"The more upright the legal system is, the more people can unite people to accomplish great things, because there are fewer voices of doubt, and because he doesn't have to be wary of open and secret attacks between brothers! Gradually, the country will prosper. What can't we do by then?"
"You think I don't know about you sleeping with Yi? I've known it for a long time, but instead of being angry, I admire you very much. A mother will not hesitate to serve that hidden danger for the sake of her child's throne. This is You really have the courage of the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang!"
"But I just don't understand. Why do you want to get rid of me because you don't like me? How on earth am I, a poor childless man, getting in your way? Just because Zai Chun and I are on weekdays Closer? Then why don’t you think about whether there is something wrong with your education?”
"It's not that Zai Chun doesn't feel sorry for you, he just hates you always controlling him. This is the knot between you mother and son. If you don't find a way to untie it, why do you always want to kill me?"
The heartbroken Ci'an burst into tears, "As a result, the imperial court was divided into two groups. Do you expect me to risk my life just to take care of the overall situation? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Ci'an panted, drank a glass of wine, and remained silent for three minutes, but Cixi didn't dare to reply.
When Ci'an calmed down a bit, she pointed to the chair and said, "Sit!" Cixi shook her head and dared not. Ci'an's eyes widened and her voice rose an octave, "Sit!!!" This time Cixi did not dare to disobey and quickly sat down with her butt half pulled up. On the chair.
Ci'an looked up at the flowers on the beams and said softly, "Actually, if everything is the same as nine years ago, then there is nothing wrong with the path you have chosen! Thinking about this issue from your perspective, you can get rid of me. To be able to monopolize power, then support Zai Chun to grow up and take charge of the government, slowly cultivate the influence of his own courtiers, and finally sideline our brother-in-law..."
"There is nothing wrong with this set of procedures. What is wrong is that times have changed! After all your calculations, you failed to account for Xiao Letian, right? From the beginning, you never expected that he would become so powerful and powerful enough to steal your son!"
"Haha, everything you do is actually what Xiao Letian wants to see. The more we are divided, the more he can profit from it... Even the Han governors like Zeng Guofan are waiting to see our jokes! The more people are in civil unrest, the more they applaud!”
"Even Guizi Liu is waiting for this opportunity. He knows very well that without chaos, there will be no chance to take advantage of chaos! You, you, Yehenala Xingzhen! It is your wanton behavior that has divided the imperial court. If If there were no factional chaos in the court, how could Xiao Letian be attracted to attack the capital?
4000
Master, how can he take His Majesty away? "
"It is precisely because His Majesty walked out of the palace and opened his eyes, and because he had Xiao Letian thrown into the military camp to receive iron-blooded training, that his ambitions expanded incredibly! The stronger Zai Chun behaved, the more the courtiers The more scared they are, the more they will cling to Yi!"
"Don't forget that Yi has a gun in his hand now! He has thirty to forty thousand new troops in his hand! Just wait. After this incident, he has even more excuses to expand his army. Do you really think you can still control it? Live with him? Stop dreaming!"
"The alliance between you and him is a joke. They are just using each other. Do you think you will be the big winner in the end? It's a pity that you made all the calculations wrong..."
"Sister! Our brother-in-law has a grudge against the late emperor! Don't you know that our man snatched the throne from him? How can there be no hatred in Guiziliu's heart? This kind of person can be used, but It can’t be reused!”
Cixi cried loudly, "I understand, I understand the truth, but in that situation, we couldn't do it without relying on him!"
This is the helplessness in the court. In the political storm, the communication, distance and intimacy between people completely depend on the current situation. Guiziliu and his brother earned the throne, but when they dealt with the eighth minister Gu Ming, the two sisters-in-law You have to rely on this old enemy.
Of course Cixi also knew that Yi was ambitious, but in order to compete with Ci'an for power, she had to choose to form an alliance with Yi, and even had to sleep with him.
This has nothing to do with morality and justice, everything is just a last resort choice due to the situation at that time. When the flood comes, even if there is a tiger on the boat, you have to take a gamble and choose to get on the boat, just in case you can subdue the tiger. Where is the tiger?
Cixi thought she could subdue the fierce tiger Guiziliu, but she was wrong. The tiger's IQ was actually no worse than hers, and the tiger also had strategies.
Ci'an tapped her long fingernails on the table, "Actually, the key point of all the problems we are facing now is not in the court, but outside the court. Even if we sisters kneel down and beg Yi, he won't do it." Those who give up their rights, especially the army, will not give up..."
"We still have to strike a balance. The balance cannot be broken. Only by checking and balancing each other can we have room to move!"
"The Eight Banners and the Green Camp are old and decayed. They are just armies on paper! The only armies that the Qing Dynasty can fight now are the Hunan Army, the New Army of the Capital, Xiao Letian's army, and foreign warship soldiers... …”
"Is there anyone else? By the way, Zaichun still has thousands of people, but the number is too small to be useful at all. It is not a decisive force!"
At the critical moment of life and death, Ci'an finally put aside her hatred for Cixi and chose to survive the difficult situation together, retaining the power of the little emperor and maintaining the stability of the court. This was a problem they had to solve.
In fact, the problems in the court may seem complicated and difficult, but in the final analysis they are problems of power and factions, and problems of power and factions ultimately boil down to the problem of the army.
If we carefully study, classify, and place the armies that can fight in the Qing Dynasty, the spheres of influence of the factions will be clear, and the conflicts between them will be clear at a glance.
Ci'an is right. Several armies that can influence the Qing Dynasty are now on the table. The Hunan army is one, the foreigners are one, Xiao Letian is one, the new army of the imperial court and the limited number of armies that can fight are one. , the remaining ones are the Eight Banners and Green Camp who make up the numbers. Those soldiers are just waving flags and shouting at best.
With four armies and four forces, the two queen mothers were suddenly surprised to find that they actually had nothing in their hands. All they had was the right to control the empire in name only.
Why there were no such violent conflicts in the past is because in the past, the three forces formed a conflicting triangle. The three forces of foreigners, governors, warlords, and the imperial court supported and restrained each other, and a rare stable state emerged.
But when the power of Xiao Letian suddenly rose, the stability of the triangle was destroyed. The process of rearrangement of the situation was destined to be filled with swords, blood and corpses paving the way.
The food and wine have gone cold, and the two Queen Mothers have gradually outlined a general strategy to break the situation. However, the key to solving the problem is not at home, but abroad.
m.
