 police officers, who focus on patrolling and guarding middle-to-high-end neighborhoods where the middle class and high society are concentrated, with a complete laissez-faire approach to civilian neighborhoods.

Expecting the police to maintain law and order in the city is a fantasy, so gangs are rampant in American cities and vicious crimes, especially in the slums.

In the event of a mass demonstration, the police need to ask the National Guard and the garrison of the Tang Empire to suppress the formation and prevent it from turning into an uncontrollable urban riot.

The so-called National Guard, also known as the militia, is a little stronger than the ordinary militia in that they can get a small duty allowance, and many soldiers bring their own guns, because the government is really poor and can't afford it.

It stands to reason that the commander of the National Guard, such as Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrière, should be able to enjoy a stable and relatively good salary.

In fact, Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrière has not received one of the few government allowances for officers for more than a year, but has put a lot of money into it.

He himself is the president of the Philadelphia Bakers Association, and his family runs two sizable flour mills and more than a dozen bakeries, and he is not short of money.

The reason for the willingness to take up this thankless position of commander was that Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrière believed;

Maintaining social stability in Philadelphia is a great responsibility closely related to the interests of the family, and many officers and soldiers in the National Guard have similar ideas, which is also the motivation that sustains them.

Sometimes what you are afraid of, you will come.

Just as the crowd of marchers rushed forward, there were sudden bursts of strange screams and noises, and occasionally women could be heard screaming in fear, and the order was suddenly thrown into chaos.

"Damn, what the hell is going on?"

"Report to the sir, a couple of grandmothers from the Convent of Santa Maria happened to be returning from the library with some schoolgirls, and they were confronted by the crowd of marchers, and now they are surrounded by some Italian thugs, and the situation is quite chaotic."

"Oh...... God, the man with you is going to play with me, and I hope things don't get too bad. And immediately ask for support from the imperial garrison, and go right away. Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrière's face turned ugly, and he made a decision with a grim face, and hurried away with his men.