Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, the autumn wind blew up and the chrysanthemums turned yellow, and Beijing ushered in the late autumn of 1866. Forty-nine cities had been running smoothly for nearly two months under Xiao Letian's rule.
During this period of time, the news of Xiao Letian's attack on the capital had spread throughout the Qing Dynasty. Countless local governors condemned Xiao Letian's atrocities, and some governors in remote places actually wanted to lead troops into the capital.
This is really a joke. The soldiers from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan walked to Beijing. The green battalions of Gansu and Shaanxi entered Beijing even if they were not prepared for rebellion. The Hunan Army and Huai Army occupied the Central Plains without mentioning King Qin. The governors of these marginal areas were just making random statements. .
King Qin's report had not yet reached the capital on the way, but the soothing Di Bao from the Forbidden City had already flown to all parts of the country. This Di Bao, edited by Ci'an and Prime Minister Xiao, brought the entire capital to months of chaos. It's like making a big start.
The deception of the French must be clearly described here, and the violent victory of Xiao Letian and Europa must be described in detail. Cixi is described as an innocent person who was deceived, and all the sins are pushed to An Dehai, Kirigakure, and Mei. Of course, Prince Gong and Prince Chun also made mistakes.
In Di Bao's description, Xiao Letian became a helpless poor man. The imperial court sent troops to attack him several times. In the end, instead of retaliating, he accepted the empress dowager's decree and went to Beijing to quell the chaos. As for how many Manchus died Then no one really cares.
Look at Xiao Letian. So many people died in Tanggu, but Xiao Letian still stabilized the Qing Dynasty's ruling system. All officials were safe, and the court's taxes were paid every cent. If such a person said that he Rebellion is really bullying.
Let's look at what Xiao Letian did after entering Beijing. They were all projects to ease the people. The price of rice in Forty-Nine City was actually 40 cents. Officials in the Jiangnan area were dumbfounded.
In the medieval state system, the most important thing was justice and honor. Xiao Letian did not kill officials or even arrest dissidents. The six departments of the imperial court were still functioning normally. In the end, even the foreigners in Dongjiaominxiang said that Xiao Letian was not a careerist. Such a guarantee has blocked the mouths of literati all over the world.
Even in the end, Zeng Guofan wrote a letter affirming Xiao Letian's measures to calm the people, admitting that Xiao Letian was a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, and the commander-in-chief was the guarantor. This blocked all the military plans of the King. Governors across the country were watching Zeng Guofan, and his statement was almost It can represent the overall attitude of the entire Hanchen warlords.
People say that the Qing Dynasty was the peak era of China's feudal centralization. In fact, it was talking about the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong. These three generations really suppressed all the forces in the Qing Dynasty to the point that no one could move.
However, after the Qianlong Dynasty, the momentum of centralization began to gradually loosen. During the Jiaqing period, corruption became more and more intense. Land annexation made the people intolerable. In the end, the Tianli Sect even attacked the imperial palace.
On September 14, the 18th year of Jiaqing, the Tianli believers lurked in the capital and attacked Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate. Later, with the help of the eunuch Nei Ying, they actually captured the Xihua Gate in one fell swoop. The Tianli believers actually marched straight into the Yangxin Hall.
The Hall of Yangxin is already the location of the harem. It can be said that the Tianli Sect's attack killed all the defenders of the three halls and continued to kill them all the way to the harem. Even the crown prince, who was later Emperor Daoguang, personally led his troops to fight. .
Later, Emperor Jiaqing, who was in Rehe, heard that the Forbidden City had been breached. He was so frightened that he immediately led his troops back to Beijing and tortured all the captured Tianli Sect prisoners to death.
Although the Tianli Sect's invasion of the Forbidden City did not achieve any great results, it also confirmed the signal in history that the Qing Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline. After Jiaqing's son Daoguang succeeded to the throne, the Qing Dynasty became even more chaotic. In the end, even British bandits attacked coming.
After Daoguang's death, Xianfeng succeeded to the throne. This emperor couldn't bear the problem of coveting beauty. After all, emperors have been lustful since ancient times, but you are the son of Emperor Daoguang after all. Your father banned smoking and went to war with the British. Come on, why are you smoking in the Forbidden City?
Not only did you smoke a lot of cigarettes, you also drank too much. When you were drunk, you beat the eunuchs and maids at every whim, scolded them, and punished them. When you sobered up, you regretted it, coaxed these people, and gave you money and small items. After that, they continue to drink, and when they are drunk, they continue to make trouble.
No wonder such a drug addict and alcoholic lunatic died after being in power for eleven years. This was like living to death.
Not to mention the Tongzhi period. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was pacified, the Han warlord group had already been formed. The two Opium Wars attracted countless Western bandits, and then the Manchu Qing Dynasty themselves did not hesitate to carry out a Xinyou coup.
It can be said that under the rule of these four generations of emperors from Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng to Tongzhi, the degree of centralization of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has collapsed like an avalanche.
By 1866, the politics of the Manchu Qing Dynasty had actually been divided among the four parties, and centralization had become a joke.
The first group is the Manchu and Qing royal family. This is easy to understand. After all, the Qing Dynasty is the country of the Manchu Eight Banners. However, this group is no longer united. After the baptism of Xinyou's coup, everyone has their own agenda.
The second group is the Han warlords represented by Zeng Guofan. It is better to say that they are governors than warlords, because since the Tongzhi Dynasty, all the wars inside and outside the Manchu Qing Dynasty were actually fought by the Han people. Eight Banners and Green Camp have long become synonymous with jokes.
