There was deathly silence in Qiwang Tower. The two princes, Weng Tonghe, and the eunuch An Dehai were all stunned. They all looked at the Queen Mother Cian in a daze with their mouths wide open.
Those conditions that Fu Qing just read out were still somewhat understandable to the people present. Ci'an knew that the conservatives had already turned to Cixi, so it was reasonable for her to support the reformists in order to balance the situation.
But no one understands this last condition. After leaving the Forbidden City, we have to live here in Jingshan. Although Jingshan and Beihai are spacious and bright, and there are many palaces, which are more than enough to accommodate a queen mother, this is against the rules.
Weng Tonghe was the first to object: "Etiquette cannot be abolished... The Queen Mother and Your Majesty of the two palaces are the symbols of the Qing Dynasty, and the Forbidden City is where the Queen Mother should live..." Before he finished speaking, Ci'an waved his hand to his ancestor in disgust.
The ancestor said nothing and blocked Weng Tonghe like an iron tower: "Master Weng, this servant is a rough man but he also understands etiquette. It seems that the Queen Mother didn't summon you just now. You broke in on your own. Is this a courtesy?" "The Queen Mother did not punish you but gave you a seat, so you can just sit down and have a good time..."
"You..." Weng Tonghe looked at the old slave in front of him, knowing that he was an ungentleman. He sat back and finally shut up.
The two princes looked at the old man's defeat and knew that it would be difficult to convince the Queen Mother today. They stood up and handed over their hands, "Queen Mother, your conditions are really difficult for me. There are many things here that cannot be decided by just a few of us." ... you want to promote Fu Qing and release some criminals, we can discuss this, there should be no problem..."
"But pulling the telegraph line and building the railway are too big a matter. Without the unanimous approval of the imperial meeting, I'm afraid it will be difficult to accomplish. As for letting Xiao Letian go, it's not beyond negotiation, but he, Xiao Letian, must have some respect for the imperial court. Show it, the court also wants to save face..."
You come to speak and I leave. Since Ci'an has made conditions, let's just pay back the money on the spot. Sometimes things in court are no different from doing business.
But today Ci'an is also evil. He refuses to give in. "The Ai family is almost driven to death by you. If you don't agree to these conditions, then let the soldiers at the foot of the mountain continue to fight... chop off the heads of the Ai family, you guys." There’s no need to discuss it.”
Then with a bang, another tureen was smashed to the ground. Today, Ci'an has become a complete shrew.
The negotiation can no longer continue at this point. The Queen Mother is not serving tea to see off the guests, but throwing tea to see off the guests. This group of people can no longer be shameless.
The two princes expressed their displeasure and awkwardly stood up and saluted, "Queen Mother...Sister-in-law, let's go back and discuss it with the second sister-in-law. You should calm down and think about it. It's useless to settle the blame at this point. We still have to move forward." Take a look." After saying that, he turned around and left with Li Lianying, leaving only Weng Tonghe behind.
The old man was a courteous Han minister. He knelt down solemnly in front of the Queen Mother of the East. "Empress Dowager, I can learn from you how loyal I am. I have never chosen sides from the beginning to the end. After the conflict, I asked to see the Queen Mother four times." The Queen Mother was blocked, and I wrote ten memorials, but nothing happened..."
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuushasha There was turmoil, so I didn’t choose to fight violence with violence..."
"Please forgive me, Queen Mother. I have my own reasons." Weng Tonghe is a smart man. He could guess from Ci'an's tough attitude that Empress Dowager Dong still has tricks up her sleeve. Ci'an has not lost. At this time, he can You have to show your loyalty and leave a way out for yourself.
Ci'an saw that Weng Tonghe was the only one left in the palace, and he put away his temper: "Old man, you are also the emperor's master. The Ai family will not blame you... You suppressed this matter and did not let the Qingliu people do it." Blending, this is right, you have not failed but you have made merit, get up..."
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately felt relieved. He had done the right thing by suppressing Qingliu and not causing trouble. What Qing wanted was face. No matter how much shit was hidden under the covers, the superficial brocade still had to be done.
"The Queen Mother Mingjian, I have only one idea. The foreigners are watching in the capital, and the local governors are also watching. Anyway, the Qing Dynasty cannot be in chaos... During this time, I wrote many letters to my disciples and former officials, just to let them suppress it. Local literati should not make trouble, they just want to buy more time for the court..."
"Well... you are interested. The Ai family knows it well. You can go down and rest..." Ci'an said calmly.
Weng Tonghe opened his mouth and was still a little unwilling. He still couldn't figure out why the Queen Mother let Xiao Letian go, but he was not stupid. Excessive force would only make the Queen Mother hate him even more. Thinking of this, he could only turn around and resign.
When leaving Qiwang Tower and walking down, Weng Tonghe saw that the military camp at the foot of the mountain continued to evacuate people, and there were many eunuchs carrying various daily necessities, including rice, noodles and vegetables, to the mountain. It seemed that the siege of Jingshan existed in name only.
