Er Mao's current identity is very subtle. On the one hand, he is the childhood playmate of the young emperor Tongzhi. On the other hand, he is also a talent consciously reserved by the empress dowagers of the two palaces.
Don't you want to show off your knowledge and not allow the emperor to learn Western learning? Don’t you, Weng Tonghe, keep an eye on the emperor? Then I can let the people around the emperor learn from it. And Er Mao is a very good candidate. He is young, smart, and a eunuch. He is the best choice in all aspects.
In an ideal world, Er Mao's Western learning would be a boost to the emperor's future governance. When the emperor encountered problems with Western learning, he could be consulted at any time.
Of course, when the emperor is old enough to be in charge, these Confucian scholars will no longer be able to influence the emperor. At that time, the emperor can choose between Xianxue and Western learning.
The idea is perfect, but perfect things in the world often have flaws, such as Ermao. This child has now been completely brainwashed by Xiao Letian and has become the most loyal disciple of Western learning. He has also adopted Fu Hui as his godmother, and Xiao Letian has become his godfather in disguise.
What is even more worrying is that following the secret investigation of the ancestors, they discovered that Er Mao had already received favor from Xiao Letian before entering the palace. Even the quota for Er Mao to enter the palace was cleared by Xiao Letian with money.
The most worrying thing is loyalty. Even though Er Mao claims to be loyal to the royal family, who can tell who he is loyal to in his heart? But even if there were suspicions, the court could not cut off Ermao's line. If Ermao had an accident, it would prove that the court was determined to break with Xiao Letian.
But is the court ready to deal with Xiao Letian's revenge? Let's not talk about Xiao Letian becoming a pirate. Just look at the flyers in the sky and the latest public information. Xiao Letian's methods are already jaw-dropping.
"Er Mao, did Xiao Letian tell you these four things? How are you connected?" Cixi said quietly, the chill in her voice turning into ice cubes.
No matter how brave Er Mao is and how ready he is to sacrifice, he is only a teenager after all. He will still be afraid of facing the imperial power. Hearing the unkind tone, he quickly kowtowed and stuttered his answer, shaking like chaff.
"Slave...slave, these are all letters written by my godfather's family. I used my godmother's fast horse to communicate with my godfather... These are the latest two letters. I just received them..."
The two empress dowagers could actually see the open correspondence between Xiao Letian and Er Mao. It was just a show. In letters one after another, Xiao Letian always advised Er Mao to be loyal and patriotic, and asked him to learn more about Western learning and serve the court.
Of course, in the letter, he also looked forward to the future of the industrial zone and touted the benefits of maritime trade and industrialization. Sometimes even the Queen Mother was a little tempted after reading it.
Today, when the latest two letters were placed on the desk, everyone discovered that one of them was actually for the Queen Mother and the Emperor. Xiao Letian's tone in the letter was unusually harsh, and his anger even penetrated the back of the paper, and the pen even tore through the paper.
"Shameless, extremely shameless, what kind of conflict is there for me, Xiao Letian, to come to me alone? What's the matter with touching my woman? Who did my wife in the house offend?" Xiao Letian was already so angry that he spoke incoherently. He used pen and ink Rant in the letter.
"This is my bottom line, Xiao Letian. I won't give in even a step. If you dare to make me lose the throne, I will lose the reputation of this court. The worst is death. What's the harm in dying together..."
Before she finished reading the letter, Cixi was already furious. She slapped the letter on the table and shouted angrily, "It's treasonous. This is a natural rebellion! How is this different from those shameless Westerners? They are all the same..." "
"I had some doubts about his identity before, but now it seems that he is really an out-and-out devil, with no conscience at all about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. Even if he has not been treated well by the Qing Dynasty, Didn’t his ancestors also eat food from the Qing Dynasty?”
Ci Xi stared at Er Mao, who was kneeling on the ground shivering, wishing she could go up and kick him to death, but she gave up after thinking that he was still useful.
"Bottom line? What does Xiao Letian have in his hands? What bottom line do you dare to talk about? It's nothing more than gangster tactics and shameless spewing of dirty water. Do you think the court will care? I really don't want to be troublesome and want to let these ministers Let's all live in peace. You, Xiao Letian, are already rich enough. Without the protection of the Qing Dynasty, you still want to open a foreign bank to make money? Didn't you earn every cent of your money from the Qing Dynasty? "
"You ungrateful dog slaves and Japanese devils are still trying to seize Tanggu City in the Qing Dynasty? Dreaming, this is just dreaming..."
Not only Cixi was angry, Empress Dowager Ci'an, Prince Gong and even the young emperor were also angry. Emperor Tongzhi said angrily, "Go and reply to Xiao Letian. The court can tolerate him on the first three items, but don't even think about the fourth item. At worst, the imperial court no longer wants this dignity, and will send troops to destroy him, so that he will stop harboring delusions..."
The negotiations could no longer continue at this point. The conditions offered by Xiao Letian were simply unacceptable to the court. Everyone in the Yangxin Palace finally made up their minds to prepare for the elimination.
When Er Mao was kicked out of the hall and went to deliver the message in despair, the palace had already begun to prepare a plan to mobilize troops.