The third group is the traditional officials. This group of civilian officials without military power are naturally close to Qingliu led by Weng Tonghe. They represent the most traditional literary force in China.
The fourth group is the foreigners in Dongjiaominxiang. After two Opium Wars, the Manchu and Qing customs were even taken over by the British Hurd. The foreigners also had a say in the politics of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, but they did not have it during the Tongzhi period. It was so obvious during the Guangxu period.
Xiao Letian had a clear view of the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty. He knew that the four political forces were very united on the surface, but there were also many contradictions and even life-and-death feuds.
The royal family has now been divided into the conservative faction and the reformist faction. The survivors of Xinyou's coup naturally gathered together, and the Eastern Empress Dowager Ci'an also saw through the faces of the people in the court, and began to support the reformers in a clear-cut manner. .
Look at the Han warlords again. Zeng Guofan is a hidden dragon of China. What he sees is the rise and fall of China in the future. He is not a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. What this old guy wants now is how to control the Qing Dynasty. The more than 10 million square kilometers of land in our hands have become the property of the Han people.
For this ideal, he could give up the temptation of becoming emperor.
As for Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, they were incompatible with each other. They fought back and forth until they died.
As for the foreign group, they all have their own agendas. The British see the Russians as disobedient, and the French hate the Prussians. As long as they are not united, Xiao Letian will naturally have the opportunity to use his skills.
Three of the four political forces have been manipulated by Xiao Letian. To deal with the royal family, Xiao Letian threw out the bait of the Eight Kings' Political Affairs, and secretly offered the big cake of the Longxugou Renovation Plan. Xiao Letian knew that he would buy them a neutral one. Still no problem.
Xiao Letian had more methods to deal with the Han warlords. Wu Qing and Li Hongzhang fought hard, and Old Man Li was convinced. In addition, Zeng Guofan and him had similar personalities, so as long as he did not rebel against the Han warlords, he would still support him.
Looking at the foreign forces, with the Americans secretly playing the matchmaker, even if France and Russia disagree with each other, they will not be able to withstand the support of the United States, Britain, Prussia and other countries. Xiao Letian believes that they will not do anything bad.
In the end, there was only one group left that Xiao Letian really had no choice about, and that was the Qingliu forces represented by Yiweng Tonghe. This group of rotten scholars had been cruel to Xiao Letian to the core, and there was no possibility of reconciliation between the two parties.
This is no longer a power struggle, this is an academic dispute. The possibility of reconciliation has never been heard of in any academic dispute in Chinese history. It is simply unreasonable for scholars to hold grudges.
However, Xiao Letian is not afraid. Three of the four major political groups have been captured. Three to one will always be Xiao Letian's advantage. The corrupt Confucians of the Qing Dynasty cannot make any splash.
The common people did not know the ups and downs in the court. Even if there was occasional gossip, it was just a smile after dinner. In their eyes, a prime minister who could stabilize the price of rice at 40 Wen per liter could be bad and bad. Where to go, not to mention that the Sijiu City made by the Prime Minister is so clean and the public security is so good.
Although there are always a group of people missing big fingers on the streets of Sijiu City during this period, and these people are also the ones who scold the Prime Minister the most, but a cripple is a cripple, and no matter how harsh the scolding is, the Prime Minister will still lose a piece of flesh. .
On the other hand, if you are missing two thumbs, you will not be able to do any work in the future.
This is a manifestation of the new army's insidiousness. You must know that the thumb is the most important finger on the human hand. It is a key organ that cooperates with the activities of other fingers. If you don't believe it, try it. Without the help of the thumb, you will be left with nothing. What kind of work can the four fingers under it do?
Cutting off the thumbs of these soldiers will eliminate their future work as soldiers. There will be countless wastes in the Eight Banners organization. The Qing Dynasty can support them in a day or two, but what about ten or eight years? , as time goes by, even the whole family can't bear you to have an idle meal, let alone the court.
Xiao Letian is forcing the Manchus to carry a huge burden that they cannot shirk. One day, they will tire the Manchus to death. Sooner or later, the Eight Banners system will no longer be able to carry it.
Time passed day by day, and the autumn wind in Sijiu City was replaced by the biting cold wind. Gradually, faint black smoke floated in the sky of the city. The coal stoves in every household began to light up. The winter of 1866 finally came. .
Notices for the imperial court to convene a great court meeting have been issued for a long time. Governor Lu Yuan even started rushing to Beijing as soon as autumn began. Everyone knows that this year's great court meeting will affect the political trend in the next few decades. This feast of power Everyone is not far behind.
Forty-Nine City is becoming more and more lively. Low food prices have attracted a large number of refugees to Beijing. Coupled with the collective return of local officials to Beijing, the atmosphere in Forty-Nine City has become even more lively. Business in theaters, restaurants, and brothels is good. Incredible.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guoquan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and other powerful officials collectively entered the capital, and the smell of gunpowder in the capital's political arena was suddenly strong enough to ignite.
"The commander-in-chief is here. I heard that the commander-in-chief has brought three thousand cavalry back to the capital... This is great. Finally, someone can compete with Xiao Motou. Great, great. Fortunately, the court still has a Zeng So handsome."
Countless people rushed to tell each other, completely forgetting that they were the ones who were constantly attacking Zeng Guofan, attacking him for his evil intentions and having a treason behind his head.