Along the way, the eunuchs and soldiers all knew the leader of Qingliu, and they all greeted him with a thousand salutes. Weng Tonghe also smiled and nodded in greeting. He did seem to have the demeanor of a scholar, which made others unconvinced.
When Weng Tonghe walked out of Jingshan and sat on his sedan chair, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Let's go home first. This is a mess..."
As the sedan traveled westward along the Imperial City, it stopped after only three or four minutes. The butler's voice came from outside the sedan, "Master, it seems they are escorting prisoners ahead..."
"What kind of prisoner? All the prisoners have been escorted to the Imperial City..." When he opened the curtain of the sedan chair, he saw that it was right. A group of guards with swords were pushing a bound general towards the clan's mansion.
"Mailer, he's actually back..." Weng Tonghe stamped his feet and the sedan stopped firmly on the ground.
"Brothers, thank you for your hard work, thank you for your hard work..." The old man smiled and came forward to greet him. The imperial guards all knew this grand bachelor of Wuying Palace and the majestic imperial master. They quickly stopped and saluted, "Good luck to Weng Zhongtang... Good luck to Mr. Weng."
"Hey, hey... No gifts, no gifts, brothers, thank you for your hard work, what happened to General Mailer?"
A few guards didn't know why they came back. They were escorting Mailer to the Zongren Mansion for detention. Ordinarily, this had nothing to do with civil servants. Why would the old man ask this? But after the housekeeper handed over a few silver coins, these guards There is no need to worry.
"Old Maile is also pitiful. After losing the battle, he returned to the capital to plead guilty. As a result, he was escorted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by the palace order without even seeing the Queen Mother and the princes... You also understand that during this period, the Queen Mother and the princes He was so angry that it was really an advantage for Old Mailer not to behead him on the spot..."
The old man finally understood the cause and effect. He said in a low voice, "General Mailer and I have had some friendship before. Can you let us have a chat? Don't worry it won't take too long..."
Several guards suddenly looked embarrassed, but when the butler handed over the banknote, everyone laughed: "I can't afford your reward. Since your Majesty wants to say a few words, we still have to give it to you for your convenience... Please..." Please please.”
Mailer never said a word from the beginning to the end. He looked at Weng Tonghe in surprise. In the past, there was a Manchu and a Han, a civil servant and a military general. There was no friendship at all. How come the old man who has always been so rigid today would give Spend your own money.
The old man leaned into Mailer's ear and said, "Don't worry, Xiao Letian and I have a grudge. You and I have a common enemy, so now you can only trust me, and I am the only one who can save you..."
As soon as these words were spoken, Mailer burst into tears, "Thank you, sir, thank you for your righteousness... I, Mailer, have lost the battle, but I went back to the capital after all the hard work just to give a gift to the Queen Mother." There are a lot of flaws in Xiao Letian’s army..."
"But I was loyal, but then I ran into obstacles everywhere. Even the housekeeper scolded me when I tried to go to the Prince's Mansion. I tried to go to Eunuch An and Eunuch Li, but no one welcomed me at all... I paid a visit and didn't even know where to look. Who is it, woo woo woo.”
"Zhongtang, you are a learned bachelor. You commented that I came back hundreds of miles away and brought the true and false facts of the enemy. What is wrong with this? Even if I am beheaded, you still have to allow me to say a word. .”
The old man quickly comforted him, "Okay, okay, I know General Mailer's thoughts. I will definitely bring it to the Emperor and the Queen Mother. Now give me the copy and I will help you find a way..."
Mailer now looks at Weng Tonghe like a life-saving straw. He gave him the discount and all the banknotes he had. When the guards escorted him away, he was still holding his neck and shouting, "Help me in the middle hall, help me." I swear that as long as I survive, I will go to the Gansu and Shaanxi camps as a leading soldier...I will be loyal to the country...loyal..."
Looking at Mailer being pushed away, Weng Tonghe smiled bitterly, "You're a loser, but you're still loyal to the court. Don't harm the Qing Dynasty..."
The old man in the sedan looked at the fold carefully. In the end, he was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He shouted in front of his house regardless of the door, "Enter the palace immediately, leave quickly, go to see the Queen Mother and the Emperor immediately..."
Just as Weng Tong and the sedan were running wildly, the East Nuan Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall was already smashed into pieces. Blocking the faces of Yi? and Yixuan, Cixi smashed all the porcelain furnishings in the hall.
"Forcing me, how dare she force me... You know she no longer has the Emperor's secret decree by her side, who does she think she is."
"Fuqing is worthy of being a second-grade official. It makes sense for him, Xiao Letian, to resist the imperial army. As for those bullshit telegraph lines and railway lines, they are Western evil things. We in the Qing Dynasty don't want..."
"Yixuan, go and torture those reformers. Don't let go of all the thieves in the prison that Fuqing wants to save. They will torture them one by one... The Yi family just wants to know what they want to reform." What."
"Is it to reform the Ai family's destiny? Is it to take the Ai family's head..."
"Where is Li Hongzhang? Where has he gone? The Ai family gave him exclusive authority and asked him to kill the evil demon Xiao Letian. No one can be left alive." This book was first published from. Be the first to read the original content!