"The Eight Banners in Tianjin, under the command of Mailer, have a total of 3,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, half of which are equipped with foreign guns. It is not a problem to wipe out a small foreign trade..." Cixi said.
"The key now is to see the attitude of the foreigners. During this time, your Prime Minister's Office must negotiate with the ambassadors of various countries in Dongjiaominxiang in advance. It is said that the court will naturally protect the interests of foreign businessmen and ask them to suppress their own businessmen and not to cause chaos with Xiao Letian... "Ci'an thought more cautiously.
"As long as our actions are secretive and quick, and Xiao Letian is taken down before all forces have time to react, there will definitely be no mistakes. Even foreigners will have to hold their noses and admit it."
The little emperor's eyes still stayed on the sea. "What about the ships? What if Xiao Letian takes a boat to harass the coastline?"
At this time, Prince Gong also smiled: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. With the current weather, the Haihe River has frozen. If my guess is correct, there will be floods in the Bohai Sea. It's not that simple to go to sea. Even if he escapes by luck, It is also impossible to attack the Gyeonggi area. As for other places, as long as they are prepared in advance, the impact should not be great."
Cixi gritted her teeth and said, "Don't be afraid even if there is an impact. Xiao Letian only has a few hundred guards. No matter how much trouble he makes, he is just robbing some money and people. We have survived the Changmao Rebellion for more than ten years, and now we are still afraid." A little devil? Kill him..."
At this point, the Manchu and Qing court reached a consensus. Before Er Mao's secret letter could be finished, the secret edict to Maile, the commander of the Eight Banners in Tianjin, was almost on its way.
That night, Chun Shisanniang had already received the latest information. When she knew that 23,000 Eight Banners troops were preparing to besiege Tanggu, she did not dare to neglect the carrier pigeon and took off overnight and headed straight for Tanggu. Not only that, all the middle and high-level officials of the execution hall in the capital were gathered in the winery, and the secret meeting lasted until dawn.
There was no telegraph or radio. The war in this era tested the commander's personal ability. It was impossible to ask Xiao Letian for instructions on everything. Officials in the field must have the ability to adapt to the situation.
Originally, under Xiao Letian's deduction, Xu Xiao Letian's side was asking for a high price, so naturally the court was allowed to sit down and pay back the money. Negotiation was no different from bargaining between buyers and sellers. But he underestimated the irritation this series of events had on the court. Riots broke out twice in a row in a small town in Tanggu, which already caused the court to lose face.
In fact, even the most mature politicians will have moments when they respond inappropriately. As long as a person is a human being, there is a possibility of emotional breakdown. Xiao Letian really overestimated the power of the top management of the Qing Dynasty.
Once the huge state machine is mobilized, it will be a thunderous crushing force, not to mention how many reinforcements can be provided near Zhili. With the more than 20,000 troops in Mailer's hands, it is impossible for Xiao Letian to deal with them as long as they form a formation. The most dangerous moment has arrived.
"Brothers, now is an urgent moment. I have a plan. It depends on whether you dare to do it or not!" During the night of noisy discussion, Chun Shisanniang made an extremely bold decision. She wanted to do this. The propaganda war has escalated. She wants to spread the public information newspapers and leaflet wars beyond Zhili and cover the Yangtze River Basin in the south.
"Done! Since the court is shameless, let's play a big trick and make them lose face in front of the people of the country. That's what Mr. Wang said. If the court loses public support, others will gain more. 500,000 Hunan troops are waiting for this opportunity..."
"Damn it, done..." Everyone unanimously approved the plan.
Early in the morning, thin silk was stuffed into a small bamboo tube, and the carrier pigeon carried the bamboo tube to fly to Shanghai, the important city in the south, to the grey-bearded General Liu Lang who was performing a mission in the south.
At the same time, all the secret printing bases hidden around the capital began to carve wax paper and prepare for printing. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the latest people's notices and leaflets had begun printing. In just one day, 10,000 people's notices and countless leaflets were produced. We are ready, a new round of counterattack is about to begin.
It was an unusually calm day. The government officials of Shuntian Prefecture and the soldiers of Jiumen Admiral did not find a single leaflet or public notice throughout the day, and all the elusive guerrillas disappeared. This is really a rare and relaxing day. The soldiers and officers on duty all made appointments to have a drink in the evening to celebrate their hard-won leisure.
But when the weather had just turned dark and the copper pot of meat-shabu-shabu in front of them was turning into flowers, a piece of unfortunate news came. Those elusive guerrillas were not cease-fire at all, they were preparing ammunition. The latest issue of the People's Daily has been released, and it immediately hit the mouths of all the people.
"Oh my God! The imperial court is going to send troops into Tanggu. Mailer, the commander-in-chief of the Eight Banners of Tianjin, is leading 23,000 white-flag cavalry to surround Tanggu City. They want to bloodbath Tanggu City and kill Xiao Letian and all the thieves?"
"The imperial court has labeled Xiao Letian as a traitor and is going to raise troops to annihilate it. Oh my, isn't it a place where Chinese and foreigners live together? Will the foreigners unite their troops to annihilate it?"
The whole capital was boiling, and soon all the counties, towns and towns around the capital were also in shock. This breaking news covered the entire Zhili as quickly as possible, and flew to other parts of the Qing Dynasty like a wild horse. .
